Amazon is all set to challenge Google’s online ads dominance with its latest product for digital advertisers.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon will start replacing all the ads supplied by Google within its network of websites with its own keyword related ads. The new ads, called “Sponsored Links” will show up when related search terms or products are typed in by customers. Amazon will also have the ability to place the sponsored links on third-party websites.
While Google is by far the most dominant player in the online advertising space, Amazon’s challenge isn’t one to be lightly dismissed. Much of Google’s attractiveness to advertisers lies on the huge amount of information it has on people using it to browse the web. Amazon’s data might be even more valuable to marketers because it relates to actual customer buying behavior. In other words, Google might know what you’re browsing, but Amazon knows what you’re buying, and arguably that data is more actionable. It’s interesting to note that as Amazon ramps up its online ads offerings, Google is beefing up its e-commerce channels, with new updates to Google Shopping and more format options for e-commerce advertisers.
For brands with tangible retail products, this is makes Amazon an extremely valuable place to be, since the journey from “see-ad” to “buy product” is that much shorter. People come to Amazon to spend money, and a well placed as can rapidly facilitate the process. Plus, Amazon can argue that its vast reserves of customer buying data are more accurate predictors of how they will spend their money in the future, rather than browsing and searching. For now, even though Google reigns supreme, this will be an interesting battle to see played out.
