The PPC Den: Amazon PPC Advertising Mastery

Want to win on Amazon? Join our chat with Michael and Joe Shelerud from Ad Advance. We'll simplify how to calculate your target ACOS and show you ways to make products that keep customers coming back, building a super strong brand in the process. Plus, we'll talk about boosting your repeat purchase rate to keep the sales rolling in.

Get ready to race ahead in Amazon’s marketplace with strategies that put you in the lead. 

This episode is a rerelease of one of our most popular episodes. Please note the resources and link section for any relevant updates.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 - Welcome

• 1:50 - Small Talk: A Warm Winter at Minnesota

• 4:00 - How to Encourage More Repeat Buys at No Cost?

• 6:43 - Who Dominates in Profitable Per-Click Spending?

• 10:27 - Why is Branding Expensive?

• 14:20 - Starting Small: You Don’t Need Many Products

• 17:25 - Exploring the Customer Loyalty Analytics Dashboard

• 18:25 - The Math Behind Your Target ACOS

• 21:40 - Increasing Repeat Purchases

• 23:58 - Key Drivers of Lifetime Value After the First Sale

• 27:36 - Should Brand Search Strategy Change Despite Uncertainty?

• 31:00 - Rapid Fire

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, we dive deep into the "Power Law" of e-commerce. According to recent data from Marketplace Pulse, the top 1.6% of sellers now generate a staggering 50% of all sales on Amazon. The gap between the "thriving" and the "distressed" is wider than ever.

Joining us is Sean Stone, founder of Spillover Commerce, to break down the specific strategies that allow elite brands to dominate the marketplace. We move past basic PPC tactics to explore how the world’s most successful brands manufacture their own "unfair advantages."

Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay ahead of the e-commerce curve!

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

00:00 – Intro: Meet Sean Stone

01:05 – The lifestyle of a successful entrepreneur

03:15 – Analyzing the Marketplace Pulse report

04:10 – Why 1.6% of sellers get 50% of sales.

09:20 – The 3 Advantages You Can Manufacture: An overview

11:50 – Advantage #1: Conversion Rate

16:30 – Case Study: BedSure vs. Utopia Bedding (Duvet Inserts)

28:40 – Case Study: Gymreapers and the 21% Conversion Rate

34:25 – Advantage #2: Margin & Logistics

39:50 – Advantage #3: Thinking Bigger 

41:50 – Demand Generation: Moving beyond just Amazon SEO

45:45 – Summary

🦡 Resources & Links

Are you feeling the pressure to be on TikTok, Amazon, Shopify, and social media all at once? It’s the "2026 Burnout Trap," and in this episode, Michael and Emma Schermer Tamir break down why trying to be everywhere is actually killing your brand’s growth.

If you’re feeling spread too thin and your profits aren't showing the effort you're putting in, this conversation is exactly what you need to hear. We’re moving away from "hacks" and getting back to the business fundamentals that actually scale.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – Welcome back, Emma! (5th Episode Anniversary)

• 01:39 – Feeling like you have to be everywhere

• 03:45 – The difference between an "Amazon Seller" and an "E-commerce Brand"

• 05:28 – Why single-channel loyalty is now a major risk

• 08:35 – Amazon isn't a "closed system" anymore

• 10:10 – Should you actually be on TikTok? (The "Paper Towel" Test)

• 12:54 – Doing fewer things at a 10/10 level vs. ten things at a 2/10 level

• 16:30 – Why AI content won't give you a defensible brand

• 19:40 – The Mr. Beast Fallacy: Why "virality" can destroy a niche brand

• 24:45 – Total ACOS vs. Bottom Line Profit: What are you actually optimizing for?

• 27:30 – Delegation vs. Abdication: Don’t just "dump" your tasks

• 31:40 – Why 10x is actually easier than 2x (The Dan Sullivan approach)

• 35:50 – Where to find Emma Schermer Tamir

🦡 Resources & Links

Welcome to the premiere episode of Inside the Badger Den! 

This series is your backstage pass to Ad Badger, where we bridge the gap between powerful Amazon PPC software and high-level advertising strategy.

In this episode, we don't just show you the tools; we show you the "why" behind them. We dive deep into our new Search Trends and Organic Rank Tracking features to help you combat ad cannibalization and claim more market share. 

We’ll see you Inside the Badger Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro

• 0:39 – Roadmap Update: Search Trends & Rank Tracking

• 1:14 – Analyzing Market Share & Keyword Demand

• 2:02 – Sales % Relative to Competition

• 3:24 – Analyzing CVR (Conversion Rate) by Product & Keyword

• 4:46 – Understanding Search Query Volume Changes

• 5:20 – Comparing Brand CVR vs. Market CVR

• 6:57 – Organic Rank Tracking

• 9:31 – Finding Campaigns with No Modifiers

• 10:07 – Which Placements Need Higher Bids?

• 11:42 – Feature Demo: How to Use Bulk Placement Edits

• 12:51 – Top Insights from the Past Month

• 17:15 – Sneak Peek: Upcoming Features (Custom Bid Algorithms, PDF Reports, and more)

• 18:30 – Outro

🦡 Resources & Links

Ready to master Amazon PPC? Join Michael for a deep dive into N-Gram Analysis. Learn how to decode search terms, streamline your ad budget, and beat the competition with smart data use in this insightful episode.

This episode is a rerelease of one of our most popular episodes. Please note the resources and link section for any relevant updates.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 - Intro

• 2:00 - What is N-Gram Analytics?

• 4:21 - What to Do?

• 5:56 - The Big Issue

• 8:11 - Start with Trend Searching

• 9:35 - N-Gram Analysis Steps

• 12:19 - Where to Find the Ad Badger Spreadsheet

• 12:57 - How to Effectively Use N-Gram Analysis

• 13:17 - What are the Benefits?

• 15:48 - The Best Tool for Analytics

🦡 Resources & Links

Today, we are talking about a massive misconception in the Amazon advertising world: the hyper-prioritization of Total ACoS.

First things first, I will always argue it should be called ACOTS (Ad Cost of Total Sales), but terminology aside, using this metric purely as a PPC goal is fundamentally broken. 

The biggest flaw we cover in this episode is how product-level Total ACoS ruins your math, specifically because of Other SKU Sales. When you look at paid sales for a product ad, you're actually looking at sales generated for every SKU in your catalog. 

