Learn how to get started with Amazon advertising, choose the right campaign types, and optimise your ads for the best results.
Jens Vittrup
Not advertising on Amazon yet? Then you are missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your sales. Amazon is not just a marketplace – it is the world’s largest product search engine, and Amazon advertising is the key to visibility.
However, with several different advertising formats and settings, getting started can feel overwhelming. Whether you are completely new or already selling on Amazon, this article will guide you through the entire process of setting up and launching successful ad campaigns.
You will learn how to get started, choose the right campaign types, set up targeting and budgets, and ensure your campaigns actually perform. Let’s get started on getting your Amazon products in front of the right customers!
Before you set up your first campaign, it is important to know the various types of ads Amazon offers. Each type has its own advantages and is suited to different business goals.
There are three main advertising formats on Amazon:
If you are just starting out, it is recommended to begin with Sponsored Products, as they are the easiest to set up and deliver quick results. As you gain more experience with Amazon Seller Central, you can expand into the other formats.
Before you can start advertising your products on Amazon, you need to create an advertising account. The process varies slightly depending on your seller type:
To create an advertising account, you should:
If you are a vendor (selling to Amazon), you will use Vendor Central instead. Amazon has no minimum spend requirement for ads, so you can start with a small budget and scale up as you gain experience.
Ensure your products have complete and optimised listings before you begin advertising. This is crucial for your conversion rate when customers click on your ads. A strong Amazon SEO strategy is the foundation for successful advertising.
Sponsored Products are the most popular ad type on Amazon and a great place to start. Here is the complete process for setting up your first campaign:
Log in to your Seller Central account, go to the ‘Advertising’ dropdown menu and select ‘Campaign Manager’. Click the ‘Create campaign’ button to start the setup process.
Select ‘Sponsored Products’ as your campaign type. You will see a new page where you need to enter the basic campaign details.
Set the following for your campaign:
Amazon offers two main types of targeting for Sponsored Products:
If you are new to Amazon advertising, it is advisable to start with an automatic campaign to gather data and then supplement with manual campaigns based on the best-performing keywords.
Select the products you want to advertise. You can choose individual products or product groups based on categories or other filters. Make sure you only select products with fully optimised listings and good reviews to maximise your conversion rate.
Amazon offers different bid strategies:
For beginners, ‘Dynamic bids – down only’ is recommended to protect your budget while you get to know the platform.
If you choose manual targeting, you need to add relevant keywords. You can:
You can also add negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant searches.
Review all your settings and click ‘Launch campaign’. Your campaign will begin running on the specified start date. You are now well on your way to learning how to advertise Amazon products!
Once you have gained experience with Sponsored Products, you can expand your ad strategy to Sponsored Brands. These ads are powerful tools for increasing brand awareness and showcasing multiple products at once.
Here’s how to set up a Sponsored Brands campaign:
As with Sponsored Products, start in Campaign Manager, but this time select ‘Sponsored Brands’ as the campaign type.
Sponsored Brands require several creative elements:
For Sponsored Brands video ads, you will also need to upload a video showing your product in use, with a length of 6-45 seconds.
As with Sponsored Products, you must choose relevant keywords and set your bids. Sponsored Brands only supports manual targeting, so you have to select your keywords yourself.
Set your daily budget and whether the campaign should run continuously or for a set period.
Sponsored Brands usually require a slightly higher budget than Sponsored Products due to their prominent positioning and larger format, so adjust your budget accordingly.
Sponsored Display is a powerful way to re-market to customers who have shown interest in your products, or to reach new customers based on related products or categories.
These ads can appear both on and off Amazon, allowing you to reach customers at different stages of the buying journey. Here’s how to set them up:
Select ‘Sponsored Display’ as the campaign type in Campaign Manager.
Sponsored Display offers various targeting options:
For beginners, product targeting is often the easiest to start with.
Select the products you wish to advertise, and set your bid and budget strategies. The ad creatives are generated automatically based on your product listings.
Sponsored Display campaigns work best with a daily budget of at least 20 euros to ensure enough exposure to generate data.
Once you have mastered basic campaign setup, you can begin implementing more advanced strategies to boost the effectiveness of your Amazon marketing efforts:
Amazon offers three keyword match types in manual campaigns:
An effective strategy is to start with broad matches to collect data, then gradually target with phrase and exact match for the keywords that convert best.
Negative keywords are just as important as positive ones. They prevent your ads from being shown for irrelevant searches. For example:
Regularly reviewing your search term reports and adding irrelevant terms as negatives can drastically improve your ROI by eliminating wasted ad spend.
