Amazon Attribution changed the game for how brands measure the impact of their off-Amazon marketing on Amazon sales. When Amazon invited Marknology into the Attribution Beta Program, we immediately recognized the potential: for the first time, sellers could draw a direct line between their external marketing spend and their Amazon revenue. Here is why Amazon Attribution matters and how smart brands are using it today.
Insights from Andrew Morgans and the Marknology team in Kansas City.
What Is Amazon Attribution?
Amazon Attribution is a measurement tool that gives brands insight into how their non-Amazon marketing channels (Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, email, influencer campaigns, etc.) drive shopping activity on Amazon. It provides metrics like clicks, detail page views, add-to-carts, and purchases, all tied back to the specific external campaign that drove the traffic.
Before Attribution, measuring external traffic to Amazon was basically guesswork. You could see that sales went up after running Facebook ads, but you could not quantify which ad, which audience, or which creative drove the actual purchases. Attribution solved that.
Why External Traffic to Amazon Matters
Amazon Rewards External Traffic
Amazon wants more shoppers on their platform. When you drive traffic from Google, social media, or email to your Amazon listings, you are bringing new customers into Amazon's ecosystem. Amazon rewards this with the Brand Referral Bonus, which gives you a percentage of the sale back (typically around 10%) when the purchase originates from an external source with Attribution tracking.
Organic Ranking Boost
External traffic that converts into sales sends strong relevancy signals to Amazon's algorithm. The sales velocity from external sources boosts your organic ranking just like PPC-driven sales do. Some brands find that a well-executed external traffic strategy improves their organic position more efficiently than increasing their Amazon PPC budget.
Diversified Customer Acquisition
Relying 100% on Amazon's internal traffic means you are 100% subject to Amazon's algorithm changes, CPC inflation, and competitive dynamics. External traffic gives you a diversified acquisition channel that you control.
How Amazon Attribution Works
Setting Up Attribution Tags
- Access Amazon Attribution through your Advertising Console (requires Brand Registry enrollment)
- Create a campaign and select the products you want to track
- Generate unique Attribution tags (URLs) for each marketing channel, campaign, or creative
- Use these tagged URLs as the destination in your external ads, social posts, emails, or influencer content
What Attribution Measures
- Clicks: How many people clicked your external link and arrived at Amazon
- Detail page views: How many viewed your product detail page
- Add to cart: How many added your product to their cart
- Purchases: How many actually bought
- Sales: Total revenue attributed to the external campaign
Attribution uses a 14-day last-touch attribution window, meaning any purchase within 14 days of the click is attributed to the campaign.
Best Practices for Amazon Attribution Campaigns
1. Tag Everything Separately
Create unique Attribution tags for each channel, campaign, ad set, and creative. The more granular your tagging, the better your data. If you use one tag for all your Facebook ads, you will know Facebook works but not which ad or audience drove the results.
2. Pair With the Brand Referral Bonus
Make sure your Attribution campaigns are enrolled in the Brand Referral Bonus program. The roughly 10% bonus on attributed sales can significantly improve the ROI of your external traffic campaigns.
3. Test Multiple Channels
Do not assume you know which external channel will perform best. Test Google Ads, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), TikTok, email, influencer partnerships, and blog content. The results may surprise you. We have seen brands where email marketing drives better Amazon Attribution ROI than paid social.
4. Optimize Landing Pages
When driving external traffic to Amazon, consider sending visitors to your Amazon Storefront rather than directly to a product page. Your Storefront gives you more control over the experience and lets you showcase multiple products, reducing the risk of losing a customer who is not interested in the specific product they landed on.
5. Measure Full-Funnel Impact
Do not just look at direct purchases. Track the full funnel: clicks to page views, page views to add-to-carts, and add-to-carts to purchases. Drop-offs at each stage tell you where to optimize. High clicks but low page views might mean your ad creative sets the wrong expectation. High page views but low add-to-carts might mean your listing needs work.
Real-World Results
At Marknology, we have used Amazon Attribution with clients across multiple categories. The consistent finding is that brands running coordinated external traffic campaigns alongside strong Amazon PPC strategies outperform those relying on Amazon traffic alone. The combination creates a flywheel: external traffic drives sales, sales boost organic ranking, better organic ranking drives more internal traffic, and the cycle compounds.
If you are spending money on marketing outside of Amazon and not tracking it through Attribution, you are flying blind. The tool is free, the data is invaluable, and the Brand Referral Bonus literally pays you to use it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to increase Amazon sales?
The best strategies include optimizing product listings with keyword-rich titles and bullet points, leveraging Amazon PPC advertising, maintaining competitive pricing, earning verified reviews, and using tools like Amazon Brand Registry. Marknology, led by Andrew Morgans in Kansas City, has helped 300+ brands scale their Amazon revenue using these proven methods.
How much does Amazon advertising cost?
Amazon PPC costs vary by category, but average cost-per-click ranges from $0.20 to $6.00. Most brands allocate 10-30% of revenue to advertising. The key is optimizing ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) to maintain profitability while scaling.
How do I optimize my Amazon product listing?
Focus on keyword-rich titles (under 200 characters), compelling bullet points highlighting benefits, high-quality images (7+ per listing), A+ Content for brand-registered sellers, and backend search terms. Professional agencies like Marknology can handle this end-to-end.
What does Marknology do?
Marknology is a Kansas City-based Amazon marketing agency founded by Andrew Morgans in 2015. The agency has managed over $2B in revenue for 300+ brands, offering services including Amazon listing optimization, PPC management, brand strategy, and marketplace expansion.
Who is Andrew Morgans?
Andrew Morgans is the founder and CEO of Marknology, a leading Amazon marketing agency based in Kansas City. He hosts the Startup Hustle podcast and has spoken at conferences across 5 continents about ecommerce and Amazon marketplace strategies.