Amazon Ads: What's New and How to Use Them Effectively

By Cepy 9/15/2023 Post a Comment

Hi everyone, welcome to another article on digital marketing. Today, we're going to talk about Amazon Ads, one of the fastest-growing and most powerful advertising platforms in the world. Amazon Ads is not only a great way to reach millions of shoppers on Amazon.com, but also to expand your reach across the web, mobile, video, audio, and even offline channels.

In this article, we'll cover the latest updates and features of Amazon Ads, how they can help you grow your business, and some best practices and tips to optimize your campaigns. Whether you're new to Amazon Ads or already an experienced advertiser, you'll find something useful and interesting in this article. So let's get started!

What is Amazon Ads and Why Should You Use It?

Amazon Ads is the advertising division of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer. Amazon Ads offers a variety of solutions for advertisers to reach their target audiences and achieve their marketing goals. These solutions include:

Sponsored Products: These are keyword-targeted ads that appear on Amazon search results and product detail pages. They help you drive sales and visibility for your products on Amazon.
Sponsored Brands: These are banner ads that appear on Amazon search results and showcase your brand logo, headline, and up to three products. They help you increase brand awareness and consideration among shoppers.
Sponsored Display: These are display ads that appear on Amazon and other websites and apps that are part of Amazon's network. They help you retarget shoppers who have viewed your products or similar products on Amazon, or target shoppers based on their interests and behaviors.
Amazon DSP: This is a demand-side platform that allows you to programmatically buy display, video, and audio ads across Amazon and other publishers. It helps you reach a large and diverse audience across the customer journey, from awareness to purchase.
Amazon Audio Ads: These are audio ads that play on Amazon Music's free tier, reaching millions of listeners who stream music without a subscription. They help you connect with your audience through sound and voice.
Amazon Live: This is a live streaming service that allows you to showcase your products in real time and interact with viewers. It helps you create engaging and authentic content that drives sales and loyalty.

As you can see, Amazon Ads has a lot to offer for advertisers of all sizes and industries. But why should you use Amazon Ads in the first place? Here are some of the benefits of advertising on Amazon:

Access to a massive and loyal customer base: Amazon has over 300 million active customers worldwide, who spend more time and money on Amazon than on any other online platform. By advertising on Amazon, you can reach these customers when they are ready to buy.
Leverage Amazon's data and insights: Amazon has a wealth of data and insights about its customers' shopping behavior, preferences, and interests. By using Amazon's tools and analytics, you can target your ads more effectively and measure your performance more accurately.
Enhance your brand reputation and trust: Amazon is one of the most trusted and respected brands in the world, with high standards for quality and customer service. By advertising on Amazon, you can benefit from its positive reputation and credibility, and build trust with your potential customers.
Optimize your budget and ROI: Amazon Ads offers flexible pricing models, such as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), or cost-per-acquisition (CPA), depending on your goals and objectives. You can also set your own budget and bids, and only pay when your ads deliver results.

What's New with Amazon Ads?

Amazon Ads is constantly evolving and innovating to provide better solutions for advertisers. In the past year, Amazon Ads has launched several new products, features, and updates that can help you improve your advertising strategy and performance. Here are some of the highlights:

New Supply-Side Platform for Publishers

In August 2023, Amazon announced that it was staffing up to build a new supply-side platform (SSP) for publishers. An SSP is software that publishers use to sell programmatic ads on their websites or apps. The new SSP will be part of a new team called PubTech, which will be part of Amazon Ads[^3^].

The new SSP will compete with Google's Ad Manager, which is the dominant SSP in the market. According to Business Insider[^3^], the new SSP will leverage Amazon's data and audience network to help publishers increase their ad revenue and optimize their inventory. The new SSP will also integrate with Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP), which advertisers use to buy programmatic ads on publishers' websites or apps.

New Prime Commercial Directed by Olivia Wilde

In March 2023, Amazon debuted a new Prime commercial directed by Olivia Wilde, the actor and filmmaker. The commercial was part of a new global campaign highlighting how Prime makes life easier every day. The campaign celebrates the many Prime benefits, including fast, free delivery, movies and series, and music, all under one unifying theme, "It's on Prime"[^2^].

The commercial follows a young woman as she encounters unwanted facial hair for the first time. Initially dismayed, she tries to remove it until she realizes that her icons have mustaches, too. From Eddie Murphy in Amazon Original Coming 2 America to historical idols like Frida Kahlo and Freddie Mercury, she learns to triumphantly embrace and love the way she looks. With this newfound confidence, she enjoys her Prime benefits to decorate her bedroom with inspirational posters, buy a Freddie Mercury-themed outfit, and play music that makes her feel uniquely herself. The commercial includes music from Queen, the song "Cool Cat", which is also available to stream on Amazon Music[^2^].

