Amazon is becoming a revolutionary marketing machine for all marketers.
I’m using its power now for clients who don’t have a product to sell on Amazon. And it’s amazing for those who do have products on Amazon.
Let me outline 12 little-known keys to seeing powerful response and profits on Amazon.
Remember, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. But its’ more than just a shopping destination.
It’s also the 5th largest media publisher in the US…a powerful search engine…and has a massive database of valuable information—massive transactional data from Amazon Prime and more.
In order to take advantage of the amazing benefits that Amazon has to offer, use these 12 keys to powerfully expand your leads, customers, and profits on Amazon.
For marketers who don’t have a product to sell on Amazon…
- Use Your Own Data Base to Create a Custom List for Amazon Prime.
One of the most powerful ways to target your best prospects on Amazon is to upload your existing customer or prospect file to the site. Using your own custom list will allow you to serve ads to both Amazon Prime customers and general Amazon customers.
- Target and Retarget to Amazon Users.
The first step to effectively targeting – and retargeting – prospects on Amazon with ads is to use a special pixel on your own homepage. This pixel allows you to identify those customers who are visiting your own homepage and shopping on Amazon…so that you can see where “audience overlap” occurs on both sites.
So when they go to Amazon—they see your offer.
- Look-a-like Audiences.
Just like Facebook and other platforms, you can build a look-a-like audience on Amazon using information from the pixel on your own site to expand your reach and increase conversion.
Better yet, you can take your custom list to make an Amazon look-a-like audience.
Amazon will generate a look-a-like audience to generate new leads or customers. They use transactional data of Amazon to reach new prospects or customers that look and behave just like your best customers and prospects.
Powerful!
What makes this better than Google or Facebook and other similar platforms is that it doesn’t rely on algorithms. It’s transactional data…transactional data is what we use for direct mail data modeling. It’s the best look-a-like data possible. This is just as good.
- Lifestyle Targeting.
Amazon will provide you with powerful data that allows you to examine the search patterns, browsing habits, and purchase behaviors of specific prospects, and serve them ads.
For example, you can identify segments of prospects based on their general lifestyle interests…if you are selling a multivitamin, you’ll want to take a look at the buying habits of customers who are interested in health and wellness.
- In-Market Targeting.
Here’s another tool that can help you to expand your prospect base: in-market targeting segments allow you to identify and reach customers who have searched for a product in a specific category over the past 30 days.
- Demographic Targeting.
Amazon will also allow you to target audience segments based on demographics. For example, you can target leads based on gender, age, income, and even number of children. Targeting by demographic is just one more way to gain new leads and prospects by serving targeted ads.
For marketers who are selling a product on Amazon…
- Increase Your Ranking by Improving Performance.
When your customers search for a product on the internet, half of all those searches begin on Amazon. So, it’s important that your products are high-ranking on this mega-retailer…that your product shows up on page 1, not page 10…or 100.
Setting the right price is critical to your success on Amazon ranking, as is data analysis. We can help you with the tools to analyze traffic on sales on their site.
Amazon has a special algorithm for assessing customer reviews, so you are unable to control this factor too much. However, you can encourage customers to review your products with a follow-up campaign. Ask them for a review after the order has shipped, and again a couple weeks after the product has arrived.
- Increase Your Ranking by Improving Relevance.
Amazon performs similarly to Google in that it will not respond to keyword-stuffing or poor usage of keywords.
Instead, use keywords wisely in your brand name, product listing title, product description, in the URL, nodes (identified in product category relationships), field-brandtextbin, and line of the product, which is an additional opportunity to categorize the product. You can also keywords in descriptions of color, material, size/dimensions, and quantity, if relevant.
The keyword character limit is 250. Amazon also recommends the following:
- Do not include keywords that are descriptive of the product
- Do not include brand names (even your name) or other product identifiers
- Do not repeat content that is present in other attributes (like title or bullet points)
- Do not repeat keywords
- Use keywords that are synonyms, hypernyms, or spelling variations of content in visible attributes
Lastly, make sure to optimize your product images. Images should be high-resolution, zoomable, and taken from a variety of angles. Include product label closeup images; if applicable, photos of the product being used; product shots that show a point of reference, like a hand; and any additional images that might be helpful, like charts or even text.
Using this feature, you’ll be able to powerfully target both existing customers and gain new leads.
- Sponsored Product Ads.
If you’re selling products on Amazon, you can run ads for specific products as “sponsored products” ads, helping to drive up sales on Amazon.
Sponsored product ads are keyword-targeted, cost-per-click ads that can appear on the right side or the bottom of search results on Amazon, or on product detail pages. You can optimize the ad as it runs by viewing clicks or sales, giving you the ability to maximize the success and performance of your campaign, while decreasing spend.
- Headline Search Ads.
Another profitable option for marketers who are selling products on Amazon are headline search ads.
Headline search ads are keyword targeted cost-per-click search ads that can appear at the top of the first page of search results on Amazon.
Target headline search ads using keywords. Amazon recommends you use 30-40 short, clear keywords.
- Product Display Ads.
Product display ads are cost-per-click ads that help drive sales and traffic to your products’ detail page on Amazon.
Unlike sponsored product ads and headline search ads, product display ads are not keyword-targeted.
- Don’t just measure sales.
Because Amazon owns both the advertising and the retailer channels, it’s able to give marketers like you incredible insight into customer behavior and habits…so that you can improve your overall marketing strategy and boost profits.
Don’t just measure your sales. Measure customer awareness, customer loyalty, advocacy through reviews, and the purchasing habits of customers to assess how well your ads on Amazon are performing.
In fact, 96% of ad effectiveness signals will go unnoticed if you only measure final sales of your product.
Using these 12 little-known keys, you’ll powerfully expand your leads and clients and increase your profits on this mega-retailer.
Incidentally, I now have most of my clients testing for Amazon, and you should too while you have a competitive advantage.
If you would like to discuss your strategy for Amazon, give me a call at (310)212-5727, or email Caleb at [email protected].
Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
29 New and Surprising Trends for Marketing Products and Services in 2018- FREE Webinar on Thursday
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?
Little-known Marketing Secret to Drastically Increase Response
Copy Tip: The 5 U’s for Compelling Copy
Testing Corner: Which Email Subject Line Grabbed the Most Clicks?
