Advertising on Amazon is not just an opportunity, but a necessity. Discover the different ad formats and achieve success on the world’s largest e-commerce platform.
Jens Vittrup
When selling on Amazon, advertising is no longer just an option – it is a necessity. With millions of products on the platform, standing out requires the right ad strategy. But which advertising formats does Amazon offer, and how do you choose the right ones for your business?
This guide explores the various Amazon ad formats, their placements on the platform, and how you can leverage them to boost your visibility and sales. Whether you are new to the platform or already have experience with Amazon advertising, you will find valuable insights on how to optimise your advertising efforts.
Amazon marketing encompasses all the activities that help sellers promote their products on the Amazon platform. This includes optimising product listings, strategic pricing, customer service, and, crucially, advertising.
With over 300 million active users globally, Amazon is more than just an e-commerce platform – it is also a search engine for products. In fact, over 60% of product searches now start directly on Amazon. This means that visibility is crucial to reaching potential customers on the platform.
Amazon’s algorithm, A9, decides which products appear at the top of search results based on several factors, including relevance, sales performance, and customer satisfaction. Advertising allows you to ‘jump the queue’ and gain immediate visibility, even if your organic rankings are not yet strong.
For new sellers, Amazon marketing can be vital for establishing a presence, while established sellers can use it to defend market share and explore new niche opportunities.
Amazon offers several advertising formats, each with its own benefits and applications. Understanding these Amazon ad types is essential for building an effective ad strategy.
The three primary types of Amazon PPC ads include Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. Each of these ad formats has different placements on the platform and serves distinct purposes in the purchasing journey. Let’s look at each in detail.
In addition to these, Amazon also offers more advanced advertising solutions such as Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform), which enables programmatic advertising both on and off the Amazon platform. These are typically aimed at larger businesses with bigger ad budgets.
Your choice of ad type depends on your specific goals, budget, and where in the sales funnel you want to reach potential customers. An effective Amazon advertising strategy often combines multiple ad types to create a cohesive, comprehensive presence across the platform.
Amazon Sponsored Products is the most popular ad format on the platform and a great starting point for most sellers. These adverts showcase a single product in search results and on product detail pages.
When users search for relevant keywords, your Amazon Sponsored Product ads can appear at the top of search results, providing a valuable opportunity to capture their attention. These adverts operate on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, meaning you only pay when a user clicks on your ad.
One of the biggest advantages of Sponsored Products on Amazon is their seamless integration with search results. They resemble organic listings with the addition of a discreet ‘Sponsored’ label, making them less disruptive than traditional banner ads.
To maximise the effectiveness of your Amazon Sponsored Products, focus on keyword relevance, compelling product images, and competitive bidding. Automatic campaigns are a great way to identify relevant keywords, which can then be refined in manual campaigns for more targeted results.
The results from Amazon Sponsored Product ads can also provide valuable insights into customer search behaviour, helping you to optimise your Amazon SEO strategies for better organic rankings.
Amazon Sponsored Brands, formerly known as Headline Search Ads, are a powerful tool for promoting your brand identity on Amazon. These adverts typically appear at the top of search results and feature your company logo, a custom headline, and up to three products.
When users click on your logo in a Sponsored Brand ad, they are taken to your Amazon Store or a customised product collection page. This offers a unique opportunity to showcase a broader range of products and tell your brand story.
Sponsored Brand ads also offer a video format, allowing you to demonstrate product features and use cases, which can be especially effective for complex or innovative products. With Sponsored Brand Video, you can capture attention more effectively in busy search results.
To get the most from your Sponsored Brands campaigns, create a compelling headline that communicates your value proposition, select your top-performing or complementary products, and ensure your Amazon Store is optimised for conversion.
A key benefit of Sponsored Brand ads on Amazon is their ability to generate brand recognition early in the buying process. By engaging shoppers during the research phase, you can influence their perceptions and preferences before they make a purchase decision.
Amazon Sponsored Display is a self-service display advertising solution that allows sellers to reach relevant audiences both on and off Amazon. These ads can appear on product detail pages, search results, the Amazon homepage, and even on external third-party websites and apps.
What makes Sponsored Display ads on Amazon particularly useful is their retargeting functionality. You can target users who have viewed your products or similar items but have not yet purchased, allowing you to ‘follow’ potential customers and remind them of your offers.
Sponsored Display ads on Amazon offer various targeting options, including:
When it comes to understanding where Sponsored Display ads appear on Amazon, the answer is varied. They can be displayed in several locations, including below the ‘Add to Basket’ button on product detail pages, in the ‘Related to items you’ve viewed’ carousel, and even on devices such as Fire TV and Kindle.
To optimise your Amazon Sponsored Display campaigns, focus on creating visually appealing adverts with clear calls-to-action, and consider using dynamic e-commerce ads that automatically display relevant product information.
Amazon Display Advertising goes beyond the self-service solutions available through Seller Central. With Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform), advertisers can access more sophisticated display advertising options.
Amazon DSP allows for programmatic purchasing of display and video ads both on Amazon-owned sites and apps (such as IMDb and Twitch) and across third-party sites on the web. This provides a tremendous reach to target potential customers at every stage of the buying journey.
A key difference between Sponsored Display and Amazon DSP is the complexity and access requirements. While Sponsored Display is available to all sellers via Seller Central, DSP typically requires higher minimum spends and working with Amazon’s team or a certified Amazon partner such as WeMarket.
Some of the benefits of Amazon DSP include:
For larger brands, Amazon Display advertising through DSP can be an effective way to build brand awareness and capture customer attention early in the decision-making process. This is especially valuable for products with longer purchase cycles or higher price points.