Instead of making misinformed cuts, we need to think full-funnel. In this episode, I break down exactly how to approach your Amazon PPC strategy for 2026. We discuss why you must track organic visibility alongside PPC visibility, how to use your Search Query Performance dashboard to monitor market share, and why you should be evaluating your Total ACoS at the Parent-Child family level using the Purchased Product Report.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 - The hyper-prioritization of Total ACoS 
• 1:58 - The evolution of Amazon PPC goals (2012 vs. today)
• 3:35 - Why TACoS is a broken metric (and why we should call it ACOTS!) 
• 4:32 - Why a lower TACoS can actually mean LESS profit 
• 8:50 - The absolute worst (but easiest) way to "fix" your ACoS 
• 10:22 - Why product-level TACoS is mathematically broken 
• 12:01 - The "Paid Sales" illusion and how ads actually work 
• 13:25 - How "Other SKU Sales" are completely ruining your product-level data 
• 15:30 - Real account example: What happens when 30% of sales go to other SKUs 
• 17:20 - The Fix, Step 1: Thinking full-funnel & tracking organic rank 
• 18:10 - The Fix, Step 2: Using Search Query Performance (Search Trends) 
• 20:10 - What to do if your ACoS is actually too high 
• 22:01 - The 2026 Solution: Grouping Total ACoS by Parent-Child Families

🦡 Resources & Links

Welcome back to the PPC Den podcast! Today we’re catching up with Francis Leger, co-owner of GS Plant Foods, to talk about the harsh realities of selling on Amazon in 2026.

Let's be honest, the days of easily launching a profitable product from your bedroom with fifty bucks are long gone. Francis gets totally real about why Amazon has become such a frustrating and expensive barrier to entry, complete with random listing suspensions and endless bureaucratic headaches. Because of this margin squeeze, his two-person team is actively pivoting to build out their own independent D2C website.

Instead of just playing around with trendy AI tools, Francis shares a brilliant, practical approach: look at your daily workflow and hand the tedious stuff over to a computer. He even shares a great story about how they built a custom script to automatically check their Amazon Buy Box across all 50 states to catch sneaky account issues instantly. 

Grab a coffee and join us for a really honest, refreshing conversation about surviving and thriving in e-commerce today.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

0:00 - Intro

02:40 - Why building a Shopify D2C website is now an absolute must

04:02 - Why you can no longer start on Amazon with just $50

06:30 - The nightmare of arbitrary Amazon delistings 

15:21 - How we built a custom AI script to check our Buy Box in all 50 states

19:47 - Stop asking "What can AI do?" and look at your org chart instead

25:25 - The danger of building yourself a job instead of a business

30:44 - How to get a business to run itself 

33:23 - The one thing you can never outsource to AI

36:47 - Why the fundamentals of business haven't changed in 100 years

42:10 - Outro
🦡 Resources & Links

Have you ever scaled your Amazon PPC campaigns only to watch your organic sales completely drop off? In this episode, Michael and Amazon advertising expert Brent Zahradnik tackle a fantastic listener question where a brand's ad sales tripled, but their organic sales actually decreased year-over-year.

They dive deep into the real reasons behind this frustrating scenario, exploring whether aggressive ad spend is truly cannibalizing organic placements or if there are other hidden factors at play, such as shrinking overall search volume or overspending on highly dominant branded keywords. 

It is a common fear for Amazon sellers and PPC managers alike, but the reality of how the algorithm balances paid and organic traffic is rarely straightforward. To help you navigate this exact problem, the guys break down the actionable strategies and metrics you need to measure true ad incrementality.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 - Intro

• 01:50 - Listener Question: Ad Sales Tripled, Organic Dropped

• 04:05 - What is a "Healthy" Organic vs. Paid Sales Ratio?

• 06:00 - Defining PPC Cannibalization & Incrementality

• 08:10 - Scenario A: Overspending on Branded Keywords

• 10:20 - Scenario B & C: Did PPC Save the Brand or Did the Market Shrink?

• 15:30 - How to Fix It Step 1: Track Organic vs. Paid Percentage

• 16:44 - Why Historic Rank Tracking Still Matters

• 19:10 - Step 2: Using Search Query Performance Data

• 22:15 - Step 3: Running a Holdout Test with AMC

• 26:24 - Final Verdict: Does PPC Actually Cannibalize 100% of Sales?

• 27:50 - Where to Find Brent

🦡 Resources & Links

Are your Amazon sales dropping and your ACoS skyrocketing? Before you take a sledgehammer to your PPC campaigns, you need to look under the hood of your business.

In this episode, Michael sits down with Elizabeth Greene from Junglr to discuss why the biggest threats to your Amazon advertising performance usually have nothing to do with your ads. They break down the exact weekly "push-pull" diagnostic report they use to uncover 5 hidden operational issues that are secretly draining your ad budget and killing your profit margins.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 - Intro

• 02:15 - Why Non-PPC Issues Are Your Biggest Ad Problem 

• 04:00 - The "Push-Pull" Report: Junglr’s Weekly Diagnostic Flow 

• 12:27 - Issue #1: Inventory & The "45-Day Coverage" Sweet Spot 

• 18:43 - Issue #2: Hidden Buy Box & Regional Shipping Problems 

• 22:51 - Agency Scope of Work: Should Ad Agencies Fix Operations? 

• 27:34 - Issue #3: How Pricing Changes Destroy Sales Velocity 

• 33:12 - Issue #4: Catalog Chaos & Variation Splits Wasting Ad Spend 

• 35:00 - Issue #5: Why High Return Rates Secretly Kill Your Profitability

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, I talk about how Amazon sellers can go beyond just looking at sales and start using PPC and search query data to understand their true market share. I show how you can track changes in search volume, impressions, clicks, conversions, and your share of purchases to see if your ads are actually helping you grow compared to the rest of the market. 

By grounding your PPC data with market insights, you can make smarter decisions, adjust campaigns when needed, and stay ahead of competitors.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

0:05 – Most PPC managers check only sales

0:17 – Better question: Did PPC grow your market share?

0:27 – Comparing sales vs. market trends

1:00 – Using search query data to track performance

2:05 – How to access search query data in AdBadger

3:22 – Tracking search volume and impressions over time

5:00 – Measuring brand impression and click share

6:55 – Comparing market vs. brand conversion rate

8:04 – Understanding purchase share and market impact

10:44 – Combining search data with ranking data

11:57 – How to tell your PPC story with market context

12:12 – Using this data to make smarter Amazon decisions🦡 Resources & Links

Humans vs. AI?! Marketing by Emma’s Emma Schermer Tamir sits down with Michael to discuss how to elevate your copywriting. They talk about the rise of AI, finding humility in your writing, premium A+ content, and more! A great episode for those looking to boost efficiency and quality in their marketing and copywriting. 

This episode is a rerelease of one of our most popular episodes. Please note the resources and link section for any relevant updates.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

0:00 - What to expect in this episode

3:10 - What’s New With Emma

11:05 - The Journey Through AI

17:45 - Has AI Changed Your Process?

