What’s new with Amazon Ads?
Amazon is one of the most widely acclaimed and popular eCommerce websites (and apps) in the world. Most buyers want to search multiple products online at least once while browsing, and that is exactly why all sellers contemplate making their products visible on Amazon. So, in what order are products featured on search pages?
While Amazon has several filters to feature search results, such as pricing, ratings, condition, etc, default results are listed on the basis of relevance. Search any product on Amazon and you will find a fine mix of products – from highly rated products, recommended products, sponsored products, etc. In fact, Amazon’s sponsored ads even feature products and services that aren’t included on Amazon.
Besides the carousels on product pages, sponsored ads now make a large part of the search engine result pages (SERP). Sponsored ads are now featured at the beginning, middle as well as towards the end of a search page. The frequency of sponsored ads has now increased on search pages, and this is a welcome change for small businesses.
Sponsored products on Amazon have helped big businesses in the past, and small businesses are now witnessing a positive impact on their sales thanks to Amazon ads. Amazon ads are providing small businesses the necessary promotion to feature their products in a highly competitive market. Read on to find out more about Amazon ads for small businesses.
How Can Small Businesses Benefit From Amazon Ads?
Amazon ads have multiple benefits for small businesses. Sponsored products on Amazon are featured much more than organic searches, especially for small businesses and new sellers on Amazon. Amazon Virtual assistants are of great help to small businesses, so you must consider hiring them.
Here are some of the biggest and standout benefits of Amazon ads for small businesses:
- Your products can be advertised on one of the largest marketplaces and its associated apps.
- The advertising costs are not very high, and you can choose to spend according to your marketing budget.
- Since Amazon ads are quite cost-effective, you can run relatively longer campaigns compared to many other online ads.
- You can customize your ads.
- You can advertise your small business, even if it isn’t a product-based business and even if your own products are not featured on Amazon.
There are several types of sponsored ads small businesses can run on Amazon. Let us have a look at the different types of sponsored ads featured on Amazon, and how small business owners can approach these types of ads.
Amazon Ad Types Small Businesses Can Benefit a Great Deal From
As mentioned above, all kinds of users are eligible for sponsored ads on Amazon – regardless of whether or not they sell their own products on Amazon. As a small business owner, you have several constraints such as a limited marketing budget, and a small sales and marketing team.
Let us have a look at the various ad types you can opt for as a small business owner.
If you are an Amazon Seller
- Sponsored Product Ads: Sponsored product ads on Amazon appear alongside other products in users’ search results. The products are tagged as ‘sponsored’, but appear similar to other products, so it is hard for new users to distinguish between organic search results and sponsored ads. For small business owners looking to promote their own Amazon products, sponsored product ads are a great fit.
- Sponsored Brand Ads: Brand ads are the ads that appear on product pages on Amazon. If you have an Amazon Store, these ads can also appear on the landing page(s) of your own Amazon store. The best thing about these ads is that since they appear on product and store pages, the users looking at them are serious buyers. You should invest in these ads, as you’ll only have to pay if users click on your ads.
- Amazon Stores: An Amazon Store is just like your own online portal – the big difference – it is actually a sub-portal of your brand on one of the most popular eCommerce sites. Not only are all your products featured here, but you can also manage the design and branding of your store the way you like.
Amazon Stores can also be advertised, which will open up your buyers to a plethora of all the products you want to sell through Amazon. If you have multiple products and would like to advertise them together, you should go for Amazon Store advertising.
If you are not an Amazon Seller
If you are not an Amazon Seller, there are two ways of advertising your products and services – display ads and video ads. These ads are different from product display ads and are used by companies and small businesses that don’t sell on Amazon.
Display ads follow a cost-per-thousand (CPM) model, just like the one with Google ads. Display ads are displayed on the website as well as on the Amazon app. Using display ads, you can direct users to land on your Amazon product or store page, or redirect them to an external website.
Video ads are the video-based ads that appear on Amazon’s websites and devices. The advantage of video ads is that after watching your video, users can click on them to visit your product page or any other link you mention.
Let’s further find out the best Amazon PPC strategy for small businesses.
Amazon Advertising Strategy – Make the Best of Amazon Ads
One thing worth noting is that Amazon sponsored ads follow the ‘Cost Per Click’ (or CPC) model. This means that as an Amazon Seller, Amazon charges you every time a customer clicks on your sponsored ads. Since several small businesses are already using sponsored ads, you need your own Amazon advertising strategy. You can do a lot to make the best of Amazon ads.
Here are a few tips which can help you a lot as a small business advertising on Amazon:
- Choose the ad type that serves your purpose. For small businesses with limited products, sponsored ads and brand ads are the best. If you have multiple products, go for store ads. For non-Amazon businesses, go for display and video ads.
- Start with a limited ad budget. Advertise for a few days and track the results. If you witness a positive impact on your visibility and sales, expand your subsequent campaigns.
- Select keywords that suit your business the best, and are relevant to the kind of products people would be searching for on Amazon.
- Include your USPs in your sponsored ads, as users need a reason to click on sponsored products on Amazon. Don’t use words such as ‘bestseller’, but feature your USPs that are non-promotional in nature.
- Choose ‘Automatic targeting’ for automatically generating keywords and product matches. Try to see if this works in your initial few campaigns.
- Amazon has three main bidding strategies: ‘Down Only’, ‘Up and Down’ (both are Dynamic Bids), and ‘Fixed Bids’. While fixed bids keep your CPC constant, down only reduces your bids for low-selling products, and ‘Up and Down’ additionally increases your bids for products that convert. First timers with low budgets should opt for either ‘fixed bids’ or ‘down only’, while you are advised to use ‘up and down’ as you gain some experience and learn more Amazon PPC tips and tricks.
More Amazon PPC Tips and Tricks
In the long run, your Amazon advertising strategy totally depends on you. You will evolve as you start bidding campaigns for your business on Amazon. Here are a few additional Amazon strategies for your small business:
- Work on your small business portal (Amazon Store/products page/landing page/external website) before starting a campaign. Do a bit of competitor research, and present your business in the best way. You need to make sure customers buy your products, especially after their clicks have added to your marketing costs.
- Hire experts to help you with product data, images, listings, and other Amazon features. They also help you implement changes according to customers’ responses, and are available in all geographical locations. They provide you with real-time responses and are available round the clock.
- Target long tail keywords: Long tail keywords usually have low search volumes, but the number of conversions is high as users are searching for specific requirements. For example, use keywords such as ‘long sleeve zippers’ instead of ‘zippers’. You can opt for Amazon SEO services to optimize your listings.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, sponsored products on Amazon make for the great first time and repeat sales. Amazon ads are a great help. But since a lot of small businesses are already advertising their products and services on Amazon, you need a well cut out Amazon CPC and advertising strategy for your small business.
As a small business, you can always outsource your ad requirements to an experienced company that has been dealing with Amazon CPC for a long time. This will help you save time and focus on your business. Data4eCom offers Amazon CPC services, as well as Amazon Consulting services at the lowest prices and minimum turnaround time, and you can get in touch with their team.
