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Selling on Amazon has been exploding in popularity and there are some very good reasons for it. The low initial investment catches the eye of entrepreneurs looking to add to their income flow. Then, there’s the hard-to-pass-up access to Amazon’s enormous customer base. 

That’s why Amazon PPC (or pay per click) ads are a must for an Amazon seller. Using an Amazon ad helps drive brand awareness, and directs traffic to your Amazon Store. It’s a strategy that has made it possible for Amazon FBA sellers to compete in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

To help you understand Amazon advertising, we’ve written a three-part series on the different ad formats, including Sponsored Product, Sponsored Brand, and Sponsored Product Display ads.

But, there comes a time when online advertisers might want more from their Amazon PPC ads.

Why Amazon Sellers Might Need MORE Than PPC Advertising

A few years ago, Amazon sellers out on the leading edge of eCommerce started using pay-per-click advertising to drive their product launches and give them an edge. Now, a sponsored ad is a part of everyone’s playbook. That’s why those same slightly-ahead-of-the-curve Amazon sellers have pivoted to Amazon Demand Side Platform. 

Are you wondering what all the excitement is all about? Or, how you can implement Amazon DSP in your own eCommerce business? 

The reason you’d want (or need) to do that has a lot to do with data.

Taking Advantage of Valuable First-Party Data

Simply put, first-party data is information collected by the web property or app itself. For example, when a seller collects subscriber and buyer information from their Shopify store, that’s first-party data. Similarly, first-party data is the result when information is collected from Amazon shoppers.

Recently there have been many restrictions coming from Apple, Google, and other platforms focused on the sharing of data to third parties. However, when you gain access to that data from a voluntary opt-in through a property you control, you aren’t sharing anything with a third party. 

That’s perfectly fine!

This means that all tracking throughout properties you own or within your properties owned by the ad platform you’re using will still work.

Amazon is a huge collector of their users’ data. Whether you’ve put a book on your wishlist or were browsing for a new pair of (black) running shoes on Tuesday, they’re aware of it! You won’t find audience insights as powerful anywhere else.

So, what is this magic Amazon advertising platform?

What is Demand-Side Platform Advertising? 

DSP, (or demand-side-platform) is an algorithm-based programmatic ad platform that serves targeted messaging to ideal audiences at the perfect time.

Self-serve DSP is a great advertising platform because of two very important things, unparalleled audience targeting capabilities and the exclusive creative assets exclusive to DSP that help your product or brand stand out from the crowd.

Demand-Side Platform uses algorithms to collect data from online users in order to show them ads that cater to their needs. The data that DSP collects focuses on demographics, interests, device usage, and online behavior. This information is invaluable to Amazon sellers as well as an Amazon marketing agency. 

Then, an Amazon DSP campaign does the heavy lifting of identifying the optimum location and medium for your programmatic ads.

In the last year, access to the kind of data that helps marketers (and Amazon sellers) make these decisions has become increasingly rare.

DSP’s Audience Targeting Capabilities

Standing out on Amazon is a question of differentiating your product (and brand). To do that, Amazon sellers spend a lot of time tailoring their creative assets to reach increasingly sophisticated buyers. 

At the same time, Amazon sellers realize that with the rapid pace of eCommerce expansion, you cannot market to EVERYONE out there. That’s why audience targeting has become a big part of Amazon PPC management. DSP has doubled down on that. 

• Amazon’s first-party data and DSP’s algorithmic capabilities combine to allow you to craft an advertising strategy that serves ads to increasingly relevant audiences of shoppers 
• Use DSP to drill down in niches to target specific demographics with tactically precise campaigns 
• Retargeting helps build customer loyalty 
• Easily remarket to customers who viewed but didn’t purchase your products

Exclusive DSP Creatives

• Set yourself apart from your competitors with custom creatives and carefully branded content that tell your brand story  
• Increase your presence on prospective buyers’ path to purchase
• YOU decide how and when customers first interact with your brand
• DSP’s data transparency helps you understand your brand’s audiences and leads to more relevant creative ad campaigns
• Remarket to those customers already considering your product with cutting-edge product video

What is Amazon Attribution? 

Attribution in Amazon advertising refers to assigning or giving credit to the marketing touchpoints that influence a purchase. It helps determine which ad types, campaigns, keywords, creatives, etc directly lead to conversions.

