Amazon Ads in 2025: A Guide for Affiliate Marketers

If you’ve ever browsed Amazon and wondered, “How do those sponsored products magically appear right when I need them?”, welcome to the wizardry of Amazon Ads.

Let’s break it down – without boring you – and show you exactly how Amazon Ads work, which formats are open to affiliates, and how to roll them like a pro.

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Can Affiliate Marketers Use Amazon Ads?

Short answer: yes, but with some fine print.

If you’re a seller or vendor with your own product on Amazon:

You’re golden. You can run:

• Sponsored Products
  
• Sponsored Brands
  
• Sponsored Display

If you’re an affiliate marketer without your own product:

You can’t use the above ad types directly. BUT… You can use Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform)!

Amazon DSP lets you run programmatic display and video ads across Amazon’s properties and external sites. That includes:

• Amazon.com itself
  
• IMDb
  
• Twitch
  
• Thousands of partner websites

The best part? You don’t need to sell anything directly on Amazon. You can promote your own landing page, affiliate funnel, or offer (as long as it complies with Amazon’s ad policies).

Drawback? The required budget. DSP usually requires a minimum budget of $50,000+ (ouch). Some agencies offer access with lower spend requirements, but it’s definitely for more advanced players.

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Is $50,000 the minimum budget for affiliates using Amazon DSP?

Technically, yes, but with a few asterisks.

If you go directly through Amazon (Managed-Service DSP):

• Minimum budget is usually $50,000 (USD).
  
• This applies to advertisers using Amazon’s in-house DSP team to run campaigns.
  
• It’s a managed service, meaning Amazon handles setup, targeting, and optimization.
  
• Ideal for brands, agencies, or high-scale affiliates.
  

BUT – if you go through an Amazon DSP partner (like a certified agency):

• You can often start with a much lower budget, sometimes as little as $5,000–$10,000.
  
• These partners offer self-service DSP access or lite managed services, perfect for performance marketers, affiliates, medium-sized businesses, willing to test the waters.

DSP interface looks this way:

These agencies act as intermediaries, offering the same DSP inventory and data access – without the scary enterprise-level price tag. Let’s break it down for you.

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Budget Breakdown: How Much Does It Cost?

Here’s the money talk:

Ad Type	Do You Need a Product?	Min Budget	Best For
Sponsored Products	Yes	~$5/day	All Amazon Sellers
Sponsored Brands	Yes	~$5/day	Amazon Sellers with multiple items
Sponsored Display	Yes	~$5/day	Brands looking for product retargeting
Amazon DSP	No	~$50,000	Affiliates, Agencies, Big Brands

For self-serve ads, you set your daily budget and bids (CPC-based). For DSP, it’s typically managed service or via a certified agency partner.

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How to Set Up Amazon Ads (If You’re a Seller)

If you’re one of the lucky folks with a product on Amazon, here’s the quick-start guide:

1. Sign up at Amazon Ads
   
2. Pick your ad type (start with Sponsored Products)
   
3. Choose your product to promote
   
4. Set budget & targeting (auto for newbies, manual for pros)
   
5. Launch campaign and watch the clicks roll in

The Amazon Ads interface looks like this:

If you’re using DSP as an affiliate, you’ll likely need to:

• Work with an Amazon Ads agency
  
• Have a strong offer and funnel ready
  
• Set up tracking (and cookie policies!) on your landing page
  

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Tips from Reddit’s Affiliate Marketers

Reddit always keeps it real. Here are a couple of gems from real Amazon ad users:

Lesson? Respect the system, test everything, and know your funnel.

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What About Amazon Prime Ads?

Amazon Prime Video Ads are a thing – and they’re growing fast.

You can now run ads on Prime Video content, especially since Amazon started showing ads by default (unless users pay extra to remove them).

These ads are managed via DSP, and they’re amazing for:

• Brand awareness
  
• Video retargeting
  
• Reaching audiences beyond search
  

Big brands love it. Affiliates? Only if you’re playing at scale and have a really large budget.

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Final Thoughts: Is Amazon Ads Worth It in 2025?

Heck yes, if you know what you’re doing. For affiliates, Amazon DSP is an option, but even without it, you can still benefit by promoting Amazon products via external ad platforms like PropellerAds and driving traffic to your content.

Bottom line:

• Amazon Ads work.
  
• You can use them as an affiliate – but strategy and budget matter.
  
• Start small, track everything, and scale what works.

So go ahead. Tap into the world’s biggest eCommerce engine and let your ads ride the Amazon wave!