Amazon agency pricing often feels like a deep sea with no sure-shot answers. With the pricing of Amazon agencies varying from $500 to $20,000 and above a month, how do you decide you’re paying right?
You have numerous service options to consider, such as product optimization, product ads, PPC, SEO, and branding. Plus, you need expertise and adaptability, as you cannot rely on a one-size-fits-all approach.
In this article, we dive into the factors influencing Amazon agency pricing, the value these agencies bring, and how to measure your ROI.
Whether you are assessing if an agency aligns with your goals or you’re evaluating service-specific costs, we will help you make sense of the numbers and find the right fit for you.
The value of partnering with an Amazon agency
Choosing between an agency and an in-house team is an industry-agnostic problem. The wrong choice can affect your visibility, sales, and overall brand reputation.
While setting up an in-house marketing team simplifies your marketing operations, scaling a marketing team brings more challenges. Each addition to your marketing team will increase operational and overhead costs.
Partnering with an agency, on the other hand, offers a distinct edge. Agencies are fast as they have tried and tested processes in place, and have specialists on board, guaranteeing faster traction from your marketing efforts.
Result driving expertise
Agencies bring expertise and insights from working with multiple brands and industries. SalesDuo, for example, brings Amazon expertise, with 85% of its team being ex-Amazon employees, including its founder, who was the head of the Vendor Management program at Amazon. They understand Amazon algorithms, advertising tools, and best practices inside out.
This knowledge ensures that your campaigns are optimized to increase sales and profitability—something that the in-house team can take months(or years) to achieve.
Result-driven strategies
Agencies are razor-focused on delivering measurable results, such as higher sales, better ROI, and better ranking. They leverage AI technology and data to refine strategies, ensuring that every marketing dollar spent yields results. With an in-house team, the focus can sometimes spread across multiple areas.
Operational efficiency
Managing Amazon marketing requires several tools, training, and dedicated personnel. An agency streamlines this process by handling everything for you–from keyword optimization, PPC campaigns, SEO, advertising, and branding–saving you valuable resources. They have set processes that they can swiftly tailor to your marketing goals. Their people have experience scaling efforts quickly, which is a huge advantage, especially for businesses with fluctuating demands.
Understanding Amazon Agency Pricing
Amazon agency pricing varies widely based on services offered, the complexity of the business and scale, and the agency’s expertise. Most amazon agencies base their fee structure in one of the following ways:
Monthly flat fees: This involves a fixed monthly rate for a bundle of services like account management, PPC campaign oversight, or listing optimization. It is ideal for companies seeking predictable costs. However, it can lack flexibility and lead to overpaying for unused services. This structure also doesn’t incentivize performance improvements, resulting in stagnant outcomes.
Percentage of Ad spend: This is specific to advertising-related services, where agencies charge a percentage of your monthly Amazon advertising spend. This structure incentivizes the agency to optimize ad performance frequently. However, with this structure, your cost may increase exponentially with high ad budgets.
Performance-based fees: This includes performance-based pricing, where additional fees, apart from the monthly fee, are tied to metrics like increased sales or profits. The agencies charge a monthly fee and a percentage of the gross revenue or profit over a certain minimum amount. For example, $3500/month plus 4% of all monthly sales over $400k.
You can negotiate the percentage of gross sales to a lower rate as your sales increase. This is advisable because this arrangement generally works well for everyone. However, this is a complex structure and requires a detailed contract for it to work well for both parties.
Customized bundled services: This pricing allows clients to pick and choose services like SEO optimization, photography, content writing, customer review management, etc., with each service priced individually. This is a good option for companies with limited needs and tight budgets.
Service-specific pricing
Offshore marketing agencies ($500-$1000 per month)
An offshore marketing agency offers services under a limited budget and is suitable for companies starting in the Amazon marketplace. However, these come with challenges.
Due to a lack of resources, these agencies often lack advanced tools and expertise to show an exponential impact on sales.
High-level managers ($1,000 and $2,000 per month)
They offer better communication and expertise than offshore agencies and are ideal for mid-level Amazon management solutions. They provide dedicated account managers responsible for coordinating all aspects of your Amazon marketing needs. However, these agencies also operate with limited resources and might lack advanced strategic support.
