As an Amazon seller, you might always look for ways to maximize visibility and sales. But with so many advertising options, how do you choose the best one?
You’ve likely heard of Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, but which is the right fit for your business?
In this article, we’ll moderate the Amazon Sponsored Products vs Sponsored Brands debate so you can make an informed decision and take your advertising strategy to the next level. Ready to boost your Amazon game?
TL;DR – Amazon Sponsored Products vs. Sponsored Brands
Want to see a concise comparison between Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands? Check out the table below. The details of all the points are discussed in the rest of the article.
| Amazon Sponsored Products | Amazon Sponsored Brands |
|---|---|
| Amazon Sponsored Products are pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear throughout Amazon’s search results and product detail pages. | Amazon Sponsored Brands are ads that showcase your brand and product portfolio at the top of search results. They feature your logo, a custom headline, and up to three products. |
| Pros | Pros |
| Directly appears in search results High CTR Easy eligibility criteria | Promotes brand and multiple products High visibility with banner ads Customizable creatives |
| Cons | Cons |
| Limited to product listings Competitive bidding can drive up costs | Higher CPC compared to Sponsored Products Lower CTR Needs brand registration to be eligible |
| Best For | Best For |
| Driving product sales | Enhancing brand awareness |
Your competitors are reaping the fruits of effective Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands optimization ― do not fall behind.
Set up a free audit call with our team to learn how we can help you with our advanced Amazon PPC optimization techniques and humanized strategies tailored for your business.
What Are Sponsored Products on Amazon?
Amazon Sponsored Products are pay-per-click (PPC) ads that appear throughout Amazon’s search results and product detail pages. These ads are designed to blend naturally with organic listings, making them unobtrusive and likely to be clicked.
They are ideal for increasing product visibility as well, especially for new or low-ranking items. To be eligible for them:
- You must be a professional seller on Amazon.
- Your products must fall under eligible categories and must be in stock.
- You should be eligible for Buy Box.
Amazon Sponsored Products Cost Per Click for Sellers
According to a report by Ad Badger, the average cost per click (CPC) for Amazon ads in 2024 is $0.95. However, the actual CPC for your Amazon Sponsored Products would depend on factors like keyword competition and your bid amount.
The best part of Amazon advertising is that it’s auction-based, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad and have to pay only a penny more than your next highest bidder.
E.g., if you bid $2, and the closest bid to you was $0.7, you would only have to pay $0.71.
Amazon Sponsored Products Strategy
Now let’s look at the best practices for Amazon Sponsored Products discussed by Amazon itself:
- Improve your product pages: Optimize your product pages by selecting a descriptive title, enhancing your product description (ChatGPT for Amazon sellers is a good option in this regard), keeping your prices reasonable, picking products that have good customer reviews, and making your images at least 100 pixels in height or width so they can qualify for the zoom function.
- Implement a combination of campaigns: Start your Amazon PPC campaigns with automatic targeting and keep them running for a few weeks. Once you have insightful data about the queries that are converting, start running manual campaigns as well. Add at least 30 keywords to improve visibility.
- Keep your bidding in check: Manage your bids and budget intelligently because, with Sponsored Products, you always have control over your Amazon advertising costs. A daily budget of $10 is recommended, along with refining bids by choosing “down only” or “up and down” variations.
- Monitor your performance: Regularly monitor your Amazon ads performance through reports. This includes a search term report, placement report, targeting report, and performance over time report.
What Are Amazon Sponsored Brands?
Amazon Sponsored Brands are ads that allow you to usually depict your brand and product portfolio at the top of search results. These ads feature your logo, a custom headline, and up to three products. You can even add a video with the autoplay function. This placement is ideal for capturing the attention of shoppers early in their search journey.
They’re designed to drive brand awareness and loyalty, which makes them a great choice for establishing a strong brand presence on Amazon Marketplace.
To be eligible for Sponsored Brands, you must be a brand-registered seller and be able to ship to all U.S. addresses.
Amazon Sponsored Brands Cost Per Click for Sellers
Since it’s a premium ad placement, the CPC for Sponsored Brands is typically higher than for Sponsored Products.
According to Statista, it was $0.76 in 2020 and $0.98 in 2022 in the U.S. That said, it largely depends on factors like keyword competitiveness and targeting strategies.
Amazon Sponsored Brands Best Practices for More Sales
The following practices can help you boost the conversion of your Sponsored Brand ads on Amazon:
- Execute a combination of targeting options: Implement both targeting options when creating campaigns – keyword targeting and product targeting. For keyword targeting, include at least 25 keywords in your campaign, focus on category-level shopping queries and branded search terms, and add negative keywords to prevent irrelevant targeting.Use product targeting when running broad acquisition campaigns and targeting all products within a category. Choose relevant products: Manually set the most relevant products to display against your keyword. For e.g., if you’re targeting “wireless headphones for men,” you should display models or color variations directed toward men.
