There is a long-standing rule in Amazon PPC:
- If you want sales, run Sponsored Products.
- If you want to waste money, run Sponsored Display “Optimize for Reach”. As of late 2025, you can officially delete that rule. Amazon has quietly rolled out a massive update to the Sponsored Display (SD) algorithm that fundamentally changes how “Reach” and “Page Visit” campaigns function.
Contents
The “Old” Sponsored Display
Previously, when you selected “Optimize for Reach,” Amazon’s goal was simple: Spend your budget to get your ad in front of as many eyeballs as possible. It didn’t care if those eyeballs belonged to a buyer or a browser. It just wanted the View. This created a “Vanity Metric” trap. You got 1,000,000 impressions, felt good, and made $0 in sales.
The “New” Sponsored Display
Amazon has updated the machine learning models. Now, even when you select “Reach” or “Page Visits,” the algorithm uses Conversion Signals to decide who sees the ad. It’s a “Best of Both Worlds” scenario:
- Billing Model: You still pay by the View (vCPM), which is often significantly cheaper than paying for Clicks (CPC) in competitive categories.
- Targeting Logic: The AI filters the audience. It says, “I can show this ad to User A or User B. User A buys running shoes. User B just reads about them. I will show it to User A.”
Why is This Important
This allows you to do “Performance Branding.” You can run aggressive Top-of-Funnel campaigns that build awareness without destroying your ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). You are no longer choosing between “Growth” and “Profit.” You are optimizing for both simultaneously.
The Reality Check
To win with this new update, you have to change how you measure success. These campaigns will NOT have a high Click-Through Rate (CTR). They are Display Ads. People see them, register the brand, and buy later via search. You must look at the “View-Through Orders” column in your reports. If you optimize for Clicks, you will kill these campaigns—and the sales they are generating.
Where Big Internet Ecommerce Fits In
Most agencies set these campaigns and forget them. We engineer them.
- The “Hybrid” Test: We run a specific experiment: The same product, same budget. One campaign optimized for “Conversions” (CPC), one optimized for “Reach” (vCPM). We analyze the blended cost per acquisition to find the sweet spot.
- Creative Optimization: A “Reach” ad that hunts for conversions needs different text than a generic brand ad. We design creatives that have a “Soft Call to Action” to trigger that subconscious purchase intent.
- Budget Efficiency: We help you allocate budget away from expensive keywords and into this new, efficient layer of the funnel that your competitors are ignoring.
Don’t just reach people. Convert them.
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