Some examples of attribution modeling in Amazon advertising:

• Last Click Attribution – Gives 100% of conversion credit to the final ad or click leading to the order. This is Amazon’s default.
• Multitouch or Position Based Attribution – Spreads credit across multiple ad clicks along the purchase journey, allocating more to recent interactions. Weights first & last clicks more heavily.
• Algorithmic Attribution – Uses machine learning to determine an optimal attribution model and assign fractional credit to all touchpoints involved proportional to their influence.

Analyzing attribution is key for Amazon sellers and advertisers as it allows them to understand actual Return On Advertising Spend (ROAS) performance for different aspects of their campaigns. They can optimize investment towards products, targeting methods, placements that demonstrate the highest sales conversions driven.

What is Amazon Marketing Cloud? 

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a suite of marketing analytics products for brands selling on Amazon. AMC provides brands visibility into consumer shopping behaviors through actionable analytics and attribution across the customer journey.

Key capabilities offered by AMC include:

• Customer insights: Identify high-value shopper segments based on purchase history data
• Campaign measurement: Connect marketing activities to site conversions
• Attribution: Determine ROI and optimize ad spend allocation between different marketing channels

In order to optimize advertising strategy across channels and demonstrate marketing impact on business results, improved access to actionable data and insights is required. By activating Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), brands can gain transparency into customer engagement and conversion behavior data across the purchase funnel.

AMC enables brands to:

• Connect ad exposure to site behavior for targeted customer segments
• Identify highest value buyer types exhibiting repeat purchase patterns
• Uncover additional in-market and seasonal shopper insights
• Leverage insights to develop lookalike audiences for expanded reach

What is a “Programmatic” Ad? 

Programmatic advertising refers to the automated process of purchasing and selling online ads. This tactic affords advertisers the ability to place ads across multiple channels with little human interaction. The ad buying process is automated and constantly adjusted in real time. 

Increasingly sophisticated algorithms automatically choose the best ad spaces, both on and off of Amazon. You might have questions related to Amazon Sponsored Display vs DSP. Even though they are part of different advertising platforms, they share many similarities. 

In both cases, the algorithm is constantly learning from Amazon customers’ behavior. And, as with any artificial intelligence program, the more you use it, the smarter your ad campaign becomes.

DSP Will Help You Grow Your Amazon Audiences!

Amazon is uniquely focused on their customers’ experience. You should be too! 

DSP allows you to upgrade your prospective customers’ experience in several different ways:

• Shoppers navigate to Amazon for a reason. Leverage the power of Amazon’s branding on your off-Amazon campaigns 
• The marketing funnel requires a different approach depending on the stage the shopper is at. DSP creates access to hundreds of metrics designed to drive performance at each stage of the funnel
• Amazon DSP is the only programmatic platform to report on Amazon conversions. Know, don’t guess on your metrics!

How Can You Take Advantage of Amazon DSP?

There are two options to put Amazon DSP advertising to work for you.

1. Managed by Amazon: The managed-service option is designed for companies that want access to Amazon DSP inventory, with consultative service, or for those with limited programmatic advertising experience. The managed-service option typically requires a minimum spend of $50,000 USD (minimum may vary per country).
2. (Managed) Self-service: Self-service customers are in full control of their campaigns. Self-service is a bit of a misnomer. This option can only be accessed through an Amazon marketing agency such as Canopy Management. Managed self-service provides sellers and Amazon marketing services with an attractive blend of control, with ready access to the agency’s DSP expertise. It also allows for more flexibility in ad spend. That’s not a small thing!

One of the biggest benefits of Canopy Management’s DSP Services is having the ability to combine the best of both options. Our Amazon PPC management services use algorithms to do a lot of the leg work. It’s the same thing with our DSP pros. That creates enough bandwidth for Canopy’s DSP Experts that they can be “hands-on,” 24/7 with our partners’ DSP advertising campaigns.

Canopy Management’s Team of DSP Experts Can Help

Amazon DSP offers audience targeting, expanded creative capabilities, and robust analytics to take your eCommerce marketing to the next level. 

By working with an Amazon Agency like Canopy Management, brands can fully leverage DSP through a managed self-service model – blending automation with expert strategic guidance. 

Unlock the potential of Amazon DSP by contacting Canopy Management today, and supercharge your 2024 Amazon advertising strategy with exclusive access, transparency, flexibility, and results.