Amazon Sponsored Advertising: What You Need to Know

If you are familiar with Google ads, then Amazon ads will come as second nature to you. Amazon ads work the same way as Google’s – users enter a search term and the most relevant organic results appear, along with a few strategically placed sponsored ads. 

Sellers who are looking to promote their products can set up specific, highly targeted ad campaigns to make sure their ads show up when specific keywords are entered into the search bar. Just like with Google Ads, sellers will only pay a fee when someone actually clicks through to view the product listing page.

Understanding the Different Types of Amazon Ads

Amazon currently offers four types of self-service advertising options to sellers. These self-service ad options include:

·         Sponsored Product Ads

·         Sponsored Brand Ads

·         Sponsored Display Ads 

·         Sponsored Brand Videos

Building your own Amazon Store is also listed under advertising options on Amazon. A Store is a free feature that allows sellers to create on-brand storefront within Amazon. You can’t link directly to your website or any other URL that prompts Amazon customers to leave Amazon.com, so creating an Amazon Store is vital. It acts as your internal website to represent your brand and all of the products that you offer. While it does take time to create an eye-catching Amazon Store, it is definitely worth the investment – especially if you are planning to use the Sponsored Brand Ads (mentioned below).

Sponsored Product Ads

Sponsored Product Ads are ads for individual product listings on Amazon. These ads show up on the top or side of Amazon’s shopping results pages, as well as on product detail pages. 

Sponsored Products can help drive your sales by helping you reach customers who are actively looking for products related to theirs. Typically, these customers already know what they are looking for and are serious about making a purchase. 

To participate in using these types of ads, your products have to be eligible to win the Amazon Buy Box. This means that your products must be priced competitively. Your seller account must also be in good standing to qualify – which is just another reason to keep a close eye on your seller feedback and reviews, as well as other metrics involved with inventory, shipping, and fulfillment.

Sponsored Brand Ads

Sponsored Brand Ads are more detailed than Sponsored Product ads. These ads help drive new customers directly to your brand. The ad typically features a brand logo that links directly to your Amazon Store, which helps get customers away from the competition by zeroing in on your brand alone.

Amazon Sponsored Brand Ads are well worth the investment as they help to build and drive brand awareness. If a customer clicks through to your brand, they’re much more likely to remember your brand. Additionally, they are probably going to visit your Amazon Store pages and browse through the other products that you offer. 

Ideal for brands that want to inspire long-term customers by building brand loyalty, these ads are a smart way to grow your Amazon business in a meaningful and impactful way.

Sponsored Display Ads

Sponsored Display Ads give Amazon sellers an opportunity to direct advertising to platforms besides Amazon.com, and to extend their reach to third-party apps and websites. Currently, this option is still in beta testing meaning that it is only available to some sellers. We expect this feature to roll out to all sellers in the near future. 

One of the main differences between Sponsored Product Ads and Brand Ads is that these two options use keywords to target shoppers, whereas Sponsored Display Ads direct ads based on people’s browsing and shopping behavior. 

With these ads you can target customers who have viewed your product pages or similar product pages without making a purchase, or customers who have purchased an item that your product could complement. For example, if a customer just purchased a toothbrush, they might see an ad for your company’s toothpaste.

Sponsored Brand Videos

Sponsored Brand Videos help break up the static visual imagery by standing out in desktop and mobile shopping results. Not only are they eye-catching, but they also help customers discover your brand and line of products as they shop on Amazon. These video ads are keyword targeted, cost-per-click, and link customers directly to the product detail page where they can learn more and purchase. All Sponsored Brands video campaigns are subject to Amazon’s sponsored ads creative acceptance policies. This means that all content contained therein must be appropriate for a general audience and must comply with all laws, rules, and regulations that apply to the advertiser, or the advertising content in any location where the advertisements may appear. Ads that do not meet these policies will not be accepted for Sponsored Brands video, and you will receive a notice of rejection from Amazon’s team.

Worth the Investment

So, is it worth it to spend the time and money on creating Amazon ads? Well, if you need further convincing, a recent study showed that 40% of retailers believed sponsored ads on Amazon have a better ROI than ads on Google or Facebook.  

Running Amazon sponsored ads is not simply an investment in paid eCommerce marketing – it’s a solid Amazon ad strategy that can also give your organic listings a boost! This is because Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm prioritizes products that snag sales. So when your sponsored ads on Amazon increase a product’s sales, the sales will then increase your product’s organic rankings as well. It’s a win-win situation! 

Amazon sellers rely on Awesome Dynamic’s full service line up of services from copywriting, photography and listing optimization, to PPC advertising management and more. Their highly recognized team of experts solely focus on Amazon and thus thrive at establishing, managing and maximizing growth potential for their clients on Seller Central and Vendor Central.