A Complete Amazon Advertising Guide for Beginners | SwiftStart

A Complete Amazon Advertising Guide for Beginners | SwiftStart

insights |  | 7 min read

Amazon has truly changed the way we shop. It has become an integral part of our lives, allowing us to purchase almost anything without ever having to leave our homes. From clothes, books, electronics, and more - Amazon has it all! This is why it's no surprise that 80 million Americans are Amazon Prime members - that's more than the number of people who live in Australia and Brazil combined! It's no wonder that Amazon has become a desirable platform for businesses to advertise on.

However, with so many different options, getting started can be overwhelming. That's why we've created this ultimate Amazon Advertising guide for beginners. This combined with our comprehensive Facebook Ads for Amazon products guide can prove to be the competitive advantage you're looking for. Let's jump-start your journey into Amazon Advertising.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover the following topics:

  • Understanding the basics of Amazon advertising
  • Amazon Ad types
  • How does Amazon advertising work?
  • Setting up a campaign for success.
  • Optimizing your campaigns
  • Measuring the success of your campaigns
  • Benefits of Advertising on Amazon
  • Common mistakes to avoid

By the end of this Amazon advertising guide, you will have a thorough understanding of the basics of Amazon Advertising, and you'll be ready to launch successful campaigns to help your business grow. Get ready for success!

Understanding the Basics of Amazon Advertising

At its core, Amazon Advertising is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform that allows businesses to promote their products on the platform. This means that when a potential customer clicks on your ad, you’ll be charged for it - hence the term “pay-per-click.”

Ads are displayed in the form of sponsored product listings, banners, and other forms of display ads that appear on product pages, category pages, and search results. Amazon Advertising also allows you to target specific customers with ads based on their shopping behavior, interests, and demographics.

Amazon Ad Types

There are two main types of Amazon Ads that you can use to promote your products.

Sponsored Products

Amazon Sponsored Products are the ads that appear on product pages, search results, and in banners. They help increase visibility, drive traffic to your items and increase visibility for related queries. You can target customers by the keywords they use in their searches, product category, or brand name.

Sponsored Brands

Amazon Sponsored Brands are the larger ads that appear at the top of search results. These allow you to use images, logos, and text to create a more engaging ad. In addition to increasing visibility and sales, they also help build your brand identity, recognition, and trust among buyers.

amazon sponsored brand ad

In addition to search ads, Amazon also offers Sponsored Display ads and stores. These are more advanced and require more resources, but they can be very powerful when done correctly. If you're a brand looking to grow your product on Amazon then SwiftStart can assist you to achieve your business goals. You can schedule a free Amazon account audit and talk to our experts now!

Here's an example of what sponsored display ad looks like.

amazon sponsored display ad

How Does Amazon Advertising Work?

Amazon Advertising is an auction-based system similar to Google Ads. This means advertisers compete with each other for ad placement, and the highest bidder wins. Each time someone searches for a keyword related to your ad, Amazon’s algorithm will determine which ads are most relevant and display those at the top of the search results. The amount you pay for each ad is based on a combination of your bid and how relevant Amazon believes your ad is to the search query. It’s important to note that higher bids don’t always guarantee placement, as relevance still plays a major role.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of Amazon Advertising, we can move on to setting up a successful campaign.

Setting Up A Campaign for Success

When setting up your campaigns, it’s important to have a strategy in place. Here is a simple breakdown:

Determine your Goals

Start by defining the goals of your campaign. What are you trying to achieve? Are you looking for more visibility, traffic, sales, or all three? Once you know what you are trying to achieve, creating campaigns tailored toward meeting those goals will be easier. Amazon allows you to set your metrics and KPIs, so select the right ones that align with your objectives.

Research Your Audience

Know who your target audience is and what they are looking for. This can be done through keyword research, analyzing competitor data, or surveying existing customers. It’s important to understand the customers you are trying to reach so that your ads can be tailored to fit their needs.

Create Engaging Ads

Once you have your goals and audience in place, it’s time to start creating ads. To do this, use high-quality images, copy, and calls to action that will help draw attention to your products. Also, use relevant keywords throughout the ad, as this will help with relevance and impressions.

