Comments on: Is Amazon taking Author Advertising too far?

By: Amplify Your Conversion Rate With KDP's A+ Content - Hidden Gems Book Blog

Amplify Your Conversion Rate With KDP's A+ Content - Hidden Gems Book Blog — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 12:02:10 +0000

[…] long ago as 2019, I was writing about how the path to self-publishing has narrowed. That was when Amazon introduced “Advertising on Amazon” – which leased out a bunch of […]

By: James Gallaway

James Gallaway — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 03:39:32 +0000

This is so annoying. But, you know, if Jeff Bezos gets money for rocket fuel who cares about anyone who wants to buy a book without having to search through unwanted titles?

By: Is self-publishing success easier or more difficult on Amazon these days? - Hidden Gems Book Blog

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 12:25:04 +0000

[…] change affecting self-publishing success for authors these days is in how Amazon has become a ‘pay to play’ marketplace. Organic visibility – the chances of Amazon suggesting your book through search results or a […]

By: Getting the Most Out of Amazon Advertising - Hidden Gems Book Blog

Getting the Most Out of Amazon Advertising - Hidden Gems Book Blog — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:10:07 +0000

[…] recently wrote a blog post complaining about just how quickly Amazon had gone ‘all in’ with their Sponsored […]

By: Making Sense of Amazon Advertising - Hidden Gems Book Blog

Making Sense of Amazon Advertising - Hidden Gems Book Blog — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 12:10:07 +0000

[…] to authors – Sponsored Ads, and Lockscreen Ads. Sponsored Ads place your book as “Sponsored Content” in relevant search terms, and on the product pages of relevant books. Lockscreen Ads can […]

By: Jane Ryder

Jane Ryder — Thu, 30 May 2019 16:55:04 +0000

Great info, and unfortunately, I think you’re right about everything. The ads and “sponsored” content are becoming intrusive to the point of making shopping for anything on Amazon harder, rather than easier, and with books it’s worst of all.

Plus, even WITH AMS ads, the ROI is getting worse and worse.

One thing I noticed just yesterday is that the bid range for keywords in the AMS ads I run for clients has jumped by twenty cents. Where before the low end of the range for a lot of keywords was $.10 or even less, now there are NO keywords in our lists that start any lower than $.34 — and these are the same keywords we’ve used before.

Has anyone else noticed that, or is it just a statistical anomaly at my end?

By: Texas

Texas — Sat, 25 May 2019 13:38:20 +0000

I agree. I get peeved when I type in a specific item, whether I’m on Amz:US or Walmart or Home Depot or wherever, and I get garbage instead of what I want.

I am being specific and yet sometimes my item never appears even pages later. By the way, I don’t search the pages anymore. If I try twice and do not get what I want, I am gone and many times I never return.

Plus, I have been having a rash of problems with orders through Amz lately that I really do not want to shop there anymore.

I have started getting Epubs so I do not have to deal with Amz so much. My Kindle hardly sees the Internet since it takes me days to get my Kindle operating again to where I can find my books. I only load 100 at a time but Amz just hijacks my Kindle and loads it down making it so slow I think it died. My default for books is a bogus computer.

So I am steady looking for other sources for my needs and Amz lost my business. As for free books, there is a gamut of other sources but I will post my reviews on Amz.

By: Peri Dwyer Worrell

Peri Dwyer Worrell — Fri, 24 May 2019 18:39:14 +0000

I was an Amazon early adopter in the late 90s, and one of the things I loved about it, the thing that made Amazon what it is today, was the pinpoint accuracy of its recommendations for books I’d love. Amazon seems to have abandoned its data analytics completely and now its main selling point is speed and reliability of delivery. It’s a shame. I

By: Terry Tyler

Terry Tyler — Fri, 24 May 2019 17:20:22 +0000

Interesting – I’ve noticed odd things if I put my name into the search, but it hadn’t registered that this is what it was until reading this.

Try BookBub. It’s so good that your visibility will jump over the problem. I’ve never paid for an Amazon ad, but I can see what you mean about all this – I remember when having a Facebook author page was worth doing, then, a few years back, it became ‘pay to promote’, and suddenly no one was seeing my posts anymore. I also agree with you about the problem of strapped-for-cash authors spending money on ads rather than editing and proofreading. They’ve been spending it on glorious covers that do not mirror the standard of what is inside, for years, alas.

By: Piper Lennox

Piper Lennox — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:02:42 +0000

Great post! And very true, sadly. The first book that comes up for my name isn’t mine. The second one is – but only because it’s an ad I specifically targeted with my name as a keyword.

It’s ridiculous that authors have to now pay for their own books to show at the top of a search specifically for their name.

Even if they just moved the Sponsored books more toward the middle of the page (which I think they used to do? I might be misremembering), that would be a big improvement.