Quick Tips: Setting MACS

There's a lot to consider when setting and adjusting MACS, here is a quick list of what to do and more importantly, what not to do. 

What to do:

1. Set MACS based on campaign goals and where the products are in their lifecycle: profit vs launch, seasoned product vs new product 
2. Consider category competition: higher MACS are needed for categories with lots of sellers
3. Set MACS no lower than 10% of campaign ACoS 
4. Review MACS (and bid change history) every 2-3 weeks, making changes where necessary
5. Set the "Bidding Strategy" in Seller/Vendor Central to: 'dynamic bids - down only'
6. Be patient. Data collection takes approximately 30 days, for low volume sellers, expect this time period to be longer 

What NOT to do: 

1. Do not set MACS more 10% lower than current campaign ACoS
2. Do not make frequent changes to MACS: more than once in 1-2 week period 
3. Do not reduce MACS more than 10%-15% at a time
4. Do not reduce MACS during the discovery stage 
5. Do not use Bid Floors for an extended period of time (over 2 months)
6. Do not set MACS below 40% for newly launch campaigns (no data)
7. Do not set MACS on campaigns that house ad groups with different goals/objectives
8. Do not make manual adjustments to bids in Seller/Vendor Central
9. Do not set Bidding Strategy in Seller/Vendor Central to 'dynamic bids - up and down' or 'fixed bids'
10. Do not use 'Adjust bids by Placement' booster in Seller/Vendor Central

Next: Using the MACS Calculator