Amazon Advertising Secrets: What Actually Works in 2025?


Wondering how Amazon Advertising actually works in 2025? This guide breaks down campaign types, bidding models, and optimization strategies to help you advertise smarter and scale with clarity.

June 5, 2025
By
Amplivus
In
Educational
Updated on :
June 5, 2025
 |
12 min read
Amazon advertising strategy dashboard with ad types and targeting icons for 2025

Table Of Content

Introduction

Amazon is one of the biggest online marketplaces, where millions of shoppers visit daily to make purchasing decisions.

It’s not just a place to buy products, but a platform that offers sellers a potential strategic advantage (if leveraged effectively) to stay ahead of competition.

When it comes to boosting sales, Amazon Advertising has become a leading tool for Amazon sellers looking to gain a loyal customer base.

With the right approach, an advertising plan can help these sellers grow their business by attracting a highly relevant audience.

It’s a flexible solution that works hand in hand with your marketing efforts to achieve the best possible ROI.

By considering Amazon as a key player in your advertising strategy, sellers can capitalize on a growing opportunity to:

  • Increase their sales

  • Strengthen their position in the market

What is Amazon Advertising?

Amazon Advertising is a powerful tool that allows sellers to promote their products directly to the massive audience of shoppers on Amazon and beyond.

Through pay-per-click ads, sellers can place ads for their items in front of potential customers, aiming to drive clicks and ultimately sell.

This system is part of a broader advertising business that is expanding at a rapid pace.

With Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), now part of the Amazon Advertising Console, sellers can target audiences more effectively using programmatically placed:

  • Display ads

  • Video ads on Amazon.com, IMDb.com, Fire TV Sticks, Kindles, Freedive

  • Even third-party sites and apps

As Amazon diversifies its advertising ecosystem, it allows sellers to scale their ads to different platforms like third-party websites and apps, helping them reach their ideal customers with precision.

Whether it's to buy or sell, the flexibility and scope of Amazon Advertising continue to grow as more businesses tap into its potential.

What is an Amazon PPC Ad?

Amazon PPC is a pay-per-click advertising strategy where businesses bid on keywords to have their products or services displayed in search results on Amazon.

It’s a targeted marketing method designed to help you:

  • Reach a wider audience

  • Increase sales

By selecting the right keywords and setting an effective bid, your products get more visibility, making it an efficient way to attract potential customers.

What is an Amazon PPC Bid?

An Amazon PPC bid is the amount sellers and vendors are willing to pay when a shopper clicks on their sponsored ad.

It's part of an auction system where your bid competes with others to secure top positions in search results for specific keywords related to your products.

This auction:

  • Influences the visibility of product listings

  • Impacts your PPC spending

  • Affects daily budgets and campaigns

By targeting the right keywords and optimizing bids, you can make your ads more efficient and profitable.

Proper tracking and optimization of your advertising account ensures the best return on each click.

Amazon’s Advertising Model

Amazon Advertising uses a pay-per-click (PPC) funding model, where sellers bid on Sponsored Products to drive sales.

Unlike other marketplaces like eBay, Amazon's approach focuses on targeting high-converting products based on organic search and query relevance.

The platform supports this model by:

  • Giving priority to high-performing and relevant products

  • Charging advertisers only when a shopper clicks on their ads

  • Helping sellers improve their relationship with the platform through performance-driven visibility

This pay-per-click strategy differs from pay-per-sale (PPS) by:

  • Prioritizing visibility and feedback

  • Empowering sellers to refine their approach for better long-term results

Advertising on Amazon Comes with Many Benefits

Advertising on Amazon offers a range of valuable benefits:

  • Amazon advertising helps advertisers in acquiring more shoppers by reaching them at different stages of their journey.

  • Tracking consumer habits and history provides valuable insights into changing trends for better campaigns.

  • A safe environment allows brands who want to increase visibility and sales while optimizing ad spend.

  • Using extensive data helps in improving strategies and reducing wasted costs for better results.

  • Quality ads help make smart decisions and boost brand awareness.

  • Smart advertising enhances the sales cycle by targeting the right audience with a strong product focus.

  • Learning new ways of optimizing ads ensures better engagement and conversions for the shop.

  • The combination of tracking, given insights, and advertising strategies helps in improving sales and long-term brand success.

Understanding Self-Serve vs. Premium Ads

Many sellers on Amazon get confused about the difference between self-serve ads and premium ads, but knowing how they work helps.

Self-Serve Ads:

  • Are the simplest

  • Appear in Google search result pages

Premium Display Ads:

  • Are found as banner placements on the side of pages

  • Appear on websites like the Google Display Network

These two types of ads are often placed in sidebars of public information pages, with screenshots included above to show how they function in advertising on Amazon.

