Amazon DSP Best Practices Guide

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Amazon DSP: Performance Powered by Data

What sets Amazon DSP apart from other programmatic platforms is its data quality. You don’t need to rely on third-party cookies or modeled audiences—you can target real people based on actual shopping, browsing, and streaming behavior across Amazon’s vast ecosystem. It’s the kind of insight that helps you reach the right audience at the right stage of the customer journey.

Amazon is also pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with campaign attribution and optimization. The DSP leverages a range of AI-driven tools to help you target smarter, upscale creatives, and understand performance so you can allocate your budgets more effectively.

To help marketers maximize these capabilities, the Orange 142 Emerging Channels Council has created this Best Practices Guide to Amazon DSP. Our goal is to provide actionable guidance so you can plan full-funnel, multi-channel campaigns that deliver measurable results and confidently take advantage of one of the fastest-evolving platforms in digital media.

About the Orange 142 Emerging Channels Council

The Emerging Channels Council is a thought leadership body within Orange 142 that focuses on educating, guiding, and encouraging independent brands and agencies to experiment and excel in underutilized and innovative channels. Through collaboration, data-driven insights, and practical resources, the council will help Orange 142 clients obtain strategic growth through sustainable digital advertising practices.

To access all of the Emerging Channels Council resources, please visit: https://orange142.com/emerging-channels-hub

Table of Contents

1. The Opportunity
2. What is Amazon DSP?
3. Benefits of Amazon DSP
4. Challenges of Amazon DSP 
5. Emerging Trends & Technology
6. Amazon Data & Privacy Considerations 
7. Measurement & Attribution
8. Tips for Success

1. The Opportunity

With millions of consumers starting their shopping journey on Amazon, brands and agencies need effective ways to reach this vast audience. Amazon DSP offers precisely that—a way to connect with Amazon's customer base through targeted advertising, even for companies that don't sell products on the platform. 

What makes Amazon DSP so valuable is its data. Because it’s based on real shopping, browsing, and streaming behavior across Amazon.com, Prime Video, Fire TV, and Twitch, advertisers can target specific consumers at every stage of the buying journey. Whether introducing a product through a streaming service or retargeting high-intent users on Amazon.com or third-party sites, Amazon DSP makes it possible to deliver relevant, timely messages with precision.

And you don’t have to be an Amazon seller to benefit. Travel companies, banks, car dealerships, universities, and healthcare providers already use Amazon DSP to reach the right audiences in brand-safe environments. 

Even so, Amazon has long been a platform for small and medium-sized businesses to build their customer bases and introduce consumers to their brand. According to Amazon, more than 60% of all Amazon sales come from independent third-party sellers, who average over $250,000 in annual sales. With the right strategy, advertisers of all sizes can leverage Amazon’s data and reach to grow their business, whether they sell on the platform or not.

Today, Amazon DSP is mostly used by the world’s largest advertisers, especially big CPG brands that understand where consumers shop and how to convert them. And they’re not wrong: Amazon’s average conversion rate is nearly 10%, compared to just 1.33% on non-Amazon eCommerce sites. With unified reach and frequency metrics across all properties, and access to premium media placements, Amazon DSP offers an amazing, full-funnel marketing opportunity.

Amazon DSP is growing rapidly—projections show its revenue reaching $206 billion by 2032, about ten times what it was in 2023. This growth means more opportunities and more advertisers competing for attention. Working with an experienced partner becomes increasingly valuable as the platform becomes more crowded. Orange 142 has direct access to Amazon DSP, giving advertisers entry to quality ad placements, precise targeting options, and our team's expertise in planning and managing campaigns. Whether your goal is to introduce your brand, reconnect with interested customers, or generate sales, we help maximize the effectiveness of your advertising spend.

2. What is Amazon DSP?

Amazon DSP is a programmatic advertising platform that brands and agencies can use to serve ads across Amazon-owned properties and thousands of premium third-party websites and apps. It’s one of the few platforms that lets you reach consumers across the entire funnel—from awareness to conversions—using Amazon’s first-party data.

