Amazon Sponsored Display Ads Explained
Most Amazon sellers know Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. But Sponsored Display Ads often stay unused, even though they have a unique strength: they also reach customers off Amazon. This article shows you how Sponsored Display works, which targeting options exist and when it is worth using.
What are Sponsored Display Ads?
Sponsored Display Ads are an Amazon ad format that differs fundamentally from Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. While the other two formats are primarily served within the Amazon search results, Sponsored Display Ads can reach customers across the entire Amazon platform and on external websites and apps.
What makes them special: Sponsored Display is not based on keywords, but on audiences and products. You decide which customer groups should see your ads, or on which product detail pages your ads appear. This makes Sponsored Display the only self-service ad format on Amazon that enables true retargeting.
Sponsored Display Ads are an Amazon ad format based on audience and product targeting. Ads appear on product detail pages, in search results, on the Amazon homepage and on external websites and apps within the Amazon network. Billing is per click (CPC) or per thousand impressions (vCPM).
Requirements for Sponsored Display
To use Sponsored Display, you must meet the following conditions:
- Professional selling plan: a professional seller account or a vendor account is required.
- Active offers: the advertised products must have the Buy Box and be ready to ship.
- No Brand Registry needed: unlike Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display does not require enrollment in Amazon Brand Registry. This makes the format accessible to all professional sellers.
Sponsored Display vs. Sponsored Products vs. Sponsored Brands
All three ad formats have their place in a complete PPC strategy. The differences lie in the targeting, the placements and the goals you achieve with them.
| Attribute | Sponsored Products | Sponsored Brands | Sponsored Display |
|---|---|---|---|
| Targeting | Keywords, products | Keywords, products, categories | Audiences, products |
| Placements | Search results, product pages | Top of Search, search results | Amazon + external websites/apps |
| Brand Registry | Not needed | Required | Not needed |
| Billing | CPC | CPC | CPC or vCPM |
| Retargeting | No | No | Yes |
| Primary goal | Conversions | Brand awareness | Reach + retargeting |
The decisive difference: Sponsored Display is the only format that can continue to address customers after they leave Amazon. This capability makes it especially valuable for products with longer purchase decision processes.
Audience targeting: reaching audiences precisely
Audience targeting is the core strength of Sponsored Display. Amazon uses its extensive shopping data to define audiences you can address in a targeted way. There are three main categories.
Views remarketing (retargeting)
With views remarketing you reach customers who viewed your product or similar products in your category but did not make a purchase. Amazon stores browsing behavior from the last 30 days and lets you re-address exactly these users.
Typical use cases:
- A customer viewed your product but did not buy. You remind them with an ad on an external website.
- A customer viewed a competitor's product. You show them your alternative offer.
- A customer browsed your product category. You draw their attention to your specific offer.
Interests targeting
Amazon assigns customers to certain interest groups based on their browsing behavior. You can direct your ads to customers whose interests match your product. Example: if you sell yoga mats, you could address customers who are generally interested in fitness equipment.
Interests targeting is especially well suited to reaching new audiences who don't know your product yet but have a high affinity for it.
Purchases remarketing
With purchases remarketing you reach customers who have already bought your product or related products. At first this sounds counterintuitive, but it makes sense in several scenarios:
- Consumable products: customers who bought a pack of protein powder 30 days ago probably need a refill soon.
- Cross-selling: someone who bought a camera might be interested in matching lenses or bags.
- Complementary products: a customer bought a smartphone. You offer the matching protective case.
Start with views remarketing when you use Sponsored Display for the first time. This audience has already shown interest in your product and usually converts best. Only afterwards should you expand to interests and purchases targeting.
Product targeting: advertising on product detail pages
In addition to audience targeting, Sponsored Display also offers product targeting. This lets you place your ads directly on the detail pages of specific products or entire categories.
ASIN targeting
You choose specific ASINs on whose product detail pages your ad should appear. This is especially effective when you want to position your product against direct competitors. Your ad then appears in the "Products related to this item" area or in similar slots on the competitor's product page.
Category targeting
With category targeting you address all products in a specific category. Amazon shows your ads on the detail pages of all products in that category. This makes sense when you want to build broad visibility in a certain product area. You can additionally narrow categories by price, rating and brand.
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Start for freePlacements: where Sponsored Display Ads appear
A big advantage of Sponsored Display is the variety of placements. Your ads can be served in numerous spots on and off Amazon.
Placements on Amazon
- Product detail pages: below the title, next to the bullet points or in the "Related products" area. This is one of the most important placements, because customers are already actively engaging with a product here.
- Search results pages: Sponsored Display can also appear in the search results, similar to Sponsored Products. Here, however, serving is based on audience targeting, not keywords.
- Amazon homepage: with sufficient budget and broad targeting, your ads can even be served on the Amazon homepage.
