Many Amazon FBA merchants want to see their business continue to grow. They quickly turn to paid advertising outside of Amazon - such as Facebook, Google or Instagram Ads. What seems logical at first glance can actually do more harm than good to your business. Here you can find out why external cold traffic directly to your Amazon listing can ruin your conversion and how you can achieve real success instead. Learn which strategies really work and which fatal mistakes you should avoid.
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Many people believe that a lot of traffic brings a lot of sales. Sounds logical - more visitors to your products means more sales. However, there is an error in thinking behind this assumption as soon as you direct traffic from outside to your Amazon listings.
Amazon is not just an online store. It is a search engine for prospective buyers. Anyone searching for a product (e.g. "teapot") goes directly to Amazon and in 99% of cases really wants to buy. These users are already close to making a purchase decision(warm traffic).
If you spend money on Facebook, Instagram or Google Ads, it's a different story. These users are usually in private mode, scrolling through the feed in a relaxed manner and come across your ad by chance. The likelihood that these people are in acute need of your product is very low. This is called cold traffic.
Let's imagine the following scenario: You place a Facebook ad for your teapot. The user realizes: "Actually, I don't need a new teapot, but it looks nice!" He clicks on your ad, lands on your Amazon listing and... leaves the page again without buying.
The difference:
| Traffic source | Conversion rate example |
|---|---|
| Amazon search | 10 % |
| Facebook/Instagram Ad | 1-2 % |
| Google Ad | 1-2 % |
Many visitors from "cold" traffic do not buy. Your conversion rate drops, Amazon notices this and thinks: "The product doesn't seem interesting." This results in your listing ranking lower. Less visibility means fewer organic sales and less revenue in the long term. It's a vicious circle. Retailers end up trying to compensate for the downward trend with more advertising and only make the situation worse.
Important insight: Too much external traffic without a direct intention to buy will worsen your conversion rate and damage your Amazon ranking in the long term.
The idea sounds good at first: with Google Ads, you can send people to your Amazon product in a targeted manner. In practice, however, many people click on the ad "blindly". They see no price, no product image and don't even know what to expect on the landing page. Here, too, cold traffic meets your offer.
Many people only click out of curiosity, without any real intention to buy. As a result, you pay a lot but sell very little.
Google Ads send visitors to your listing who are not even sure that they have found the right product. Hardly anyone buys, your conversion rate plummets and Amazon penalizes your product.
The result: high advertising costs, poor conversion and a ranking that you can only repair with expensive measures. As a result, your marketing budget runs the risk of being eaten up without delivering real results.
Visitor quality is crucial. It is not enough to simply bring masses of people to your listing. If the majority of them are not genuinely interested in buying, it will do more harm than good.
Conclusion: Traffic quality beats traffic quantity. If you place Google Ads, you should know what you are doing - otherwise you will burn money and ruin your position on Amazon.
Instead of sending traffic directly to Amazon, invest in your own online store. Why? This is where you build trust and can present your brand better. Prospective customers who don't buy directly from the store often search for your product on Amazon because they know Amazon as a reliable purchasing platform.
Example Wahu (Niklas Gruno):
Wahu first set up its own store. When the product was then listed on Amazon, sales there skyrocketed - without any extra advertising on Amazon. The brand traffic that ends up on Amazon is considered "warm" traffic. Amazon sees: People are actively searching for your product and buying. This pushes your ranking.
This strengthens your business in the long term with little risk. If you build up traffic cleverly, you can use Facebook or Google Ads for your own store and benefit from Amazon at the same time.
Tip: Send traffic to your store, bring visitors into contact with your brand and then let them voluntarily access Amazon. This builds trust, ensures constant sales and protects your Amazon ranking.
Instead of sending random Facebook users to your listing, use the people who have already bought from you. Actively collect email addresses of your customers.
Here's how to do it step by step:
Use this list to provide targeted information about new products or promotions. Customers know your brand, have already made a purchase and are much more open to your offer(warm traffic).
Advantages of this method:
Ideally, combine products that go together. Example: You sell a crib - then a baby carriage is the next product of interest to the same target group. This allows you to advertise both products via targeted newsletters and achieve better results.
If, on the other hand, you sell a hedge trimmer and then a crib, it doesn't fit together. Your target group is too different, your brand appears arbitrary and the communication is scattered.
Targeted email marketing traffic ensures that visitors come to your Amazon listing with genuine interest and a willingness to buy. These conversion rates are usually higher than with cold Facebook or Google traffic. You also create a community of loyal shoppers who keep coming back.
To implement:
This strategy is the natural protective shield against falling conversion rates and poor rankings.
Many retailers don't initially think about the consequences of cold traffic. The effects often only become apparent months later when organic sales collapse and ranking positions are lost to competitors.
The most common mistakes:
The consequences are clear: conversion rates fall, Amazon ranks you lower, growth fails to materialize or collapses. It often takes a lot of time and advertising budget to stop this development - and retailers often notice this too late.
Important: The error is not in the external traffic itself, but in the incorrect targeting and lack of strategy behind it.
If you are looking for professional support in building your brand, product images, SEO texts or listings, you will find it at Stacvalley - book an initial consultation. The team will help you take your Amazon business to the next level.
You can also get the latest insights, tips and exchanges with other retailers on social media. Follow Stacvalley on Instagram and Facebook for valuable insights and community updates.
Keep your knowledge and strategies up to date - Amazon and online marketing are changing fast and successful retailers are constantly adapting. Professional advice can make a real difference and save you time and many costly mistakes.
External traffic is not a panacea for weak Amazon sales. Too much cold traffic almost always leads to lower conversion rates, poorer rankings and long-term damage to your listing. If you want to grow successfully, rely on qualified, warm traffic - for example through email marketing to existing customers or through advertising on your own online store.
Focus on systematically building your brand traffic and create a solid foundation for scalable growth on Amazon. If necessary, get experienced experts on your side, for example from Stacvalley, to avoid mistakes and make your Amazon FBA business sustainably profitable.
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