Back to Resources

When it comes to online advertising revenue, Amazon trails both Facebook and Google. However, Amazon has been gaining ground on their two competitors, and they’re doing it with the help of an increasingly important advertising platform, DSP. 

Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that allows you to programmatically buy ads to reach new and existing audiences on and off Amazon.

More importantly at the moment, it’s also the best way for Amazon sellers to access the all-important data that enables them to increase their digital marketing IQ, and boost their Amazon SEO. 

Because of the high demand from Amazon advertisers for its user purchase data, Amazon is sitting pretty, particularly when we consider the growing importance of off-platform advertising as a factor in Amazon rank and online business development.

This is certainly good news for digital marketers and advertisers looking to reduce their ad spend and increase their Amazon sales.

Amazon Has a Lot to Offer to Media Buyers

Due to their rapid growth and massive revenue, Amazon will continue to invest heavily into offering more robust advertising options for its customers and sellers. They’ve already shown this by expanding into video ads and artificial intelligence algorithms that work to only show the most relevant ads to ready buyers.

Ok…Ok…You’re probably thinking Well that’s great but Amazon only accounts for a portion of our distribution channels and sales.

But did you know that 48% of Amazon sponsored display ads impact non-Amazon sales?!

Overall, it appears that Amazon has a lot to offer media buyers, not just Amazon audiences. In fact, in an ad-buyer survey conducted by Cowen of 52 senior U.S. ad-buyers, it was revealed that Amazon ads have the second highest ROI next to Google search!!

Amazon has immeasurable amounts of shopper data that allow audiences to be targeted based on known behaviors. This gives them quite an advantage. Further, Amazon owns many popular websites on which they can track an advertiser audience, gather more data, and serve up ad campaigns as well.

Amazon gains the shopper, owns their data AND the sites they visit outside of the marketplace, creating brand awareness and other critical components of a profitable advertising campaign. 

Potential customers can’t help being influenced by the power of the Amazon platform.

Doom & Gloom and the Death of Third Party Data

The 2021, IOS 14 update from Apple sent ripples throughout the eCommerce marketing and media buying community.

Apple was forcing a prompt asking for explicit permission to track across platforms for every app and website Apple users visit/use. This means that there would soon be no more pixel tracking for those who opt out (most people). The tracking that is available is limited to a 7-day attribution window and less events.

Some data is already in regarding the impact this has had and it isn’t great for advertisers. Tracking permission has dropped from 70% to 4%.

Making less waves in the community, but still incredibly impactful, was Google’s choice to get rid of cookies. In fact Google is looking to phase out cookies entirely in Chrome Browser by 2024. Firefox and Safari have already phased out third-party tracking.

Essentially advertisers have had a rather unfair advantage, up until now, with such loose restrictions on privacy. With tracking taking place across any number of platforms, ad-buyers could retarget potential customers almost anywhere.

Now, the value of those strategies has diminished dramatically, making way for the next generation of best practices, all revolving around first party data.

First Party Data To the Rescue

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

All of the restrictions coming from Apple, Google, and other platforms are around the sharing of data to third parties. But when you gain data from a voluntary opt in through a property you control, you aren’t sharing anything with a third party.

This means that all tracking throughout properties you own or within your properties owned by the ad platform (as in the case with Facebook) will still work.

How does this benefit an Amazon seller though? Amazon isn’t a property WE own…

What is Amazon DSP?

One way to take advantage of Amazon’s massive first party data is through Amazon demand side platform (DSP). Remember those external websites that Amazon owns that they can serve ads on (mentioned above)?

That’s an Amazon DSP ad.

A DSP ad offers one of the most impactful opportunities for advertisers to scale in the post-third-party-data world.

Ads for your products are placed on the Amazon advertising platform, audience network partner sites and apps, as well as a number of placements and media player options within the Amazon website itself.

And, it gets better!

Amazon lends targeting options to DSP advertisers as well.

Amazon DSP Ads Give Advertisers the Power of First-Party Data

Here’s a quick list of targeting options offered by Amazon DSP:

• In-Market – These are actual browsers and shoppers of specific products or categories ON Amazon.com.
• Lifestyle – These are people who’s shopping patterns have been identified to fit a specific pattern that can categorize them as tending to make certain lifestyle choices.
• Demographic – Gender, age, income level, etc.
• Retargeting – Remarketing people who viewed your detail pages but didn’t convert.
• Advertiser Audiences – Not only can you upload a custom audience of your own (email list or customers from your website), but you can also add a pixel to your site to create this audience.
• Other Custom Audiences – You also have the ability to target interests based on things like Prime Video views.

Amazon DSP = Highly Efficient Targeting Opportunities

Extend your reach

Your ideal demographic is probably spending the day on multiple platforms and devices. By leveraging first-party data across your Amazon DSP platforms, you’ll be able to benefit from exponential increases in knowledge and reach. 

Increase the efficiency of your ad campaign

Maybe you’re reaching back out to shoppers that didn’t buy, or you’re making initial contact with a fresh audience who have searched for products just like yours. In either case, you’re establishing contact with shoppers who have already shown interest. 

Beginning your advertising with that kind of a head start is the recipe for success.

These are the reasons why current advertisers are increasing their DSP ad budget every quarter. However, compared to Sponsored Product and Sponsored Brand ads, DSP ads are still underutilized. 

That creates an opportunity for clever Amazon sellers to take advantage of this undervalued ad real estate.

Ultimately, Amazon offers tremendous value for ad-buyers and marketers, and DSP ads are the hottest thing on the block right now.

If you aren’t taking advantage of it, you are leaving money on the table. Period.

How CANOPY Management Can Help

CANOPY Management is a full-service marketing agency for Amazon sellers. Our team consists of former Amazonians, multi-million dollar sellers, and award-winning experts. When you consider the many ways that CANOPY Management can help you grow your business, you’ll see why selling on Amazon is much easier “under the Canopy.”

• Strategic Growth Planning
• Listing Copywriting Optimization
• Listing Photography
• Product Videography
• Advertising Management
• Customer Service
• Demand Side Platform (Amazon DSP)
• Amazon Posts
• Full Service Management
• Amazon Review Aggregation