Amazon Product Display Ads are an essential part of any Amazon advertising strategy. To get the most from your campaigns, it is important to know how to optimise these ads for maximum effectiveness.
When creating Amazon product listing ads, focus on the following key elements:
An effective strategy for Amazon product ads is to use a combination of automatic and manual campaigns. Start with automatic campaigns to gather data and identify effective keywords, then use these insights to create focused manual campaigns with precise keyword targeting.
It is also important to consider seasonal trends and adjust your advertising budgets accordingly. For example, you may need to increase bids during holidays or special sales events when competition intensifies.
To achieve outstanding results with Amazon Sponsored Products, it is vital to look beyond the ads themselves and ensure your product listings are fully optimised with compelling images, detailed descriptions, and positive reviews – all of which can improve conversion rates when users click your adverts.
Understanding where Amazon ads appear is key to optimising your ad strategy. Different advertising formats are shown in various locations on the platform, each with their own advantages and applications.
Sponsored Products can appear in several locations, including:
Sponsored Brands typically appear in these placements:
When it comes to where Amazon Display ads can be placed, Sponsored Display adverts have several possible placements:
For display ads via Amazon DSP, placement opportunities expand significantly to include:
Different placements have different conversion rates and cost profiles. For example, ads at the top of search results typically convert better, but also attract higher competition and thus a higher cost-per-click (CPC).
When considering the three types of Amazon PPC ads, it is important to understand their unique characteristics, advantages, and applications. Let’s compare them directly:
Sponsored Products:
Sponsored Brands:
Sponsored Display:
Beyond the three main PPC formats, Amazon’s advertising ecosystem also includes:
To build a comprehensive ad strategy, sellers typically start with Sponsored Ads to drive immediate sales, then add Sponsored Brands to build recognition, and finally incorporate Sponsored Display to reach customers at various stages of the buying journey.
In addition to standard ad formats, Amazon also offers custom advertising products designed to meet specific needs and objectives for advertisers, particularly larger brands with higher budgets.
These bespoke solutions can include:
Accessing these specialist solutions often requires working with dedicated Amazon consultants or certified advertising partners. They are typically not available through the standard self-service interface in Seller Central or the Advertising Console.
The advantage of these tailored solutions is their ability to create unique brand experiences that stand out from standard ad formats. They can be especially effective for new product launches, seasonal campaigns, or for differentiation in highly competitive product categories.
For sellers interested in exploring Amazon custom advertising products, it is recommended to start with standard ad formats to build a solid data foundation and understanding of the platform’s dynamics before investing in more specialised solutions. This step-by-step approach ensures you maximise ROI across your entire Amazon advertising portfolio.
When people ask about Amazon CPM ads or how to access them, it is important to understand that Amazon’s main ad formats predominantly operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. CPM (cost-per-mille or cost-per-thousand-impressions) pricing is mainly available through Amazon DSP.
CPM pricing means advertisers pay for a fixed number of impressions (typically 1,000) rather than for each click. This can be beneficial for campaigns focused on brand awareness rather than direct conversions.
Here are some key facts about Amazon CPM ads:
For sellers interested in what display advertising looks like on Amazon with CPM pricing, this can include standard banner ads, rich media ads, video ads, and immersive brand experiences across Amazon’s ecosystem.
To access CPM advertising through Amazon DSP, sellers can either:
CPM advertising on Amazon can be especially effective for products with longer purchase cycles, new product launches where brand awareness is crucial, and for brands looking to maintain market share in competitive categories by increasing their visibility throughout the customer journey.
To get the most from the different types of Amazon ads, it is essential to develop a strategic approach based on your business goals, target audience, and budget. Here are some strategies to improve the effectiveness of your Amazon advertising:
The most successful Amazon advertisers often use multiple ad formats to reach customers at various stages of the purchasing journey:
Different keywords and product targeting have different values based on their conversion likelihood:
Even the best advertising campaigns will fail if product listings are not optimised:
By integrating these strategies with a thorough understanding of Amazon Seller Central and its advertising tools, sellers can create a cohesive approach to maximise ROI on their Amazon ad investments.
It is also important to remember that Amazon advertising does not exist in isolation. Integrating your Amazon strategy with your broader e-commerce approach, including overall sales strategies on Amazon and logistics solutions such as FBA, creates a more comprehensive presence on the marketplace.
For sellers who are new to Amazon Sponsored Ads or looking to improve their current efforts, here is a step-by-step guide to getting started:
Before you can start running Sponsored Amazon Ads, you will need to:
Clear goals will guide your choice of ad formats and strategies:
For beginners, it is recommended to start with Sponsored Amazon Products:
Successful Amazon advertising requires regular adjustment:
For those looking to accelerate their learning curve, Amazon course options offer a structured way to master the platform.
Remember, effective Amazon advertising is an ongoing process of testing, learning, and optimisation. With patience and consistent effort, even smaller sellers can achieve significant results and gradually expand their advertising strategies to include more advanced formats and approaches.
Amazon’s advertising platform is constantly evolving, with new formats, targeting options, and optimisation tools being introduced regularly. Staying up-to-date with these changes is essential to maintaining a competitive edge.
Some key trends shaping the future of Amazon Sponsored Ads include:
For Amazon sellers, this means that continual learning and adaptation are vital. Invest time in understanding new features as they are launched, and consider working with specialist Amazon marketing experts to stay ahead of the curve.
As competition on Amazon continues to intensify, effective advertising will become even more critical for successful sellers. By mastering fundamental ad formats now and keeping up-to-date with new opportunities, Amazon sellers can position themselves for long-term success on the world’s largest e-commerce platform.
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