Amazon Ads is Amazon’s advertising platform that allows sellers and brands to showcase their products to millions of shoppers with high purchase intent. Unlike other platforms, Amazon Ads connects ads directly to the moment of purchase decision, making it a high-performance tool for driving sales both within and outside the Amazon ecosystem.
What is Amazon Ads and what is it for?
Amazon Ads is Amazon’s paid advertising system. It works through an auction-based model similar to Google Ads: advertisers bid on keywords or audiences, and their ads appear in prominent positions within search results, product pages, and external sites associated with Amazon.
Its main strength is access to real purchase behavior data. Amazon knows what its users search for, what they buy, and what they compare. This allows for a level of targeting precision that few platforms can match.
Amazon Ads is especially useful for:
- Amazon sellers looking to improve their product visibility in search results.
- Brands seeking to build recognition within a high commercial-intent environment.
- Digital marketing agencies managing e-commerce campaigns for multiple clients.
- Companies selling outside Amazon that want to leverage its audience network.
- Performance managers who need to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).
Types of ads on Amazon Ads
Amazon offers four main ad formats. Each serves a different purpose within the sales funnel.
Sponsored Products
These appear in search results and on product pages. They are the most widely used format because they directly impact shoppers who are already searching for a specific product.
- Greater visibility in high-intent searches.
- Quick setup and easy tracking.
- Ideal for increasing conversions on individual products.
Sponsored Brands
These allow you to display the brand logo, a custom message, and several products in a single ad. They appear at the top of search results.
- Build brand recognition within Amazon.
- Drive traffic to the brand’s official store on the platform.
- Allow you to showcase a full catalog, not just one product.
Sponsored Display
These display ads both within Amazon and on external websites that are part of its network. They are especially effective for retargeting.
- Reach users who visited a product without purchasing it.
- Extend reach beyond the Amazon platform.
- Allow targeting by behavior and interests.
Video Ads
Video-format ads appear in Amazon search results and on partner sites. They are effective for showing how a product works or telling a brand’s story.
- Generate higher engagement than static image ads.
- Communicate product benefits in a visual and direct way.
- Are distributed across multiple digital environments.
Key metrics for measuring Amazon Ads performance
Managing Amazon Ads campaigns without proper measurement is like investing without control. These are the most relevant metrics that any advertiser or agency should monitor:
| Metric | Description | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) | Percentage of ad spend relative to sales generated by the ads. | Indicates spending efficiency. A lower ACoS means higher profitability. |
| ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) | Revenue generated for every monetary unit invested in advertising. | Measures the direct return on ad investment. |
| CTR (Click-Through Rate) | Percentage of users who click the ad relative to total impressions. | Reflects the relevance and appeal of the ad. |
| CVR (Conversion Rate) | Percentage of clicks that result in a purchase. | Measures how effective the product page is at closing the sale. |
| Impressions | Number of times the ad was shown. | Indicates the campaign’s reach. |
| CPC (Cost Per Click) | Average cost for each click received. | Allows you to assess the competitiveness of bids. |
For agencies managing multiple clients with Amazon Ads campaigns, consolidating these metrics along with data from other platforms like Meta Ads or Google Ads is essential. Tools like Master Metrics allow you to centralize all that data in a single dashboard, eliminating the need to export reports manually.
How to create an Amazon Ads campaign step by step
- Log in to Amazon Ads. Go to advertising.amazon.com with your seller or agency account.
- Choose the campaign type. Select between Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, or Video Ads based on your goal.
- Set your daily budget. Establish a daily spending limit. Amazon won’t charge more than that amount in a day.
- Select your targeting. Choose between automatic targeting (Amazon decides) or manual targeting (you define keywords and bids).
- Choose the products to promote. Select the specific ASINs you want to appear in the ads.
- Set your bids. Define the maximum CPC you’re willing to pay per click.
- Launch the campaign and monitor results. Review key metrics such as ACoS, CTR, and CVR in the first few days to adjust bids and keywords.
Amazon Ads vs. advertising alternatives
Amazon Ads isn’t the only option for driving e-commerce sales. This table compares its features against other relevant platforms:
| Criteria | Amazon Ads | Google Ads (Shopping) | Meta Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| User purchase intent | Very high | High | Medium-low |
| Purchase behavior data | Proprietary and highly detailed | Inferred from searches | Based on interests and demographics |
| Reach outside the platform | Moderate (Amazon network) | Very broad (entire web) | Very broad (Facebook, Instagram) |
| Ideal for | Amazon sellers and e-commerce | Own online stores and e-commerce | Branding, product discovery |
| Learning curve | Medium | Medium-high | Medium |
| Integration with Master Metrics | Available | Available | Available |
Frequently asked questions about Amazon Ads
Is Amazon Ads only useful for selling on Amazon?
Not exclusively. Sponsored Display and Video Ads formats allow ads to be shown outside Amazon, on sites associated with its advertising network. However, the most efficient formats, such as Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, work exclusively within the Amazon ecosystem.
How much budget do I need to get started with Amazon Ads?
There’s no fixed mandatory minimum, but common practice is to start with daily budgets of between 10 and 30 dollars per campaign to get meaningful data quickly. The optimal budget varies depending on the product category and the level of competition for the chosen keywords.
What is ACoS and what’s a good value?
ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) measures the percentage of ad spend relative to sales attributed to the ads. An efficient ACoS varies depending on each product’s margin, but generally a value below 20-25% is considered healthy in competitive categories. What matters most is that ACoS stays below the product’s profit margin.
Is it better to use automatic or manual targeting in Amazon Ads?
Automatic targeting is useful at the start to discover which keywords generate results. Manual targeting allows greater control over bids and spending. The most effective strategy combines both: start with automatic targeting to gather data, then move the best-performing keywords to manual campaigns.
Does Amazon Ads work for brands that don’t sell directly on Amazon?
Yes. Through Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform), brands without a store on Amazon can access Amazon’s advertising network to display ads on external sites using the platform’s audience data. This option requires larger budgets and is usually managed through certified agencies.
How is the success of an Amazon Ads campaign measured?
Success is measured mainly through ACoS, ROAS, and conversion rate. It’s also important to analyze the impact on organic sales, since an active campaign can improve a product’s organic ranking within Amazon. Constant tracking of these metrics is essential to optimize spending.
How does Master Metrics help manage Amazon Ads campaigns?
Master Metrics centralizes Amazon Ads data alongside data from other platforms like Meta Ads, Google Ads, and TikTok Ads in a single automated dashboard. This allows agencies and performance managers to see the overall performance of each client without exporting reports manually, compare ROAS across channels, and make optimization decisions with real-time data.
Conclusion
Amazon Ads is an advertising platform with a clear competitive advantage: access to real purchase data in an environment where users already have high intent to buy a product. Its four main formats, Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and Video Ads, cover different goals within the sales funnel, from direct conversion to brand building.
For any digital marketing agency managing e-commerce clients, mastering Amazon Ads and correctly measuring its metrics is a direct operational advantage. The challenge isn’t just creating good campaigns, but consolidating their results together with those of other platforms to get a clear view of the client’s overall performance.
Master Metrics solves that problem. By integrating Amazon Ads data with Meta Ads, Google Ads, and other platforms in an automated dashboard, it allows agencies to save time on reporting and focus on what generates value: strategy and campaign optimization. If you manage e-commerce campaigns for multiple clients, it’s time to centralize your data and work with clear information.
