7 Common Amazon Advertising Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Sometimes, it becomes so frustrating when you initiate an Amazon ad campaign and end up seeing your budget drained without any expected results. You are not alone since many Amazon advertisers suffer from common mistakes that can hinder campaigns' performance, waste budget, low ROI, and lost opportunities.
In this post we walk through 10 of the most common Amazon advertising mistakes, and how to avoid them
Mistake #1️⃣: Lack of Defined Goals for Your Amazon Ads
Why it matters:
Unless you define your goals, you might throw money at ads that aren't going to work without a clear goal in mind. Do you want to build brand awareness? Drive sales on a specific product? Or push customers into a storefront? Different goals require different strategies.
How to fix it:
Before you run any Amazon ads campaign, write down a clear and measurable goal. Such as:
1. If you have the goal of brand awareness, then use Amazon Advertising through sponsored brand ads to help display both your logo and products above on searches on Amazon.
2. If you have the goal of selling products, then use Amazon Advertising with sponsored product ads that target select keywords or specific products to convert.
Actionable Step:
Take a minute to write down your campaign goals and match them with the right Amazon advertising format. If you do not have a goal, it's time to go back to the drawing board. Clear goals will guide your entire ad strategy, which helps to measure success and optimize your campaigns.
Example:
Now, just think about if you have an eco-friendly cleaning products store on Amazon. You want to drive sales for this new product. You would then want to choose Sponsored Product ads, which would target keywords such as "eco-friendly cleaner" and "green cleaning products." But in certain situations, you might use Sponsored Brand ads to increase brand awareness.
Mistake #2️⃣: Lack of Keyword Research and Targeting
Why it matters:
Not all keywords are created equal. Poor keyword choices will cause your ad spend to plummet on tons of useless, irrelevant traffic. The right way to make sure you're targeting the correct audience is through effective keyword targeting with Amazon Advertising.
How to fix it:
Spend some good time doing keyword research with Amazon Advertising keyword tool or, if you want to get really, really big on keyword research, use third-party tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout. Just make sure not to forget to focus on intent-based keywords and keep an eye out for negative keywords and irrelevant search terms.
Actionable Step:
To identify keywords related to your products, you can use Amazon's Keyword Planner. Target long-tail keywords because their conversion rates are normally high, although the competition level is generally low.
Example:
For instance, a store for personalising coffee mugs. Instead of narrowly targeting broad terms like "coffee mugs," which would be quite a competitive term, look for phrases like "funny personalized coffee mugs" or "best gift coffee mugs." In doing so, you reach the people most likely to make the purchase.
Mistake #3️⃣: Ignoring Negative Keywords
Why it matters:
This will negative keywords help prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches, meaning no wasting of clicks. In Amazon Advertising, Negative keywords are important to filter traffic that's unlikely to convert.
How to fix it:
Always include a list of negative keywords-terms or phrases you don't want your ads to show up for. That can be irrelevant search terms, competitors' brand names or generic terms that don't match your products. In Amazon Advertising, properly managing negative keywords can drastically improve ad performance.
Actionable Step:
Monitor the Search Term report to find which keywords eat away at your budget. Use them as negative keywords to show fewer ads for irrelevant searches.
Example:
There's nothing wrong with selling expensive leather jackets, but you probably don't want your ads showing up in a search like "cheap leather jackets." In other words, by including "cheap" as a negative keyword, you avoid targeting bargain hunters who are not going to pay full price.
Mistake #4️⃣: Failure to Optimize Ad Copy and Product Listings
Why it matters:
Great ad copy and product listings are the bedrock of any successful Amazon campaign. If your listings aren't optimized or your ad copy isn't compelling, your ads won't attract clicks, even if you target the right keywords.
How to fix it:
1. Ad Copy: Keep it clear, concise and focused on benefits of the product. Add strong CTA like "Shop Now" or "Limited Offer
2. Product Listings: Your titles, descriptions, and bullet points should include relevant keywords and be interesting. Your listings should express what makes your products unique, including your USPs, and why customers should buy from you.
Actionable Step:
Update your product listing with high-converting keywords and ensure the ad copy you're writing matches the message you have in your listing. Consistency in ad copy and product listing builds trust and makes more conversions.
Example :
As for the ad copy if you are marketing a wireless Bluetooth speaker that is lightweight and portable, this will be: "Compact, High-Quality Sound – Take Your Music Everywhere!" Your product description should bring up these keywords with "portable speaker," "long battery life," and "waterproof."
Mistake #5️⃣: Failure to Monitor and Adjust Your Campaigns Regularly
Why it matters:
It's not a "set it and forget it" thing when it comes to Amazon advertising. If you don't regularly check your ads and make adjustments for maximum performance, you might be running ads that are bad performers or even already irrelevant.
How to fix it:
Monitor the campaign regularly. Track the click, conversion, and ACoS trend and adjust the bids, budget, and targeting based on that. Always keep your ads in line with those aims and performance metrics.
Actionable Step:
You can schedule a block of time every few days or every week to review your Amazon Ads dashboard. Monitor your KPIs and make adjustments based on the insights you are getting.
Example:
You find that one keyword is bringing traffic but not conversion, then you might need to adjust your bid or test your ad copy against what your customers expect. The more consistent adjustments can make your performance budget-efficient.
Mistake #6️⃣: Over-targeting or over-focusing targeting scope
Why it matters:
Over-targeting wastes ad dollars by showing the ads to too many people who are not the right fit. Conversely, under-targeting can target too specifically or have a limited reach that fails to yield necessary results.
How to fix it:
Balance specificity with reach in your targeting. You can start broad and continually hone your targeting as you gain more data and move into more specific keywords and audiences which are driving the best results for you.
Actionable Step:
Use the feature of Amazon's Product Targeting. By doing this, you are sure not to waste clicks on irrelevant items but to reach the right audience effectively.
Example:
A company selling beauty products, perhaps organic skincare, might advertise on something like "organic face serum" or "all-natural facial moisturizer." Since you are focusing on the same items, there's a higher chance to reach an interested customer looking for organic skincare.
Mistake #7️⃣: Under emphasizing A/B Testing
Why it matters:
A/B testing allows you to compare ad creatives, keywords, or targeting strategies. Not doing so means missing some really valuable insights that can radically improve campaign performance.
How to fix it:
Always run A/B tests for ad creative, keyword set, and product targeting for see what combinations deliver the best results. Even seemingly small tweaks can make a big difference in improving performance.
Actionable Step:
Choose one variable to test against the other-for example, perhaps you will test a change in ad copy or bids and then review the data after four weeks to see which one did better.
Example
A campaign targeting "wireless headphones" might require you to test two different headlines in ad copy: "Best Wireless Headphones for Music Lovers" vs. "Noise-Cancelling Wireless Headphones for Ultimate Sound." See which one performs the best and then use the winning copy for further campaigns.
Conclusion:
Amazon advertising-whether it's through display, video, or a Sponsored Product-is a really fantastic way to drive sales and help grow your business. However, in order to take the most advantage of Amazon advertising, you must avoid common pitfalls many advertisers often incur.
