In this episode of Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show, Will Haire, BellaVix’s cofounder, an expert with extensive experience in the direct-to-consumer retail industry and a proven track record of implementing successful marketing strategies on renowned platforms like Amazon, Walmart and Target, talks about the process of “Hitting the Bullseye: Setup & Best Practices for Target Advertising”.
In this latest episode, we delve into the intricacies of eCommerce Target advertising. Our expert guest sheds light on the platform’s product setup process, revealing key differentiators such as Target stringent requirements for UPC codes and specific product content guidelines. The episode underscores how the potential of Target advertising can be unlocked through platforms like CitrusAds, touching on the direct correlation between ad spend and sales. Also, attribution challenges and pitfalls in campaign setup are discussed, along with insightful tips for navigating these waters. Furthermore, our conversation uncovers the hidden impact of ads through advanced reporting techniques, highlighting the “brand halo effect” on Target. Whether you’re a seasoned advertiser or a new seller, this episode provides indispensable advice for maximizing advertising on Target, showcasing the benefits and challenges while offering actionable strategies for optimal results. Don’t miss out on “Hitting the Bullseye: Setup & Best Practices for Target Advertising”.
Key takeaways: / Short Summary:
Insights on Target Advertising from Will Haire
- Leveraging advertising on Target is crucial for physical products available in Target stores.
- Target’s user experience includes buy online, picking in-store, attracting specific audiences, and searching for keywords related to products.
- Target also offers opportunities for online sellers in the 3P world, although the audience is smaller compared to Amazon.
- The future of Target may involve a strong third-party presence and a user experience similar to Amazon and Walmart.
- Audiences and a good product market fit are important factors for selling on Target.
- BellaVix helps brands scale on marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Target.
- Target advertising is becoming a popular topic in the eCommerce industry.
Shopping of the Future and Audience Differences
- The shopping of the future is expected to be a blend of digital and in-person experiences.
- Currently, the shopping experience is invite-only and not open to the general public.
- To access the platform, one needs to know a buyer or be invited while shopping at Target or on Target.com.
- Target shoppers are younger, primarily millennials and Generation X, with more discretionary income and a preference for online shopping.
- Walmart shoppers prioritize cost-saving and lowest value.
- Different selling propositions and brand appeal can be showcased on Walmart, Target, and Amazon.
- BellaVix offers marketplace management services tailored to each brand’s specific needs.
Setting up advertising on Target using CitrusAd
- Advertising on Target is done through a third-party provider, unlike Amazon where you can directly access the advertising dashboard.
- Platform CitrusAds is primarily used for Target, but Roundel is another platform that can be used for advertising.
- Setting up the advertising account on CitrusAds is straightforward, requiring the creation of an account and linking it to the seller account.
- The wallet in CitrusAds acts as the ad budget, and funds can be added to it.
- There are no fees associated with the wallet and ad spend.
- Once the products are listed, one can start selling on Target.
- Will emphasizes the importance of setting proper barriers to prevent indiscriminate spending from the wallet.
- The advertising system on Target using CitrusAds is relatively rudimentary compared to Walmart and Amazon.
- Spend on advertising does not always directly attribute to ad sales on Target, and there may be some attribution issues.
Setting up and managing advertising campaigns on Target.com
- There is a need for setup adjustments in advertising campaigns on Target.com.
- Setting up and getting started with campaigns is easy but requires account management.
- The main benefit is attracting more qualified shoppers who are already searching for the brand or products.
- Keeping campaign nomenclature simple and API friendly, avoiding competitor keywords, and not using the same keyword across multiple campaigns.
Strategies for Effective PPC Campaigns
- Using exact-match keywords can lead to a degradation of performance across multiple products and campaigns. Misspellings should be incorporated to ensure exact matches.
- The first price auction system in Walmart means that what you bid is what you pay for.
- Aggressively bidding on keywords can quickly deplete your budget.
- Campaign structure involves grouping similar products in one campaign to maximize benefits. As more data is gathered, certain products may be paused or keywords that are not generating sales are killed.
- Evergreen or top products may have their own campaigns with specific, relevant keywords.
- Extensive keyword research is conducted using tools from Amazon, Walmart, and Google to generate keyword ideas and lists.
- Healthy bids are necessary to see impressions and spend, while adjusting bids is crucial for keywords without any impressions.
Citrus Ad Performance Metrics
- The platform kills campaigns with low impressions, indicating low search volume.
- Product grouping is under one campaign, using keyword research from Helium 10 or off Amazon.
- The cost per click on Target is approximately half of Amazon’s but requires more clicks to make a sale.
- Attribution is measured against total sales, not directly through the platform.
- Citrus measures ad performance through basic ad reports, which can be separated by timelines for analysis.
Summary of 14-Day Sales Attribution Window and Bidding Strategies
- The 14-day sales attribution window report provides information on click sales, cost per click, cost per acquisition, conversion rate, and ad sales. It can be segmented to analyze specific campaign and product-level performance. However, there is no search term report available.
- The advanced report measures the last 30 days, includes total sales, and tracks the brand halo effect. It shows sales from products not directly advertised on. This report is relatively new and provides valuable insights.
- Bidding strategies recommend starting with suggested bids and gradually increasing budgets for relevant products, categories, and search with the highest budget allocation.
- Budget caps can be set to limit total spend.
Tips for Advertising on Target: Budgeting, Bids, and Platform Issues
- Will advises against using total spend caps and suggests using daily budget caps for better control over ad spend.
- For certain brands, setting a total spend may be preferred, especially during sales events like Circle sales.
- Target’s platform has errors and limitations, making it difficult for advertisers to make campaign adjustments in real-time.
- Category targeting on Target can be effective but requires higher minimum bids compared to keyword targeting.
- Consider adjusting daily budget caps to accommodate higher bids for category keywords.
Tips for Advertising on Target Platform
- Dedicate 3-4 hours per week to advertising on Target.
- Agency perspectives recommend checking and adjusting the account every day, spending nearly an hour each day.
- Experimentation is crucial on the platform, so set up experiments every 4-6 weeks to drive total sales.
- Focus on total sales rather than just ad sales.
- Use split testing instead of multivariate testing to determine what drives results.
- Adjust bids regularly to increase traffic and analyze the impact on total sales.
- Consider using TACOS for analyzing the total acquisition costs on KPIs.
Or listen to the previous episodes on the different platforms:
Links:
- LinkedIn – Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willhaire/
- Branded – LinkedIn: https://www.bellavix.com/
“Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show” is sponsored by BellaVix. To learn more, head over to https://sellingongiants.com/
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