You have a keyword list and no evidence about any of it. This campaign exists to buy that evidence — cheaply, and in a form the relaunch framework can use.
The goal is 50–100 clicks per root keyword. Not sales, not rank. Clicks, so that conversion rate becomes measurable.
Prefer to watch? One hundred and twenty-seven seconds on the campaign settings and why Top of Search matters, the three daily checks, and the benchmark that only exists once you buy it.
First, pick the keywords to test
From your grouped list, take the top 5–10 root keywords.
Root keywords are the low-SFR terms — generally under 150,000 — that differ from each other by at least one word. Each anchors a group; the long tails hang off it.
Then filter that shortlist:
Highly relevant only. If a term is not clearly about your product, testing it wastes clicks.
Highest search volume first, but exclude anything above SFR 250,000 — too thin to produce a readable result in reasonable time.
Drop anything you already rank in the top 10 for organically. You have data there, and paying for clicks on a term you already win teaches you nothing.
The campaign
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Ad type | Sponsored Products |
| Match type | Exact |
| Bidding | Dynamic bids, down only |
| Keywords | your top 5–10 roots |
| Starting bid | 75% of suggested (suggested × 0.75) |
| Bid cap | $1.50 initially, lower in expensive niches |
| Top of Search placement | 200% |
| Daily budget | $50–100 |
| Name | Product — SP — Exact — TOS — Top KWs |
Why Top of Search at 200%: you need clicks concentrated in one placement so the conversion rate you measure means something. Clicks scattered across product pages and rest-of-search produce a blended number you cannot compare against a keyword average.
Why a bid cap: this is a data-buying exercise, not a ranking push. The cap stops a competitive term consuming the whole budget.
Why the higher budget is better: spending more finishes the test sooner. You are buying a fixed number of clicks; the only variable is how long it takes.
Daily optimisation while it runs
Three checks, the same shape as a real launch — see Running a Launch.
1. Is it spending? If under 75% of budget, raise the Top of Search bid and the keyword bids by 10%. Repeat daily until it clears 75%.
2. Is the spend at Top of Search? If more than 20% is landing on rest-of-search or product pages, lower keyword bids 10% and raise the Top of Search bid 25%, daily, until 80%+ sits at Top of Search.
Unless the other placements are converting well — in which case the data is still useful and you can leave it.
3. Is it exhausting the budget early? Check by early afternoon. If it is already spent, lower the Top of Search bid or raise the budget, so you are not dark for the rest of the day.
What the campaign is actually producing
Three things, and only the first is obvious.
1. Conversion rate per keyword. Which roots convert well and which do not — so you know which group to launch first, and which to leave alone.
2. Search Query Performance data. Driving sponsored sales generates organic impressions, which starts populating SQP for these terms. You are seeding the report that was empty.
3. A conversion benchmark. SQP gives you the keyword's average conversion rate — which is the number your product has to beat. Without it you have your own conversion rate and nothing to compare it against.
That third output is the one that matters most, and it is why this cannot be skipped. The relaunch framework's central gate is your CVR against the keyword average, and on a sleeping product neither figure exists until you buy them.
Reading the result
Roots where you beat the keyword average — these are your launch candidates. Start with the strongest and run the standard relaunch. See Keyword Research from Search Query Performance.
Roots where you trail badly — do not launch on them. No amount of velocity fixes a conversion problem.
Roots with too few clicks to judge — either keep the campaign running on those specifically, or accept they are too thin to be worth a launch.
All roots below average — the honest answer is that the product is not ready. That is a listing or offer problem, not a ranking one, and finding it out here costs a fraction of finding it out mid-relaunch.
Then rejoin the main process
With conversion data and a benchmark, the sleeping product is now indistinguishable from a successful one as far as the framework is concerned.
Go to phase one and run it normally — see What a Relaunch Is.
Common mistakes
Testing too many keywords, so none accumulates enough clicks.
Skipping the Top of Search concentration, producing a blended conversion rate.
Judging on 15 clicks. The 50–100 range is what makes the number readable.
Bidding at full suggested, spending more than the exercise requires.
Treating it as a launch and pushing for rank before the data says you should.
Ignoring a bad result and relaunching anyway.
Related
- Reviving a Sleeping Product — where this sits.
- Keyword Research for a Product With No Data — producing the list to test.
- Running a Launch — the same daily checks, at full scale.