With millions of sellers to compete with and even more users to impress, you need an Amazon marketing strategy to appeal to users and stand out from the competition. Here’s everything you need to know to be successful with this type of online marketing this year:
What Is Amazon Marketing?
Amazon Marketing, also known as Amazon Marketing Services or AMS, is a digital advertising solution that allows businesses to promote their products on Amazon’s selling platform. Amazon Marketing is a great way to stand out from the more than 2.5 million active sellers on the platform and gain exclusive access to the platform’s more than 200 million monthly visitors.
Why Use Amazon Marketing?
Now that you know more about what Amazon Marketing is, let’s talk about why you should incorporate it into your marketing plan:
- Intent: Perhaps the most significant advantage of using Amazon Marketing is that people already have purchasing intent — which is usually half the battle! People have already decided to purchase a product and are simply searching for the right product. So, instead of selling them on the “need” for your product, sell them on the advantages of your product over the competition.
- Reach: Another huge advantage of using Amazon Marketing is the reach. As you now know, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, with over 200 million monthly visitors and 4,000 products purchased every minute. This eCommerce giant is especially popular in the United States, where almost one in every three Americans has an Amazon Prime membership, amounting to nearly 150 million people.
- Cost: While you might assume that advertising on such a lucrative and popular platform would cost you a lot, that’s not necessarily the case. Depending on your industry, products, and search terms, Amazon advertising could be quite cost-effective. The average cost per click is just $0.81 compared to an average CPC of $1.86 on Facebook, where users don’t even have purchasing intent.
What Are the Different Ways To Market on Amazon?
Amazon Marketing offers several different advertising formats to choose from, depending on your budget and goals. Here are some of the various options to consider:
Sponsored Product Advertisements
Sponsored product advertisements are a great way to boost your position on the Amazon search results page for your chosen product search keywords. That boost is helpful when users are unlikely to even scroll beyond the first page of results. These ads can appear at the top, middle, or bottom of the search results page. However, they may also show up on a product detail page.
With sponsored product advertisements, you’re only charged when someone clicks on the product and is then taken to the page to purchase the product. Amazon Marketing makes it quite affordable for advertisers to drive sales, with minimum budgets starting at just $1.
Sponsored Brand Advertisements
Sponsored brand advertisements are a great way to promote your brand awareness with eye-catching graphics, as these ads show up at the top, to the left, or at the bottom of the search results page. Within your sponsored brand ad, you can show off more about your brand and what you have to offer, putting you in a better position than competitors who have to communicate everything through a single product listing.
When someone clicks on your sponsored brand ad, they are either taken directly to your brand’s website or a customized Amazon landing page. Again, you’re only charged for a sponsored brand ad when it’s clicked on — with costs starting at $0.10 per click.
Product Display Advertisements
Product display advertisements offer an excellent way for you to steal customers away from the competition right before they buy since these ads show up alongside competing or complimentary products right below the buy box. These ads can help you compete with big-name brands that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to compete with so long as you have competitive prices and high-quality, comparable product features.
You can choose between product targeting or interest targeting with product display ads to achieve the best possible ad placements. Like the other types of advertisements listed, you’re only charged for a product display ad when it’s clicked on — with costs starting at $0.02 per click.
What Is the Best Amazon Marketing Strategy for 2022?
With these advertising formats in mind, it’s time to develop a comprehensive Amazon marketing strategy that incorporates paid advertising with additional components like Amazon stores and Amazon SEO.
Amazon Stores
The beauty of Amazon is that you can search for and purchase products all on the same platform. However, for a seller to take advantage of this, they need to create their own Amazon store. Creating an Amazon store makes it easier for shoppers to view and purchase your products, and doing so is free and easy.
To create an Amazon store, you will need either an Amazon Seller account or an Amazon Vendor account. After making an account and logging in, click on “Storefront” in the main navigation bar, then “Create Store” before adding your brand’s name and logo.
From there, you can choose from a pre-created design for your store’s homepage or choose to fully customize the page. Finally, you can add your actual products through your Amazon Seller account in the “Inventory” section.
Amazon SEO
While it’s possible to pay for high placement in Amazon’s search results, it’s also possible to achieve a high placement organically through search engine optimization or SEO. Contrary to popular belief, SEO isn’t just for Google, and you can take steps to ensure you’re recognized by the appropriate algorithms.
While you aren’t paying for SEO directly, optimizing your Amazon products and store will likely require some form of financial investment.
Here are some Amazon SEO tips to help you boost your ranking:
- Know which relevant keywords you’re trying to rank for on your product pages using keyword research based on what people are actually searching for.
- Draft effective text for your Amazon listings within the product title and an informative and straightforward product description.
- Utilize detailed product images for your listings that show your products’ features in high resolution.
- Incorporate information about your products’ specifications, including material, dimensions, weight, etc.
- Answer questions customers ask in the “Questions and Answers” section to provide essential and relevant information about your products.
Amazon Reviews
Amazon Reviews might be considered a component of SEO but are worth mentioning separately due to the extensive influence they have on customers’ purchasing decisions.
For example, 79% of consumers on Amazon are influenced by products with the best ratings and reviews. As a result, you want to achieve favorable reviews to boost your success on the platform.
Here are some Amazon Reviews tips to help you achieve the coveted five-star ranking:
- Ask for customer reviews directly through Amazon when someone makes a purchase. Amazon allows you to do this once manually after asking automatically after a purchase is made.
- Ask for customers to review items they’ve purchased from you on Amazon using other platforms like social media.
- Respond to negative product reviews and try to solve any issues to turn a negative review into a more positive one.
- Avoid paying for positive reviews, as doing so can get you banned from selling on the Amazon platform.
Conclusion
Developing an Amazon marketing strategy on your own can be challenging, but the good news is that Greg Gillman is here to help with your marketing initiatives!
We’ve helped countless direct-to-consumer eCommerce brands and small businesses generate $4 billion in annual revenue through innovative digital marketing tactics on Amazon and beyond. Reach out to him today to get started if you’re interested in Amazon marketing and other marketing channels.
Sources:
Amazon – Statistics & Facts | Statista
