If you are new to selling on Amazon, you can expect to find many hurdles before reaching a profit. Yes, there is a learning curve with PPC but uncovering new skills and with heaps of resources online, you can expect some success, right?
One of the most fundamental rules to business is that if you wish to make money, you have to spend money. The big issue for many sellers however is whether they can make it as a seller on Amazon without running paid ads or spending no money at all.
The simple answer is no but in this article, we explore why the pros of Amazon PPC massively outweigh the cons and a few simple tips to help you become the next Jeff Bezos.
Amazon PPC helps your products get noticed
Probably the most obvious advantages with Amazon PPC ads is that it helps springboard your product listings into getting much more exposure. There are three types of ads that you can choose from that customers may see in specific display locations on the site:
- Sponsored Product Ads – Displayed to the right of and below organic search results. SPAs can also be shown on your competitor’s product detail pages too, which is likely why they are the most popular of the ad types.
- Sponsored Brand Ads – Displayed above, to the left of, and below Amazon’s search results. You can also showcase more than one product and your logo so it’s ideal for brand awareness.
- Sponsored Display Ads – Displayed both on and off Amazon such as on third party websites that have content that matches the product you sell. On the Amazon page, the ad is found on other product detail pages.
Each type of ad comes with pros and cons but they will all ensure our product gets lots of exposure from browsing shopaholics.
Possibility of conversions are huge
There are more people shopping online than ever before. In fact, over 50% of consumers look for products on Amazon alone. Customers on Amazon tend to be ready to buy a product unlike if they searched on Google where customers usually have different search intentions. Ads on Facebook or Instagram are seen by hundreds, if not thousands of consumers, but they have no real intention in purchasing a product (not when they are watching cat videos all day). Therefore on Amazon, the conversion rate, which is how many people click on your product’s ad, are much more likely to buy the product in comparison to any other platform. Of course there are some factors such as price, competition and category but the average conversion rate for a product on Amazon is usually 10%.
Organic rankings improve with PPC ads
When you run a successful campaign, your organic ranking benefits greatly from the campaign’s success. Amazon SEO is its own different world but basically any product that makes sales will get a higher ranking. There are a few factors for this such as overall sales, reviews and your organic ranking itself. Essentially, the better the sales, the better the ranking. This is perfect for new products which don’t have any reviews or sales history as by running PPC ads, you can drive traffic to the product listing and get purchases and valuable reviews (which otherwise could take an extremely long time to get a good ranking). With an improved ranking, you can expect more visibility and organic traffic and reviews, it’s like a positive upward spiral!
Only pay for clicks on your ads
So Amazon PPC ads are not exactly cheap but at least you only pay for actual clicks on your ads instead of some flat fee or reach fee or subscription fee. This allows you to be more flexible with your budget and adjust it anytime you like. Amazon PPC campaigns are easy to monitor and you can make some significant progress even if you are on a tight budget.
As with anything in business, you should have a strategy in place. If you try running a random campaign, you are going to lose out on sales, hurt your ranking and waste time too. Amazon PPC ads are fantastic for selling products but you should not rely on them completely but instead of an advertising plan that considers sources of external traffic and other advertising avenues.
The bottom line, Amazon PPC is going to cost you money but you aren’t going to see any real sales until you spend some money first. Make sure you have a strategy in place and ensure you have a realistic budget. With a little time and patience, you can hit some serious gold mines. Contact us today to find out more.