> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # DSP vs Sponsored Spend Mix, Amazon Ads > Spend split between DSP and Sponsored surfaces, rebalances when DSP retargeting underperforms or upper-funnel spend is over-allocated. How to read it, why... **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ad Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) > Spend split between DSP and Sponsored surfaces, rebalances when DSP retargeting underperforms or upper-funnel spend is over-allocated. ## At a glance > Spend allocation across the four Amazon Ads surfaces: **Sponsored Products (SP), Sponsored Brands (SB), Sponsored Display (SD), and DSP**. Donut visualisation of the budget split. The strategic mix question, are you over-investing in upper-funnel awareness (SB / DSP) or under-investing in bottom-funnel conversion (SP)? Healthy mature accounts: 60-80% SP, 10-20% SB, 5-10% SD, 0-30% DSP (DSP only at scale). | | | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **The formula** | Per-surface `SUM(cost) ÷ total_cost`. Four percentages summing to 100%. Visualised as a donut. | | **Reports API endpoint** | Three Amazon Advertising endpoints (`spCampaigns`, `sbCampaigns`, `sdCampaigns`) plus the separate **DSP Reports API** for DSP spend. The card requires DSP API access to render the DSP slice; without it, only the three Sponsored slices appear. | | **What "DSP" means** | **Demand-Side Platform**. Amazon's programmatic ad system for display + video ads served across the open web (not just Amazon.com). Different audience, different attribution, different pricing model (CPM not CPC), and different reporting. Requires minimum spend commitments (\$35K+ for managed-service). | | **ACOS vs ROAS framing** | The hero ACOS / ROAS cards blend across all four surfaces; the blended view hides surface-specific efficiency. **Use this card to understand "where the spend is going"; use ACOS by surface to understand "which surface is performing"**. | | **Attribution model** | Sponsored uses last-click, 14-day click window. **DSP uses 14-day click + 14-day view**, which is more permissive and credits DSP for sales it may not have caused. The two attribution models are not directly comparable; this card shows spend, not attribution. | | **Brand vs non-brand keyword scope** | DSP has no concept of keywords; it targets audiences. Sponsored has both branded and non-branded keyword campaigns. Spend mix is therefore a more useful frame than keyword scope at this level. | | **Sponsored Products vs Brands vs Display vs DSP** | The four slices. SP is bottom-funnel (search results); SB is mid-funnel (banners on search); SD is mid-funnel retargeting; DSP is top-funnel programmatic. Each plays a role in a balanced mix. | | **Currency** | Account currency only. DSP commitments are usually quoted in USD even on non-US accounts. | | **Amazon-only attribution gap** | Particularly relevant for DSP, which serves on the open web. DSP's view-through attribution captures more of the cross-device journey than Sponsored, but still doesn't see DTC sales. | | **Time window** | `30D`. Surface mix is slow-moving; weekly variation is mostly noise. | | **Alert trigger** | None (donut is informational). The diagnosis pattern: SB+SD+DSP > 40% with weak Sponsored ACOS = over-investment in awareness while bottom-funnel underperforms. | | **Roles** | owner, marketing, finance | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Amazon Ads data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example Two illustrative US home-goods sellers, one without DSP, one with a DSP commitment. Both 30-day windows cover 14 Mar 26 to 12 Apr 26. **Seller A** (\$26,800 total spend, no DSP) | Surface | Spend | Share | Surface ACOS | Notes | | ---------------------- | ------------ | -------- | ------------ | ----------------------- | | **Sponsored Products** | \$20,400 | 76.1% | 18.4% | Bottom-funnel workhorse | | **Sponsored Brands** | \$4,800 | 17.9% | 51.1% | Awareness, halo benefit | | **Sponsored Display** | \$1,600 | 6.0% | 27.6% | Remarketing | | **DSP** | \$0 | 0% | - | Below DSP minimum | | **Total** | **\$26,800** | **100%** | **21.2%** | Healthy SP-dominant mix | **Seller B** (\$85,000 total spend, with DSP commitment) | Surface | Spend | Share | Surface ACOS / ROAS | Notes | | ---------------------- | ------------ | -------- | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------- | | **Sponsored Products** | \$42,500 | 50.0% | 19.0% | Bottom-funnel | | **Sponsored Brands** | \$12,750 | 15.0% | 48.5% | Mid-funnel awareness | | **Sponsored Display** | \$4,250 | 5.0% | 28.0% | Remarketing | | **DSP** | \$25,500 | 30.0% | ROAS 2.1× (looser attribution) | Top-funnel programmatic | | **Total** | **\$85,000** | **100%** | Blended ACOS \~28% | Heavy upper-funnel investment | What's interesting: 1. **Seller A's mix is the textbook DTC-style Amazon-only seller**. SP dominates (76%); SB / SD are awareness investments. No DSP because spend is below the $35K minimum. **This is the right mix for accounts under ~$50K/month\*\*, there's no DSP business case at small scale. 