Amazon Advertising Case Study: How a Small Brand Grew Sales With Strategic PPC

Snapshot of the Brand and Goal

Ultra Ankle has been manufacturing premium ankle braces since 1999. Their products serve competitive athletes, weekend warriors, and anyone who needs reliable ankle support. The company operates with a lean team of four people.

By 2018, Amazon had become their largest distribution channel. Sales were steady, but the internal team did not have the hours or the Amazon advertising expertise to test campaigns, mine search terms, and manage bids daily. They needed outside help that could stretch a limited ad budget without wasting spend.

The Challenge

Ultra Ankle faced three constraints that smaller brands often share:

Limited internal time and Amazon ads expertise. The four-person team managed product development, customer service, and marketing across multiple channels. Amazon advertising is a full-time job. They could not dedicate the hours needed to stay on top of campaign changes, test new placements, or refine targeting strategies.

Need to stretch a constrained budget. Every dollar mattered. Wasting budget on broad match keywords or poorly targeted campaigns was not an option. The team needed someone who could focus spend on high-intent shoppers and profitable placements.

Need to improve visibility beyond branded traffic. Ultra Ankle was already capturing some branded searches. But shoppers searching for generic terms like "ankle brace" or "sports ankle support" were seeing competitors first. The brand needed better non-brand keyword coverage and a way to intercept shoppers comparing lower-priced alternatives.

The Advertising Strategy

SupplyKick started by auditing existing campaigns and identifying where budget was leaking. Then they rebuilt the campaign structure around three core tactics:

Sponsored Products for High-Intent Keyword Coverage

Sponsored Products ads let the brand bid on specific keywords and appear in search results and on product detail pages. SupplyKick set up manual campaigns targeting branded terms (like "Ultra Ankle"), non-branded terms (like "ankle brace" and "sports ankle support"), and competitor product names.

This gave the brand visibility across the full funnel: shoppers who already knew the brand, shoppers searching generically, and shoppers actively comparing alternatives.

Sponsored Brands for Brand Discovery

Sponsored Brands ads appear at the top of search results and can feature multiple products, a custom headline, and a link to the brand's Amazon Storefront. SupplyKick used Sponsored Brands to capture high-visibility placements on both branded and non-branded searches.

For a premium product that costs more than commodity ankle braces, this was especially important. Sponsored Brands gave Ultra Ankle more room to communicate value before the click.

Product Targeting to Move Shoppers Across the Catalog

Amazon's product targeting feature lets advertisers show ads on specific product detail pages. SupplyKick used this to steer shoppers browsing lower-priced options toward mid-tier or premium braces.

For example: a college athlete viewing an entry-level brace might see an ad for a more protective mid-tier option. That kind of catalog steering only works when the advertiser understands the product hierarchy and can map targeting to shopper intent.

Product targeting became one of the highest-performing tactics in the account because it caught shoppers already in purchase mode and gave them a better-fit alternative.

Ongoing Search Term and Budget Refinement

Campaign setup was not the end of the work. SupplyKick monitored search-term reports, added negative keywords to block wasted spend, shifted budget toward top-performing placements, and tested bid adjustments based on time of day and device type.

This kind of daily tuning is what most small teams cannot do consistently. Outsourcing it freed Ultra Ankle's internal team to focus on product development and creative work.

What Changed After the Update

Core performance: After SupplyKick took over campaign management, Ultra Ankle saw over 80% growth in sales year over year. That growth was driven by better keyword coverage, tighter budget allocation, and smarter product targeting.

Sales growth and efficiency: The account became more efficient as SupplyKick refined targeting and weeded out low-performing keywords. Sponsored Products drove the majority of sales volume. Sponsored Brands captured high-visibility placements and supported brand awareness. Product targeting delivered some of the best return on ad spend because it reached shoppers already close to purchase.

What worked best for the catalog: Product targeting outperformed expectations. Showing a premium brace to someone viewing a lower-priced option turned out to be one of the most reliable ways to increase average order value and conversion rate. That tactic only works if the advertiser knows the catalog well enough to match the right products to the right shopper behavior.

Supporting Brand Improvements Beyond Ads

Advertising alone does not win on Amazon. The product detail page has to close the sale. Ultra Ankle invested in three areas to improve conversion after the click:

A+ Content. A+ Content modules let brands add richer images, comparison charts, and feature callouts to their detail pages. Ultra Ankle used this to explain what made their braces different from cheaper alternatives.

Product photography. They updated product images to show the braces in use, highlight construction details, and communicate fit and protection. Better images help shoppers understand what they are buying, especially for premium products.

Amazon Storefront updates. Ultra Ankle built a branded Storefront that organized their catalog by use case and protection level. This gave shoppers who clicked on a Sponsored Brands ad a clearer path to the right product.

These improvements supported the advertising work. Ads drove traffic. Better detail pages and brand assets converted that traffic into sales.

Related Resources

• Amazon Advertising Guide: Ad Types, Costs, and Strategy
• Amazon Sponsored Display Guide
• Amazon Advertising Services
• A+ Content Guide
• More Case Studies