Amazon has been taking the world by storm by making shopping easier. People use Amazon to purchase various goods. And, through Amazon ads, people are more likely to buy these products.
One way to increase product discoverability and dominate Amazon is to use Amazon ads. Currently, Amazon has three main ways to do so: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display.
As the number of sellers grows on Amazon, it is high time to effectively step up your ad game and use Amazon ads.
What are Amazon Sponsored Products?
Amazon Sponsored Products are cost-per-click ads that sellers use to promote individual products on Amazon. Amazon sponsored products are a mid-funnel advertising strategy that allows sellers to increase product visibility. Typically, shoppers see them on the first page of search results, so they blend well with other listings.
This type of Amazon ad uses custom keywords that are relevant to the products. This way, customers who search these keywords see the ad. Moreover, Amazon sponsored products do not use additional images or listings.
Through this type of advertising, shoppers can hardly tell the difference between the ad and a listing. As a result, they think that the product appeared as a top result because of its rating. It is also a cost-effective way to put up an Amazon ad because a budget of $1 a day can go a long way. However, the downside to using this ad type is that it has to be monitored closely.
How to Create Amazon Sponsored Products
Creating Amazon sponsored products for your listings is easy. If you are planning to do so, here are the steps you have to follow to employ Amazon sponsored products.
Log in to Amazon and go to your Amazon Seller Central account.
Find Campaign Manager and click Create campaign, then choose Sponsored Products. Once the page loads, you can now create a campaign.
Create a campaign name, then choose the start and end dates.
Enter your appropriate daily budget and select the targeting strategy you want. Choose between manual and automatic targeting. If you are new to Amazon ads, use automatic targeting. Otherwise, choose manual targeting and start adding relevant keywords.
Next, create an ad group. You can group products that come under the same category (like price, feature, etc.) to make the ad more effective.
Lastly, choose products that you want to display as ads.
What is Amazon Sponsored Display Ads?
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Another Amazon advertisement option is using sponsored display ads. Amazon display ads can be used as a top, middle, or bottom-funnel strategy because of their targeting capacity.
Usually, amazon display ads are found under a product detail page. However, vendors can use amazon display ads to maximize an ad campaign because shoppers can also view ads in other Amazon locations.
Unlike Amazon sponsored products, Amazon display ads can focus on customers’ shopping behaviors, including repeat and similar product purchases. Moreover, Amazon display ads also target customers who checked the product detail page but did not purchase the item. Because of this, your Amazon display ads stand out from other ads.
Where Do You Find Sponsored Display Ads?
Amazon display ads can be found almost anywhere on Amazon’s page. However, shoppers typically find Amazon display ads under the buying options on the right sidebar.
Moreover, since Amazon display ads are spread everywhere on Amazon, they can also be found on the following locations:
Product Detail Pages (Desktop and Mobile)
Customer Review Pages
Top of the Offer Listing Pages
Outside of Amazon (Any website owned by Amazon or is partners with Amazon)
Benefits of Using Sponsored Display Ads
Using Amazon display ads have many benefits, including appearing on websites other than Amazon. Moreover, using Amazon display ads is a must if one of your goals is to boost customer impressions. You can increase your reach in a short period. Additionally, using Amazon display ads also give you the following benefits:
Amazon display ads help increase brand awareness in your category/niche.
Amazon display ads allow you to bring engagement to a product’s detail page.
Amazon display ads enable you to put your best product under a competitor’s listing.
Amazon display ads help you boost visibility for new product listings.
How to Create Sponsored Display Ads
Similar to Amazon sponsored products, Amazon display ads are also easy to create. Here are the steps you have to follow to create Amazon display ads.
Log in to Amazon and go to your Amazon Seller Central account.
Then, go to Campaign Manager and click Create Campaign.
After clicking, you will be asked to select the type of ad campaign you want to use. Select Sponsored Display.
Pick the item/s you want to advertise by typing the name or ASIN.
After choosing the product/s you would like to advertise, you will now be allowed to set a cost-per-click bid.
Now that you have set a CPC bid, it is time to choose a campaign name, budget, and duration.
Preview your ad & submit it.
How Audience Targeting Works With Sponsored Display Ads
Unlike Amazon sponsored products, Amazon display ads use a targeting strategy based on the audience. There are three types of remarketing audiences when using Amazon display ads. These are views, searches, and purchases.
Views Remarketing
The newest of the three is views remarketing. Views marketing allows you to target customers who have viewed your products in the past month but have not bought from your Amazon store.
You can also target shoppers who have viewed your products’ detail pages with specific criteria through views remarketing. Typically, the criteria include your products’ brand and star rating.
Searches Remarketing
On the other hand, searches remarketing allows you to target customers who have searched for keywords to look for products related to yours. Specifically, it targets shoppers who have not seen your products.
Purchases Remarketing
Lastly, purchases remarketing is the strategy that targets customers who have purchased from your store in the past. This targeting strategy is the most suitable for consumable items. Although its audience is the smallest among the three, it allows you to increase customer lifetime value.
Differences between Amazon Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display
As mentioned earlier, Amazon allows vendors to use ads to increase product visibility, customer engagement, and impressions. These are Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display.
