Amazon PPC glossary: the terms explained simply
This Amazon PPC glossary defines the terms you meet in Amazon Ads reports and Seller Central, from ACoS, TACoS and ROAS to match types, dynamic bidding, attribution windows and Search Query Performance. Each entry gives a plain definition and, where relevant, the formula, so you can read your own reports with confidence.
- 45 terms in plain English
- Formulas where they apply
- Grouped by how you use them
By Asad Razzaq, Senior Amazon PPC StrategistUpdated 1 November 2026How should you use this Amazon PPC glossary?
Amazon advertising has its own vocabulary, and the same idea often goes by two names. Reports say ad sales where tools say attributed sales, and the Buy Box is officially the featured offer. This glossary groups terms by how you use them: the metrics you read, the ad types and targeting you set up, the bidding and budget controls you adjust, and the Amazon programmes and data sources behind them.
Formulas are given exactly as you would calculate them yourself. One rule ties the most-used metrics together: ROAS is 1 divided by ACoS, so a 20% ACoS and a 5x ROAS describe the same result. On Amazon UK, sales figures in reports include VAT, so compare like with like when you work out margin.
What do the main Amazon PPC metrics mean?
| Term | What it means | Formula or note |
|---|---|---|
| ACoS (advertising cost of sales) | How much you spend on ads for each pound of ad-attributed sales. | Ad spend / ad sales |
| ROAS (return on ad spend) | Ad-attributed sales for each pound spent on ads; the inverse of ACoS. | Ad sales / ad spend = 1 / ACoS. Example: 25% ACoS = 4x ROAS |
| TACoS (total advertising cost of sales) | Ad spend as a share of all sales, paid and organic. Shows how dependent the business is on ads. | Ad spend / total sales |
| Break-even ACoS | The highest ACoS at which an ad sale still covers its costs. | Profit margin before ad costs, as a % of selling price |
| Target ACoS | The ACoS you choose to aim for, set below break-even for profit or above it on purpose for a launch. | Set from margin and goals |
| CPC (cost per click) | The average amount you pay each time a shopper clicks your ad. | Ad spend / clicks |
| CTR (click-through rate) | The share of ad impressions that lead to a click. | Clicks / impressions |
| CVR (conversion rate) | The share of ad clicks that lead to an order. | Orders / clicks |
| AOV (average order value) | The average value of each order. | Sales / orders |
| Impression share | Your share of the available ad impressions for a search term or target. | Your impressions / total eligible impressions |
| Top-of-search impression share | The share of top-of-search impressions your Sponsored Products campaign won, shown in campaign reporting. | Higher means more visibility in the top rows of search |
| Unit session percentage | Units ordered per session on your product page, from Business Reports. It can exceed 100% when shoppers buy several units. | Units ordered / sessions |
| Sessions | Visits to your product detail pages within a 24-hour period, counted per shopper. | Found in Business Reports |
What are the Amazon ad types and targeting options?
| Term | What it means | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsored Products | Cost-per-click ads for individual products, shown in search results and on product pages. | Available to professional sellers and vendors |
| Sponsored Brands | Ads featuring your logo, a headline and several products, or a video, shown mainly in search results. | Requires Brand Registry |
| Sponsored Display | Ads that reach shoppers on product pages and, depending on targeting, off Amazon, including retargeting viewers of your products. | Requires Brand Registry |
| Automatic targeting | Amazon chooses the searches and products to show your ad against based on your listing, through close match, loose match, substitutes and complements. | Good for discovering search terms |
| Manual targeting | You choose the keywords or products to target and set the bids. | Gives control once you know what converts |
| Broad match | Your ad can show for searches that include the keyword’s words in any order, plus related terms and variations. | Widest reach, needs negatives |
| Phrase match | Your ad can show for searches that contain the exact phrase or close variations of it. | Balance of reach and control |
| Exact match | Your ad shows for searches that match the keyword exactly or close variants such as plurals. | Most control; used for proven terms |
| Negative exact | Stops your ad showing for that exact search and its close variants. | Blocks one specific wasteful search |
| Negative phrase | Stops your ad showing for any search containing that phrase. | Blocks a whole group of searches; use with care |
| ASIN targeting | Targeting specific products so your ad appears on or alongside their detail pages and related placements. | Also called product targeting |
| Category targeting | Targeting a whole product category, which you can refine by brand, price range or star rating. | Broader than ASIN targeting |
| Placement | Where an ad appears: top of search on the first page, rest of search, or product pages. | Reported separately for each campaign |
| Search term vs keyword | A keyword is what you bid on; a search term is what the shopper actually typed. One keyword can trigger many search terms. | Seen in the search term report |
What do Amazon bidding and budget terms mean?
