Amazon Sponsored Display Ads: Retargeting Strategies That Work

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads are one of the most underutilised advertising tools for marketplace sellers. While most brands focus on Sponsored Products, Sponsored Display offers unique retargeting capabilities that dramatically improve conversion rates & ROI. RootAMZ specialises in implementing advanced Sponsored Display strategies that help brands recapture lost sales & maximise advertising efficiency.

Understanding Sponsored Display Retargeting  

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads target audiences based on shopping behaviour rather than keywords. These ads reach shoppers who viewed your products, browsed your category, or purchased related items but haven’t converted yet.

Warm audiences who already showed interest convert at 3-5X higher rates than cold traffic from keyword campaigns. The retargeting window extends up to 365 days, enabling long-term remarketing to re-engage prospects throughout their decision journey.

Four Retargeting Strategies That Work  

Views Retargeting  

Views retargeting targets shoppers who viewed your products within 30-90 days but didn’t purchase. These prospects demonstrated clear interest but need additional persuasion to complete their purchase.

How it works: Create campaigns targeting “views of your advertised products” with 30, 60 & 90-day look-back windows. Test different windows to identify optimal timing for your category.

This strategy works exceptionally well for:

• Considered purchases like furniture & electronics
• Premium goods requiring longer decision cycles
• High-ticket items where customers compare multiple options

Category Retargeting  

Category retargeting reaches shoppers browsing similar products even if they haven’t viewed your listings. This captures in-market shoppers actively researching purchases within your product category.

How it works: Target shoppers who viewed products in categories matching your offerings. Select specific categories rather than broad segments for better conversion rates.

This expands reach beyond existing traffic, capturing customers comparing competitive options & considering alternatives. RootAMZ helps brands identify the most profitable category segments for retargeting campaigns.

Competitor Product Retargeting  

Competitor retargeting targets shoppers who viewed specific competitor ASINs, positioning your products as better alternatives with superior value or features.

How it works: Identify your top competitor ASINs & create campaigns targeting views of these products. Emphasise your differentiation better pricing, superior features, higher ratings, or faster delivery.

This proves most effective when you offer clear advantages over competitors. Use ad creative that highlights these specific benefits to convert comparison shoppers.

Purchases Retargeting  

Purchases retargeting targets customers who bought your products, presenting cross-sell & upsell opportunities. Existing customers convert at dramatically higher rates than new prospects because they already trust your brand.

How it works: Target customers who purchased within 90-180 days, advertising complementary items, refills, or upgrades. For consumables, time retargeting to match typical reorder cycles.

Examples include:

• Consumables: Retarget for replenishment 30-60 days after initial purchase
• Accessories: Cross-sell complementary products to recent buyers
• Upgrades: Promote premium versions to satisfied customers

Bidding Strategies

Retargeting audiences justify premium bids because conversion rates significantly exceed cold traffic performance. Start bids 30-50% higher than Sponsored Products campaigns to ensure adequate visibility for these high-intent audiences.

Monitor performance closely, increasing bids on segments performing below target visibility thresholds. Views retargeting with 30-day look-backs warrants highest bids because recent interest signals strong purchase intent. Longer look-backs & broader targeting justify lower bids due to reduced urgency.

RootAMZ’s bidding framework:

• 30-day views: 50% premium over Sponsored Products
• 60-90 day views: 30-40% premium
• Category/competitor targeting: 25-35% premium
• Purchase retargeting: 40-50% premium

Creative Optimisation  

For retargeting campaigns, emphasise elements that overcome initial hesitation & address common purchase barriers:

• Limited-time discounts creating urgency
• Free shipping removing cost friction
• Extended warranties reducing perceived risk
• Superior reviews building social proof

Test different creative systematically to identify highest-performing messaging. Refresh ads every 30-45 days to prevent banner blindness & maintain campaign effectiveness.

Measuring Performance  

Focus on view-through conversions in addition to click-through conversions. Shoppers often see ads multiple times before clicking, meaning traditional last-click attribution undervalues display advertising.

Calculate incremental sales lift by comparing retargeted products versus control groups. This reveals true impact beyond last-click attribution & demonstrates display advertising’s full contribution to revenue.

Key metrics to track:

• View-through conversion rate
• Click-through conversion rate
• Total attributed sales (clicks + views)
• Incremental sales lift vs. control
• Overall contribution to ROAS

Budget Allocation  

Allocate 15-25% of total advertising budget to Sponsored Display for optimal campaign mix. Products with higher price points, longer consideration cycles, or lower organic conversion require more display budget investment. These products need multiple touchpoints before purchase decisions.

RootAMZ recommends:

• High-ticket items (£100+): 25% display budget
• Mid-range products (£30-100): 20% display budget
• Lower-priced items (<£30): 15% display budget

Adjust based on category-specific conversion patterns & customer behaviour data.

Common Mistakes  

Retargeting too broadly dilutes audience quality & reduces conversion rates. Target specific behaviours rather than entire categories to maintain audience relevance.

Insufficient frequency capping overwhelms shoppers with excessive ad exposure. Limit impressions to 2-3 weekly to avoid negative brand perception.

Ignoring negative targeting wastes spend on recent purchasers who don’t need additional persuasion. Exclude customers who purchased within the last 7-14 days.

Static creative becomes stale & loses effectiveness. Refresh creative regularly to maintain engagement & prevent banner blindness.

Conclusion  

Sponsored Display provides powerful retargeting capabilities that complement keyword advertising effectively. By targeting behaviour-based audiences, display retargeting recaptures lost opportunities & improves overall advertising efficiency.

Brands achieving lowest ACoS employ sophisticated retargeting strategies across views, categories, competitors & purchases. The combination of precise audience targeting, premium bidding & optimised creative delivers measurable ROI improvements.

RootAMZ helps brands implement advanced display retargeting strategies that drive measurable growth & maximise return on advertising spend.

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