Most brands evaluating an Amazon advertising agency ask the same two questions: what will they actually do, and what will it cost? The answers depend on what kind of agency you're talking to.
An agency that manages Sponsored Products campaigns is not the same as one that runs DSP, builds creative, handles listing optimization, and coordinates with your supply chain. Both call themselves Amazon agencies. The pricing models and results differ wildly.
This guide explains what happens inside an agency relationship: what the work looks like day to day, how agencies price their services, what separates strategic management from campaign execution, and when hiring one makes sense. Written from the perspective of an agency that's been managing Amazon accounts since 2012 and started as sellers before becoming a service provider.
The answer depends on the agency. Some run your ad campaigns. Others manage your entire Amazon presence: advertising, content, operations, brand protection. Here's what the work looks like in practice.
At minimum, an Amazon ad agency builds and manages your Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns.
What that actually means:
A PPC-only agency stops here. A performance-focused agency connects this work to the next layer.
DSP (Demand-Side Platform) is Amazon's programmatic advertising tool. It reaches shoppers on and off Amazon with display ads, video, and streaming TV.
What DSP management includes:
DSP requires a different skill set than Sponsored Products. Most small agencies don't offer it. The ones that do often run generic audience templates instead of building custom strategies.
A DSP-capable agency should show you audience overlap analysis, explain why certain segments convert better, and tie DSP performance back to total Amazon sales (not just attributed clicks).
Advertising doesn't work if your listing is weak. The best agencies treat ads and content as connected systems.
What listing optimization looks like:
Some agencies charge separately for content work. Others include it in full-service packages. The distinction matters when you're comparing proposals.
AMC is Amazon's clean room for first-party data analysis. It lets you measure cross-channel attribution, build custom audience segments, and track customer journeys in ways the standard Advertising Console can't.
What AMC enables:
Most agencies don't use AMC because it requires SQL knowledge and data science skills. The ones that do have a material advantage in proving ROI and optimizing budget allocation.
If an agency says they "use AMC," ask to see a sample dashboard and explain what custom queries they run. Generic AMC usage is table stakes. Custom analysis is where the value is.
Here's where the gap between "agency" and "partner" becomes real.
Task execution looks like this:
Strategic management looks like this:
Most agency disappointments happen because a brand expected strategic management but paid for task execution.
The difference shows up in retention. SupplyKick has a 96% partner retention rate because we started as Amazon sellers ourselves. We understand unit economics, inventory constraints, and logistics timing. Not every Amazon advertising agency has that context.
Pricing models vary widely. Here's what you'll actually see when evaluating agencies.
The misalignment problem with percentage-of-spend pricing:
You want profitable growth. The agency wants higher spend. These goals align when there's room to scale. They diverge when you hit diminishing returns.
Example: Brand spends $20K/month at 25% ACoS with a 15% agency fee ($3K/month). Agency recommends increasing to $40K/month. ACoS climbs to 45%. Your profitability tanks. The agency's fee doubles to $6K/month. Was that good advice?
Price ranges mean nothing without context. A $3,000/month PPC-only agency and a $15,000/month full-service agency are different products.
Benchmarks from WebFX (2026 data):
The question isn't "how much?" It's "what am I getting?"
At SupplyKick, we use custom pricing that's not tied to ad spend percentage. We determine the scope based on what your account needs (campaign management, content, operations, strategic planning), then quote a flat monthly or quarterly fee. This removes the incentive to inflate ad spend and aligns us with profitable growth, not budget expansion.
Not all agencies do the same work. Match your needs to the right category.
You need an agency if:
You don't need an agency if:
What your team should still own even with an agency:
Agencies execute. You own the business.
Here are the specific questions that surface real differences between agencies.
"How long have you been managing Amazon accounts, and have you ever sold on Amazon yourselves?"
Agencies that started as sellers understand unit economics, inventory constraints, and logistics timing. Agencies staffed by digital marketing generalists often miss this context.
"What's your average partner retention rate?"
High churn (below 70%) means the work doesn't sustain results beyond the initial setup phase. SupplyKick's 96% retention rate isn't an accident. It's proof that the work compounds over time.
"Can you share case studies from brands similar to ours?"
Look for specifics: starting ACoS, ending ACoS, time frame, what changed. Generic "we grew sales 50%" claims without context are meaningless.
"What does the first 90 days look like?"
Good answer: Audit, strategy development, campaign restructure, baseline measurement, then optimization.
Bad answer: "We'll start seeing results in week 1." That means they're making changes before understanding your account.
"How often will we meet, and who will I talk to?"
Good answer: Weekly or biweekly calls with a dedicated account manager who knows your business.
Bad answer: Monthly emails from a rotating team of junior associates.
"What does your reporting include?"
Good answer: Access to the Advertising Console, AMC dashboards, search term reports, and a monthly summary that connects ad performance to business goals.
Bad answer: A monthly PDF with impressions, clicks, and ACoS.
"What's your pricing model, and what's included in the fee?"
