How to Improve Your Walmart Advertising Strategy

To create a profitable listing, you must provide all the information shoppers need to decide whether or not to purchase your product. A well-developed Walmart product listing includes images and descriptions about your brand’s product while explaining essential customers’ needs to make their final decision.

It will be challenging to make sales if you do not have quality pictures or descriptions representing your products accurately. Thus, advertisers should spend time creating exceptional listings before establishing an ad campaign.

Creating a winning product listing includes: 

• Writing accurate product descriptions
• Providing complete product specifications
• Adding any additional information buyers might need, especially to avoid returns and negative reviews

There are two ways to target customers at Walmart. You can use either of the following:

1. Auto campaigns
2. Manual campaigns

If you review your Walmart advertising reports, you will notice that both campaigns have different purposes.

What Are Auto Advertising Campaigns?

When Walmart determines that a customer search matches your product description, listing information, and bid, the platform will show auto ads. There is no need to target specific keywords. Instead, you can set a CPC bid and bid multiplier and sit back as you make sales.

What Are Manual Advertising Campaigns?

While advertisers have little control of when their ads appear with auto ad campaigns, the same is not true of manual movements.

With manual campaigns, you can set the search terms and keywords where you want your ads to appear. There are fewer placement options for advertisers that use manual campaigns, however.

In addition to campaign types, you also have several ad types to select from as a Walmart Advertiser. This section will explore several ad campaigns you can build that display when customers search for ads on Walmart or their mobile app.

Search in Grid Sponsored Brands and Categories

Sponsored Brand and Category Ads also go by the name Brand Amplifier ads and showcase multiple products from one brand. If you want to promote various products whenever a customer searches for a specific term or query, this is the best way to achieve that goal.

Sponsored Product Carousels

Carousel ads are like the Walmart Search in Grid campaign mentioned above, but they don’t take up full-page space on Walmart.com or mobile app search results pages. Instead, your products will display below other sponsored brands and categories from competing companies within Walmart’s ad network.

Carousel ads are interactive. A prospective buyer can scroll through several of your products to find one that meets their needs. However, some carousels on Walmart have sponsored ads, while others display products from organic product lists. It is essential to discover exactly where your ads appear if you select this ad type.

Alternative Product Buy Box

What happens if someone sees your ads on the product results page but decides not to review your offer? Well, on some platforms, that would mean that your ad was unsuccessful. However, on Walmart, there is another chance to convert online window shoppers into buyers, even if they visit a competing product.

With the buy box ad type, an ad for your product will appear near the “Buy it Now” button on Walmart listings. This Walmart advertising campaign is a great way to get more sales on Walmart. This is true even if your product is not directly in front of customers while they are browsing search result pages on Walmart’s site or mobile app. Instead, you will be able to compete for purchases with other top brands after someone decides not to buy from them first.

The Walmart Marketplace provides several unique ways to reduce advertising costs while increasing profits. However, it would help to use several strategies to keep keyword bidding costs low.

Additionally, only sellers understand their product catalog, ideal customers, and first-price auctions to succeed on the platform. The following section offers some suggestions on how to improve your Walmart advertising strategy using keyword bidding.

Improve Keyword Bidding Using Ad Split Tests

Walmart’s display ads can appear across many different platforms. This includes Walmart, as well as other sites that use the Walmart advertising network to monetize their ad space with relevant product advertisements.

When creating a new campaign using this ad type, it is vital to keep in mind that not all placements are equal – meaning that they do not always offer a comparable level of visibility among Walmart’s audience.

Determine the best locations for Walmart display ads using an ad split test – a method in which you experiment with different placements and budgets over time to maximize your campaign performance. You can see results from your ad campaign split test by reviewing your Walmart advertising reports.

The more tests you run within Walmart ad types, the better an idea you will have of where Walmart users are most likely to view and interact with your brand on Walmart and other sites.

Use a Granular Walmart Ad Campaign Structure

Although every advertiser prefers to build ad campaigns, new advertisers should use campaign structures that make it easy to control bidding costs for each product.

Additionally, your campaigns should make it easy to change bidding strategies for each keyword type you use. To make the most of your ad campaigns, use a variety of ad groups. Establish ad groups for generic keywords, brand keywords, and competitor keywords.

Ad groups are the foundation of your Walmart advertising strategy, so make sure to use them wisely. By creating granular Walmart ad campaign structures, you will ensure that you can change bidding strategies whenever necessary so that your ads become more profitable over time.

Selling on Walmart is an excellent opportunity for smaller brands to get their products seen by Walmart’s massive audience. According to Sellbrite, Walmart has less competition than Amazon, which means you can sell more of your product with lower costs per acquisition (CPA).

There are still challenges to Walmart advertising; for example, the platform does not offer the same level of targeting as other PPC ad platforms like Facebook and Google.

Here is a breakdown of why you should invest your time selling and advertising on Walmart:

• Selling fees and product listing costs are low
• Companies can use data from Walmart’s retail customers to improve ad targeting
• Sellers have access to promotional tools that help drive sales

Walmart’s ACoS ensures your ads are profitable if you choose the right keywords for shoppers to find products within their search queries.

There are several strategies you can use to choose an ACoS target. Here are some Walmart advertising strategy tips that might work for your business.

A moderate ACoS target is around 40-50%. While this ACoS is not optimal for Walmart ads, it is better than paying too much or not enough. Depending on your business and advertising goals, you can constantly adjust your bids and targets to improve your ACoS. The truth is until you start creating ads, it will be difficult to determine your brand’s Walmart advertising cost.

