GLOSSARY
Search Marketing FAQ
Concise answers to the most common questions relevant to SEO, GEO, CRO, and PPC. Filter by discipline, platform, and topic. Cortex references its corpus of platform-published best practices to draft each answer, with citations linking back to the source documents.
Showing 1201-1224 of 1947 questions
Where do Sponsored Brands appear on Amazon?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
Top-of-search banner (most prominent placement, above organic results). Sometimes below search results. Sometimes within search-results scroll on mobile. Sponsored Brands placements are limited compared to Sponsored Products; high-quality brands compete for finite top-of-search inventory. Position rotates based on bid, relevance, and ad performance.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
What targeting options are available for Sponsored Brands?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience Targeting+
Three modes. Keyword targeting (exact, phrase, broad - similar to Sponsored Products). Product targeting (specific ASINs, brands, categories). Audience targeting (Amazon's pre-built shopper audiences by category interest or shopping behavior). Most accounts run keyword targeting as primary, with product targeting layered for competitive displacement.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
How do I choose keywords for Sponsored Brands?PPCAmazon Ads+
Target broader category and branded keywords rather than long-tail product-specific terms. Examples: 'organic skincare' (broad), 'YourBrand vitamin C serum' (branded). Sponsored Brands work better at the awareness stage where searches are less product-specific. Use Sponsored Products for long-tail product queries; reserve Sponsored Brands for upper-funnel category and brand.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
How do I choose products or ASINs for Sponsored Brands?PPCAmazon Ads+
Pick 3-7 hero products with strong reviews (4+ stars, 50+ reviews) and Buy Box ownership. Mix bestsellers (drive clicks) with strategic launches (drive awareness for new lines). Avoid low-rated or low-review products - they hurt the banner's perceived quality. Refresh the product selection quarterly as inventory and seasonal demand shift.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
What is Sponsored Brands video and how is it different?PPCAmazon AdsAd Creative+
15-30 second video ads in the Sponsored Brands format. Appear in search results with autoplay, sound off by default. Higher engagement than static Sponsored Brands (CTR typically 2-3x). Video requirements: 1080p resolution, MP4 or MOV, captions baked in (most shoppers watch muted). Best for product demos, brand storytelling, and visual category leaders.
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What are the best practices for optimizing Sponsored Brands campaigns?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAd Creative+
Five recurring actions. Optimize the custom headline (match shopper intent, 30-50 character sweet spot). Refresh hero products quarterly. Test all three formats (Product Collection, Store Spotlight, Video). Pair with Amazon Stores for brand-immersive landing experience. Bid higher than Sponsored Products average - Sponsored Brands compete for premium top-of-search inventory.
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What are Amazon Stores and how do they work with Sponsored Brands?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
Amazon Stores are free brand-owned multi-page destinations within Amazon (yourbrand.amazon.com). Build with Amazon's no-code editor; up to 4 navigation tabs and unlimited pages. Sponsored Brands can link to your Store as the landing experience instead of a flat product list. Stores typically lift Sponsored Brands conversion rate 15-30%.
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How do I drive traffic from ads to my Store?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonLanding PagesReporting & KPIs+
Set the Sponsored Brands landing page to your Amazon Store URL. Use Store Spotlight format to showcase specific Store pages. Promote the Store URL externally (Instagram, email) for direct brand traffic. Track Store traffic via Stores Insights dashboard. High-performing Stores see 2-5x return-visitor rates compared to single-ASIN destinations.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
What is Amazon Sponsored Display?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience Targeting+
Sponsored Display is Amazon's display ad product. Two formats. Product targeting (ads on competitor ASIN detail pages or within categories). Audience targeting (retarget shoppers who viewed your products, lookalike audiences, in-market audiences). Display ads serve on Amazon AND off-Amazon (across Amazon-owned and partner sites).
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
How does Sponsored Display differ from Sponsored Brands?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAd Creative+
Sponsored Display targets specific audiences and products (intent + behavior); Sponsored Brands targets keywords. Display creative is auto-generated from product detail pages (or custom); Sponsored Brands uses your custom banner with logo. Display works across Amazon AND off-Amazon (extends reach beyond Amazon.com); Sponsored Brands is Amazon-only.
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What targeting options are available for Sponsored Display?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience Targeting+
Three audience targeting types. Product targeting (specific ASINs and categories). Views remarketing (retarget users who viewed your products). Purchases remarketing (cross-sell to past buyers). Audience interests (Amazon-defined segments by lifestyle and shopping behavior). Audience similar (lookalikes from your customer base). Most accounts mix product targeting + Views remarketing.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
How do I retarget shoppers with Sponsored Display?PPCAmazon AdsAudience Targeting+
Use Views remarketing audience. Target shoppers who viewed your products or competitor products in the past 7-90 days. Set look-back window based on your purchase cycle (7 days for impulse buys, 30-90 days for considered purchases). Combine with audience exclusions (exclude past purchasers) to avoid wasted spend on existing customers.