2. **Seller B's 30% DSP allocation is intentional upper-funnel investment**. The blended ACOS (28%) is higher than Seller A's (21%), but Seller B is buying awareness that Seller A can't afford. **Judging Seller B on blended ACOS would be misleading**. DSP's value plays out via TACOS reduction over months, not via direct ACOS. 3. **DSP at 30% with poor ROAS is a warning shape**, if [TACOS](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/tacos) is also rising, the upper-funnel spend isn't lifting organic. The fix is to dial DSP back, not to demand DSP-side ACOS improvements (DSP isn't designed for direct conversion). 4. **SP \< 50% is the danger pattern** for most categories. SP is the highest-converting placement; if upper-funnel is crowding out bottom-funnel, you're paying for awareness without harvesting. **Rebalance toward SP** unless the brand is actively in launch / awareness phase. 5. **A donut visualisation is more useful than a number** because the *shape* of the mix tells the story: SP-dominant = harvesting, SB-heavy = awareness-building, DSP-heavy = brand-building, balanced = mature multi-funnel. Quick sanity tests: * SP > 70% = harvesting-dominant. Healthy for mature catalogues, may be under-investing in growth. * SP 50-70% = balanced multi-funnel. Healthy for growth-phase brands. * SP \< 50% = upper-funnel heavy. Justifiable during launch / brand-building; alarm otherwise. * DSP > 40% = aggressive upper-funnel investment. Cross with [TACOS](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/tacos) to confirm it's lifting organic. * DSP > 0% on accounts \< \$50K/month total = waste. DSP minimums make small-scale DSP economically unviable. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with DSP vs Sponsored Mix | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Amazon Ads Total Spend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/total-spend) | The absolute value behind each donut slice. | | [Amazon Ads ACOS](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/acos) | The blended efficiency, useful only if you understand the surface mix behind it. | | [Amazon Ads TACOS](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/tacos) | The strategic check: is upper-funnel spend lifting the whole pie? | | [Sponsored Brands Halo Effect](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/sponsored-brands-halo-effect) | Justifies SB share by quantifying its organic-search lift. | | [DSP Audience Reach](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/dsp-audience-reach) | DSP-specific drill-down: how many shoppers did the DSP spend reach? | | [DSP vs Sponsored Cost Share](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/dsp-vs-sponsored-spend) | The deeper analytical view of the same mix. | | [Branded vs Non-Branded Spend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/branded-vs-non-branded-spend) | The keyword-class cut, complementary to surface mix. | | [Google Ads Campaign Type Mix](/nerve-centre/google_ads/gads_campaign_type_mix) | Cross-platform analogue (Search vs PMax vs Display). | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Amazon Ads Console + DSP Console:** [Amazon Ads Console > Campaign Manager](https://advertising.amazon.com/cm) shows SP / SB / SD spend in unified view. Filter by campaign type to see each surface separately. [Amazon DSP Console](https://advertising.amazon.com/dsp) is a **separate console** for DSP campaigns. Spend, audience, and reach reporting all live there. The card joins the two consoles into one mix view. [Amazon Ads Console > Reports > Cross-Platform](https://advertising.amazon.com/reports), some accounts have a unified report; many don't. The mix calculation in this card is the canonical version. **Why our number may legitimately differ from a manual sum:** | Reason | Direction of divergence | Why it happens | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | **Timezone**. All Amazon Advertising and DSP reports use **PT (Pacific)**. | None. | Amazon's reporting backend is in Seattle. | | **Report-generation latency** (1-3 hours per surface). | Today's mix is provisional for \~24h. | Reports batch-build hourly. | | **DSP Reports API access**. Without DSP API access, the card shows 0% DSP, but the merchant may actually have DSP spend (they just can't see it via API). | Underreports DSP, inflates Sponsored shares. | DSP API access is a separate auth flow. | | **Currency**. DSP commitments are usually USD; Sponsored is account currency. | A USD DSP commitment on a non-USD account creates FX noise. | The card converts at daily rate; small drift expected. | | **Committed vs delivered DSP spend**. DSP service agreements bill on committed spend even if under-delivered. The card uses delivered cost, not committed. | DSP share may underreport in months with under-delivery. | Intentional, for like-for-like comparison with Sponsored. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | What causes legitimate divergence | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | | [`amazon_sp.amzn_sp_total_sales`](/nerve-centre/amazon_sp/amzn_sp_total_sales) | No direct relationship; this is spend-mix, not sales. | N/A. | | [`google_ads.gads_campaign_type_mix`](/nerve-centre/google_ads/gads_campaign_type_mix) | Cross-platform analogue. | Independent platforms. | | [`shopify.total_revenue`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/total-revenue) | No relationship. | N/A. |
Edge cases and rare reconciliation issues * **Self-service vs managed-service DSP**: Amazon DSP has two flavours; reporting is the same but contracts differ. The card treats them identically. * **Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)**: gives a more granular cross-surface view but is a separate Reports API and not part of this card. * **Streaming TV (STV) ads**: a sub-type of DSP. Aggregated into the DSP slice in this card. * **Twitch ads**: also DSP-bucketed. * **Brand registry effects**: SB requires Brand Registry; without it, SB share is 0%. * **Multi-marketplace**: each Amazon Advertising account is single-marketplace; the mix card is per-account.
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **What's the right surface mix?** Depends on phase and scale. **Mature high-volume catalogue**: SP 70-80%, SB 10-15%, SD 5-10%, DSP 0-15% (only at scale > \$50K/month). **Growth-phase brand**: SP 50-65%, SB 15-25%, SD 5-10%, DSP 10-25%. **Launch / awareness phase**: SP 30-50%, SB 20-30%, SD 5-10%, DSP 20-40%. The right answer depends on your conversion-rate maturity. **My DSP isn't showing, is that a connector issue or a no-DSP case?** Either. (a) If the merchant doesn't have DSP at all (most accounts \< \$50K/month), the slice is genuinely zero. (b) If they have DSP but the DSP Reports API isn't connected, the slice will show zero but the Sponsored shares will be artificially inflated. Check connector settings. **Why is DSP separate from Sponsored?** Different product, different attribution, different pricing, different audiences. **Sponsored** ads serve on Amazon.com (search results + product detail pages); **DSP** ads serve on the open web (apps, websites, streaming TV, Twitch). DSP uses CPM not CPC and has 14d-click + 14d-view attribution (vs Sponsored's 14d-click only). **My SP share is 90%, is that good?** Probably. SP is the highest-converting placement on Amazon. 90% SP is consistent with a mature, harvest-mode account. **The only risk** is under-investment in awareness (SB, SD, DSP) which can leave organic-rank growth untapped. Cross with [TACOS](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/tacos): if TACOS is falling (good), 90% SP is fine; if TACOS is rising, you may be over-harvesting on a shrinking brand awareness base. **My DSP is 50% of spend but ROAS is dragging the blended number, what do I do?** Don't judge DSP on direct ROAS. DSP is upper-funnel; its value plays out via TACOS reduction over months. Test: pause DSP for 30 days. If TACOS rises (organic falls), DSP was working and you should resume. If TACOS holds, DSP wasn't lifting organic and you can scale it back. **What's "Streaming TV (STV)"?** A DSP sub-type. Amazon's connected-TV ad inventory (Fire TV, Freevee, Twitch). Bucketed into DSP in this card. STV CPMs are typically 3-5× display CPMs, so STV-heavy accounts will look DSP-expensive without being inefficient. **Multi-marketplace, can I see global mix?** Not in a single card. Each Amazon Advertising account is single-marketplace. **My SB share is climbing month-over-month, why?** Three plausible causes: (a) **The team is intentionally building brand awareness**. (b) **SP is auto-allocating budget away from SP toward SB** (Amazon's auto-budgeting can shift cross-surface). (c) **A new SB campaign launched and is in test phase**. Cross with [Sponsored Brands Halo Effect](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/sponsored-brands-halo-effect) to confirm the SB rise is producing organic lift. **Why is the donut snapshot rather than a trend?** Surface mix is slow-moving (weekly variation is mostly noise). The 30D snapshot is more useful than a daily trend. For mix trend over time, request the [Spend by Surface Trend](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/amazon-ads/spend-over-time) card. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *DSP vs Sponsored Spend Mix* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Amazon Ads and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.