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Amazon advertising is how brands pay to show up in front of shoppers on Amazon (and beyond). Most Amazon ads are cost-per-click, auction-based placements that put your products in search results, on product pages, or in front of people who've already shown interest in what you sell.
If you sell on Amazon, ads are one of the fastest ways to get visibility for new products, defend shelf space against competitors, and scale sales beyond what organic rankings alone can deliver. But unlike traditional search or social advertising, Amazon ads sit closer to the point of purchase. Shoppers are already in buying mode, which means well-run campaigns convert faster than most other paid channels.
You'll hear both terms used interchangeably. "Amazon PPC" usually refers to the core cost-per-click formats: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display. "Amazon advertising" is the broader umbrella that includes those formats plus DSP (programmatic display and video), Brand Stores, and other brand-building tools.
For practical purposes, most sellers start with PPC and add display or DSP later when they want to expand reach or run full-funnel campaigns.
Ads don't replace organic strategy. They accelerate it. A strong product listing, good reviews, competitive pricing, and reliable inventory all improve ad performance. If your listing converts poorly, ads just send more traffic to a page that doesn't sell. Fix the fundamentals first, then use ads to capture more demand and improve rank.
Sponsored Products are CPC ads that promote individual listings in search results and on product pages, both on Amazon and on select premium apps and websites. Target by keyword (manual or automatic) or by product (competitor ASINs or related categories). Best starting point for most brands. No Brand Registry needed.
Use Sponsored Products when you want to:
Sponsored Brands are CPC ads featuring your logo, a custom headline, and multiple products. Appear at the top of search results and on product pages. Send traffic to a Brand Store, custom landing page, or product page. Also support video creative. Requires Brand Registry.
Use Sponsored Brands when you want to:
Sponsored Brands Video ads auto-play when 50% visible. Link directly to product detail page. Best length 15-30 seconds, optimized for mobile. Show product and function in first few seconds, use captions, include clear call to action.
Sponsored Display is now part of Amazon's broader Display offering. Retarget shoppers who viewed your product or similar products, both on and off Amazon. New Display campaigns created in Campaign Manager. Target by audience, views, or interests. Requires Brand Registry.
Use Display when you want to:
Amazon DSP is programmatic advertising buying display, video, and audio placements on Amazon-owned properties (Prime Video, IMDb, Twitch, Kindle) and premium third-party publishers. Can use even without selling on Amazon. More advanced, requires more budget.
Use DSP when you want to:
Brand Stores are free multi-page storefronts. Not ads, but key destination for Sponsored Brands traffic. Lightning Deals and Coupons are promotional tools, not ad formats. Amazon Posts are lifestyle-image feeds closer to social content.
Start with Sponsored Products. Target small set of high-intent keywords and competitor ASINs. Run 2-4 weeks, gather data, adjust. Then layer Sponsored Brands if you have Brand Registry. Add Display after conversion volume. Hold DSP until budget and expertise are ready.
Sponsored Products (automatic targeting + exact-match high-intent keywords).
Sponsored Brands (especially video). Drive to Store.
Display campaigns targeting product views.
Sponsored Products with tight exact-match, strong negatives, regular bid adjustments.
Second-price auction. You pay one cent more than next-highest bidder. Final CPC depends on competition, keyword demand, placement, and relevance/conversion rate.
Category competitiveness, keyword intent, listing quality, seasonality, match type.
No universal "right" budget. Launch campaigns: plan to run at loss/break-even. Awareness: expect lower conversion, higher ACoS. Efficiency: tighten targeting, track contribution margin. Most brands start $500-$1,000/month.
ACoS = ad spend ÷ ad-attributed sales. ROAS = inverse of ACoS. TACoS = ad spend ÷ total sales. CTR, CVR, Impressions explained. New-to-Brand tracks first-time buyers.
Understanding your goals helps inform decision-making. Awareness campaigns may use broad match and Sponsored Brands. Volume campaigns focus on scaling proven keywords. Efficiency campaigns use tight exact-match targeting.
Keyword targeting reaches shoppers searching specific terms. Product targeting places ads on competitor or related product pages. Use both for comprehensive coverage.
Broad, Phrase, Exact. Start broad to discover terms, then isolate winners in exact-match campaigns. Build robust negative lists to prevent waste.
Weekly minimum reviews. Monitor budget utilization, search term performance, and bid competitiveness. Adjust based on margin goals.
Fix your listing conversion rate before scaling ads. Poor main images, weak copy, or bad reviews will waste ad spend.
Different products need different strategies. High-volume SKUs may warrant complex structures. Newer products may start simple.
Isolate winning search terms in dedicated campaigns. Use negatives to prevent cannibalization and waste.
Focus on contribution margin, not just ACoS. A 30% ACoS might be profitable for a high-margin product but disastrous for a low-margin one.
Yes, most are CPC. You set budget and bids.
CPCs $0.30-$3.00+. No minimum spend. Most start $500-$2,000/month.
No for Sponsored Products. Yes for Sponsored Brands, Display, Stores.
Sponsored Products.
SP for individual products/conversions. SB for brand/catalog awareness. SD for retargeting/remarketing. DSP for full-funnel programmatic.
Clicks/impressions immediately. Meaningful data 2-4 weeks. Real optimization 60-90 days.
$5K+/month with no time to manage daily; ACoS stuck above margin; same campaigns for a year; can't scale; getting crushed by competitors.
Rebuilds structure, finds wasted spend, isolates winners, builds negative lists, connects to business goals, tests new formats, reports on profitability.
Proof points: Ultra Ankle 80% YoY growth. South Bend Woodworks 630% ad-attributed sales increase. Lids 40% MoM revenue increase with 300-campaign structure.
If ads are taking up too much time or burning too much budget without clear returns, reach out to see how we can help.
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SupplyKick is an official Amazon Ads partner. Reach out to see how our team can help you create a competitive and profitable Amazon Ads strategy. |
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