Portfolios allow you to organise your campaigns into logical groups and set portfolio-level budgets. Here’s how to create a portfolio in Amazon advertising:
You can organise portfolios by product category, brand, season, or any other logical grouping that makes sense for your business.
Understanding how to budget effectively is crucial for getting the most out of your Amazon advertising. Here are some recommendations based on campaign type:
For Sponsored Products, the following starting budgets are recommended:
Ensure your daily budget is at least 10 times your average cost per click (CPC) to gather enough data for optimisation.
Sponsored Brands typically have higher CPC and therefore require larger budgets:
For Sponsored Brands Video, you should allocate a slightly higher budget, as these ads generally see higher engagement and can consume budget more quickly.
For Sponsored Display, the recommendations are:
These campaigns may have lower conversion rates at first, but are valuable for reaching customers at different stages of the buying process.
Adjust your bidding strategy according to your campaign objectives:
Monitor your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) closely to ensure your advertising remains profitable in relation to your product margins.
Setting up campaigns is only the beginning – regular optimisation is key to long-term success with your Amazon PPC campaign. Here’s how to ensure your campaigns continue to perform:
Carry out these tasks at least weekly to keep your campaigns effective:
On a monthly basis, you should carry out more in-depth analysis:
To edit existing campaigns:
Note that some changes (such as campaign type) cannot be edited after launching – in these cases, you need to create a new campaign.
If a campaign is underperforming or no longer relevant:
It is recommended to archive campaigns rather than delete them, so you retain historical data that could be valuable for future reference.
If you are unsure whether to delete or simply pause a campaign, consider contacting Amazon consultants for professional advice.
Once you have mastered basic campaign setup and maintenance, you can start implementing more advanced strategies to improve your ROI:
An effective strategy is to implement a layered campaign structure:
This structure helps you continually discover new keywords and gradually refine your targeting to maximise ROI.
Advanced Amazon advertisers use time-based strategies:
Although Amazon does not directly support dayparting, you can implement this manually by adjusting bids or pausing/activating campaigns at specific times.
To optimise how to create Amazon Ads responsive:
Amazon automatically A/B tests your ads to find the most effective combination of creative elements.
Understanding how to pay for Amazon advertising is an important part of campaign management. Here are the basics you need to know:
Amazon automatically charges advertising costs to the payment method linked to your ad account:
You can view your invoices in the ‘Billing & payments’ section of your ad account.
Amazon advertising fees are based on a pay-per-click (PPC) model:
Amazon charges VAT (if relevant in your country) on top of your advertising costs.
To ensure your ads generate a positive ROI, it’s crucial to understand and track the right metrics. Here are the key KPIs to watch:
Regularly monitor these metrics to assess your campaigns’ health:
Note that a good ACoS varies depending on your product margins and business strategy.
Amazon offers detailed reports to analyze your campaign performance:
Use these reports to identify optimization opportunities and adjust your campaigns accordingly.
Amazon offers different attribution windows to understand how your ads influence sales:
Longer attribution windows provide a more complete picture of your advertising impact, especially for products with longer purchase cycles.
Even experienced advertisers can fall into these traps. Here are some of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them:
By being aware of these pitfalls, you can save both time and money in your Amazon selling campaigns.
To maximise the impact of your Amazon advertising, it should be integrated with your overall marketing strategy. Here’s how you can achieve this:
Your Amazon ads should work in tandem with your other marketing channels:
Ensure messaging, offers, and timing are consistent across all channels to maximise effectiveness.
Data from your Amazon campaigns can inform your wider marketing strategy:
By sharing insights across platforms, you can create a more cohesive and effective marketing effort.
Coordinate your Amazon campaigns with wider marketing initiatives:
By viewing Amazon as an integrated part of your marketing mix rather than an isolated channel, you can create synergy and improve overall results.
While many sellers start by managing their own Amazon ads, there comes a point where professional help can be valuable. Here are some signs it may be time to consider hiring an Amazon agency:
Consider an agency when:
An agency can often deliver better results thanks to their experience, specialised tools, and dedicated focus.
Working with Amazon experts offers several benefits:
Hiring an Amazon agency also frees up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.
Another valuable resource for expanding your own knowledge is an Amazon course on advertising, where you can learn both basic and advanced techniques.
Ready to dive into Amazon advertising? Here is a quick action plan to get started:
Before you create your first campaign, make sure you have:
In your first 30 days of Amazon advertising, focus on:
Stay focused on learning during this period – do not expect perfect results right away as you are still building data for optimisation.
Amazon advertising is a constant learning process. To keep developing:
With a systematic approach and a willingness to learn and adapt, Amazon advertising can become a powerful growth engine for your e-commerce business.
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