Before you get started, it’s important to note the difference between sellers and vendors. Anyone can be a seller, but becoming a vendor is invitation-only.

Sellers have control over prices and other marketing aspects, but they can’t take advantage of the full range of Amazon advertising options. You can still pay to have FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) take care of logistics and any customer complaints on your behalf, but you’ll have to pay extra.

Vendors sell directly to Amazon, who, in turn, sell it to the customer. Buyers trust vendors more because they’re backed by Amazon’s guarantees and usually offer their two-day shipping.

The drawback of becoming a vendor is that you can’t control the prices Amazon assigns to your products. Also, the payment cycle is closer to 60-90 days, as opposed to every two weeks for sellers.

Sellers have more control over their stock, but they aren’t backed by the Amazon guarantee customers find so valuable.

How Amazon Ads API Benefits Both Sellers and Vendors

Despite their differences, Amazon Ads API helps both sellers and vendors so much that it deserves a special shoutout.

In a nutshell, with this service, you can automate, scale, and optimize your advertising. API offers campaign and performance data for Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Displays, enabling programmatic management.

The Amazon Ads API also provides Amazon Attribution (beta) insights. Search ads, social ads, display ads, video ads, and email marketing are just some of the non-Amazon Ads media that Amazon Attribution measures.

But now that you have more of an understanding of vendors, sellers, and the impact of Amazon Ads API, it’s time to get started. Here’s what you need to do to advertise on Amazon:

Log in to Seller Central

You may already be a seller on Amazon, or you may need to start a new account. There’s a monthly subscription fee, but if you sell a lot of merchandise, you’ll make a good ROI.

After all, Amazon gives you access to more buyers than any other market on the planet. Even despite the subscription fee, you should still see a sizeable return with Amazon.

Just select your campaign type and build it from there. Your conversion rate will thank you.

Create Your Campaign

There are simple steps to create a campaign, depending on the one you choose.

• Sponsored Products - Pick your product, choose between manual and automatic targeting, and set up PPC.

• Sponsored Brands - Include products, logo, and a custom headline. You choose which keywords to use, so do your homework and find the best ones.

• Stores - Use easy templates to set up your virtual storefront for free.

• Sponsored Display - Select your audience, set up your daily bid and budget, choose which projects to feature, and go through the rest of the easy set-up.

Buy Sponsored Ads

Sponsored products skip the review process and go live immediately. However, Amazon's moderators must approve sponsored brands, sponsored display, and stores.

Sponsored display ads appear not only in search engine results, but also on product description pages and other sites to remind users of something they looked at on Amazon earlier.

Control Your Costs

You only pay when users click on your ad. Choose how much you’re willing to pay per click and set a budget for the maximum amount you’re willing to spend every day.

The more people click your ads, the more likely it is that Amazon will choose your bid the next time it’s generating ad space.

Measure Success

You can track impressions, clicks, click-through rates, traffic, ROAS, ACOS, and more with the information Amazon saves for you. Take an even deeper look at the results with software like InsightLeap.

When you know what works and what doesn’t, you can change your strategy to reach the right audience and increase sales. That’s the power of manipulating raw data.