Rob Timmermann

Your Complete Guide to Google and Amazon’s PPC Advertising Prices

Curious about how PPC advertising prices change from platform-to-platform? Well, wonder no more! Keep reading as we cover everything you need to know.  

How Much Does PPC Cost on Google?

On average, the cost-per-click (CPC) for Google search ads is approximately $2.69, while Google’s Performance Max campaigns (PMax) have an average CPC of around $0.63. It’s worth noting several different factors—like competition, keyword choices, and quality score—can contribute to either higher or lower PPC advertising prices. 

Understanding the Bidding Process for Google’s Ads

Google Ads operates on a bidding system where advertisers can choose from a few different strategies and pricing models when it comes to ad placement:  

Google Adwords Pricing Models

  • CPC (Cost-Per-Click): Pay for each click on your ad.
  • CPM (Cost-Per-Thousand-Impressions): Pay for every thousand ad impressions.
  • CPE (Cost-Per-Engagement): Pay when users interact with your ad in predefined ways.

Google PPC Strategies

  • Search Ads: These are text-based advertisements displayed alongside search results on a Google search results page.
  • Display Ads: Display ads are image-based and are shown on web pages, blogs, and other forms of content within the Google Display Network.
  • Shopping Campaigns: Shopping campaigns appear on search results and the Google shopping tab.
  • Smart Campaigns: Smart campaigns take the hard work out of audience segmentation, with an algorithm choosing who sees your ad plus the content and landing page. 
  • Pmax Campaigns: Performance Max, or “PMax” is a new campaign type that lets advertisers access all Google Ads inventory from a single campaign. 

How Much Does Amazon PPC Cost?

Amazon PPC costs vary, but on average, sellers can expect to pay between $0.15 to $6 per click. It’s important to note this figure is just an average, and actual costs may fluctuate based on your niche, campaign objectives, and budget allocation.

Understanding Amazon’s PPC Process

Similar to Google, with Amazon PPC, sellers are charged each time a potential customer clicks and views their ad. Before diving into how much Amazon PPC costs, we should cover the metrics used to measure your campaign performance: 

  • Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS): ACoS represents the percentage of attributed sales spent on advertising. It’s calculated by dividing total ad spend by attributed sales. For instance, if you spent $4 on advertising, resulting in attributed sales of $20, your ACoS would be 20% (i.e., $4/$20 = 0.20).
  • Attributed Sales: This metric encompasses the total product sales generated within one week of clicks on your ads. Sales data may take up to 48 hours to populate, and as a result, it may not be immediately available in the ‘Today’ date range. You can access individual sales totals for advertised products and other products in the Campaign Performance report.
  • Impressions: Impressions denote the number of times your ads were displayed to users. It’s important to note that it may take up to three days to remove invalid clicks from your reports. Therefore, clicks from the last three days might be subject to adjustment due to click invalidation.
  • Clicks: Clicks indicate the number of times users clicked on your ads. Similar to impressions, it may take up to three days to remove invalid clicks from your reports. As a result, clicks from the last three days may be adjusted due to click invalidation.

Different Types of Amazon Sponsored Ads

There’s three types of ads on the amazon platform—Sponsored Product ads, Sponsored Brand ads, and Sponsored Display ads—attributed to 77%, 39%, and 30% of Amazon’s PPC, respectively. 

1. Sponsored Products Ads

Sponsored Products ads are the most prevalent form of Amazon PPC advertising. When creating Sponsored Products ads, sellers have the option to employ two distinct keyword targeting strategies: automatic targeting and manual targeting.

  • Automatic Targeting: In automatic targeting, Amazon‘s algorithm selects keywords it deems relevant to the seller’s product listing. Over time, Amazon refines these ads based on shopper behavior data, optimizing them to enhance listing visibility and drive conversions.
    • Close Match Ads: Target search terms closely related to the advertised product.
    • Loose Match Ads: Target keywords loosely related to the product.
    • Substitutes: Target shoppers considering similar products from different brands.
    • Complements: Target shoppers viewing detail pages of products that complement the advertised product.
  • Manual Targeting: Manual targeting involves sellers hand-selecting specific keywords to bid on. Ads generated through manual targeting only appear when a shopper’s search terms align with the chosen keywords. While more labor-intensive, manual targeting allows for greater control over ad performance and long-term cost optimization.

2. Sponsored Brands Ads

Formerly known as “headline search ads,” Sponsored Brands ads enable sellers to promote multiple products simultaneously and captivate shoppers with visually compelling content. These ads offer three formats, including headline banners at the top of search results and videos further down the page.

  • Product Collection Ads: Feature the brand’s logo, tagline, and multiple products.
  • Store Spotlight Ads: Highlight the brand’s store and key products.
  • Video Ads: Showcase a single product through a 15-30 second video.

3. Sponsored Display Ads

Sponsored Display ads facilitate retargeting of customers who have visited product detail pages, both on and off Amazon. Unlike Sponsored Products and Brands ads, Sponsored Display ads can appear on Amazon’s affiliate sites, including Google, Facebook, Netflix, and mobile apps. These ads require sellers to have a registered brand to utilize them effectively.

Take the Guesswork out of PPC Bidding Strategies

Having trouble appearing in search results? Take the guesswork out of AdWords with PPC management services from Timmermann Group. Our team of Amazon and Google Ad-certified strategists craft campaigns that optimize your investment, ensuring you reach your target audience.

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