Amazon DSP Advertising: How It Works & Key Benefits

Your Amazon business is thriving, and now you’re ready to expand. You’re interested in exploring programmatic advertising through Amazon’s Demand Side Platform (DSP) and want to understand how it operates.

We’re here to guide you! In this post, we’ll break down the fundamentals of this advertising platform and show you how to make the most of its capabilities.

Which Types of Businesses Use Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP is designed for sellers with a proven online presence looking to scale. However, it’s not exclusively for big-name brands. It’s also open to smaller Amazon sellers and companies operating on other platforms that want to grow their reach.

Typically, businesses using DSP have the budget to invest in brand awareness campaigns and extend their audience both on and off Amazon. The platform enables advertisers to reach customers beyond the Amazon marketplace.

Ad Types Available with Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP supports various ad formats to suit different promotional strategies. You can create campaigns with display ads, video ads, audio ads, or a blend of these to market your products and brand.

Most DSP campaigns aim to boost brand awareness or generate traffic on a cost-per-impression (CPM) basis. You can also opt for video campaigns charged on a cost-per-view (CPV) basis.

While many brands prefer uploading their own creatives, Amazon provides built-in creative tools as well. These resources include display image ad templates and a free video builder, allowing sellers to produce campaigns that reflect their brand identity.

Amazon DSP Options to Choose From

Advertisers can pick between two DSP options: self-service and managed service.

With self-service DSP, advertisers run their campaigns independently. This option eliminates management fees, though most of your budget still goes toward ad placements and formats.

In contrast, managed-service DSP offers professional account management for a premium. The service typically starts at around $50,000 (costs may differ by region). Larger brands often choose this route as part of their broader marketing plans.

How Does Amazon DSP Work?

Amazon’s marketplace attracts millions of daily visitors. Thanks to Amazon’s partnerships with countless apps, sites, and services, DSP advertisers have immense opportunities to expand their audience and elevate their brand.

Here’s a breakdown of the DSP workflow:

Audience Targeting – Use demographic and behavioral data to target your audience at every stage of the customer journey.
Bidding – DSP operates through real-time auctions where advertisers compete for ad placements.
Campaign Monitoring – A user-friendly dashboard displays performance metrics for easy campaign management.
Campaign Analysis – Track your ad results through measurable key performance indicators.

Let’s dive deeper into how to get started.

How to Use Amazon DSP?

Using Amazon DSP is a straightforward process. You can build a high-impact ad campaign in just a few steps to connect with a wide audience. Here’s how to begin:

Set up your DSP account, enter your business details, and await approval.
Create ads using Amazon’s Ad Builder or upload your HTML creatives. Choose your campaign objective, ad format, and targeting preferences.
Pick the keywords you want to focus on — whether broad terms or specific long-tail keywords.
Define your bid and budget strategy for each campaign.
Add images or videos to your ad set.
Launch your campaign.
Monitor its performance and optimize when necessary.

Tips to Build a Winning Amazon DSP Strategy

As a DSP advertiser, you have access to a powerful system that can help you achieve your advertising goals. Here are some practical tips to ensure you make the most of Amazon DSP and take your brand to the next level:

1. Analyze Your Data Carefully

Review your campaign reports to spot areas for improvement. By tracking performance data, you can make smarter decisions about future optimizations. Ask yourself:

Are there specific days or times when performance spikes?
Are certain targeting settings outperforming others?

2. Use Creative, Engaging Ad Content

You have only a few seconds to grab a shopper’s attention, so make sure your ad creatives are eye-catching and closely aligned with your product offering. With options like desktop display ads and video spots, there’s plenty of room to experiment and stand out.

3. Refine Your Customer Targeting

Leverage audience data to craft ad campaigns that deliver the right message to the right audience. Amazon DSP lets you target customers based on demographic details like age, gender, location, and interests — whether they’re on Amazon or other partnered platforms.

4. Apply Negative Keywords

Incorporating negative keywords in your campaigns helps prevent irrelevant searches from triggering your ads. This tactic saves your budget for high-potential clicks and improves your return on ad spend (ROAS).

5. Test Different Formats and Strategies

Experimentation is key to finding what works best. Try out various ad formats and campaign strategies to determine the combinations that generate the strongest results for your brand.

6. Bid Smartly

Review your bidding strategy regularly to ensure you’re hitting your targets without overspending. Avoid flat-rate bids across all ads; instead, adjust based on the likelihood of a customer converting.

7. Track Metrics and Optimize as Needed

Your Amazon DSP reporting dashboard offers valuable insights into campaign performance. Stay on top of your metrics so you can make informed tweaks and consistently improve your results.

8. Combine DSP with Other Amazon Advertising Tools

Many brands benefit from integrating DSP with other Amazon advertising options. Here are some strategic ideas:

Extend your audience reach by pairing DSP with Sponsored Display ads across apps, websites, and Amazon itself. DSP drives broad awareness, while sponsored ads focus on conversion.

Use DSP with Amazon Live to educate potential buyers in real time and tap into audiences on IMDB, streaming apps, and Fire TV Stick.

Cross-utilize data from DSP and PPC campaigns. Insights from DSP can refine your Sponsored Ads targeting, and vice versa.

Apply Amazon Attribution to track the impact of your DSP campaigns and make improvements for better results.

Final Thoughts

The advertising world is constantly evolving. What works today might not be effective tomorrow. It’s important to stay ahead of trends, keep your brand visible, and consistently aim to surpass both your sales goals and your competitors.

Though managing campaigns can get complex, Amazon DSP provides solutions to help build campaigns that increase your brand’s visibility — both within Amazon and across its partner platforms.

And with SAECOM FBA Pro by your side, you’ll have a trusted team to help you achieve impressive marketing results. We use top-tier Amazon KPIs and in-house advertising performance benchmarks to ensure your brand gets the attention it deserves.

Partner with SAECOM FBA Pro for your Amazon DSP campaigns and gain peace of mind knowing expert advertising professionals will manage every detail with precision and care.