24:06 - Thinking About Goals

26:22 - How Can I Elevate My Copywriting?

32:35 - First Steps

47:15 - Where You Can Find Emma

🦡 Resources & Links

This episode is really about one thing: deciding when “no sales yet” actually means something. Because in real accounts, non-converting spend isn’t some small inefficiency. It’s often 30 percent of spend. Sometimes it’s 50. I’ve seen it hit 80 percent. Ten thousand dollars in ad spend, eight thousand going to search terms that never convert.

What changes the way you look at this is separating converting behavior from non-converting behavior. If you include all the wasted spend in your averages, you end up judging new keywords against a broken baseline. Instead, you want to look at what your converting traffic normally does and use that as your benchmark.

Another big takeaway is that not all keywords deserve the same level of patience. Branded terms might convert every couple of clicks. Competitor terms might need fifty clicks before you see a sale. If you use one rule across the board, you’ll end up killing keywords that were slow, not bad.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

0:28 – How many clicks before negating

1:07 – Non-converting spend pain

2:39 – Clicks Per Sale (CPS)

3:18 – Conversion rate → CPS math

4:03 – Account-level CPS misleading

5:22 – High-intent traffic benchmark

7:46 – Brand / generic / competitor terms

8:09 – CPS by keyword type

9:31 – Measuring search terms vs CPS

9:45 – 75%-150% CPS range

10:15 – 1.5× CPS decision point

10:39 – Pulling CPS from search term report

11:09 – Keyword failure options

11:29 – One rule beats no rule

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, with Abe Chomali we explore how to make your PPC truly work for your business, rather than just moving numbers around in Amazon Seller Central.

We talk about SOPs, automation, and checklists essential tools for efficient work. But simply following rules isn’t enough. You need to combine them with flexible strategic thinking so that every campaign delivers real results for your business.

In this episode, you’ll learn why “optimizing numbers” doesn’t always equal real profit, how SOPs and automation can support rather than limit strategic decisions, and practical approaches to turn Amazon PPC into a growth tool rather than a routine task.

A tip from Badger Den: don’t be afraid of flexibility even within the strictest processes – that’s exactly what makes PPC profitable.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – Life in New Jersey and the winter quiet

• 08:10 – The disconnect between high-level goals and button-pushing

• 11:35 – Why copying winning keywords to new products fails

• 15:56 – The Danger of being a "Yes Man" in client relationships

• 18:21 – Balancing authority with empathy

• 22:19 – Technical Skills vs. Client Relations

• 24:53 – Why rigid SOPs don't work for Amazon PPC

• 27:47 – Moving from robotic tasks to strategic curiosity

• 30:47 – How to bridge the gap between clients and technicians

• 34:31 – Why top marketers must always ask "Why?"

• 39:04 – Where to find Abe Chomali

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, Michael Erickson Facchin and Mansour Norouzi break down the biggest Amazon Ads updates following UnBox 2025. They talk about why the first half of the year felt tougher for many sellers, how to read market signals the right way, and how new tools — from the unified ad console and advanced reporting to AI assistants in DSP and AMC — can help brands make smarter decisions, stay profitable, and position themselves for growth heading into 2026.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 — Intro 
• 05:40 — Update #1: Unified Ad Console (DSP & Sponsored Ads)
• 09:47 — Update #2: New Powerful Reporting & 15-Month Lookback
• 11:51 — Update #3: Ads Agent (AI Assistant for DSP)
• 19:26 — Update #4: Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) AI Assistant
• 23:05 — Update #5: Sponsored Brand Reserve Share of Voice
• 33:00 — Update #6: AI-Curated Sponsored Brand Collections
• 37:40 — Update #7: AI-Powered Product Prompts & Rufus Integration
• 47:00 — Update #8: Sponsored Product Video (Rated 10/10 Impact)
• 52:00 — Update #9: Creative Agent for Video/Image Generation
• 53:18 — Update #10: Advanced Brand Store Analytics
• 54:45 — Summary🦡 Resources & Links

Before the song starts, before the wishes are said, there’s a moment.

From one side of the camera, the Badger family leans in. From the other side of the screen — you. And suddenly, this isn’t just another episode about Amazon marketing. It’s a holiday visit.

We hear the words first: thank you. Thank you for tuning in. For being part of the journey. For spending another year learning, growing, and building together. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy New Year.  A family tradition steps into the spotlight — Christmas caroling. And without overthinking it, without holding back, our CEO sings from the heart. 

Yes, we work hard all year to uncover the best Amazon marketing insights. But this episode reminds us why we do it in the first place: people first, community always, and a little joy along the way.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!🦡 Highlights ​​

0:06 – A big thank-you from the Badger family

0:24 – A family tradition: Christmas caroling

0:31 – The song begins 

2:05 – Thank you, dear Badgers, for watching till the very end

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, Mike and Dan Head of AMZ Elite break down three weekly Amazon PPC tasks that actually move performance today.

We focus on what’s working now—covering how Dan reviews N-gram analysis and N-gram ASINs each week to identify hidden waste and new opportunities. He explains how he uses ACOS Power Ratio to judge keyword efficiency beyond surface-level ACOS, and how a simple CVR sheet helps diagnose whether poor performance comes from traffic or the listing itself.

We also dive into image generation and creative updates, and why testing visuals regularly is a non-negotiable part of weekly PPC optimization.

If you want a clear, repeatable weekly routine for Amazon PPC—one that connects data, conversion, and creatives—this episode breaks it down step by step.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights

​​

• 00:00 - Intro 
• 01:48 -  Who Dan Head is and how he approaches Amazon PPC
• 04:12 - Why Amazon PPC doesn’t work in isolation
• 07:05 - The biggest mistake sellers make when optimizing ads
• 10:02 - What N-gram analysis actually reveals (beyond keywords)
• 14:35 - How to identify non-converting spend correctly
• 18:20 - When NOT to negate keywords (and why sellers overdo it)
• 22:10 - ACOS Power Ratio explained in simple terms
• 26:05 - PPC data vs listing problems: how to tell the difference
• 30:12 - Why creative and images break or scale PPC performance
• 34:05 - Full-funnel thinking: connecting ads, listings, and intent
• 38:20 - How top agencies think about scaling Amazon PPC
• 45:10 - Wrap-up & key takeaways

🦡 Resources & Links

This episode is all about one of the smartest Amazon PPC bidding systems you’ll ever come across. Priscilla, our guest, has spent years building her own custom bidding logic — not using software, but by creating a super detailed, data-heavy Excel system that she keeps improving over time. She breaks keywords into different behavior groups, figures out how many clicks each match type really needs to get a sale, checks organic rank, placements, inventory signals, and basically connects all those data points to decide exactly how every bid should move. What’s cool is that she didn’t learn this from any tool — she built it herself after studying a giant Excel file a VA once gave her. If you want to hear how someone can take PPC bidding way deeper than “raise bid, lower bid,” this episode is a super interesting look into how Priscilla thinks and why her approach works so well.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

