Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Alexa, what toothpaste should I buy?

While retailers are investing money on search engine marketing, some consumer companies such as Procter & Gamble and Clorox are seeking new ways to promote their products - on Amazon's Echo devices. It works similar with paid search on Google, but there are several distinguished benefits of promoting products on voice-powered devices.

First, there is significant value of being the first product mentioned by Alexa. While scrolling down a Google search page is quick and easy, you are less likely to listen through the entire list offered by the voice assistant. We tend to go with one of the first three brands mentioned by Alexa, given no much price differential in this category.

Moreover, promotion on Alexa can be more accurate and effective, as she knows every order you placed on Amazon. When you run out of your Colgate toothpaste, Alexa would know what to tell you and how to play the ads for you.

One of the challenges for Amazon will be how to prevent being perceived as an ads voice-player. So far, they are holding their bottom lines firm and solid. In June, a start-up called VoiceLabs, which was trying to help developers monetize their Alexa apps with ads, shut down after Amazon changed its policies to restrict promotions in Alexa skills.


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