Amazon Sponsored Display Ads: Everything Sellers Need To Know (with 2020 Updates)

Just like brick and mortar stores, the sales journey of an online seller is not necessarily a straight line. Shoppers go through various online sites and decision processes before buying. Amazon marketplace is no different. The challenge here is to make sure your product stays with the customers throughout their journey. Amazon’s PPC ads are traditionally keyword-focused, so they only target the shoppers who are all set and ready to make a purchase. In the middle of September last year, Amazon announced the launch of Sponsored Display Ads in the US marketplace and at the end of October, it was announced that it will be available to other marketplaces and will completely replace Product Display Ads.

Continue reading to know everything you need to know to get started with Sponsored Brand Ads.

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads – First, Understand The Basics:

Formerly known as Product Display Ads, Sponsored Display Ads is an Amazon display advertising solution that allows brands to target, retarget and engage potential customers on Amazon detail pages and its affiliated sites.

No, Everyone Cannot Use Sponsored Display Ads

As Amazon Display Ads is at present a beta product, it’s not available in all marketplaces. In the US marketplace, Sponsored Display Ads are available to both Sellers (via Seller Central Campaign Manager) and Vendors (via Advertising Console). Recently the marketplaces, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Japan and Canada, were also provided access. It’s just a matter of a few months when the access will be rolled out to all the international Amazon marketplaces. However, even if they have access, not every seller can use Sponsored Display Ads. Just like Sponsored Brand Ads, the eligibility criteria required for using Sponsored Display Ads is the Brand Registry.

Goodbye Keywords - Targeting Options Are Quite Different Than Traditional PPC Ads:

Sponsored Display Ads offers the biggest palette of targeting opportunities within one advertising format. Many of the targeting options in the Sponsored Display Ads are similar to Amazon Product Display ads. But a few of them are different. Basically, in Sponsored Display Ads, targeting is based on audience and products. Unlike traditional PPC ads (Sponsored Product & Sponsored Brand), it’s not based on keywords. So, your ad does not appear to customers based on the keyword searches. Currently, there are four targeting options available, but as it’s the beta version, all the options are not available in Seller Central and Advertising Console.

• Views: Amazon displays the product in front of shoppers who have viewed your product detail page but did not make a purchase. This is called the principle of retargeting. Amazon automatically excludes shoppers who are not likely to purchase your product, for example, shoppers who have recently purchased a similar product.

• Interests: Interest-based advertisements are shown in front of shoppers who have certain interests (e.g., fitness freak shoppers) or shoppers who are searching for specific products on Amazon. These ads are run across mobile web, mobile app and across the desktop.

• Products: You can target concrete products that are similar to your product or complementary to your advertised products.

• Categories: You can pick a range of categories that are similar to your chosen promoted products.

Ever Wondered About The Price Tag?

The ads are charged on CPC basis, so you will be billed only when a shopper clicks on the advertisement. Amazon can adjust the bid up or down on the basis of the likelihood of conversion.

Ad Placements Are Different Too

Your ad will be shown on desktop and mobile devices on Amazon and its network. Amazon uses brand tools to display our ads next to relevant content in the Amazon affiliate sites. On Amazon, Sponsored Display Ads will be displayed in the same traditional ad placements as Product Display Ads. They will show up below the bullet points or the buy box. When the shopper clicks on your ad, they will be redirected to the product detail page.

Take a look at the table below to know where your ad will be displayed based on the targeting options:Targeting TypeAd PlacementViewsOff Amazon on third-party websites and apps.InterestsOn product detail pages, or other product-related pagesProductsOn product detail pages, or other product-related pagesCategoriesOn product detail pages, or other product-related pages

Benefits Of Sponsored Display Ads

Sponsored Display Ads are designed to expand the reach of your brand. It can prove to be a vital tool in driving awareness during new product launches and huge sales-driving events like Q4, Prime Day, Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving.

• Benefits Of DSP Minus The Hassle:Sponsored Display Ads have highly increased the efficiency of PPC campaigns and are quite beneficial for advertisers who don’t want to fall in the hassle of DSP.

