Amazon Sponsored Display Ad: A Complete Guide to Boost Sales

What is an Amazon Sponsored Display ad, and why should sellers pay attention to it? In this guide, Megaficus walks you through why and how to use it effectively, no matter the size of your budget!

What Are Amazon Sponsored Display Ads?

Amazon Sponsored Display ads are self-service advertising solutions that let sellers promote their products both on and off Amazon using precise targeting options. These options are designed to reach shoppers at different stages of their buying journey.

The ads are also retail-aware, meaning they only appear when your products are in stock or hold the Buy Box, which helps control ad spend while improving conversion chances.

Amazon’s Sponsored Display ads can show up both on Amazon’s platform and beyond it. On Amazon, shoppers may see them on the homepage, in search results, on product detail pages, in customer reviews, and among related items or categories. 

Beyond Amazon, you can find these ads on third-party websites and apps, including Twitch and IMDb, as well as on Fire TV devices and Fire tablets.

Benefits Of Sponsored Display Ads

Amazon Sponsored Display Ads are designed to improve visibility, attract the right audience, and drive more sales. Below are some key advantages of using Sponsored Display Ads:

Targeted Advertising to Boost Sales and Conversions

Sponsored Display Ads make it possible to reach shoppers based on their behavior, interests, and shopping history. You can show your ads to people who have viewed similar products, browsed related categories, or visited your own product pages. 

In addition, you can place ads directly on competitor product listings, which helps you capture the attention of customers who are actively searching for those products.

Broaden Reach And Enhance Brand Visibility

Your ads can appear both on Amazon and third-party platforms, which helps your products reach a wider audience. Also, consistent exposure across various platforms helps build brand recognition and trust, making it more likely that shoppers will choose your products when they are ready to make a purchase.

Cost-Effective Advertising

Sponsored Display Ads use a cost-per-click (CPC) model, meaning you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This approach helps you spend your budget efficiently, ensuring that you invest only in shoppers who have shown genuine interest in your products instead of paying for views that may not convert.

How Do Amazon Sponsored Display Ads Work?

Sponsored Display ads use shopping signals rather than keywords for targeting. Amazon tracks what customers view, purchase, or add to their cart, then uses this data to recommend products that match their interests.

Sellers choose a targeting tactic and place a bid. The highest bid wins the placement, and the ad may appear as a banner, widget, or video across Amazon or partner sites.

Sponsored Display ads use a cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand viewable impressions (vCPM model), meaning you only pay when someone clicks or views the ad.

Note: Amazon recommends starting with a daily budget of around $40 to generate meaningful results.

Amazon Sponsored Display Ad Targeting Options

Megaficus shows you how to use targeting options to make your Sponsored Display ads more effective.

Contextual Targeting

When using contextual targeting, sellers can choose between ASIN targeting and category targeting. Each option works in a slightly different way:

ASIN Targeting

With ASIN targeting, your ads are shown to shoppers who are viewing products that are the same or very similar to yours. This increases the chance that they will also notice your product. 

When a shopper clicks on the ad, they are taken directly to your product detail page, where they can learn more and complete a purchase. This method is especially useful for encouraging additional sales.

Category Targeting

Category targeting allows your ads to appear to shoppers browsing within the same or related product categories. This makes it easier for potential buyers to come across your products while exploring similar options. 

You can refine this targeting further by applying filters such as price range, customer reviews, brand, or Prime shipping eligibility, ensuring your ads reach the most relevant audience.

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting helps sellers connect with new shoppers or re-engage those who have already shown interest in their products. With this method, ads can be tailored to specific groups of customers, making it easier to highlight the right products to the right audience. This type of advertising is often referred to as remarketing.

Views Remarketing

View remarketing targets shoppers who have visited a particular product detail page within a certain time frame. It is designed to remind these customers of the product, encourage them to complete their purchase, and even bring back those who abandoned their carts.

Sellers can choose lookback windows of 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days to retarget shoppers who viewed their products or similar items.

Purchases Remarketing

Purchases remarketing focuses on customers based on their previous buying behavior. This strategy is useful for encouraging repeat purchases, improving customer loyalty, promoting cross-sells, and attracting new buyers. 

Sellers can select lookback periods of 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 180, or 365 days to reach shoppers who bought their products or related ones during that time.

Amazon Audiences 

Amazon creates audience groups based on customers’ shopping behavior and their activity on streaming or content platforms. These groups are divided into four main types: in-market, lifestyle, interests, and life events:

• In-Marke: In-market audiences include shoppers whose past behavior shows they are actively looking to buy products from a certain category.
• Lifestyle: Lifestyle audiences consist of customers who demonstrate consistent habits or preferences, such as frequently purchasing home items on Amazon or regularly watching shows on Prime Video.
• Interests: Interest-based audiences are formed from shoppers who share similar interests, which Amazon identifies using browsing and purchasing data.
• Life Events: Life events audiences include customers whose purchases reflect significant moments in their lives, such as moving to a new home.

