Navigating the ins and outs of Amazon is a full-time job, and managing your Amazon Ads strategy can be, too. The constant addition of new tools, features, competitors, and processes can be challenging to master, as well as making sure you’re getting the biggest return on marketplace ad spend. For new and experienced sellers alike, this persistent change and movement can be daunting.
That’s why we put together this comprehensive guide to paid advertising on Amazon, so you can:
Read on to learn more about the main types of ad campaigns available to Amazon brands, and check out our Marketing Playbook for more tips and tricks to help guide your Amazon Advertising Strategy and Amazon Marketing Strategy.
We’ll start with one of the most popular types of Amazon ads, Sponsored Products. These Cost-Per-Click (CPC) ads show up throughout search results or on detail pages under the “Sponsored Products Related to This Item” heading—and they help drive customers directly to your products based on a set of predefined keywords. These placements can be triggered by search terms or bids on competitive ASINs.
Sponsored Products ads are usually a great first option for brands looking to test out Amazon advertising since they allow you to target new audience members who are just browsing on Amazon, or looking for a specific product like or similar to yours.
Amazon Sponsored Brands ads appear in the headlines of search results or on product pages and are triggered by keyword searches only. They help build brand awareness by showcasing your entire brand on Amazon, not just a single product. This is a great way to bring awareness to your company and entire product line instead of just a single offering. Brands must be enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to take advantage of Sponsored Brands. Brands can use Sponsored Brands Video to stand apart from the competition even more.
Amazon Sponsored Brands Video ads play automatically when 50% of the video is on screen. They link directly to the product detail page where customers can learn more and purchase. Video Ads help to build trust, show your product in action, and break up the monotony of static text and images customers see while scrolling Amazon.
The optimum length for a Video Ad is between 15-30 seconds long and is optimized for mobile users, too. Keep customer attention by showing the product and functionality within the first few seconds, visually telling your product story, using closed captions, and including a precise call to action.
Learn more about all things Amazon Video (organic and paid) in our Amazon Video Guide.
Amazon Sponsored Display ads allow you to engage relevant audiences who are in the mindset of browsing, discovering, or purchasing products by placing your ad in front of those who have previously been on that listing, or on a similar product listing. Amazon Display Advertising allows you to reach and retarget relevant audiences with your product or a similar product both on and off Amazon. An important item of note: To take advantage of Sponsored Display, your brand must be enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry.
Amazon DSP ads give you the ability to buy display ad, audio, and video placements both on Amazon and off. This includes Amazon’s own apps and sites like IMDb and Kindle Fire, as well as other top publisher sites. Amazon DSP is highly dependent on customer behavioral data and uses a customized algorithm to help display the right ad at the right time and re-engage those who have previously interacted with your brand.
The Amazon DSP program also includes Over-the-top (OTT) Video ads reaching audiences on TV, including Amazon Fire TV, as well as Dynamic Ads, Static Ads, and DSP Video Ads.
Amazon Storefronts (also called Amazon Stores) offer a unique marketing opportunity for brands looking to build customer loyalty and deliver a small-scale shopping experience within the massive Amazon universe. You can build a unique Storefront or landing page that expands on all available products that your brand offers. Amazon sellers who set up Storefronts for their brands also have access to Store Insights—a dashboard that provides powerful insights into Store-related sales, visits, page views, and traffic (both on and off Amazon). At SupplyKick, we see up to a 30% increase in sales per visitor on our partners’ Amazon Stores.
Curated Amazon Storefronts engage shoppers and introduce them to your full brand story—who you are and what your company strives to do (which helps build trust with your customers). Advertisers will want to drive traffic to your Amazon Storefront using Sponsored Brands, display ad campaigns, social media marketing, and more.
While Lighting Deals may be most closely associated with Prime Day, they are actually available throughout the entire year. Lighting Deals are available across the entire Amazon platform and basically “run” until all allotted products are sold. As a seller, you can set aside a number of products or a budget (since Amazon charges a small fee per sale on Lighting Deals) dedicated to a Lighting Deal. Lighting Deals are a great way to jump-start sales for a certain product without going too in-depth with keyword search terms.
Coupons are one of the most popular Amazon ad forms on the platform, and they have one of the highest conversion rates of any campaign. Many consumers are comfortable with coupons both on and offline, and the Amazon version can help influence sales. Brands simply have to choose which products to add to a coupon, select the coupon amount (we recommend testing various dollar amounts or percentages to see what resonates with your audience), and then set your overall campaign budget. Since Amazon charges a fee per coupon on top of your discount, Coupons can quickly become expensive, but they are a great way to entice new buyers who might not have heard of your products before.
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| Product Detail Page | Posts Feed | Brand Feed |
If Instagram and Amazon had a baby, it would be Amazon Posts. Posts are part of Amazon’s efforts to help brands create a sense of community and more targeted connections directly on the platform. With Posts, brand-registered sellers can publish content to a shoppable feed on Amazon. Each Post features lifestyle imagery, a short caption, and links back to a product detail page. You can find out more about Amazon Posts and how to leverage them to drive sales in our Amazon Posts Guide.
Amazon Advertising is constantly evolving, which means smart brands are continually updating and iterating on their Amazon PPC management strategy. The best way to stay on top of the marketplace is to test new advertising products as they emerge and apply insights to your assortment, and employ a few key strategies:
Not sure where to start with your Amazon Ads strategy? Spending too much on ads right now and not seeing ROI? Find out how partnering with an Amazon PPC agency, like SupplyKick, can eliminate your Amazon Advertising workload and increase sales.
By partnering with us, Ultra Ankle saw their sales increase by 80% in one year, while South Bend Woodworks saw a 630% increase in ad-attributed sales and doubled their Amazon revenue YoY.
Lids saw a month-over-month marketplace revenue increase of 40% with SupplyKick:
“SupplyKick has been instrumental in helping Lids to grow new brands within our marketplace. Our brand can be quite complicated because the product is very regionally specific. When we first started with Amazon Ads, we struggled to find the manpower to execute impactful campaigns. SupplyKick stepped in and created an extremely detailed plan with over 300 campaigns. Understanding the level of detail required for these campaigns was priceless for Lids and has helped us to become a top 5 brand in our marketplace.” - Kyle Dickerson, New Revenue Channels, Lids
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SupplyKick is an official Amazon Ads partner. Reach out to see how our team can help you create a competitive and profitable Amazon Ads strategy. |
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