The Amazon Seller Central dashboard has presented the new margin warning for your seller account. As of December, you'll have given the previous reporting system some time to prepare for the migration of archived advertising information to the new legacy reporting systems at Amazon Seller Central. Your current cost of acquiring new customers versus organic sales presents a significant gap in profitability.
The purpose of this guide is to explain how to evaluate and select the best Amazon marketing agency for your Amazon business using the following criteria: third-party verified data sources, advertising agency/pricing model, and operational restrictions imposed on the agency applicant's business model.
The Cost of Outsourcing to Amazon Marketing Agencies
The majority of the lists of vendors provided rank companies based on who pays to be positioned at the top of the search results. Most of these lists do not provide objective criteria for ranking vendors. The vendor list must be edited to remove the bias that exists in many of the vendor lists.
Generally, there are two main types of vendors depending on how much advertising they purchase: pure sellers that only purchase media and full-service sellers that purchase both media and provide all necessary services to support the sellers. Pure sellers can only buy ads for your catalog and provide limited support (media buyers cannot save your broken catalog). Full-service sellers can provide all services to support the seller, but may not be able to provide the exact services specific to your campaigns (if campaigns are disorganized or poorly organized, the operations expert may use all of the available funds without any benefit to you).
If you are going to utilize an agency to support your business, you must identify your specific bottleneck, then locate an agency that can provide you with the level of service required to fix your bottleneck and be able to provide the same level of service to other businesses. The only way to determine which agency is best for you is to do your due diligence, evaluating each agency's strengths and weaknesses.
Most of the time, it is unlikely that you will be able to find pricing for the same services from every agency, so expect custom pricing from almost all agencies.
Pricing structures will vary, with many small brands starting at $1,500 to $3,000 per month, and scaling to as much as $25,000 per month for enterprise-level support. Agencies generally charge between 10% and 20% of the total ad spend or take a revenue-sharing of between 3% and 10%. Be sure to clearly understand who has ownership of the Amazon Ads Console account and all historical campaign information before you sign any contracts.
Evaluating the Top 20 Amazon Marketing Agencies
1. PPC Jumpstart
Most advertising agencies only market their clients based on total ad spending, but PPC Jumpstart focuses on defining and establishing the optimum total advertising cost of sale (TACoS) and contribution margins to achieve maximum return on investment from their clients' advertising dollars.
This agency focuses on working only with brands that are already converting well on their platforms and need to change their advertising strategy massively in order to generate a positive return on investment.
They do not focus on vanity metrics; instead, they rely on the data to support their findings.
Their pricing model is custom, and their contracts are month-to-month, which gives them a strong economic incentive to generate high levels of performance. They have consistently reported that some of their clients have experienced incredible profit jumps (for example, a 900% increase in 90 days); however, it is always wise to verify what the baseline was before hiring them. If you need a complete revamp of your catalog, you should look elsewhere.
2. SalesDuo
Full-service marketplace management is best accomplished when you have someone who is knowledgeable about the internal workings of the platform, but, when you want to completely turn over operations to someone else, the most effective way to do that is to work with a company that has a large contingent of former Amazon employees.
They will build a proprietary business intelligence dashboard to enable you to monitor performance.
With a single provider managing all aspects of your marketing operations (content creation, fulfillment, and advertising), a dedicated marketplace manager is ideal for brands that wish to control the entire marketplace. If you are looking for someone to just perform a quick audit of your Sponsored Products campaigns, this is not the right solution for you. You will be hiring them to manage your marketplace, not just to purchase media.
3. Canopy Management
For brands that are looking to scale their business to the next level (via e-commerce sales), there will be a required heavy operational overhead, as scaling will require support across multiple platforms.
Canopy Management is a large full-service Amazon marketing agency that does everything from PPC advertising to display advertising (DSP), and from managing growth to managing account health on multiple platforms (Walmart and TikTok) to providing auditors that ensure that accounts are being managed effectively (PPC campaign management). They offer solutions for the most operationally complex accounts.
They have a proven track record of industry strength and third-party verification of results.
All third-party performance indices have reported on the impressive performance and profitable results produced by third-party agencies; the results produced by third-party agencies produced between a 400% increase in sales and more than a 200% increase in profitability over an 18-month period of time. Their pricing estimates range from $3,000 to $10,000+ per month. Request your aggregate proof of their services through case studies in your individual niche.
4. My Amazon Guy
There are some sellers who want to learn how their agency runs on the machine side as well. The combination of PPC, SEO and Seller Central operations along with the extensive body of educational resources at My Amazon Guy results in a strong focus on the processes of training.
They give the seller a clear view of the exact moves they are making.
This provider is an excellent choice for buyers that desire extensive operational training along with traditional account management. If you only want someone to manage your ads in the background while focusing on product development, their extensive educational system may be an overkill.
5. Trivium Group
There are significant regulatory challenges and compliance checks when it comes to consumer packaged goods and supplement brands. The Trivium Group's focus is on those strict categories, and they act like an embedded internal team, meaning they manage the account from within your organization.
