Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) are a fantastic way for sellers to increase their conversions on Amazon, particularly in competitive categories. However, if you find you are constantly being outbid by a competitors with a higher budget or are being bullied out of bidding there are a few things you can do to keep these aggressive competitors at bay.
1. Register your brand with Brand Registry
If you’re a manufacturer or brand owner that is being overshadowed by a third-party seller selling your products, you can nip this in the bud by applying to Amazon Brand Registry and gaining complete control over your product as a result. Not only will this help you avoid any sneaky moves by competitors to try and outsell you, it will also give you the opportunity to build and customise a brand store.
Doing this also gives you access to the following:
- A+ Content
- Sponsored Brand Ads
- Amazon Brand Stores
- Amazon Brand Analytics
- New Seller Incentives
2. Create a Brand Store
A Brand Stores is like a website within Amazon for brands which allows manufacturers and brands to show off their product range to potential consumers and let shoppers know a little more about the brand. Not only does this build brand awareness and loyalty, which will go in your favour when a consumer sees product listings, but it also establishes you as the main brand behind a product- instilling more trust in a consumer looking to make their purchase.
Having a Brand Store will give you a custom URL which leads consumers to a branded landing page, away from where competitors can reach them. There is also a space for featured deals on the Brand Store meaning customers may be tempted to visit your store in order to find more of your products.
3. Invest in Sponsored Brand Ads
Sponsored Brands are cost-per-click (CPC) ads that feature your brand logo, a custom headline and multiple products. These ads appear in relevant product results pages, helping to drive discovery brands among customers searching for products similar to the ones you sell. These Ads are only available for professional sellers enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, vendors, book vendors and agencies, which means some competitors may not have access to them, particularly if you are the manufacturer or brand owner of a product.
4. Use Sponsored Product Ads
Sponsored product ads are vital for increasing product visibility on product results pages but also are a great way of guarding your target terms and focus products.
Some brands are unsure whether they should bid on their own brand terms, but competitors will not hesitate to. It is better for brands to ensure that when consumers are searching for their branded products, their own products are appearing front and centre, as opposed to a competitor’s who may steal the conversion.
5. Optimise your listings
If you find that a competitor is taking sales due to their products ranking higher than yours for target search terms, then it may be time to work on an optimization strategy to help improve your own listings.
Amazon SEO works in a similar way to Google SEO, Amazon wants to show their shoppers the most relevant product range in conjunction with a shopper’s search, this means that if you work on your listing itself to ensure your product title and description are optimised, you are using the best quality images which meet Amazon’s requirements and take advantage of Amazon A+ content features, it is likely your rankings will improve and you can compete with competitors organically.
If you find your advertising spend is not delivering the return you need due to competitors, speak to the team of Amazon specialists at Arthia to develop a strategy for success.