Running Amazon Ads campaigns, or how to rock the Amazon sales platform

Amazon is currently the largest e-commerce platform in the world. Its entry into the Polish market has definitely revolutionised online sales.

If you are a seller using Amazon, then you will be interested in Amazon Advertising. What are Amazon ads and how can they affect your sales results?

What is Amazon and how do you sell on it?

Amazon is currently the world’s largest marketplace. It was founded in Seattle in 1994 by one of the world’s richest men, Jeff Bezos. Initially, the platform specialised in selling books, but today we can buy almost anything on it. What is more, consumers from all over the world can take advantage of what Amazon has to offer.

How do I start selling on Amazon? It is very easy – all you need to do is create a seller account on the platform. To do this, you will need

• A company email address or Amazon account
• An active credit card
• A valid passport or national identity card
• Company registration details
• Telephone number
• Bank account number

Also consider which seller plan you are interested in and which model you would like to sell on. Currently, Amazon offers two models for sellers: FBM and FBA.

Fulfill by Merchant (FBM) model

FBM involves the self-fulfilment of orders. In this sales model, as a merchant, you have to ship the product from your warehouse yourself. You also have to take care of the promotion of the products and all logistical issues such as packaging, contacting the courier, etc.

The advantage of this model is that you have full control over all e-commerce processes. FBM also allows for independent branding.

FBA (Fulfill by Amazon) model

With the FBA sales model, often referred to as the Fulfilment model, it is Amazon that takes care of all issues relating to the delivery of products to customers.

Fulfill by Amazon is an extremely convenient model, but it also involves additional costs.

Why should you choose to sell on Amazon?

Are you still wondering why you should choose to sell on the Amazon platform? There are many reasons.

First of all, it is important to remember that the extensive system that Amazon offers and the huge popularity of this service gives sellers the opportunity to reach a large group of potential customers with their offer. Importantly, the Amazon domain supports an interface in many different languages, giving you the chance to attract customers from all corners of the world.

Selling through Amazon is also highly advantageous for sellers just entering the e-commerce market, as it eliminates the need to set up their own online shop and invest in its infrastructure.

Amazon vs Allegro

We can successfully run sales, promotions and advertising activities using both Amazon and Allegro. One solution is to use both platforms at the same time, making sure that the communication is consistent. Another suggestion is to choose one marketplace. Allegro will work perfectly if you only want to reach Polish customers. If, on the other hand, your main concern is to reach the global market, then Amazon is a better choice. What is the difference between the two?

The most important difference is competitiveness. Amazon is used by many more buyers, which forces lower prices and makes it very competitive. However, the trade-off is the ability to sell your products in up to 180 countries around the world, extending the reach of the brand.

We can also see differences in logistics solutions for warehousing, packaging, shipping and handling returns and complaints. Amazon offers its sellers the FBA described above, which is undoubtedly a considerable convenience. Allegro does not offer similar services.

What Allegro does have going for it is the speed of payment. This is because the platform allows money to be paid into the seller’s account immediately. Amazon, on the other hand, decides when the money reaches the seller – usually 3-5 days, but the deadline is 14 days.

Both e-commerce platforms have similar solutions when it comes to buyer protection.

Amazon Prime – what is it?

An excellent solution from a seller’s point of view is to join the Amazon Prime programme. Subscribing to the programme has a very positive impact on sales results – products from sellers who are covered by Amazon Prime will automatically appear higher in search results.

In addition, as an Amazon Prime member, we can choose to sell using the FBA fulfilment model.

Buy Box’ or ‘Buy Now’.

Another great benefit of being a Prime member is the ability to apply for the Buy Box button. This button appears below the ‘Add to Cart’ button and is awarded to one merchant offering a new product and one offering a used product. After clicking this button, the customer can purchase directly from the merchant.

Clicking the ‘Buy Box’ button means that the product being sold will appear first in the search results. Please note that in order for your product to receive this button, it must meet certain sales conditions and be the best offer.

What do I need to do to win a Buy Box? Firstly, you need to have a professional account and complete several transactions with positive feedback from buyers. In addition, Amazon recommends that you provide quality customer service, offer fast and free shipping, and offer attractive prices.

Amazon Ads – What is advertising on Amazon?

Amazon Ads is Amazon’s own system for creating advertising campaigns. These ads are very effective and are as popular in western e-commerce markets as, for example, Google Ads.

To start advertising your products on Amazon, you first need a professional account. Importantly, to take advantage of the opportunity to advertise your products and services on Amazon, you will also need to sell some of your products without advertising.

Amazon ads vs Allegro ads

If you are wondering which platform to choose – Amazon or Allego – ads are certainly a factor to consider. After all, they are an integral part of creating an activity strategy that has a direct impact on sales results.

