Author Ads Pro

Free tool

Amazon Ads bid calculator for authors

The most you can pay per click and still make money across your series, and a target bid that keeps a margin.

Target max bid

$0.52

A click is worth $0.65 across the series (10% of clicks become readers × $6.50 per reader). Bidding 80% of that keeps 20% as profit.

Break-even CPC

$0.65

Your CPC now

$0.55

Verdict

About right

The math

A click is worth the value of a new reader times the chance the click makes one. The value of a reader is book 1's royalty (or a full KU read) plus the later books they go on to read, which you can get from the read-through calculator. Bid at your target share of that value: 80% keeps 20% of series royalties as profit.

Per keyword, not per account

Conversion rate varies a lot between keywords. An author-name keyword might turn 15% of clicks into readers while a broad genre term turns 4%. The analyzer does this calculation for every keyword and target in your search term report.

Run your own report through the Kindle Author Ads Analyzer

Free, runs in your browser, no signup. See which terms to negate, which bids to move and which keywords pay across the series.

Analyze my report

Questions

How do I calculate my max CPC for book ads?

Max CPC = value of one new reader × the share of clicks that become readers. If a reader is worth $6.50 across the series and 10% of clicks become readers, a click is worth $0.65. Bid below that to keep a margin.

What's the minimum bid on Amazon Ads?

In the US marketplace the minimum Sponsored Products bid is $0.02. Other marketplaces set their own minimums in local currency.

Should I use Amazon's suggested bid?

Treat it as a range of what others pay, not a target. Your bid should come from what a click is worth to your series. If the suggested bid is far above that, the keyword is too expensive for your book.

How often should I change bids?

When there's enough data: a keyword needs enough clicks to show its conversion rate. Change bids in steps of about 30% or less, and wait for page reads to arrive (up to two weeks) before judging.

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