As the Amazon marketplace has rapidly become more and more saturated with brands and sellers, so too has the competition for advertising space. In recent years, the overcrowding in the marketplace has led to a direct and drastic increase in cost of advertising, while simultaneously showing a reduced return on investment (ROI). In response to this mounting struggle, many sellers are pivoting their marketing strategies away from the marketplace and instead embracing Google ads for Amazon products to drive traffic. And, Google, which has long struggled to establish itself as a shopping destination, has seized the opportunity to assist Amazon sellers.
While advertising for Amazon products directly on Google, and other off-market channels, has historically come with subpar results, newly developed software has changed the game. For Amazon sellers, who have been facing rising costs of advertising and a depleted ROI, Google ads for Amazon products have proven to be an efficient use of advertising spend, with considerable success at a fraction of the cost.
Amazon ads causing customers claustrophobia?
Amazon Advertising, formerly known as Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), launched in 2012, offering sellers several options to feature products. These services were designed to help Amazon sellers increase brand awareness and product visibility with a larger audience, with the ultimate goal of driving sales. As the eCommerce marketplace giant has expanded over the last decade, naturally so has its Amazon Advertising department.
In recent years, Amazon Advertising has immensely expanded its digital real estate, increasing the number of advertisements per page on Amazon’s site and introducing new ads to its subsidiaries, such as Amazon Music and Prime Video. At the same time, Amazon Advertising has begun offering a wide variety of different ad types, including video, audio, and device-specific ads. Despite this sprawling expansion though, a recent report from Jungle Scout found that investment in eCommerce advertising by Amazon Sellers, like PPC, has fallen nearly 10% in the past two years.
This is in large part due to the competitive nature and steep cost of advertising on the Amazon marketplace. However, customer satisfaction and engagement has also played a role. While the Amazon subsidiary saw a 24% increase in revenue just in Q1 of 2024, that does not mean Amazon sellers have reaped those same benefits. The dramatic increase in ads seen by customers hasn’t had the return rate on sales that Amazon sellers would hope for, suggesting that consumers are getting a little claustrophobic on the marketplace and are responding with resistance.
The “Search” for New Ad Space: Google Ads for Amazon products
Naturally, Amazon sellers have been on the hunt for more cost-efficient and effective advertising solutions to reach customers. Among the many off-marketplace options available to Amazon sellers for advertising, Google has prevailed as the most popular for paid search ads. Like Amazon, Google is immensely popular with consumers and has almost universal recognition, but comes at a fraction of the cost for marketing.
New Software changes the landscape
Historically Amazon sellers and eCommerce brands have used Google ads to drive consumers to their own websites (such as Shopify stores or wholesale websites), but were met with mixed results. Now, thanks to new software by companies like Carbon6, sellers can better target specific demographics of shoppers increasing ROI on Google ads for Amazon products. These software tools can help Amazon sellers filter by age, gender, region, and more, and even differentiate by consumers just doing research versus those potential customers looking to make a purchase.
The same report from Jungle Scout also found that 70% of all purchases made by shoppers directed from Google ads for Amazon products were their first purchase from that brand. With almost half of all Amazon sellers saying that increasing traffic from external sources is a top priority, this kind of information about ad targeting is immensely valuable.
Benefits of Google Ads for Amazon products
Brands and sellers can use Google ad campaigns to drive searchers directly to their Amazon product listings–supplementing, or even replacing, on-Amazon efforts with external traffic. Not only will this help brands to diversify their audience and reach, but it also comes with a number of unique benefits that make it critical for Amazon sellers looking to scale their reach and sales.
Less Competition
Perhaps the biggest and most obvious benefit of Google ads for Amazon products is the lack of competition. Unlike Amazon which places “Sponsored Product” advertisements for a keyword directly beside up to four competitors at the top of search results, Google offers only a handful “Sponsored” spots, but they show at the top of results. The use of this “Sponsored” Google ad for a keyword can lead shoppers directly to your Amazon listing–turning shoppers into potential customers. For Amazon sellers or brands who find themselves falling short behind competitors, this a brilliant tactic to distinguish your product listing.
New to Brand Sales
If you’re looking to expand your brand’s reach or audience, Google is the perfect marketing channel to lead new customers to your Amazon listings. Since Google ads target consumers during the consideration phase it’s a great time to establish brand visibility and awareness.
While shoppers searching on Amazon tend to have a clear intent to purchase, that will lead them to well known brands and Best Sellers, Google consumers tend to be exploring their options. With Google ads for Amazon products, brands can reach consumers and direct them to a specific listing during the research process. The key is to optimize your listing to demonstrate that your product is a great fit for whatever keyword you’re targeting with your Google ad campaign.
High Return on Ad Spend (RoAS)
Return on ad spend (RoAS) is one of the most important metrics when it comes to PPC ad campaigns, especially on Amazon where ads are designed to target shoppers at the moment of purchase. Google advertisements, however, are generally more toward the upper or middle of the funnel–often catching shoppers in the research stage.
Despite this, when used correctly Google ads for Amazon products can still have a positive impact on your RoAS. Brands on Amazon can use Google ads to discover customers in the middle of the funnel, nurturing them with Amazon or email efforts. This approach helps to increase the likelihood of conversion, although not immediate, by maximizing the return on multichannel advertising.
Amazon Brand Referral Bonus
On top of the many benefits of utilizing Google ads for Amazon products, the marketplace giant is actively encouraging sellers to seek out new marketing strategies and channels. In order to incentivize Amazon sellers to invest in external marketing efforts and drive customers to the marketplace, the Brand Referral Bonus program offers a bonus to brands that “improve their advertising efficiency.” On average the program credits sellers around 10% of sales from traffic that they drive to Amazon.
The Brand Referral Bonus program has become notoriously useful for Amazon sellers, offsetting, or even entirely eliminating the cost of external marketing efforts. This is especially true for Amazon sellers who offer high-priced items. Since Google ads are so inexpensive, at least when compared with Amazon PPC, that 10% credit for one purchase could entirely cover the cost of its ad. Additionally, not only will the Brand Referral Bonus credit sellers for that first initial purchase, they’ll also provide you the same bonus for customer purchases of additional products up to 14 days after clicking on the ad.
Covering the Cost of Expansion
While Google ads for Amazon products have already proven their success, it’s important to invest in them strategically. Any good advertisement campaign will have strong key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you measure success, a healthy budget, and optimized content designed to put your best foot forward. Despite Google advertisements coming at a more manageable cost for your Amazon business, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in high quality materials.
If you’re looking to expand your marketing efforts to Google ads, but not sure where to find the budget, check out Viably. Viably is a people-first banking and funding experience, designed to help eCommerce sellers grow their business the way they know best.
