Amazon Ad Types: A Complete Guide

Running an effective advertising campaign is necessary for any Amazon seller when it comes to e-commerce. Knowing your different Amazon ad types and campaigns can improve your visibility and sales. In this guide, we will walk you through the advertising landscape on Amazon and explain the nuances between Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads and Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) ads. 

We’ll cover the different types of PPC ads and DSP ads and how you should implement them for the best ROI possible. If you have only just started selling on Amazon or are already an experienced seller, this complete summary can help you take your Amazon advertisement program to the next level.

What are Amazon ad types?

There are two main categories of Amazon ad types: Amazon PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads and Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) ads. With PPC ads, sellers can bid on keywords to get their product shown when a customer searches for a relevant term or on a product detail page. 

Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display DSP ads, on the other hand, offer programmatic advertising, meaning advertisers can target audiences outside of Amazon and engage them in display and video ads on sites not owned by Amazon. 

Learning about these ads is critical to optimising your advertising strategy for maximum sales potential on Amazon.

Amazon PPC ad types

Amazon Sponsored Products

Amazon Sponsored Products are one of the most well-known ad types, created to help advertise individual listings directly in search results and product detail pages. These ads are targeted to specific keywords that sellers bid on, so your ad could be shown to potential buyers who search for particular terms related to your item. 

Sponsored Products appear with a “Sponsored” label, distinguishing them from organic listings. They help generate traffic and boost sales for selected products, making them very useful for new releases or seasonal offerings. Sellers can customise their campaigns to maximise performance and reach the right buyers by utilising flexible budgets and bidding options.

Sponsored Brands

Formerly Headline Search Ads, Sponsored Brands enables sellers to advertise their brand and a group of products in Amazon search results. The ads include a unique headline and brand logo with an image carousel displaying the pricing for different products. Sponsored Brands are targeted and focused on brand discovery and awareness. 

They can be extremely helpful in fostering brand loyalty and driving customers to a seller’s store or individual product pages. This ad type can highlight multiple products, attracting buyers and motivating them to browse through the seller’s entire catalogue.

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads

Companies in targeted external marketplaces use Amazon Sponsored Display Ads to reach customers inside and outside of Amazon. These ads can be shown on other Amazon pages like product detail pages, customer review pages, and even third-party websites, expanding the seller’s reach. Sponsored Display Ads are automated targeting ads that provide information about where ads will be shown to customers based on their behaviour, interests, and lifestyle, which allows sellers to retarget customers who have previously visited listings or similar products. 

This ad type is beneficial for increasing brand awareness and driving conversions by reaching customers interested in similar items. With various targeting options, sellers can create effective campaigns to engage potential buyers at multiple touchpoints.

Amazon DSP ad types

Video Ads

Amazon Video Ads enable brands to offer products through compelling video content to drive customer engagement and brand storytelling. The ads shown can range across Amazon property sites like the retail website, Fire TV, and third-party sites. Video Ads are a powerful format to visually represent product features, benefits, and usage to pique potential customers’ interest. 

Since advertisers can showcase their product or service to a specific audience based on their purchase behaviour and interest, it ensures higher chances of conversion. Video Ads have proven to be great in increasing brand awareness and creating emotional attachment with consumers; thus, they should be a key ingredient in any marketing strategy.

Custom Ads

Custom Ads on Amazon allow the brand to build ad solutions based on individual marketing goals. This could include more bespoke formats or placements designed to maximise audience engagement. Custom Ads allow brands to harness Amazon’s massive distribution network while owning the messaging and visual designation. 

This style of ad is best for telling deeper stories, offering customisation possibilities between the brand and the audience, and connecting on a personal level. Brands can develop innovative campaigns in collaboration with Amazon advertising that support their overarching marketing goals and drive significant results.

Amazon Audio Ads

Amazon Audio Ads enable brands to engage audiences on audio streaming services, like Amazon Music. Such ads allow you to engage listeners in non-intrusive audio content that features products and services. Audio Ads can be targeted at specific demographics and interests, ensuring the message reaches a specific audience. As streaming services have proven to be an efficient way of improving brand awareness and gaining customer interaction, Audio Ads make a great option. 

The audio format allows for nonintrusive and memorable brand memories. Brands can use audio as a tool to create memorable experiences, engaging the listener’s conscious mind to subconsciously remember the brand when the right moment arises for brand recognition and sales.

Amazon Posts

Amazon Posts allows brands to showcase their products within the Amazon ecosystem visually. Amazon Posts enable sellers to deliver lifestyle images, product features, promotional messages, etc., to potential customers, not unlike social media feeds. These posts are placed within product detail pages and the brand storefront, driving engagement and product discovery.

Brands capitalise on this platform by using quality images and visually appealing messaging to weave an overall story that creates brand awareness and connection with consumers around their products. This kind of ad type works best when you want your customers to discover more products or when you want to build a brand presence.

Amazon Live

Amazon Live is a platform that enables brands to host live-streaming events to market their products. Sellers can interact with customers face-to-face in real-time on this platform, promote their products with demos, and respond to customer queries. It makes room for audience engagement and a more personalised shopping experience. 

Brands can use live events to launch products, create exclusive offers and build a community around their brand. With this capability, sellers can leverage live video to drive traffic, boost conversions, and elevate customer engagement—an e-commerce marketing tool like Amazon Live has never been done before.

How to effectively optimise your Amazon ads

• Research the keywords: Utilise Amazon’s Keyword Tool or third-party software to discover high-volume and pertinent keywords that matter to your customer base.

• Use negative keywords: Review what Keywords are making your campaigns underperform and add them as negative keywords so you do not waste money on useless advertising.

• Bid adjustment: Track your ads in real time and adjust the bids based on the CTR and conversion rates to achieve maximum visibility at the minimum possible cost.

• A/B testing: Test different ad creatives, headlines and product images to find the best combinations. Post-test insights help you adjust your strategy.

• Utilise Amazon Brand Analytics: Use the information in Amazon Brand Analytics to better understand customer behaviour, optimise targeting, and optimise ad performance.

• Optimise your product listings right: Include compelling titles, bullet points, and descriptions with high-quality images to maximise conversion rates.

• Monitor performance: Monitor metrics like ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sales) and ROI to know where you can improve and what to do next.

• Seek professional assistance: Services such as those from Mercatus may even give you a professional perspective and help you efficiently manage the paid aspect of your Amazon over the long term.

Want to learn more about creating the perfect listing? Contact Mercatus today

To sum it all up, knowing the different types of Amazon Ads and how to optimise them best are essential to leverage your advertisement success on the platform. Different types exist for different use cases and audiences, including PPC ads (such as Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands) and the different DSP ads. With any strategies, including keyword research, A/B testing and Amazon analytics tools, you can optimise your ads for better performance, thus generating higher sales.

For additional information on how to create better listings and even improve on your entire advertising strategy, reach out to Mercatus today! Together we can take your Amazon game to the next level.