Why Ad Impressions Matter on Amazon

Ad impressions are one of the go-to metrics among marketers and business owners when it comes to gauging the success of ad campaigns.

What does ad impressions mean? Just as important, how can one use it as a tool to get good ROI on your Amazon ad spend? We’ll tackle all that and offer a few actionable tips to drive sales.

What are Ad Impressions?

This is a metric in digital marketing, measuring the number of times an ad is displayed on a platform. Specifically on Amazon, ad impressions occur every time your ad appears in front of a user, whether it’s on the:

Search results page
Product detail page
Specific category listing

The importance of online ad impressions as a performance metric is highlighted by comparisons within the retail media landscape.

In Q1 2024, data from Sensor Tower revealed that Walmart led the retail media network with 11 billion impressions, outpacing its closest competitor, Target, which had fewer than 7 billion.

Top Retail Media Retailers by Impressions (Source – Sensor Tower)

However, it’s essential to note that this comparison excludes Amazon, which is projected to dominate 77% of retail media spending in 2024.

How Do Ad Impressions Work?

When you create an ad campaign on Amazon, your ad is set to appear in various placements. An impression is counted every time your ad is displayed on a user’s screen, regardless of whether the user interacts with it.

The mechanism behind ad impressions involves a complex algorithm that determines which ads are shown to which users. This algorithm considers several factors, including:

Ad relevance to the user’s query
Bid amount you’ve set for specific keywords
Ad content quality

Higher bids and more relevant ads are more likely to secure a top spot in the search results, leading to more impressions.

How are Ad Impressions Counted?

Amazon logs in every time the system fetches and displays your ad to a user. This logging activity remains consistent, whether they’re using a desktop, tablet or mobile phone.

That said, should an Amazon seller know how to calculate ad impressions? Not really. Rather than a manual calculation, ad impressions are automatically recorded by Amazon’s system each time your ad is displayed to a user.

Amazon’s system counts an impression even if the user does not scroll down far enough to see the ad physically, as long as the ad was loaded on the page. This ensures that all potential views are recorded, giving advertisers a broad view of their ad’s exposure.

However, the ad must meet certain criteria before it’s counted as a valid impression—such as being loaded successfully on the page without errors.

The Importance of Ad Impressions

Increased Visibility

Ad impressions measure how often your ad is displayed, which directly correlates with your brand’s visibility. The more impressions your ad generates, the more opportunities you have to make your brand known to a wider audience.

That said, being visible to your audience means you have a chance to lead them through the sales funnel.

Foundation for Measuring Campaign Success

As illustrated in this image by Semrush, ad impressions are the good metric to measure the effectivity of an awareness campaign at the top of the marketing funnel:

Ad Impressions vs. Reach vs. Clicks (Source – Semrush)

Think of it as the first step to sustained brand awareness, keeping your products top-of-mind for potential customers.

Even if users don’t immediately click on your ad, repeated exposure through multiple impressions can build familiarity and trust. With this strategy, you’ll increase the chances for future engagement.

When analyzed alongside other metrics like clicks, impressions help you understand the relationship between ad impressions vs. clicks.

This ad impressions vs clicks comparison is crucial for identifying whether your ad is resonating with your audience, or if adjustments are needed.

Driving Growth Through Targeted Exposure

By optimizing your campaigns to generate more relevant impressions, you can drive growth by reaching the right audience. The more targeted your impressions, the higher the likelihood of converting those views into clicks and sales.

This targeted exposure helps you better allocate your advertising budget. In doign so, you’ll ensur that those most likely to be interested in your products will see your ads

How to Find Ad Impressions

Here’s a step-by-step guide on accessing ad impressions data on Amazon Ads:

Log into Your Amazon Advertising Account.
Once logged in, go to the Campaign Manager. This is where you can view all your active and past campaigns.
Choose the specific campaign or ad group you want to analyze.
You’ll find a column labeled “Impressions.” This column shows the total number of times your ads have been displayed to users within the selected time frame.
You can find the impressions for sponsored products on the targeting report.
For sponsored brands, meanwhile, you can see the impressions on the keyword report.