• Stupid Simple: Sponsored Display Ads are just as easy to any other pay per click campaigns – pick your product, select the budget, select targeting type and create your ad.

• Better Conversion: You can reach the right audience, which in turn increases conversion and sales on Amazon.

• Better Creatives: Without any extensive resources or design efforts, you can promote your product with creatives that are optimized for conversions.

• Reach Wider Audience: As your ad will be displayed on external sites as well, you can reach a broader target group.

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads vs Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brand Ads, Product Display Ads & Amazon DSP

1) Sponsored Product & Sponsored Brand Ads:Sponsored Product & Sponsored Brand Ads target audience who are ready to make a purchase decision. he targeting methods in Sponsored Display Ads target shoppers that aren't ready to buy but are just browsing and looking to buy a product similar to yours. It keeps your brand top-of-mind for customers doing their product search. Moreover, Sponsored Brand & Sponsored Product Ads to use keywords to the target audience while Sponsored Display Ads target audience on the basis of interests, views, product and categories. So, when a customer goes to an Amazon site and types what they are looking for in the search bar, Sponsored Product and Brand Ads appear, but Sponsored Display Ads don’t.

2) DSP:A key feature of Sponsored Display Ads is targeting and retargeting, which was never available in Amazon Ad Console. Although retargeting was already available to advertisers via DSP, the process to set up campaigns was complex. On the other hand, Sponsored Display Ad campaigns are easier to set up. DSP requires a minimum monthly spend, while Sponsored Display does not require any minimum spend; you pay only when the shopper clicks on the ads. However, Sponsored Display offers less customization for targeting customers, while DSP provides more control. You can consider Sponsored Display ads as the lite version of DSP ads.3) Product Display Ads:The Product Display Ads Amazon are rebranded as Sponsored Display Ads. The advertising format and the design remains the same except that Sponsored Display Ads can also appear off-Amazon. When the ad is displayed on external sites, the Amazon logo and a call-to-action button are added in the ads. All your Product Display Ad campaigns are now a part of Sponsored Display Ad campaigns. There is no additional action required from the seller’s side.

Sponsored Display Ads Has Made Retargeting Easy

Retargeting is quite popular with online sellers advertising on Facebook and Google. Retargeting your shoppers is a great way to reach out to potential customers who have already visited your product detail page and are looking to buy a product similar to yours. It is also one of the features offered in Amazon’s Demand Side Platform (DSP). Up until recently, Amazon sellers advertising through the pay-per-click advertising suite were not offered this privilege. But with the addition of Sponsored Display Ads, now, Amazon has everything to retarget and re engage their “lost” shoppers.

So, Where Does It Stand In The Advertising Funnel?

A customer’s decision-making journey is complicated. If you reach the shoppers at the right time, then you can see major changes in the abandonment and conversion rates of your product. From awareness to consideration, every stage is an opportunity to convert your potential customer into sales. Display Advertising has the power to engage with shoppers at multiple stages of their journey. Some of the targeting options of Sponsored Display Ads are targeted towards the bottom of the funnel and some of the options are targeted towards the top of the funnel. You can use these ads to create an incremental product and brand awareness, drive middle-funnel opportunities and bring your product in front of new shoppers. In regards to cost, Sponsored Display Ads fit in the CPC model. You won’t be charged for impressions unlike Amazon’s DSP; you will be charged only when a customer clicks on the ad.

Ready To Get Started?

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads are a great way to do something that was not possible until now – retargeting and winning lost sales. So it seems like a no-brainer to test out and see how it works for your product. But unlike other PPC ad campaigns, it requires skill to manage the campaigns. Just adding the right keywords won’t work anymore. Although Sponsored Display Ads are a great way to spread brand awareness, they can cost you a lot, if the campaigns are not managed properly. It would be best if you hire expert PPC consultants from professional Amazon Ad Agency like eStore Factory. At present, we are managing Sponsored Display Ad campaigns for many of our clients and they are happy to see good results. Contact Us now and let’s get your campaigns up and running.