Amazon Is Gaining Ads, Pulling Dollars From Google's Market Share

By Heather Fletcher

Amazon is gaining ads as it gains on Google. Amazon is seeing the influx of cash because it has a seamless search-to-checkout experience in one location, with more browsing shoppers starting on the e-commerce platform and more ad agencies reporting that their clients are shifting ad budget from Google to Amazon as a result.

Recent consumer data provided on Thursday by digital services and solutions provider Avionos shows “more consumers head to Amazon (38%) when they intend to purchase a product than Google (22%).” And the agency’s 2018 consumer expectations study reads: “When browsing online, with no specific intent to buy, a third of respondents (33%) said they begin their search on Amazon, and 32% begin with a Google search.”

As a result, many marketers are moving a large share of ad dollars from Google to Amazon, CNBC reports on Oct. 8 in its article “Some Advertisers Are Moving Half of Their Search Budget From Google to Amazon, Say Ad Industry Sources.”

Compound those reports with research announced by Marketing Land on Thursday that was conducted by its parent company, Third Door Media: “80% of Amazon advertisers plan to increase spending with the platform in the coming year.”

Why Marketers Are Investing More Ad Dollars in Amazon

CNBC’s Michelle Castillo cites Survata’s finding that 49% of product searches begin on Amazon and, with that consideration, brands think Amazon ads directly correlate to sales. Castillo says:

“Another said clients appreciate Amazon is a seamless shopping experience. Using a Google search ad to lead to a purchase may require a person to set up an account and input their credit card information with a separate website. Especially for smaller brands, there's not really an advantage between selling direct to the consumer versus selling through Amazon.

“Those budgets have to come from somewhere.

“While some of the dollars are being siphoned from print, TV and programmatic display advertising, one executive at a large agency said some clients who sell products on Amazon are moving between 50% and 60% of their allocated Google search ad dollars specifically to Amazon. The shift amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, he noted.”

But Don’t Forget About Facebook Ads

Social media networks are becoming seamless shopping experiences, too. Most notably, marketers are investing heavily in Facebook ads this holiday season, according to Reveal Mobile.

Avionos reveals the reason for that in its consumer expectations study:

“More than half of respondents (55%) have made a purchase through a social media channel, such as Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.”

Despite the growing influencer marketing trend, Avionos says only 9% of survey respondents who bought on social did so because of influencers. The plurality, 27%, paid attention to user-generated recommendations.

So, Avionos advises: