Amazon Ads optimization for KDP authors

Stop paying
for wasted
ad spend.

Every week, know exactly which keywords to cut, which to scale, and where your royalty margin is leaking. Built for KDP nonfiction authors who are serious about ads.

Connect Your Account See How It Works
$33 → $757
KDP royalties, March to May
101% → 58.5%
Blended ACOS, same period
26%
Of ad spend identified as recoverable waste
What it is

Built for KDP.
Not retrofitted
from e-commerce.

Troven Ads Optimizer connects to your Amazon Advertising account via the official Amazon Ads API, pulls your Sponsored Products campaign data automatically, and generates a weekly prioritized action list — what to negate, what to bid up, what to pause.

Every recommendation is calculated against your actual royalty economics — not a generic ACOS target. If your paperback nets $4.20 and your ebook nets $2.80, the optimizer knows the difference and treats them accordingly.

You connect once. Every week, you get a ranked action list with the highest-leverage moves at the top.

How it works

Four steps. Weekly, on autopilot.

Step 01
Connect your account
Authorize once via Amazon's secure OAuth flow. We never see your login credentials — authorization is handled entirely through Amazon's own systems.
Step 02
Enter your royalty data
Provide your net royalty per format (ebook, paperback, hardcover). This is the economic foundation every recommendation is built on — your break-even isn't a generic target.
Step 03
We pull your campaign data
The optimizer pulls your Sponsored Products performance data via the Amazon Ads API — campaign structure, ad groups, keywords, search terms, spend, sales, and ACOS — updated weekly.
Step 04
Act on your weekly list
Every week, your prioritized action list is ready. Highest-leverage moves first. Takes 20–30 minutes to implement. The system learns from your account over time.
Key features

Built around how KDP ads actually work.

Amazon Ads API integration
Direct connection to the Amazon Advertising API via OAuth. Campaign data pulls automatically — no manual exports, no CSV uploads, no copy-paste.
Royalty-adjusted ACOS targets
Break-even ACOS is calculated from your actual net royalties per format. A $2.80 ebook and a $4.20 paperback don't share the same target — and they shouldn't.
Weekly negative keyword harvest
Search terms burning spend without sales get flagged for negation each week, before the losses compound. This is where most KDP authors lose the most money.
Bid optimization recommendations
Keywords performing below break-even ACOS get ranked for bid increases. Keywords performing above get ranked for reduction or pause — with the math shown.
Per-account learning
The system builds a picture of your account over time — your catalog, your typical conversion windows, your winning search terms. Recommendations get sharper with each week of data.
Campaign management support
Beyond recommendations, we provide guidance on campaign structure, match type strategy, and portfolio organization for Sponsored Products campaigns on Amazon.
Who it's for

A good fit. And a bad one.

This is built for you if…
You publish KDP nonfictionNonfiction search intent is more consistent, which means ad data is more actionable. Fiction follows different patterns — a different tool for a different problem.
You're spending $300+/month on Amazon AdsBelow that threshold, there isn't enough data to make weekly optimization meaningful. If you're not there yet, the right move is getting there first.
You want to understand your numbersThis tool shows you the math. If you'd rather have a black box, this isn't it.
You have at least one live Sponsored Products campaignWe need data to work with. A campaign that's been running for 30+ days gives us enough to produce meaningful recommendations from the start.
Not the right fit if…
You're just starting with adsGet some campaigns running first. Come back when you have 60–90 days of data.
You publish primarily fictionGenre fiction has different advertising dynamics. The optimization logic here is tuned for nonfiction search and purchase behavior.
You want someone else to run your ads entirelyThis tool produces recommendations — you implement them. We're not a managed service.
Built from real data

The founder ran this manually for three months first.

$757
KDP royalties in May
Up from $33 in March
58.5%
Blended ACOS, most recent week
Down from 101% when the methodology started
26%
Of ad spend identified as recoverable waste
Across 3 pen names in the first analysis
"I ran this methodology by hand across three pen names for three months before building the tool. The numbers above are what happened. The optimizer exists because doing this manually every week is not a sustainable way to run a publishing business — but the underlying logic works."
Mike M. — Founder, Troven Inc. — KDP Author, 3 pen names
Pricing

Straightforward. Month to month.

No annual contracts. Cancel anytime. During the beta period, all access is free — see below.

Starter
$29
per month
  • 1 Amazon Ads account connected
  • Weekly action list — top 10 moves
  • Royalty-adjusted ACOS targets
  • Negative keyword recommendations
  • Bid adjustment recommendations
  • Email delivery of weekly report
Get Started
Most popular
Growth
$59
per month
  • Up to 3 Amazon Ads accounts
  • Full weekly action list — all recommendations
  • Royalty-adjusted ACOS per format
  • Search term harvest report
  • Campaign structure analysis
  • 30-day trend reporting
  • Priority email support
Get Started
Pro
$149
per month
  • Unlimited Amazon Ads accounts
  • Full weekly action list — all recommendations
  • Royalty-adjusted ACOS per title and format
  • Advanced search term analysis
  • Campaign portfolio management support
  • 90-day trend and seasonality reporting
  • Monthly 1:1 strategy call
  • Direct access to founder
Get Started
Limited beta — now open

5–10 authors.
Free for 60–90 days.

We're accepting a small group of nonfiction KDP authors for a free beta. You get full access to the optimizer at no cost for the duration. In exchange, we ask for honest feedback on what the tool gets right and what it doesn't. Spots are limited and will fill based on fit, not first-come-first-served.

To apply, send a short note to mikem@troven.ca with your KDP nonfiction category, approximate monthly ad spend, and how long you've been running Sponsored Products campaigns.

Connect Account
or apply for beta access
mikem@troven.ca
About the tool

Troven Ads Optimizer was built by Mike Minogue, founder of Troven Inc. — a KDP author who spent three months doing this analysis manually before deciding to build the tool that should have existed already. It connects to the Amazon Advertising API as a registered Tool Provider in the Amazon Ads Partner Network. All advertiser data is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Questions? mikem@troven.ca