Target Your Competitors with Product Targeting Ads
top of page
Writer's pictureRitu J

Target Your Competitors with Product Targeting Ads

Updated: Mar 13, 2023



If you geek out on sales funnels as much as we do, you will appreciate the fact that ANY traffic you receive from a competitor’s product page is likely to be comprised of highly qualified, middle to bottom-of- funnel leads.


You know this because the shopping intent is very clear. These shoppers are ‘in-market’ for a certain type of purchase, they are already primed to be shown your product and ready to be converted.


Amazon's new Product Targeting ads (ASIN targeting) help you do just that. They can be placed on specific product and category pages that YOU pick. Any traffic that channels through these competitor pages, is shown your ad, allowing you to tap into the opportunity to fill their needs.


Product Targeting ads are like "mini funnels' you set up on a competitor’s detail page. Imagine a rubber plantation with hundreds of rubber plants being tapped for rubber latex, drop by drop. Your product targeting ads are like those collection funnels strapped to those trees. It’s not a lot of traffic, but once you set it up, there’s not a whole lot more that you need to do. You get the picture.


So, if you haven’t set up any product targeting ads, it’s time you do!


What exactly are Product Targeting Ads

(or Product Attribution Targeting ads as some people call them)

Product Targeting ads are a type of Sponsored Products Manual Targeting ad, that allow you to target shoppers who are browsing detail pages of products or exploring categories on Amazon. With product targeting ads, you can target:

- Specific products OR

- Specific categories


For Categories, you can even refine your targeting to only show your ads on pages that have a worse offer in comparison to yours, for example, if they have fewer reviews, higher price, or are not Prime eligible.


Depending on your category, there are a few additional refinement filters that Amazon supports:

  1. Brand - Pick from a drop down list of brands to target. Your ad will only show up for shoppers on those brand pages.

  2. Price range: Pick a price range to be close to your own or higher, so you can be sure that shoppers were already mentally prepared for that price range when browsing.

  3. Age range: In certain categories like toys, you can even specify an age range, so that your ad shows up for products that have age range attributes.

  4. Review rating: This is a slider that you can adjust the review rating range to. If you pick products with reviews 0-1, it means you are targeting newer products with perhaps no reviews. Obviously your product will look better

  5. Shipping (prime eligibility): If you are either FBA or have Seller Fulfilled Prime you could potentially target only products that are not Prime eligible.

Why would you decide to show ads on pages that have a poor offer? Because your offer looks better in comparison.


You could also create ads that target brands that are likely to have very high traffic, such as named brands. These listings are likely to provide you with more exposure and therefore a higher chance of conversion. Since this is all a pay-per-click advertising model, you have nothing to lose!




Who is eligible to use Product Targeting Ads?

Both sellers and vendors with an advertising account on Seller Central or on AMS can use Product Targeting ads. Simply create a Sponsored Products campaign, select Manual as your targeting type, then fine tune by selecting Product Targeting instead of Keyword Targeting.



Why bother with one more type of campaign?

“I don’t have the time or energy to create and manage more ads.” This is no longer a good enough argument to ignore new advertising opportunities. Here are 5 reasons why you should care:


Reason #1: Competition

Amazon has become more and more competitive and it’s often a challenge to scale PPC with stale strategies. Gone are the days when one auto and one manual campaign would suffice. Unless you are prepared to lose a lot of money on higher bids, we strongly recommend adding more, not less to your arsenal of ad types. More horses in the race will bring you more sales.


Reason #2: Buyer Behavior

Also, do realize that not every buyer starts their search by typing a keyword. Some people get enticed into buying a product just by browsing Amazon’s categories, suggestions and recommendations. So far you have targeted keywords, it’s time now to target the whole product.


Reason #3: Real Estate

Any reason why you wouldn’t want to get more real estate on product detail pages? The more exposure you get, the better off you are. Especially when that extra exposure is coming from highly relevant products and categories of your choosing. Letting that inventory go means you are ok with giving up that space to a competitor - probably even a Chinese brand with higher margins.


Reason #4: Saturation

When you simply target keywords, you are faced with competition and many of the keywords you know are relevant for your product are already “taken”. Many keyword markets are getting saturated and crowded. On the other hand, product targeting is still a green field.


Reason #5: Highly Targeted

These ads are highly targeted, since they bring traffic coming from products or categories YOU picked, and know are relevant. In a sense this traffic is pre-vetted at the time you designed the ad. Positioning them on heavily trafficked competitor pages can help you ride on their coattails.


The only downside to these ads is that they have a considerably lower CTR as compared to other ads that show up in more prominent locations. Which might be an OK tradeoff given how little you need to invest in them in terms of adjustment and management. Think of this as a way to accumulate steady, extra income on the side!


Need help setting up your Product Targeting ads and don’t know where to start?

PPC Ninja can help you! Our Amazon Accredited experts can help you get started in no time and see results like these below.


Did this post spark your curiosity or trigger a question? Comment below or email us at support@ppcninja.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Amazon PPC can be complex, but once you master it, you are going to have fun! PPC Ninja is now offering a FREE 6-week PPC Mastermind to all Amazon sellers. If your monthly ad sales are above 500 USD, we invite you to join us on this 6-week deep dive into Amazon PPC. Click here for details.


Recent Posts

See All
bottom of page