PPC campaigns give sellers the opportunity to keep an agile pace when building a marketing strategy that boosts conversions on Amazon. An effective marketing strategy continuously pushes you forward in a marketplace that is constantly growing. But as beginners or fairly new sellers competing with millions of other sellers, what can you do to put your store on the digital map and increase your visibility? That’s where PPC campaigns come into play!
PPC campaigns are advertising campaigns that improve visibility by targeting customers using relevant short to long-tail keywords. The process starts with conducting extensive keyword research based on your audience’s searches and interests, then bidding on keywords that would likely catch the attention of more potential shoppers.
PPC campaigns on Amazon not only increase brand awareness for your business, but also is one of the most cost-effective ways to widen your market reach. It’s called pay-per-click advertising because you only pay a fee when a customer clicks on your ad. This tool is one of the most powerful options in your marketing arsenal that can boost your listing’s discoverability and skyrocket sales.
However, the success and effectiveness of an Amazon PPC campaign largely depend on the quality of its execution. You need to win hyper-targeted keyword bids and ensure the right people click them to generate results for your bottom line. With that in mind, here’s what a beginner can do to get started with Amazon PPC on a strong note!
PPC is all about using relevant keywords to make your listing stand out amidst the competitive search results, so the best way to move your campaign forward in the right direction is to know your options when matching keywords to your ads. There are three match keyword types every seller can utilize depending on the type of PPC campaign:
Knowing the different match types available for your PPC campaigns can help clarify the best keywords that would offer the most ROI and controlled spends for your campaigns.
Now that you know what match types you can play around with when fine-tuning your keyword bids, it’s time to solidify your campaign by choosing the right ad type that would best suit your marketing goals. There are three ad types to explore:
Sponsored Brands aim to introduce the best store in the market, which means its ads often come with a tailor-made headline, brand logo, and relevant copy to boost the newcomers’ awareness. Therefore, Sponsored Brands are the right way to go for stores aiming to create a branded shopping experience.
Sponsored Display presents your products or services on Amazon product detail pages to capture interest and come into the limelight. They follow the buyer on and off Amazon to showcase your products based on their search history. This makes it a critical part of your PPC strategy since it primarily focuses on increasing your authoritative presence amidst the fierce competition.
There is no blanket rule when it comes to identifying the best ad type for your PPC campaigns. Since the list above explores different crucial parts of your sales funnel, the right choice largely depends on your objectives and which stage you want to exert your efforts in the buying process.
Not all campaigns run the same as for every product ASIN; there are different ways to manage your PPC campaigns. Here are two ways you can approach it:
Beginners who don’t want to do extensive keyword research can supercharge their Amazon PPC ads with Automatic Campaigns. This option gives Amazon most of your ad’s legwork since it activates your PPC campaigns by matching relevant search terms with the keywords in your title, description, and other areas in your product listing.
Automatic campaigns can maximize your ads and drive your product’s discoverability without having to lift a finger, but since Amazon handles the matches, it’s not the best choice for maximizing your ROI due to its lack of customization. Nonetheless, it’s an effective structure for increasing awareness for your store, and it helps beginners identify new search phrases for future reference.
Step 1: Log in to Amazon Seller Central and select Advertising > Campaign Manager.
Step 2: Scroll below the graphs and click on the “Create campaign” button.
Step 3: Choose the gray Sponsored Products ad “Create” button.
Step 4: Fill in the information on the Settings section of the Create campaign page.
Setting up an automatic campaign is relatively simple since you only have to let it run for one to two weeks. That timeframe is enough to collect valuable data that delivers insights for your Search Term Report, which can help you identify your high-converting keywords. These high-converting keywords are invaluable as you routinely optimize your Amazon listings.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Manual Campaign, which requires sellers to tailor their keyword bids to promote accurate targeting. Manually identifying relevant keywords means you can tap into specific audiences with a higher intent to shop your products, making it great for attaining better ACoS value and ramping up your sales.
Seasoned sellers who know more about Amazon PPC campaigns can move forward with Manual Campaigns. You can start by creating three ad groups for each keyword match type: Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match.
From there, you set the duration, budget, and daily bid for your manual campaign. As a beginner, it’s best to start with a smaller bid and keep the duration indefinite so you can track your performance. This leaves you more room to make necessary adjustments with your manual campaigns.
Once you know the best match type, ad type, and structure for your PPC campaigns, it’s time to maximize your efforts by learning how to optimize your CPC bids. You can end up spending more on irrelevant keywords that have little-to-no chances of converting customers for you, so it’s crucial to test your bids to ensure you’re paying for keywords that are performing well.
In CPC optimization, a general rule of thumb is to calculate your target Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and compare it to your actual ROAS, which should reveal your ad’s performance. This can help you determine whether to lower or increase your ads depending on how your keywords effectively work towards your goal profit margin.
When done right, Amazon PPC campaigns will do wonders for incrementally taking your product ranking to greater heights and putting your product listing in front of your target audience’s eyes. Beyond driving traffic and viewers to your store, you also have higher chances of converting customers; that’s why it’s important to know your options so you can optimize your PPC campaigns to their full potential.
If manual keyword research and bidding is taking time and money away from your business operations, PPC automation tools like Simpliworks are worth considering. Simpliworks makes PPC campaigns simple and scalable with the perfect blend of man and machine. Our Amazon specialists take AI-enhanced data and make expert decisions based on your PPC campaigns’ goals.
Simpliworks uses cutting-edge tools and software to optimize your account and streamline your operations. Our expertise and technology can help you save time and money while improving your overall performance on Amazon. Contact us today to learn more about our Amazon account management.
Want to explore how Simpliworks can take over your marketing department? We love talking strategy! Book a meeting with an Amazon Growth Specialist here.