Amazon Advertising Management: Manual, Software, or Agency?

Wondering if you should manage Amazon ads yourself, use automation software, or outsource to an agency? This breakdown will help you make the smartest call for your brand based on your stage, budget, and goals, so you can scale profitably without wasting time or money.

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Table of Contents

1. Why Your PPC Management Method Matters

2. Quick Decision Guide by Seller Stage

3. Manual PPC Management

4. Software PPC Management

5. Agency PPC Management

6. Comparison Table: Manual vs. Software vs. Agency

7. Match Your Strategy to Your Stage

   *(Key Takeaways & Free Strategy Call Offer Included)

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Why Your PPC Management Method Matters

Amazon PPC isn’t optional anymore. It’s required to grow. But how you manage it could be the reason you're scaling profitably or bleeding money while stuck in analysis paralysis.

Some do it them selves and get overwhelmed. Others hire agencies before they even know what good ads look like. And some skip straight to software, without having the data or strategy to make it work.

Here’s the truth:

There is no one-size-fits-all PPC solution. Your ideal setup depends on your sales volume, available time & expertise, and what kind of support you actually need.

So let’s break it down.

Quick Decision Guide: What's Right for You?

Seller Stage	Best Fit	Why
Just Getting Started	Manual	Learn fundamentals, Test with no cost, Limited budget
$10K–$50K/month in revenue	Software	Scale faster, Automate grunt work, Stay lean
$50K+/month and multi-channel	Agency	Offload strategy & execution, Focus on brand building

Now Let's dive into the pros, cons, and best-fit situations for each approach, and show you how to evolve as your business grows.

 

Manual/DIY Amazon PPC Management

Who It’s For:

• New sellers still learning

• Small brands with budget constraints

• Founders who want to build PPC intuition

Why This Path Works:

• Full control over strategy, targeting, and spend

• $0 in management cost

• Learn what actually moves the needle

  Too many sellers hire an agency or buy expensive software before they understand what actually drives results. That’s risky. You want to build enough knowledge to spot inflated promises and know who to trust.

What To Focus On:

• Set up Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand campaigns manually

• Understand keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact)

• Monitor KPIs like ACOS, TACOS, CTR, and conversion rate

• Learn what happens when you adjust bids, budgets, or targeting

• Test product targeting and campaign structure strategies

Need A Step-by-Step Walkthrough?
Check out our Ultimate Amazon PPC Guide for step by step instructions and how to set up winning campaigns.

 

Software Based Amazon PPC Ads Management

Who It’s For:

• Sellers with steady sales and a proven product

• Sellers who have figured out what works and now need help executing it at scale

• Teams spending too much time on manual optimization

• Brands ready to scale without hiring an in-house PPC team

• Anyone who wants speed, consistency, and 24/7 campaign performance

“Software doesn’t replace strategy — it scales it.”

— Astra by Sellrbox

If you already know what works — software just does it faster, smarter, and with less stress.

And it does it 24/7, without burnout, bandwidth issues, or hidden markups.

Why It Works:

Once you’re past the experimentation phase and ads start driving predictable results, software will:

• Create and populate winning campaigns on your behalf

• Automate repetitive tasks like bid and budget adjustments, placement changes, and keyword harvesting.

• Make faster, smarter decisions using real-time performance data

• Save time and money compared to hiring a team or outsourcing to an agency

• Scale consistently without burnout or delay

• Track your performance with deep analytics and user friendly reporting

It’s not just about convenience — it’s about smarter decisions, made faster, without the human delay.

What Great Software Automates:

• Keyword Research — including harvesting and negative targeting

• Campaign Creation & Segmentation — auto-structure by goal or match type

• Smart Bidding & Budget Allocation — real-time adjustments based on your unique business goals and seasonality

• Dayparting / Ad Scheduling — allocate spend to highest converting hours of the day

• Full-Funnel Optimization — from awareness to conversion

• Reporting Dashboards — easy visibility into performance and profit

Not All PPC Tools Are Created Equally.

