Most Amazon advertising is built around keywords: a shopper types a search, and your ad appears. Product targeting works the other way round. You choose specific products or categories, and your ad appears where shoppers are looking at those products. It reaches people further along in their decision, often comparing options on a detail page.
This guide covers how product targeting works in Sponsored Products, how to choose targets, how to set up and bid on campaigns, and how to judge whether it is working.
How product targeting works
In a manual Sponsored Products campaign, you choose either keyword targeting or product targeting. With product targeting, you have two options.
Individual products. You enter specific ASINs. Your ad can appear on those detail pages, typically in the sponsored placements on the page, and in some search contexts related to those products.
Categories. You choose a category and refine it by brand, price range, star rating or shipping options. Your ad can appear on product pages across that refined set. Category targeting covers the refinement options in more depth.
Automatic campaigns also do a form of product targeting through their substitutes and complements groups, which match your ad to products Amazon considers similar or related.
Choosing which products to target
The best targets are products where yours looks like the better choice to a shopper on that page. That means an advantage the shopper can see in the ad itself: a higher star rating, more reviews, a lower price, a larger pack size, or a feature visible in the main image or title.
Targeting a product that beats yours on all of those usually wastes clicks. The shopper compares, and the original product wins. Competitor targeting walks through how to compare listings before targeting them.
Good sources of candidate ASINs include the search term report for automatic campaigns (which shows ASINs your ad appeared on and converted against), the "frequently bought together" and comparison sections of your own pages, and the top results for your main keywords.
Also watch the reverse effect. When a competitor's page shows your ad, that competitor may be targeting your pages in turn. Defensive campaigns on your own listings, covered next, keep that exchange from running only one way.
Targeting your own products
Your own detail pages have sponsored placements. If you do not fill them, competitors will. A campaign that targets your own ASINs shows your other products there instead, such as a larger size, a bundle or a related item.
These campaigns often convert well and cost less, because the shopper is already interested in your brand. Keep them in their own campaign so their strong numbers do not hide how competitor targeting is doing.
Complementary products
Not every target needs to be a competitor. Products that are used with yours can be strong targets too: a case for a device, a refill for a dispenser, an accessory for a tool. The shopper on that page may need your product next. Judge these on their own terms, since conversion can be slower than direct competitor targeting.
A simple first test: pick five to ten competitor ASINs where your product clearly wins on rating or price, plus your own top sellers, and run them in two separate campaigns for a month. That is enough to learn how product targeting performs in your category before expanding.
Structure and bidding
Keep product targeting in campaigns separate from keyword campaigns, and separate the main types from each other: your own ASINs, competitor ASINs, and category targets. Each has different costs and conversion rates, and mixing them makes results hard to read.
Start bids near Amazon's suggested range and adjust based on results. Product page placements often cost less per click than top of search, but conversion can vary widely by target. Check placement reports to see where the clicks are coming from. Sponsored Products placements explains how to read them.
Use negative product targets to stop ads appearing on pages that do not convert, such as products far outside your price range or listings that consistently win the comparison.
Judging results
Give product targets enough time and clicks before judging. Many individual ASIN targets get modest traffic, so results take longer to build than for a major keyword. Review them every two to four weeks.
For each target, compare cost per order with your goal. Targets that convert well get higher bids. Targets with steady clicks and no orders get lower bids, then negatives if they still do not convert. Look for patterns too: if every target in a price band fails, the price comparison is the problem, not the individual targets.
Product targeting works best alongside keywords, not instead of them. Keywords capture shoppers who know what they want. Product targets capture shoppers who are comparing. Auto versus manual campaigns shows how the pieces fit together, and negative keywords and targets covers how to keep each campaign clean.
Revisit the target list every quarter. Competitors change prices, gain reviews, run out of stock or launch new versions. A target that converted well in spring may stop working by autumn, and new targets appear as the category changes.
Frequently asked questions
What is product targeting on Amazon?
Product targeting is a way of choosing where Sponsored Products ads appear by naming specific products (ASINs) or categories, instead of keywords. Your ad can then appear on those product detail pages and in related placements and search results.
Which products should I target with Amazon product targeting?
Start with products where yours has a clear advantage a shopper can see: a better rating, a lower price, a larger quantity or a feature the other product lacks. Also target your own listings to keep competitors off your pages. Use your search term and auto campaign data to find candidates.
Should product targets and keywords be in the same campaign?
It is usually better to keep them separate. Product targets often have different costs, conversion rates and placements from keywords, and mixing them blends the results. Separate campaigns make it easier to set budgets and judge each one.
Off Hours performance rules and capped bid adjustments act on what each campaign earns, checked every 15 minutes with every change logged. Start a free 14-day trial.