Amazon, alongside Google and Facebook, are the three main media giants in the ring trying to win the most e-commerce marketing dollars from brands. We know Amazon is where customers go to research, shop and see if they can get free Prime shipping on products they’ve been viewing on other websites. But how can you make your brand’s products stand out in a sea of others when consumers are browsing on the Amazon platform? The answer is simple – advertise!
Advertising on Amazon is essential for any Amazon sellers trying to expand their brand and significantly increase sales of their products. Before you can advertise on Amazon, you must make sure your product listings are optimized to Amazon’s standards and have an Amazon Seller Central Account that is completely set up and run well – with multiple ASINs (unique product identifiers on Amazon) for targeting. These optimizations are necessary because the content of Amazon ads are your product listings, so if they’re not optimized and set up well, you will not have the most success.
Types of Ads Available on Amazon
Sponsored Product Ads
Sponsored product ads are the most common Amazon product listing ads. They show up in the search results on the platform and on product detail pages. You should use sponsored products to target specific keywords important to you and to competitively conquest other brands’ product ASINs. These ads send consumers directly to your product detail page. With these ads, you can choose your daily budget as well as the duration of the campaign, and the only stipulation is that the campaign must run for at least one day. You can evaluate performance of your sponsored product campaigns by tracking clicks, cost per click (CPC), spend, sales, advertising cost of sales (ACoS) and return on ad spend (ROAS).
Sponsored Brand Ads
Amazon’s sponsored brand ads appear at the top of search results on Amazon. They include your brand logo, headline and up to three of your products. Consumers can either click on your logo which will take them to your brand store, or they can click on one of your items that will take them directly to your product detail page. Like sponsored product ads, you’re able to choose which keywords to target and set your budget to control costs.
Sponsored Display Ads
Amazon’s sponsored display ads are structured and served a bit differently than the other two we’ve went through. These ads serve on the product listing pages of other brands’ product pages, and are served based on the keywords that consumers have been searching. While building ad creative may sound overwhelming, Amazon makes it easy. Creative is automatically generated using your product image, price, and star rating. From there you just need to select your audience, make your bid, and set your daily budget.
Brand Store
If you’re looking for a free way to promote your brand and products, be sure to create a branded store on Amazon. You can add logos, images, videos and text to promote your brand, and you have the opportunity to switch out those as needed. The only caveat is that your brand must be a registered brand with Amazon in order to have a brand store.
A few tips to remember…
Use Automatic Targeting
While you can submit a list of keywords to target with your ads, you should also take advantage of Amazon’s automatic targeting. This feature uses Amazon’s algorithm to help identify the best/relevant search terms to target. This ensures you are targeting the best keywords.
Find High-Traffic Keywords
When trying to decide on keywords, make sure to use keyword search tools like Helium 10. This will help you discover actual keyword terms people are searching. You can also target competitors’ keywords with this tool. This will help you generate the most clicks and sales.
Use Negative Keywords
Similar to wanting to target high-traffic keywords, you will also want to avoid terms that will not capture sales. These are keywords or terms that you can highlight to make sure your ads are excluded from serving when they are searched. Make sure to submit a list of any keywords to exclude at the start of your campaigns.
Experiment
Do not limit yourself to one ad type. Try out each one to determine which ones are best for you and your brand.
Need help navigating Amazon or opportunities for your brand? The Brandon Agency can help with all of your marketing and advertising needs. Contact us today to get started.