Amazon PPC Keyword Cannibalization and How it Impacts your Campaigns
If you’ve ever managed a PPC campaign as an Amazon seller, you might have come across the term “keyword cannibalization” or even encountered the issue yourself without realizing it. This problem is pretty common, yet it requires careful attention as many sellers on Amazon stick to only one product category, making it hard to advertise the items within and avoid the aforementioned problem at the same time.
So, what is keyword cannibalization, how does it affect your PPC campaigns and what does it take to get rid of it? Let’s find out!
What Is Keyword Cannibalization?
When it comes to marketing, keyword cannibalization stands for a situation when two (or more) similar products compete against each other as they’re using the same keywords within separate PPC campaigns.
Let’s take a look at a practical example:
Say, you’re selling computer mice: computer mouse A and computer mouse B.
These two products will definitely have common keywords, such as “computer mouse” or “wired mouse” (if that’s applicable for both, of course). And that’s not bad at all: Amazon is interested in selling as many items as possible if they fall under the buyer’s requirements. Therefore, they will do whatever it takes to place the products with the best chances of selling at the top of search results, no matter who the seller is.
So, if both of your products (in our case, mice) happen to be the best choice for purchase, both will appear in the top-of-search results. Keyword cannibalization will not be a matter here.
So when does the problem become of concern, you might ask?
Amazon Keyword Cannibalization in PPC Campaigns
Now think of it: you decided to run multiple PPC campaigns for your products, all of which come from the same category and therefore are likely to have the same purpose. Imagine you have several campaigns featuring different types of bicycles:
1. Mountain Bike
2. Road Bike
3. Hybrid Bike
4. Cruiser Bike
If these bikes appear in multiple campaigns and you’re bidding the same amount on a shared keyword like “bicycle,” your clicks will be spread across these campaigns. This will make it difficult to gather any valuable data, therefore making your campaigns a waste of ad money.
Impact of Keyword Cannibalization
1. Reduced Click-Through Rates (CTR): When different campaigns or ad groups aim for the same keyword, the ad with the highest bid might get the most views, but it doesn’t always match the searcher’s needs. This mismatch can lead to a drop in your CTR.
2. Increased Cost Per Click (CPC): Competing for the same keyword across multiple campaigns can push bids higher, raising your CPC as a consequence.
3. Decreased Conversion Rates: Ads that don’t align well with the search intent can draw in clicks from uninterested users, resulting in lower conversion rates.
4. Rising Ad Expenses: Placing multiple bids for the same keyword can lead to increased costs per click, increasing your overall advertising expenses.
5. Negative Customer Experience: When customers encounter several similar listings from one seller in their search results, it can lead to confusion and dissatisfaction.
How to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization
If you’re still eager to run a PPC campaign for similar products, make sure to stick to the following recommendations:
1. Experiment with various match types to manage keywords better. For example, you can set one campaign to use a broad match for the keyword “running shoes” and another to use an exact match for “running shoes.”
2. Adjust your bids for each campaign for better control. For instance, bid higher on the exact match campaign for “sneakers” to attract users specifically interested in them, unlike the broad match campaign, which targets a wider audience.
3. Use negative keywords to stop your campaigns from overlapping. For example, if your exact match campaign focuses on “sneakers,” add “sneak” as a negative keyword in your broad match campaign to avoid internal competition.
Final Thoughts
The problem of keyword cannibalization has only been rising, considering how many brands are aiming to get their hands on that first page of Amazon SERP, so we suggest anyone keep a close eye on their PPC campaign to avoid not only wasting ad budget but also time otherwise used to collect valuable data.
Should you need help managing your PPC strategy or fixing the ongoing issue of keyword cannibalization ruining your campaigns, our skilled experts at Weby Corp will promptly identify opportunities for improvements and offer practical solutions to optimize your campaigns for better performance.
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FAQ
If you notice a dip in sales or see that multiple listings are competing for the same keyword, that’s a red flag. Another sign is when your products start showing up in the search results for each other's keywords but rank lower than they should.
Keyword cannibalization can mix up Amazon's search system, making it tough for the platform to figure out which listing is best for a certain keyword. This can weaken your ranking and spread your visibility across several listings, instead of focusing it on a strong one.
1. Begin by setting up separate campaigns for each product or product group.
2. Choose specific targets and make sure each campaign has its own set of keywords that match the product.
3. Keep an eye on how they perform and change your bids or keywords if needed to avoid them overlapping.