New Ad Products for Video, Audio, and Fire Tablet

In November 2022, Vox reported that Amazon had designs to boost its ad business to new heights by selling more video commercials on Amazon properties like the video game livestreaming service Twitch and during live sporting events streamed on Prime Video; and by offering audio ads on Amazon Music[^4^]. These new ad products would allow advertisers to reach more customers across different media formats and contexts.

In June 2023, Amazon Ads launched a new ad product for Fire Tablet users. The new ad product allows advertisers to display full-screen display and video ads on the Fire Tablet lockscreen (beta). The ads can be targeted based on device type, operating system version, Wi-Fi connectivity, and time of day. The ads can also include a call-to-action button that directs users to a landing page or an app store. The new ad product aims to help advertisers engage with Fire Tablet users in a more immersive and interactive way.

A Breakdown of Amazon Ads Revenue by Solution

Amazon Ads is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable segments of Amazon's business. According to Amazon's Q2 2023 earnings report, Amazon Ads generated $14.1 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2023, up 87% year-over-year. This represents about 8% of Amazon's total revenue, and about 60% of its operating income.

But how does Amazon Ads make money from its various solutions? Here is a breakdown of Amazon Ads revenue by solution, based on estimates from eMarketer:

Solution	Revenue (in billions)	Share of Total
Sponsored Products	$9.8	69%
Sponsored Brands	$1.9	13%
Sponsored Display	$1.2	9%
Amazon DSP	$0.9	6%
Other (Audio Ads, Live, etc.)	$0.3	2%
Total	$14.1	100%

As you can see, Sponsored Products is the largest and most popular solution among advertisers, accounting for almost 70% of Amazon Ads revenue. Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display are also growing rapidly, as advertisers seek to increase their brand visibility and reach more customers across the web. Amazon DSP is also a significant source of revenue, as advertisers use it to access Amazon's rich data and audience network. Other solutions, such as Audio Ads and Live, are still relatively small but have potential to grow in the future.

FAQs about Amazon Ads

How do I get started with Amazon Ads?

To get started with Amazon Ads, you need to have an account on the Amazon Advertising Console, which is the central hub for managing your campaigns and accessing your reports and insights. You can sign up for an account using your existing Amazon credentials or create a new one.

Once you have an account, you can choose the solution that best suits your goals and objectives. For example, if you want to sell more products on Amazon, you can use Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands. If you want to reach more customers across the web, youcan use Sponsored Display or Amazon DSP. If you want to connect with your audience through sound and voice, you can use Audio Ads or Live.

Each solution has its own requirements and specifications, such as ad formats, targeting options, bidding strategies, and performance metrics. You can find more information and guidance on the Amazon Advertising Console or the Amazon Advertising website.

How do I optimize my Amazon Ads campaigns?

Optimizing your Amazon Ads campaigns is an ongoing process that involves testing, analyzing, and adjusting your strategy and tactics. Here are some general tips to help you optimize your campaigns:

Define your goals and objectives: Before you launch your campaigns, you should have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. For example, do you want to increase sales, brand awareness, or customer loyalty? What are your key performance indicators (KPIs), such as return on ad spend (ROAS), cost per acquisition (CPA), or click-through rate (CTR)? Having a clear goal and objective will help you choose the right solution, budget, and bid for your campaigns.
Research your keywords and audience: Keywords and audience are the two main factors that determine how your ads are shown and who sees them. You should research your keywords and audience thoroughly to find the most relevant and profitable ones for your campaigns. You can use tools such as Amazon's Keyword Planner, Product Attribute Targeting, or Audience Builder to help you with your research.
Write compelling ad copy and creatives: Your ad copy and creatives are the first impression that your potential customers have of your brand and products. You should write compelling ad copy and creatives that highlight your unique value proposition, benefits, and call-to-action. You should also follow the best practices and guidelines for each solution, such as using high-quality images, videos, or audio, and matching the tone and style of your brand.
Test and experiment: Testing and experimenting is the best way to find out what works and what doesn't for your campaigns. You can test different elements of your campaigns, such as keywords, bids, ad copy, creatives, landing pages, or targeting options, and compare their performance using tools such as Amazon's Campaign Manager or A/B Testing. You should also try new solutions or features that Amazon Ads launches from time to time, such as new ad formats, placements, or inventory.
Analyze and adjust: Analyzing and adjusting your campaigns is the final step of optimization. You should monitor your campaign performance regularly using tools such as Amazon's Reports or Insights. You should also use tools such as Amazon Attribution or Brand Analytics to measure the impact of your campaigns on your overall business outcomes. Based on your analysis, you should adjust your campaigns accordingly to improve your efficiency and effectiveness.

