Overview

Amazon has added a new Sponsored Products Video ad type that places short, interactive product videos directly in search results. Sellers and vendors can now attach up to five feature videos to a single ASIN, and Amazon’s algorithm selects the most relevant thumbnails for each shopper. The change matters because early tests show a 9 % lift in click‑through rates and an eight‑fold boost in engagement for viewers who watch past five seconds.

Key Points

• Video limit per ASIN — Advertisers may upload a maximum of five short videos for each advertised product, each focusing on a distinct feature or use case.
• Dynamic thumbnail display — Amazon shows up to three video thumbnails alongside a Sponsored Product, choosing which ones to present based on the shopper’s query, browsing history, and prior engagement.
• Seamless campaign addition — Videos are added through the existing Sponsored Products console or API, allowing sellers to enhance current ad groups without rebuilding campaign structures.
• Bid modifiers for video — Advertisers can apply separate bid adjustments specifically for video placements, enabling higher bids on visual ads for high‑margin or complex items.
• Full API coverage — All creation, update, query, and moderation functions are available via the Advertising API, supporting large‑scale, programmatic video deployment.
• US‑only rollout — The feature is currently limited to the United States marketplace; no launch dates have been announced for Europe, Japan, Canada, or other regions.

How Sponsored Products Video Works

1. Upload and assign videos — Sellers upload up to five product‑feature videos (typically 15‑30 seconds each) through the advertising console or API and link each video to a specific ad group within an existing Sponsored Products campaign. For example, a kitchen appliance brand might add one video showing the blender’s blade design, another highlighting the touch‑screen controls, and a third demonstrating a smoothie recipe.
2. Algorithmic thumbnail selection — Amazon’s recommendation engine evaluates the shopper’s search term, recent browsing patterns, and historical interaction signals to pick three of the uploaded thumbnails for display. A shopper searching for “noise‑cancelling headphones” could see thumbnails that emphasize battery life, comfort, and active‑noise‑cancellation, even if the seller uploaded five different videos.