The important thing to profitable Amazon advertisements
Amazon sold 100 million products in 36 hours. Maybe Amazon ads boosted some of those sales.
Amazon ads allow businesses to appear at the top of search results. You get a return on your investment in the form of increased sales and potential customer loyalty. In return, Amazon is making a profit on ad sales ($ 3 billion in a few years).
Creativity, including visual pizazz, is vital in the Amazon market. Killer keyword strategies are also important.
I'm going to walk you through best practices for setting up Amazon ads so you know exactly how to get your products off the shelves.
Why your business should use Amazon ads
The average user spends less than 10 minutes on Amazon. If your product is buried low in search results, no one will see it.
People just don't have the time to read every product description or review every brand. We have jobs and children, and life draws our attention. We have to make decisions quickly.
Think of Amazon Ads as your method to cut into a long line and get attention.
If you jump from point 10 (oblivion) to point 1, you can increase your Amazon sales. Your investment could ensure busy shoppers find your products before they can opt out.
That could mean more products sold and more revenue.
More than 80 percent of brands achieve a four-fold return on investment for their work at Amazon. If it works for others, it could work for you.
What are the Amazon ad types?
Instead of patiently waiting for customers to find them, businesses use Amazon ads to be seen right away.
There are several types of Amazon ads.
Sponsored product Amazon Ads
These advertisements only highlight one item in your catalog. They will appear in the search results but will appear at the top of the page. Consumers see them above all else. If the screen is small enough, all consumers will see sponsored product ads.
Amazon Ads sponsored brand
These ads allow you to display multiple items from your catalog. They'll appear in a banner at the top of Amazon search results.
Often times, sponsored product ads and sponsored brands work together. Check out this search result for "Baby Care". A sponsored branded banner for WaterWipes launches the page, but Seventh Generation has an ad below.
Sponsored display of Amazon ads
These ads allow you to present only one product and appear on websites owned or related to Amazon.
If an annoying Amazon ad for a product in your cart seems to be following you from website to website, you've encountered a sponsored display ad.
They may seem annoying, but they can be remarkably effective. More than 70 percent of shoppers click on ads like this while browsing the internet.
What's the difference between Display and other Amazon ads?
Ads for Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Products are both served on Amazon. Look for something and it will show up. Sometimes buyers see more than one at a time.
Sponsored display ads are different. They appear on other websites that Amazon either directly owns or is affiliated with.
For example, many bloggers make money by renting advertising space to Amazon. They include products in blog posts with Amazon affiliate links or display ads next to the text.
Any Amazon ad that appears on a blog like this one is a Sponsored Display Ad. If you want to reach out to consumers who don't spend all day on Amazon, this might be a smart approach.
Other Amazon ad types
Some Amazon ads are easy to spot, like this branded ad for ASUS at the top of a category search for electronics.
Some ads are similar to organic search results. They are only identified by the tiny word "sponsored" anywhere in the ad.
Best of all, someone who is turning the pages quickly may miss this tiny ad and assume that your product is simply the best there is.
Lockscreen ads
Amazon also allows you to place lockscreen ads on Kindle e-readers and tablets. This is based on the interests of the users on Amazon and reading the history on the Kindle.
How to Create Amazon Ads
Whether you're promoting a specific product or a range of products, the steps to create Amazon Ads are largely the same.
Here I am giving you a general overview of the advertising process. I'll move quickly, but don't worry. I'll describe Ad Optimization in detail later in this article. This section serves as a quick reference guide for those who like to join in with the reading.
Check your eligibility
For every product you sell, you must do a quick eligibility check before creating your ad. If you're selling a product that no one else is selling (like a self-published book) this step is a breeze. However, if you are selling something that many others are selling (such as a brand name antacid) it may take longer to review.
Imagine that you are an Amazon buyer looking for a branded work shoe. You can find the color and size you like and you hit a page that looks like it. The critical part is on the right. Note the "Add to cart" and "Buy now" buttons.
The provider who owns the target for the click owns the so-called "Buy Box". This is also known as "winning" the Buy Box. You have to be this provider to be able to place a product advertisement.
If you win the Buy Box, customers who click "Add to Cart" on this page will buy from you. If you don't win that box, your competitor will be able to run product ads, but they won't.
If you're the only vendor selling a product, you own the Buy Box by default and don't have to do any work at all. However, when you find yourself in a crowded field, you have to fight for victory.
