Case Study
Saras Analytics and BidX use new API dashboard to optimize best API call practices
Goals
- Efficiently monitor and manage Amazon Ads API calls through personalized integration dashboard
- Improve API call success rates and throttle instances
- Optimize business practices and save developer resources
Approach
- Used personalized dashboard to understand Amazon Ads API call patterns for owned API integration
- Gathered insights from dashboard to fix an Amazon Ads partner’s technological solution and optimize API calls
Results
- Call success improved from 30% to 98%1
- Identification and causation of widespread issue, giving the team insight to solve 2
- Hours saved each week across developer, customer support, and product manager roles 2
In our ever advancing world, technological insights can be a key driver in accelerating business growth. Here we explore how two leading Amazon Ads partners used the API integration dashboard, an Amazon Ads media planning solution, to optimize their business practices and save valuable time.
Technology can be a powerful tool in advertising, as both Amazon Ads advanced partners Saras Analytics and BidX know. Saras Analytics is an Amazon-focused analytics firm accelerating insights for advertisers. BidX empowers brands to accelerate their growth and scale their business by automating key campaign management tasks through their cutting-edge software. Both companies integrate with the Amazon Ads API, a programmatic way to manage advertising operations, and use the API as a tool to help create innovative technology.
API integrations require continuous support
Managing an API integration can require continuous optimization and monitoring to ensure the technology is functioning and operating efficiently. This requires developers’ time to understand call pattern performance, error responses, and trends. Companies can face challenges in monitoring and managing API calls, especially when it comes to unknown issues that require prompt support. Focusing on these maintenance requirements can often take developers away from time they could be building new or improved functionality.
A new integration dashboard supports API health metrics
Amazon Ads solved for these challenges with the recently launched Amazon Ads API integration dashboard, making it easier for companies to manage their API integration. The dashboard provides companies with information about their call patterns so they can review key metrics, understand trends, and troubleshoot. It offers filter functionality to support advanced analysis, including filtering by dimensions like products, functions, API resources, and geographies. The dashboard contains five main tabs for a detailed analysis: overview, response codes, products and marketplaces, resources, and hourly pages. All metrics displayed are specific to the company’s API integration, for a personalized view.
Creating stronger API integrations, saving time and resources
Saras Analytics began using the API integration dashboard in November 2023 and the company was able to identify error response codes traced to multiple endpoints that occurred for the past year. This identification allowed them to troubleshoot each individual endpoint and reduce throttling by better planning for rate limits. Prior to use of the dashboard, Saras Analytics estimates that only 30% of their API calls were successful, but after use of the dashboard, 98% of their calls are successful1. They also estimate their team saves 18 hours per week across developer, customer support, and product manager roles.
Our technology is more resilient now as we know what to consider before making an API call.
— Ritvik Singhvi, Product Manager at Saras Analytics
BidX started analysis of call pattern trends in December 2023 and, within a few months, fixed a widespread issue after pinpointing a specific endpoint, response code, and time period responsible. The granularity of the dashboard filtering allowed this visibility. BidX also found throttle instances could be reduced significantly by insights obtained through the dashboard, helping the company to optimize requests to Amazon DSP reports. They estimate the dashboard allows them to save significant time in developer hours each week, and BidX will use the integration dashboard as a proactive tool for continuous improvement and strategic decision making.2
I've learned that proactively monitoring API health through the dashboard is not just a reactive measure but a strategic approach to maintaining a robust and efficient system. Leveraging visualizations allowed us to stay ahead of potential issues, ensuring the seamless operation of our API integrations. The integration dashboard has become a cornerstone in our strategy for data-driven decision-making, empowering us to optimize performance continually.
— Hosni Mansour, Lead Developer, BidX
Learn more about media planning solutions
Beyond APIs, the Amazon Ads Media Planning Suite offers solutions to help advertisers reach audiences by using machine learning and tools that connect between channels. Also available are first- and third-party insights, to help brands further develop their marketing strategy. For example, ads planner is a tool to plan budget allocations, and channel planning assists with creating a detailed media plan.
1 Agency-provided data, India, United States, 2023-2024
2 Agency-provided data, Germany, 2023-2024