Exclude Audience in Amazon DSP Campaigns to Increase ROI

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With the advent of Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), optimizing ad campaigns has become more versatile than ever. One notable feature is the implementation of Exclusion Audiences in DSP campaigns. While you could previously exclude audiences using Amazon DSP, AMC allows for even more precise audience refinement. This enhances ad targeting accuracy and reduces wasted ad spend.

In this blog, we will explore which audiences to exclude in Amazon DSP, the benefits of doing so, various use cases, and how to implement these exclusions in your DSP campaigns.

Understanding Exclusion Audiences

Exclusion audiences are groups of shoppers you choose to prevent from seeing your ads in an Amazon DSP campaign. By excluding these less relevant or low-converting audiences, you can concentrate your budget on more promising prospects and avoid wasting money on ads unlikely to result in conversions.

The Benefits of Using Exclusion Audiences

  • Cost Savings: Prevents spending on non-relevant audiences.
  • Higher ROI: Allocates budget more effectively to high-potential shoppers.
  • Increased Ad Relevance: Ensures ads are shown to those most likely to convert.

Let’s dive into various exclusion audiences that can help you maximize your ad efficiency, along with use cases and examples for each:

1. Existing Customer Exclusions

Why Exclude Existing Customers?

Existing customers, especially those on subscription plans or repeat buyers, already have high brand loyalty. Serving ads to these customers can be redundant and result in wasted ad spend.

Use Cases

  • Subscription Services: Exclude existing subscribers from general ad campaigns targeting new customer acquisition.
  • Repurchase Products: For products with a typical repurchase cycle (e.g., beauty products, pet food), exclude recent buyers to avoid unnecessary ad impressions.

Implementation Strategy

  • Basic Exclusions in DSP: Use DSP to exclude existing customers from your ad campaigns.
  • Enhanced Exclusions in AMC: Upload customer data (such as email lists) to AMC to ensure a more precise exclusion of these customers.

Example:

If you sell a coffee bean subscription service, exclude existing subscribers from ads promoting new subscriptions. Instead, target them in separate campaigns with exclusive offers to increase retention.

2. Low Engagement Exclusions

Why Exclude Low Engagement Audiences?

Audiences who have interacted with your ads or viewed your detail page multiple times without converting are likely not interested in your product. Continuously targeting these low-engagement shoppers can lead to wasted ad spend and ad fatigue.

Use Cases

  • Brand Awareness Campaigns: Exclude users from retargeting campaigns who have seen your brand awareness ads multiple times.

Implementation Strategy

  • Frequency Caps in DSP: Utilize DSP to set frequency caps, ensuring ads are not shown excessively to the same audience.
  • AMC Audiences: Using Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), you can create custom audiences to exclude specific groups from your targeting. These audiences can include people who:
    • Have viewed multiple product detail pages but haven’t purchased.
    • Have clicked on your Sponsored Product ads multiple times but haven’t converted etc.
AMC Audience

Example:

A user has seen your shoe ad 5 times without clicking. Set a frequency cap to stop showing them that ad. Consider targeting them with a different ad creative or product category, or exclude them altogether to focus on new audiences.

3. Recent Purchasers Exclusions

Why Exclude Recent Purchasers?

Shoppers who have recently purchased your product are less likely to buy again immediately. Targeting these individuals can lead to unnecessary ad impressions without the likelihood of immediate conversion.

Use Cases

  • High-Value Items: Exclude recent buyers of high-value items (e.g., TVs, appliances) from similar product ads.
  • Seasonal Products: After a seasonal product purchase (e.g., winter coat), exclude those customers until the next buying season approaches.

Implementation Strategy

Detailed Exclusions in AMC: Use AMC to create custom exclusion lists based on recent purchase data, ensuring these shoppers are excluded for an appropriate duration post-purchase.

Example:

A customer just purchased a new laptop. Exclude them from general laptop ads for a few months. Instead, target them with ads for complementary products like laptop cases, antivirus software, or extended warranties.

4. Website Conversions/DTC Site Customers Exclusions

Why Exclude Website Conversions?

Customers who have already converted on your brand’s website (DTC – Direct-to-Consumer) are likely more engaged with your brand and have a higher lifetime value and profit margin compared to those converting on Amazon. Serving them Amazon DSP ads can be redundant and a waste of ad spend, as they are already familiar with your brands.

Use Cases

  • DTC Brand with E-commerce Expansion: If a DTC brand expands to Amazon but has a well-established website with a strong conversion rate, exclude the existing audience from your Amazon DSP campaigns. Focus your Amazon DSP efforts on acquiring new customers who haven’t interacted with your brand before.

Implementation Strategy

  • Customer List Upload: If you have a list of email addresses or other identifiers for website purchasers, you can upload this list to AMC and create a corresponding exclusion audience.

5. Demography/Geographical Exclusions

Why Exclude Demographic or Geographic Audiences?

Not all audiences are created equal. By excluding demographics or geographic locations that are less relevant to your product, you can sharpen your targeting and ensure your ads reach those most likely to convert. This reduces wasted ad spend and improves campaign efficiency.

Use Cases

  • Age: Exclude audiences outside your target age range. For example, if you sell baby products, exclude users under 18.
  • Location: Target specific regions or exclude those where your product is unavailable due to shipping restrictions or regulatory hurdles.
  • Weather Patterns: Consider excluding regions with minimal or no rainfall throughout the year when advertising products like umbrellas.

Implementation Strategy

  • Targeting by Demographics: Utilize built-in DSP features to target or exclude specific age groups, household incomes, and genders based on available data.
  • Geo-targeting: Leverage DSP’s geo-targeting functionalities to target specific countries, states, regions, or even postal codes. You can also exclude locations where your product is unavailable or performs poorly.
  • AMC Custom Audiences: Create custom audiences in AMC based on various demographic and geographic criteria for more precise targeting or exclusion.

Example:

A company sells high-end athletic apparel. They can exclude users under 25 (who may be on a tighter budget) and focus their campaigns on users in states with a high concentration of marathon runners.

Incorporating Exclusion Audiences into Campaigns

To effectively incorporate exclusion audiences into your DSP campaigns, consider the following steps:

  • Initial Setup: Start with basic exclusions in DSP and progressively implement more granular and complex exclusions using AMC.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Regularly review campaign performance data to adjust and refine your exclusion criteria.

Ready to get started with Adbrew?

Use Adbrew's AMC dashboard to view new-to-brand metrics for all your sponsored and DSP campaigns with ease.

Conclusions

Exclusion audiences are a powerful tool for Amazon DSP advertisers. By strategically excluding existing customers, recent purchasers, low-engagement audiences, and website converters, you can significantly reduce wasted ad spend and target the most promising customers. Leverage Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) for more sophisticated exclusions and continually monitor campaign data to optimize your targeting for maximum return on investment.

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