March 1, 2023
9 Amazon PPC Mistakes & How to Overcome Them - Amazon PPC Consultation
Explore
Explore
Back to Blog
The Amazon advertising model has become a staple of sellers and vendors' success on the platform. But try as you might, pay-per-click (PPC) key performance indicators (KPIs) can look unsatisfactory even after weeks of effort, PPC strategy development, tweaking, bidding, and constant optimization.
We understand. Getting started on a new platform often means making mistakes along the way, and that’s okay. But it’s important to refine your strategy step by step if you want to meet your goals and get the most return on your investment.
In this edit, we’ll review nine of the most common mistakes eCommerce sellers make when setting up, managing, and improving their Amazon marketing efforts.
The latest study by Ad Badger found that Amazon PPC ads account for about 30% of the revenue generated by Amazon sellers. However, some people still question whether Amazon's PPC is worth the investment. And they've got a reason, too.
Over the past few years, Amazon has invested a substantial amount of resources in the expansion and enhancement of its advertising system. Without a thorough understanding of PPC or professional Amazon PPC consultation, you can never use paid campaigns efficiently or effectively to drive sales. And we can’t overlook the budget that goes into setting up and managing an ad campaign.
Firstly, let’s not forget that businesses are built on the basic principle that earning money requires spending money. Even if you are willing to sacrifice potential sales to cut costs, remember that getting more visitors and more sales from whatever source (like PPC ads) naturally boosts your Amazon rankings.
Moreover, people on Amazon are mainly searching for a product to buy, which is different from Google and other search engines. That’s how Amazon has a huge advantage over other platforms in terms of getting your products in front of an audience ready to spend.
Adopting a well-implemented Amazon PPC strategy is the quickest way to get your product listed at the top of Amazon's search results, boost sales, and improve brand visibility. But if you’re only beginning to learn about Amazon ad algorithms, it might be a good idea to learn about the most common ad management mistakes advertisers make.
Are you unhappy with the results of your Amazon PPC campaign? Do you feel as though all your hard work- planning, putting up bids, and fine-tuning your campaign again and again - has gone to waste? There’s a good chance you’re doing something wrong in your Amazon campaign.
If your PPC numbers aren't up to scratch, then checking out the 9 common mistakes sellers make might help you figure out what went wrong. These Amazon PPC mistakes make the difference between campaigns that perform well and those that fail.
Although performance improvement and automation are essential, advertisers must prioritize sustainable profitability and develop ad formats and strategies that help achieve it. So as you plan your PPC campaign, specify what you hope to accomplish before doing anything else.
A good campaign strategy usually has a better structure, and better structures are easier to comprehend, more understandable, and crucial for effective campaign management.
Your ad won't show up in irrelevant SERPs if you use negative keywords effectively. You could (literally) lose money if you don't use negative keywords, as it could lead to your advertising budget going up and your conversion rate going down.
It is well known that conversion rate plays an important role in the A9 Amazon Ranking Algorithm quality rating, and it is largely the same in Amazon PPC. But where do negative keywords come to play?
Imagine this: if your competitor and you are bidding on the same keyword, a higher conversion rate would be your saving grace when determining who wins the specific keyword.
If you put Amazon PPC ads on other keywords than those relevant to your product search term, or if you don’t put those negative keywords to good use, your ads will drive clicks and traffic but no conversions. This can cause you to lose control of your ad budget and negatively affect your conversion rates.
As long as you use only auto-campaigns, your bids cannot be adjusted by search terms and ASIN numbers. On the other hand, if you only use manual campaigns, you’re missing out on the chance to identify non-converting keywords that should be removed.
With automatic campaigns, you can take advantage of Amazon's data, which will allow you to identify both the best and the worst keywords. Add relevant high-performing keywords to your manual campaigns and eliminate those that aren't performing well to increase sales and boost profits.
By combining them, you can reduce the cost of your advertising and get the most out of your campaign.
The Amazon SEO process is different from the Google SEO process, and there are different ad strategies for each. The Amazon A10 algorithm should be the sole focus of an eCommerce seller on Amazon, which means you should be conducting keyword research to learn what customers are searching for on Amazon and not anywhere else.
When you run Google PPC ads, you will see performance metrics such as:
PPC ads on Amazon, on the other hand, provide more detailed information, including:
It can be difficult to strike a balance on Amazon when it comes to targeting the right number of keywords.
Keyword research is an essential element of Amazon’s ad-supported products. In the event of poor keyword selection, advertising campaigns will be adversely affected, ultimately contributing to lower sales and a higher ACoS.
Running ads on Amazon has many advantages, one of which is that you can find out which end-of-funnel keywords work for your wares. A good rule of thumb is to experiment with at least 50-500 keywords for each ad group.
As we mentioned before, you can also use keyword Harvesting to ensure relevant keywords are collected from automatic campaigns, sources, or from other platforms to make your manual campaigns more effective.
Sure, you can find dozens of tools to help you discover keywords for your ads, but relying solely on them and assuming “AI will take care of it” may not be the best approach. Many sellers believe that by implementing these tools they will no longer be responsible for campaign keyword selections and can save time and money they would otherwise spend on hiring a professional.
Long story short: they’re wrong.