They function as your own employees.
When vetting them, it is necessary to check closely their regulatory and catalog expertise. It is of no benefit to have high advertising performance if your supplements get suspended for claim violations; the Trivium Group manages compliance so that you can scale your business safely.
6. Tinuiti
Enterprise brands cannot afford to approach their marketplace like an island. Tinuiti is a large performance agency that has depth of expertise in Amazon, retail media, Google, and Meta. Their key target audience is large brands that require upper-funnel media, as well as cross-channel strategy.
They act as a connector for all digital channels. The case studies displayed by their organization indicate an increase in the acquisition of new clients who are not familiar with their business and organic sales. However, if you are a mid-market seller, the case studies might still be too big for you. They are the first company to be evaluated if your plan includes integrating your marketplace strategy with your overall digital acquisition strategy.
7. Nuanced Media
Generally, to use the Amazon demand-side platform (DSP), you must spend at least $35,000 monthly.
Nuanced Media makes DSPs available to brands of all sizes by providing access to listing search engine optimization (SEO) and creative testing along with DSP access. In addition, Nuanced Media serves as a comprehensive agency that specializes in digital media.
8. Incrementum Digital
There is nothing better than to use research to make decisions about advertising, and Incrementum Digital utilizes a data-driven approach to measure the efficiency of ad campaigns.
Their focus is primarily on mid-market sellers who require precise measurement.
9. Olifant Digital
Accountability is scarce in the world of agencies today. The only agency to offer 60-day money-back guarantees, Olifant Digital offers an unparalleled guarantee when combined with a limited number of available clients each month to maintain the highest quality of service for its clients. They risk their own investments.
Their price begins at $2,000 per month and it is highly recommended to look closely at their terms of guarantee before making a decision. You will need to ascertain what the precise baseline, exclusions, and minimum expenditure will be required for you to ultimately get that refund.
10. BellaVix
Retail brands that operate on both seller and vendor models are subject to a very different set of standards and rules. BellaVix has experience working with Vendor Central and Seller Central management as well as the capability to work with Walmart and Target. They understand the details behind complex retail governance.
They simplify chaotic market operations.
According to directory data, they charge between $150.00-$199.00 per hour and will charge you as much as $65,000. Additionally, they are extremely effective at fixing Vendor Central chargebacks and managing retail operations and simultaneous multi-platform growth.
11. SmartSites
In some situations, it's just desirable to hire a typical digital agency that can cover all bases. SmartSites is a broad agency focused on SEO and PPC and as such, marketplace advertising is just one of the many mediums for paid search that they offer. They serve brands looking for an all-encompassing digital marketing strategy.
SmartSites' marketplace advertising focus is just a fraction of their overall service offerings.
The directory profiles indicate that only about 10% of their overall focus is on marketplace advertising. Don't hire them and expect a hard-core, specialized "Amazon first" company. You should consider hiring them if you wish to consolidate your vendor for Google Ads, Bing and basic marketplace ads under one roof.
12. Amazon Growth Lab
As important as daily bid management, developing and mapping out strategies, is just as important. Amazon Growth Lab typically competes with larger full-service providers and provides growth management services for brands. They primarily target mid-market companies.
They look at your complete marketplace and determine where the opportunities for improvement are.
They have a wide variety of pricing ranges for their projects from approximately $15,000 to over $199,999. You can verify these costs through third-party directories. You must specifically request that they separate their directory project costs from the actual numbers in their marketplace case study as part of the agreement before signing.
13. SupplyKick
You cannot fix broken supply chains by advertising. Founded by retailers, SupplyKick is an agency that connects advertising success and inventory, logistics and account health. SupplyKick recognizes that stockouts decrease ranking faster than bad bids.
The agency's focus is primarily on how their physical operations impact the success of their brands.
Their prices for comprehensive services range from $5,000 to over $20,000 a month. SupplyKick is the ideal choice for brands that experience inconsistency in product availability, late shipments, catalogue discrepancies or operational issues. If your supply chain is functioning properly, then they may not have to perform many of your operational duties.
14. Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Larger digital marketing agencies combine various marketplaces into a large web package offering. Thrive is a digital marketing agency that offers broad ranges of support to clients that want to advertise on all forms of digital media.
They focus heavily on all areas of marketing. Before hiring Thrive, you need to find out what percentage of their overall labour capacity is allocated to marketplace operations. You can confirm this by comparing their internal resources against dedicated, marketplace-first Amazon marketing agencies. You want to ensure that you are receiving true marketplace expertise and not just an add-on to your overall marketing plan.
15. Perpetua
Automation has transformed the way media is purchased by brands in the current digital marketing environment.
With Perpetua's software-driven approach to helping brands manage large-scale bid management campaigns more efficiently and effectively using algorithms, when you look at Perpetua as a potential provider, you need to confirm what your level of engagement will be: purely software self-service, managed service (touchpoint) or hybrid (both). The decision should be based on whether your internal client team has the technical know-how to utilize the software.