00:00 - Intro

03:30 - Priscilla’s journey into PPC bidding

06:05 - Why static click rules don’t work

07:00 - Visibility vs ACoS

08:45 - Keyword & target classification system

10:30 - Customizing bidding rules per brand

12:15 - Identifying hero keywords and products

13:55 - High-volume but unprofitable targets

15:35 - Click thresholds by match type

17:20 - Cross-analyzing performance and match type

19:20 - Bid summary and directional analysis

21:10 - When bid changes should be zero

23:35 - Competitor vs branded click value

25:05 - Campaign purpose: defense, discovery, conquesting

27:30 - Versioning and evolving a bidding system

29:10 - Inventory levels and soft pausing

30:40 - Placement optimization strategy

32:40 - Optimization frequency and lookback windows

34:00 - Building scalable bidding formulas

35:20 - What’s next: B2B, audiences, and AMC

36:30 - Final takeaways on advanced PPC bidding

🦡 Resources & Links

Imagine spending $75,000 on Amazon ads and selling… just one $40K tiny home. That’s exactly where our guest Caroline found herself after leaving her CFO job and investing $750K into luxury prefab homes. In this episode, she jumps on an onboarding call with Michael from Ad Badger to figure out how to fix a broken PPC strategy, stop wasting money on ridiculous keywords like “IKEA hats,” and actually scale her business. 

Listen in as they break down long sales cycles, high-ticket ad spend, and the exact steps to go from losing $10K per month to dominating the tiny home market on Amazon.

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro

• 0:18 – Caroline’s $750K tiny home gamble

• 0:54 – $75K ad spend, 1 sale, ACOS 180%

• 3:33 – How Ad Badger fixes broken PPC campaigns

• 5:59 – Stopping wasted spend & managing long sales cycles

• 8:25 – Scaling high-ticket items for market dominance

• 10:44 – Dashboard, ACOS control & pricing

• 12:20 – Onboarding, keyword cleanup & Ngram analyzer
• 14:19 – Next steps & excitement to start

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, we’re jumping into the Amazon world just like Mario jumps into a new level.

I take you out to the limestone cliffs of Austin, where deep-water bouldering meets deep-data Amazon strategy. And while hanging off a rock face (because why not), I break down the real secret of how products rise through the ranks on Amazon: the Sales Ladder.

You’ll hear how to spot your position in the “level map,” how to analyze the players above you, and how to power-up your listing using reverse ASIN lookups, keyword strike zones, and smarter PPC. It’s basically the difference between Mario without a mushroom… and Mario after the mushroom.

If you're stuck at Rank 8 and dreaming of Rank 4 — this is your episode.

In this episode, we trade spreadsheets for trench coats and step straight into the shadows of Amazon PPC’s darkest alleyways. What looks like “bad performance” or “great ACOS” at first glance? — rarely is.

Together with Steve, we crack open five real PPC cases from the Miami field files:

a suspicious drop in ACOS that wasn’t what it seemed…a top-converting ASIN that suddenly vanished from the scene…a keyword framed for a crime it didn’t commit…an auto campaign that went rogue overnight…and finally, the delicate, dangerous game of cutting branded spend.

Each case reveals the same truth: great PPC managers aren’t just optimizers — they’re detectives.

Welcome to The PPC Crime Scene Files!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro
• 0:24 – Case 1: ACOS Mystery
• 2:52 – Goal Setting & LTV Discussion
• 6:40 – Case 2: Listing Suppression
• 17:14 – Case 3: Keyword Placement Detective Work
• 23:09 – Case 4: Runaway Auto Campaign
• 28:14 – Case 5: Branded Spend Investigation
• 36:46 – Wrap-up & Lessons Learned

In this episode, Michael and Sean Stone dive into the biggest Amazon opportunities of 2025 — how to leverage Amazon Marketing Cloud Audiences and the new Deals rules to maximize Q4 performance. They share real account insights, campaign strategies, and explain why now is the best time ever to be selling on Amazon.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

00:00 – Intro

01:31 – Why Q4 2025 is crucial for Amazon marketers

05:01 – AMC Audiences – segmentation & targeting

12:01 – Creating high-impact deals in AMC

18:31 – Success stories using AMC audiences & deals

23:01 – Advanced tips: Optimizing campaigns for peak Q4 performance

28:01 – Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

32:01 –  What to watch in AMC & Amazon marketing

34:31 – Wrap-up 

In this episode, Michael sits down with Joshua Rawe from AmplyCell to explore a quiet revolution inside Amazon advertising.  Téogether, they unpack how AI is taking over the heavy lifting — from creating videos to analyzing data — and why the future of selling on Amazon will belong to those who can think both creatively and technically. You’ll discover how Amazon’s newest AI tools are not just changing ads, but redefining what it means to be a marketer.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – Intro
• 02:15 – Are Amazon advertisers becoming more like electricians?
• 08:10 – Inside Amazon’s new AI creative studio 
• 12:37 – The rise of AI assistants for sellers and account optimization
• 17:22 – How Amazon now builds listings from a Shopify URL
• 20:55 – AI in Product Opportunity Explorer
• 24:48 – Why AI still needs human logic and interpretation
• 29:30 – Practical ways to use AI in PPC today
• 33:18 – The marketer of tomorrow: technical + creative
• 37:02 – Adapting before AI does it for you

In this episode, we welcome Maryna, Amazon PPC Manager at Ad Badger, to our show. We dive into how to leverage search query data to boost sales on Amazon. Maryna shares insights on uncovering hidden keywords customers are actually using, optimizing ad campaigns, and increasing CTR and conversions.

We discuss when high impressions don’t translate into clicks and how improving titles, images, or pricing can fix that. She also explains the importance of tracking market growth and lost sales, showing why regularly analyzing search query data is key to Amazon success.

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro

• 00:35 – How often Maryna uses search query data

• 01:18 – Why search query data is powerful for understanding the customer’s voice

• 03:12 – Finding hidden gem keywords and a real client example

• 09:05 – Low impression share but high CTR & conversion rate: what it means

• 13:30 – High impression share but low CTR: identifying listing issues

• 16:16 – High impression share and CTR but low conversion: fixing the listing

• 17:58 – Losing market share while search volume grows: strategic insights

• 22:04 – Maryna’s advice for collecting and using search query data

🦡 Resources & Links

In this week’s episode  we dive into the powerful Product Opportunity Explorer tool and show you how it can give you an instant pulse on your Amazon PPC performance. Ever wondered if your rising CPCs are just your account scaling or if it’s a market-wide trend? I walk you through real examples from over a thousand marketplaces  so you can see exactly how to make sense of CPC increases, sales growth, and competitor activity. Five minutes in the Product Opportunity Explorer can save you hours of guesswork and give you actionable insights to optimize your campaigns. 

