Sponsored Display is Amazon’s most versatile — and most underused — ad type. Unlike Sponsored Products (which targets search intent) or Sponsored Brands (which targets brand awareness), Sponsored Display lets you reach shoppers based on their behaviour and browsing history, both on and off Amazon.
For sellers who have exhausted keyword targeting and want to expand reach, protect product pages, or retarget past viewers, Sponsored Display fills a unique role in the advertising funnel.
What Are Sponsored Display Ads?
Sponsored Display ads are self-service display ads that appear on Amazon product detail pages, search results pages, and across Amazon’s off-Amazon display network (third-party websites and apps). They are available to all Professional sellers, vendors, and agencies — no minimum spend required.
Key difference from Sponsored Products: Sponsored Products target keyword searches. Sponsored Display targets audiences and products — meaning you can reach shoppers who viewed your ASIN or a competitor’s ASIN, even if they didn’t search for a keyword.
Sponsored Display Targeting Options
Product Targeting
Target specific ASINs or categories. Your ad appears on those product pages. Use to conquest competitors or defend your own listings from competitor ads.
Views Remarketing
Target shoppers who viewed your product detail page but did not buy. Re-engage them across Amazon and third-party sites. Requires Brand Registry.
Purchases Remarketing
Target shoppers who have previously purchased from your brand. Use for cross-sell, upsell, or subscribe & save enrolment.
Audience Targeting
Target Amazon audiences by lifestyle, interest, or in-market signals. Broad reach targeting — useful for new product launches and brand awareness.
The 5 Best Use Cases for Sponsored Display
1. Views Retargeting
This is the most powerful use of Sponsored Display. When a shopper views your product but doesn’t buy, they are added to your remarketing audience. Your SD ad then follows them across Amazon and partner sites — keeping your product top of mind during their purchase consideration window.
How to set it up
Create a new Sponsored Display campaign → select “Audiences” → choose “Views remarketing” → set lookback window to 30 days. Start with a low bid (£0.30–£0.60) and optimise for conversions (vCPM or CPC).
2. Competitor Product Conquest
Target your top competitors’ ASINs so your ad appears on their product detail pages. When a shopper is considering a competitor product, your ad offers an alternative. This is particularly effective when your product has better reviews, a lower price, or Prime eligibility that the competitor lacks.
How to set it up
Create SD campaign → select “Products” targeting → enter your top 20–50 competitor ASINs. Run separate campaigns for each product category so you can track ROI per competitor group.
3. Defend Your Own Product Pages
Competitors run SD ads on your listings too. The counter-move: target your own ASINs with SD ads. This fills the ad slots on your own detail page so competitors can’t occupy them. It also cross-promotes related products within your own catalogue.
4. Category Targeting for New Products
Target an entire category to reach shoppers browsing related products. Your ad appears on any product detail page within that category. Effective for broad awareness on new launches when you have no sales history for keyword campaigns to optimise against.
5. Purchase Remarketing for Cross-Sell
If you sell complementary products, target past purchasers of Product A with ads for Product B. Example: if someone bought your coffee grinder, target them 14 days later with your coffee filters. This dramatically increases customer lifetime value.
Bid Strategies and Optimisation Goals
Sponsored Display offers two bidding models:
- CPC (Cost per Click): You pay when someone clicks your ad. Best for ASIN targeting campaigns where you want direct purchase intent.
- vCPM (Cost per 1,000 viewable impressions): You pay for ad views, regardless of clicks. Best for brand awareness and views retargeting where reach matters more than immediate clicks.
There are also three optimisation goals to choose from:
- Optimise for reach (vCPM only): maximise impressions. Use for awareness campaigns.
- Optimise for page visits: maximise clicks to your product page. Use mid-funnel.
- Optimise for conversions: Amazon’s algorithm bids more aggressively when it predicts a purchase. Best for retargeting and direct response.
Ad Creative and Imagery
Sponsored Display ads auto-generate creative using your product image, title, star rating, and price — no separate creative required. However, Brand Registry sellers can use custom image creatives with lifestyle photography, which typically outperform auto-generated creatives by 30–50% in click-through rate.
Custom image spec: 1200 × 628 px (landscape), JPG or PNG, maximum 1 MB. Use a lifestyle image showing the product in use, not a plain product shot on white. Add a short headline (maximum 50 characters).
Key Metrics to Track
- vCTR (viewable click-through rate): Clicks ÷ viewable impressions. Target >0.3% for ASIN targeting, >0.1% for audience targeting.
- ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue ÷ ad spend. SD campaigns typically run at lower ROAS than Sponsored Products because they target shoppers earlier in the funnel.
- Detail Page Views: Track whether SD is driving incremental views beyond your organic and SP traffic.
- New-to-Brand %: What share of SD purchases come from first-time customers? High NTB% means SD is genuinely expanding your customer base.
Common Sponsored Display Mistakes
- Using SD instead of Sponsored Products for direct-response goals (SD is a complement, not a replacement)
- Setting bids too high for brand awareness campaigns — vCPM campaigns should start low (£1–£3 per 1,000 impressions)
- Not segmenting retargeting from conquest in separate campaigns (they need different bid levels and success metrics)
- Ignoring the frequency cap — without a cap, SD retargeting can follow shoppers aggressively and generate negative brand signals
- Targeting categories that are too broad, inflating spend with no conversion signal
Getting Started in 15 Minutes
- Go to Advertising → Campaign Manager → Create Campaign → Sponsored Display
- Set daily budget: £5–£10 to start
- Choose “Views remarketing” with a 30-day lookback window
- Select your top 3–5 ASINs
- Choose “Optimise for conversions” and set CPC bid of £0.40
- Let it run for 14 days before optimising bids or pausing