Experienced full-service agencies ($2000+ per month)
Experienced full-service agencies charge $2000 and above, but they bring expertise, offer AI-powered comprehensive services, and tailor growth strategies. They cover all aspects of Amazon operations, from SEO and advertising to inventory and customer service. They have well-trained teams with expertise in delivering results, managing diverse client needs, and leveraging proven growth strategies.
Premium agencies ($3000+ per month)
Premium agencies are high-charging agencies, usually starting at $3000 and above, and offer innovative AI-powered strategies to grow your business in the highly competitive market. These agencies are built with highly seasoned professionals, typically with Amazon experience. They focus on long-term customer-centric strategies to maximize your ROI and have a deep understanding of Amazon algorithms to help you scale.
Services that decide the pricing of an agency:
1. Amazon full-service account management: A fully managed service that helps boost your online presence, sales, and reputation. From account setup and maintenance to inventory tracking, customer support service, and performance monitoring, these services ensure that your business runs smoothly while you focus on more strategic business decisions.
2. End-to-end Amazon marketing: This is an all-inclusive Amazon marketing service that combines PPC campaigns, Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform) advertising, content creation, and promotional campaigns to enhance your product visibility, drive traffic, and increase conversion rates. Experienced agencies leverage data insights and AI technology to optimize your Amazon marketing and boost ROI.
3. Amazon shortage claims and chargebacks: Amazon shortage claims and chargebacks are disputes filed by sellers to recover funds for mishandled or missing inventory and fees imposed by Amazon on sellers for non-compliance with operational standards. They can significantly impact profitability if not managed properly. This service helps you recover money lost in such claims and incorrect chargebacks. Agencies ensure that you comply with Amazon’s requirements and submit timely claims.
4. Amazon Advertising: This service is focused on maximizing your ad spend ROI and includes sponsored products, brand, and display campaigns. Agencies experienced in managing Amazon advertising optimize your keyword strategies, bid management, and campaign performance for higher visibility and sales.
5. Amazon SEO: This service optimizes product discoverability through keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and backend search terms. Agencies aim to rank your products on Amazon’s search results to increase organic traffic and conversions.
6. Amazon product listing optimization: Product listing optimization ensures your product pages are attractive and align with Amazon algorithms. This includes using high-quality images, compelling product descriptions, and A+ content to make your product listing stand out.
Reputable agencies deliver these services to help you succeed in the dynamic Amazon marketplace. Thus, the pricing is affected by:
- Agencies expertise in managing complex client needs and using advanced tools
- Scope of services– from individual service to end-to-end management
- More extensive product catalogs, competitive markets, and goals
Questions to ask for understanding pricing vs services offered
- What do they run for you?
- What services will they run for you?
- What technology and software do they use to manage campaigns?
- Can they provide examples of ROI from clients in similar industries?
- How much do they typically spend annually on each campaign they run?
- What is their total fee for each campaign or service?
- Do they charge a setup fee at the beginning of the contract, or is it an ongoing cost?
How do you measure the ROI of your Amazon agency investment?
Accurately measuring your ROI from a partnership with an agency is critical to assessing its competency and deciding on a long-term association.
Here are a few things that you must do to measure the ROI of your Amazon agency investment:
Set clear goals for them
This is crucial because vague goals are likely to produce vague results. So, define specific, measurable goals for your campaigns, like reduced ACoS, increased sales, or higher product ranking.
Clearly define your KPIs, including conversion rates, lead generation, customer acquisition cost, and lifetime value.
For example, achieve a 15% increase in monthly sales for the new product launch.
How can you monitor this?
You can set metrics to monitor the increase or decrease in the units sold and revenue generated from ads vs organic reaches.
These established objectives provide a benchmark for evaluating the campaign’s success.
Use conversion tracking tools
Employ tools like Google Analytics, Amazon Attribution, or platform-specific tools like Meta Pixels to track performance metrics like conversions and sales. For example, you can track how many customers click on your external ad and complete the purchase on Amazon.
This helps determine the effectiveness of external traffic campaigns like Google Ads leading to Amazon listings.