Exploring the Types of Amazon Ads

When using Amazon advertising, sellers can choose from a variety of ad types like Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display Ads.

These ad formats offer different placements to promote products or a brand, allowing for targeted campaigns.

With such a selection of formats, sellers can pick the best ad types to increase visibility and drive sales.

Sponsored Products

Sponsored Products on Amazon Advertising help boost visibility by placing ads in:

  • Search results

  • Product detail pages

These keyword-targeted ads are pay-per-click, meaning you only pay when customers click. Ads:

  • Link directly to product listings

  • Show product details

  • Encourage purchases

You can track performance using the reporting tool, which shows:\

  • Clicks

  • Spend

  • Sales

This helps manage cost of sales and ACoS, ensuring successful ad campaigns.

Sponsored Brand Campaigns

Sponsored Brand Campaigns are a powerful way to promote multiple products through keyword-targeted ads that appear:

  • Above and below search results

  • Alongside other products

The auction-based pricing model works on a pay-per-click basis, making it cost-effective.

You can customize your ads with:

  • A unique image

  • A headline

  • A landing page linked to your Amazon Store or product page

The reporting feature allows you to track performance, including:

  • Clicks

  • Spend

  • Sales

With this data, you can test and optimize your campaigns for better visibility and performance.

Managing keywords and Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) is essential for long-term success.

Sponsored Display Ads

Sponsored Display Ads help advertisers target potential customers by showing ads on:

  • Product detail pages

  • Customer review pages

  • Offer listing pages

  • Search results

These ads are ideal for:

  • Cross-selling

  • Upselling

With pay-per-click (PPC) ads, you only pay for clicks, optimizing your spend. The objective is to increase sales while keeping track of key metrics like:

  • ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales)

  • Cost-per-click (CPC)

  • Detail page views

Using video or custom display options can further enhance ad effectiveness.

Note: Strategies like abandoned cart emails and follow-up emails are not native to Amazon Ads but can be used via external tools or integrations.

Video Ads in Amazon

Amazon offers powerful video ads across its Amazon-owned sites like:

  • Amazon.com

  • IMDb

  • Amazon devices such as Fire TV

These ads are effective for both buying and selling products, driving customer engagement on various Amazon properties.

Using Amazon video ads strategically can help boost visibility and sales.

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Amazon Stores & Native Ads

To promote your product or brand, an Amazon Store with a multi-page setup is a great way to:

  • Showcase your brand

  • Drive traffic through your Amazon URL

Using Amazon Native Ads, such as:

  • Off-Amazon recommendation ads

...allows for custom ads to be placed seamlessly across external partner websites. Traffic analytics helps in measuring performance, making it easier to refine strategies.

Optimize Your Amazon Ads

To succeed in Amazon advertising, an informed strategy is essential to stand out in the marketplace and gain a return on investment.

The platform offers tools that require a few adjustments to maximize results and outshine the competition.

With the right approach, your advertising strategy can yield massive success and improve your business growth.

Structuring Campaigns by Product Categories

As an experienced advertiser on the Amazon ad platform, I’ve mastered the best strategy of creating separate campaigns for main product categories.

This organizational structure allows you to:

  • Create ad groups targeting specific audiences

  • Make your ads more relevant

  • Improve performance

A solid account structure is critical for:

  • Tracking campaigns effectively

  • Saving money

  • Increasing ROI by focusing on the most profitable areas

With the right skills, you can maximize the benefits of Amazon advertising.

Crafting Urgent & Engaging Ad Copy

To make your ads stand out on Amazon, focus on crafting clear ad text that blends creativity with accuracy.

In the cluttered search results, your selling points must be strong.

Use:

  • Humor

  • Urgency

  • Promotion messaging

...to encourage immediate action. This will help highlight your product and make it hard to ignore.

Ensure Your Ad Copy is as Specific as Possible

To make your ad copy effective, focus on specific details about your product.


For instance, if you're selling a water bottle, highlight:

  • BPA-free feature

  • The number of ounces it holds

  • How long it keeps water cold

Also include:

  • Weight

  • Height

  • Product design

Your ad text should offer:

  • Transparency

  • Key selling points

  • Clear benefits and functionality

Use a headline that aligns with your ad copy, ensuring important information like specifications and key details is front and center.

This approach will:

  • Build trust

  • Improve your advertising strategy

  • Increase the chances of successful selling

Target Popular Brands and Compete with Competitors

When brainstorming your Amazon ad strategy, bid on well-known brands like L.L. Bean or North Face that sell similar products.


By using keywords linked to these brands, your product can show up in search results for commonly searched and purchased items.

