What are Headline Search Ads?
Amazon Marketing Services provides vendors with a robust dashboard to gauge impressions, clicks, considerations, sales, and more. This gives vendors the information they need so they can make the appropriate bid adjustments, revamp their creative approach or add / remove keywords.
As seen in the example below, Headline Search is the AMS banner advertising on Amazon located in prominent placement above the search results.
Headline Search is based on the ability to capture search intent and go after specific searches with a combination of a graphic and a text based ad.
Where Do Headline Search Ads Drive Traffic to?
Retailers can drive traffic from their Headline Search ad to:
An Amazon Branded Page (see below example)
- Best-selling products
- A Custom URL
Pro-Tip: One of the key strategies to remember when using Headline Search Ads is to match keyword intent with the landing page that you are driving traffic to.
Best-selling products must be specific to a category that you sell in. If you sell in multiple categories, you can decide which category you want to send your traffic to.
Custom URLs must send to a SERP with at least 3 products that you sell.
What Is The Goal of Headline Search Ads?
The goal of Headline Search Ads is to allow brands to create keyword targeted ad campaigns to drive traffic to product detail pages or branded storefronts. Headline search ads are most valuable to vendors who want to drive traffic to their retail brand page and target ads by keywords through high visibility placement in the search results.
The golden rule here is to reduce friction for your shoppers and drive traffic based on keywords to put the most relevant products in front of them.
As seen in this AMS Strategy for Amazon Vendors video, if someone searches “Burton snowboarding gear” and you have a Headline Search Ad created – it would make sense to drive traffic to a Burton branded storefront page.
Judging by the search query you can anticipate the shopper knows they want “Burton” branded gear but, they don’t know exactly what type of gear they want just yet (including boots, hats, jacket, etc).
In contrast, a search for “Burton snowboarding boots” shows more specific intent. If you sent them to the same branded storefront page (as in the previous example)- they would have to continue to dig for the boots they want – scrolling through hats, jackets and other unqualified products.
This is “creating friction” and making the customer re-find the product that they want. For shoppers further down the funnel, with more specific search intent, you should send them to a customized URL that only shows them “Best Selling” Burton boots.
Headline Search Ads utilize Ad Copy (Sponsored Search and Display Ads only drive off of the product content you’re advertising). What we’ve found is that the text in the ad copy should match the keywords that are the MOST important for your product to increase relevancy and improve your opportunity for click through.
The advertising cost of sale for Headline Search ads is typically a little higher but in our experience, this pays off with an increase in organic sales. Historically, Amazon vendors are brand manufacturers, which means they have marketing budgets to spend on increasing their visibility.
Where Should Retailers Drive Headline Search Traffic To?
We spoke with 3 Amazon marketing experts at CPC Strategy to find out where (in their experience) they have seen the most impact driving Headline Search ads to.
“Retailer’s can use (3) ASINs to essentially create a custom landing page.As long as you have at least 3 products, you can do it.”
“This is more suited for targeted searches where it makes sense to show a specific slate of products as opposed to a more general brand page.”- Pat Petriello, Senior Marketplace Strategist
“Custom URLs work well for brands and private labels only. Retailers can enter a custom URL as the destination for a headline search ad.
“However, if they apply a filter in that URL to narrow search results by the seller, AMS does not accept the URL. In short, if you are sharing with other sellers this tactic could drive traffic to their sales.”
– Nick Sandberg, Marketplace Channel Analyst
“You can customize a URL by separating the ASINs with the vertical pipe within the SERP. In my experience, the Headline Search Ads that display your branded page generates more conversions.”
“My thought is why send a consumer to a page with six or so products when you can direct someone to a branded page, showcasing your best sellers and make things a little more personable? Also you can link your FB and other social media outlets to the branded page, which can help capture new consumers to those channels to then market to them. For the same CPC, typically branded page converts a lot more.”
– Jared Bucci, Marketplace Channel Analyst