Test and Optimize

Finally, test your ads to see which ones work best. Amazon offers a wide range of performance metrics that can be used to track the success of your campaigns. Make sure to keep an eye on these and continuously optimize your ads to ensure the maximum amount of success.

By following these steps, you can create powerful Amazon Advertising campaigns that will help drive more visibility, traffic, and sales. Whether you are just getting started or already have an established presence on Amazon, these strategies can help your business succeed.

Here's another comprehensive guide on Amazon 1p vs 3p to assist you in choosing the best way to sell on Amazon (according to your brand/business goals).

Five Common Mistakes Brands Make When Using Amazon Advertising

In this Amazon advertising guide, we have discussed the basics of how to create successful campaigns but it's also important to avoid certain mistakes while setting up those campaigns. Here are five common mistakes brands make while running advertising campaigns on Amazon.

1. Not Utilizing Negative Keywords

Negative keywords help narrow your campaigns' focus, ensuring you’re targeting customers interested in exactly what you offer. Not utilizing negative keywords can cause your ad to be seen by those that don’t match your target audience, leading to unqualified clicks and wasted spending.

2. Not A/B Testing

Many brands make the mistake of settling on a single campaign strategy and not testing others. A/B testing allows you to compare different elements of your campaigns, such as the headline and image, to see which works best. A/B testing helps you optimize your campaigns for the highest possible ROI.

3. Not Taking Advantage of Automation

Automating your campaigns helps to ensure that you’re always getting the best results from your Amazon Ads campaigns. Automation can help you optimize bids, create audiences, and more so that you don’t have to spend time manually managing each campaign.

4. Setting and Forgetting Amazon Ad Campaigns

It’s important to analyze and optimize your Amazon Ad campaigns continually. If you launch a campaign and don’t review the data for a few weeks, you could be missing out on valuable insights that will help you improve the performance of your campaigns.

5. Not Running Ads Year Round

Many brands make the mistake of only running their Amazon ads around holidays or other relevant times of the year. However, running campaigns throughout the year can provide valuable insight into seasonal and keyword trends. Not only can you identify what works, but you can also use that knowledge to inform how you might promote unexpected products or services. This can help you get more out of your campaigns, so don’t miss the opportunity to run ads year-round on Amazon.

By avoiding these common mistakes, brands can maximize their return on investment with Amazon Ads. Book a free Amazon account audit and let us help you grow and scale on Amazon within 60 days.

Amazon Advertising Guide - The Verdict

Amazon Advertising is a powerful tool that can help brands succeed on the world’s largest eCommerce platform. By utilizing relevant keywords, testing, and optimizing campaigns, and avoiding common mistakes, you can create effective Amazon Advertising campaigns that will drive more visibility, traffic, and sales. We hope this amazon advertising guide has given you a better idea of how to use amazon advertising to create successful campaigns. Get in touch with one of our Amazon experts if you have any questions about Amazon advertising or want us to do a free 1-to-1 Amazon account audit for you. Check our Amazon Podcast and get exclusive insights on how to make Amazon work for you!

Check Out the Most Commonly Asked Questions About Amazon Advertising

What are the different types of Amazon ads?

Amazon offers several ads, including sponsored products, sponsored brands, headline search ads, and display ads. Each ad type serves a different purpose and has different targeting capabilities.

What are the benefits of Amazon Advertising?

The primary benefit of Amazon Advertising is that it offers access to millions of potential customers. Amazon Ads are also a great way to increase visibility and brand awareness as well as drive sales.

How do I optimize my Amazon Advertising campaigns?

Optimizing your Amazon Ads is an ongoing process. You should continually evaluate the performance of your campaigns and adjust the settings accordingly. You should also take advantage of automation, A/B testing, and negative keywords to ensure your campaigns are optimized for the best results.

What are the 3 types of Amazon PPC campaigns?

The three types of Amazon PPC campaigns are Automatic Targeting, Manual Targeting, and Sponsored Products. Automatic Targeting uses Amazon’s algorithms to target the most relevant customers; Manual Targeting requires you to select keywords manually, and Sponsored Products allow you to promote specific products.

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