If they charge a percentage of ad spend, ask: "What happens if we want to reduce spend because we're hitting diminishing returns?"
If they quote a flat fee, ask: "What scope changes would increase the price?"
"Do we own the account and data?"
You should have full access to your Advertising Console, AMC, and any dashboards they build. If an agency gates access, walk away.
"Do you use Amazon Marketing Cloud? Can you show me a sample dashboard?"
If they say yes, ask for specifics. Custom AMC queries are a real differentiator. Generic AMC access is not.
"Do you manage DSP in-house or through a partner?"
Some agencies white-label DSP through third parties. Not inherently bad, but it means they have less control over strategy and execution.
"How do you handle creative production?"
Do they produce content in-house, outsource to freelancers, or expect you to provide assets?
They promise specific results before seeing your account.
No agency can guarantee 30% ACoS or 5x ROAS without understanding your product, competition, pricing, and profit margins. If they promise numbers upfront, they're either lying or planning to manipulate short-term metrics.
They won't give you access to your own Advertising Console.
Some agencies lock brands out of their accounts to prevent them from leaving. This is a hostage situation, not a partnership.
They charge a percentage of ad spend but refuse to discuss profitability targets.
If their fee goes up when spend goes up, they're incentivized to increase your budget regardless of whether it's profitable. Agencies aligned with your success talk about ACoS, ROAS, and margin contribution, not just spend levels.
Their case studies are vague or anonymized to the point of uselessness.
"We grew a home goods brand 40%" doesn't tell you anything. What was the starting point? What was the time frame? What did they actually change?
They don't ask about your inventory or supply chain.
Advertising decisions don't exist in isolation. An agency that doesn't ask about stock levels, restock timing, or lead times either doesn't understand Amazon or doesn't care about sustainable growth.
They talk about their proprietary tools more than their strategy.
Tools are table stakes. Every agency has dashboards. What matters is the judgment behind the decisions: when to scale, when to pull back, what to test next.
Amazon's advertising platform has shifted significantly in the past 18 months. These changes affect what a good agency should be doing differently.
Amazon's AI tool can create, manage, and adjust campaigns with minimal advertiser input. It handles bid adjustments, basic targeting, and budget pacing.
What this means: The floor for competent PPC management has risen. If an agency's primary value is bid adjustments and budget pacing, they're competing with free automation. Good agencies differentiate through strategic judgment: which products to push, when to scale or pull back, how to position against competitors, and how to coordinate advertising with content and inventory.
Question to ask: "What do you do that Amazon's AI Ads Agent can't?"
AMC now offers broader first-party data capabilities, custom attribution models, and audience building.
What this means: Agencies that use AMC effectively can prove incrementality, build better targeting groups, and measure cross-channel impact. Agencies that ignore AMC are flying blind.
Amazon added ads to Prime Video in early 2025. Brands can now run video campaigns on Fire TV, Freevee, and Prime Video.
What this means: Upper-funnel video advertising is now part of the Amazon ad stack. Agencies that can't plan and execute video campaigns are missing a channel.
Amazon's answer to Google's Performance Max. AI-optimized campaigns that reduce manual input.
What this means: Another automation tool that raises the floor but doesn't replace strategic management. The question is still: what should we advertise, to whom, and why?
An Amazon advertising agency manages Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and DSP campaigns. Some also handle listing optimization, creative production, Amazon Marketing Cloud analytics, and strategic account management. The scope depends on whether the agency is PPC-only or full-service.
Pricing ranges from $2,000–$10,000/month for PPC-only management to $5,000–$25,000+/month for full-service (advertising + content + operations). Some agencies charge a flat retainer, others take 10–20% of ad spend, and some use hybrid models. The right price depends on what's included and how much strategic management you need.
Start by defining what you need: PPC execution, channel specialist, performance optimizer, or full-service partner. Evaluate agencies based on their experience (especially whether they've sold on Amazon themselves), partner retention rate, reporting transparency, and pricing model. Ask specific questions about their process, capabilities, and how they handle the first 90 days.
Yes, but choose carefully. New sellers need more than PPC management. Look for agencies that handle listing optimization, inventory planning, and brand setup. Full-service agencies work better for new sellers than PPC-only shops.
Amazon PPC (Sponsored Products, Brands, Display) targets shoppers based on keywords and product interest. DSP is Amazon's programmatic platform that reaches shoppers on and off Amazon with display and video ads based on purchase behavior, demographics, and lifestyle. DSP requires more sophisticated audience strategy and creative production.
Look beyond ACoS and ROAS. Good agencies show you search term reports, explain strategic pivots, provide AMC dashboards, and connect advertising performance to business goals (revenue growth, margin contribution, market share). If your reporting is just a monthly PDF with click and conversion data, you're not getting strategic management.
SupplyKick has managed Amazon accounts since 2012. $100M+ in annual revenue. 96% partner retention. 35% average Year 1 sales growth. Custom pricing, not tied to ad spend.
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