Get started with the Amazon Ads API
December 17, 2021 | By Rebecca Fontana, Sr. Editorial Manager
Learning about application programming interfaces (APIs) may seem daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. The APIs of a website or app are the rules that connect and transfer information between the back-end system and the front-end display; for example, you use APIs when checking the weather or listening to your favorite music streaming app. They can be used to create consoles to display stats and to assist with managing campaigns.
“The most commonly used requests within an API allow for the push and pull of information into other systems. These are called GET and POST,” said Dave Katz, the Principal Evangelist for the Amazon Ads API. Using POST will create new information, and using GET will request information. Two other API requests are PUT, used for updates, and DELETE, used for removal.
“The Amazon Ads API provides the building blocks you need to create applications that can help you manage your Amazon Ads campaigns—making it easier and more scalable and delivering improvements in performance,” Katz said. Those building blocks include streamlining your process with automation for setting up new campaigns and budget strategies. The Amazon Ads API can also be used to create dashboards, unify reporting, and automate tests.
Simplifying your measurements with the Amazon Ads API
If you’re already using Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display, you’re also likely to be looking at reports to measure the success of ads. If doing that manually is becoming a hassle, using the Amazon Ads API can help simplify the process. The Amazon Ads API can also be integrated with the Amazon DSP and Amazon Attribution.
Once you know what information you want to access and use, you can either use the benefits of the Amazon Ads API through an Amazon Ads partner or directly access the Amazon Ads API for integration. “You can see some of the flexibility and benefits of using APIs when you have your own complex systems and databases,” Katz said. Using APIs can help consolidate multiple reports and a variety of campaigns into easily digestible displays.
How businesses are leveraging APIs
In one example, Katz outlined how an advertising company could use APIs to integrate retail records into their reporting. By linking the ads results with the retail results in a report, it provided a more holistic view of the company. It could also lead to deeper insights, as well: “Adding these inputs can also help determine your return on ad spend, a metric that shows how much revenue you make from each advertising dollar,” Katz said.
Set up a timeline
Once you begin with the Amazon Ads API, it typically takes two to four months to fully set up, though that can vary based on a brand’s prior engineering knowledge. Additionally, there’s also an integration with Selling Partner API, an evolution of Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS) APIs, which offers the opportunity to report on and manage retail information. Whatever your level of familiarity with APIs, there are likely opportunities to get started on optimizing your brand with helpful reporting and insights.