Some tools are rigid. Others flood you with data but offer little control. And a few lack the AI or logic needed to actually improve performance — they just automate clicks.

That’s exactly why we built Astra, to combine powerful automation with real performance logic. It’s the only tool that balances intelligent bidding, flexible control, and full-funnel insight without overwhelming you with noise.

We’ve also put together a Top 10 Amazon PPC Softwares of 2025 — tested for automation power, AI capabilities, flexibility, analytics, and pricing — to help you make the right call for your brand.

Agency Based Amazon PPC Ads Management

Who It’s For:

• Brands doing $50K+/month and ready to offload to experts

• DTC brands treating Amazon as a side channel

• Founders who don’t have time (or desire) to manage PPC

If Amazon isn’t your core channel — or if managing ads is taking you away from what you do best — hiring an agency can be the fastest path to results without distraction.

Why It works:

• You get a full-service team: strategy, setup, optimization, reporting

• Keeps your in-house team focused on what they do best (product, brand, customer experience. You focus on the big picture: product, brand, customer experience. They handle the performance side of Amazon.

What A Good Agency Will Do For You:

• Build and structure ad campaigns for scale

• Handle all keyword targeting and bidding strategy

• Monitor key metrics like ACOS, TACOS, ROAS, CVR

• Provide weekly/monthly reporting and strategic insights

• General advisory on listing optimization to help with overall ad performance

But there’s a catch: agencies worth partnering with don't come cheap, so make sure the ROI justifies it.

If partnering with an agency makes sense for your amazon business, our team at Sellrbox might be a fit. We built it for brands doing $50K–$500K/month that want real Amazon growth driven through full funnel strategy, hands on execution, and unmatched support. 

Book a call if you want to see if we’re the right fit for where you're headed.

And even with a top-tier agency, you should still understand the basics. Too many brands get burned because they can’t tell if their agency is actually doing a good job.

Side-by-side Comparison: Manual vs Software vs Agency

Side-by-side Comparison: Manual vs Software vs Agency
Option	Monthly Cost	Time Investment	Skill Needed	Best For
Manual	$0 (your time)	High	High	New sellers, learning the ropes
Software	$99–$1,000/month	Low–Medium	Low–Medium	Growing sellers with traction looking to scale
Agency	$1,000–$5,000+	Low	Low	Large Amazon brands or DTC brands with Amazon as a side bet

 

Match Your Strategy to Your Stage

There’s no universal answer for Amazon PPC management.
What works for one brand could waste time (and money) for another.

Whatever path you choose, the only wrong move is picking something that doesn’t match your current stage.

• Just starting out? Manage ads yourself to learn what actually works.

• Seeing traction but stretched thin? Software helps you scale efficiently without the cost of hiring.

• Established or multi-channel? An agency can help you grow while staying focused on your core business.

Whatever you choose, make sure it moves your business forward — not just faster, but smarter.

Which Amazon PPC Management Option Fits Your Business?
Your Situation	Recommended Option	Why It Makes Sense
You're new to Amazon and learning PPC from scratch	Manual	Builds foundational knowledge and judgment before investing in tools or partners.
You’re spending $3K+/month on ads and scaling	Software	Eliminates manual busywork and optimizes faster than you can on your own.
You're overwhelmed by daily optimizations	Software or Agency	You need to reduce time spent managing campaigns without sacrificing performance.
You manage 100+ SKUs or multiple brand lines	Software or Agency	Manual work doesn’t scale. You need bulk tools and advanced reporting.
You’ve got a clear strategy, but execution is the bottleneck	Software	Lets you stay in control of strategy while automating the tactical work.
You're a DTC brand and Amazon is a secondary channel	Agency	Focus your team on your core channels while a partner runs Amazon for you.
You're ready to scale and want to fully offload PPC strategy + execution	Agency	Agencies handle both strategy and execution, freeing you to focus on product, brand, or other growth areas.

 

Want Expert Eyes on Your PPC Setup?

We’ll take a look — no pitch, no pressure.

Book your free Amazon PPC audit here and we’ll help you figure out whether manual, software, or agency is the right next step, and how to maximize it.