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How does DSP differ from sponsored ads?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) is a self-serve programmatic display platform serving Amazon's audience data across Amazon AND third-party publishers (websites, apps, IMDb, Twitch). Higher minimum spend ($50K typically) than self-serve Sponsored ads. Used by larger advertisers for upper-funnel reach beyond Amazon.com itself. Sponsored Display is the SMB-friendly subset of DSP capabilities.
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What audience and inventory options does DSP offer?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience Targeting+
Audience: Amazon's first-party shopper data including in-market segments, lifestyle audiences, and lookalike audiences. Inventory: Amazon.com display placements, Amazon-owned sites (IMDb, Twitch, Audible), and a curated network of third-party publisher sites. Programmatic targeting via DSP is the only way to access Amazon's audience data off-Amazon at scale.
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What is Amazon Marketing Cloud?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience TargetingA/B Testing & ExperimentationAttribution & MeasurementPrivacy & Cookies+
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a clean-room analytics platform for Amazon advertisers. Upload your first-party data, query against Amazon's anonymized event data (impressions, clicks, conversions, audience overlap) using SQL. AMC enables cross-channel attribution, custom audience building, and incrementality analysis. Free for DSP advertisers. Powerful for measurement at enterprise scale.
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How does Amazon Marketing Cloud help measure advertising performance?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonA/B Testing & ExperimentationAttribution & Measurement+
AMC answers questions standard reports cannot. Cross-product attribution (which ad type drove the purchase). True incrementality (would the conversion have happened anyway). Audience overlap between campaigns. Lifetime value of acquired customers. Frequency capping analysis. Path-to-conversion analysis across DSP, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Products. The deepest measurement layer in Amazon Ads.
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
How do I connect AMC insights to Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and DSP?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience TargetingA/B Testing & Experimentation+
AMC ingests data from all Amazon Ads products automatically (no manual setup). Once linked, build custom audiences in AMC and push to DSP for activation. Cross-tabulate ROI across Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and DSP. Compute metrics standard reports cannot (incrementality, true ROAS, lifetime value).
in Amazon Sponsored Brands & Display & DSP
What creative, policy, and moderation rules apply to these ad types?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAd Creative+
Amazon enforces image guidelines (white background for main image, no overlays, no logos on photos). Banned content: contact info, pricing in image, claims that violate FDA, FTC, or category-specific rules. Sponsored Brands headlines cannot reference competitors or unsupported claims. Submitted ads go through 24-48 hour moderation. Disapprovals show specific rule violations in Ad Console.
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How do I measure success and choose the right metric for each Amazon ad product?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonAudience TargetingBrand Building+
Sponsored Products: ACoS and ROAS at keyword + ASIN level. Sponsored Brands: branded search lift and new-to-brand metric (NTB). Sponsored Display: view-through conversions and retargeting frequency. DSP: incremental ROAS via AMC and brand-lift studies. Match metric to the ad type's funnel stage; ACoS alone misses the full picture.
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What is Amazon Ads reporting and what does it measure?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonReporting & KPIs+
Amazon's reporting layer covers spend, impressions, clicks, conversions (orders + units sold), ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale), ROAS, conversion rate, and new-to-brand metrics. Available at campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, and search term level. Real-time data with a typical 1-3 hour processing delay. Most actionable insights come from the Search Term and Purchased Product reports.
in Amazon Ads Reporting & Optimization
Where can I find Amazon Ads reports in the console?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
Login to Seller Central or Vendor Central > Advertising > Campaign Manager. Click Reports in the left menu. Choose report type (Search Term, Targeting, Advertised Product, Purchased Product, Campaign). Configure date range, filters. Reports generate within minutes. Download as CSV or schedule recurring delivery to email. API access available for automated extraction.
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What are the main types of Amazon Ads reports?PPCAmazon AdsAmazonNegative Keywords+
Six core. Search Term Report (queries that triggered ads). Targeting Report (keyword + product targeting performance). Advertised Product Report (per-ASIN performance). Purchased Product Report (which products buyers ended up purchasing - critical for cross-sell insight). Campaign Performance Report (campaign-level aggregates). Budget Report (spend pacing). Use Search Term and Purchased Product for highest leverage.
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How do I read an Amazon Ads report correctly?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
Sort by spend descending to identify largest contributors first. Filter out low-impression rows (under 100 impressions lack significance). Compare ACoS to target ACoS and to category benchmarks. Calculate true ACoS by adding Amazon's fees to advertising cost. Look at conversion rate to identify whether traffic quality or listing quality is the issue.
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What is ACOS in Amazon Ads, and how is it calculated?PPCAmazon AdsAmazon+
ACoS = Advertising Cost / Sales Generated. If you spent $100 on Sponsored Products and generated $400 in sales, ACoS = 25%. Reported in Amazon's reports per keyword, campaign, and product. Lower ACoS means more profitable advertising. Compare to your gross margin: if margin is 35%, advertising profitably requires ACoS below 35%.
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