An effective bidding strategy is essential for brands looking to dominate the right search keywords with their paid advertising campaigns. As an Inc. 5000 and Business Insider-recognized Amazon agency, Bobsled uses state-of-the-art keyword research to create dynamic PPC plays for our clients. Amazon CPCs are increasing drastically, and brands need to get their keyword bidding dialed in to avoid overspending on advertising.
Every ad campaign is unique, and it may be necessary to implement different strategies depending on which phase of the campaign is being pushed. A general understanding of keywords and why you need them can help you determine which approach to take at any given time.
Below, the Bobsled team shared 7 favorite tactics for keyword bidding on Amazon.
What are Amazon Keywords?
Keywords are specific words or groups of words that advertisers will use in order to effectively target customers. They are similar to the search terms that consumers type into Google when trying to find a specific product or service. While search terms are phrases used by the customer, keywords are found through research to help advertisers find the exact word or phrase to target for a search campaign.
Who Finds and Implements Keywords?
A brand’s campaign manager or management team is typically in charge of managing keywords. This includes all stages of the keyword optimization process such as research, implementation, and budgeting. Campaign managers should ensure that keywords are effectively increasing clicks and conversions without overspending on budget.
Most importantly, it’s imperative for a keyword manager to make sure that proper keyword usage is helping to meet the brand’s overall marketing goals.
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Keyword Bidding Strategies: When and Where?
Keyword bidding strategies should always be considered no matter what phase of the campaign is currently in action. Instead of creating campaign goals around a specific strategy, it is better to curate a personalized strategy around specific goals.
The three major phases of a keyword search campaign include:
- Awareness phase - The early stages of a brand campaign involves generating awareness and familiarity in the market. During this phase, you want as many target shoppers to become more familiar with your brand and product line as possible, but you aren’t too concerned with generating clicks or conversions from your campaigns.
- Consideration phase - This is the time to focus on clicks. Targeted keywords will be those used by the consumer most often when searching for relevant products. What’s most important in this phase, above all else (even sales) is that more relevant consumers are clicking on your ads.
- Conversion phase - After the ad campaign has proven to be a success, it’s time to start generating sales! Keyword bidding strategies may change again to focus completely on selling a brand’s product.
Different phases of the advertising campaign require shifting Amazon keyword bidding strategies. Brands with successful keyword bidding campaigns always have a clear picture of the fluid cycle between awareness, consideration, and conversion.
Why Do You Need Different Keyword Bidding Strategies?
Again, the importance of each Amazon keyword bidding strategy is determined by the stage a brand is in the sales funnel. Brands starting out in the awareness phase will likely look at impressions and CTR (Click Through Rate). As the campaign progresses, a bigger focus will be placed on lowering ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) and increasing sales.
Different strategies are needed to reach all of the objectives throughout the different stages of the campaign.
Check out Bobsled’s Amazon Advertising Management [PPC] Service
Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Keyword Bidding Strategy on Amazon
Looking for stellar bidding strategies and more successful Amazon keywords? Here are 7 recommended ways to improve your keyword bidding.
1) Alternate Bid Types
The best way to find out which bidding strategy will work for you is to do some initial research. When first starting out, it’s important to gather as much data as possible. An easy way to do this is to alternate bid types to see which results most closely match your goal. There are three bid types:
- Down-only bid - Amazon will lower your bid so you can achieve a sale at a lower cost automatically. Amazon will also stop you from spending in auctions where you don’t have a chance at being competitive.
- Up and down bid - Some of your bids will be down bids, but they will be combined with “up” bids that increase your bid by a percentage set by you, helping you achieve sales faster. Amazon ad history is required to use this bid type.
- Fixed bid - You set your bid and Amazon will not alter it for any reason. If your main goal is to raise brand and product awareness, Amazon will suggest a fixed bid strategy for winning keywords.
2) Try the Inch-Up Method
This is a bidding method that allows for the campaign bid to start from the smallest amount possible, gradually increasing as you watch how the campaign performs. Throughout the duration of this strategy, you will be able to monitor activity on the campaign, gaining insight into your clicks and overall bidding health.
3) Utilize the “Fast Method”
A favorite for first-timers, the fast method lets you start out with a high bid. It’s crucial to be watching the campaign closely throughout the duration of this strategy. As it progresses, you can decide to quickly drop the price on your bids on a routine schedule. This will help you find the sweet spot: the most number of clicks for the least amount of money.
4) Use AI to Your Advantage
Although it’s still fairly new to the scene, Amazon AI has taken the world by storm. Some brands prefer to compare the differences between Amazon AI and rule-based bidding. Those in favor of artificial intelligence can use it to their advantage by automating bids, recording trends, factoring in historical data, and setting personal parameters.
5) Use Long-Tail Relevant Keywords
Long-tail keywords are strings of relevant keywords that each contribute to an increased number of clicks. Ultimately, this leads to higher conversion rates and more sales to sponsor the success of your campaign. While the exact phrase itself is not exactly searched, each word within the 3-5-word string represents something that is heavily searched by consumers. “Buy organic white linen pants” is an example of a long-tail keyword, whereas “linen pants” would be a short-tail keyword.
6) Keep Up with Current Trends!
Keeping an eye on current campaign trends is imperative to a successful keyword bidding strategy. If you notice that your CPCs have gone up, that could be an indication that there are some new competitors in your niche. In order to keep up, you will have to increase your bids to maintain brand visibility.
Alternatively, if your CPC is dropping, your competitors may have lowered their bids. Or, you are experiencing higher-than-average browsing traffic. Browsers don’t turn into conversions, so make sure you aren’t paying for that!
In either scenario, you may want to consider decreasing your bids just below the new CPC to avoid overpaying. A great way to keep tabs on competitor activity is to complete a Share of Shelf analysis.
Check out Amazon Share of Shelf: Benchmarking Performance
7) Utilize Your Placement Function in Campaigns
The placement function is a special feature that allows you to increase or decrease your placement percentage based on the KPIs you are searching for. This is a great way to adjust your bids throughout your campaign to keep you on track with your goals. It is one of the easiest strategies to adjust quickly at any time, during any phase of the advertising campaign.
Develop the Best Bidding Strategy for Your Campaign Today
Looking to try out one of our top 7 favorite keyword bidding strategies to win keywords on Amazon? Want to increase click and conversion success for your next campaign? Schedule a free consultation with Bobsled now and work with our experts to find the strategy that best suits you.
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