With Amazon DSP, advertisers can run full ecosystem campaigns that span:

• Amazon.com, such as on-site product pages and placements
• Prime Video and Freevee, which are Amazon’s streaming video and CTV services
• Twitch, a livestreaming platform for gamers and music
• Amazon Music, for audio ads for on-the-go audiences
• Kindle and other Amazon-owned devices and properties

In addition to Amazon-owned properties, Amazon DSP gives advertisers access to a massive pool of high-quality inventory across the open web. Brands can place ads on thousands of premium third-party websites and apps through integrations with other ad exchanges, including Google Authorized Buyers, OpenX, Xandr, Magnite, PubMatic, and Index Exchange.

The real power comes in the cohesive customer journey. You can continue to use Amazon’s first-party data to target customers on any of the properties reached through any of these third-party ad exchanges, websites, and apps. You can introduce a consumer to your brand on Prime Video, then retarget them while browsing a site served through OpenX. And with Amazon’s deduplicated reach and frequency metrics, you can manage exposure across channels and devices, keeping your messaging effective and your budget efficient.

Supported Ad Formats

Amazon DSP supports a variety of ad formats designed to meet different goals across devices and channels:

• Display Ads. Banner-style placements that appear while users browse Amazon.com or third-party websites.
• Video Ads. High-impact placements across streaming video, including pre-roll and mid-roll ads.
• CTV Ads. Full-screen, non-skippable ads are delivered through Prime Video, Freevee, and other streaming platforms on smart TVs and connected devices.
• Audio Ads. Voice-based ads on Amazon Music and other streaming audio environments

This flexibility allows you to build cross-channel campaigns that reach consumers wherever they are, whether they’re watching, listening, reading, or shopping.

3. Benefits of Amazon DSP

With millions of shoppers beginning their purchasing journeys on Amazon.com, the Amazon DSP can benefit any brand in growth mode. The DSP combines tools, data, and scale to drive real results across the marketing funnel. You can use it to build awareness, re-engage consumers, and convert ready-to-buy shoppers. The platform delivers precision targeting, quality ad placements, and precise performance metrics—all managed through a single interface.

The Best of Retail Media

Amazon is more than a digital marketplace—it’s one of the world’s largest and most effective retail media networks. That matters because when people come to Amazon, they’re not just browsing casually but in a shopping mindset. They’ve already signaled intent, whether by searching for hiking boots, reading reviews, or exploring product categories.

For brands, this creates an ideal moment to connect. If someone is considering their options, your ad isn’t a disruption; it’s a helpful guide. A well-timed message doesn’t just raise awareness; it can influence the decision in real time because it reaches them while they’re actively weighing their choices.

And there’s another critical benefit to retail media: Alignment of goals. You want to introduce new customers to your brand and build loyal relationships. When Amazon helps you achieve that goal, it benefits from higher average order values (AOV). And consumers benefit from learning about new products they didn’t know were available, or didn’t realize they needed.

Extensive First-Party Data for Targeting

Amazon’s most valuable asset is its data. Unlike platforms that rely on cookies or social engagement, Amazon DSP taps into billions of real-world shopping, streaming, and browsing signals across the Amazon ecosystem, including Amazon.com, Fire TV, Prime Video, Twitch, Alexa, and Kindle.

This means you can target people based on:

• Items in their shopping carts or lists
• Previous digital and physical purchases
• Search and browsing history
• Product preferences and substitutes
• Ad engagement patterns
• Media consumption behavior

But the real advantage isn’t just access; it’s insight. Amazon actively studies how these signals come together to form common customer journeys—how people discover, research, and ultimately purchase products across its ecosystem. These patterns are often shared with advertisers to help guide campaign strategy, inform messaging, and improve performance. 

Full Funnel Capabilities

Amazon DSP isn’t just a retargeting tool. It supports your full customer journey, from brand discovery on Prime Video to product consideration on third-party sites, to conversion on Amazon.com or beyond. According to Amazon research:

• Brands using multiple Amazon ad solutions see up to 13.2x higher awareness
• Video campaigns using Amazon properties drive 44% higher incremental reach
• The average conversion rate on Amazon is nearly 10%, far above industry averages

Programmatic Buying + Smart Tools

Amazon DSP automates media buying while giving advertisers greater control. New updates in 2025 make it even easier to manage campaigns, test creative, and optimize performance:

• Programmatic interface for campaign setup and editing
• New campaign management hub with insight cards and machine learning recommendations
• Enhanced frequency caps and cross-platform reporting

Premium, Brand-Safe Inventory

With Amazon DSP, you can run ads across a broad mix of Amazon-owned channels, including:

• Amazon.com
• Prime Video and Freevee (streaming/CTV)
• Twitch
• Kindle
• Fire TV and Fire Tablet
• Alexa-enabled devices

Through integrations with Amazon's ad tech partners and Amazon Associates, you also gain access to third-party and affiliate websites that align with specific interests, from pet care and gardening to tech reviews and travel gear.

Multiple Types of Amazon Ad Solutions

5. Challenges of Amazon DSP

Complexity of Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP offers extensive targeting options, in-depth data analytics, and customizable ad formats, which require expertise to fully utilize. For new users, navigating the Amazon DSP interface and optimizing campaigns requires extensive knowledge of programmatic advertising, audience segmentation, bidding strategies, and performance metrics.

It also has a high entry cost. The self-serve Amazon DSP requires a minimum ad spend of $35,000, which might not be accessible if you represent a smaller brand. 

That said, in October 2024, Amazon announced "next-generation ad tech" for its DSP, including improved usability, enhanced interoperability across Amazon ad tech, and simplified campaign optimization with AI-driven performance.

How to Respond:

• Partner with an agency whose teams have experience with the Amazon DSP and expertise in programmatic advertising.
• Partner with an agency that has an Amazon DSP license and can traffic the campaign on your behalf.
• Take advantage of Amazon’s streamlined UI (launched in 2024) to consolidate inventory and automate targeting. Use pre-built audience segments and AI recommendations to simplify campaign creation.

Budget Considerations

Amazon DSP’s powerful targeting and automated buying tools can drive results, but without careful monitoring and optimization, these features can quickly burn through budgets.

For instance, Amazon DSP offers advanced targeting options based on demographics, interests, shopping behavior, and purchase intent. While these features enable precise audience targeting, they can also lead to higher costs if campaigns are not optimized effectively.

Automated bidding in programmatic advertising can quickly consume budgets, especially if base bids are too high or targeting is overly broad. Advertisers must actively monitor and adjust bids to avoid overspending.

Amazon DSP will require you to pace your budget carefully throughout the campaign to ensure consistent delivery and avoid spending all of your funds prematurely. On the plus side, Amazon DSP offers bid strategies, such as "Prioritize spending full budget while maximizing performance," which can help you manage pacing.

How to Respond:

• Deploy Amazon DSP automated bid optimization.
• Monitor campaign performance regularly by setting up pacing alerts and reviewing real-time performance data to identify and adjust for underperforming line items and targeting.
• Continuously optimize audience segmentation and experiment with bid adjustments (e.g., manual vs. automated) to maximize ROI while controlling costs.

Audience Retention Beyond Amazon

While Amazon DSP excels within the Amazon ecosystem, you may find it challenging to capture audiences who discover your brand on Amazon but choose to purchase elsewhere. This happens when the consumer opts to do price comparisons or is a member of another retailer’s loyalty program. In these scenarios, you must find a way to engage these consumers outside of Amazon’s platform.

For instance, while Amazon DSP provides robust targeting options across Amazon-owned and third-party properties, its primary strength is driving conversions within the Amazon ecosystem. Advertisers must implement complementary strategies to fully capitalize on brand discovery to reach audiences who shop across multiple platforms.

How To Respond

• Leverage external retargeting tools like PixelMe or similar platforms to track and retarget audiences who interacted with your brand on Amazon but may purchase elsewhere.
• Expand campaigns beyond Amazon DSP with campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook, or other ad networks to engage audiences across their preferred shopping channels.
• Analyze customer behavior data to identify where audiences are converting and allocate budget strategically to those platforms for maximum ROI.

