Part 2: Increasing your traffic with advertising
It’s crucial to take advantage of both organic and paid efforts to maximise your reach on marketplaces. In our blog “Tips for Selling on Amazon Part 1 “, we went over numerous recommendations on how to increase traffic organically. Now, we are going to tackle advertising options on Amazon that will help you boost your traffic and sales even more.
From understanding the different advertising tools that are available to optimising your ad campaigns for maximum ROI, let’s go over the different ways to make your product more visible to shoppers!
Amazon Advertising
It’s important to consider the different types of advertising opportunities on Amazon, and then decide which ones best suit your needs. A combination of paid ads is often the best strategy to implement. The four categories are:
Sponsored Products
What are Sponsored Products? It’s a cost-per-click (PPC) ad that lets you promote your product listings. You can bid for the best keywords to increase the visibility of your product, and you don’t need to be a registered brand to do so. This is the most widely used advertising option on Amazon, and it’s especially useful if you’re launching a new product!
Sponsored Brands
What are Sponsored Brands? This promotes the brand as a whole, as opposed to a specific product. Similar to Sponsored Products, it’s also PPC, but you must register your brand to take advantage of it. These ads are featured in prominent places on Amazon, and they include a logo, customised headline and up to three product images or a video. Sponsored Brands can be connected to your Amazon Store or product page.
Sponsored Display
What are Sponsored Display ads? These ads appear on a variety of Amazon pages as well as third-party apps and websites, allowing you to reach a wider audience. By targeting smartly, your products are also shown next to competing or complementary products. Sponsored Display ads are different from Sponsored Products and Brands in the sense that they don’t use keywords to target shoppers. Alternatively, the ads use customer shopping behaviour and interests to target audiences.
Sponsored Brands Video
Also a form of PPC advertising for registered brands, the Sponsored Brands videos are displayed on both mobile and desktop based on relevant keywords. Customers can be sent directly to the product listing page or to an Amazon Store. Amazon recommends taking a storytelling approach when creating the videos, as well as keeping them between 15-30 seconds.
Making the most of your ad campaign
Your ads need to be appealing as well as stand out from the competition. Just throwing some money at an ad budget won’t cut it nowadays. With that said, you need to make sure to continuously optimise your ads. This can be achieved through various ways such as improving keywords, creating more compelling product descriptions and images, and targeting the right audiences, to name a few. Successful ad campaigns take attentive management. We suggest letting your campaign run for 2 weeks, so Amazon can collect enough useful data for you to analyse. This way, you can make an informed decision on how to make the most of your campaign.
Keyword research
Amazon recommends being as clear as possible when describing your products. Use keyword combinations that specifically detail your product’s benefits, ingredients/materials and characteristics. Also, be sure to include your brand name within the keywords, so you can attract shoppers searching for your brand’s products. Most importantly, once you have your ad campaign running, make use of your search term report to find which keywords are performing the best. Adjust your keywords based on this data and update your ad strategy with this information.
Compelling product descriptions and images
In Part 1 of this blog series, we mentioned the need for your product descriptions to be specific, accurate but also attention-grabbing. The same goes for your ads. You need quality images and videos to gain your customers interest and trust. Once you see the results of your campaign, you can decide if you need to tweak the content with different visuals or try adding a video, etc. to see how it resonates with your target audience.
Targeting wisely
With Amazon advertising, you can hone in on specific demographics, interests, and behaviours to ensure that your ads are seen by the right audience. Use Amazon’s audience insights and targeting tools to help create a more personalised experience for your customers. See what they’re clicking on and searching for, and adjust your ads as needed. Understanding your target audience is essential for success.
External Traffic
Drive traffic from external sources to your Amazon store. Utilise your website, blog, social media channels, email marketing, or other advertising platforms to promote your Amazon products. Use relevant tracking URLs or unique coupon codes to measure the effectiveness of different traffic sources.
Competitive Analysis
Analyse your competitors’ advertising strategies and identify opportunities. Look for keywords they are targeting, the types of campaigns they run, and the messaging they use. Learn from their successes and failures to refine your own advertising approach.
For the sponsored ads that use PPC, it’s essential to stay on top of the ever-changing market trends and adjust your bids accordingly. By continuously assessing, you can ensure that your ads remain competitive and reach the widest possible audience. This is especially important, as search rankings can make all the difference with increasing visibility.
Remember, advertising on Amazon requires continuous monitoring, testing, and optimization to achieve the best results. By implementing these tips and staying proactive, you can increase your traffic and improve sales.
Advertising on marketplaces is one of our specialties, and we have proudly helped many clients set up and manage their ad campaigns. If you are interested in boosting your sales on Amazon, contact us for a consultation.