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro

• 0:14 – Story of a Core Community member facing PPC challenges

• 0:52 – Rising CPCs explained

• 2:15 – Market research insights

• 3:17 – Using Product Opportunity Explorer

• 5:02 – Microphone niche case study

• 6:49 – Trends and conversion rates

• 8:33 – Demand and competition overview

• 9:30 – Pulse check on market share

• 10:25 – Top products and click share

• 11:45 – Monthly account analysis tips

Hey, if you’re managing Amazon PPC, you need to check out the latest PPC Den Podcast episode. Mike walks you through how to audit your campaigns using bulk files and pivot tables — step by step. 

What’s really valuable is how he highlights where ad spend might be wasted, which campaigns or products are performing best, and how to optimize match types like broad, phrase, and exact.

He also points out the usual frustrations with Amazon Ads — signing in, switching between Seller Central and Advertising — and shows a cleaner, faster way to get insights using spreadsheets.

Mike even covers pivot table examples, double pivots, and placement analysis, giving you a practical workflow you can start using right away.

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Introduction

• 0:58 – The goal of an audit

• 2:27 – What an Amazon PPC audit actually is

• 3:01 – Observing, recommending, and taking action after audits

• 4:04 – How to download a bulk file from Amazon Advertising

• 6:01 – Why regular bulk file downloads are useful

• 6:33 – Analyzing at a high level: “lay of the land”

• 6:55 – Campaign structure analysis: auto vs manual targeting, match types, placements

• 8:07 – Using pivot tables for Amazon PPC analysis

• 14:22 – Common pivot table audits: match type summary

• 19:44 – Double pivot tables: skew + campaign name for detailed insights

• 24:42 – Pivot analysis for multi-ASIN creatives and video ads

• 25:00 – Outro

🦡 Resources & Links

Michael and Shane White are back — and this time, they’re taking on the wild world of AI video ads. 

You’ve probably heard the hype, but here’s the truth: AI videos are already reshaping how Amazon sellers launch, test, and scale. 

They also dig into what most people get wrong about CVR tracking, why data still beats “gut feeling,” and how video might soon be your best-performing ad type (yes, even if you’re camera-shy).

So grab your headphones and your favorite coffee mug — it’s time to talk about launches, AI, and the future of Amazon PPC.

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro

• 2:00 – Origin story: building agency from Ecom experience

• 2:25 – Boutique approach: agency + PPC manager in one

• 5:14 – AI video: 3D renders from simple files

• 6:14 – Micro-testing videos on Amazon with keywords

• 10:00 – Future: video generation without editors, low cost

• 12:00 – Brand launch strategy on Amazon, goal setting

• 14:48 – Four PPC launch phases: branded, product, competitor, video/display

• 17:07 – Conversion > ROAS on early stages

• 20:32 – Launch phases: branded terms, descriptive keywords, category/competitors

• 29:12 – Share of search, tracking conversions & traffic

• 32:48 – Search term optimization, trends, product profitability

• 34:00 – Risk of focusing too much on ROAS early

• 36:23 – Sacrifice for long-term success; PPC lessons like GPA vs ROAS

• 38:17 – Experimenting & giving campaigns buffer; lessons from short-term dips

• 40:08 – Nomenclature for campaigns, 30,000-foot view, organizing all campaigns & creative assets

• 42:16 – 30-day test period for campaigns; impressions first, then evaluate

• 45:23 – Next 6 months excitement: AI & automating analysis

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, Michael chats with Gonza Martinez about all things Amazon PPC. Gonza shares how he bought his first Amazon brand and dives into his approach to auditing campaigns, spotting opportunities, and boosting sales. They talk about smart strategies, understanding competition, and making data work for profitable growth. 

Gonza also shares his tips for leading a team, learning on the go, and “reviving” ad accounts after buying a brand. Whether you’re a brand owner or just curious about Amazon marketing, this episode is full of insights you don’t want to miss!

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – Intro & welcome to Gonza Martinez

• 02:15 – Gonza’s first Amazon brand purchase story

• 06:00 – How to audit Amazon PPC campaigns

• 10:20 – Finding growth opportunities

• 14:00 – Competition analysis & smart strategies

• 18:30 – Tips to boost sales fast

• 22:00 – Leading a team & learning on the job

• 26:00 – Reviving ad accounts after buying a brand

• 30:15 – Key mistakes to avoid in Amazon PPC

• 34:00 – Advanced campaign tips & tricks

• 38:20 – Gonza’s personal insights & advice

• 42:00 – Closing thoughts & goodbye

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode of the PPC Den Podcast, Michael Erickson Facchin and Clifford Donovan unpack five practical fixes for messy Amazon accounts. They cover how to really track where your budget goes, the pros and cons of AMC audiences, when auto campaigns can be effective, the hidden risks of product targeting, the impact of “previously viewed” placements, and how to approach Creator Connections.

If you’re looking to clean up your Amazon PPC strategy and stay profitable in 2025, this conversation gives you the clarity and tools you need.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

In this episode, Olena and Michael take on one of the hottest Amazon PPC topics — Total ACOS. 

They break down why lower isn’t always better, how chasing the lowest number can actually hurt profitability, and why looking at organic growth, conversion rate, and sales velocity matters just as much as ad spend. 

Together they unpack real examples where a higher Total ACOS led to bigger profits and share practical insights on how to think smarter about your strategy.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 –  Intro

• 00:43 – Olena shares why most clients want to lower Total ACOS and why this can be misleading

• 01:50 – Discussion on real account data showing profit growing even as Total ACOS rises

• 04:30 – Olena explains Amazon’s algorithm, sales velocity, and conversion rate impact

• 06:11 – Why cutting spending isn’t always the healthiest strategy

• 09:58 – Michael unpacks the math of Total ACOS: ad spend, paid sales, organic sales

• 12:20 – Olena shares strategies with generic keywords, seasonality, and brand vs. non-brand terms

• 14:00 – What happens when ad spend is reduced too aggressively

• 16:40 – Michael highlights solutions: reporting, SEO, CTR/CVR optimization, price, and competitive tracking

• 19:30 – Olena on long-term thinking, patience, and manual checks for ad positions

• 20:50 – Final thoughts

🦡 Resources & Links

Hey everyone, welcome back to the PPC Den Podcast! Today we’re talking about how to survive the craziest shopping days on Amazon. If you’ve ever freaked out over budgets and bids on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this episode is for you. I’ll walk you through how to use bulk files to create a Save State for your campaigns. The idea is simple: download all your campaign settings, make the adjustments you need for peak shopping days, and then restore everything back in one click once the rush is over.

