#622 - Strategic PPC for Amazon Sellers

In this episode, we’ll discuss helpful Amazon advertising strategies, Amazon Marketing Cloud, Search Query Performance, and even some suggestions for the best Ethiopian restaurants.

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Join us as we welcome back George Meressa of ClearAds Agency, to the Serious Sellers Podcast, where we talk about Amazon advertising and e-commerce strategies. We discuss how tightened margins and increased competition from Chinese products are impacting sellers. The conversation covers the role of AI in leveling the playing field for non-native English speakers and the significance of external traffic sources like TikTok and Google Ads. We also examine the rising influence of larger brands on Amazon and the higher entry barriers that are discouraging new sellers. Our transition to using Pacvue for Amazon advertising and the emphasis on improving listings to enhance conversion rates are also key highlights.

In our discussion on Amazon PPC campaign optimization, we focus on strategically reducing wasted ad spend and reallocating resources for better performance. George and Bradley share insights on identifying inefficient ad campaigns and leveraging tools like the Hemingway app and Pacvue to simplify language and automate bid adjustments. We explore the importance of enhancing listings through effective keyword use and optimizing Q&A and reviews, which are crucial for ranking. This conversation emphasizes how strategic budgeting and allocation can uncover easy wins and growth opportunities for Amazon sellers.

Listen in as we explore modern advertising strategies and data utilization on Amazon. George discusses optimizing sales through effective keyword analysis and the benefits of using Amazon Marketing Cloud for insights into new-to-brand sales. We also touch on the value of Amazon's B2B reporting and the challenges of sponsored TV ads for ROI-focused clients. The conversation highlights the enduring effectiveness of sponsored product ads and the importance of maintaining advertising spend on high-ranking keywords. Finally, we share a lighter moment, connecting over a shared appreciation for unique ethnic cuisines, with a particular focus on Ethiopian food.

In episode 622 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and George discuss:

• 00:00 - Amazon Advertising and E-Commerce Strategies
• 04:42 - Optimizing Amazon PPC Campaigns
• 09:48 - Automated Bid Adjustment Strategies for Success
• 14:41 - Amazon Advertising Strategies and Data Utilization
• 15:09 - Understanding Amazon Search Query Performance Keywords
• 19:03 - Advertising Strategies and Best Practices
• 21:26 - Benefits of the Amazon Bestseller Badge
• 26:17 - Shifting Focus to Organic Sales
• 29:55 - Discussing International Cuisine Preferences
• 30:29 - Exploring Unique Ethiopian Cuisines

Bradley Sutton:

Today we've got George back on the show for the first time in a couple years and we're going to talk about a wide variety of subjects, including general Amazon advertising strategy, AMC, Search Query Performance and even some suggestions for the best Ethiopian restaurants. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That's a completely BS-free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for Serious Sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. And we're here in Milan, Italy, at our Avask and Helium 10 workshop, and just fresh off the stage is George. Now I'm going to be asking him a little bit about what he talked about, because I was in here recording another podcast so I didn't get to hear him. But, George, it's been a little bit since you've been on the podcast. Welcome back.

George Meressa:

Thank you so much for having me. It has been a while yeah.

Bradley Sutton:

Yes, yeah. So now you flew in here, you're still based in London.

George Meressa:

I am, yeah, I'm in London.

Bradley Sutton:

Excellent, excellent. So I'm going to need some restaurant advice. I'll be going there two times in the next couple of weeks, so you'll have to give me some great local eats.

George Meressa:

Absolutely, I'll give you my advice. I've been told I have horrible advice, but there's one or two winners, so then I'll get you with them.

Bradley Sutton:

Excellent, excellent. Now we're not just here to talk about culinary things, were here to talk about you know what, what your specialty is, which is, you know, Amazon advertising, just Amazon in general. And so I remember the last time you were on the show. You know you talk a lot about DSP. Dsp obviously has come a long ways, but just in general, what are the biggest things that have changed in the last couple of years that advertisers are dealing with now? Or you know some new feature that they have access to? That wasn't around the last time you were on the show.

George Meressa:

Yeah, it's a good question. So I think the biggest thing we've seen is just how margins are being tightened for sellers. So there's been costs that have increased in so many different areas, like warehouse costs. The cost per click just has increased in general, and not only that, but we've also seen a whole range of competition come within Amazon, so a lot of cheaper products coming directly from China and I think AI has had a massive impact on that where now Chinese sellers are able to have content that matches up with those who speak the native languages, like English in the US and other marketplaces and Temu has been one as well. It's just been a competition where you can find products at such a lower rate.

So there have been a few big components. Outside traffic as well has played a big part too. So getting viral stuff coming through TikTok, people really homing in on Google Ads they've had an impact and also the bigger brand as well. I think a lot more bigger brands are putting their products on Amazon and because they have the awareness, the conversion rates are just naturally better and they're coming in and just sweeping in and taking a considerable amount of market share. So there's a whole sea of things happening. I think one of the biggest things we've noticed, though, is there's less newer sellers, because just the barrier of entry is a little bit higher than it was when we first uh, when we last had the conversation.

Bradley Sutton:

Now you guys, uh, I know, um, in the last couple years you know, switched over to Pacvue, uh, for software, another one of our companies.

So you know Pacvue is not just Amazon, you know, it's a really a lot of multi-channel. So are you guys leveraging advertising now on other platforms at all? Are you strictly still pretty much Amazon advertising?

George Meressa:

So we're mainly Amazon advertising now. I think the biggest change that's happened since we last spoke is, uh, we're now working within the listings too, so leveraging some of the skill set we brought in from outside um, those who've run amazon brands and done really well and they've been able to help us to grow the conversion rate, because ultimately it comes down to the conversion rate and the sales. So and sometimes it's quite straightforward fixes it could be standing out with images, it could be keywords in the back end that most people forget to put in descriptions, titles, and just really working with that, and other times just that product is kind of hitting the end of its life cycle and that's

one thing we've noticed is the life cycle of products are kind of diminishing more and more since last being here.

Bradley Sutton:

Yeah, I imagine that's kind of a benefit for you guys, because if you're only an advertising agency, you know you can only control the advertising. But if they've got a crap listing or they don't even have the right keywords, it's a little bit hard to change things. But if you're able to go in there and help people from a to z, then it just makes the advertising, I imagine, much more effective too.

George Meressa:

Exactly that. So it's a kind of massive flywheel effect. When you get the listings right and you have a kind of superior product or product that stands out, it just makes everything else flow better. So you could, you know, um? On extreme examples, we've seen exceptional products of high barrier or high barrier to entry products, where they have very basic PPC campaigns, but they just rank, they just do well, and on the opposite side you have other products that are similar to what's out there and it's very difficult to get that edge. I think when I first started doing Amazon pay-per-click, you know you had the auto campaigns. Manual campaigns were just introduced. There wasn't much data. I mean there wasn't much competition, so it was easy to run it. But now I mean the data that we have access to with Amazon is unbelievable. It's unbelievable what information you can get right now and I think that is still probably the biggest edge a lot of people can have against their competitors is actually taking advantage of the data and knowing what to do with it.

Bradley Sutton:

Now what is one of the most common I don't know if I can say mistakes or things that you're changing like now you take on a new client and now you do have the ability to go in and modify some things, both on the advertising side of