Walmart is the seventh most visited e-commerce website on the planet. And as a seller, you just can’t miss capitalizing on that. While you can always rank your products organically on the marketplace, that takes time and consistent optimization.
Walmart advertising is the path that brings your products in front of customers almost instantly.
How do you advertise on Walmart, and what steps should you follow? This guide tells you all about that.
TL;DR – How to Advertise on Walmart
Looking for a step-wise guide on how to advertise on Walmart? See the steps mentioned below:
- Become a Walmart Marketplace seller
- Set up your Walmart advertising account
- Optimize your product listings
- Select the right Ad type
- Create and launch your ad campaigns
- Monitor and adjust your campaigns
Each of these steps is mentioned in detail below.
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What is Walmart Marketplace?
Walmart Marketplace is a digital platform where third-party sellers can showcase and sell their products directly on Walmart’s website. Imagine setting up your own shop within one of the largest retail stores in the world – Walmart Marketplace gives you that opportunity, but online.
By becoming a seller here, you gain access to millions of Walmart customers who are already browsing and shopping for a wide range of products.
Whether you’re selling electronics, clothing or even household goods, Walmart Marketplace provides a platform to reach a vast audience without needing a physical store.
What is Walmart Connect?
Walmart Connect is Walmart’s advertising platform that allows you to create targeted ad campaigns directly on Walmart’s website and mobile app. It offers tools to help you reach Walmart’s enormous customer base through Walmart Sponsored Products, Display Ads and other formats.
It’s primarily focused on empowering you through data-driven and strategic advertising solutions such as Walmart PPC. You can leverage these ads to reach customers at different stages of their shopping journey.
Can I Advertise on Walmart Myself?
Yes, you can advertise on Walmart yourself. Using Walmart’s Ad Center, you can create different ad campaigns that target specific keywords.
However, getting familiar with the complexities of Walmart’s advertising ecosystem can be time-consuming and challenging, especially when trying to maximize your return on investment (ROI).
Our expert team at IG PPC specializes in managing Walmart advertising campaigns for you. We focus on delivering quick, measurable results to improve the performance of your campaigns. Book a free audit today to find out more.
Perks of Advertising on Walmart as a Seller
With Walmart’s e-commerce net sales reaching $58.1 billion in 2023, there’s a huge potential for you to start advertising here.
Some of it’s main advantages include:
- Access to a massive audience: Walmart’s extensive customer base gives you access to millions of potential shoppers. They can showcase their products to a broad and diverse audience, increasing the chances of higher sales and brand exposure.
- Enhanced product visibility: By leveraging effective Walmart advertising strategies, you can place your products in prominent positions across the marketplace. This allows the products to stand out among the competitors, driving more clicks.
- Integration with Walmart’s fulfillment services: If you use Walmart’s fulfillment services, you can take advantage of faster shipping and enhanced customer service, which can be depicted in your ads. This integration leads to better customer satisfaction.
- Brand credibility: Advertising on Walmart, a trusted and well-known retailer, can improve your brand’s credibility. Customers are more likely to trust products sold and advertised on Walmart, which can result in higher conversion rates.
How to Advertise on Walmart for More Sales
Advertising on the Walmart Marketplace involves a step-by-step process, starting from creating your Walmart seller account all the way to optimzing your ad campaigns.
1. Become a Walmart Marketplace Seller
Before you can be eligible for Walmart advertising, you need to be an approved seller on the marketplace. This involves applying through Walmart’s seller portal.
You’ll have to provide necessary business details such as a tax ID, bank information, business type and product information. Once approved, you’ll gain access to the Seller Center.
2. Set Up Your Walmart Advertising Account
After becoming a seller, you’ll need to create an account on Walmart’s self-serve advertising platform, Walmart Connect.
What does it do?
Well, it allows you to manage and launch your Walmart ad campaigns. You’ll be required to link your Seller Center account to Walmart Connect for a seamless integration.
3. Optimize Your Product Listings
Whether it’s optimizing your product listings for Amazon or Walmart, it plays a pivotal role in getting your products in front of the right audience profitably. This results in attracting more clicks and subsequently, more conversions.
Now, there are several tips for this – Carrie Miller, currently serving as the Principal Brand Evangelist for Walmart.com at Helium 10 indicates her top tips.
