Amazon sellers who want to grab the Gold Shopping Cart (Buy Box) and build their own brands must master which type of advertising to use and how to use it.
Currently, Amazon Marketing Services offers sellers three advertising options: Product Display Ads, Sponsored Product Ads, and Headline Search Ads.
Product Display Ads
Product Display Ads are only available to sellers on VendorCentral and VendorExpress. When setting up Product Display Ads, you can choose to target specific product categories.
For example, if you sell five-blade razors, you can target five-blade razors from other brands. This is a more targeted advertising method and should have a higher conversion rate. Interest-based ads are more general. Typically, razors are targeted at men’s shaving needs. In this way, your ads will be seen by more people, but the conversion rate will not be as high. However, you can only choose one, and you cannot combine the two in the same ad. However, you can create two ads: one for a specific product and the other for the buyer’s interests. Then see which one produces the best return on investment. Your Product Display Ads can appear on competitor product detail pages, usually under “Other Sellers on Amazon.” Product Display Ads can also appear in search results, the right column, at the bottom of the page, and in customer review pages and Amazon-generated marketing emails, such as follow-ups and recommendations. Product Display Ads also run on Amazon’s desktop and mobile portals and mobile apps. Advertisers do not choose the exact location of Product Display Ads, and ads appear in multiple locations based on the factors you choose to target your products or the interests of buyers.
Sponsored Product Ads
Sponsored Product Ads are keyword-driven and can be “manual keyword targeting” or “automatic keyword targeting,” both of which have their own advantages. Manual keyword targeting is similar to Google AdWords and other pay-per-click platforms. To build a focused keyword list, determine the match type for each keyword (broad match, phrase match, or exact match), and set your bid. You can enter up to 1,000 keywords. Using Amazon’s campaign manager, you can monitor the performance of each keyword, adjust bids, and add and remove keywords. Automatic keyword targeting leverages Amazon’s search shopping intelligence. Amazon’s search algorithm can find the best keywords for your campaign. This eliminates the work of manual targeting. You no longer control the bid price for each keyword, you simply set a daily spend amount. After four weeks, run a search term report in the Advertisement Report area. This report is different from the regular search term report in the Campaign Manager. The ad report shows you the specific keywords that consumers used to find your products and which keywords led to transactions. It also tells you which ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) the customer was looking at when they clicked on your ad, which is valuable information. You can use these keywords to optimize your product pages to generate more organic traffic. Sponsored products usually appear in search results, in the right column or at the top or bottom of the page. Sponsored products are popular among all sellers. These ads are easy to create and are usually approved in less than an hour.
Headline Search Ads
Headline Search Ads are keyword-driven and appear at the top of the search results page. They are available to both vendors and third-party sellers. The appeal of this type of ad is its flexibility. You can include up to three products in one ad, or link the ad to your brand page, which lists all your products. Test multiple ads and determine which one performs best. Build a keyword list and choose a match type: phrase match, exact match, or broad match. Set bids for each keyword and track results. After the ad runs for a few days, review the bids for each keyword and set a price for an “expected win rate.”
Headline search ads are expensive, highly effective, target the highest-end consumer groups, and can be used for brand building. It is prudent to monitor performance every day. Posting all three types of ads at the same time and optimizing product pages can achieve the best results.