If your business or brand are fortunate enough to be part of Amazon Vendor Central, you’re already ahead of the game when compared to most other Amazon sellers. That being said, it can still be a very competitive marketplace,...
If your business or brand are fortunate enough to be part of Amazon Vendor Central, you’re already ahead of the game when compared to most other Amazon sellers. That being said, it can still be a very competitive marketplace, with plenty of other Vendor Central brands competing with yours. As such, Amazon offers several advertising options to help your brand stand out via the newly minted Amazon Advertising.
What used to be split up into two separate advertising platforms for both sellers and vendors has now been combined into a single central hub capable of serving all your advertising needs.
To help you navigate these changes and determine which Amazon advertising options are right for you, we created a brief breakdown of some of the more popular options below. Just keep in mind that while they all have their own specific strengths and weaknesses, it’s often best to combine strategies to effectively hit your target audience and drive brand awareness and sales. Therefore, we reco a combination of some of the below advertising options to be most effective.
Amazon Sponsored Brands
Formerly called Amazon Headline Ads, the new “Sponsored Ads” are a great way to not only highlight your overall brand, but also several key products. They allow for a single headline, logo, and three featured products along with links directly to their product pages. In addition, you can also redirect these ads to your main Amazon storefront or a specific customized landing page.
Since potential customers clicking these banner ads will already be at the top of their purchasing journey, you can use these ads as part of your top-of-funnel advertising. By directing them to your Amazon store or specified landing page, you’ll be able to increase both brand and product awareness among your target audience.
Amazon Sponsored Products
These are the most basic ad options available on Amazon Advertising and are used by both sellers and vendors. They feature a single product listing that gets displayed on Amazon search results or a product details page. They also offer two different targeting options: Manual Targeting, which allows you to customize keyword searches and other settings, and Automatic Targeting, which lets Amazon do all the work. Their algorithm defines the right keywords for you based on your product description and no additional setup or assets are required.
Sponsored Product Ads are a great way to create general awareness for your product and help generate increased sales when demand for that product is high. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to win the Amazon Vendor Buy Box in order to execute them.
Amazon Sponsored Display
Amazon Sponsored Display ads are a Cost-Per-Click (CPC) option available on Amazon and offer several ways for you to target shoppers:
Product-Based Targeting
Allows you to “cross-sell” your product by promoting it on the product details page of similar or complementary products and categories that potential buyers are browsing. If you’re okay with cross-selling, Product-Based Targeting can be a very effective tool in your Amazon Advertising toolbox.
View-Based Targeting
Allows you to re-engage high-purchasing intent buyers who have already visited either your product details page or that of a competitor’s. These are great if your advertising strategy involves retargeting.
Interest-Based Targeting
Allows you to target customers looking for similar products that fall under the same Amazon category. If you’re looking to drive overall brand awareness, Interest-Based targeting is a great way to go.