Cross-Platform Attribution Limitations

While Amazon DSP provides rich insights within its ecosystem, cross-platform attribution can still be challenging if you want a more holistic view of the touchpoints contributing to conversions. Despite Amazon’s reach, tracking users across different devices and platforms can still be difficult. Moreover, there are still some discrepancies in attribution methodologies between Amazon and other platforms.

For instance, Amazon Attribution helps measure the impact of non-Amazon marketing campaigns on Amazon sales. Still, there’s no seamless integration with external platforms such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. This creates a fragmented view of customer journeys across multiple channels.

Cross-device attribution is particularly challenging due to the lack of consistent identifiers across devices. This makes it hard to accurately assign credit to touchpoints in the customer journey.

How to Respond:

• Use Amazon Attribution (now in beta) to measure the impact of non-Amazon campaigns on Amazon sales, and complement it with external attribution tools to capture broader channel performance.
• Access to a data management platform can help you integrate data from multiple sources, providing a more unified view of customer interactions across platforms.
• Tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) offer detailed attribution paths and insights, enabling data-driven campaign optimization.

• Gray hat tactics (Manipulating reviews on Amazon)

5. Emerging Trends & Technology

Amazon has a reputation for continuous innovation. It integrates advanced technologies, including AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics, into its DSP platform. These advancements will continue to improve ad performance, streamline campaign management, and provide important insights into customer behavior. 

For example, Amazon's machine learning upgrades introduced predictive conversion analytics, which allow you to connect ad impressions directly to sales while maintaining transparency. This focus on AI-driven optimization makes Amazon DSP a powerful tool for campaigns that require precision and scale.

Consolidated First-Party Data

As of January 2025, Amazon DSP consolidates first-party supply across Amazon.com, Grocery online, Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Alexa, IMDb, and Twitch. This integration simplifies campaign planning by letting you manage display and online video ad campaigns across multiple Amazon-owned properties from a single interface. 

Additionally, by leveraging these channels, you can achieve full-funnel reach—from awareness on streaming platforms to conversions on Amazon.com—while benefiting from Amazon’s proprietary data and insights.

AI-Powered Tools for Campaign Optimization

Amazon DSP has introduced groundbreaking AI-powered tools, including Performance+ and Brand+, designed to optimize campaigns for distinct goals. 

Performance+ drives immediate conversions by leveraging machine learning to refine ad placements and adjust real-time strategies. Brands like PepsiCo have reported a 4x Return on ROAS in prospecting campaigns and 2x ROAS in remarketing efforts using this tool. 

Brand+, on the other hand, focuses on creating long-term brand awareness by integrating shopping, browsing, and streaming data to engage high-intent audiences across channels like Prime Video, Fire TV, and third-party sites.

Additionally, Amazon DSP now features Amazon Ads AI Creative Studio, which automates a variety of creatives—images, videos, and audio ads—from a single product photo or asset. This tool can reduce production costs and offer unlimited storage for creatives, among other advantages.

Generative AI Enhancements

Amazon DSP integrates generative AI into its creative workflows with features such as automatic asset upscaling. This ensures that image assets meet resolution requirements for premium placements (e.g. Amazon Shopping App) without extra effort or cost. You can preview and approve the upscaled assets directly within the DSP interface, streamlining the creative process and helping campaigns reach more high-quality inventory.

Amazon has also integrated generative AI into Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) with tools like the SQL Generator. This feature lets you create audience segments using natural language prompts, reducing query development time from hours to minutes. 

Advanced APIs for Campaign Management

In January 2025, Amazon rolled out new Campaign and Creative APIs that let advertisers automate DSP campaign management, from setup and performance tracking to optimization. These APIs integrate seamlessly with existing tech stacks, making it easy to sync data and automate real-time updates. This means you can dynamically adjust bids, budgets, and targeting parameters based on live performance data without needing to intervene manually.

Amazon DSP is expected to introduce immersive ad formats such as augmented reality (AR) ads and voice-enabled ads integrated with Alexa. These innovations will further enhance personalization and interactivity in advertising campaigns while expanding reach across emerging platforms.

