Guide

Amazon Ads bidding for authors

Your bid is the most you'll pay for a click. Set it from what a click is worth to your series, and the rest of the settings fall into place.

By Michael Cortez, PPC strategist · Updated November 8, 2026

The bids you'll see

Default bid: set on the ad group; applies to every keyword or target that doesn't have its own bid.
Keyword or target bid: overrides the default for that one keyword or product target.
Suggested bid: Amazon's estimate of what wins impressions. It tells you about competition, not about your profit.
Minimum bid: $0.02 in the US.

Bidding strategies

Dynamic bids, down only: Amazon lowers your bid when a click seems less likely to convert. A safe default.
Dynamic bids, up and down: Amazon can also raise bids for clicks it thinks will convert. More reach, faster spend.
Fixed bids: your bid as set, every time. Most predictable.

Placement adjustments raise bids by a percentage for top of search or product pages. Add them only once a campaign is profitable, and watch cost per click afterwards.

Setting bids from value

A click is worth the value of a new reader times the share of clicks that become readers. If a reader is worth $6 across your series and 1 in 10 clicks becomes a reader, a click is worth $0.60. Bid around 80% of that to keep a margin. The bid calculator does the math; the read-through calculator gives you reader value.

Adjusting bids

Change bids on keywords with enough clicks to judge, in steps of about 30% or less, and wait for page reads to arrive before judging again. The Kindle Author Ads Analyzer suggests a bid for every keyword and target from 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

What is the default bid in Amazon Ads?

The bid set on an ad group. Every keyword or target in it uses the default bid unless you give that keyword its own bid.

Should I use the suggested bid?

Use it as a guide to what others pay, not a target. If the suggested bid is above what a click is worth to your series, bid lower or skip that keyword.

What is the minimum bid on Amazon Ads?

$0.02 in the US for Sponsored Products. Other marketplaces set their own minimums in local currency.

Which bidding strategy is best for books?

Many authors start with dynamic bids down only, which lets Amazon lower your bid when a click looks less likely to convert. Up and down can win more top placements but spends faster; use it on campaigns already proven profitable.