We’ll cover how to manage budgets, keyword bids, ad groups, and more, all offline in a spreadsheet so you don’t have to stress over every little tweak while everyone else is enjoying the holiday. This strategy keeps you calm, efficient, and profitable, and gives you more time to actually enjoy your family and friends. 

Tune in, try it out, and make your Amazon PPC life a whole lot easier and more profitable this season.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 -  Introduction

• 1:30 - Сhallenges with Black Friday and Cyber Monday

• 3:00 - The concept of “Save State” for campaigns

• 5:00 - What a bulk file is, its structure, and key functions

• 7:00 -  Examples of editing budgets and bids in a bulk file 

• 9:00 - How to download and reapply bulk files, working with offline edits

• 12:58 -  Wrap-up

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, Michael and Clément dive into the world of Amazon PPC and why 2025 is such an exciting time for advertisers. PPC used to be simple — one bid for everyone, everywhere. Now, with Top of Search, Product Page, and B2B placements, you can target audiences that convert like crazy.

Clément shares how they got early access to B2B in beta, and while it used to be a bit mysterious, it’s now available to everyone with clear data. The numbers are impressive: B2B customers convert almost twice as well, order more units per purchase, and cost less per sale.

They break down strategies for using B2B placements, either with dedicated campaigns or bid adjustments in your existing campaigns. Add Amazon Marketing Cloud audiences on top, and you can stack your targeting for even better results. The key takeaway? B2B is massively underutilized, and testing it could seriously boost your PPC performance.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 - Why 2025 is exciting with Top of Search Product Page and B2B placements

• 00:56 - Clément talks about early beta access and how B2B data is now clear for everyone

• 03:02 - B2B customers convert almost twice as much order more units and cost less per sale

• 05:35 - Strategy ideas make a separate B2B campaign or use bid adjustments in regular campaigns

• 07:26 - B2B pricing tips using discounts or bulk pricing to catch business customers’ attention

Mansour Norouzi from Incrementum Digital sits down with Michael to discuss 12 free Amazon features your brand should be using. From Brand stories and profiles, to B2B pricing and marketing, the pair discuss a wide range of free options to help elevate your brand. 

This episode is a rerelease of one of our most popular episodes. Please note the resources and link section for any relevant updates.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 - What to expect in this episode

• 6:10 - 12 Free Amazon Ads Features

• 6:20 - Virtual Bundles

• 8:40 - Posts On Amazon

• 12:20 - Brand Story

• 15:00 - Brand Profiles

• 16:13 - Premium A+ Content

• 19:18 - Brand Referral Bonus

• 22:30 - Customer Engagement

• 25:57 - B2B Pricing

• 27:26 - Customer Reviews

• 31:25 - Managing Experiments

• 35:42 - Using Keywords in Q&A

• 37:12 - Pricing

🦡 Resources & Links

What's up, Badger Nation! Today, we have Sam Lee from Trivium joining us again. We’ll be diving into the evolution of product videos — from starting with simple static images on your product pages to creating videos that are repurposed for Sponsored Brand campaigns.

Sam will share his insights on how these videos evolve, what works and what doesn’t, and who should be thinking about moving up the marketing funnel — from Amazon DSP and online video to streaming TV.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your product videos work harder across different platforms, this episode is for you. 

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 -  Intro

• 00:41 – Why Sam loves Amazon marketing

• 04:02 – Creative vs technical roles

• 08:11 – Video types: Sponsored, DSP, Streaming

• 11:04 – When to use DSP & top-funnel video

• 16:56 –  Retargeting & audience relevance

• 21:57 –  Video evolution up the funnel: Sponsored → OLV → Streaming TV

• 23:28 – DSP examples: Women’s beauty & melatonin supplement campaigns

• 25:06 – KPIs for different video placements & attribution challenges

• 27:32 – Using Amazon Marketing Cloud & zooming out for insights

• 29:23 – Top-of-funnel video vs static images; why video wins

• 32:31 – Final tips: scale video intentionally, start small, step-by-step

• 34:21 – How to find Sam Lee

🦡 Resources & Links

Curious about the top tools that transform Amazon selling? In this episode, Michael and Mike Danford from Adverio.io explore seven overlooked Seller Central tools.

These tools are great for refining your ads with insights from Search Query Performance, understanding your product costs with skew economics, and finding new possibilities with the Product Opportunity Explorer.

Additionally, they'll discuss managing your brand's reputation, setting up tailored promotions, and optimizing influencer marketing with Creator Connections.

This episode is a rerelease of one of our most popular episodes. Please note the resources and link section for any relevant updates.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

0:00 - How did Adverio impact Ad Badger?

2:55 - What tools does Seller Central offer?

4:12 - How can Search Query Performance enhance Amazon advertising?

11:09 - What is SKU Economics in Amazon's context?

15:43 - What is the Product Opportunity Explorer?

19:49 -  How can Market Basket Analysis improve sales?

23:46 - How to manage brand reputation on Amazon?

29:04 - How do brand tailored promotions and coupons work?

33:36 - What are the best practices for Amazon posts?

36:39 - How does Creator Connections facilitate influencer marketing?

🦡 Resources & Links

Welcome to the PPC Den Podcast, Badger Nation!

In this episode, your host and CEO Michael Badger breaks down the ultimate checklist for Amazon PPC campaign structure—just the way I laid it out on air. 

Michael takes you through everything from clear campaign naming and smart ad group organization to tackling duplicated search terms and optimizing your ad spend. 

It's a no-nonsense, real-world discussion with actionable tips, so if your campaigns need a little more order (or a lot more profit), this episode is your must-hear guide. 

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights

• 00:00 – Why campaign structure matters

• 01:03 – What this checklist is and how to use it

• 02:00 – Naming conventions for campaigns and ad groups

• 03:30 – Are you advertising what you should?

• 05:35 – When to group or separate products in campaigns

• 07:22 – Search term relevance & how to catch irrelevant traffic

• 08:50 – Duplicated search terms: when they’re fine, and when they’re not

• 09:45 – Expanding top-performing terms to Sponsored Brands & Display

• 10:30 – Segmenting auto campaigns: close match, loose match & more

• 11:45 – Structuring campaigns by goals: ranking vs. profitability

• 13:00 – Avoiding over-segmentation and managing low-data keywords

• 14:45 – Final checklist tips + preserving high-performing campaigns

Today, we’re doing something a bit wild — we’re limiting our ad budget on purpose. Sounds crazy? Maybe. 