Costs And Budgeting For Sponsored Display Ads

Sponsored Display ads do not require a minimum spending limit, so you can set a budget that works best for your business. There are two main ways you may be charged:

• The first is CPC, which means you pay each time a shopper clicks on your ad.
• The second is vCPM, which means you pay for every 1,000 times your ad is shown and can be seen by shoppers. 

In both cases, the final amount you pay depends on the bid you set along with other influencing factors.

When it comes to budgeting, Amazon recommends starting with a daily budget of around $40 to give your campaign enough room to perform and gather useful data. Over time, you can adjust the budget based on your advertising goals, overall marketing spend, and the performance of your ads.

>>> Read more: How Much Should I Spend on Amazon PPC? Smart Guide 2025

How To Create Amazon Sponsored Display Ads: Step-By-Step Guide

Creating a Sponsored Display campaign is straightforward and can be done in just a few steps. Here’s how you can set up your first campaign:

Step 1. Log in to Amazon Ads

To log in to Amazon Ads, you follow these steps:

• If you’re new, go to advertising.amazon.com, click “Sign up,” and choose an account type.
• If you already have an account, simply sign in and select Sponsored Display as your campaign type. (You may need to link your Vendor Central account if you haven’t already.)

Step 2. Create a new campaign

From the left-hand menu, select Campaign Manager, then choose Sponsored Display.

Step 3. Name your campaign

Pick a simple, clear name so you can easily identify it later. Only you will see this name.

Step 4. Set the campaign duration

It’s recommended to run campaigns without an end date so they don’t stop before you see results. Note that it may take 7–14 days for ad-driven sales to be attributed to your campaign. You can pause or restart at any time.

Step 5. Define your budget

There is no minimum spend required. You can adjust your daily budget at any time. For small and medium businesses, a daily budget of $40–$60 is recommended, with adjustments based on performance.

Step 6. Choose your bidding strategy

You can select CPC (cost-per-click) or vCPM (cost per 1,000 viewable impressions). Start with the suggested default bids (around $1 for CPC or $5 for vCPM) and adjust as you track performance.

Step 7. Create ad groups

Ad groups help organize multiple ads within a campaign. Products in the same group will share the same bid and targeting. Use clear, descriptive names for easy reference.

Step 8. Select your ad format

Choose between image or video formats to showcase your products. You can also customize ads with your brand logo, lifestyle images, or promotional badges.

Step 9. Add your products

Include at least 10 high-performing products in your campaign. Aim for items in the same category, with similar price points, positive reviews, and quality images. This gives your campaign enough variety to show relevant ads.

Step 10. Choose targeting options

Select how you want to reach shoppers:

• Contextual targeting – target relevant products or categories.
• Audience targeting – re-engage past viewers or buyers, or reach new audiences based on Amazon’s shopper insights.

For best results, combine both targeting types.

Step 11. Launch your campaign

Sponsored Display automatically builds your ads using product images, titles, ratings, Prime badge, and price. Your ads will update automatically if product details change. Once everything looks good, launch your campaign.

Tips to Optimize Sponsored Display Ads

When you set up a Sponsored Display campaign, the first big decision is what you actually want out of it. You can think about your options like:

• Go for Reach (vCPM) if your main goal is to get your brand seen. You’ll pay per 1,000 viewable impressions, which is great if you’re trying to build awareness or launch something new.
• Choose Page Visits (CPC) if you’re focused on getting shoppers to check out your product detail pages. You only pay when someone clicks, so it’s a solid choice for driving traffic.
• Optimize for Conversions (CPC) if what you really want is sales. Amazon will push your ads toward shoppers who are more likely to buy, helping you turn clicks into actual orders.

Once you’ve nailed down your goal, here are some tips that Megaficus recommends to get better results from your campaigns:

• Include multiple ASINs: Use at least 10 ASINs per campaign to increase auction wins and stay relevant to more shoppers.
• Maintain a sufficient budget: Keep campaigns running throughout the day; increase daily budget or lower bids if needed.
• Refine your targeting: Add narrower, more relevant targets instead of just lowering bids for underperforming categories.
• Promote complementary products: Add items that ads help sell or related products to capture more opportunities.
• Leverage high-performing audiences: Identify strong-performing segments, target similar audiences, or create additional campaigns with different strategies to expand reach.

Compare Amazon Sponsored Display Ads vs Other Ad Types

Besides Sponsored Display, Amazon also provides three other advertising options for brand-registered sellers: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and DSP. In this part, Megaficus shows the comparison between Amazon Sponsored Display Ads and other Amazon advertising options:

Attributes	Sponsored Products	Sponsored Brands	Sponsored Display	DSP
Powered by	Keywords	Keywords	Shopping signals	Shopping signals
Cost Structure	CPC	CPC	CPC & CPM	CPM
Can advertise	Single ASINs	Multiple products	Multiple products	Multiple products
Targeting options	Basic, limited	Basic, limited	Advanced, granular	Very advanced, granular
Brand registry	Not required	Required	Required	Not required
Placement	On Amazon	On Amazon	On & Off Amazon	On & Off Amazon
Minimum ad-spend	None	None	None	$50,000 (managed service)
Retargeting available	No	No	Yes	Yes

FAQs About Amazon Sponsored Display Ads