Online marketplaces: even if you are not yet familiar with the term, chances are you are one of the many people who use it en masse. An online marketplace is an (e-commerce) platform where external companies have the opportunity to place, sell and advertise their products.

Think of Bol.com or Marktplaats - Easily the two most famous and/or used online marketplaces in the Netherlands! Although these channels also offer great opportunities for many online retailers, in this blog we will focus on the big newcomer to the Dutch market - Amazon!

Continue reading this blog to find out what selling and advertising on Amazon entails and how it can really boost your business's online performance!

What is Amazon?

Amazon is a global e-commerce platform that consumers can turn to buy books, music, movies, household goods, electronics, toys and many other products. Amazon is known as one of the largest and most popular e-commerce platforms in the world.

If you live in The Netherlands, you may have heard the name in recent months or you may already be using Amazon's streaming service "Amazon Prime Video". Whatever it may be, chances are that the e-commerce giant will increasingly position itself in the international market.

With a vast reach (47% market share in the US and UK and 31% market share in Germany), it is an ideal place for companies to showcase their products, build brand awareness and drive sales.

Although consumers here have been able to use the Dutch version of Amazon for a while, it was only possible to order e-books there at first. Since March 10, 2020, the platform has been completely renewed and you can now also buy physical products.

Good news for all Dutch e-commerce companies!

But what are the benefits of selling and advertising on Amazon? And how can your company respond to this? Read on for all the answers!

Why you should use Amazon

Amazon is new to many companies in the Netherlands. This means that a large number of brands and companies are still hesitating whether Amazon is the right platform for selling and promoting their products. Below we have listed the 4 main reasons for selling and advertising on Amazon!

1. People go to Amazon to buy

Shoppers come to online marketplaces like Amazon with the intention of making a purchase. For example, even 73% of Dutch online shoppers, according to a report by Wunderman Thompson, start their search at an online marketplace.

This is in contrast to platforms like Google, Facebook and Instagram, where users also come for entertainment or information searches. Although nowadays these platforms are increasingly being used to make direct purchases, the stage within the customer journey in which the users may be can differ a lot. 

2. Easily reach new customers 

In many of the countries where Amazon has already established itself, the platform has taken on the role of a “search engine for finding and buying products”. Even now, 13% of Dutch online shoppers would start their customer journey at Amazon's German domain.

We can probably expect that Amazon will also have a major impact on the customer journey of the Dutch consumer, once the platform has positioned itself well in the market here.

In general, Dutch consumers make more monthly purchases (5.85 times) on online marketplaces than on any other platform. This is even higher than the global average number of monthly purchases (4.91 times). This makes Amazon an ideal channel for businesses to reach new (and existing) customers for their products.

3. Increase visibility on other search engines

If you search for products on Google, you will most likely find a hit from Amazon on the first or second page of the search results. Quite good, considering Amazon has only just entered the Dutch market.
Due to the organic visibility of Amazon, it is therefore more likely that your products will be shown earlier in Google's search results.

4. Advertising possibilities

In addition to helping your products stand out organically, one of the best ways to leverage the full power of Amazon is to take advantage of its advertising options! With its wide reach in consumer markets, it is a unique channel for advertising specific products, increasing your brand awareness and boosting your sales!

How advertising on Amazon works

When it comes to creating and managing campaigns, advertising on Amazon is not that different from what we are used to with Google Ads. Amazon itself is a search engine and sponsored products work basically in the same way as text ads in Google Search.

So the basic steps are pretty much the same: you create your ad, define your keywords and set your bids. As soon as a consumer enters one of the keywords on Amazon, your ad will enter an "ad auction" with other advertisers who also bid on the same keyword. The highest bid on the keyword has the best chance of winning the auction.

You can also automatically create ads on Amazon, based on product information. You can compare this with the Smart Shopping ads from Google. However, it is recommended to use these ads in combination with "standard" campaigns so that you remain in control.

One thing that makes advertising on Amazon unique, as opposed to advertising on Google or social media, is the ability to really engage with users' purchasing behaviour. Amazon is a search engine and a webshop in one - so they have a lot of data about what people are buying right now and what their next purchase might be.

In short, these are some of the most commonly used Amazon ad formats:

• Amazon Sponsored ads
  Sponsored Products are CPC ads that promote individual product listings on Amazon. Sponsored Products appear above or below the search results page, as well as on other product pages, and largely look like normal search results.
  

• Amazon Sponsored Brand ads
  Sponsored Brands ads are CPC ads with your brand logo, a custom headline and up to 3 products. You can customise the headline to highlight what makes your brand unique and showcase examples of your product selection. Use Sponsored Brands to increase visibility and determine how you want to present your brand to customers.
  

• Amazon Sponsored Display ads
  Sponsored display ads are also CPC ads and are similar to Google's Display ads, and are displayed on product pages of similar products or those of competitors. These ads do not use keyword targeting, but rather interest or product targeting. These ads can be seen at the bottom of search results pages, on product pages, on customer review pages, and at the top of Amazon offer pages.
  

Over to you

Those were, in short, some of the most important things to know about selling and advertising on Amazon. The international brand name and growth potential of the platform can also offer your company a great opportunity to boost online performance. Be sure to keep an eye on our blog for more tips and strategies on how to advertise on Amazon!

Are you wondering if advertising on Amazon is a good step for your company? Contact our experts and find out!