BLOG: Advertising

Maximizing Amazon Sponsored Ads: The key to incremental sales

2 Min Read | february, 2024 | BY Benjamin Weyrich

Main takeaways

Identifying Incremental Sales from Sponsored Ads:

Understand the direct impact of your advertising efforts by analyzing sales that wouldn't have occurred without your ads.

Differentiating Between High and Low Organic Visibility Keywords:

Optimize ad spend by targeting keywords with low organic visibility to maximize incremental sales.

Utilizing Tools to Measure and Enhance Visibility:

Leverage analytical tools to assess and enhance your advertising strategy effectively.

Advertising on platforms like Amazon can propel your product visibility and drive sales, but distinguishing between direct and organic sales influenced by ads is crucial. Incremental sales, the additional customers your ads pull in, are the heart of effective advertising campaigns. Using the analogy of a lemonade stand, if a sign (your ad) brings in 5 new customers above your regular traffic of 10 customer, those 5 are your incremental sales, essential for assessing the effectiveness of your advertising.

Assessing Organic vs. Paid Visibility

Let's delve into the concept of organic visibility on Amazon: If your lemonade stand is already the most popular on the street, putting up a sign might not draw many new customers because most people were already patronizing you. This scenario mirrors having high organic visibility for a keyword. Consequently, investing in ads might not contribute significantly to incremental sales since you're already the preferred choice.


But if your lemonade stand is new in a neighborhood where awareness is low, a sign can significantly impact attracting new customers. This scenario resembles having low organic visibility for a keyword. Advertising under these circumstances is likely to generate higher incremental sales, as the ads will introduce your product to consumers who wouldn't have otherwise discovered it.

Practical Advice for Advertisers

Evaluate Organic Visibility:

Begin by assessing where your product stands organically for relevant keywords. Is it already visible without the need for ads?

Tailor Your Strategy to Visibility:

  • If your product ranks organically for specific keywords, consider moderating your ad investment for those keywords. Incremental sales potential may be limited here
  • For keywords where your product lacks organic visibility, concentrate your ad spend. This is where the prospects for gaining incremental sales are greater

By following these principles, you can make more insightful decisions about how to spend your advertising budget and maximize your ROI (Return on investment). It's about finding the perfect balance between leveraging your current popularity and reaching new customers who have yet to discover your offering.

webinar

How to Drive Incremental Sales on Amazon

Free webinar recording for Amazon vendors.

Leveraging tools for strategic insights

Tools like Catapult can be invaluable for advertisers. They help assess keyword visibility and potential for incremental sales, ensuring your advertising budget contributes to genuine business growth, rather than merely offsetting what would have been organic sales.

Interested in a chat or a free product tour? Schedule it here!

About the author

Benjamin Weyrich

He is the Founder and Managing Director of CATAPULT. With around ten years of experience in ecommerce and business intelligence, he focuses on strategic consulting for global brands aiming to strengthen their market position both on and beyond Amazon. Through his deep expertise, he helps companies make data-driven decisions and scale their growth across digital channels.

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