Although almost the same, there are still differences that make one better than the others. If you are new to Amazon advertising, here are the differences you need to know about the three.
Amazon Sponsored Products
Amazon sponsored products are a mid-funnel advertising strategy. This allows vendors to increase product visibility by putting them above top organic listings. Moreover, this advertising strategy uses custom keywords to let products show up on customers searching for these keywords.
Amazon sponsored products generally look like listings but are marked “Sponsored.” this strategy is useful because it allows the ads to blend in with organic search results. Additionally, it helps customers see your products without making them think that it is an advertisement.
Amazon Sponsored Brands
Unlike sponsored products, Amazon sponsored brands are a top-funnel advertising strategy. Vendors use this advertising strategy to increase brand awareness. It is also commonly used to promote a product category or a store’s bestsellers. Typically, Amazon sponsored brand ads show up as banners on a search results page.
Moreover, this advertising strategy requires ad copies and a unique logo. It also helps stores stand out as it allows vendors to take customers on custom pages. These include the brand store or a separate landing page.
Lastly, because of the prime ad locations and limited space, competition for Amazon sponsored brand ads is high.
Amazon Sponsored Display
Amazon display ads are the most versatile as they can be used as a top, middle, or bottom-funnel advertising strategy. Typically, Amazon display ads are found on a product’s detail page. However, these ads can also be found in other locations on Amazon.
Amazon display ads are an effective advertising strategy as it targets shoppers based on behavior. This includes repeat and similar product purchases and shoppers who viewed a product’s detail page but did not purchase. Moreover, Amazon display ads allow vendors to put ads on different sections of the sales funnel. This will enable vendors to target shoppers wherever they are in the buying process.
The table below will help you summarize the three advertising strategies’ features to help you choose what works best for you.
Feature
Sponsored Products
Sponsored Display
Sponsored Brands
Automatic Targeting
Available
Not Available
Not Available
Keyword Targeting(Manual Targeting)
Available
Available
Not Available
Product Targeting(Manual Targeting)
Targets specific products
Not Available
Targets related productcategories
Manual + Audience
Not Available
Not Available
Targets shoppers basedon behavior and interest
Ad Placement
Top and middle of the searchBottom of search resultsProducts’ detail pages
Top of searchBelow search results
Product pages on AmazonAmazon search resultsOutside of Amazon
Given that Amazon has many products, you might be skeptical that it could help you get income returns. However, keep in mind that there are things you can do to stand out from your competitors.
If you are new to Amazon advertising, here are some of the things you can do to optimize your ads.
Create compelling ad copies.
Compelling ad copies have accurate details. However, to make them even more tempting to the shoppers, consider adding creativity and humor into your ads. This will help you stand out from other search results.
Additionally, making shoppers feel a sense of urgency can also be beneficial. For example, if you’re offering a sale or product promotion, ensure that your ad highlights such.
Make sure that your ad copies are as specific as possible.
Aside from being compelling, your ad copies should also be specific. For example, if you’re selling water bottles, shoppers want to know its capacity (i.e., how many liters it holds). Other particular details could also help you, like the materials used or how many hours it can keep water cold.
While displaying all this information can be difficult, ensure that the most important details are in your ad copies.
Consider bidding on famous brands that sell the same products.
When thinking of keywords to use, try to bid on your competitors. For example, if you sell backpacks, consider bidding on search terms like “The North Face backpacks.” Since it is a well-known brand, it allows your product to gain engagement.
Tools to Facilitate Automation of Amazon Ads
Using Amazon sponsored ads splits your campaign into two: keyword and bid management. Both activities have to be performed on routine to ensure that your ad campaign runs smoothly. However, the downside to this is that it can be very time-consuming.
On the contrary, there are tools that you can use to automate these processes to save time and ensure that you maximize your ROI. Tools like Rocketium can help automate and run Amazon ads smoothly.
Instead of manual keyword managing and bid price changing, automation software will lower and raise bids depending on your campaign goals. Automation softwares also move keywords depending on the campaign type and the same goals.
Why You Need Amazon Advertising Automation
As mentioned, automation software helps you save time and maximize your ROI. However, aside from those, ad automation has many benefits. Tools like Rocketium will not only help you save time but give you the following benefits as well:
It helps you beat the competition.
To compete with the growing competition on Amazon, you have to maximize the resources available to you. With automation software in hand, you get to maximize your time and ROI and create better campaigns that could beat the competition.
It helps you improve your ad campaigns.
While you know enough about Amazon advertising, you are probably not an expert. While there are some tweaks you can make to optimize your ad campaigns, you might not know some that are more effective.
It allows you to place advertisements not based on a hunch.
For most Amazon sellers, advertising can be tricky. While you might think that your ad campaign is working, your data might tell you an entirely different thing. This is because you are using your gut and what you think might work. However, using this strategy only helps you waste money.
With automation softwares like Rocketium, data-backed work based on algorithms is done for you.
Final Thoughts
Amazon ads can be tricky, especially if you are new to the platform. However, with the right tools, your ads will not only be effective but optimized as well. Finding the right tools to help you automate your ads will not only save you time but increase your ROI too.
Learn more about Amazon ad automation at Rocketium.
Ayush Parti 
