by Daniel Skoda, Managing Partner at adlicious
“You are more honest with anyone than with Google's search field,” says data protection expert Constanze Kurz, addressing a fact that is well-known today: The fulfillment of wishes and needs starts today in the search field - although no longer necessarily in that of Google. The growing importance of e-commerce, which generates billions of dollars in sales worldwide and is growing by around 20 percent annually, is breaking the monopoly of Google's Internet search engine, at least in the area of product search. The online retailer Amazon is increasingly gaining market share in search and is already the first point of contact for researching products in the USA, around half of product searches across the Atlantic start with the mail-order company, but only a good third on Google, as US studies show. A turning point. Google has always had a firm grip on the product-related search market with shares of over 50 percent. Market research firm eMarketer predicts: Amazon is expected to increase its share of global search engine marketing to 15.9 percent by 2021, a market that generates an estimated 55 billion US dollars in 2019. As a result, Amazon would have increased its share of the highly competitive market more than tenfold within ten years. So how important is Amazon today for advertisers to gain access to customers and potential customers? The answer in two figures: 75 percent of online shoppers use Amazon to get to know new products or brands and make an average of 20 purchases there per year. For marketers, Amazon is therefore a platform with great relevance and immense potential. And the need to consider them in their marketing strategy so as not to lose touch and continue to successfully implement marketing goals. The investment-friendly online retailer, which recorded 232 billion US dollars in revenue in 2018 and, according to these estimates, will be able to increase by 20 percent in 2019, is constantly developing its platform for advertisers. Compared to other channels, Amazon offers specific advantages in reaching out to customers in awareness, engagement and sales. Anyone who sets up campaigns here with expert knowledge and optimizes them in a targeted manner has the chance to achieve competitive advantages.
Pick up customers in the Upper Funnel and convert in the Lower Funnel
Marketing in Amazon Search can - implemented correctly - have an effect both close to the conversion in the Lower Funnel and in the Upper Funnel: The targeted use of Sponsored Brand Ads (formerly Headline Search Ads), for example, is suitable for generating awareness. They make it possible to display brands and products above or below search results and to make them known in attractive environments, especially when there is no brand or product loyalty yet. For example, when searching for generic terms such as “laptop” or “shoes” instead of specific brands or products, branding formats offer the opportunity to pick up prospective buyers in the upper funnel and convert them along the customer journey - competitors' keywords are also an option, which is why it can be useful to use your own brand keywords. Current evaluations show: over 40 percent of ad spend on Amazon is used to increase brand awareness. Sponsored brand ads, which, just like Sponsored Product Ads, are available to both pro sellers and vendors, can lead to two different types of goals. On the one hand, it is possible to redirect to a specific landing page. Their advantages are that they can promote the sale of a predefined product, display selected Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) to speed up the buying process, and hide visually distracting elements. On the other hand, Sponsored Brand Ads can redirect to branded shops, which offer advertisers the option to offer products in a specially designed e-commerce structure within the Amazon Marketplace and to provide them with teasers and sub-pages. A type of digital shop-in-shop system, as is known from retail. With regard to achieving awareness goals, a good opportunity for holistic brand image in the Amazon ecosystem. Amazon Sponsored Product Ads make it possible to generate immediate visibility and direct sales, maintain ranking positions and generate brand awareness and engagement. However, the prerequisite for this advertising option is the possession of the Buy Box, better known as the “add to shopping cart” button. The buy box is awarded using an algorithm that includes price and seller performance, among other things. With regard to the ranking on Amazon, it should also be noted that, in contrast to Google, ads are classified and prioritized according to the probability of a successful sale and not according to ctr.In principle, Sponsored Product Ads can be played out via keyword targeting and ASIN targeting. With the option of targeting via keywords, the ads are displayed in the search results and therefore offer the best possible visibility. Through ASIN targeting, the ads are displayed on the associated product page below the bullet points or in the recommendations.
Increase sales, generate traffic and increase brand awareness with display ads
Product display ads enable vendors, i.e. brands that have their products sold directly by Amazon, to place ads on a product page based on interests or specific products via ASIN, which are displayed directly below the “Add to shopping cart” button. Product display ads with interest targeting (lifestyle targeting) are particularly suitable, as customers within an interest group are highly likely to have similar shopping behavior as other shoppers in this segment. Anyone who is particularly interested in Game of Thrones, for example, will most likely also find comparable products interesting, as other fans of the fantasy epic. Interests should be thought through as thoroughly as possible and keywords should be selected as differentiated as possible. So if you want to appeal to Game of Thrones fans, you shouldn't just use “US TV series” or “HBO productions” as keywords, but be more specific, such as “fantasy TV series” or “fictional medieval novels.” Even if the purchase is not completed immediately, the customer has become aware and may continue the purchase process at a later stage, inspired by further contact points. Through product targeting via ASIN, UPCs (Universal Product Code) or keywords, ads can be targeted in the environment of competitors and their products. Ideally, the customer buys their own product and not that of the competitor. It is also possible that both products will be purchased. Anyone looking at vases from supplier A, for example, may also use the product from provider B if there are appropriate attractive incentives to do so.
A subheading in the sense of “further options” would be appropriate here. Until now, it was about search, now display.
For a holistic brand strategy, display ads across the entire Amazon ecosystem should also be considered, which not only relate to targeted positioning on specific product pages, but also specifically address the interests of customers. Amazon's DSP, the demand-side platform for advertisers, allows them to be placed outside of Amazon with a high reach. Video advertising is also possible here for increased awareness. Another option of product targeting is the placement of products in suitable or complementary environments. Customers who look at vacuum cleaners will also be open to matching vacuum cleaner bags. For non-endemics — players who do not sell on Amazon — the Amazon DSP offers the opportunity to place banners, for example as a mobile phone insurer, to reach smartphone buyers or prospects (demographically and interest-based). The following formats are available to advertisers:
Use Amazon for push and pull marketing
Some advertisers are still not using the platform optimally. Amazon thus offers those who implement differentiated awareness, engagement and sales campaigns the opportunity to reach their target groups in an environment that is not yet intensively used by all advertisers. In particular, the opportunities to create specific targeting based on first-party/CRM and transaction data, user profiles with in-market and lifestyle segments, offer exciting opportunities for push marketing (display and video), both in approaching new customers (prospecting) as well as in Customer reactivation. The advertising options are not limited to the Amazon platform: the connected inventories of high-quality publishers are also available for campaign management via Amazon DSP. There are also attractive formats in pull marketing (search). It is advisable to set up campaigns separately for awareness and sales goals. Sponsored brand ads and display ads are more suitable for presenting brands and new products. Sponsored Product Ads (sponsored products) reach customers who are closer to buying and are therefore ideal for achieving sales goals. A clear and consistent naming helps to keep track of different campaigns and their goals.
This article first appeared in the print issue 06/2020 of Internet World Business.
