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Black Friday falls on November 27, 2026 and Cyber Monday on November 30. On Amazon, the shopping period is longer than those two days: deals start earlier in the week, carry through the weekend and continue into Cyber Monday. Traffic rises, conversion rates rise, and so do cost per click and competition for every ad placement.
The sellers who do well over this period rarely do anything dramatic on the day. They prepare campaigns two weeks ahead, automate the budget and bid increases, and watch a few numbers closely while the event runs. This guide is the checklist we use for our clients’ Amazon PPC accounts.
Two weeks out: get the basics right
1. Check inventory before you check ads
Advertising a product that runs out of stock on Saturday wastes budget on Friday and hurts its organic rank afterwards. For every ASIN you plan to push, compare current FBA inventory and inbound shipments with your expected sales over the event. If stock is tight, plan to lower bids on that product rather than raise them, and push a product with healthier stock instead.
2. Decide which products to push
Not every product deserves more budget. Prioritize products that:
- have a deal, coupon or Prime-exclusive discount live during the event,
- convert well already, so extra traffic turns into sales,
- have enough margin left after the discount and higher click costs,
- have enough inventory for the whole period.
Products without a discount can still sell well, but they compete against discounted listings for the same clicks. Keep their bids close to normal and focus spend on products with an offer.
3. Fix listings now, not on the day
Extra traffic magnifies whatever is wrong with a listing. Check main images, titles, bullet points and A+ Content, and make sure the deal badge or coupon appears as expected. Avoid major listing edits close to the event, since some changes take time to process.
4. Clean up search terms
Review the last 30 to 60 days of search term data. Add negative keywords for terms that have spent without converting, and move proven converting terms into exact-match campaigns where you control the bid. Wasted spend grows quickly when click costs rise.
5. Recalculate your target ACOS
A discount lowers your margin, and your break-even ACOS falls with it. If a product normally earns 35% before ad spend and you discount it by 15%, the room for advertising shrinks sharply. Set event-specific target ACOS per product so you know in advance where a campaign stops being profitable.
One week out: automate budgets and bids
Budget rules
The most common Black Friday problem in Amazon advertising is simple: campaigns run out of budget by midday and stop showing during the busiest hours. Amazon Ads budget rules solve this. With a schedule-based rule, you set a percentage increase for a date range, for example the event days, and Amazon applies it automatically. Performance-based rules raise the budget only when a campaign meets a target you choose, such as a minimum ROAS.
Use schedule-based rules on your priority campaigns for the event window, and performance-based rules on campaigns where you are less sure of the outcome.
Bid rules
For Sponsored Products, schedule bid rules let you raise bids for a date range or a high-traffic event like Black Friday. This is safer than editing bids by hand on the night: the increase starts and ends on its own, so you do not forget to bring bids back down. Note that schedule bid rules cannot run on campaigns that use rule-based bidding.
Be selective. Raise bids on exact-match keywords and product targets with a proven conversion history, and on placements that have converted well, such as top of search. Leave broad, exploratory and low-converting targets at normal bids.
Protect your brand searches
Shoppers who search for your brand name over the holidays are close to buying, and competitors know it. Make sure Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns on your brand terms have enough budget for the whole event.
During the event: watch four numbers
Check campaigns at least twice a day from the start of the event through Cyber Monday. Focus on:
- Budget status. If a priority campaign is about to run out of budget early in the day, raise it, as long as ACOS is within your event target.
- ACOS by product. Compare it with the event target you set, not with your normal target.
- Inventory. If a product is selling faster than planned, reduce bids before it runs out rather than after.
- Search terms. Look for new, irrelevant terms picking up spend in auto and broad campaigns, and add negatives straight away.
Keep in mind that Amazon’s ad sales attribution has a delay, and Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display use a longer attribution window than Sponsored Products. Do not cut a campaign on a few hours of data unless spend is clearly out of control.
The week after: do not leave peak settings running
Click costs usually stay high for a few days after Cyber Monday while sales return toward normal. Campaigns left on event bids and budgets can lose money quickly.
- Confirm that every schedule-based budget and bid rule has ended, and bring any manual changes back to normal levels.
- Review search terms from the event. Some new converting terms are worth keeping into December.
- Compare results by product: sales, ACOS, TACOS and organic rank before and after. The event is your best data for planning the rest of the holiday season.
- Plan the next stretch. Holiday shopping continues through December, and January brings Amazon’s new 2027 fees, which will lower break-even ACOS again. Our guide to the 2027 FBA fee changes covers what to check.
A short checklist
- Check inventory for every product you plan to advertise.
- Choose priority products with an offer, good conversion and enough margin.
- Fix listings and confirm deals and coupons are live.
- Add negative keywords and move proven terms to exact match.
- Set an event-specific target ACOS per product.
- Create schedule-based budget rules for priority campaigns.
- Create schedule bid rules on proven keywords and targets.
- Make sure brand defense campaigns have enough budget.
- Check budgets, ACOS, inventory and search terms twice a day during the event.
- Bring bids and budgets back to normal after Cyber Monday and review the results.
How we run this for our clients
We manage Black Friday and Cyber Monday as part of our regular Amazon PPC management. In PataraWeb 2.0, our analytics app, we see ad spend, sales, inventory and profitability by product on one screen, so we can raise spend where stock and margin allow it and pull back where they do not. If you would like a second pair of eyes on your campaigns before the event, get in touch.
FAQ
When are Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2026?
Black Friday is Friday, November 27, 2026, and Cyber Monday is Monday, November 30, 2026. Amazon’s deals usually start earlier in the week and run through Cyber Monday; check Seller Central for the exact event dates for your deals.
How much should I increase my Amazon ad budget for Black Friday?
There is no single right number. It depends on your products, margins and how much traffic your campaigns captured on past peak days. The safer approach is to use schedule-based budget rules on priority campaigns and performance-based rules elsewhere, then adjust during the event based on ACOS and budget status.
Should I raise all my bids for Black Friday?
No. Raise bids on keywords and targets with a proven conversion history and on products with a live offer and enough stock. Leave exploratory and low-converting targets at normal bids.
What should I do after Cyber Monday?
Bring bids and budgets back to normal, keep any new converting search terms, and review results by product to plan the rest of December.
Event dates are based on Amazon’s published Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates as of November 11, 2026. Feature availability can differ by account and marketplace; check the Amazon Ads console for the options available to you.