16. Channel Bakers
Channel Bakers provides wide-ranging support to enterprise-level companies that rely heavily on retail media to move large volumes of inventory into the market. Similar to Perpetua, Channel Bakers is commonly shown in comparisons of brands in the high-end enterprise provider category.
They support companies needing to develop comprehensive advertising/retail media strategies for large brands and require extensive volumes of inventory to be sold.
When you reach out to Channel Bakers, consider requesting specific case studies that pertain to your business category and are representative of your current stage/size. The same applies when you are speaking with any enterprise-level provider; you should require information on your dedicated account representative(s).
17. CaptenAMZ
CaptenAMZ supports seven-figure and eight-figure brands looking to scale significantly by providing them with a complete suite of advertising resources designed for maximum efficiency. CaptenAMZ promotes the use of their proven methodology for significantly reducing TACoS while increasing ROI.
CaptenAMZ focuses on leveraging historical results to sell their services. For example, they have claimed to lower a specific supplement brand's TACoS from 18% to 9% over a 90-day period. Ultimately, you will need to validate both their baseline numbers and attribution methods to determine the actual impact on the individual brand's contribution margin by confirming the same level of validation from the brands you reference (as with any case study you view).
18. ProMerit
ProMerit highlights that the logistics of managing North American deliveries can significantly reduce margins if not managed appropriately. As an all-inclusive e-commerce solution provider, ProMerit provides storage and inventory control for physical goods as well as sales management, optimization, warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment of purchased products. ProMerit provides the full spectrum of services offered to their customers.
On the business end, ProMerit is responsible for maintaining and correcting back-end functionality.
In its database directory, ProMerit indicates that all projects must begin with at least a $1,000 investment, and former and current customers have given excellent feedback on ProMerit's understanding of the North American market. For most businesses, the impediment to growth will come from the physical location and setup for the warehouse and distribution of their inventory.
19. Sitruna
Sitruna has extensive background and understanding of deep marketplace expertise. Their primary function is to support sellers with products by concentrating on all facets of marketplace functionality within a strict digital framework.
In other words, they remain inside of their area of expertise.
Sitruna's customer reviews indicate an average customer rating higher than most providers listed. When you work with Sitruna, their range of project costs is similar to that of most of the other providers listed, starting from the low end of $10,000 and extending up to $49,999. While the amount of depth in a review is a great indicator of past customer satisfaction, the level and availability of exact, verifiable metrics related to that provider's history of meeting customer expectations for the exact item you are selling should be attained.
20. Sequence Commerce
For many e-commerce sellers, simple, straightforward management of PPC advertising is just what you need.
Sequence Commerce is a top-rated PPC advertising agency listed on multiple review directories to support the advertising efforts of businesses that specifically use a marketplace to sell their products. This agency focuses primarily on media buying.
How to Choose an Amazon Marketing Agency
Matching Goals and Money
A low ACoS does NOT guarantee success (i.e., a legitimate claim to be credited with sales you won anyway) from an agency supporting your program. Simply put, your incentive structure should align with the actual funds in your bank account. If the agency does not provide transparency on TACoS, total contribution margin, and new-to-brand customer acquisition, there is cause for concern. If you are experiencing a rise in sales and your SKU profitability is decreasing, your agency has failed.
The End of Old Reporting
The measurement environment is totally different from previous years; Amazon's introduction of a shopping-signal-enhanced, view-based last-touch attribution model for Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and in-store DSP campaigns represents the new standard for Amazon. Additionally, legacy Sponsored Ads and DSP reports will be permanently discontinued by December 31. Therefore, it is imperative that your agency has a solid plan to migrate reporting, reconcile the new attribution models with your previous baselines, and maintain historical baselines ahead of this deadline.
Contract Traps and Account Ownership
Never enter into any 12-month contract without a clear exit clause and maintain complete administrative control over your Amazon Ads Console. Regardless of how well an agency performs, when you leave the agency, you will want to take as much of your campaign history, negative keyword lists, and search term data as possible with you. Although low-priced monthly agreements create incentive for the agency to keep you as a "hostage," there is less risk in entering into a pilot agreement for 90 days with a no-risk option at the end of the trial period. Ask how many accounts the daily manager will manage, as anything over 15 is an extreme red flag.
European Expansion and Local Rules
Going across Europe is more than just translating bullet points. Two things that most US-based case studies do not factor in or report are 1) the severity of the cross-border compliance that you will face, and 2) the many layers of local consumer expectations across Europe. A good agency must be familiar with European VAT, the expectations of local consumers, the rollout of marketplace expansions, and multilingual Search Query Performance data. If the agency runs the same campaign in Germany as they do in the USA, expect to burn cash!
The Final Cut on Your Next Amazon Marketing Agency
The No. 1 error you can make is hiring a buyer to solve your supply chain problems.
The vendor you choose must directly correlate with the specific operational constraint currently holding your business back.
Disregard any generic or top-10 lists and demand that the vendor provides pricing transparency, strict data ownership, and evidence they can address the upcoming reporting migration. Additionally, the vendor must demonstrate how they will improve your total contribution margin, not just provide inflated ad-attributed revenue.