Why Your New Amazon Ads Might Not Be Working

“I started up my Amazon seller account one week ago. As of today, I have five listings with 150 views total. Why aren’t my ads getting any impressions? My bids are at $1.50 max.” — Anonymous

Does this sound like you? If so, we get it. Starting your journey as an Amazon seller can feel exciting at first. You’re on the world’s biggest marketplace, brimming with customers. Anything is possible, you feel.

Then, you start hitting walls. Walls like Amazon’s complex advertising system. How do you lower your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) and improve your keyword ranking? But the worst of all is when you find yourself unable to even leave the starting gate, wondering why aren’t my ads getting impressions?

Without impressions, you can’t make sales. Without sales, it’s harder to rank or get impressions. Confused yet?

In this article, we’ll explore how to get more impressions so that your ads remain profitable and purposeful.

So, What’s the Root of the Problem?

You might not think to look here first, but a problem with ad impressions is likely a problem with how Amazon is indexing your products. Indexing is how Amazon's algorithm catalogs your products for search queries. If your products aren't indexed under the right keywords, your customers won’t see them when searching, and your ads won’t get impressions.

An issue with indexing almost always stems from two critical areas…

You’re in the wrong category, and
Your keywords aren’t relevant.

Here’s How to Fix It, Step by Step

Step 1: Verify Your Product Category

An often-overlooked detail that can significantly impact your ad impressions is the category or browse node your product is listed under. Amazon’s massive marketplace is organized into categories and subcategories (called browse nodes).

If your product is in the wrong category or could be better aligned with a more specific subcategory, it won’t show up to your audience, no matter how perfect your bid is.

What To Do: Review your product listings to ensure they’re placed in the most accurate category and subcategory. If you discover a new or more relevant category has emerged, consider reclassifying your products.

Step 2: Make Sure Your Indexed Keywords are Relevant

To gain impressions, your product must be indexed for the right keywords. This means your listing content—including your title, description, bullet points, and backend keywords—need to be optimized with relevant keywords that your customers are searching for.

What To Do: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify high-volume, relevant keywords for your products. Incorporate these into your product listings to improve indexing. This article will help. >>

Step 3: Check Your Browse Nodes

The specific subcategory or browse node might be the culprit if your products aren't getting impressions. Incorrect or suboptimal browse nodes can hinder your products from being indexed correctly.

What To Do: Double-check your product’s browse node to ensure it matches your product’s exact category. Adjust if necessary to better align with your product’s features and intended audience.

Step 4: Get Help from Amazon

If, after making these adjustments, you still find your ads aren’t getting impressions, it may be time to seek direct assistance.

What To Do: Open a case with Amazon Support. Provide them with details of your issue, including your efforts to align categories, subcategories, and keywords. Amazon’s team can offer insights into why your products might not be indexed correctly and help resolve the issue.

Remember, the Key with Ads is Often Patience

Adjustments to listings and categories can take time to reflect in Amazon’s system. Be patient and monitor your ads’ performance closely, making further tweaks as needed.

Being an Amazon Seller can feel complicated and unforgiving sometimes. Every day seems to present some new learning curve. We suggest you stick with it. Patience pays dividends, and everything is “figure-outable.”

Applied these steps but still aren’t getting enough ad impressions? Reach out to us. We are experts at getting you both impressions and conversions. What’s more, we specialize in gaining you organic reach at the same time, while increasing your ROAS and lowering your ads cost.

Let's Talk >>