Amazon Pay-per-Click (PPC) is an advertising tool that enables sellers to create and manage sponsored product campaigns within the Amazon marketplace. This powerful marketing solution can help your business increase visibility, drive traffic to your product listings, and ultimately boost sales. And the more you understand how Amazon PPC works, the better you can optimize your campaigns and get the most out of your advertising budget.
If you are new to selling on Amazon and are wondering how to set up your first PPC campaign or if Amazon PPC is right for you, you’ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the essentials of Amazon PPC, detailing its benefits, types, and how to optimize your campaigns for success.
Understanding of Amazon PPC Campaigns:
Amazon PPC is an auction-based advertising system where sellers bid on keywords relevant to their products. When a user searches for a particular keyword, Amazon displays sponsored products in prominent positions on the search results page. These ads are labeled as “sponsored” to differentiate them from organic search results. Advertisers pay Amazon only when a user clicks on their ad, hence the term “pay-per-click.”
Why PPC is Important for Sellers on Amazon
Amazon Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising plays a critical role in a seller’s success on the platform. With millions of products listed on Amazon, competition is fierce, and standing out from
the crowd can be a challenge. PPC offers several key benefits that make it an indispensable tool for sellers.
Enhanced Product Visibility:
 Organic search results on Amazon are heavily influenced by sales history and customer reviews. For new or lesser-known products, breaking into the top search results can be difficult. PPC campaigns provide an opportunity to feature products in prime locations on search result pages, giving sellers a competitive edge and increasing the likelihood that potential customers will discover their products.
Targeted Advertising:
Amazon PPC allows sellers to target specific keywords and customer segments, ensuring that ads reach the most relevant audience. By targeting high-intent keywords, sellers can attract shoppers who are actively searching for products similar to theirs, increasing the chances of driving conversions.
Faster Sales Velocity :
By increasing product visibility and targeting relevant customers, PPC campaigns can significantly boost sales. An increase in sales, in turn, can improve a product’s organic search ranking on Amazon. This positive feedback loop can lead to long-term growth and success on the platform.
Improved Product Launches:
When launching a new product on Amazon, generating initial sales and reviews can be challenging. PPC advertising helps sellers gain traction by driving targeted traffic to the new product listing. This early boost in visibility can kick-start sales and reviews, which are essential for establishing a strong presence on the platform.
product listing. This early boost in visibility can kick-start sales and reviews, which are essential for establishing a strong presence on the platform.
Flexibility and Control:
Amazon PPC offers sellers complete control over their advertising campaigns, allowing them to adjust budgets, bids, and targeting based on performance. This flexibility enables sellers to make data-driven decisions that optimize their campaigns for maximum return on investment (ROI).
Measurable Results:
PPC advertising on Amazon provides detailed analytics and insights into campaign performance, allowing sellers to measure the effectiveness of their ads. By closely monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) like cost-per-click (CPC), click-through rate (CTR), and return on ad spend (ROAS), sellers can make informed decisions and fine-tune their campaigns to achieve the best possible results.
Amazon PPC is crucial for sellers because it increases product visibility, drives targeted traffic, accelerates sales velocity, supports successful product launches, and offers flexibility, control, and measurable results. By leveraging PPC campaigns, sellers can maximize their potential on the Amazon marketplace and stay ahead of the competition.
Three Types of Amazon PPC Ads and How to Best Use Them:
Sponsored Products:
Description:
Sponsored Products ads promote individual products and appear within search results and on product detail pages. These ads blend with organic search results, making them highly effective in attracting clicks from potential customers. Sponsored Products are the most popular and widely used type of PPC ad on Amazon.
When to use:
Sponsored Products are suitable for sellers at any stage, whether they are launching new products or promoting existing ones. This ad type is most relevant when your primary goal is to boost product visibility, drive traffic to product listings, and increase sales.
Sponsored Brands:
Description:
Sponsored Brands ads are designed for registered brand owners and showcase a collection of products, the advertiser’s logo, and a custom headline. These ads appear at the top of search results, which helps increase brand awareness and visibility. Sponsored Brands ads can lead users to a custom landing page or a product listing page.
When to use:
 Sponsored Brands ads are most relevant for sellers who want to promote their brand as a whole, rather than individual products. This ad type is ideal for building brand recognition, driving traffic to multiple products, and showcasing a portfolio of offerings. To use Sponsored Brands ads, you must be enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry.
Sponsored Display:
Description:
Sponsored Display ads target specific customer segments and display on product detail pages, related category pages, and other Amazon-owned sites. These ads help reach potential customers who have shown interest in similar products or categories. Sponsored Display ads use audience and product targeting to deliver personalized ad experiences.
When to use:
Sponsored Display ads are best suited for sellers looking to reach a broader audience and drive customer engagement beyond search results. This ad type is most relevant when you want to retarget customers who have previously viewed your products, target customers who have shown interest in similar products or categories, or promote complementary products to shoppers viewing related items. Sponsored Display ads can be used by sellers enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry or those who sell products in specific eligible categories.
Which one is right for you?Â
Each ad type serves a unique purpose and can be utilized to achieve different marketing objectives based on your specific goals and target audience.
Choose Sponsored Products when your primary goal is to increase product visibility and sales.
- Opt for Sponsored Brands when you want to build brand awareness and promote multiple products simultaneously.
- Use Sponsored Display if you want to expand your reach, retarget potential customers, and promote complementary products.
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Anatomy of Amazon Search Results
Setting Up and Fine-Tuning Your Amazon PPC Campaign:
Creating a successful Amazon PPC campaign involves several steps, from keyword research to continuous optimization. To set up and fine-tune your Amazon PPC campaign, follow these guidelines:
Research Keywords:
Start by identifying relevant keywords for your products. Use Amazon’s Keyword Planner or third-party tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or Viral Launch to generate a list of high-traffic and relevant keywords. Consider a mix of broad, phrase, and exact match keywords to capture
Choose Your Ad Type:
Select the appropriate ad type for your campaign based on your objectives and target audience.
