7 Excel Tips & Tricks for Faster Amazon PPC Reporting & Analysis

Amazon PPC can feel like a never-ending data dump. You’re constantly pulling reports, trying to make sense of the numbers, and struggling to find actionable insights. Sound familiar?

The reality is, most Amazon sellers waste countless hours on manual reporting and analysis. They’re drowning in data but starving for clarity.

In this article, we’ll share seven Excel tips and tricks to dramatically speed up your Amazon PPC reporting and analysis. These techniques will save you time, reduce errors, and help you make better decisions, faster. Let’s dive in.

1. Use Pivot Tables to Summarize Campaign Performance

Pivot tables are your secret weapon for quickly summarizing large datasets. Instead of manually sorting and calculating, you can use pivot tables to instantly group and aggregate your campaign performance data.

Here’s how:

1. Import your Amazon PPC report into Excel: Make sure your data is in a clean, tabular format with clear column headers.
2. Select your data range: Highlight all the cells containing your report data.
3. Insert a pivot table: Go to the “Insert” tab and click “PivotTable.”
4. Choose your fields: Drag and drop the relevant fields (e.g., Campaign Name, Impressions, Clicks, Spend, Sales) into the Rows, Columns, and Values areas of the PivotTable.
5. Summarize your data: Choose how you want to summarize the values (e.g., Sum, Average, Count).

For example, you can quickly see total sales and spend by campaign, or average ACOS by keyword, with just a few clicks. This saves you time compared to manually filtering and calculating these metrics.

2. Master the SUMIFS Function for Conditional Summing

Need to calculate the total spend for a specific product within a specific campaign? That’s where the SUMIFS function comes in. It allows you to sum values based on multiple criteria.

The syntax is: =SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criteria1, [criteria_range2, criteria2], ...)

• sum_range: The range of cells you want to sum.
• criteria_range1: The range of cells you want to evaluate against the first criteria.
• criteria1: The first criteria.
• [criteria_range2, criteria2], … Additional criteria ranges and criteria (optional).

Let’s look at an example: =SUMIFS(Spend, Campaign, "Brand Campaign", Product, "Product A")

This formula sums the “Spend” column for all rows where the “Campaign” column equals “Brand Campaign” and the “Product” column equals “Product A.” This gives you the total spend for “Product A” within your “Brand Campaign.”

Most sellers don’t realize how powerful SUMIFS can be for slicing and dicing their PPC data. It’s way more efficient than manually filtering and summing.

3. Use VLOOKUP to Match Data from Different Reports

VLOOKUP helps you pull data from one table into another based on a common identifier. This is incredibly useful when combining data from multiple Amazon PPC reports.

The syntax is: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

• lookup_value: The value you want to search for in the first column of the table array.
• table_array: The range of cells containing the table where you want to search.
• col_index_num: The column number in the table array that contains the value you want to return.
• [range_lookup]: Optional. TRUE for approximate match, FALSE for exact match. Usually you’ll want FALSE.

Let’s say you have a report with campaign names and IDs, and another report with campaign IDs and sales data. You can use VLOOKUP to add the sales data to the first report based on the campaign ID.

Here’s an example: =VLOOKUP(A2, 'Sales Data'!A:B, 2, FALSE)

This formula looks up the value in cell A2 (the campaign ID) in the first column of the “Sales Data” sheet (A:B), and returns the value from the second column (the sales data) for the matching row.

Here’s what’s happening: You’re essentially merging two datasets based on a common key, saving you the hassle of manually copying and pasting data.

4. Create Custom Metrics with Calculated Fields

Excel allows you to create calculated fields within pivot tables, letting you define your own custom metrics based on existing data.

Here’s how:

1. Select your Pivot Table: Click any cell inside your pivot table
2. Go to the “PivotTable Analyze” Tab: This tab will appear in the Excel ribbon when you select a pivot table.
3. Click “Fields, Items, & Sets:” A dropdown menu will appear.
4. Select “Calculated Field…”: A dialog box will open
5. Enter a Name: Give your new metric a name.
6. Enter a Formula: Create your custom calculation using the existing fields in your pivot table.
7. Click “Add”: This adds your new calculated field to the pivot table.

For example, you can create a “Profit” field by subtracting “Spend” from “Sales.” Or, you can calculate “Return on Ad Spend” (ROAS) by dividing “Sales” by “Spend.”

Most sellers don’t realize they can create custom metrics directly within Excel. This allows you to analyze your data in ways that are specific to your business and goals.

5. Use Conditional Formatting to Highlight Key Trends

Conditional formatting allows you to automatically highlight cells based on certain criteria. This is a great way to quickly identify key trends and outliers in your data.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Select the range of cells: Highlight the cells you want to format.
2. Go to the “Home” tab: Look for the “Conditional Formatting” option.
3. Choose a rule: Select a pre-defined rule (e.g., “Highlight Cells Rules,” “Top/Bottom Rules,” “Data Bars,” “Color Scales”) or create your own custom rule.
4. Define the criteria: Specify the conditions that trigger the formatting (e.g., “Greater Than,” “Less Than,” “Between”).
5. Choose the formatting: Select the formatting you want to apply (e.g., cell color, font color, icons).

For instance, you can highlight all campaigns with an ACOS above 30% in red, or all keywords with a conversion rate below 2% in yellow.

This visual cue makes it easy to spot problem areas and opportunities at a glance. One AdLabs client identified a misconfigured campaign spending $500/day using conditional formatting, saving them $15,000 per month!

6. Create Charts to Visualize Your Data

Charts are an excellent way to communicate your PPC performance to clients or internal teams. They make it easier to understand trends and patterns in your data.

Here’s how to create a chart:

1. Select your data: Highlight the range of cells you want to include in the chart.
2. Go to the “Insert” tab: Click on the “Charts” group.
3. Choose a chart type: Select the chart type that best represents your data (e.g., column chart, line chart, pie chart).
4. Customize your chart: Add titles, labels, and legends to make your chart clear and informative.

For example, you can create a line chart showing the trend of your ACOS over time, or a column chart comparing the sales performance of different campaigns.

Charts make your data more accessible and engaging, helping you tell a compelling story about your PPC performance.

7. Record Macros to Automate Repetitive Tasks

Macros allow you to automate repetitive tasks in Excel by recording a sequence of actions and then replaying them with a single click.

Here’s how to record a macro:

1. Go to the “View” tab: Click on the “Macros” dropdown.
2. Select “Record Macro”: A dialog box will appear.
3. Give your macro a name: Choose a descriptive name for your macro (e.g., “FormatReport”).
4. Assign a shortcut key: Optionally, assign a shortcut key to run the macro (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+F).
5. Start recording: Perform the actions you want to automate.
6. Stop recording: Click the “Stop Recording” button on the “Developer” tab (you may need to enable the Developer tab in Excel options).

For example, you can record a macro that formats your PPC reports, calculates key metrics, and creates charts. Then, you can run this macro with a single click to quickly process new data.

This one is a game-changer: One AdLabs client automated their monthly reporting process using macros, saving them over 20 hours per month!

Conclusion

Mastering these Excel tips and tricks can transform your Amazon PPC reporting and analysis from a tedious chore into a streamlined, efficient process. By leveraging pivot tables, SUMIFS, VLOOKUP, calculated fields, conditional formatting, charts, and macros, you can save time, reduce errors, and make better decisions to improve your campaign performance. If you are interested in streamlining the optimization of your campaigns as well, .

This article is based on Episode 13 of That Amazon Ads Podcast. Subscribe for weekly Amazon PPC strategies.