Walmart advertising strategy innovations will help you reduce ad costs, which will increase your overall ACoS. Before focusing on ACoS, ensure that you use the following strategies as a Walmart seller.

Gain the Pro Seller Badge Before Advertising if Possible

The Walmart Pro Seller Badge will show that you’re a reliable seller and keep your ACoS low since customers will be more willing to purchase your items. Once your brand earns and activates a badge, your business will gain access to exclusive ad types that are not accessible by new Walmart advertisers.

One question most business owners have is, “how much does it cost to advertise on Walmart?” The answer depends on the business, products, and product categories. There’s no one size fits all solution. However, comparing your online sales to in-store sales can help decide whether Walmart advertising is suitable for your brand.

Comparing your in-store sales data with online sales is essential when advertising Walmart. This Walmart selling strategy can help you determine the best Walmart ad types for targeting specific audiences and boost ACoS accordingly. If you already sell in-store, reviewing your online and in-store sales will help you decide whether your advertising strategy works or needs more work.

Another Walmart advertising strategy to consider is comparing results between Walmart platforms. Test your advertising and sales results from mobile devices, desktop browsers, and in-app. This strategy is essential for marketers because each forum has different audiences who respond differently to your ads. For example, if you find success on mobile but not on a desktop, a few corrections to your ad strategy might deliver better results.

By testing each format, you can determine which Walmart platforms are best for targeting specific demographics or generating conversions at a low ACoS.

If one platform is not converting well, try another until you find the winning Walmart selling strategies. Your Walmart advertising strategy can be challenging, but you will find success if you use the Walmart selling strategies we suggest above.

If you are new to Walmart PPC, it is crucial to understand how Walmart’s first price auctions work. Walmart’s advertising bidding differs from most other ad platforms and might not work as most marketers expect.

For example, on second price platforms like Amazon, if the second-highest bidding advertiser is willing to pay $0.15 per click on a product, and you are ready to pay $1.00, Amazon will only charge you $0.01 more than the second-highest bid to display your product. In this example, Amazon would charge $0.16 per click, even if your max cost per click price is $1.00.

Walmart, however, charges the exact amount the highest bidder sets. Therefore, if the highest bidder is willing to pay $1.00 per click for a product, other advertisers will pay the exact price they bid. This strategy can quickly drive costs up, and very competitive keywords might not be worth the cost.

Because of first-price auction bidding, it is best to stick with a moderate advertising strategy. This can help you control costs, stop overspending, and improve success rates.

Try Bid Multipliers to Secure Premium Placements

Bid multipliers work similarly to bid adjustments. For example, you can use them on Walmart to secure premium placements and boost your visibility on the platform.

If a product is performing well for you with an average CPC of $0.30 on the Search Network, try increasing the bid multiplier to attract more customers. This Walmart selling strategy will allow you to get more impressions and clicks while still staying under budget.

Just like bidding strategies, using bid multipliers helps marketers control costs without sacrificing traffic. However, they are best used when testing new ad types that might not convert to find high-converting audiences and bids quickly.

Your Walmart advertising strategies can vary depending on your goal. Walmart has many different ad types, and some Walmart selling strategies will work better than others in some instances.

So, what is the rule on setting ACoS targets? It depends on your business goals. This next section will discuss some reasons why you might want to spend to attract new customers to your business through the Walmart Marketplace.

As Walmart sellers, you should focus on your business goals to determine the best Walmart advertising strategy. Standing out on Walmart search is essential for businesses because this is how your customers will know if they connect with your brand. Here are several methods you might use, depending on why you’re advertising on Walmart.

ACoS Setting for Growing Organic Sales

For Walmart sellers who would like to grow their organic Walmart sales, using Walmart advertising can be a great way of connecting with Walmart customers while also gaining valuable insight.

Different ad types work better for other business goals. For example, if you are looking to improve conversions and increase ACoS metrics, try targeting new audiences or creating ads that stand out in Walmart product listings.

If your goal is more focused on driving traffic, then testing Walmart-sponsored product ads might help drive more clicks without spending too much money. Consider trying these different campaigns if your goal is to grow organically using Walmart SEO.

ACoS Setting for Product and Brand Awareness

Walmart sellers should consider advertising for product and brand awareness. Walmart is a comprehensive platform, meaning that ads will reach millions of customers every day. If you want brand awareness and do not mind low conversion rates, your ad strategy will look a lot different.

One way to grow brand awareness on Walmart is by testing different types of advertisements across mobile, web, and in-app formats. This strategy allows you to target new audiences or even multiple products within a single campaign. Remember: always split test adverts so you can compare the Walmart advertising cost of sale of each format.

Overall, you will want to test different strategies and see what works best for your business. But always start with a goal in mind and adjust your ad campaigns as necessary to achieve success.

Creating a Walmart advertising strategy can be challenging because Walmart is such a large platform, and there are so many ways to advertise. However, as you become more familiar with the differences between Walmart and other marketplaces, your strategy will improve.

Walmart sellers should consider their business goals when setting ACoS targets for Walmart ads to get the most out of their marketing efforts.

Some Walmart selling strategies work better than others, depending on your goal. Whether you are looking to grow organically through Walmart SEO, drive more clicks without spending too much money using sponsored products, or create awareness about your product or brand by running advertisements across mobile, web, and in-app formats.

If you need help with any of these strategies, do not hesitate to reach out. DataHawk’s team of eCommerce experts would love nothing more than partnering with businesses like yours as they navigate this ever-changing digital landscape.