Google Ads vs Amazon Ads: Which one is right for your business?

The eCommerce landscape has undergone a dramatic shift. Gone are the days of clear distinctions between Google, Amazon, and Meta. Today, the lines between search, commerce, and social are rapidly blurring.

New players like TikTok are shaking things up, inspiring the established giants to rethink their strategies and their place in the customer journey. As a result, companies like Google and Amazon are engaged in a three-way battle, fighting for product discovery, product search, and product purchase.

As a result, the traditional marketing funnel has completely shattered. The big tech companies are all locked in a fierce struggle to dominate the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to final purchase.

So, how can you leverage the strengths of both Google Ads and Amazon Ads in your digital marketing strategies? This article will cover these two ad platforms, exploring their ideal use cases, and the potential benefits of a combined approach.

Google Ads vs. Amazon Ads: The main differences

In the past, the choice between Google Ads and Amazon Ads was a simpler one. eCommerce brands with a focus on Amazon sales primarily relied on Amazon Ads to reach their target audience. Conversely, brands with their own direct-to-consumer (D2C) stores found Google Ads to be the more effective platform at driving traffic and sales.

However, the rise of omnichannel retail strategies has blurred these lines. Many eCommerce brands now have an online D2C store, a brick-and-mortar retail store, and list their products on one or several online marketplaces.

Today, many brands leverage both Google Ads and Amazon Ads to maximize their reach and sales potential. Each platform offers unique advantages, and understanding these differences is crucial for allocating your budget accordingly and crafting a successful advertising strategy.

Here's a quick breakdown of the key differences between Google Ads and Amazon Ads:

Targeting

Google Ads: Wider audience reach; targets users across the internet based on demographics, interests, and online behavior.

Amazon Ads: Targets users based on their browsing and purchase history within the Amazon ecosystem.

Campaign focus

Google Ads: Broader range of campaign types for various marketing objectives (brand awareness, website traffic, lead acquisition).

Amazon Ads: Primarily focuses on driving sales within the Amazon marketplace, but there are also brand awareness campaign options.

Bidding strategies

Google Ads: Offers automated and manual bidding options. Examples of automated bidding include Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) and Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend), while manual bidding allows for setting maximum bids for clicks or impressions.

Amazon Ads: Amazon Ads also offers both automated and manual bidding options. Automated biddings allows the algorithm to adjust bids in real time based on the likelihood of conversion. Manual bidding allows for setting a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) for your ads.

Campaign optimization

Google Ads: Uses AI and machine learning algorithms for campaign optimization (e.g. Performance Max campaigns leverage automation to deliver ads across channels).

Amazon Ads: Offers some automation tools, such as rule-based bidding, but less focus on AI-driven optimization compared to Google Ads.

Benefits of combining Google Ads and Amazon Ads

By now, it's clear that Google Ads and Amazon Ads offer distinct advantages. But the true magic happens when you use them together. Here's how combining these platforms can significantly elevate your eCommerce marketing strategy:

Capture potential customers throughout the buying journey

The lines between browsing and buying are more fluid than ever. Customers can seamlessly switch between researching on Google and browsing on Amazon. This presents a unique opportunity to capture users at various touchpoints throughout their buying journey, regardless of where they initiate their search.

Boost brand awareness and consideration

Google Ads excels at reaching a broad audience across various websites and platforms. By running brand awareness display campaigns with engaging visuals and messaging, you can introduce your brand and products to potential customers who might not be actively searching for them on Amazon. This strategy helps build brand recognition and consideration, making your products more likely to be chosen when customers finally reach the Amazon marketplace.

Maximize sales potential

As we mentioned earlier, the traditional marketing funnel is a thing of the past. Today's consumers casually switch between browsing and buying on Google Shopping and Amazon. Often, they will check out on the platform offering the most user friendly experience, or the best deal. Both product listing on Amazon Ads and Google Shopping ads allow you to strategically position your products in front of high-intent shoppers actively browsing for similar items.

3 best practices when running Google Ads and Amazon Ads

If you’re reading this article, then chances are you’re already using either Google or Amazon Ads. If you’re planning to incorporate both into your advertising strategy, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Optimize your products listings

When shoppers click on your Amazon or Google Shopping ads, they're primed to make a purchase. They've already shown interest in your product, and your product detail page is your prime opportunity to convert this interest into a sale - whether that’s on Amazon or your website. That’s why it's crucial to invest in the quality of your product information as detail pages directly impact your ad performance. Compelling product titles, easy-to-digest benefits and features, and high-quality images all go a long way to boosting conversions.

Channable’s Feed Management tool keeps your product information up-to-date and consistent across all of your platforms, including Amazon and Google Shopping. With Channable, you can save time and resources by creating and managing all your product feeds in one place.

2. Create hyper-relevant ads

Craft ad copy that speaks directly to the user's search query, and sse relevant keywords and highlight benefits that address their specific needs. Whether it’s for Google Display Ads or Amazon’s Sponsored Brands, make sure to use high-quality visuals to grab attention. Also consider including limited-time promotions or special offers in your ads to boost the chance of
conversions.

You can also create eye-catching visuals for your ad campaigns at scale with Channable's Dynamic Image Editor. This allows you to generate countless variations featuring real-time sale prices, special discounts, or new stock notifications - all directly from your product data. With the image editor, you can eliminate manual image editing and save valuable time while creating multiple ad variations for your campaigns.

3. Use automation to improve ad performance

Amazon also allows you to set rules to increase your Sponsored Products campaign budgets when your campaigns meet a certain performance threshold using campaign performance metrics such as advertising cost of sales (ACoS), click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate (CVR).

Channable’s PPC tool with campaign and keyword automation rules enables you to set up rules that will automatically, add or remove keywords, move keywords between campaigns, or blacklist certain keywords based on specific criteria.

Launch Google Ads and Amazon Ads with Channable

Stop wondering if a new channel is right for you and start testing! Channable makes it easy to add channels like Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and more to your marketing mix. Set up and manage everything from a single platform, so you can see what works best for your business without a big investment. Why limit yourself to just Google Ads? Test the waters of Amazon Ads and other channels with Channable. Sign up for a free trial today.