Rising cost-per-click is often blamed on the market, but weak product pages are often the real culprit…
When Amazon CPCs rise, lots of brands turn to the same explanation, blaming more competition, higher bids, tougher categories and Amazon’s increasing prices for the problem.
But as Venture Forge Paid Ads specialist Elfie Brocklehurst points out, it’s an assumption that often misses the mark…
Why? Because Amazon’s Ads system is ruthlessly logical, looking to reward relevance and conversion.
So when your Product Detail Page (PDP) is underperforming, the algorithm compensates – by making traffic more expensive.
And that means that high CPCs are often more of a symptom than the root cause.
The Real Root of your CPC issue?
If your PDP isn’t built to convert, no amount of bid management will fix your CPCs.
And brands that focus only on bids and budgets when they should be optimising can end up paying more for the same traffic, seeing diminished returns on Sponsored Products and mistaking the feedback they’re getting from the algorithm for market pressures.
But the truth is that a strong PDP doesn’t just boost your conversation rates – it will directly influence what Amazon is charging you to acquire that traffic in the first place.
This is because Amazon evaluates Ads on relevance and expected performance, and when your PDP is weak, the system responds by increasing CPCs to offset the lower probability of conversion – it can even reduce efficiency on campaigns that are otherwise well-structured.
What to fix before touching your Bids
So what should you do first to change the situation?
Here are 5 quick fixes that can make all the difference:
- Make sure your PDP is as relevant as possible, with titles, bullets and attributes that clearly match the intent of your shoppers.
- Use imagery that sells: strong hero images, clear, benefit-led visuals and lifestyle context are all proven to boost engagement.
- A+ Content isn’t decoration, it converts. Think of it as a performance driver that supports buyer decisions.
- Make your value proposition clear, with benefits, use cases and differentiators that are immediately obvious.
- Be consistent across your Ads and PDPs, because misalignment between ad messaging and on-page content kills conversion, and that raises CPCs.
The Bottom Line
If your PDP doesn’t convert, Amazon will charge you for it.
So, before blaming the market or increasing your bids, take a look at your fundamentals first – relevance, clarity and conversions – because in many cases?
It’s the fastest way to bring CPCs back under control and restore the efficiency of your Ad campaigns.
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