Amazon Ads Targeting Types Explained

If you’ve been running Amazon Ads campaigns, you’ve likely explored some of the targeting options available. But, are you making the most of them? 

Amazon offers five broad types of targeting across Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns. These include Keyword Targeting, Product Targeting, Auto Targeting, Audience Targeting, and Contextual Targeting. Within each category, several sub-targeting options give advertisers a wealth of ways to connect with potential customers.

But here’s the real question: are you utilizing all of them? And even if you are, are you comparing them to each other to see which ones yield the best results?

Let’s briefly break down the different types of targeting:

1. Keyword Targeting

2. Product Targeting

1. ASIN Exact

2. ASIN Expanded

3. Category Targeting

3. Auto Targeting

1. Complement Match

2. Close Match

3. Substitute Match

4. Loose Match

4. Audience Targeting

1. View Marketing

2. Similar to the ASIN Advertised

1. 7/14/30/60/90 Days Lookback

3. Exact Advertised ASIN

1. 7/14/30/60/90 Days Lookback

4. Category Targeting

5. Purchase Marketing

6. Related to the ASIN Advertised

1. 7/14/30/60/90/180/365 Days Lookback

7. Exact Advertised ASIN

1. 7/14/30/60/90/180/365 Days Lookback

8. Category Targeting

9. Amazon Audience

10. Lifestyle

11. Interest & Category

12. Life Events

13. In-Market

5. Contextual Targeting

1. ASIN Exact

2. Similar Targeting

3. Category Targeting

While many advertisers are aware of these options, few dive deep into optimizing them all simultaneously. This means leaving potential opportunities on the table.

The Challenge of Tracking Everything

Even if you're familiar with all these targeting types, measuring their performance compared to one another can be incredibly complex. With options like Complement Match, Similar ASIN Targeting, and View Marketing, to name a few, there’s a lot to keep track of.

Manually comparing and analyzing these various methods for their effectiveness isn’t just overwhelming, it’s practically impossible. Each method works differently depending on product categories, customer behavior, and even the timing of your campaigns. Getting granular with your optimization can make all the difference in squeezing the maximum ROI from your Amazon Ads efforts.

So, how do you effectively monitor and optimize all these targeting strategies? 

Meet Hector: Your Detailed Targeting Optimization Solution

Hector was built to solve exactly this problem. By automating the process of analyzing and comparing Amazon’s various targeting options, Hector provides you with the data-driven insights you need to make informed decisions.

Come, and experience the best of Amazon Ad Tech with Hector.