(6-Step Guide) How to Use Amazon Demand Side Platform

Paid ads can be incredibly rewarding for your Amazon business when you have the budget and know how to leverage it. But you don’t need to stick to advertising exclusively on the platform.

This blog post will show you how to use Amazon Demand Side Platform (DSP), a powerful tool for connecting with the right customers across the web.

Food for thought: Affiliate marketing can complement your advertising efforts. Join Archer Affiliates today so our 2,500+ vetted affiliates can learn about your Amazon products and choose to promote them to their audiences. They only get paid when you see results!

What is Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP (Demand Side Platform) is a tool that lets you buy digital ads automatically. It helps you increase traffic to your Amazon listings by reaching new and existing customers across the web, not just on Amazon. You can also use it to show ads like videos, banners, and even audio to people wherever they spend their time online.

The "platform" in its name refers to the Amazon DSP portal, where you manage and buy ads. It’s a central hub where you can plan, purchase, and track your ads across many websites and apps, all in one place.

This platform makes it easier to reach your target audience because it automates a lot of the work.

Amazon DSP Self-Service vs. DSP Managed Services

Aiming to be useful for both small businesses and large enterprises, Amazon DSP offers two options. Here’s how they differ in terms of flexibility and support:

• Self-Service: This option gives you full control over your ad campaigns. You decide how to set, manage, and optimize them. It’s best if you or your team have experience with programmatic advertising because you’ll handle everything on your own.
• Managed Service: Amazon’s team helps you set up and manage your campaigns with this option. It’s a good choice if you have a budget of at least $50,000 and you’re new to DSP or don’t have the time or resources to handle it yourself.

DSP vs. SSP - What is the Difference?

The demand-side platform vs. supply-side platform theory is simple. The key difference between DSPs and SSPs lies in who uses them and for what purpose. At its core, a DSP helps advertisers buy ads, and an SSP helps publishers sell ad space.

But here’s what you need to know about SSP vs. DSP:

• SSP: This platform is used by publishers (websites, apps) who want to sell their ad space to you, the Amazon seller. An SSP allows publishers to manage inventory, set prices, and sell ad slots to advertisers through various DSPs.
• DSP: This is where advertisers (like you) go to buy ad space. It lets you find the right audience across various websites and apps. You use a DSP to set up campaigns and target audiences, purchasing ad inventory automatically.

Benefits of Amazon DSP Advertising for Sellers

Amazon’s DSP advertising helps you grow your brand and increase sales by reaching the ideal customers at the right time. Here are some of the most significant Amazon DSP benefits:

• Expand your brand’s visibility: Gain more brand exposure by reaching potential customers on Amazon and various websites.
• Connect with the right customers: Make your ads more effective by precisely targeting people who are likely to be interested in your products.
• Boost sales across the customer journey: Create campaigns that guide customers from learning about your brand to purchasing.
• Easily create effective ads: Customize your ads to fit your brand or use Amazon's templates to create ads that resonate with your audience.
• Improve campaign performance: Access detailed reports that help you understand how well your ads are doing so you can make adjustments that lead to better results.

Amazon DSP Requirements

Demand-side platform advertising is available to any seller. You can get started with it even if you’re not currently selling products on Amazon - just keep in mind that if you opt for managed services, you must be prepared to use at least $50,000 in ad spend (the minimum value may differ depending on your country).

All you need to do to access this platform as an Amazon seller is to register for Amazon ads. And if you could use some extra info before doing so, you can reach out to an Amazon Ads account executive for guidance.

How Amazon DSP Works

Despite its name, Amazon DSP is more than an ad platform. This powerful advertising engine automates ad buying, targeting, and optimization while giving you the control to fine-tune every aspect of your DSP ads. Read on to see how it works and how to use it step-by-step.

1. Set Up Your Amazon DSP Account

Create your DSP account, provide your business details, and set up billing information.

If you can’t decide between the Self and Managed service options, remember you can talk to an Amazon Ads account executive first.

To be clear, if you opt for the Managed service, pretty much all the other steps below will be handled by Amazon’s team. After some initial input about your goals and budget, their pros will take over your Amazon DSP management.

2. Define Your Campaign Objectives

Before diving into the platform, determine what you want to achieve. Typical objectives include brand awareness, product consideration, or driving sales.

Based on your goals, select the type of campaign you want to run (e.g., display ads, video ads, or audio ads).

3. Target Your Audience

DSP advertising lets you use Amazon’s extensive customer data to target audiences based on shopping behavior, demographics, and more.