6. Data & Privacy Considerations

As privacy rules tighten and consumers become more mindful of how their data is used, you’ll need to be thoughtful about targeting and measuring campaigns. Amazon DSP makes this easier by relying on its own first-party data, which it collects from shopping, browsing, and streaming behavior, rather than third-party cookies. It also enforces strict data policies and privacy protections, so that you can stay compliant while still delivering effective, relevant ads.

Third-Party Data Provider Consent Policies

As of February 2025, Amazon enforces stricter consent requirements for all third-party data uploads to ensure they align with global privacy regulations. You must include mandatory country codes and consent strings for all data you upload to the platform. Consent strings must follow one of three formats: IAB’s Transparency & Consent Framework, Amazon Consent Signal, or Global Privacy Platform. Data lacking proper consent documentation will be automatically rejected, ensuring compliance with frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

These measures ensure that advertisers using third-party data meet the highest transparency and user consent standards, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties.

Amazon’s First-Party Data Advantage

We’ve discussed Amazon’s first-party data advantage throughout this guide, but it’s worth repeating again. Nearly 61% of US consumers begin their product searches on Amazon, giving the platform unparalleled access to buyer intent and purchase behavior data. Unlike other platforms that rely heavily on third-party cookies (which major browsers are phasing out and consumers opt to block), Amazon remains largely unaffected by these changes.

One of the biggest advantages of Amazon’s first-party data is how clearly it shows what people are interested in and what they’re likely to buy. You can use insights from browsing history, search behavior, and past purchases to build more personalized campaigns that reach the right audience at the right time.

User Privacy Features

Amazon DSP incorporates robust privacy features to protect user data while maintaining transparency:

• Transparency Measures. Customers can view and manage their data usage through Amazon’s privacy dashboard, which provides clear options for opting out of targeted advertising or limiting data sharing.
• Encryption Protocols. Advanced encryption software ensures personal data is protected during transmission, reducing the risk of breaches or unauthorized access.
• Data Minimization Practices. Amazon adheres to strict guidelines for collecting only the necessary user data for campaign performance.

These features ensure that your brand complies with global privacy regulations and instill trust with consumers by giving them control over personal information.

7. Measurement & Attribution

Amazon DSP can provide a robust suite of tools to measure your campaign performance and attribute conversions. Amazon is one of the world’s largest retail media networks, and as such, it knows which users see ads and which users convert. It also tracks important metrics and applies sophisticated attribution models that help you understand the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Amazon DSP Metrics

These metrics help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your campaigns in real time, thereby maximizing your ad spend.

Attribution Models

Amazon DSP offers attribution models to help you understand how different interactions contribute to conversions. These models also provide insights into the customer journey, so you can better allocate marketing resources.

Amazon DSP’s default attribution model is 14-day last-touch attribution, but recent updates have introduced modeled attribution capabilities, which provide more comprehensive insights by accounting for off-Amazon conversions.

Modeled Attribution for Off-Amazon Conversions

In August 2024, Amazon DSP introduced modeled attribution for off-Amazon conversions, allowing you to measure the full impact of your campaigns across recognized and anonymous supply sources. 

This feature combines directly measured and modeled conversions into unified reporting, so you can get a holistic view of campaign performance, even when direct links between ad interactions and conversion events are unavailable.

Key Features:

• Measures both recognized and anonymous inventory.
• Accounts for conversions on external platforms when direct tracking is not possible.
• Available through Amazon DSP’s campaign manager, reporting center, and API endpoints.

This update helps marketers assess ROI across all channels while maintaining compliance with privacy regulations.

Amazon Attribution Integration

Amazon Attribution lets you see how ads running outside of Amazon—e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or Instagram—drive traffic and sales on Amazon. By adding a simple tracking tag to your external ads, you can measure key actions like clicks, product page views, add-to-cart activity, and actual purchases. It’s a great way to understand how your full marketing mix works together.

Key Features:

• Tracks performance across non-Amazon platforms like social media and search engines.
• Uses a 14-day last-touch attribution model.
• Integrates with Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus program, offering up to 10% back on sales driven by external traffic.

