We here at RepricerExpress have written about Amazon’s recent policy update which outlaws the use of incentivised reviews. For some sellers, it’s made selling online a little tougher, and those merchants who’ve been using incentivised reviews have had to find different ways of improving their product visibility to increase sales. One popular technique that’s showing promise is Amazon Sponsored Product Ads, especially when fully utilised and exploited.
The Basics of Amazon Sponsored Ads
In a nutshell, this is how it works:
- Have a professional seller account on Amazon.
- Create an ad campaign.
- Set a daily budget for how much you’re willing to spend.
- Pay only for the ads that are clicked on (either per month, or when you meet the threshold for your credit limit).
- Keep tabs on how your campaign is performing and tweak controls to maximise how you spend your money.
Seems pretty simple, huh? Well, that’s only the start.
Other factors that can influence how well you perform include the category in which you’re selling, how much your budget consists of and how it’s used, and how intimately acquainted with Amazon you are.
So, let’s take a look at some of the more advanced features that many sellers miss out on.
Feature 1: Long-tail Keywords
We see a lot of sellers who aren’t using long-tail keywords the right way.
These are multiple words entered into the search bar, as opposed to just one. Think of when you visit a store’s site and type in something like ‘water resistant sports watch’ and all the results that pop up, and how many more results you get from just typing in ‘sports watch’.
It’s tempting to go with the latter because it draws more hits, but you’re losing out on potentially valuable sales. This is because when someone types in ‘water resistant sports watch’, they’re a lot closer to purchasing that watch than someone just casually browsing for wristwatches.
The casual browser hasn’t learned exactly what kind of watch they need, while the other shopper has. They know they want a sports-styled one and that it be water resistant. By appealing to that shopper, you can increase your chances of conversion a lot more.
Feature 2: Automatic and Manual Ad Campaigns
Not using this feature is a classic mistake of putting all your eggs in one basket, and you’ll want to make full use of both automatic and manual campaigns.
Think of bicycles, for a second. You can ride one in the same gear all the time and it’ll mostly work, but you’ll use a lot more energy going uphill at the expense of taking it easy on the downhills.
The same goes for the type of campaign you run. If you just set it on automatic, sure, you might be pleased with the overall results. But switching to manual every now and then means you can take full advantage of the metaphorical topographical changes.
For example, you might be noticing that certain keywords are drawing useless clicks, clicks you have to pay for. By temporarily switching to a manual campaign, you can eliminate those bad keywords and stop paying for clicks that aren’t leading to conversions.
Related reading: 9 Tips for SEO and Keyword Research for Amazon Sellers
Feature 3: The Right Products
One of the best things you can do is approach advertising on Amazon with a completely open mind and remembering that their search engine algorithm operates differently from others.
It’s like buying a popular album in the UK and being surprised it’s not as well known in America. Don’t get attached to specific products, especially if you’ve had success with them on other platforms.
A good place to start is researching a product’s selling history on Amazon and then highlighting those items with your ad campaign, or picking up those items to stock your inventory with.
If you already have an inventory that consists of strong-selling items on Amazon, the next step is to trial them for a month and gauge how well your campaigns are working. That way, you’ve given yourself plenty of time to see which ads are most effective and which ones need to be shelved for now.
Final Thoughts
The neat thing about Sponsored Product Ads is you only pay each time an ad gets clicked. And if you’ve done your homework and find the clicks are leading to conversions, then it’s time to step up your game by pricing them competitively to take advantage with RepricerExpress, of course. And the more sales you bring in, the more you can tailor your ad campaign and keep the circle running more strongly. But instead of shelling out money right away, keep it in your pocket for 15 days by using us for free when you sign up now.
