Amazon has three main ad types, and sellers often pour everything into one without understanding the other two. Each does a different job: one captures demand, one builds your brand, one retargets shoppers. Used together they cover the whole buying journey. This guide explains Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display, what each is for, and when to use them.

Table of Contents

• Sponsored Products
• Sponsored Brands
• Sponsored Display
• Side-by-Side Comparison
• Common Questions
• What Order to Use Them In
• FAQs

Sponsored Products

Sponsored Products are the most common Amazon ads. They promote a single product listing and appear right in search results and on product pages, looking almost like organic listings. They capture shoppers who are actively searching for products like yours, which makes them the highest-intent, highest-converting ad type for most sellers. If you run only one ad type, this is it. New to ads? Start with our guide on how Amazon PPC works.

Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands are the banner-style ads at the top of search results that show your brand logo, a custom headline, and several products. They require Brand Registry. Their job is different from Sponsored Products: instead of capturing a single sale, they build brand awareness and send shoppers to your Brand Store or a curated product range. They are powerful for brands trying to be remembered, not just clicked.

Sponsored Display

Sponsored Display is the retargeting ad type. It shows your products to shoppers who viewed your listing but did not buy, or who looked at similar products, and it can follow them both on Amazon and across other websites. It is less about capturing a fresh search and more about bringing back shoppers who already showed interest. For brands with Brand Registry, it adds a useful re-engagement layer.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Ad Type	Main Job	Needs Brand Registry?
Sponsored Products	Capture active searchers	No
Sponsored Brands	Build brand awareness	Yes
Sponsored Display	Retarget interested shoppers	Yes

Common Questions About Sponsored Products vs Sponsored Brands

Is Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands better for a new seller?

For most new sellers, Sponsored Products is the better starting point. It promotes individual products directly in search results, needs no Brand Registry, and its data tells you which keywords actually convert before you spend on anything else. Sponsored Brands works best once you have a few proven products and want to promote the brand as a whole with a custom headline and logo. The common mistake is launching Sponsored Brands first for the branded look, then having no keyword conversion data to point it at.

Do Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands compete with each other?

They can appear on the same search results page, but they are not really competing, they are covering different jobs. Sponsored Brands typically holds the banner at the top and builds awareness across several products, while Sponsored Products captures the shopper closer to the click, at the individual product level. Run together, they let you hold more of the page. The thing to watch is your own branded search terms, where both can show at once, so use negative keywords or clear campaign structure to avoid paying twice for the same click.

Can I run Sponsored Brands without Sponsored Products?

You can, but it is rarely the right move. Sponsored Brands sends shoppers to a Store or a landing page and works best on demand you have already validated. Without Sponsored Products running underneath to prove which keywords convert, you are guessing at what to put in the Sponsored Brands campaign. The reliable sequence is Sponsored Products first to find the converting keywords, then Sponsored Brands to scale awareness on the terms you know work.

Which ad type has a lower ACoS?

It depends on the goal, not the format. Sponsored Products often shows a tighter ACoS because it targets high-intent shoppers at the product level, close to the buying decision. Sponsored Brands frequently carries a higher ACoS because part of its job is awareness and new-to-brand reach, which pays off over a longer window rather than on the first click. Judging Sponsored Brands purely on same-click ACoS undersells what it is actually for. Match the metric to the job: efficiency for Sponsored Products, reach and new-to-brand for Sponsored Brands.

What Order to Use Them In

For most sellers the path is clear. Start with Sponsored Products, master it, and make it profitable, since it does the heavy lifting. Once you have Brand Registry and a stable Sponsored Products foundation, add Sponsored Brands to build awareness and defend your brand terms. Layer in Sponsored Display to retarget shoppers who did not convert. Each addition covers a stage of the journey the others miss. If you want all three ad types working together as one coordinated strategy, that is what we do. Our Amazon PPC management service builds and balances the full ad mix, and you can see the results on our client results page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands?

Sponsored Products promote a single listing in search results to capture active searchers, and need no Brand Registry. Sponsored Brands show your logo and multiple products to build awareness, and require Brand Registry. One captures a sale; the other builds a brand.

Which Amazon ad type should I start with?

Sponsored Products. It is the highest-intent, highest-converting ad type and needs no Brand Registry. Master it first, then add Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display as you grow and your budget allows.

Do I need Brand Registry for Amazon ads?

Not for Sponsored Products, which any seller can run. Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display generally require Brand Registry, so enrolling unlocks the full range of ad types.

What is Sponsored Display used for?

Retargeting. It shows your products to shoppers who viewed your listing or similar products but did not buy, both on Amazon and across other sites. It re-engages interested shoppers rather than capturing fresh searches.

Should I run all three ad types?

Eventually, if budget allows, since each covers a different stage of the buying journey. But start with Sponsored Products and expand once it is profitable. Spreading a small budget across all three at once usually weakens results everywhere.