A sales funnel is a term that illustrates the shopping journey of a customer before they make a purchase. Unless it is an impulse buy, most shoppers will be exposed to an ad that creates awareness about a product, they might then compare one or more similar products to determine which one works best for them. And finally they will get very specific about their exact requirements and settle for one that checks all the boxes. Let's explore the three broad stages of the funnel
Top of Funnel
Imagine the shape of a funnel. It is broad at the top and narrow at the bottom, suggesting that a lot of shoppers might enter a sales funnel out of curiosity, but very few of them go further along to actually make a purchase. The top of the funnel is the awareness building phase when you can show ads that make people aware about a product or brand. These ad types include:
Audience targeting through DSP and Sponsored Display ads
Category targeting ads
Broad match targeting for short tail keywords that shoppers might be browsing for ideas (eg. "kitchen items", "room decor")
Branded keyword targeting
Middle of Funnel
This represents the consideration building phase where a shopper might be actively looking for products similar to yours. By showing your ads in a timely manner, you have a chance of luring shoppers away from a competitor's funnel into your own. This can be achieved through:
In-market audience targeting with DSP or Sponsored Display
Contextual targeting (Product Targeting) on products that are similar to yours with SP, SB, SD or SBV ads
Keywords that include competitor brand names
Sponsored Brands Video, Store spotlight ads
Bottom of Funnel
This phase represents shoppers who are checking out minute details and verifying if the product fully meets their requirements. This phase of the funnel brings them closest to a conversion. It also represents that sub-section of the target audience that perhaps already purchased from you in the past and is now looking for something new. Targeting the bottom of the funnel can be achieved through:
Long tail keywords that capture specific buyer intent (eg. color, size etc.)
View remarketing
Purchase remarketing
Branded keyword targeting
What is the Full Funnel Advertising Strategy?
With millions of shoppers in different stages of the funnel, some ready to buy and some ready to learn more, it is best if you constantly serve ads that meet them where they are. One of the ways to do this is to deploy every ad type that Amazon offers, setting aside budgets appropriately.
Note that top of funnel ads tend to be more expensive than bottom of funnel ads, since shoppers may not be ready to buy just yet, but will click your ad out of curiosity, driving your ACoS up. Knowing this will help you bid right for every phase of the funnel.
Watch this video where Norm Farrar and Ritu Java discuss the full funnel approach in a bit more depth.
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