But we want to see what happens when Amazon ads run out of steam halfway through the day. Will organic sales rise? Will ranking improve? Let’s find out together.

In this episode, we’re walking through four powerful techniques to test this strategy. We’ll pick a rankable product, set up a focused keyword campaign, play with aggressive bids, and limit the budget just enough to spark change.

Sean Stone joins us in this episode to break it all down and share what really works.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Intro:  Meet Sean Stone

• 3:00 – Technique 1: Choosing a rankable product

• 7:00 – Technique 2: Setting up a one-keyword campaign

• 11:30 – Technique 3: Using aggressive bids and top placements

• 16:20 – Technique 4: Limiting daily budget to trigger organic lift

• 21:00 – How to track results and measure success

• 25:20 – When this strategy doesn’t work

What’s going on, Badger Nation? 

This week inside the PPC Den, Michael takes us on a summertime journey through the six core principles of building a winning Amazon PPC campaign structure.  Whether you're sitting under live oaks in Austin or deep in your ad account, this episode will give you the clarity and mindset shift you need.

Campaign structure is one of the most misunderstood yet powerful parts of PPC strategy. In this episode, we’re not going tactical yet — we’re laying the foundation with six timeless principles that can guide your campaign structure decisions in any situation:

🦡 Find the right level of segmentation so your campaigns are neither overcrowded nor overly fragmented

🦡 Treat your campaign structure as a process that should evolve based on performance

🦡 Make sure your ads appear only in places where your product is truly relevant

🦡 Group campaigns by shared goals to keep your strategy clear and organized

🦡 Work within Amazon’s structural limitations to stay in control of your targeting and budget

🦡 Improve your campaign structure gradually to preserve data and learn as you go

This is part one of a multi-episode series. So if you're ready to finally understand campaign structure and stop guessing, start here.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights

• 00:00 — Intro 

• 02:40 — Principle 1: Goldilocks Principle — finding the right level of segmentation

• 04:30 — Why over-segmentation hurts optimization

• 05:10 — Principle 2: Race Car Principle — continuous campaign structure improvement

• 07:20 — Principle 3: Relevance Principle — keeping your ads relevant

• 08:50 — Principle 4: Grouping by Theme — organizing campaigns by goals

• 10:20 — Principle 5: Structural Limits — working within Amazon’s platform constraints

In this episode, Mina Elias from Trivium Group drops some serious knowledge bombs on how crushing it on Amazon isn’t just about ads and listings — it’s about mindset, mental toughness, and yes, even jiu-jitsu 🥋 (because why not train like a fighter to survive the Amazon jungle?).

We dive deep into why your body is your ultimate business asset, why building the best brand beats just slapping products on a shelf, and how to run your Amazon store like a well-oiled machine that never quits. Mina spills the tea on mastering product-market fit and owning your keyword game .

Tune in, get inspired, and maybe even get off the couch for a round of jiu-jitsu!!

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – Welcome back Mina Elias

• 03:15 – Jiu-jitsu, mindset 

• 05:35 – Your body = your business machine (Lamborghini or rusty clunker?)

• 06:25 – The Amazon battlefield in 2025: no more “easy wins”

• 07:00 – Why your 2015 strategy won’t work today (bye-bye, gold rush)

• 08:00 – Are you building the best brand — or just selling stuff?

• 11:00 – Real product examples: what buyers actually want

• 12:06 – Is your product page truly the best one on the internet?

• 13:25 – Why great brands win without even trying

• 14:45 – Conversion rate: the “cheat code” for Amazon growth

• 16:00 – Amazon vs. Facebook Ads: who wins the simplicity game?

• 17:15 – “Moneyballing” Amazon success with checklists & nerdy details

• 19:45 – What if your product page is great? What’s next?

• 21:10 – PPC strategy explained like a human, not a robot

• 26:36 – Success = systems

• 28:50 – Using Brand Analytics to measure conversion 

Prime Day 2025 is here (8–11 July), and we’ve got something special for you.

Every year, like clockwork, we at Ad Badger dig deep into the data, dust off our best strategies, and sharpen our PPC claws for what’s basically the Super Bowl of Amazon selling. This year? We’ve packed everything we’ve learned since 2018 into one mega-episode—stories, missteps, wins, surprises, and a few controversial takes.

We talk about what actually happens to conversion rates, why ACoS drops while spend goes up, and how Prime Day isn’t just about the 48 hours—it’s about the before and after. You’ll hear about the exact moment one seller realized their campaigns were cannibalizing their own keywords. And why another seller got better results by doing... absolutely nothing.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 – Conversion rates jump on Prime Day (2018 data)

• 1:53 – Prime Day duration increased from 36 to 48 hours over the years

• 5:03 – Clicks surge by about 70% on Prime Day

• 6:11 – Sales increase by 130% on Prime Day

• 7:54 – Average daily ad spend rises by 78% on Prime Day

• 8:40 – ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) drops from 31% to 25% on Prime Day

• 12:57 – Recommended to increase budgets 2–3x on Prime Day, tapering up 1.5–2.5x in days leading up

• 14:04 – Increase bids by 10% across the board; 50–100% on top-converting products

• 17:39 – Huge conversion rate increase (~35%) during Prime Day, worth aggressive budget scaling

• 27:43 – Strategy to aggressively target customers pre-, during, and post-Prime Day for max impact

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, we chat with Emma Schermer Tamir of Marketing by Emma about how AI is flipping the Amazon customer journey upside down. She shares how she’s using tools like ChatGPT to beat writer’s block, dig into reviews, and fine-tune copy—but also why human creativity still steals the show. 

We get into why solid branding and killer visuals matter more than ever, how great A+ content can boost trust (and sales), and what makes a product page actually stand out in the age of average AI-generated everything. 

It's a real talk on where ecomm is headed—and how to stay ahead.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights

• 00:00 – Welcome back, Emma!

• 02:00 – Even Emma’s dad uses ChatGPT for everything

• 03:20 – Rufus handles 270M searches… but still struggles

• 05:00 – Perplexity’s smarter product comparison layout

• 08:00 – Why Amazon search is frustrating customers

• 10:00 – Emma likes the new “high return rate” badge

• 13:00 – “Do you have the best page on the internet?”

• 14:30 – Pre-answering customer questions matters more than ever

• 16:00 – The end of outdated keyword-stuffed listings

• 17:30 – Visual clarity and emotional connection win

• 18:30 – Appealing to AI vs. appealing to humans

• 19:00 – Run your images through ChatGPT to test clarity

• 28:30 – AI is influencing conversions—outside Amazon too

Think cutting your Amazon PPC budget is like saving money? In this episode, Michael Tejeda breaks down why slashing your ad spend right now could actually hurt your organic rankings and cost you more in the long run. With tariffs and economic uncertainty shaking things up, Michael shares real client stories and smart strategies like keyword clustering and budget balancing that helped boost sales—even when the market softened. 