Amazon Ads performs much better when it comes to advertising activities, as it offers the opportunity to promote not only the products themselves, but also the brand as a whole, which helps to build awareness.

Ad formats on the Amazon platform

Amazon offers sellers several different advertising formats. The basic breakdown of paid promotions are

Amazon Sponsored Ads – we can buy these ads from within the seller’s account. They are charged on a CPC model. These types of ads include: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Product Display Ads.

Amazon Demand-Side Platform – these ads appear not only on the Amazon platform, but also outside of it – for example, in Google search results. They are charged on a CPM model. Campaigns running on the Amazon Demand-Side Platform can be in image, video or audio format. Display&Video ads are included in this type of advertising.

Sponsored Products

The most popular advertising format is Sponsored Products. With this ad, your products will appear at the top of the organic search results and on the detail pages of other similar products. Clicking on this type of ad will take the customer directly to the product page.

A good choice of keywords is very important with this type of advertising. Your products will be displayed on the basis of these keywords. The frequency with which your ad is shown depends on the maximum CPC rate you choose. These ads work in a similar way to Google Ads.

Product Display Ads

Another popular ad format among sellers on Amazon is the Product Display Ad. This type of ad is a great choice if you want to promote competitive or complementary products. Product Display Ads can be targeted based on purchase intent, product categories, or products selected based on the keywords provided in the general match.

Please note that this type of advertising is only available to sellers who have a track record of selling on the Amazon platform.

Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands, also known as Headline Search Ads, is a large interactive box that appears at the top of the search results page. This type of ad consists of a logo, a headline and three selected products. This type of advertising is very effective as it provides an opportunity to promote not only the goods themselves but also to increase brand awareness.

Display&Video Ads

The last type of advertising is Display&Video Ads. This solution is designed for the largest retailers. These ads are displayed on the home page and category pages. They are also displayed on mobile devices and on the Amazon network, as well as on other Amazon-owned sites such as IMDd.

Amazon Ads Advertising Strategy

An Amazon Ads campaign, like any other advertising campaign, requires a well-thought-out strategy to be effective. What should you consider when planning your advertising activities on Amazon?

Bidding models

The first step is to determine which bidding model is best for your products. Depending on whether you want to increase sales or brand awareness, Amazon offers different ‘bidding’ models.

The first model is Profit-Driven Bidding, which is bidding optimised for the revenue you generate. The main parameter for Profit-Driven Bidding is the cost of selling an ad. We can set it in two ways: manually and automatically.

Another model is Dynamic Bidding. In this case we can use two different options:

• Dynamic Bidding (Up and Down) – the algorithm will increase or decrease bids up to 100% depending on the probability of conversion.
• Dynamic Bidding (Down Only) – involves lowering bid rates to 100% when the probability of conversion is very low.

The final bidding model is Fixed Bidding. It uses a default rate and rates that you set manually.

Products for advertising campaigns

In order for the advertising activities carried out during a campaign to be fully effective, the right products need to be selected. It is undoubtedly a good idea to advertise the most popular products, as this will give you the best chance of converting clicks into purchases.

When choosing which products to include in your campaign, it is also worth considering price and stock availability.

Also decide which country you want to sell your products in. Depending on where you plan to sell most of your goods, all descriptions, images and packaging should take into account market trends and whether consumers in that country are more likely to choose local or foreign products.

Product descriptions

Product descriptions are an important part of an Amazon Ads campaign. They should be accurate, clear, inviting and, most importantly, tailored to your target audience. When writing product descriptions, use your brand’s tone of voice, include titles and headlines, and enhance the description with images and videos. Make sure you use keywords too.

Prohibited keywords

To effectively promote your products on Amazon, excluded keywords are also important. Excluding certain keywords is important if, for various reasons, you do not want your product to appear in the search results.

Targeting

You can also choose where you want your ads to appear. Targeting is very important with Amazon Ads. You can choose from any of the ad formats listed and described above. However, make sure that the ad type covers the entire sales funnel of your customers.

Key benefits of Amazon Ads – why should you invest in advertising on the Amazon platform?

Running an Amazon Ads campaign is a great way to support your business. So if you’re wondering whether it’s worth investing in Amazon Ads, the answer is – it’s definitely worth it.

Amazon Ads has many benefits that have a direct impact on sales. First and foremost, advertising on the Amazon platform has a significant impact on increasing sales in foreign markets. It also increases visibility and brand awareness and guarantees high product exposure. Other advantages of Amazon Ads are undoubtedly the quick access to campaign results and the billing in the CPC model.

In summary, advertising with Amazon Advertising can have a significant impact on your brand’s online sales growth.