- Test consistently: Test different campaign elements, such as headlines or product images, to find the most compelling combination.
- Be careful when using a video: If you choose to add a video to your ads, avoid using black frames, letterboxing, Amazon trademarks, customer reviews, and website links. These are the top reasons why Sponsored Brands video ads are rejected.
Hire IG PPC for Amazon Ads Management
We get it – optimizing Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands ads on Amazon can be confusing and time-consuming. Even more, you can risk losing your investment. That’s why you should choose PPC specialists – IG PPC – for this.
With our human-centric approach and personalized strategies, we ensure you get excellent results in terms of Amazon ads management. Book a free audit call with us today.
Relevant Characteristics Between Amazon Sponsored Products and Amazon Sponsored Brands
Let’s compare Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
| Aspect | Amazon Sponsored Products | Amazon Sponsored Brands |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Placement | Within the search results & product detail pages | At the top, alongside, or within search results |
| Bidding Strategy | Cost-per-click (CPC) | Cost-per-click (CPC) |
| Targeting Options | Manual targeting, automatic targeting | Keyword targeting, product targeting |
| Ad Creatives | Single product image with text | Custom headline, brand logo, & up to 3 products |
| Brand Visibility | Limited to individual products | Enhanced brand visibility with custom banners |
| Reporting and Analytics | Delivers search term report, targeting report, placement report, advertised product report, and performance over time report | Shows impressions, new-to-brand metrics, & RoAS |
| Campaign Goals | Drive product sales | Boost brand awareness & customer loyalty |
| ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) | Typically lower due to direct product focus | Can be higher due to broader brand focus |
| Eligibility Criteria | Available to all professional sellers with products | Available to brand-registered sellers |
When to Use Amazon Sponsored Products vs. Sponsored Brands
Choosing between Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands isn’t about picking a favorite. It’s about knowing what you need right now and using the right tool for the job.
When to Use Sponsored Products
If your goal is to drive sales for a specific item, especially one that’s new or underperforming, Sponsored Products is the obvious choice. These ads put individual listings right in front of shoppers who are already searching for something like it.
They’re ideal when you’ve done your keyword homework and just want to move units fast. They’re also great if you’re on a tighter budget or want a simpler setup without needing a bunch of creative assets.
When to Use Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brands come into play when you’re thinking bigger than just one product. Maybe you’re trying to make your brand more recognizable. Perhaps you want to send traffic to your Amazon listing and show off a range of products. This format is built for visibility. You’re not just getting clicks, you’re planting seeds for future sales.
That said, it usually requires a bit more budget and creative effort, but the trade-off is higher-impact exposure.
When to Use Both Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands
The smartest sellers don’t choose one or the other. They use both.
- Sponsored Products to catch shoppers ready to buy.
- Sponsored Brands to keep their brand in people’s heads.
Used together, they can work like a funnel; one drives quick wins, the other builds long-term value.
What it really comes down to is this: figure out your goal first, then match the ad format to it. That way, your strategy works for you, not the other way around.
Similarities and Differences
Now, let’s have a deeper look into the similarities and differences between Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands Differences
Here are 4 of the most prominent differences between the two types:
- Ad placement: Sponsored Products seamlessly blend with the search results and product detail pages, making them appear the same as organic shopping results, while Sponsored Brands are shown more as a prominent banner.
- Ad creatives: Sponsored Products can only include a single product with an image, title, price, and reviews, whereas the scope of creativity is more in Sponsored Products as you can change the headline, the brand’s logo, and the image displays.
- Brand visibility: Sponsored Products are targeted towards promoting a single product. In the case of Sponsored Brands, they are predominantly created to expand brand visibility on Amazon.
- Eligibility: Creating Sponsored Products is simple. You only need to be a verified seller on Amazon with some products in inventory. But to create Sponsored Brands ads, you need to register your full brand on the platform first.
Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands Similarities
Both Amazon Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands are similar in the following ways:
- PPC model: Both operate on a PPC model. This means that you are only charged when a shopper clicks on your ad, not when the ad is simply displayed. This model ensures the advertising budget is spent efficiently. Now, how much to spend on Amazon PPC? Well, that depends on the competition in your niche and the budget you have.
- Customizable bidding strategies: Advertisers using Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands can choose between manual and automatic bidding strategies. Manual bidding allows precise control over bid amounts for specific products or keywords, while automatic bidding lets Amazon adjust bids in real-time.
- Performance tracking: Both types of Amazon ads provide detailed reporting and analytics, which allows you to track the performance of your campaigns. “What gets measured gets improved.” This quote can’t be truer. The reports show metrics such as Amazon advertising RoAS, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), and CPC, which enable you to come up with data-driven decisions that improve campaigns.
