Amazon to launch AdSense competitor?

[EditorialGuy]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is developing a "targeted advertising system" to compete with AdWords.

According to a Daily Digest News summary of the WSJ article (which is available only to subscribers), Amazon's new ad platform "would compete directly with Google's AdWords [in this context, AdSense] in selling bulk ads to businesses and then placing them around the Internet."

For more, see:

[dailydigestnews.com...]

[not2easy]

Yes, it could be interesting. I just read about this here: [webmasterworld.com...]

[alika]

I'm currently trying it out in one of my sites. So far, I am impressed with the ads I am seeing - mostly big businesses

[netmeg]

Well I'm all for more competition in the space (and I think Facebook kind of has to jump in at some point)

Because Amazon itself sells products and has been dealing with internet sales tax and nexus by tossing out affiliates in states that want a piece, I wonder if people in those states will be locked out of this platform too.

[ember]

I wonder if people in those states will be locked out of this platform too.

I was wondering the same thing, since I am in one of those states that got kicked out of the affiliate program.

[alika]

The only way to access it right now is through the Associates Program. When you login to your Associates page, it should be one of the tabs and there's a big headline graphic announcing the launch of the program on the main page -- if you are included in the invitation only phase.

So if you are not in the affiliate program, looks like it is not possible at this stage. Maybe when they open the program to everybody, then it may be available even to those who are no longer part of the Associates program.

[jbayabas]

@alika: This is great news. I'm an Associate but I don't see it on my tabs yet. What's the tab called?

[avalon37]

Ehhh. Not that excited about this. I've used their Associates program, as recently as last month, and their stock images/creative are terrible. I know this is different, but this doesn't excite me.

[alika]

@jbayabas -- I DMed you a link to an article that has a screenshot. Tab is called Amazon CPM Ads

@avalon -- I hardly see ads from Amazon's own products. Their ads are mostly from big businesses (at least that's what I see on my site).

[jbayabas]

Thanks, alika! I don't see it yet in my tabs. Do you know when it will appear to other non-invited Associates? Do you know if we had to submit our sites to apply?

[jpch]

I hope this does create more competition and is easy to implement as AdSense.

[creeking]

I don't see the tab either. :(

Tab is called Amazon CPM Ads

ok, I was about to ask if the system was going to be ppc.

will be interesting to compare the performance of this new system to their omakase system.

[netmeg]

I never got any traction out of Omakase.

[jbayabas]

Curious... What's the criteria to be invited to run Amazon Cpm ads? Is it based on your revenue, site traffic or just random invite?

[netmeg]

Don't know, but if I were running a beta on it, I'd probably look at the impressions and clicks my top affiliates were getting, and hit them up first. I've taken almost all my Amazon ads off this year, so while I'm currently being hit up by every third party ad network on the planet, Amazon probably won't bother.

[alika]

I have no clue as to how one can get invited to run the CPM ads. We just noticed the other day the new tab. No invite, no email, nothing. It was just there in our Associates account. But we are very active in the Associates program.

CPM is still lower than our Adsense, but much higher than other CPM ad networks (Conversant, BurstMedia, TribalFusion etc). More importantly, it is not delivering the CPM rate we've set as the target CPM. Hopefully that will improve

[MrSavage]

Oh yes! I have the tab! I'm still trying to digest this but having a possible solid second option is fantastic. Not sure if more competition means that I'm going to somehow get more money per click as these companies need to sway advertisers. Paying me less means cheaper for advertisers. That said, I'm offer a review in the near future.

[jbayabas]

I see. I'm not an active affiliate as I used to. I remember 3 years ago, I was able to refer roughly $100k a year revenue sales for them but I believe I only got 3% share which is not a lot considering the amount of traffic I was sending them. I've put their ads back to my main site yesterday after reading this news. Hopefully, I'll get an invite.

[IanCP]

@Avalon37 - and everyone else.

I've used their Associates program, as recently as last month, and their stock images/creative are terrible.

I have successfully been with Amazon, as an Associate, for over 16 years now. What follows is factually correct:

a) Putting up banner ads, or anything Amazon offer is rarely successful.

b) Any "shot gun" approach will NOT work. There are 100 million similar sites around already.

c) Targeting specific product relating to your genre, accompanied by a review, is usually successful.

The many successful Amazon Associates I know all have a large following in their particular genre, and their site content and reviews are respected, and trusted.

It will take people years to build up that kind of following.

Amazon, even CJ, does not necessarily fit in with every decent content site.

[Added:] As for the subject of the topic? I'll adopt my customary "wait and see" approach.

[avalon37]

IanCP - good feedback. I went mostly the product approach; the problem was the largest product images I could post were still tiny. I'd have to redesign my whole site to fit with the unimpressive options Amazon had when I tested.

[MrSavage]

Are these Amazon ads likely to be an Adsense policy violation? The policy about same looking ads being on the same page/site?

[alika]

@MrSavage - Amazon Ads are not text ads; they're images. They don't mimic the look and feel of Adsense, so they are not a policy violation with Adsense

[explorador]

When did they make this public?
I recently had a decent recovery on Adsense, sound like something?

[turbocharged]

Given my disdain for both Google and Amazon, I would still make a conscious effort to migrate our clients that use Adwords/Adsense over to Amazon if and only if Amazon maintains a separate marketplace from Google. That's the least I could do for a search engine company that stuck a knife in the backs of many small businesses.

[jbayabas]

I second that turbocharged. I thought Yahoo could compete with Google but I'm so disappointed that it did not even come close. I hope Amazon will prove to be a good adversary. I can't wait to run their ads.

[ecommerceprofit]

I am alone perhaps in hoping Amazon fails...Google has been good to me. They do favor big business in my opinion but they will change that eventually. They do not compete with me directly like Amazon...all of you thinking Amazon is helping you are mistaken...they love data...your data. They love customers...your customers...

[turbocharged]

Well I'm all for more competition in the space (and I think Facebook kind of has to jump in at some point)

According to [businessinsider.com...] Facebook is working on it. Possibly a September launch of a display advertising product that will compete directly with DoubleClick's bid manager.

Who knows, 4th quarter 2014 may prove to be interesting as two major players (Amazon and Facebook) aim to take slices out of Google's marketshare. With the low opinion many website owners have for Google at the moment, especially small businesses who feel alienated, I suspect advertiser/publisher user loyalty won't be a factor for many who have been waiting for an alternative to arrive.

[austtr]

For you (ie publisher)to make money from an Amazon equivalent of Adsense, your site pages have to get seen. There might be a sprinkling of sites that get traffic without depending on Google search, but the vast majority depend on the traffic that Google sends. Google owns search.... reality of online life.

Hands up if you think Google is going to continue sending you free traffic while the ad revenues from your site are being directed to Amazon.

My money says that Google will take steps to protect what it sees as its revenues. By all means run Amazon Adsense but don't expect Google to send you the traffic you need to make it viable.

[alika]

We tried Amazon Ads, and let's just say that BurstMedia is WAY EVEN better than Amazon CPM Ads. Yes, there are no blinking ads that you'd see in Burst or with Valueclick (or whatever its name is now).

BUT --

Fill rate is pathetic. CPM does NOT even reach the target CPM we set (and my target CPM is wayyyyy below the CPM we get from Adsense).

If Burstmedia is even better than Amazon, then Google has nothing to worry about. Unless Amazon drastically changes the program, Amazon CPM Ads is just like the remnant advertising networks out there. Not a competition at all to Adsense

[nonstop]

How will google compete with a company that's not interested in making a profit?

I expect Amazon will give free clicks away just to gain market share