- Make sure your product has the right “Product type”
- Avoid keyword stuffing
- Utilize rich media
- Offer competitive pricing
- Follow listing guidelines for title, description and key features
- Double-check your category and category path
4. Select the Right Ad Type
This is a crucial step in advertising on Walmart because many sellers may go wrong here. Walmart offers various ad types, including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display Ads.
Choose the one that aligns with your business goals. For e.g., Sponsored Products drive more visibility in search results, while Sponsored Brands enhance brand awareness.
5. Create and Launch Your Ad Campaigns
Use Walmart Connect to create your ad campaigns. It’s a whole process in itself, but generally, it involves:
- Choosing your target keywords
- Setting automatic or manual targeting
- Setting the daily budget for your ad campaigns
6. Monitor and Adjust Your Campaigns
The process of Walmart Advertising is not finished yet. After your Walmart campaigns are live, regularly monitor their performance like a gardener monitors a newly-grown plant. You can do it through Walmart Connect’s analytics dashboard.
Track metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions. Then, based on the performance data, adjust your bids, keywords, and budget to improve the return on ad spend (ROAS).
Launching a successful Walmart shopping ad campaign might feel overwhelming because of the complexities involved. We at IG PPC can be your rescue.
Our professional team of experts implements bespoke strategies for your business and runs your campaigns in a manner that reduces your ACoS and increases your ROI. Request a free audit call today.
Walmart Ad Types for Sellers
Walmart PPC involves optimizing for different ad types. Walmart ads come in 3 major types, each with their own placement, benefit and expected outcome.
Let’s have a look:
Sponsored Products
Walmart Sponsored Products appear as search in-grid ads, carousel ads, or buy box. The minimum bid for automatic campaigns is $0.20, and for manual campaigns, it’s $0.30.
- Placement: They appear within search results and on product detail pages.
- Prime benefit: Optimizing Sponsored Products ads boosts the visibility of your products, making them more likely to be noticed and purchased by customers.
- Outcome: This increased product visibility leads to a higher click-through rate (CTR) and potentially more sales.
Sponsored Brands
Sponsored Brands ads feature a banner with your brand logo, a custom headline and a selection of products.
- Placement: They’re displayed at the top of search results. According to the official Walmart Marketplace website, this premium placement is provided to brand owners registered with the Walmart Brand Portal.
- Prime benefit: These ads are designed to increase brand awareness and showcase a range of products under one brand.
- Outcome: Increased brand visibility leads to enhanced brand recognition, which may help you stay on top of the customer’s mind.
Display Ads
These are special Walmart ads that are shown both on-site and off-site.
- Placement: They’re shown across the Marketplace’s website, including the homepage, category pages and cart pages. They can also appear off-site (on Facebook, Instagram, and e-commerce sites) through Walmart’s third-party network.
- Prime benefit: This ad type offers broad reach, targeting shoppers based on their browsing behavior and interests.
- Outcome: It results in greater brand visibility and customer engagement. These ads also retarget previous visitors, which can drive them back to complete a purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some of your most frequently asked questions about how to advertise on Walmart:
How Much Does it Cost to Advertise at Walmart?
The minimum monthly ad spend of $1000 is required for sellers to start selling on Walmart Marketplace if you’re running a self-serve campaign. In the case of a managed campaign, a commitment of around $25,000 is required.
Also, keep in mind that there are no setup, monthly, or hidden fees for any seller.
What is the Minimum Bid for Walmart Advertising?
The minimum bid level for Walmart Sponsored Products is different for automatic and manual campaigns.
It is $0.30 for manual campaigns and $0.20 for automatic campaigns.
Advertising on Walmart vs. Amazon: Which One is Better?
There are a few differences between advertising on Walmart and Amazon.
- Amazon has a bigger customer base than Walmart.
- Walmart requires you to have a minimum monthly budget of $1000, while this number is $300 for Amazon (for performance-based budget rules).
- Unlike Amazon, Walmart doesn’t have an in-house brand that competes with your similar products.
- You can only target keywords in Walmart ads, while you can also target products and categories in Amazon ads.
Considering these points, you can decide which platform is better for you.
Conclusion
With proper strategy and knowledge, you can take advantage of the full potential of Walmart advertising. The result? More visibility and sales.
Want to execute impactful Walmart advertising strategies? Discover how our expert PPC team can help you with that. Book a free audit with us and get an insight into our data-driven strategies tailored to your business needs.
