A new look for Headline Search Ads (Sponsored Brands)

It was time for Amazon to revitalise the look and feel of the Headline Search Ads and they are currently in the process of doing it. You might have noticed it already: the featured products in the ad, now include not only the picture and part of the title of the products, but also the Prime logo, the star rating and the number of reviews.

UPDATE September 2018 – Headline Search ads are now called Sponsored Brands

The new face isn’t much different from the old one. It is an important change though, as it makes the products look more like actual products on Amazon.

This helps users get more information about a product before clicking on it. As the products look less like an advertisement and more like products, it also increases the chances that customers will click on the ads. See below the difference between the new look and the old look of Headline Search Ads:

There are 2 disadvantages for vendors, sellers and advertisers:

Firstly, people might start clicking more on the featured products, instead of clicking on the featured image or on the title that leads to the landing page that you created. This means that the products that you have added to the landing page, might get less visibility. Less visibility = less sales.

Secondly, as the star rating and the number of reviews are now showing on the featured products, it means that vendors are almost required to add only products with good ratings and reviews. Add a product with a bad star rating and most people will avoid clicking/buying it – star rating and reviews impact almost 90% of the buying decision.  Even more problematic would be if all of your products have a low star rating.

Advantages of the new look for Headline Search Ads

The new look of HS ads will definitely improve the user experience and the “relationship” between consumers and this type of ads. The more the ads feel like actual products on Amazon, the more chances users will see these like organic results. The more information users can see about a product before clicking on it, the more chances they can decide if they are interested in the product or not.

The main advantage is this: as consumers will decide if they are interested or not in the product before clicking on the ad, it reduces the chances that you will pay for clicks that don’t convert. To me, this is an incredible advantage that will reduce our costs and will improve the sales’ performances of our ads.

It is uncertain, at this time, what the results of the test will be. It is also uncertain what will Amazon decide that the future Headline Search Ads will look like. We can be certain though that Amazon will always try to help us sell more/buy more on their sites, as this means more profit for them.

Something to draw your attention to: as this is still in beta, you will notice that it isn’t always working as it should – sometimes only the picture of the product and the Prime Logo are appearing; sometimes only the product picture, the Prime logo, star rating and the number of reviews (missing the product title). See below.

What other changes do you expect Amazon to make with their AMS ads? Leave your comments below.