Amazon Sponsored Display in Australia: Targeting, Remarketing, Billing and When to Use It

Amazon Sponsored Display is a self-service display advertising product that reaches shoppers on Amazon.com.au and on third-party sites and apps. Amazon's seller page lists it beside Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, and requires an active Professional seller account to advertise. Amazon's Sponsored Display page now says the product is "known as display ads", and that existing Sponsored Display campaigns keep running without interruption. Campaigns can be billed per click or per 1,000 viewable impressions.

Is Sponsored Display available to Australian sellers?

Amazon's display ads guide lists Australia among the countries where display ads are available. The Australian seller page lists it as one of the three self-service ad types.

Eligibility wording differs between Amazon's pages, so take care.

• The seller advertising page for Australia says you need an active Professional seller account. It states Brand Registry is required for Sponsored Brands and Stores, and does not state it for Sponsored Display.
• Amazon's display ads guide says display ads can showcase products for a vendor or professional seller enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry.

Amazon's public pages do not settle that difference. Open the campaign builder in your Seller Central account: if Display is selectable, you are eligible today. For Brand Registry, see Amazon Brand Registry in Australia. Adult, used or refurbished products and closed categories are excluded from Amazon's seller ad formats.

Where do Sponsored Display ads appear?

Amazon says display ads reach shoppers on Amazon-owned properties, including Twitch, Fire TV and Echo Show, and on premium sites across the wider internet. The Australian seller page describes reach in the Amazon store and thousands of third-party destinations. Which placements are live in Australia is not itemised on Amazon's public pages. Look at your placement reports to see where clicks actually come from.

What targeting options does it offer?

Amazon's display ads guide lists these options.

Contextual campaigns used to run only on Amazon. Amazon now says contextual targeting can also reach audiences on web pages and apps when they view related content, without you changing the targeted products or categories.

Views remarketing lets you set a lookback window for each audience, for example the past 7 or 30 days. Amazon's guidance for maximum reach is to use the longest lookback window possible. A longer window brings volume but weaker intent; a shorter one is smaller and warmer. Test both rather than assuming.

How is Sponsored Display billed and optimised?

You can pay per click (CPC), where you are charged each time someone clicks, or per 1,000 viewable impressions (vCPM). Amazon lists three bid optimisation choices.

1. Viewable impressions. More views of your ad, typically lower click-through rates, and vCPM billing.
2. Page visits. Shows ads to shoppers more likely to click.
3. Conversions. Targets shoppers likely to buy, to drive new and repeat sales. Amazon recommends it for a first campaign.

A first Australian test could sensibly use the conversions option on one product, with views remarketing, a modest daily budget and a clear break-even ACoS. Amazon lists a recommended minimum daily budget of 15 in local currency for Australia (A$15; confirm it in your ads console). Amazon does not publish a minimum bid for Australia on its public pages. Read Amazon ads cost in Australia for how to size spend.

When should an Australian seller use Sponsored Display?

Amazon recommends launching Sponsored Products first. After that, display fills specific gaps.

• Retargeting near-buyers. Views remarketing speaks to shoppers who looked at your listing and left.
• Defending your own product pages. Competitors can advertise on your listing; contextual targeting on your own ASINs places your ad there.
• Reaching competitor and category pages that your keywords do not cover.
• Supporting an event. Prime Day and other sale periods raise traffic; see Prime Day ads in Australia.

Amazon itself suggests pairing the two main targeting types: use contextual targeting to generate product page traffic, then use views remarketing to re-engage customers and secure missed sales.

Do not use display to rescue a weak listing. If shoppers who see the page do not buy, adding more traffic from retargeting only repeats the problem. Listing optimisation comes first.

What creative do you need?

Amazon's display ads guide covers display creative and video options; the campaign builder shows which apply to your account. In general, treat the creative as secondary to the listing. Where you can use a custom headline or logo, keep claims accurate and avoid price promises that may be out of date by the time the ad serves. If the ad links to a product page, the page's price, stock and reviews decide the sale.

For shoppers who bought before, purchases remarketing suits consumables, refills and accessories. For one-off purchases such as a large appliance, it adds little, and your budget is better spent on views remarketing or contextual targeting.

How does Sponsored Display differ from Amazon DSP?

Sponsored Display is self-service inside Seller Central. Amazon DSP is a separate programmatic platform with its own access rules. The seller-facing Australian pages list only Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display, so DSP availability and minimums for your account are something to confirm with Amazon Ads. See Amazon DSP in Australia.

How do you measure whether display is working?

Display attribution differs from search ads: many conversions follow a view, not a click, particularly with vCPM billing. Judge it by a mix of figures rather than ACoS alone.

• ACoS against your break-even. See what a good ACoS is on Amazon Australia.
• Detail page views and new-to-brand sales where your console reports them.
• TACoS, to see whether total sales moved. See TACoS.
• Which audience and lookback window sold, so you can cut the rest.

Keep display in separate campaigns from Sponsored Products. See Amazon PPC campaign structure.

FAQ

What is Sponsored Display on Amazon Australia? It is a self-service display advertising solution that reaches shoppers in the Amazon store and on third-party destinations. Amazon now calls the wider product display ads, and existing campaigns continue to run.

Is Sponsored Display CPC or vCPM? Both are available. You can be charged per click or per 1,000 viewable impressions, depending on your campaign and optimisation choice. Optimising for viewable impressions uses vCPM billing.

Do I need Brand Registry for Sponsored Display? Amazon's pages differ. The display ads guide mentions Brand Registry enrolment for vendors and professional sellers, while the Australian seller page does not list it for Sponsored Display. Check whether Display is selectable in your account.

What is views remarketing? It re-engages shoppers who viewed your products or similar ones in the Amazon store but have not bought, using a lookback period you choose, such as 7 or 30 days.

Should I run Sponsored Display or Sponsored Products first? Sponsored Products first. Amazon recommends it as the starting campaign. Add display once you have a listing that converts and search data to build on.

Can Sponsored Display ads appear outside Amazon? Yes. Amazon says display ads reach premium sites across the wider internet as well as Amazon-owned properties such as Twitch, Fire TV and Echo Show, so a click or view may happen away from Amazon.com.au.

Next step

Run Sponsored Products until your listing converts, then test one display campaign with a clear break-even target. Blooprint offers Amazon Ads management for Australian sellers if you want help. The Australia hub and the Amazon ads overview cover the rest.