At the same time, you can create custom audience segments, such as retargeting people who visited your product page but didn’t purchase or reaching new audiences similar to your existing customers.

4. Create Your Ads

Choose the ad formats you want to use. Amazon DSP supports various formats, including display banners, video, and audio ads.

Then, upload the appropriate creative assets (images, videos, or audio files) depending on the ad type.

Amazon also offers e-commerce creative templates that automatically generate elements to optimize performance. Check those out if they apply to you.

5. Set Up Bidding and Budgeting

DSP uses real-time bidding (RTB) to buy ad inventory. You’ll need to set your bid strategy, which could be based on cost per thousand impressions (CPM) or other performance metrics.

You’ll also have to determine your daily or total campaign budget by considering the minimum spend requirement.

6. Launch Your Campaign

Once everything is set up, you can launch your campaign. As a self-service user, you’ll do this directly through the DSP platform.

After launching, Amazon DSP will take over the entire ad-buying process and optimization based on the settings you’ve configured above.

Still, you’ll have control over tweaking a campaign if you want. So, remember to check the reports on your campaign’s performance, where you’ll see metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, and more.

Best Practices for Amazon DSP Campaigns

In theory, the Amazon DSP program lets you connect with customers wherever they are online. But how do you make the most of it? Here are the key best practices to make your campaigns succeed:

• Leverage Amazon’s audience data: Target specific customer segments based on their shopping behaviors to increase your conversions.
• Focus on full-funnel strategies: Design campaigns that meet your customers where they are in their journeys, from brand awareness to acquisition.
• Optimize creative assets: Regularly test and rotate your ad creatives to keep content fresh and engaging. This way, you’ll reduce ad fatigue.
• Monitor and adjust regularly: Track key metrics like impressions and conversions to refine your targeting and bids.

By focusing on these practices, you’ll make your campaigns more effective and increase your odds of reaching the right audience in the most impactful way possible.

Expand Your Reach Even More With Archer Affiliates

The big promise behind DSP is reaching customers outside of Amazon through paid ads. At Archer Affiliates, we help you do the same without any upfront payment.

If you want to drive more external traffic to your listings, our Amazon affiliate program for sellers is the perfect opportunity for at least the following reasons:

• Cost-effective, low-effort strategy: Affiliate partnerships are performance-based, so you only pay for the results you get from the people who work to promote your products.
• Expanded reach: Archer Affiliates connects you with a broad network of publishers and influencers, extending your brand’s visibility beyond your own advertising efforts.
• Synergy with Amazon DSP: While Amazon DSP targets customers based on precise shopping behavior, our vetted affiliates can complement this by driving traffic from diverse sources. That’s how you reinforce your brand presence across multiple channels.

Connect with Amazon influencers through our network and have your products featured in influencer and media content. Using the Amazon brand referral bonus, you can also earn 10% back with every tracked sale!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The following answers to the most frequently asked questions on Amazon DSP should clear out any uncertainties left:

Where Do Amazon DSP Campaigns Appear?

Amazon DSP campaigns increase your visibility on Amazon-owned sites like Amazon.com and IMDb and across a vast network of third-party websites and apps.

How Much Does it Cost to Start a DSP With Amazon?

There’s no cost to start, but you’ll need a minimum ad spend if you’re going to use the Managed Service.

What is the Minimum Spend Required for Amazon DSP Ads?

The minimum spend for the Managed Service is typically $50,000, but this can vary by country. While there’s no specific minimum ad spend requirement for the Self-Service option, starting at around $10,000 is recommended.

Is Amazon DSP Reliable for Pure Performance?

Yes, Amazon DSP is reliable for performance, effectively reaching audiences that don’t know about your products yet. It offers precise targeting, detailed reporting, and strong conversion tracking.

When Should I Consider a DSP Strategy?

Consider a DSP strategy when you want to reach a broader audience, need advanced targeting, or are ready to invest in full-funnel marketing.

Conclusion - Is Amazon DSP Worth it?

If you have the budget to invest in high-precision, data-driven advertising, Amazon DSP is worth it. Just expect it to be expensive.

At the same time, you should remember that you don’t need to rely solely on DSP to get great results. Affiliate marketing allows you to expand your reach while only paying for sales.

Or better yet, combine both strategies—invest in Amazon DSP and leverage affiliate marketing to increase your brand's visibility and profits.

Get started with Archer Affiliates and see how our network can boost your Amazon product visibility and sales with no upfront costs.