Choose from Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, or Sponsored Display ads.
Create Your Campaign:
Define your campaign settings, including:
Campaign name: Choose a descriptive name to help you identify the campaign later.
Start and end dates: Set your campaign length or choose to run it continuously.
Daily budget: Set a budget based on your advertising goals and overall marketing budget.
Targeting: Choose between automatic and manual targeting. Automatic targeting allows Amazon to select keywords for you, while manual targeting gives you full control over your keyword selection.
Bidding strategy: Select between dynamic and fixed bidding. Dynamic bidding allows Amazon to adjust your bids in real-time based on conversion likelihood, while fixed bidding keeps your bids constant.
Add Your Ad Group
Create an ad group within your campaign that contains your target products and selected keywords. Set keyword bids based on your budget and the competition for each keyword.Create an Ad Group >ad group name
If you have a product with variations , you can create group of each separate variation or you can create group on your campaign name e.g. Broad, Phrase, Exact
Search terms vs Keywords:
‘Search terms’ refers to any search query the customer types into Amazon.
‘Keywords’ refer to what you, as the seller, bid on in your ad campaigns. Depending on the keyword match type used, one keyword can cover multiple customer search terms.
Monitor and Optimize
Regularly review your campaign performance and make data-driven adjustments to optimize results. Consider the following strategies for fine-tuning:
Refine Your Keyword List: Analyze keyword performance and update your list, adding high-performing search terms and pausing or removing underperforming ones.
Optimize Product Listings: Ensure your product titles, descriptions, and images are clear, accurate, and appealing to improve click-through and conversion rates.
Test Ad Creatives: For Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads, experiment with different headlines, images, and calls-to-action to identify the most effective ad variations.
Adjust Bids and Budgets: Monitor your campaigns closely and adjust bids and budgets to optimize cost-per-click (CPC) and return on ad spend (ROAS). Consider increasing bids for high-performing keywords and lowering bids for underperforming ones.
Leverage Negative Keywords: Exclude irrelevant search terms from your campaigns to prevent wasted ad spend and improve targeting. This is particularly important for automatic targeting campaigns, where Amazon selects keywords on your behalf.
By setting up your campaign with a solid foundation and continuously fine-tuning its performance, you can maximize the effectiveness of your Amazon PPC campaign and boost your product visibility, sales, and ROI.
Final Thoughts:
Amazon PPC is an essential tool for sellers looking to increase product visibility, drive targeted traffic, and boost sales on the platform. Like most sellers, you will likely need to experiment before you find the “sweet spot” for your campaigns. Success requires trial and error, constant monitoring, and trying new things.
And in the end, if you find the process too time and resource consuming, you might want to consider outsourcing the process altogether. Many brands find it more conducive to their business success to focus on their brand and their products and let an agency that lives and breathes Amazon PPC manage their paid campaigns.
Amazon PPC FAQs
To find relevant keywords, use Amazon’s Keyword Planner or third-party tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or Viral Launch. Also, analyze competitor listings and customer reviews to identify commonly used terms and phrases. Common mistakes to avoid include: not conducting thorough keyword research, using irrelevant or overly broad keywords, setting unrealistic budgets or bids, neglecting negative keywords, and failing to monitor and optimize your campaign regularly. By avoiding these pitfalls, you can improve your chances of success with Amazon PPC. Choose the right ad type based on your marketing objectives and target audience. Use Sponsored Products to increase product visibility and sales, Sponsored Brands to build brand awareness and promote multiple products, and Sponsored Displays to expand your reach and retarget potential customers. Automatic targeting allows Amazon to select keywords for your campaign based on your product information, while manual targeting gives you full control over keyword selection and bidding. Automatic targeting is ideal for beginners or when exploring new keyword opportunities, while manual targeting is best for experienced advertisers seeking greater control and optimization. Set a budget based on your overall marketing spend and advertising goals. Start with a modest budget and gradually increase it as you gain insights into your campaign’s performance. Monitor your cost-per-click (CPC) and return on ad spend (ROAS) closely to optimize your budget allocation. Regularly review and optimize your PPC campaign to ensure maximum performance. Weekly monitoring is recommended, with more frequent check-ins during the initial stages of the campaign. As you gain insights, adjust bids, keywords, and targeting to optimize results. To improve your ad’s CTR, ensure your product listings have clear, accurate, and appealing titles, descriptions, and images. For Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads, test different headlines, images, and calls-to-action to identify the most effective ad variations. Also, refine your keyword targeting to increase ad relevance for potential customers. Negative keywords help exclude irrelevant search terms from your campaigns, preventing wasted ad spend and improving targeting. By adding negative keywords, you ensure your ads only appear for search queries that are relevant to your products. This is particularly important for automatic targeting campaigns. Measure the success of your PPC campaign using key performance indicators (KPIs) like cost-per-click (CPC), click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Regularly monitor these metrics and adjust your campaign accordingly to optimize performance. Yes, you can run multiple PPC campaigns simultaneously. This allows you to test different ad types, targeting strategies, and product groupings. Analyzing the performance of multiple campaigns can provide valuable insights that help optimize your overall advertising strategy on Amazon.
Mina Elias, “The Egyptian Prescription,” is the CEO of Trivium Group. A chemical engineer turned Amazon seller, he mastered Amazon PPC advertising, investing personally. His insights, shared via YouTube and podcasts, led to Trivium’s global recognition. Today, Mina is a leading figure in the Amazon PPC space.
