Why Does Amazon Limit PPC Spending on New Accounts? (How to Increase Your PPC Budget Fast in 2026)

A color-segmented gauge ranging from $50 to $150, with a needle pointing at the $150 limit and a red “Budget Cap” label, illustrating the Amazon PPC spend limit

📈 Every Amazon seller has experienced this moment: you finally launch a product you’ve researched, sourced, and prepared. You set up your first Sponsored Products campaigns. You hit “Save.”

And then Amazon hits you with a daily spend limit.

Your PPC budget is capped at $50–$150 per day, no matter how much you want to invest.

You refresh.

You check your credit card.

You try again.

Still capped.

And suddenly, the excitement of launching turns into frustration.

If you’ve ever searched for answers or posted something like this:

“Why is Amazon limiting my PPC spend?”
“How long until Amazon raises my PPC budget?”
“How am I supposed to rank if Amazon won’t let me advertise?”

You’re not alone. This is one of the most common challenges new sellers face — and one of the least clearly explained by Amazon.

The good news?

Your PPC limit isn’t random, and it isn’t permanent. It’s part of Amazon’s built-in trust system for new advertising accounts. And once you understand how the system works, you can significantly speed up how quickly Amazon raises your limit.

This guide explains why the limit exists, how long it lasts, and the exact steps you can take to increase it faster.

Why Amazon Limits PPC Spend on New Seller Accounts

Amazon doesn’t publicly announce this system, but the behavior is consistent and predictable across thousands of sellers. Early PPC limits are controlled by Amazon’s internal trust algorithm.

1. Amazon Is Testing Your Reliability

A brand-new account is an unknown risk. With no history, Amazon can’t yet trust that you:

  • Pay on time
  • Spend consistently
  • Don’t create chaotic ad behavior
  • Maintain stable listings
  • Avoid fraudulent or risky patterns

So Amazon restricts spend until you’ve demonstrated reliability.

2. You’re in Amazon’s “Probation Window”

New advertiser accounts typically go through a 2–6 week evaluation period. During this window, Amazon watches for signals such as:

  • Are your campaigns simple or messy?
  • Do you use stable, consistent budgets?
  • Do you avoid excessive keyword dumping?
  • Does your listing convert well?
  • Does your billing method ever decline?

Stable accounts graduate faster. Unstable accounts stay restricted longer.

3. Conversion Rate Is a Major Factor

Amazon does not want to allocate large budgets to low-converting ads. Low conversion means:

  • wasted advertising spend
  • increased return risk
  • poor buyer experience
  • unpredictable seller behavior

If your listing isn’t converting, Amazon keeps you throttled.

To improve conversion, see our other blogs:

🔗Amazon Product Image Requirements
🔗Fix Amazon Product Title Suppression
🔗Amazon Bullet Points Best Practices

How Long Until Amazon Raises Your PPC Spending Limit?

Most sellers see increases in 2–6 weeks once Amazon sees consistent, healthy signals.

Some sellers get increases in as little as 7–10 days, especially if:

  • billing is clean
  • campaigns are stable
  • listings convert well
  • spend patterns are predictable

Some sellers stay stuck for months when:

  • payment declines occur
  • campaign structure is messy
  • listings have low conversion
  • budgets fluctuate wildly

How to Increase Your PPC Spending Limit Faster

These are the steps that consistently help sellers break out of Amazon’s restricted spend stage.

1. Maintain a Perfect Billing History

This is the #1 trust signal Amazon cares about.

Do this:

  • Use one primary credit card
  • Ensure it has enough daily available credit
  • Avoid switching cards too early
  • Update expiration dates proactively
  • Contact your bank to whitelist Amazon charges

Even one declined payment can delay your spending increase for weeks.

2. Start With Simple, Profitable Campaigns

New accounts often launch too many campaigns too quickly. Amazon sees this as risky behavior.

Instead:

  • Start with 1–2 Sponsored Products campaigns
  • Target 5–15 proven keywords (not hundreds)
  • Use Exact Match + Phrase Match early
  • Let campaigns run at least 3–5 days before optimizations
  • Set steady, consistent daily budgets
3. Keep Your Daily Spend Consistent

Predictability is one of Amazon’s primary trust signals.

If you spend $70/day, maintain something close to $70/day.

Avoid:

  • large spend spikes
  • sudden reductions
  • frequent pausing
  • inconsistent budgeting
4. Improve Your Listing Conversion Rate

Amazon tracks whether ads actually result in sales. Low conversion means your listing needs work.

Upgrade fast by improving:

  • Main product image
  • Lifestyle image
  • Infographic image
  • Pricing competitiveness
  • Title quality
  • Bullets that focus on buyer benefits
  • Reviewer sentiment and quality
5. Request a Manual Spending Limit Review

You can request a limit increase directly inside Seller Central:

Advertising → Support → Billing & Account → Spending Limit Review

Results vary, but accounts with clean signals and solid performance have a good chance.

If you need help escalating, use this guide: 🔗 How to Escalate to Amazon Support

6. Avoid Inventory Stockouts

Stockouts destroy conversion rate, ad momentum, and trust signals.

If you run out:

  • Amazon throttles PPC
  • The limit increase is delayed
  • Sometimes your limit decreases

Learn how to avoid stockouts: 🔗Amazon FBA Restock Limits

Amazon PPC Trust Signals: What Increases vs. Delays Your Limit

Trust SignalIncreases PPC LimitDelays PPC Limit
Billing HistoryNo declines, consistent cardDeclined payments, multiple cards
Campaign StructureSimple, focused campaignsToo many campaigns, too many keywords
Daily Spend PatternPredictable and stableSpikes, pauses, inconsistent spend
Conversion RateStrong listing and imagesLow conversion, weak listing
Inventory HealthStaying in stockStockouts, price swings
Listing QualityOptimized title, images, A+Generic or unoptimized listing
Account BehaviorGradual growthChaotic changes, rapid edits

Can You Still Grow With Only $50–$150 Daily PPC Spend?

Yes — absolutely.

Many successful sellers launched with exactly this limitation. The key is focusing on efficiency, not volume.

Seller Labs tools can help you:

  • identify your highest-converting keywords
  • track SKU profitability
  • monitor listing and marketplace issues
  • receive alerts for Buy Box, pricing, and review changes
  • optimize listings to improve conversion

A limited budget doesn’t have to limit your results.

Final Thoughts

If Amazon is limiting your PPC spend, you’re not being punished — you’re simply in Amazon’s new-advertiser trust window. Every seller goes through this phase.

Once Amazon sees:

  • consistent daily spending
  • stable campaign structure
  • clean billing
  • strong listing conversion
  • healthy inventory

…your PPC limit increases. Sometimes overnight. Almost always within a few weeks.

When that happens, your ability to rank, scale, and grow increases dramatically.

By aligning your early account behavior with Amazon’s trust signals, you unlock higher budgets, stronger rankings, and long-term scalable success.

Ready to turn your PPC performance into real growth?

Use Seller Labs to monitor listing health, track profitability, and identify the keywords driving your strongest conversions.

For a limited time, get 30% off your first month — after your 30-day free trial.

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Lisa J

Lisa Jones is a seasoned Amazon strategist and content creator at Seller Labs with 9+ years of deep industry expertise. She spent nearly a decade on the leadership team of an 8-figure Amazon business, managing listing optimization and product research operations that directly impacted growth. Now, she leverages that hands-on experience to create high-impact content that helps sellers scale smarter, faster, and more profitably.

Follow Lisa’s insights to stay ahead of marketplace trends and take action with confidence.

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