- Flexible budgeting: Both Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands offer flexible budgeting options, allowing you to adjust daily budgets. There are no minimum spending requirements, which means the ad types are accessible to businesses of all sizes.
How to Combine Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands for Better Results
If you want to get the most out of Amazon advertising, running Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands separately won’t cut it. The real power shows up when you use them together, intentionally, not just at the same time, but in sync.
Here’s how to do it right:
- Create a full-funnel experience: Use Sponsored Brands to introduce your brand and product range, especially to first-time shoppers. Then let Sponsored Products bring them back when they’re ready to make a decision. This setup mirrors how people shop: browse first, buy later.
- Feed keyword and ASIN data between campaigns: If a Sponsored Product campaign is converting well on specific keywords or ASINs, use that intel to improve your Sponsored Brand targeting. And if a Sponsored Brand campaign is driving traffic to certain products, allocate more budget to those same products in Sponsored Product ads. Let performance in one guide decisions in the other.
- Align visuals and messaging across both formats: If your Sponsored Brand ad says one thing but the product page from your Sponsored Product ad says another, that disconnect hurts trust. Keep the tone, visuals, and product focus consistent across the board so shoppers feel like they’re in the right place.
- Stack your placements across the shopping journey: Sponsored Brands cover the top of search results. Sponsored Products show up inside results, on detail pages, and even under competitors’ listings. Running both ensures you show up in multiple spots, giving shoppers more chances to find and remember you.
- Track performance holistically: Look at how Sponsored Brands drive traffic and how that traffic later converts through Sponsored Products. Use both sets of data to spot trends, adjust your Store layout, improve targeting, or shift budget where it counts.
- Keep branded and non-branded campaigns separate: In both ad types, separating branded keywords from generic ones makes your data cleaner. It helps you understand whether people are searching for your brand or just products like yours and lets you adjust your messaging accordingly.
- Test together, optimize together: Don’t just A/B test one campaign type in isolation. Test Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Products as a package: messaging, visuals, keyword overlap, and landing pages. Tweak both until they work as a system, not just individual pieces.
What About Sponsored Display Ads?
Sponsored Display Ads on Amazon are a flexible and powerful tool for reaching customers both on and off Amazon; they don’t target keywords but customer’s interest and shopping behavior. Unlike Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, these ads can appear on customer review pages and even third-party websites. They work to re-engage shoppers who’ve already shown interest in your products.
Imagine someone browsing for a yoga mat, leaving without purchasing, and then seeing your ad on their favorite health blog – now that’s sticking in their mind!
Bottom Line
Getting more sales and brand awareness are the hallmarks of Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. The better you optimize these ad types, the larger your business can become on Amazon.
But you need proper planning and execution to make that happen. Don’t have the expertise for that? Worry not. Book a free audit with us, and we’ll share a personalized PPC optimization strategy to improve your campaign’s performance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Let’s discuss some of the common questions regarding Sponsored Products vs Sponsored Brands before concluding the article:
What Does Sponsored Mean on Amazon?
‘Sponsored’ on Amazon means that sellers pay to have their products or brand appear in prominent positions on Amazon search results, product detail pages, and other locations.
Is It Better to Start with Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands?
Start with Sponsored Products. They’re easier to set up, require less creative input, and focus directly on conversions.
If you’re just getting started with Amazon ads, this is the most straightforward way to test your targeting, optimize your product pages, and generate early sales. Once you’ve got data and momentum, then layer in Sponsored Brands to build visibility and scale.
Can Small Sellers Use Sponsored Brands?
Yes, as long as your brand is registered. You don’t need a massive catalog or a big budget to run Sponsored Brands. In fact, if you have just a few strong products and a well-designed Amazon Store, Sponsored Brands can help you look more established and professional.
Start small by featuring your top product and using simple store layouts. It’s a smart way to build brand awareness even if you’re a lean operation.
Do Sponsored Products Work for New Product Launches?
Yes, and they’re one of the best ways to launch. Sponsored Products help you get visibility right away, even if your product doesn’t have many reviews yet.
Target relevant keywords, use automatic targeting to discover what works, and monitor closely to adjust your bids. This is often the fastest way to drive early sales and collect reviews during launch.
Which Ad Type is Better for Driving Sales: Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands?
Sponsored Products are generally better for driving direct sales as they target specific products and appear on relevant search results, making it easier for customers to find and buy them.
Can I Use Both Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands Simultaneously?
Yes. One of the best practices for Amazon PPC optimization is to use a combination of Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.
Combining these ad types can enhance your marketing strategy by driving direct sales through Sponsored Products and building brand awareness through Sponsored Brands.
How Do Click-Through Rates Compare Between Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands?
Typically, Sponsored Products have higher CTRs because they appear directly in search results, targeting high-intent shoppers. Since they appear unobtrusive, they’re more likely to be clicked along with the organic listings. Sponsored Brands have lower CTRs but are effective for brand recognition.
