Amazon Advertising Controversies
I was gathering some controversies by asking AI, and this is what it came up with. I think it’s an interesting read!
Amazon advertising has its fair share of controversies, especially among sellers, agencies, and Amazon itself. Here are some hot topics that stir debate:
๐ญ. ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ (๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ & ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป)
Many sellers complain that Amazon’s PPC costs keep increasing, making it harder for small businesses to compete. Some believe Amazon intentionally hikes bids to push more ad spend.
๐ฎ. ๐ข๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐. ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ (๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐-๐๐ผ-๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น)
Some argue Amazon is making organic ranking almost impossible without heavy PPC spending, essentially forcing sellers to “pay to play.”
๐ฏ. ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ (๐๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ & ๐๐ผ๐๐)
Competitors use click fraud bots to drain ad budgets, artificially increasing CPCs, and sabotaging campaigns. Amazonโs ability (or inability) to detect this is widely debated.
๐ฐ. ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป’๐ ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐
Many claim that Amazon gives bigger brands better placements, lower CPCs, and even direct support, while small sellers struggle despite spending heavily on ads.
๐ฑ. ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ & ๐จ๐ป๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐
Sellers frequently notice unexplained overcharges in their PPC reports. Some suspect Amazon is not fully transparent about how budgets are spent.
๐ฒ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐
Auto campaigns sometimes bid aggressively on irrelevant keywords, wasting ad spend. Amazon’s “AI-driven” targeting is often questioned.
๐ณ. ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ & ๐ข๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ (๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ-๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป)
If a product ranks organically for a keyword, sellers often have to run ads for the same keyword to keep the placement. This forces sellers to “compete with themselves” unnecessarily.
๐ด. ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ ๐๐. ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ (๐จ๐ป๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ?)
Some believe Amazon pushes DSP (Demand-Side Platform) as a more powerful tool, giving an advantage to high-budget advertisers while limiting PPC-based sellers.
๐ต. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐น๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Many sellers believe Amazon spends their daily PPC budget too aggressively in the morning, leading to lost impressions in peak hours. The exact budget pacing algorithm remains unclear.
๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด & ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
The 14-day attribution window often leads to confusion, with sellers unsure whether a sale came from organic traffic or PPC. Some suspect Amazon misattributes sales to ads to increase ad spend.
#AmazonAdvertising #PPC #EcommerceMarketing #AmazonSellers #AmazonFBA #DigitalMarketing #PaidAds #AIinMarketing #AdTech
