Targeting

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Optimizing Automatic Targeting Campaigns
   • Leverage Negative Targeting
   • Utilize Dynamic Bids
   • Split Campaigns for Better Results
3. Maximizing Product Targeting (PT) Campaigns
   • Focus on Exact Targeting
   • Monitor Search Term Reports (STRs)
   • Use Reports to Refine Campaigns
   • Limit Product Targets for Better Control
4. Enhancing Audience Targeting with Sponsored Display (SD)
   • Target Amazon Shoppers Who Provide Reviews
   • Monitor and Test the Strategy
5. Improving Campaign Performance with Keyword Optimization
   • Target Keyword Mismatch
   • Low Buy Box Percentage
   • Low Search Volume or Non-Competitive Bids
   • Organize and Categorize Keywords
6. The Importance of Regular Analysis and Optimization
7. Final Thoughts

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Amazon advertising has become an essential part of eCommerce, offering brands the opportunity to reach a broader audience and generate more sales. However, achieving success with Amazon ads requires ongoing optimization, strategic targeting, and constant monitoring. In this article, we will explore key strategies for maximizing performance across different types of Amazon campaigns, including automatic targeting, product targeting, and audience targeting.

Optimizing Automatic Targeting Campaigns

Automatic targeting in Amazon campaigns is often questioned for its lack of control over target keywords, items, and bidding. However, with proper optimization, automatic campaigns can become a valuable source of revenue. Here are some tips to optimize automatic targeting campaigns:

1. Leverage Negative Targeting
   Using negative targeting is the most effective way to control automatic campaigns. By identifying irrelevant keywords and products and adding them to your negative list, you can gradually make your campaigns more focused and efficient.
2. Utilize Dynamic Bids
   Dynamic bids automatically adjust your bids in real-time based on the likelihood of conversion. This allows you to bid higher for terms likely to convert and reduce wasted spend on less effective placements.
3. Split Campaigns for Better Results
   Automatic targeting includes both product pages and search results, which often have different conversion rates. By splitting these targeting types into separate campaigns, you can allocate budgets and bidding strategies more efficiently. One recommended split is:
   • Campaign 1: Close and Loose Matches
   • Campaign 2: Substitutes and Complements
4. With these strategies, automatic campaigns can evolve into powerful revenue-generating tools.

Maximizing Product Targeting (PT) Campaigns

Product Targeting (PT) campaigns are essential for both offensive and defensive advertising strategies on Amazon. However, without the right approach, these campaigns can lead to wasted ad spend.

1. Focus on Exact Targeting
   Exact targeting in Sponsored Product (SP) PT campaigns helps ensure your ads appear only against specific competitor products, improving conversion rates. In contrast, expanded targeting broadens your reach but can result in irrelevant impressions and higher costs. Based on our testing, exact targeting resulted in a 20% conversion rate (CVR) compared to only 0.06% with expanded targeting.
2. Monitor Search Term Reports (STRs)
   Regularly review your STRs to identify irrelevant keywords and product targets. For SP PT campaigns, irrelevant keywords can be added as negatives, but for Sponsored Brands (SB) and Sponsored Brands Video (SBV) campaigns, you'll need to closely monitor and manually adjust to control spend.
3. Use Reports to Refine Campaigns
   Utilize the "Purchased Product Report" and "Matched Target Report" to analyze which products your ads are appearing against and which are converting. Adjust your product targets based on these insights to ensure better campaign performance.
4. Limit Product Targets for Better Control
   Limit the number of product targets in each campaign to around 15-20 to make tracking and performance analysis more manageable. Pause targets that haven't generated orders in 30-45 days and replace them with new, relevant targets.

Enhancing Audience Targeting with Sponsored Display (SD)

Sponsored Display (SD) campaigns allow advertisers to target Amazon shoppers based on behavior, such as those more likely to leave reviews. This strategy is especially helpful for newer products or brands ineligible for programs like Amazon Vine.

1. Target Amazon Shoppers Who Provide Reviews
   SD audiences can be used to target customers who have left at least five reviews. Although this option can be broad and expensive, it can be effective for generating reviews if used with a budget of around $2,000 to $3,000 over two weeks, spending $100 to $150 per day.
2. Monitor and Test the Strategy
   Since SD targeting may be broad, it’s crucial to continuously monitor performance. While it may not be as precise as Vine, it offers a viable alternative for generating customer feedback.

Improving Campaign Performance with Keyword Optimization

Campaign performance on Amazon is heavily influenced by the relevancy and competitiveness of your keywords. Here are some common issues and solutions to improve impressions and ad effectiveness:

1. Target Keyword Mismatch
   Amazon matches your target keywords with the content on your product detail page. Ensure that your keywords are relevant to your product content and that your search terms are optimized for better ad relevancy.
2. Low Buy Box Percentage
   Amazon ads will not serve if your product does not have the buy box. Regularly monitor your buy box percentage using Business Reports and work to maintain it for maximum ad impressions.
3. Low Search Volume or Non-Competitive Bids
   If your target keywords have low search volume, consider using auto or broad match campaigns to discover new high-volume keywords. Additionally, ensure your bids are competitive enough to secure top-of-page placements for better visibility.
4. Organize and Categorize Keywords for Better Campaign Structure
   Organizing keywords into specific categories based on performance is essential for ongoing optimization. We recommend the following structure:
   • High relevance and high conversion: Focus on ranking with high spend.
   • High relevance and low conversion: Adjust bids and review listing content for improvements.
   • General keywords: Use separate campaigns with less competitive bids.
   • Less relevant or not relevant keywords: Separate these into their own campaigns with lower bids to control budget and improve overall performance.

The Importance of Regular Analysis and Optimization

Successful Amazon advertising requires continuous testing, harvesting, and analysis of campaign performance. Here’s a recommended flow:

• Conduct regular keyword research and testing.
• Analyze and categorize keywords based on performance.
• Regularly review and refine campaigns, moving low-performing or irrelevant keywords to separate campaigns with lower bids.
• Continuously adjust negative keywords and targeting to minimize wasted spend and optimize return on ad spend (ROAS).

By following these strategies, brands can improve the performance of their Amazon ad campaigns, maximizing reach, conversions, and profitability while minimizing wasted ad spend.

Final Thoughts

Amazon advertising can be complex, but with the right strategies in place—ranging from automatic and product targeting to keyword optimization and audience targeting—advertisers can build effective campaigns that drive results. Whether you’re defending your product detail pages from competitors or launching new products, a focus on regular analysis and campaign refinement will ensure long-term success.

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