Sneaky defaults that drain your budget in 2025

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 – Intro01:09 – Amazon Ads in 202502:43 – The Hidden Budget Drainers03:30 – Keyword Category Auto-Targeting Without Consent06:34 – Manual Targeting That’s Not Really Manual13:31 – Campaign Bidding Strategy: The “Up and Down” Trap18:17 – Maximize Reach = Maximize Waste?20:20 – Auto-Launch in Other Countries? 25:25 – Product Targeting Campaigns Showing for Keywords27:48 – Sponsored Brands30:10 – Category Targeting Defaults31:22 – Expanded Product Targeting32:51 – Sponsored Brands Defaults Across All Ad Formats34:27 – Sponsored Display Defaults to VCPM Reach36:51 – Sponsored Brands Video Glitch42:33 – Sponsored Display: All Targeting Types Defaulted On🦡 Resources & Links🦡 GET AD BADGER ➡️ Where to find Michael, Michael Erickson FacchinWhere to find  Noemi, Noemi BolojanScale WaveHow to Make Amazon Advertising Profitable in 2025?Tackle 70% Wasted Spend with N-Gram Laddering in Amazon AdsHow Product Targeting in Manual Campaigns on Amazon Actually Works (Classic)Bidding On Branded Keywords: What Happens When You Turn Them Off?📚 Unlock our FREE comprehensive Amazon Marketing PlaybookSubscribe to our newsletterTransform your workflow with our comprehensive Amazon Advertising checklistReview all our show notes-Host and Executive Producer: Michael Erickson FacchinGuest Co-Host: Noemi BolojanSenior Producer: Nancy Lili GonzalezPodcast Coordinator & Graphic Designer: Sofiia PodashVideo and Audio Editor: Pedro Moreno