Multi-touch Attribution

In 2025, Amazon will roll out its new multi-touch attribution, a significant upgrade from the traditional last-touch attribution method. This model distributes credit across multiple marketing touchpoints to help you get a holistic view of the customer journey. 

By leveraging machine learning and analyzing trillions of shopping, streaming, and browsing signals, MTA offers more profound insights into how different ad interactions contribute to conversions.

Amazon’s MTA introduces several key features designed to enhance measurement accuracy and campaign optimization:

How Multi-Touch Attribution Works

Amazon’s MTA model analyzes customer interactions across various ad formats and channels within Amazon’s ecosystem:

1. Data Collection: MTA collects trillions of signals from shopping behaviors (e.g., product views, cart additions), streaming engagements (e.g., Prime Video), and ad clicks or impressions.
   
2. Credit Distribution: Each touchpoint is assigned proportional credit based on its contribution to the conversion, ensuring that both upper- and lower-funnel activities are recognized.
   
3. Insights Delivery: Advertisers receive detailed reports showing how different ads interact to drive sales, enabling them to refine their strategies.

Multi-touch attribution (MTA) gives you a complete picture of how your ads work across the entire funnel, from awareness to conversion. It helps you see how top-of-funnel tactics like Streaming TV or Sponsored Brands contribute to sales, so you can make smarter decisions about where to invest your budget. With better visibility into long-term impact, you can more accurately measure ROI and confidently plan future campaigns.

8. Tips for Success

Amazon DSP offers powerful tools for reaching your ideal customer across Amazon properties and third-party sites. These tips will help you get the most out of your campaigns, from strategic planning to measurable outcomes.

1. Start with Clear KPIs. Define what success looks like before you launch. Whether your goal is to increase reach, drive conversions, or acquire new-to-brand customers, clear KPIs help you evaluate and optimize results.
   
2. Adopt a Full-Funnel Approach. Consider how each campaign contributes to awareness, consideration, or conversion. Sponsored Brands and video formats are strong upper-funnel tools, while Sponsored Display helps re-engage audiences lower in the funnel. 
   
3. Leverage Multi-Channel Integration. Amazon offers touchpoints across shopping, streaming, audio, and gaming. When used together, these channels reinforce your message and expand your reach. Brands using four or more Amazon ad solutions saw 13.2x growth in awareness.
   
4. Focus on Strategic Placement. Streaming and audio placements often outperform social media in attention metrics. Amazon Music ads generate 2.6x more attention than industry averages, and Prime Video shows 10% higher attention than CTV benchmarks.
   
5. Optimize Creative for Each Format. Tailor the creative to match the environment. What works on Prime Video may not work on Twitch or Amazon Music. Consider tone, visuals, and timing to ensure your message resonates across formats.
   
6. Build Trust Through Consistency. Trust influences purchase decisions. Maintain consistent branding and messaging across all touchpoints to build familiarity and long-term loyalty.
   
7. Use Retargeting Strategically.  Reach customers who have shown interest, but segment them based on behavior. Users who viewed a product detail page may need different messaging than those who added it to their cart.
   
8. Set and Monitor Frequency Caps. Set frequency limits across your campaigns to prevent overexposure. This helps maintain campaign effectiveness and prevent wasted impressions.
   
9. Use Data-Driven Measurement. Amazon Marketing Cloud and Brand Lift studies give you a deeper understanding of campaign performance. Go beyond clicks to measure awareness, perception, and purchase behavior.
   
10. Test, Learn, and Iterate. Great campaigns aren’t set-and-forget. Use campaign insights to refine your creative, targeting, and bidding strategy. Continuous learning leads to continuous improvement.

9. About Orange 142

Orange 142 is a digital marketing and advertising company with offices across the US. We help marketers of all sizes grow their reach and revenue through data-driven media strategies. We also partner with agencies and execute campaigns on behalf of their clients.

Our team of experts deeply understands the digital landscape and the latest advertising and marketing technologies. We work closely with our clients to develop and execute custom advertising and marketing campaigns that meet specific goals.

We are committed to providing our clients with the highest service and transparency. Open communication and collaboration are essential to the success of every advertising and marketing initiative.

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