Keep your price low, always ship on time, and earn great reviews. Higher scores attract Amazon's attention and increase the likelihood that a Buy Box will win.
Sign in to Amazon Ads Campaign Manager
After signing in to Amazon Advertising, choose an ad type: Sponsored Products or Lockscreen Ads.
Remember, you can only advertise one product using the Sponsored Product and Sponsored Display options. When you're ready to talk about a whole range of articles, choose the Sponsored Brand option.
Choose your products for Amazon ads
Every campaign starts with a product. Which articles are resonating with your audience? Which products are clogging your storage shelves? Take the time to choose the focus for your ad.
Set your specifics
Now let's get into the development of ads.
Your campaign contains all the ads for a specific product and needs a creative name. When you are successful with Amazon Ads, dozens of campaigns run at the same time. Pick a name that you will remember.
Next, set a budget for your campaign. The number you choose will be the top end of your monthly bill. So don't pick anything that you can't afford.
Finally, determine the start and end dates for your campaign.
Choose your targeting
You have two options here: manual and automatic. With the automatic function, you ask Amazon to find buyers based on the keywords in your product list or to enter keywords that should trigger your ad.
Keywords play a crucial role on Amazon, just like they do on Google.
Tips for Choosing Your Amazon Ad Target Keywords
Keywords are the terms that are entered into search fields when searching for products like yours. They are critical to your success.
The ideal Amazon keyword has three main attributes:
- Specific
- Popular
- Moderately expensive
You probably know what words describe your product. If you use Google Ads, your reports will tell you all about the terms consumers use to find you. If you run a website, the Google Search Console has similar reports. Browse through this data to find the words that already work.
If you don't have internal data, use a keyword research tool. The insights gained here can help you understand what words to simply have in ads and product descriptions.
Popular, frequently used keywords can be expensive. If you're on a tight budget and can't pay $ 5 a click for the keyword "best baby diaper" but can pay $ 2 for "great diapers," your choice is clear.
Opt for the Amazon ad format
Amazon offers two formats. The first is custom, where you write a precise copy of the product for display. You can only do this for one product per ad campaign.
Ad copy creation begins with ideal product descriptions. Your ad copy should describe one or two key benefits. However, you should know that your customers will come to your side to learn more about why they should choose your product.
Make sure your ad copy and product descriptions match to showcase your brand in the best light.
The other display option is a standard display. This is an ad with no custom text, but the titles and descriptions of your products still matter.
How to optimize your Amazon Ads
Combine your best writing and photography into one irresistible, clickable slice and you've created an extraordinary ad.
Typically, ads are based on your Amazon product list. Make your products as compelling as possible to make sure your ads work.
Your primary image options are limited. Amazon requires you to present your product on a white background. You can't include anything that isn't standard with the product, and you can't use flashy techniques to pop the photo.
Focus on getting a clear and clean picture of the product. Showcase features when you can, creatively using camera angles to demonstrate all the benefits and make sure everything is in focus.
Taking exceptional ecommerce photos can be a challenge. You want to showcase your creativity and photography skills, but rules and regulations limit you. Take your time for this step. Your photos can make a sale or break.
How Much Do Amazon Ads Cost?
The pricing structure involves the interaction of three key factors: keywords, competition and clicks.
- Keywords are the terms that describe your brand, product, or both. You choose them or you allow Amazon to choose them for you.
- Competition refers to the number of companies or brands that also want your keyword. The more players, the higher the price.
- Clicks affect a user who shows interest in your brand.
Keyword price × number of clicks = your final cost
You set a billing cap so you don't keep charging indefinitely. At some point, you will be spending all of the money you have agreed to make. Automatic targeting, which uses keywords and product types to automatically determine where your ads will appear. You can set bids based on a standard or recommendations from Amazon.
On average, companies spend anywhere from 50 cents to $ 1 to get just one click. Amazon lets you set monthly budgets as low as $ 5. You can also pause or cancel your ads, and there are no cancellation fees.
Most advertisers keep Amazon ad budgets slim. They devote less than a quarter of their total annual ad budget to Amazon.
Conclusion
People come to Amazon every day to learn more about products and brands like yours.
You could let them try to find you organically, but if you keep your fingers crossed, close your eyes, and hope for clicks, it's not a successful strategy.
Instead, you need to put your articles in front of people. You have to get there before spending your money.
I am a firm believer in Amazon ads. I hope I made you a believer too.
Have you used Amazon Ads before? How well did they work for you?