Why advertise on Amazon?
Amazon is a high-intent marketplace: shoppers arrive ready to compare and buy. Advertising helps you win placements, defend your brand, and accelerate launches when organic rank is still building.
The goal isn't clicks — it's profitable, incremental sales. Strong campaigns align spend with inventory, margin, and your stage in the product lifecycle.
Optimize your listing first
Even perfect targeting can't fix a weak detail page. Improve conversion before you scale bids.
Types of Amazon ads
Amazon groups ads into formats that serve different goals — from capturing high-intent searches to building awareness. Most sellers start with Sponsored Products, then layer Sponsored Brands and Display as they grow.
Sponsored Products appear where shoppers are already looking — search results, product pages, and related placements.
For step-by-step setup, read the Sponsored Products guide.
Sponsored Brands highlight your brand story and product line in premium placements.
Use them to complement product-level campaigns: introduce the brand, then route traffic to your best-converting ASINs.
Sponsored Display reaches audiences based on shopping signals — views, purchases, and similar interests.
It's a strong fit for retargeting, expanding into complementary categories, and supporting launches.
Budget planning
Budgets should follow your objective: discovery for new ASINs, profitable scale for mature winners, and defense where competition is fierce.
- Launch: Allocate enough daily budget to exit learning periods and gather meaningful data.
- Growth: Increase budget as efficiency holds; shift spend toward campaigns with clear incrementality.
- Maintenance: Protect branded queries and core keywords; trim waste with negatives and tighter structure.
Plan for seasonality
Peak weeks need higher caps and earlier bid adjustments. Build a calendar so budgets don't bottleneck when demand spikes.
Key metrics to watch
No single metric tells the whole story. Use ACoS and ROAS for efficiency, CTR for creative and placement fit, and CVR for retail readiness.
Getting started with Amazon ads
Start with clear goals and clean structure: separate discovery from performance, document naming, and review search terms weekly.
Deepen tactics with the Sponsored Products and campaign strategy guides.