Viewing Amazon Ad Impressions (screenshot from Amazon Ads video)

Selecting the Best Impressions to Track

Not all impressions are equally valuable. Here’s how to identify and prioritize the most important ones:

Focus on High-Relevance Keywords

Start by analyzing impressions generated from keywords that are highly relevant to your products. High-relevance keywords typically lead to higher engagement, as they match the search intent of your target audience.

Prioritizing these impressions can help you better understand how effectively your ads are reaching your ideal customers.

Actionable Tip. If certain high-relevance keywords are generating few impressions, consider adjusting your bids or refining your ad copy to increase ad impressions.

Analyze Ad Impressions and Clicks

Look for keywords or ad placements with a good balance of impressions and clicks. If you notice a high number of impressions but low clicks, it could indicate that your ad is being shown but not engaging users effectively.

This is a sign that you may need to troubleshoot Amazon campaigns by revising your ad content, improving visuals, or testing new headlines.

Actionable Tip. Track the impressions that correlate with higher click-through rates (CTR), as these are more likely to lead to conversions. Additionally, if you want to know how to increase impressions, consider expanding your keyword list to include relevant long-tail keywords, or adjusting your bids for competitive search terms that drive more visibility.

Identify Seasonal or Trending Keywords

Impressions can vary based on seasonality or trending topics. Track impressions for keywords that are seasonally relevant or currently trending to capitalize on temporary spikes in demand.

This approach can help you increase ad impressions when it matters most, such as during peak shopping seasons or around major events.

Actionable Tip. Adjust your bids and budgets to maximize impressions during these high-traffic periods.

Using Impression Data to Boost Sales

To be able to harness the power of impression, you must know how to use them properly. Here are ways to leverage this data for business growth:

Analyze Data to Refine Targeting

Examine which keywords and ad placements generate the most impressions. This data helps you identify where your ads are most visible and which audiences are seeing them.

By focusing on high-impression keywords, you can optimize your campaigns to better reach your target audience.

You can also analyze ad impressions to inform and target your conversion rate strategy.

Track Your Sponsored Ads

Use impression data as a benchmark to track your sponsored ads success. By monitoring how your impressions correlate with other metrics like clicks and conversions, you can gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns.

For instance, a steady increase in impressions sit’s ideally followed by a rise in clicks and sales, indicating a successful ad strategy.

Bear in mind, though, that not all high impressions lead to high CTRs. For instance, this data from Perpetua highlights that while high Sponsored Brands impressions were recorded in 2022 to 2023, clicks weren’t able to keep up.

Amazon Sponsored Brands Impressions and Clicks (Source – Perpetua)

Adjust Bidding Strategies

Focus on ad impressions that are more likely to lead to conversions. Increase bids on keywords or placements that consistently generate high-quality impressions. You’ll capture more of those prime viewing opportunities and boost your ad’s effectiveness.

Optimize Ad Content

Impression data patterns can reveal valuable trends and insights. These are very useful especially when the trends it shows are not immediately obvious.

For example, if certain ad creatives consistently generate more impressions, it might indicate that the messaging or visuals resonate well with your target audience.

Leverage this information to improve your ad content.

The Bottom Line

Amazon ad impressions are more than just a simple metric. If you know how to fully use it to your advantage, it can help you track the success of your campaigns, optimize your content for better performance, and enhance your bidding strategy.

If you need guidance in boosting your business, reach out to AMZ Advisers. Our expert consulting services will expand your brand presence across multiple Amazon markets, setting them up for long-term e-commerce success.

Author

Carla Bauto Deña is a journalist and content writer producing stories for traditional and digital media. She believes in empowering small businesses with the help of innovative solutions, such as e-commerce and digital marketing.

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