This increases exposure and helps you:

  • Pursue clicks from potential customers

  • Compete with top competitors

  • Stand out if your product offers something more appealing than mainstream options

Experiment with Ad Types for the Best Results

When experimenting with different ad types, allocate your budget to identify which format delivers:

  • The fastest results

  • The highest returns

  • Sponsored product ads are great for visible ROI

  • Sponsored Brand ads (formerly known as headline search ads) help attract loyal customers and repeat buyers

By analyzing statistics and experimenting, you can:

  • Re-allocate your budget

  • Maximize yield

  • Adjust your campaign for better results

Use Negative Keywords & Be Conservative with Match Types

To avoid irrelevant clicks and wasted spend:

  • Use negative keywords

  • Be conservative with match types, like exact match and phrase match

For example:


If you're selling quality musical instrument flutes, exclude terms like:

  • Champagne flute

  • $10 glass

This prevents unnecessary ad spend. Proper keyword research helps:

  • Refine your targeting

  • Drive efficient results

  • Avoid unwanted clicks on irrelevant terms like musical flutes
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Don’t Overlook the Power of Amazon DSP

Over the years, Amazon has become a gold mine for sellers, thanks to its first-party data.

Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) provides advertisers with actionable insights, leveraging massive data to target the right audience across partner sites and apps.

Amazon DSP offers:

  • A wealth of opportunities for impactful ads

  • Precise targeting

Without utilizing DSP targeting, you're missing out on key opportunities to scale your advertising efforts.

The first-party data from Amazon gives advertisers a great advantage in this competitive landscape.

Targeting Options Offered by Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP offers powerful tools to target the right audience. By analyzing browsers, shopping patterns, and lifestyle choices, you can create more precise ads.

DSP targeting allows you to:

  • Target specific products or categories based on Amazon.com data

  • Reach shoppers by age, gender, or behavior patterns

  • Re-market to people who have viewed detail pages but didn’t convert

  • Upload a custom audience using a hashed email list or site visits with the Amazon DSP pixel

  • Create campaigns around Prime Video views, interests, and specific patterns of behavior

This way, you can target customers more effectively and increase conversions.

Amazon Live Selling: A New Era in Marketing Strategy

Amazon Live Selling offers sellers a unique service to market their products through live streaming.

This innovation allows hosts to engage with customers in real time, answering questions and demonstrating product features.

Key benefits of Amazon Live Selling:

  • Shoppers can watch these live events, interact with the hosts, and receive special offers that influence buying decisions

  • Live events on Amazon.com provide real people presenting products to increase trust and engagement

  • Sellers can use live streaming to showcase products, educate, and demonstrate their benefits

  • With follow features, customers engage and receive updates on offers

This platform provides a fresh way to sell products and build lasting relationships with audiences.

Final Thoughts on Amazon Advertising

The ecommerce industry is growing at a rapid pace, and with the increase in digital ad spend, platforms like Amazon are leading the charge.

As the advertising business continues to expand, Amazon diversifies its ad products, offering new opportunities for sellers looking to make a mark in the overcrowded market.

However, the marketplace reality presents:

  • Challenges

  • Fierce competition

This makes it essential for businesses to have a strategic, flexible, and adaptable advertising plan.

To stay ahead, sellers must recognize that Amazon’s advertising ecosystem is ever-evolving, and an effective approach requires driving results in this fast-changing landscape.

Embracing this dynamic environment with the right strategy can help sellers stand out in a marketplace that is growing increasingly competitive.

🔄 Recap : Amazon Advertising in 2025 — Key Takeaways at a Glance

  • Amazon offers diverse ad formats including Sponsored, Display, and Video.
  • Optimizing campaigns requires control over keywords, bidding, and structure.
  • Ad copy specificity and targeting flexibility drive results.
  • Amazon DSP and Live Selling offer next-gen growth channels.
  • The key to success: structured testing and continuous refinement.

Frequently Asked Questions?  

Are Amazon ads effective?
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Amazon advertising gives you the advantage of reaching shoppers who are ready to purchase. By displaying your products to a specific audience on a platform where people are already ready to buy, you tap into an audience likely to make a decision. The reach of Amazon makes it one of the best platforms to target people actively looking for products. From my experience, this precise targeting ensures your ads have a higher chance of converting into sales.

Are Amazon ads profitable?
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Absolutely Yes – Amazon ads can be profitable if you follow the right steps, but the problem lies in improper budget management, often blowing funds without strategy. You should focus on doing the necessary research and taking time to track results for a potential profit. Amazon ads can lead to a resounding success, but it may take a long time to start turning it around.

Is it worth paying for advertising on Amazon?
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Paying for advertising on Amazon can be worth it if you have the right strategy in place. By targeting the right audience and optimizing campaigns, your investment can pay off. However, without proper management, it could result in wasted money.