Walmart Marketplace Advertising 101: 5 Surprising Differences Every Amazon Seller Must Learn


If You Run Amazon Ads, Walmart Will Feel Like a Different Planet

So you’ve taken the leap to create a Walmart seller account—nice move. You’ve optimized your listings, maybe even explored Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). Now comes the next step: ads.

If you’re expecting to copy-paste your Amazon PPC playbook over to Walmart Connect, hold up. Walmart’s advertising platform plays by its own rules, and ignoring those differences can mean wasted spend—or worse, a stalled launch.

This walkthrough breaks down the 5 biggest surprises Amazon sellers face when running Walmart ads. Plus, I’ll share a few tested strategies you can use to adapt fast and grow smarter on the Walmart online marketplace.


Difference #1: Walmart Uses a First-Price Auction (Not Second-Price Like Amazon)

On Amazon, if you bid $2.00 and the next-highest bid is $1.20, you pay about $1.21. That’s the beauty of the second-price auction.

But Walmart uses a first-price auction. If you bid $2.00 and win, you actually pay $2.00—no discounts.

Why it matters: Most Amazon advertisers aren’t used to this. If you blindly bid high on Walmart, you could burn through your budget faster than you can say “cost-per-click.” What to do instead: Start lower and scale up slowly. Watch your impressions and CTR daily until you find your sweet spot.


Difference #2: Walmart Has No Negative Keywords (Yet)

One of the most powerful tools in Amazon PPC? Negative keywords—they let you block irrelevant searches that waste money.

Not so fast on Walmart. As of 2025, negative keywords are not supported in manual or automatic campaigns. This means you have to be extra careful with keyword targeting and closely monitor which search terms are converting.

Pro Tip: Run short campaigns and pull performance reports early. If you’re getting irrelevant traffic, consider pausing or splitting your campaigns to isolate poor performers.


Difference #3: Limited Targeting Options (But Growing Fast)

Amazon lets you go wild: product targeting, competitor ASINs, retargeting, display ads, brand ads—you name it.

Walmart? It’s still evolving. Until recently, you could only run Sponsored Search keyword campaigns. But now they’ve rolled out:

  • Sponsored Brands (banner ads for brand visibility)
  • Sponsored Videos (video clips in search)
  • Limited Display Ads (via Walmart DSP for select users)

Still, it’s not nearly as robust as Amazon. Product and category targeting? Still not fully rolled out. But the good news? Walmart Connect is actively improving and adding more tools for sellers every quarter.


Difference #4: Fewer Sellers Are Running Ads—So Take Advantage

According to Zentail, only about 1.6% of Walmart sellers use paid ads—compared to over 75% on Amazon.

That means Walmart ads are less competitive. CPCs are lower, and there’s more room for early wins—if you know how to structure your campaigns well.

This is a huge opportunity for Amazon-native sellers. The lower ad density can give your brand higher visibility at a lower cost, especially if your listings are optimized.

What’s Working Right Now

  • Focus on high-converting keywords from your Amazon data
  • Launch 2–3 manual keyword campaigns grouped by intent (branded, competitor, generic)
  • Use Walmart’s 2-day shipping badge or WFS fulfillment to boost ad conversion

Difference #5: You Can’t Auto-Pilot Your Way to Profits

Amazon’s algorithm helps you out with automatic bidding, placements, and optimization. Walmart, however, puts more of the strategy on you.

Campaigns require more manual control and frequent optimization. There’s no ACoS metric, and ROAS is your north star. Reporting is still basic—and it’s easy to overlook bad spend if you’re not checking your campaigns regularly.

My advice: Block out 15–30 minutes daily for the first 2 weeks of any new campaign. Adjust bids, pause underperformers, and document learnings. Walmart PPC needs hands-on attention to thrive.


Real Talk: My First Campaign Was a Disaster (Then a Breakthrough)f

When I launched my first Walmart ad, I treated it like Amazon—bids were high, keywords broad, and I expected the platform to optimize automatically.

Big mistake. I spent $112 in two days and didn’t get a single sale.

So I hit pause. Took a step back. Reran an auto campaign for a few weeks. Using Walmart’s data on search keywords I then added a manual campaign on my top-converting Walmart keywords. Lowered my bids. Targeted exact match only.

Within a week, I was getting 6x ROAS. The moral of the story? Walmart is a different game—but once you figure it out, you can absolutely win.


Final Thoughts: Adapt, Test, Win

If you’re serious about selling on the walmart.com seller platform, learning how to advertise is critical. But don’t expect to plug in your Amazon blueprint and walk away.

Walmart ads reward sellers who test and tweak. Start slow, optimize often, and let your data drive decisions. And if you hit a wall? There are plenty of Walmart Connect tips, forums, and experts to help you improve.

The earlier you master Walmart PPC, the more you can scale while competition is still light.


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