Implement attribution models
Adopt multi-touch attribution models to understand the impact of different touchpoints on the customer’s journey. This approach helps you assign value to every stage–from awareness to purchase–giving you a complete view of campaign performance.
For example, if a shopper clicks on a sponsored product ad, then a display ad, and then makes a purchase, the attribution model will help measure each interaction instead of just the final purchase interaction. This also enables you to invest more in touchpoints with higher ROI, like display ads for retargeting.
Assign monetary values
Assign monetary value to all your marketing efforts. For example, calculate the revenue generated for each conversion, repurchase rate, CLV (Customer lifetime value), or average lead value to translate the marketing performance into measurable financial outcomes.
Leverage unique tracking links
Use UTM parameters and unique URLs for each campaign and channel to simplify the differentiation of performance metrics and evaluation. For example, use unique UTM for social media campaigns promoting holiday sales. This way, you can analyze which social media platform drives more conversions.
Calculate your ROI
You can use a standard formula and compare it with your goals to get an overview of your ROI:
Analyze data regularly
Conduct periodic reviews of campaign performance and gather data-back insights. This helps assess how the agency strategies perform against your objectives and if they adapt to meet your evolving needs.
Finding an Amazon agency that fits your budget and goals
Choosing the right agency is critical to balancing your budget with your goals. Here’s how to assess your agency for price and services:
Assess transparency and communication
These are non-negotiable when evaluating your agency. Look for:
- Transparent pricing structures: Ensure the agency provides a detailed breakdown of costs without any hidden fee
- Accessible reporting: A good agency will always provide regular updates, access to a real-time dashboard, actionable insights, and information about the strategies used for your campaigns
- Goal alignment: Assess the agency for its understanding of your goals and how it plans to tailor strategies to achieve those goals
Balance budget and quality
While it might be tempting to choose the cheapest agency, remember that such an agency might lack the expertise to deliver results and service quality. Instead, aim to achieve the sweet spot between cost and quality—an agency with a track record of expertise in Amazon marketing and offers customized pricing plans to accommodate your requirements.
Red flags to watch for…
Be wary of signs like:
Hidden fees: Avoid agencies that do not disclose all costs upfront and say things like “we can see that later…” Working with such agencies might inflate your costs later.
Lack of expertise: Look beyond basic PPC campaigns and cookie-cutter service as their offering. Look for their experience managing complex projects and expertise in understanding the Amazon marketplace inside and out.
Poor communication: Check the agency for prompt responses and whether it provides regular updates as part of its package. Lacking this can exponentially hinder progress and collaboration.
Finding the right Amazon agency while balancing your budget and goals is crucial; it is a tough job.
SalesDuo is an ideal partner for your Amazon marketing. Unlike agencies that overpromise and underdeliver, SalesDuo always over-delivers by combining the expertise of a full-stack team with innovative proprietary AI systems.
SalesDuo’s approach to transparent pricing and goal alignment ensures you know exactly where you invest. Offering a clear breakdown of costs and accessible reporting through a proprietary AI dashboard, SalesDuo keeps you informed about every step.
Besides offering full services for Amazon marketing management, you get:
- Amazon algorithms expertise and insights of ex-Amazon employees, including the founder who headed the Vendor Management program at Amazon
- Exclusive Amazon perks–for every $100 spent on Amazon Advertising, they secure $3-$12 in bonus ad spend
- AI-powered campaign management and competitor monitoring, providing cost efficiency and market advantage that only a few can match
- Average 80% of YOY growth and
- A portfolio of managing $3 billion revenue of over 250 clients
Whether you’re scaling operations or just starting out, SalesDuo tailored strategies to meet your goals with compromise.
Schedule a call with an Amazon expert today to get a 12-month growth plan and forecast for your brand on Amazon!
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Author
Meet Arjun Narayan, a Business Dynamo with two decades of conquering boardrooms and founding two companies that didn't just survive but thrived. When he's not navigating business strategies and delivery teams, you'll find him immersed in his love for cars and exploring new models, geeking out over tech trends, globe-trotting for new adventures, and occasionally pondering the mysteries of the universe over a good cup of coffee.
