Around1.5 millionbusinesses currently list their products on Amazon. This means brands face steep competition on the marketplace. Luckily Amazon Sponsored Products provide a way to stand out from the crowd and quickly establish new listings. They're easy to set up too!
Here's everything brands need to know to get started.
Amazon offers brands a range of PPC options including Sponsored Brand Ads and Display Ads. But Amazon Sponsored Products are the most popular. In fact retailers spendthree quartersof their Amazon ad spend on these sponsored listings.
Their popularity can be attributed to their effectiveness in boosting both visibility and sales. But their accessibility is a big plus too. Unlike other Amazon ads you don't need to be a member of theBrand Registryto run a sponsored listings campaign.
Amazon Sponsored Products are similar to Google's product listing ads. They appear when consumers search for certain keywords and brands only pay a fee when someone clicks through.
HoweverAmazon's sponsored listings show up on almost every page of the marketplace. They appear throughout search results competitor product pages and category pages. This makes them an essential part of Amazon'scustomer journey.
Like any marketing platform Amazon ads require continuous optimization in order to secure a decent Return on Ad Spend. But if you invest both time and money you're likely to benefit from a profitable performance.
The average conversion rate for Amazon ads is just under 10%. That's because people searching on Amazon are often ready to shop - unlike social media or search engine users. In fact 74% of US shoppers head straight to Amazon when searching for products. So if they click on your ad there's a good chance they will convert.
Generally the average brand will spend 20-36c on Amazon advertising in order to make $1 in sales. So unless you're working with tight profit margins it's worth investing in Amazon advertising.
Setting up a sponsored listings campaign isn't too tricky - especially if you hand the reins over to Amazon's bots. Below we run through three key steps you need to consider before launching Amazon Sponsored Products.
The first decision you need to make is whether you want to run an automatic or a manual ad campaign.
Automatic campaigns are simple to set up because Amazon chooses the keywords for you. However you'll need to optimize your listings beforehand as Amazon's bots use the information and keywords available here to target your ads.
With manual campaigns brands choose their own keywords. They also have more control over ad bids and targeting which means they can adjust their campaigns for maximum impact.
Automatic campaigns are great for beginners but experienced marketers should use them to conduct keyword research too.
Setting match types helps customize your campaigns to suit your business goals.
For automatic campaigns you can choose between four different keyword match types:
For manual campaigns you can choose between:
With manual Amazon ads marketers can also target specific product categories and competitor product pages.
For automatic campaigns you simply set an overall budget and a maximum bid for each click. Whereas with manual campaigns you can choose a specific bid for each keyword.
Amazon offers bid suggestions to help you beat out other advertisers. If you bid high enough your ads will show up in prominent positions. But if your bids are too low they mightn't appear anywhere. It's also worth noting that you can increase your bid specifically for prime placements such as the top of search results.
Remember your bid is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for each click. However you won't always be charged this amount. If your competitors bid lower you could pay less.
Brands can also opt to give Amazon's bots some control over their bidding. They can automatically adjust your bids up or down based on the likelihood of a conversion taking place.
Getting your Amazon Sponsored Products set up isn't difficult but these tips will help you maximize your ROI from day one.
To hone your targeting delve into the in-house data that are available for each of your products.
For keyword inspiration use Google Analytics to determine the search terms that shoppers use to find your products. You should also mine your other PPC campaigns for keyword data.
If you take advantage of aWhere to Buy solution you can also see what your visitors purchase on Amazon and other third-party websites. This will highlight competitor ASINs as well as complementary products for you to target through your manual campaigns.
Under the 'Advertising Reports' section of your Seller Central account you can request the 'Performance by Placement' report.
This report highlights where your ads appear on Amazon and how well they perform in each of these positions. It includes metrics like impressions clicks cost-per-click and sales which will help you optimize your bidding strategy.
This report offers an account-wide view of the placements that appeal to your audience the most. This should help you decide when to bid more for top-of-search placements and if it's worth targeting competitor product pages.
When consumers click a sponsored listing they are brought directly to your product page. If the content featured here is insightful and engaging shoppers are more likely to convert.
So be sure to optimize your product listings by including lots of detailed images and relevant information. Members of the Brand Registry can add Amazon A+ content to their listings to increase conversions by around 5%. Setting up an Amazon Storefront should help too.
To make the most of your Amazon Sponsored Products it's wise to revise your keywords on a regular basis. To do this you can monitor keyword and analytics tools. But you'll also discover new keywords by experimenting with your Amazon advertising campaigns.
With automatic campaigns you'll see every keyword that Amazon automatically generates. You can also see their cost and conversion rates so this is a great source for finding profitable keywords to add to your manual campaigns.
Similarly you can experiment with 'broad match' targeting in your manual campaigns. While this can be expensive and will sometimes result in your Amazon ads appearing in irrelevant placements you may discover valuable long-tail keywords to add to your campaigns.
Amazon Sponsored Products are just one way toincrease your marketplace sales. With reasonable conversion rates and a simple interface it's no wonder34% of sellershave increased their Amazon advertising budget in the past year.
At the very least brands should invest in Amazon PPC ads to establish new product listings. This allows them to build up a history of sales and reviews that will help them rank organically in the future.
