What is top-of-search placement on Amazon?
Top-of-search placement on Amazon is the sponsored ad space near the top of the first page of search results for a shopper's query. For Sponsored Products, it is a paid placement won through an eligible ad auction, not the product's organic search position. In Sponsored Products reporting, top of search means eligible ads shown in the prominent sponsored space near the top of the first results page, above or among the first unpaid listings. A shopper searching insulated water bottle might see a sponsored bottle before the main organic results. The Sponsored label identifies it as an ad. A top-of-search ad position does not make the product organic result number one. Sponsored and organic rankings come from different systems, so report them separately even when the same ASIN appears in both areas. A Sponsored Products ad needs an eligible product, a matching keyword or product target, available budget, and a competitive auction bid. Amazon also considers relevance and the likelihood of a useful shopper experience. Advertisers can set a campaign-level top-of-search placement bid adjustment to bid more competitively for these auctions. The adjustment raises the potential bid for that placement; it does not reserve a slot or guarantee a sale. Check the campaign's bidding strategy and resulting effective bid before increasing the adjustment, because bidding controls can combine and raise costs. In Amazon Ads Campaign Manager, review the Sponsored Products placement report or placement breakdown for impressions, clicks, spend, attributed sales, ACoS, and ROAS. Compare top of search with rest of search and product pages over a meaningful period, while accounting for different shopper intent. If top of search brings clicks but weak conversions, check search terms, listing relevance, offer price, reviews and images before raising bids again. A lower ACoS or stronger conversion than other placements can justify a cautious test, but a placement report alone does not reveal which keyword caused every result.
Top-of-search placement puts eligible Sponsored Products ads near the top of the first Amazon results page. Learn how bidding and performance work.