Although AI and software are becoming increasingly efficient, marketing managers should always maintain a personal, “human” perspective, particularly when reviewing results. Because of this, expert Amazon partners like JM&Co are able to assist brands like yours to reduce PPC expenses, boost revenue, and pinpoint PPC campaign issues.
Our recommendation is that you take the Amazon Advertising education made available by the Amazon Learning Console if you intend to manage ads yourself. And if you are using Amazon PPC consultation services, ensure your vendors are experienced with Amazon ads and don’t just auto-run your campaigns using tools and third-party software.
There’s no way to predict what phrases customers will search for for a particular item on Amazon. We are able to overcome this challenge with keyword match types, making it easier to find new clients and discover relevant, lucrative keywords.
Simply put, keyword match types reduce the likelihood of targeting people who will have little interest in your product. There are three different categories of keyword matches: Exact, Phrase, and Broad.
Exact match type: For an ad to appear under this match type, the search term of a customer searching for your product has to match your keyword to a tee. By using this match type, you can further refine the search field of people searching for products that exactly match yours. There is no question that an exact match will reduce the number of people seeing your ad, however, it will increase the likelihood of those people clicking your ad.
Broad match type: Broad matches have the widest reach of all keyword match types. When broad match keywords are used, your ad will show up when all the keywords are part of the customer’s search term. Additionally, it may contain many close variations, including plurals, abbreviations, and extra words (when, if, etc.).
Phrase match type: In order for a customer search term to set off this Amazon match type, exactly or nearly the same phrase has to appear in the exact same sequence as the target keyword. As a result, customer queries that include terms in the middle of your phrase will no longer reach your products.
Note: When you create more than one match type for the same keyword, and each match type has a different bid, the corresponding shopping query will display the match type with the highest bid. In general, it's advisable to bid the highest on exact keywords, lower on phrases, and bid the least on broad match variations.
It is well known that Amazon Sponsored Ads are effective in promoting products to a wide audience. Nevertheless, grabbing the attention of a large audience isn't always as rewarding as catching the attention of the right audience, no matter how big.
After all, there is no point in casting a wide net and attracting all customers searching for “women's socks” when you are selling “women 12-pair pack no-show socks.”
Another one of the most common mistakes SEO beginners make is choosing keyword descriptions that are too detailed. Additionally, their ads perform poorly because they include too many keywords in one campaign.
Blindly choosing a niche without doing proper research can be just as damaging to your campaign and it almost never works, or at least won't yield great results. Stay away from niches where there are already strong competitors, especially if you are just starting out. The sellers in such markets are making millions and competing against them would be very challenging.
Keeping your campaign optimized is important, but you shouldn't make too many changes too frequently. The best way to optimize your Amazon Sponsored Products is to keep track of their performance frequently, but try to avoid changing campaigns too often.
On the other hand, bids are sometimes adjusted too quickly, which is another mistake that happens in the absence of professional Amazon PPC consultation. It's widely known that a new Google or Facebook ad campaign will go through an adjustment phase, but many people forget that when running ads on Amazon.
In other words, if you just set up a PPC campaign and expect it to be a lucrative venture the next day, prepare to be disappointed.
It is likely that you will have limited data at the beginning, and the data you have will be scattered. If you want to use the data you collect from your campaign effectively, make sure you let it run long enough. In fact, it is recommended that you give your campaigns 7-14 days of runtime before making major changes.
You must understand how Amazon's key metrics are calculated and how they are related. However, the intricacies are too much to be contained within this article. The list of Amazon's key performance metrics include:
The challenging nature of establishing successful Amazon PPC strategies and evaluating results can lead to frustration for many sellers. It doesn’t help that most vendors have the tendency to look for shortcuts, such as automating campaigns or relying on tools, neither of which are always effective.
Using external platforms and tools which claim to make campaign management simple and effective may seem promising, but they fail (almost) every time. The truth is, there is no shortcut to a successful ad campaign. Ask every prominent Amazon marketing team and they’ll either point to their long history of trial and error over the past few years or to their ongoing Amazon PPC consultations.
You can easily tell when your PPC campaigns do not meet your target KPIs. However, finding out exactly what went wrong is not always as straightforward as it seems. The most convenient way to avoid facing such hurdles? Seeking Amazon PPC consultation as soon as your team needs it.
We are a global company of talented marketing experts with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences that fuel our ambition to get results. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to Amazon sellers, which is why JM&Co creates completely customized campaigns for each client, ensuring your business thrives.
We offer:
A seller can create a campaign to promote their product on Amazon and pay only when the user clicks on the link (PPC). But running successful ad campaigns and reaching target metrics is no easy task.
If you have been including all of your keywords in your listings, now is the time to stop and start managing your campaigns properly.
Adopting a sound advertising strategy from the beginning will make your life easier and prevent unnecessary losses in the long run. Just make sure you stay focused on your corporate identity and business objectives and tailor your campaigns accordingly.
By using Amazon Sponsored Products Ads, retailers can gain exposure and improve product traceability without sacrificing sales, but only For a successful campaign, stay away from these pitfalls and get in touch with expert Amazon marketers to expand your audience, increase your traffic, and grow your business.
The art is building the right growth campaign. The science is in the results.
.svg){kind=small}
©2022 joshmeah.com // All Rights Reserved.