Physical and digital commerce is converging at a rapid pace, and the speed is being dictated by ever-growing consumer demands. The convergence makes it necessary for brands to have a strong omnichannel presence. This is where Walmart comes in, it has an enormous omnichannel presence and is now engaging with 37 million customers on Walmart.com each day. It’s not surprising how many sellers have flocked to the online marketplace, looking at it as the future frontier.
However, as with any big eCommerce site, getting lost in the endless stream of goods is relatively easy. This is why it’s crucial to implement a well-thought-out advertising strategy on Walmart to increase your brand’s long-term exposure.
This blog will shed a light on the benefits of Walmart Advertising, eligibility, bidding, and the types of ads you can select.
The Benefits of Advertising on Walmart’s Marketplace
Walmart Sponsored Ads (a.k.a. Sponsored Products) provide your growing eCommerce business with the capability to move towards the very top of the search results page. Particularly, they could be displayed in one of the high-traffic spots:
- Search results
- Product pages
- Category pages
Advertising can be a great way to “prime the pump” as an entrepreneur in the process of launching slow-moving or new products. The term is referred to as “the Flywheel Effect,” the sales and reviews generated by ads could positively affect your organic ranking.
In addition to generating revenues, Walmart Sponsored Products allows you to gather more information on your customers. You can use it to find out how shipping speeds and rates, copy adjustments, and other elements can affect your sales and make use of the information to make the flywheel spin quicker.
Who Is Eligible for Walmart Advertising?
Walmart Sponsored Products are available to all sellers, vendors, and agencies on the marketplace. Advertisements can be made for items that are currently in stock and can be placed in the Buy Box; be eligible for Search in-grid placement, your product should:
- Appear in the top 128 organic results
- Be in the same category as the search query
- Have the same product type for at least one unsponsored product that ranks in the top 20 results
Sponsored Products should also have a higher ranking or be equal in relation to the organic search rank for your item.
Apart from that, the other requirement is that you need to be a seller in good standing and willing to spend at least $100 per day (or $1000 per month) for advertisements. However, as the cost of advertising is determined by the CPC rates, you won’t/don’t have to worry about spending a fixed amount of $1000 every month.
How Does Walmart Bidding work?
If you’ve ever run advertisements on Amazon, you would know that Amazon utilizes a second-bid system in which the auction winner pays only one cent more than the second-highest bid. However, Walmart employs a first-bid method that can be more difficult to manage. It requires you to pay for the amount you offered at the time you won the auction, no matter if it’s 10 times greater than the second-highest bidder. If you’re not paying attention to your advertising campaigns, then you could end up paying a lot more than you need to be.
This leads us to our next subject: two main campaigns that you can pick from in Walmart Advertising.
Manual
This option allows you to have the most control over Sponsored Products. You can select the match kinds (exact, phrase, or broad) and the keywords you want to bid through Walmart’s Keyword Analytics to identify high-value keywords. You can select the individual CPC bids and update them according to your preferences. This type of campaign only gives you access to search in-grid placement.
Automatic
This option is likely to give you the most exposure. It is perfect for people who are just getting started in the world of Walmart advertisements and don’t have enough time to check and improve the advertisements. It is possible to set up in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is input the required information about the product. Walmart’s search algorithm then handles everything from managing keywords to bid adjustments, with the aim of maximizing impressions. In addition, to buy box placements and product carousel, this campaign type also grants you access to search in-grid positioning.
Available Ad Types
Search In-grid (Manual and Automatic)
The search in-grid displays your items on the top page for relevant keywords results. Your product can be displayed within the top 12 results on categories, searches, and pages for products. The only limitation is that Walmart cannot display more than 2 sponsored products at the same time.
In contrast to Amazon, Walmart will also not show your product more than once on the SERP, separating your organic and paid placement.
Buy Box (Automatic Only)
The Buy box is placed on the product pages, and the sponsored items may be displayed under the box, on relevant or related products. This provides you with the distinct benefit of attracting buyers at the time when they’re most eager to make a purchase.
Carousel (Automatic Only)
Carousel advertisements are the most straightforward of the three ad types and don’t need to be placed in the first 128 organic search results. This type of advertisement puts your item in a scrollable carousel that contains similar products (with up to 24 products) on the category and product pages.
How to Get Started?
If all goes well and you’re ready to begin working on your very first Sponsored Products campaign, you could either apply for a self-serve system or access the third-party AdTech platform.
For self-service, contact the Walmart Media Group or email WMG_info@wal-mart.com. You’ll need to provide basic information about your company and your target market, primary campaign objectives, and an estimated budget (among other things).
For third-party access, contact us. We at Sellryt, a Walmart Advertising agency, will take care of all your eCommerce needs. We are in the industry for a long time and have been helping brands grow and reach their fullest potential.
Book a free consultation today!
Ending Bonus: Tips for Your First Ad Campaign
There are some fundamental home-keeping guidelines to be aware of when you plan your first Walmart advertising campaign. The first is to keep in mind that the performance of your listing relies on having quality content. Listings that are not high-quality will only lead to negative results. Follow Walmart’s SEO tips and the CARE (complete, accurate, relevant, engaging) checklist. Ensure that before placing ad dollars on your listing, your site is properly optimized to turn visitors into customers.
Secondly, you can start by experimenting with a variety of items to cast a large net and collect sufficient information to guide future campaigns.
If you’re new to the concept of sponsored products, you should start with the automated method because it offers the highest reach with the lowest setup. Initially, you can use Walmart’s algorithm, then switch to manual or a mix of both after you’ve become accustomed to the procedure. This is also the case for ads and campaigns; it is beneficial to try multiple types simultaneously.
Manual campaigns are where you actively bid against keywords. They are more efficient and effective, even though they require more effort. For the manual campaign, Walmart Marketplace has added keyword reports which can be used as an instrument to harvest search data.
Combining the manual and automatic ads could help you expand your reach while establishing an enduring foundation for budget-friendly spending. You could utilize content-based auto campaigns to investigate new possibilities or trends prior to moving to manual campaigns.
We wish you all the best!