How to Advertise on Walmart Marketplace and Improve Your Traffic

Advertising on Walmart Marketplace is a highly effective way for sellers to drive targeted traffic and sales. By leveraging Walmart‘s advertising platform and robust targeting capabilities, sellers can get their products in front of millions of potential new customers.

The key is to take advantage of Walmart‘s various ad formats, write compelling and keyword-optimized ad copy, target your ads precisely, create visually appealing creatives, and consistently analyze and optimize performance. With the right strategy, Walmart ads can significantly boost your product visibility and marketplace sales.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share my proven insider strategies and extensive expertise to help you successfully advertise on Walmart Marketplace as an ecommerce seller. After 10 years managing high-volume Amazon and Walmart accounts, I‘ve seen firsthand what works to profitably scale sales.

By the end, you‘ll have an in-depth game plan to create high-converting Walmart ads and dramatically improve your marketplace traffic and revenue. Let‘s dive in!

Massive Audience, Lower Competition

Before we get into the details, it‘s important to understand why Walmart Marketplace advertising is so effective for driving targeted traffic. Here are two key reasons:

Huge Existing Customer Base

Over 150 million monthly visitors makes Walmart.com one of the highest-traffic retail sites.
Massive diverse audience spanning all demographics.
Advertising provides instant access to Walmart‘s vast existing customer base.

Less Competitors Than Amazon

Walmart Marketplace only has 150,000 sellers versus Amazon‘s 2 million sellers.
Lower competition makes it easier for your products to get discovered.
Smaller advertiser pool allows your listings to stand out more.

These factors demonstrate the immense potential to profitably scale your reach and sales on Walmart Marketplace. Now let‘s discuss how to make that happen.

Choosing the Right Ad Types

Walmart offers several advertising formats, each suited for different goals:

Display Ads

Visual banner ads across Walmart sites and apps.
Build brand awareness and reach outside Walmart.
Target by device, geo, audience, placements, etc.

Brand Amplifier

Showcase brand logo and products in search results.
Establish brand authority and trust.
Best for branded manufacturer campaigns.

Buy Box Banner

Promote substitute/complementary products on listing pages.
Help cross-sell related or alternative items.
Contextual and targeted.

I recommend testing a combination of both Sponsored Products for direct response and Display Ads for awareness. Brand Amplifier also works well for established brands.

Crafting High-Converting Ad Copy

Your ad copy makes the first impression to convince clicks. Follow these proven tips for writing effective text ads:

Lead with Your Brand

Starting with your brand builds familiarity and trust immediately.

Keep Headlines Laser-Focused

Front-load headlines with your key customer promise or product benefit using 5-10 words.

Communicate Benefits Clearly

Focus on articulating your product’s value, features and benefits clearly and persuasively.

Urgency Triggers

Inject urgency or scarcity to motivate action while not overdoing it.

Conversational Voice

Use casual, conversational language — avoid overly salesy or formal tones.

Make It Scannable

Keep copy short, punchy and scannable. Get your message across quickly.

Flawless Grammar

Double check for any typos or errors that could hurt clickthrough rate.

Choosing the Right Keywords

Strategic keyword selection is imperative for Walmart ad success. Here are my top tips:

Review Your Search Terms Report

Your search terms report reveals proven high-converting queries. Definitely add any winners not already targeted.

Mine Your Competitors’ Keywords

Research keywords competitors are bidding on and target the best ones not saturating your niche.

Include Seasonal and Trending Keywords

Factor in seasonality, trends and events when choosing keywords. Update them regularly.

Leverage Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords with 3-5+ words convert better due to high intent.

Categorize Keywords

Group keywords by theme, ad group, match type, etc to organize your account‘s structure.

Precisely Targeting Your Audience

Walmart Advertising provides robust options for zeroing in on your ideal shoppers:

Placement Targeting

Show ads on specific site sections like category pages.

Geo-Targeting

Target ads to specific cities, regions, countries.

Device Targeting

Serve ads on desktop vs mobile.

Demographic Targeting

Target by age, gender, income level.

Interests and Purchase Intent

Reach high-intent audiences.

Custom Audiences

Create tailored segments from your CRM data.

Retargeting

Remarket to past visitors and purchasers.

The tighter you can target your audience, the better your performance and ROI will be.

Designing Visually Compelling Ads

For graphical ad formats, aesthetics and design best practices are crucial:

High-Quality Product Images

Use crisp, clean, consistent images showing your product or offer.

Minimal Text

Let the visuals tell the story. Use text only for brief headlines and calls-to-action.

Strategic Use of White Space

Don’t clutter the design. Use white space carefully to create cleanliness.

Prominent Branding

Ensure your logo and branding stands out clearly.

Clear Call-to-Action

Incorporate large, eye-catching CTA buttons for immediate action.

Emotional Storytelling Imagery

Connect emotionally by showing your product’s lifestyle and benefits visually.

Continuously Analyze and Optimize Performance

Like any advertising, Walmart ads require ongoing refinement through rigorous analytics and testing.

Track Conversion Metrics

Monitor clicks, add-to-carts, purchases to gauge performance.

Calculate Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Measure overall profitability and ROI.

Perform A/B Testing

Test ad copy, creatives, landing pages to identify improvements.

Analyze by Segment

Break down metrics by keyword, ad, placement, audience, etc.

Monitor and Adjust Bids

Set appropriate bids based on individual keyword value and tweak regularly.

Identify Optimization Opportunities

Spot areas to improve through campaign structure, new keywords, etc.

Execute a Comprehensive Strategy

As you can see, successfully advertising on Walmart Marketplace requires an integrated strategy encompassing:

Choosing the right ad formats
Writing highly targeted, optimized ad copy
Selecting profitable keywords
Precisely targeting your audience
Creating visually compelling ads
Continuously optimizing based on data

By leveraging these proven best practices in your Walmart advertising, you can significantly increase your product visibility and marketplace traffic. The key is to continually test, iterate and refine over time.

I hope this guide provides an invaluable head start in developing your own winning Walmart marketplace advertising strategy. Let me know if you have any other questions!