Advertising works on Amazon, but having a successful campaign doesn’t just involve buying ad spots. It requires fundamental amazon listing optimization such as creating quality product pages and making sure that you have a solid account strategy.

As a leader in eCommerce – known for consistently providing a satisfying consumer experience and with around 310 million active users worldwide generating billions of sales annually – it isn’t surprising that around 56% of consumers prefer Amazon.

Below you’ll find 6 fundamental Amazon optimizations that everyone should consider.

Amazon Listing Optimization for Better PPC

1. Be clear about your marketing goals and Average Cost of Sales (ACoS)

When you structure PPC campaigns, the first thing you should do is determine your marketing goal for the campaign. This way, you can identify what will be your target Average Cost of Sales (ACoS).

If your objective is profit, then base your target ACoS on the profit margin. If your goal is geared towards product awareness and organic visibility, then you might want to increase your ad budget or even sustain short-term losses in order to gain conversions later on.

Tip: The Average Cost of Sales is automatically calculated in the Amazon Sponsored Products Dashboard.

2. Structure your campaigns consistently

Optimal Amazon ad performance can only be achieved if you have a consistent campaign organization, which provides clarity on performance, fluid maneuverability throughout the account, and helps prevent mistakes (like repeating ads).

For example, you might opt for a structure based on ‘product category’ (i.e. lipstick, cameras) or ‘brand’ (i.e. MAC, Canon), or ‘bestsellers’. However you decide on organizing your campaigns, be rigorous in sticking to the structure – it’ll make your life easier and your insights clearer.

3. Analyze your keywords

It’s paramount for sellers to select the best keywords for their merchandise. The right set of keywords can not only improve your actual sales but boost your sales rank and organic listings as well.

Try finding your most valuable keywords using these techniques:

Inspect orders

Keywords that are identified by orders tend to drive the most conversions, so double down on keywords with high conversion rates! Just make sure to inspect ACoS for each keyword when deciding which ones are worth additional investment.

Find patterns in match-types

Much like Google AdWords, Amazon gives sellers three match types for sponsored products.

• Broad-match casts the widest net, showing your ad for any related search query. Broad match includes queries that are misspelled or have synonymous terms.
• Phrase-match ensures that the search contains a set of words in a particular order.
• Exact-match only triggers your ad when a search query matches the keyword(s) exactly.

Are there performance deltas between match types? Use them to optimize your keyword bids.

Use ‘automatic campaigns’ to farm keyword ideas

Using ‘automatic campaigns’ can be risky and if left to their own accord will likely not prove ROI positive. However, you can use them to farm keyword ideas and port the best into your manual bid campaigns for greater control. Approach this strategy with caution, and definitely keep a sharp eye on spend.

Leveraging insights on the ‘wrong’ keywords

Just as you’ll begin noticing the ‘right’ keywords – you’ll also start seeing trends in the ‘wrong’ keywords (poor ACoS). By setting ‘Negative’ keywords you can reduce wasted spend and improve performance. This is particularly important for campaigns that include broad-match keywords.

4. Use high-quality images.

Amazon listings provide 7 to 9 product images on a page. Use this opportunity to post high-resolution photos of the product from every angle, including both product-only and lifestyle versions. Larger photos that allow the viewer to zoom in on hover are recommended. Invest in professional-looking photos so that customers can see an accurate representation of what the product looks like. Visual impressions are an important deciding factor in a customer’s purchasing decision, and often reinforce trust and confidence in the conversion.

5. Make your headline specific.

Add specific details to your headlines to increase customer confidence and rank for long-tail search phrases.

For example, if you were selling a tripod, buyers would want to know what the dimensions are, what material it is made of, and what it comes with. Your headline might be “50-inch Lightweight Aluminum Tripod with Bag,” which clearly communicates the most significant information about the product.

The image above is a great example of a headline using specific details. It includes the main keywords the listing is targeting, the dimensions, materials and suitable applications.

6. Encourage reviews

Positive and detailed reviews can be rocket fuel for your conversion rate. 88% of online customers read reviews before deciding to purchase a product – and this is especially true for the Amazon marketplace. Many would-be customers don’t even bother visiting listings that have less than four stars… and the more reviews the better. Encourage your customers to write feedback about their experience with the product.

Amazon has fairly strict policies on email customers, so realistically there’s two options you should be aware of: use Amazon’s automated order feedback system, or reach out to non-Amazon customers and ask them to review your Amazon listing.

*Looking for a more in-depth dive into advertising on Amazon? Visit Everything You Need to Know About Advertising on Amazon to have your mind blown.