If you're an Amazon seller, utilizing Amazon's advertising platform is an absolute must. Amazon gets a staggering amount of web traffic and product searches happening every single day. By advertising on Amazon, you get your products in front of shoppers who are actively looking to buy at the exact moment they are shopping and ready to make a purchase decision. It's advertising gold!
Amazon has done an incredible job of creating a powerfully effective advertising system that lets vendors of all sizes get their products seen by ready-to-buy customers. From sponsored product listings to display ads and video promotions, there are numerous ad formats and targeting capabilities that give sellers amazing control and opportunities. When used skillfully, Amazon's ad system, especially with the help of an
Amazon agency, can drive crazy results in terms of impressions, clicks, conversions, and overall sales revenue.
That said, effectively using Amazon advertising is not as simple as just tossing up some ads and hoping for the best. While getting started is easy from a technical standpoint, there's definitely a learning curve and best practices to follow if you want to see maximum returns from your ad spend. Let's look at some key tips for making the most of advertising on Amazon:
Start With the Automatic Sponsored Product Campaigns
For beginners, the sponsored product automatic targeting campaign is a great way to get going quickly. Amazon's systems will automatically match your products and ads to all relevant customer searches across Amazon based on your product information. It takes the guesswork out of keywords and bidding initially. Over time, you'll gain insight into which searches are converting well, and you can then set up more granular manual campaigns for optimization.
But Don't Rely Solely on Automatic Campaigns Long-Term
While the automatic campaigns are convenient when starting out, they shouldn't be your only strategy long-term. Eventually, you'll want to implement more advanced manual campaigns that give you control over exactly which keywords you bid on, along with other targeting parameters like product categories, brands, etc. This allows you to refine and optimize much more strategically over time.
Nail Your Product Listing Optimization First
Before running ads, make sure your product listings are 100% fully optimized from a content, keyword and conversion standpoint. Amazon's ad system takes into account your overall listing quality and sales metrics. The better your listings naturally attract relevant unpaid traffic and convert shoppers into buyers, the more successful your ads will be. Weak, uninspiring listings will hold you back no matter how much you spend on ads.
Take Advantage of Amazon's Reports & Optimize Constantly
Amazon provides stellar reporting tools and campaign analytics. Dig into these reports obsessively. Look for your most successful search terms driving clicks and conversions, along with trends relating to matchtype performance, top performing product targets and more. And keep constantly refreshing and optimizing your campaigns based on these insights. Even tiny refinements can unlock better efficiencies and cost savings over time.
Automate Bidding With a Profit-Focused Mindset
Amazon's bidding system lets you automate bidding to hit specific targets. For example, dynamic bids allow you to have Amazon adjust your bids in real-time to hit a target cost per acquisition. Using these automation tools through a profitability lens is key. For maximum ROI and profit margins, set your bidding rules so that your ad spend stays below certain levels in relation to your margins on each product.
Use All Three Amazon Ad Types In Conjunction
Amazon has three key ad formats: sponsored products, sponsored brands and sponsored display ads. Sponsored products and brands are fantastic for targeting specific search terms. But display ads allow you to build more branded awareness with tailored visual creative that pursues shoppers as they browse on and off Amazon. Use the different formats together cohesively, and your campaigns become even more holistically effective.
Pay Close Attention To Mobile vs. Desktop Performance
A shockingly high percentage of Amazon's traffic comes from mobile devices. You'll want to dissect your campaign performance closely between mobile and desktop traffic. Define separate strategies and budgets for each platform based on where you see conversion strengths. On mobile especially, be cautious about ad load times and formatting for small screens.
Test
Split-testing and incremental refinements are crucial for long-term Amazon ad performance. Test different creatives, keyword portfolios, match types, bidding approaches, dayparting scheduling and more. The more you test and let data drive your decision making, the better results you will achieve over time. With Amazon's huge audience volumes, even tiny 1-2% conversion tweaks can produce meaningful boosts in sales and profits.
Have Patience And Think Long-Term
Be prepared that it may take some time to fully optimize your Amazon ad engine. You need a respectable amount of conversion data to analyze and refine from. And it may take several months of iterative testing to maximize performance. But stay committed, since the long-term payoffs will be immense. Amazon is only continuing to grow in its dominance as the world's primary e-commerce platform and shopping search engine.
With a patient, data-driven approach to Amazon advertising, the sky is truly the limit in terms of potential revenue and growth for your business. Check out
Amazowl, one of the best Amazon agencies, to help you achieve these results.
