A recent edition to the PPC arsenal comes in the form of Amazon Product Ads (APA) and we’re quite excited about it, but there’s still quite a few people who aren’t exactly sure what it is so here’s a run down of the basics.
Image from www.noop.nl
what…?
Before we go into detail let’s ensure we’re all on the same page (no pun intended); Amazon is now utilising the tried and tested CPC model to promote product adverts from external advertisers. So instead of joining the traditional Amazon merchant family – which keeps the sale within the Amazon site and takes a nice cut – advertisers can drive traffic from Amazon directly to their site and pocket the revenue (minus advertising costs).
why…?
Well in our mind it would appear that Amazon is following Google’s extremely successful model of CPC listings to improve their search results, generate more revenue and more data (ahhh dribble). For Advertisers it’s a no-brainer as Amazon is not only one of the most popular shopping platforms but also one of the biggest search engines ! That means one thing… traffic & money. Holla if you want a dolla (pound doesn’t rhyme).
when…?
The moment is now with Amazon offering £50 worth of free clicks when you signup. Furthermore you can upload from a range of formats such as Google Merchant Center & Yahoo Store file; however we’d really recommend reviewing the data before you getting too excited as you might cry.
where…?
Ads can be displayed in a range of places on Amazon depending on factors such as whether your product is actually stocked and also where Amazon thinks (aka tests) your ad is best placed. But in the interest of being transparent your ads will be placed under headings such as ‘product ads’ or ‘product ads from external websites’.
who…?
Amazon, you know them right? Similar to Google Product Listing Ads, APAs work on a product feed that’s contextually targeted based on browsed products. The key here is creating a really strong and effective product feed that will enhance your chances of appearing and driving traffic – this can be done through optimising titles, product fields and having a good head of data analysis. It’s a new format but let’s be honest, the principals of PPC never change and having that mindset will make APA seem less daunting then they may seem.
If you’re unsure about the feed specifications you can find some good information here.
Waaaaait a minute, Tips
- Dig deeper into reporting – get to grips with reporting, specifically Performance by SKU as this will quickly highlight what’s not working before your accountant does.
- Notifications – ensure it’s set-up for both critical & informative and throw in more than just one email address to cover any absences.
- Support – Amazon have a support service so use it, even if it’s just to check something you’re 99% sure of it’s always good to double check.
- Quality trumps Persuasion – Ensure your image quality is top notch as a picture can paint a thousand words.
- Information = Money – The depth and quality of the information supplied to Amazon will impact your ROI, so ensure everything’s covered!
