Overview

Amazon is rolling out its Sponsored Products program to third‑party retail sites that link back to Amazon listings, a change announced for early 2025. The move lets sellers display product ads on competitor or general retail pages, directing traffic to Amazon but also introducing new hurdles such as tracking conversions, managing budgets, and coping with lower purchase rates from cold audiences. Sellers who rely on Amazon PPC must adjust strategies to protect profitability while exploiting the expanded reach.

Key Points

• External Ad Placements — Sponsored Products now appear on non‑Amazon retail pages, sending shoppers to the same Amazon product detail page used in existing campaigns, without the need for a separate ad account.
• Wider Audience Access — Ads reach visitors who are browsing competitor sites or broader retail portals, often in the research or comparison stage rather than ready to buy.
• Reduced Conversion Likelihood — Because these visitors are typically casual browsers or loyal to the host retailer, their purchase probability is noticeably lower than that of shoppers already on Amazon.
• Budget Strain Potential — High click volumes from external sites can inflate spend without a matching rise in sales, pushing ACOS upward if campaigns are not actively monitored.
• Visibility Gaps — Amazon provides limited insight into which specific external domains are displaying the ads, making it harder to evaluate traffic quality and adjust placements.

How Sponsored Products on External Sites Works

1. Ad Placement Selection — Amazon partners with a network of retail sites; when a shopper visits one of these pages, the Sponsored Product may be shown alongside the host’s own inventory. Example: A buyer browsing a popular electronics discount site sees a sponsored ad for a Bluetooth speaker that links to its Amazon listing.
2. Click Routing — Clicking the ad sends the user directly to the Amazon product detail page, preserving the original campaign’s tracking parameters. Example: The click registers under the seller’s existing Sponsored Products campaign, allowing performance data to be captured in the same reporting dashboard.