- Deals pages: on pages like "Today's Deals" or Lightning Deals, display ads can also appear.
Placements off Amazon
Sponsored Display uses the Amazon DSP network (Demand Side Platform) to serve ads on external websites and in apps. These include:
- News websites and blogs
- Apps and mobile websites
- Streaming platforms and entertainment sites
- Additional websites in the Amazon Publisher Network
You cannot individually determine which external websites your ads appear on. Amazon controls the serving automatically based on your targeting and your bids. The advantage: you reach customers at a moment when they are not actively shopping on Amazon but are still relevant.
Creative options: how your ads look
Sponsored Display offers various design options that go beyond what Sponsored Products allow.
Automatically generated creatives
Amazon automatically creates ads from your product image, title, price and star rating. This variant is the easiest to set up and works well as a good starting point for most sellers. The ads automatically adapt to the respective placement.
Custom images
You can upload your own lifestyle images that are shown in addition to your product image. This gives you the opportunity to show your product in a usage context and to stand out visually from competitors. Note that Amazon has certain guidelines for custom images: no text in the image, no logos, no before-and-after depictions.
Custom headlines
Since 2024 you can add your own headlines to Sponsored Display. This is especially valuable because it lets you communicate a targeted message that goes beyond the plain product title. Example: "Now with improved formula" or "Over 10,000 satisfied customers."
Test different custom images against each other. Lifestyle images that show the product in use achieve significantly higher click rates than standard product images in many categories. Pay attention to high image quality and a clear focus on the product.
When is Sponsored Display worth using?
Sponsored Display is not a replacement for Sponsored Products. It is a complement that is especially valuable in certain situations.
Ideal use scenarios
- Products with long decision cycles: for higher-priced items, customers often compare over several days. Retargeting keeps your product top of mind.
- Competitive defense: product targeting on your own product pages prevents competitors from placing their ads there.
- Cross-selling: if you offer several products in related categories, you can draw buyers of one product to your other items.
- Brand building: through the external placements you reach customers who would otherwise never have come across your product.
- Seasonal products: ahead of seasonal peaks (Christmas, Easter, back-to-school) you can draw customers' attention to your product early.
When Sponsored Display makes less sense
For very inexpensive products with low margins, Sponsored Display can be difficult, because the click costs are too high relative to the merchandise value. Also, for products with very short purchase decisions (impulse products under $10), retargeting does little, because customers either buy these items immediately or not at all.
Measuring and optimizing performance
Measuring success with Sponsored Display differs in part from other campaign types. In addition to the classic metrics, there are display-specific figures.
Important metrics at a glance
| Metric | Meaning | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | How often your ad was served | Reach and visibility |
| Click rate (CTR) | Share of clicks relative to impressions | Relevance of the ad to the audience |
| ACoS | Ad costs relative to revenue | Direct profitability |
| Detail Page Views | How many users visited your product page after the click | Quality of the traffic |
| New-to-Brand | Share of buyers who have not bought from you in the last 12 months | New customer acquisition |
Setting expectations correctly
Sponsored Display campaigns usually have a higher ACoS than Sponsored Products campaigns. This is because you often reach customers at an earlier stage of the purchase decision. The CTR is lower, as is the conversion rate. That is normal and not a sign of a bad campaign.
The true value of Sponsored Display often only shows in the overall picture: if your TACoS (Total ACoS) drops even though the ACoS of the display campaign is high, then the campaign is generating organic sales that don't appear directly in the campaign reports.
Optimization levers
- Test audiences: compare views remarketing, interests and purchases targeting in separate campaigns to find the most profitable audience.
- Adjust bids: start with moderate bids and raise them step by step for audiences with good performance.
- Test creatives: rotate custom images and headlines regularly and keep the best-performing variants.
- Exclude: exclude products or categories that don't bring conversions.
- Seasonal adjustment: increase budgets in high-revenue periods and reduce them in weak phases.
Give a Sponsored Display campaign at least 14 days before you make the first optimizations. Serving needs time to collect enough data. With audience targeting it can even take 3 to 4 weeks before meaningful results are available.
Conclusion: Sponsored Display as a complement to your PPC strategy
Sponsored Display Ads are not a must-have for absolute beginners. If you are taking your first steps with Amazon PPC, you should focus on Sponsored Products first. Once your Sponsored Products campaigns run stably and you have developed a feel for the Amazon advertising platform, Sponsored Display becomes a valuable complement.
The strength of Sponsored Display lies in reach and retargeting. No other self-service format on Amazon lets you re-address customers off the platform. For brands with a broader product portfolio, product targeting opens up additional cross-selling opportunities that Sponsored Products don't offer.
It is important to keep expectations realistic: Sponsored Display will rarely have the lowest ACoS in your portfolio. Its value shows in the interplay with your other campaigns and in the overall development of your TACoS.