Most Amazon PPC beginners start with keyword targeting. But the sellers who achieve the strongest market positions also use product targeting — targeting specific competitor ASINs or entire categories to capture purchase intent at the product consideration stage, not just the search stage.
This guide covers both ASIN targeting and category targeting within Sponsored Products, including how to set them up, when to use each, and how to use filters to maximise relevance.
What Is Product Targeting in Sponsored Products?
Sponsored Products campaigns offer two targeting types:
- Keyword Targeting: Your ad appears when a shopper searches for a specific keyword or phrase.
- Product Targeting: Your ad appears on specific product detail pages (ASIN targeting) or across a product category (category targeting).
Product targeting reaches shoppers who are already on a product page — meaning they are in active consideration mode, not just browsing search results. This stage of the purchase journey often converts very well because the shopper has already narrowed their choice to one category or product type.
Where do product targeting ads appear? Your ad shows on the target product’s detail page under the “Sponsored products related to this item” or “Products related to this item” carousel, and sometimes above the fold on mobile. On category targeting, your ad can appear across any matching product page in that category.
ASIN Targeting: Targeting Specific Competitors
ASIN targeting lets you place your ad directly on a specific competitor’s product page. When a shopper is reading a competitor’s reviews and comparing options, your product appears as a sponsored alternative.
How to Choose Which ASINs to Target
The most effective competitor ASINs to target share three characteristics with your product:
- Similar price point — a shopper viewing a £15 product is unlikely to switch to a £40 alternative
- Same category — directly competing products in the same search results
- Weaker reviews or fewer reviews — your product has a credible advantage to present
Find competitor ASINs by searching your main keywords, noting the top 10–20 competing products, and copying their ASINs. Also use the Brand Analytics → Market Basket Report to find ASINs frequently bought together with yours — these are strong targets for complementary product targeting.
Defensive ASIN Targeting
Target your own ASINs to prevent competitors from occupying ad space on your product pages. This is particularly important for your best-selling products, where competitor conquest campaigns would otherwise steal consideration from your own buyers.
Category Targeting: Broad Reach Within a Niche
Category targeting shows your ad across all (or a filtered subset of) products in a selected category. It is broader than ASIN targeting and generates more impressions, but typically at a lower conversion rate because you are reaching a less precisely defined audience.
Category targeting is most effective for:
- New product launches with no sales history — keyword campaigns need history to optimise, category targeting generates initial visibility
- Wide-reach brand awareness across a whole category
- Seasonal campaigns targeting the full category during peak demand
Using Category Filters to Improve Precision
The power of category targeting comes from the refine options available when you select a category. Amazon lets you filter by:
Using these filters lets you narrow category targeting to a competitive subset. Examples:
- Category: “Garden Tools” + Filter: Price £10–£25 + Rating: 3.5–4 stars → targets mid-priced, average-reviewed competition your product can plausibly beat
- Category: “Kitchen Accessories” + Filter: Brand: [Specific Competitor Brand] → targets all of a competitor’s category products without needing individual ASINs
4 Product Targeting Strategies That Work
1. Competitor Conquest
Target the top 20–30 competitor ASINs in your niche. Run in a dedicated campaign at lower bids than keywords. Best when your product has more reviews or better price.
2. Defensive Self-Targeting
Target your own top ASINs to lock out competitor ads. Cross-promote related products from your catalogue to increase basket size.
3. Complementary Product Targeting
Target non-competing products frequently bought with yours. A phone case seller targets phone screen protector ASINs. Incremental reach with high purchase intent.
4. Filtered Category Conquesting
Target your main category, filtered to lower-rated products (3–4 stars). Shoppers already unhappy with those products are primed to consider alternatives.
Bid Strategy for Product Targeting
Product targeting bids typically need to be set lower than keyword bids because the audience is earlier in the purchase journey. A shopper reading a competitor’s reviews has not yet committed to buying — they are still comparing. General guidance:
- Start ASIN targeting bids at 40–60% of your equivalent keyword bids
- For defensive self-targeting, bid aggressively (match your keyword bids) since the intent is high — those shoppers already chose your product’s category
- For category targeting, start at 30–50% of keyword bids and optimise based on ACoS after 2–3 weeks of data
Reporting: How to Tell What’s Working
Download the Search Term Report and filter for Campaign Type = “Sponsored Products.” In product targeting campaigns, the “Customer Search Term” column shows the ASIN that triggered your ad. Sort by spend and check:
- ASINs with zero conversions and high spend → add as negative ASIN targets
- ASINs with strong conversion rate → create dedicated single-ASIN campaigns with higher bids for these winners
- Categories converting well → narrow them using filters (price range, star rating) to improve quality of traffic
Pro tip: Negative ASIN targeting. Just as you add negative keywords to Sponsored Products, you can add negative ASINs to product targeting campaigns. Use this to exclude your own ASINs from competitor-conquest campaigns (otherwise you pay to advertise on your own pages), and to exclude any irrelevant ASINs that are generating clicks with no conversions.
Setting Up Your First Product Targeting Campaign
- Go to Advertising → Campaign Manager → Create Campaign → Sponsored Products
- Choose “Manual targeting”
- Create an ad group, add your product ASINs to advertise
- In targeting, choose “Product targeting”
- Select “Individual products” and paste in your competitor ASINs (or select a category and apply filters)
- Set a bid of £0.30–£0.60 to start
- Run for 3 weeks before making bid adjustments based on ACoS data