| Term | What it means | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Bid adjustments | Percentage increases to your bid for specific placements, such as top of search or product pages. | Applied on top of the base bid and any dynamic bidding |
| Dynamic bids: up and down | Amazon can raise your bid when a click is more likely to convert and lower it when less likely. | Raises up to 100% for top of search on the first page and up to 50% for other placements |
| Dynamic bids: down only | Amazon lowers your bid in real time when a click is less likely to convert, but never raises it. | A cautious default for cost control |
| Fixed bids | Amazon uses your exact bid and any placement adjustments, without automatic changes. | Most predictable; needs active management |
| Rule-based bidding | Automated bidding for Sponsored Products that adjusts bids to aim for a ROAS guardrail you set. | Needs enough campaign history to work well |
| Campaign budget | The average daily amount a campaign can spend. Spend can exceed it on some days, but not the daily budget multiplied by the days in the month. | Budgets that run out early cut off later shoppers |
| Portfolio | A group of campaigns you can organise together and give a shared budget cap. | Useful for organising by product line or brand |
| Dayparting | Changing bids or budgets by time of day or day of week to match when shoppers convert. | Done with schedule-based budget rules or third-party tools |
| Attribution window | The period after a click during which a purchase is credited to the ad. | 7 days for Sponsored Products (sellers); 14 days for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display |
| Search-term harvesting | Moving converting search terms from auto, broad or phrase campaigns into exact-match campaigns. | Usually done weekly |
Which Amazon programmes and data sources should you know?
| Term | What it means | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Registry | Amazon’s programme for brand owners with a registered or pending trade mark. Unlocks Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, A+ content, Stores and Brand Analytics. | Free to enrol |
| Brand Analytics | A set of reports for brand-registered sellers showing search, shopping and demographic data on Amazon. | Includes the Search Query Performance dashboard |
| SQP (Search Query Performance) | Shows, for each search query, the total market and your brand’s share of impressions, clicks, add-to-carts and purchases. | Example: 5% impression share with 8% purchase share means visibility is the gap |
| New-to-brand | Customers buying from your brand for the first time in the past 12 months. | Reported for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display |
| Buy Box (featured offer) | The offer Amazon features on a product page with the Add to Basket button. | Sponsored Products ads generally show only when you hold it |
| Vine | Amazon Vine invites trusted reviewers to post honest reviews of new products supplied free by brand-registered sellers. | Enrolment may carry a fee |
| Organic rank | Where your product appears in unpaid search results for a search term. | Influenced by relevance and sales performance |
| Halo sales | Ad-attributed sales of products other than the one advertised, such as another size or colour. | Shown as other SKU or brand halo sales in reports |
Putting the terms to work
In a UK private-label account we manage, monthly ACoS ran between 7.8% and 11.7% from March to October 2026, equal to a ROAS of 8.5x to 12.8x, while TACoS stayed at about 3%. Read together, those three numbers say the ads are efficient and most sales are organic. Our guides to ACoS vs TACoS and how to lower ACoS show how to read and improve them in your own account.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ACoS and ROAS?
They measure the same thing from opposite directions. ACoS is ad spend divided by ad sales, and ROAS is ad sales divided by ad spend, so ROAS equals 1 divided by ACoS.
What is a search term on Amazon?
It is the exact words a shopper typed. Keywords are what you bid on, and the search term report shows which search terms your keywords actually matched.
What does dynamic bids down only mean?
Amazon lowers your bid in real time when it predicts a click is less likely to convert, and never raises it above your bid and placement adjustments.
What is the attribution window for Amazon ads?
For sellers, Sponsored Products credits purchases within 7 days of a click, while Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display use 14 days.
Do I need Brand Registry to use Brand Analytics?
Yes. Brand Analytics, including Search Query Performance, is available to brand owners enrolled in Brand Registry.
Co-Founder and Senior Amazon PPC Strategist at Advorza. Managing Amazon accounts since 2020 across 15+ US and UK brands. About the founders
Keep reading
Amazon PPC guide
Amazon PPC is Amazon’s pay-per-click advertising: you bid on keywords or products, your ad appears in search results or on product pages, and you pay only when a shopper clicks.
ACoS vs TACoS
ACoS measures ad spend against the sales your ads directly generated; TACoS measures ad spend against all your sales, paid and organic.
ACoS calculator
ACoS (advertising cost of sales) is your Amazon ad spend divided by the sales those ads generated, shown as a percentage.
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