About this video
In this episode, my colleague Elizabeth Greene from Junglr agency shares the latest strategies for product targeting coming from her experience.
Topics we cover in this video:
1) comparison of results between category level and ASIN level targeting
2) how to run an auto campaign to discover whether product targeting or keyword targeting would work better for your product
3) learn the workaround way for negating products from product targeting campaigns
4) why is it recommended to target your own products?
5) how to decide which products to target
6) methods for targeting by brand and age range
7) selling complementary products through product targeting and unlocking the upsell potential for your product portfolio
8) methods for stealing market share from competitors
9) first results of using product targeting with sponsored brands campaigns
Have any questions? Contact Elizabeth at https://www.junglr.com/
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Transcript
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ASIN-level and category-level product targeting, and which performs better?
ASIN-level targeting places your ad on the detail page of a specific competitor product you have hand-picked, giving you full control over where your ads appear and which listings you compete against. Category targeting casts a much wider net across an entire product category, with Amazon deciding which detail pages to show your ad on. ASIN targeting tends to produce better conversion rates because you can select competitors where your listing has a clear advantage in price, reviews, or offer quality. Category targeting is more useful when you want aggressive reach quickly, such as during a launch, or when you need to gather data before you have enough information to identify the best individual ASINs to pursue.
How do you use an auto campaign to identify good product targeting opportunities?
Auto campaigns automatically surface ASINs where your product is already converting, which tells you Amazon has already matched you as relevant to those listings. By reviewing the search terms report from an auto campaign and filtering for ASIN-format results, you can identify which competitor detail pages generated actual sales. Those converting ASINs are then the strongest candidates to move into a dedicated manual product targeting campaign, because you are acting on real purchase data rather than making assumptions about relevance.
How can you reduce wasted spend from poorly performing ASINs in an auto campaign when you cannot directly negate them?
Amazon does not currently offer direct ASIN negation in auto campaigns, but there are two practical approaches. The first is to lower the bids on the specific auto targeting types that are generating unwanted ASIN traffic, which are primarily the substitutes and complements match types. Reducing those bids limits how aggressively Amazon shows your ads across unrelated product pages while keeping the better-performing targeting types active. The second approach, negating the brand name or distinctive keywords from a poorly performing listing as a phrase match negative, is sometimes used but carries risk because it can inadvertently block broader relevant traffic and should only be applied when a specific brand or term is consistently generating cost with no return.
Why is it worth targeting your own product listings with product targeting campaigns?
Without defensive product targeting, the sponsored placements on your own detail pages are available for your competitors to buy. Targeting your own ASINs with Sponsored Products and Sponsored Display fills those placements with your own brand, keeping shoppers within your product selection instead of redirecting them elsewhere. If you have complementary products, targeting your listings with those related items also creates an upsell opportunity that increases average order value. Sellers willing to bid aggressively on their own listings can largely push out competing ads and own the sponsored real estate on their own pages.
What criteria should guide which competitor ASINs you select for product targeting?
The goal is to find listings where your product has a visible advantage that will influence the purchase decision. The most useful factors to compare are star rating, review count, and price point. If your listing has more reviews, a higher rating, or a more competitive price than the ASIN you are targeting, a shopper who lands on that competitor's page and sees your ad is more likely to switch. Targeting a competitor who outperforms you on all three dimensions tends to produce poor conversion rates and high ACoS. Searching your main keywords in an incognito window and reviewing the first page of results is a practical way to evaluate which listings your product would stand out against before committing ad spend.
How does complementary product targeting work, and what makes it succeed or fail?
Complementary product targeting places your ad on the detail page of a product that is typically bought alongside yours, reaching shoppers who are already in a buying mindset for related items. It works best when the two products have a genuine and obvious relationship, where a buyer of one product would naturally consider buying the other in the same session. When the connection is more loosely related, impressions tend to be low because Amazon's system does not strongly match the two, and bids need to be pushed higher to get visibility. The frequently bought together section on your own or competitor listings is one of the most reliable places to identify which complementary products are worth targeting.