A must-listen for every Amazon seller who wants to win the game.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 00:00 – What questions do Amazon sellers ask most?

• 00:27 – Tariffs are messing things up — why cutting ads now is a bad move

• 02:24 – Why slashing your ad budget can hurt your sales big time

• 04:14 – How Amazon ads help your organic (free) sales

• 06:30 – When a client says “Cut my ads in half!” — what really happens

• 07:37 – How fast your organic sales drop after cutting ads

• 09:00 – Story time: What happened when we pumped up the ad budget

• 15:47 – How grouping keywords helps you spend ad money smarter

• 19:10 – Why breaking keywords into clusters makes your budget work better

Michael sits down with Blair Forrest — yes, the one lifting scary barbells, flying solo without an assistant, and casually rethinking the entire North American logistics map.

They dive deep into the 2025 tariff chaos: why brands are panicking, how bonded warehouses are basically international waters (minus the pirates), and what it actually means to “wait out” a multi-million dollar shipping problem.

From FTZ hacks to cross-border inventory plays, this is your tactical survival guide for the madness — whether you’re paying $5K or $300K per container.

It’s messy. It’s essential. It’s surprisingly therapeutic. 

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights

​​

• 0:00 – Goal setting like headless monkeys
• 4:12 – $300K tariffs on $100K goods
• 7:58 – FTZ, Bonded, Anti-USA play explained
• 11:44 – Blair’s real setup: bonded, FTZ, Canada
• 14:32 – Inaction is action: just wait it out
• 16:20 – HS audits: maybe it’s not the water bottle’s fault
• 20:12 – Inbound obsession: check-in time is king now
• 22:01 – Blair's bold predictions: AWD in trouble, West Coast doomed
• 25:05 – Budget discipline vs. ad spend delusions
• 26:45 – Agencies need to be business optimizers now
• 28:13 – Shopify vs Amazon: wake-up call time
• 29:20 – The 3-body problem: Ads vs Organic vs Profit
• 30:30 – Outro

In this episode of PPC Den, we sit down with Francis Leger from GS Plant Foods — a bonsai hobbyist, and the kind of entrepreneur who doesn’t just grow plants… he grows businesses too.

Francis shares how he scaled from $0 to $1M (spoiler: it wasn’t magic, it was grit), what needs to shift to hit $5M, and how his approach to marketing and operations evolved at every stage. 

We also get into the real talk: how to find the right business partner (and how to spot the wrong one fast), why trust matters more than contracts, and what makes a good agency relationship actually work.

Of course, we couldn’t let him go without asking the hard-hitting questions: Is being a chef harder than being a founder? What plant is actually trying to die every day? And will AI ever figure out how to water your monstera for you?

This episode is part founder therapy, part growth masterclass — and 100% worth your time.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

In this solo episode, Michael kicks back by the river in Texas and reflects on what’s really been working in Amazon PPC this year. After talking to about 80 sellers and marketers every month, one thing stands out in 2025: shifting spend from non-converting to converting.

He breaks it down with real numbers, talks through what most people miss when they try to lower ACOS, and shares exactly how to track and cut non-converting spending. 

Plus, he drops a few of his favorite tactics like duplicate search term analysis and n-gram analysis. Most importantly, he walks through one fix that can dramatically improve your ACOS — without spending more. 

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!
🦡 Highlights

• 00:00 – Greetings from the Pedernales River, thoughts about PPC and spring

• 00:51 – The most important insight of 2025

• 01:01 – Mike’s favorite Amazon PPC action: redirecting spend

• 01:31 – What really causes high ACOS: not sales, but spend

• 01:59 – How to find non-converting spend

• 03:27 – Example from an account: $10K spend, $30K revenue, 60% non-converting

• 04:27 – How to reduce ACOS from 33% to 31% without creating new campaigns

• 05:27 – Redirecting $1000 non-converting spend to a keyword with 50% ACOS

• 05:57 – The joy of lowering ACOS and increasing revenue at the same time

• 06:22 – How to track non-converting spend: first steps

• 06:51 – Why it’s important to check reports over different periods (7, 14, 28 days)

• 07:30 – What it means if spend doesn’t double when the period doubles

• 08:27 – Why it’s important to use longer periods for data analysis

• 08:56 – First step after downloading the report: sort by highest spend without orders

• 09:24 – Data analysis by buckets: broad, phrase, auto, close match

• 09:52 – How to combine repeated search terms for more accurate analysis

• 10:20 – Importance of aggregating data across keys appearing in different ad groups

🦡 Resources & Links

In this episode, Michael sits down with Brent Zahradnik to dive deep into how to find products that actually sell on Amazon — without spending a dime on ads. Brent breaks down his exact process for spotting organic winners, sharing real-life examples, tools, and tips that helped him build a successful Amazon business.

They cover how to analyze market trends, read customer signals, and pick products that practically sell themselves. 

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale your store, our insights will help you avoid costly mistakes and find products with real potential. 

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 — Intro
• 1:05 – Discussing Product Research Without Ads  
• 3:20 – Importance of Targeting in Amazon PPC  
• 5:10 – Traffic Sculpting Strategy: What It Is and How It Works  
• 7:00 – Tips for Optimizing Ad Campaigns  
• 9:30 – Success Stories and Common Mistakes to Avoid  
• 10:45 – Outro

What’s up, Badger Nation? Mike here, camping in the Cascades, hunting for the elusive North American badger  and some killer Amazon PPC tips.

In this episode, we dive into the power of negative keywords and why doing a negative keyword reset could seriously level up your ad game. Think of it like clearing out the old to make space for the new — your product and market change, so your negatives should too.

I share smart ways to reset negatives without chaos, why timing (hello, seasonality!) matters, and how to get more control over your PPC traffic flow.

If you’ve been scared to add negatives because “what if I need them later?” — here’s the secret: you can take them off again. This reset lets you clean up wasted spend AND test new opportunities.

We’ll see you in The PPC Den!

🦡 Highlights ​​

• 0:00 — Mike goes wild chasing badgers in the Cascades 🦡
• 2:30 — How top sellers keep ACoS super low 
• 4:00 — Why negative keyword management matters
• 5:30 — When to hit the big RESET button on negatives
• 7:30 — Sneaky campaign-by-campaign negative cleanup hacks
• 10:00 — Benefits of resetting negatives for visibility
• 13:00 — Ad Badger tools that make negative keyword ninja moves