Google Ads is the Obi-Wan Kenobi of pay-per-click (PPC) ads – and what better way to get Amazon advertising tips than directly from the mentor?

Google Ads remains the leading platform for paid search marketing. Since its inception in October 2000 as Google AdWords, it has continuously held the largest market share in online advertising. Over time, it progressed away from serving advertisements based solely on the highest bid. Today, AdWords prioritizes advertisers that rank high on their Quality Score while still considering the bid amounts.

Amazon is steadily catching up to Google. With an impressive growth of 23% since 2019, it has a projected ad revenue of up to $30 billion by 2023. Their products include PPC services such as Sponsored Products, Product Display Ads, and DSP (demand-side platform) for video ad campaigns.

Running effective advertising strategies in Amazon can be as simple as applying tried-and-tested Google ad techniques, since both platforms have many similarities.

To better understand how Google’s strategies align with Amazon, you should first learn what their similarities are, and the following are some of them:

  • Cost-per-click (CPC) based: For every click your ad receives, you’ll typically have to pay your maximum bid. But there are instances when you will pay less than the highest amount.
  • Keyword-triggered: The keywords you set on your campaign will determine where the ad will show up.
  • Keyword bidding: An auction-style mechanism that helps Google and Amazon determine which ads they’ll show in prominent positions.
  • Ad campaign ROI metric: Both platforms provide a way to measure your campaign success, but they work inversely. Amazon uses Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS), calculated by dividing the total ad spend by total ad sales. On the other hand, Google has Revenue over Ad Spend (RoAS), dividing ad revenue by ad spending.

With all these similarities fleshed out, it’s easier to convert effective Google Ads techniques as part of your Amazon advertising strategies. Below are some of essential tips for modelling your Amazon advertising campaign:

1. Set a Clear Goal for the Ad Campaign

Advertisers on Google know that an ad campaign requires an ongoing investment. They need to understand the end goal they’re trying to achieve for fast and consistent results, whether they’re looking to increase brand awareness or generate leads.

In the same way, you need to set a clear goal for your Amazon ad campaign. Do you want to improve customer awareness of your new product? Do you need to promote your best-selling item?

When you determine your goal beforehand, you can better understand what ad type you’re going to use. Sponsored Product Ads are best for promoting a specific product on the search results page. On the other hand, Sponsored Brands raise brand awareness while simultaneously promoting up to three of your products.

2. Improve Ad Quality to Rank Higher

When advertising on Google, you have to be one of the highest bidders to get your ad to a prominent position. Apart from that, you also need to rank high on ad quality. Google uses numerous metrics to determine the quality of an ad, including the keywords applied and the landing page. They prefer to show ads with a high click-through rate (CTR) to ensure that they’re helpful to the searcher.

Amazon also has its way of ranking ads, aside from the number of bids. They rank profitable ads based on metrics that help determine if customers are more likely to buy the advertised item. Your product’s overall sales, conversions, and search terms are part of the metrics. 

3. Create a Targeted Landing Page

Your Amazon Product Detail Page is equivalent to a landing page where Google Ads direct every ad click. A good landing page will have a very minimal bounce rate. When people leave the landing page quickly, it’s an indicator that the ad didn’t serve its purpose, so Google drops its ranking.

Like Google, Amazon also measures the quality of your ads by your conversion rate. For example, if most clicks on your Sponsored Product Ad generate a sale, it means that your ad is serving its purpose. As a result, Amazon will rank your ad higher. To get better conversion rates, ensure that your product detail page has descriptive titles, high-quality images, and compelling copy.

4. Target the Right Keywords

Most Google advertisers prefer to use long-tail keywords, because they cost less for every click and are better at targeting customers. This approach can draw visitors that are most likely to avail themselves of their service or sign up. For example, instead of “HVAC,” they target “HVAC service provider in Chelsea AL.”

While you don’t have to add location keywords to your Amazon ad campaign, you should include product benefits as keywords. Perform extensive keyword research before launching your ad. For instance, if you use keyword combinations like “grill brush seafood,” your ad will show up to customers looking for a grill brush and those looking for a brush after grilling seafood.

5. Perform A/B Testing Repeatedly

Marketers who use Google Ads have numerous versions of their ad copy. They run different versions on each campaign to check which ad copy gives the best ROI. After testing, they’ll focus their subsequent campaigns using the highest-performing ad copy.

Similarly, you can use the same strategy when you run Amazon ad campaigns. You’ll need to test, retest, and retest again to determine which ad type will bring you the best results.

Do you get better conversions when you include a specific set of products in your Sponsored Banner? Are you getting more sales with Sponsored Display instead of Sponsored Products? Once you determine the best ad configuration that works for you, you’ll be spending less and earning more with subsequent campaigns.

Improve your Amazon Ad Campaign Results

Google Ads focuses on customers at the start of the sales funnel, which is the best option for building brand awareness and boosting web traffic. On the other hand, Amazon Ads works well for those already in buying mode – perfect for bringing in more customers and increasing sales.

However, both ad platforms have the same intrinsic goal, which is to boost conversion rates. Follow these tips and improve your sales on your subsequent Amazon ad campaigns.

Want to discover more Amazon business strategies? Check out our articles and learn practical ways to boost your success.