Sneaky defaults that drain your budget in 2025 [The PPC Den Podcast]

In this episode with Noemi Bolojan, we’re talking about something a lot of people miss — the sneaky defaults in Amazon ads that quietly eat up your budget. You set up a campaign, trust the platform to guide you, and boom — money’s leaking without you even noticing. Noemi breaks down how things like automatic bidding (yep, it goes up and down by default), broad targeting, and off-Amazon ads all kick in unless you change them. Sounds helpful, right? But in reality, those settings often work better for Amazon than they do for you. Think your product is getting shown to the right audience? Not always. Default category targeting or expanded targeting might be pushing your ads to places they don’t belong — and you’re paying for it. So if you’re running ads in 2025, this episode is a little wake-up call. We’ll see you in The PPC Den! 🦡 Highlights ​​ 00:00 – Intro 01:09 – Amazon Ads in 2025 02:43 – The Hidden Budget Drainers 03:30 – Keyword Category Auto-Targeting Without Consent 06:34 – Manual Targeting That’s Not Really Manual 13:31 – Campaign Bidding Strategy: The “Up and Down” Trap 18:17 – Maximize Reach = Maximize Waste? 20:20 – Auto-Launch in Other Countries? 25:25 – Product Targeting Campaigns Showing for Keywords 27:48 – Sponsored Brands 30:10 – Category Targeting Defaults 31:22 – Expanded Product Targeting 32:51 – Sponsored Brands Defaults Across All Ad Formats 34:27 – Sponsored Display Defaults to VCPM Reach 36:51 – Sponsored Brands Video Glitch 42:33 – Sponsored Display: All Targeting Types Defaulted On 🦡 Resources & Links 🦡 GET AD BADGER ➡️ https://www.adbadger.com/pricing-product-tour/ - Where to find Michael, Michael Erickson Facchin https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-erickson-facchin/ - Where to find Noemi, Noemi Bolojan https://www.linkedin.com/in/noemibolojan/ - Scale Wave https://scalewave.io/ - How to Make Amazon Advertising Profitable in 2025? https://www.adbadger.com/blog/amazon-ppc-education/how-to-make-amazon-advertising-profitable-in-2025-the-ppc-den-podcast/ - Tackle 70% Wasted Spend with N-Gram Laddering in Amazon Ads https://www.adbadger.com/blog/amazon-ppc-education/tackle-70-wasted-spend-with-n-gram-laddering-in-amazon-ads-the-ppc-den-podcast/ - How Product Targeting in Manual Campaigns on Amazon Actually Works (Classic) https://www.adbadger.com/blog/how-product-targeting-in-manual-campaigns-on-amazon-actually-works-classic-the-ppc-den-podcast/ - Bidding On Branded Keywords: What Happens When You Turn Them Off? https://www.adbadger.com/blog/bidding-on-branded-keywords-what-happens-when-you-turn-them-off-the-ppc-den-podcast/ 📚 Unlock our FREE comprehensive Amazon Marketing Playbook: https://www.adbadger.com/amazon-ppc-checklist/ - Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.adbadger.com/newsletter/ - Transform your workflow with our comprehensive Amazon Advertising checklist: https://www.adbadger.com/amazon-ppc-checklist/ - Review all our show notes: https://www.adbadger.com/podcast​​​​​ - Host and Executive Producer: Michael Erickson Facchin Guest Co-Host: Noemi Bolojan Senior Producer: Nancy Lili Gonzalez Podcast Coordinator & Graphic Designer: Sofiia Podash Video and Audio Editor: Pedro Moreno