How do I measure my Amazon Ads performance?

Measuring your Amazon Ads performance is crucial to evaluate your return on investment (ROI) and optimize your campaigns. Amazon Ads provides various tools and metrics to help you measure your performance at different levels:

Campaign level: At the campaign level, you can measure metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, sales, ROAS, CPA, CTR, cost per click (CPC), or cost per thousand impressions (CPM). These metrics help you assess how well your campaigns are delivering results based on your goals and objectives.
Ad level: At the ad level, you can measure metrics such as impressions share, click share, conversion rate (CVR), average order value (AOV), or detail page view rate (DPVR). These metrics help you evaluate how well your ads are performing compared to other ads in the same auction or placement.
Keyword level: At the keyword level, you can measure metrics such as impressions rank, click rank, conversion rank, CPC rank, or CPM rank. These metrics help you understand how well your keywords are performing compared to other keywords in the same auction or placement.
Audience level: At the audience level, you can measure metrics such as reach, frequency, recency, engagement rate (ER), or purchase rate (PR). These metrics help you identify who are your most valuable customers and how they interact with your ads.

You can access these metrics using tools such as Amazon's Campaign Manager,Reports or Insights, which are available on the Amazon Advertising Console. You can also use tools such as Amazon Attribution or Brand Analytics, which are available on the Amazon Advertising website. These tools help you measure the impact of your Amazon Ads campaigns on your overall business outcomes, such as brand awareness, consideration, loyalty, or sales.

How do I manage my Amazon Ads budget and bids?

Managing your Amazon Ads budget and bids is important to optimize your spending and ROI. Amazon Ads offers various options and strategies to help you manage your budget and bids:

Budget: You can set a daily or monthly budget for each campaign, which is the maximum amount you are willing to spend on that campaign per day or month. You can also set a portfolio budget, which is the maximum amount you are willing to spend on a group of campaigns per month. You can monitor your budget usage and adjust it anytime using the Budgets tab on the Campaign Manager.
Bids: You can set a default bid for each campaign, which is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a click or impression on that campaign. You can also set custom bids for each ad group, keyword, product, or audience within a campaign, which override the default bid. You can monitor your bid performance and adjust it anytime using the Bids tab on the Campaign Manager.
Bidding strategies: You can choose from different bidding strategies for each campaign, depending on your goals and objectives. These include:

Dynamic bids - down only: This is the default bidding strategy for most solutions. It automatically lowers your bids in real time when your ad may be less likely to convert to a sale.
Dynamic bids - up and down: This bidding strategy automatically raises or lowers your bids in real time when your ad may be more or less likely to convert to a sale.
Fixed bids: This bidding strategy uses your exact bid for every auction, without any adjustments.
Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) bidding: This bidding strategy is only available for Sponsored Display campaigns. It automatically sets and adjusts your bids to help you achieve your target CPA.

How do I troubleshoot my Amazon Ads issues?

If you encounter any issues or problems with your Amazon Ads campaigns, you can use the following resources and methods to troubleshoot them:

Help Center: The Help Center is the first place you should go to find answers to common questions and issues related to Amazon Ads. You can access the Help Center from the Amazon Advertising Console or the Amazon Advertising website. You can browse through different topics and categories, or use the search function to find relevant articles and guides.
Contact Us: If you can't find the answer to your issue in the Help Center, or if you need more assistance, you can contact Amazon Ads support team via email, phone, or chat. You can access the Contact Us page from the Help Center or the Amazon Advertising website. You can choose the type of issue you have, such as billing, technical, or account-related, and provide some details about it. You can also attach screenshots or files to help explain your issue.
Community: The Community is a forum where you can interact with other Amazon Ads advertisers and experts. You can access the Community from the Amazon Advertising website. You can join existing discussions or start new ones, ask questions or share tips, and get feedback or advice from other members.

Conclusion

Amazon Ads is a powerful and versatile advertising platform that can help you reach millions of customers and grow your business. In this article, we covered the latest updates and features of Amazon Ads, how they can help you achieve your marketing goals, and some best practices and tips to optimize your campaigns. We hope you found this article useful and informative.

If you want to learn more about Amazon Ads, you can check out our other articles on this topic. We cover different aspects and solutions of Amazon Ads in more depth and detail. You can also visit the Amazon Advertising website for more resources and information.

Thank you for reading this article. We hope you enjoyed it and learned something new. Please feel free to share it with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in Amazon Ads. And don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more articles like this one.

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