Tom:
Welcome to the Clear Ads Podcast: Highway to Sell. As usual, you’re listening to me, Tom Wacko, and this week I’m joined by a very special guest — Dustin from BetterAMS.
We’ve had many guests from BetterAMS on before — I’m sure listeners remember episodes with Destiny and the team — but this week we’ve got a specialist to talk about the Amazon API, the Marketing Stream, the Marketing Cloud, and everything in between.
Dustin, I’ll hand it over to you for an introduction.
Dustin:
Thanks, Tom — it’s a real pleasure to be here.
I’ve been with BetterAMS for about a year and a half, but my journey started six or seven years ago when I decided to chase the “digital nomad” dream — be your own boss, work remotely, that sort of thing. I began with retail and online arbitrage, then moved into product sourcing and manufacturing through Jungle Scout.
Eventually, I gravitated toward PPC. I started managing other sellers’ accounts and, along the way, began developing my own tools — first in Excel with VBA scripts, and later teaching myself Python to automate campaign optimization. That eventually led me to become a full-stack developer.
Then I met Taylor from BetterAMS, who said, “We’re looking for someone exactly like you — someone who understands ads but also speaks the language of tech.” And that’s how I landed here.
Now, I focus on the API rollouts, integrating them into our custom dashboards, and bridging the gap between ad strategy and technology. I absolutely love it.
Tom:
That’s awesome — and honestly, a better introduction than I could’ve given!
I’m always a bit jealous of people like you who started as sellers before moving into advertising. It gives you such a deeper understanding of how every bid, keyword, and percentage point affects a real business. I just manage other people’s budgets — but when it’s your own money, it changes everything.
We love working with your team, and we’re excited to dive into your expertise today. So, let’s start at the beginning.
What is the Amazon API — and what are its main benefits?
Understanding the Amazon API
Dustin:
Sure. In simple terms, think of the API as a way to communicate directly with Amazon’s advertising database.
When you use the ad console, you’re looking at one layer of that data — campaign names, bids, ad groups, products, and so on. With bulk operations, you can download and edit many campaigns at once.
The API takes that a step further. It allows you to pull all of that information programmatically — across multiple accounts — and feed it into your own database.
You can then query your database, make bid adjustments, or create campaigns automatically at scale.
So, instead of updating one campaign at a time, you can manage dozens or hundreds simultaneously — which is why agencies and large sellers rely on it.
Tom:
So, are most third-party tools — like Perpetua, Pacvue, or Teikametrics — using the API behind the scenes?
Dustin:
Yes, exactly. Those tools are built on top of Amazon’s Advertising API.
But there’s also another one — the Selling Partner API (SP-API) — which provides access to Seller Central data like Business Reports, Inventory, and Brand Analytics. That one’s a bit trickier to get access to because Amazon has tighter rules and compliance requirements.
Tom:
Right — because they don’t want people misusing data or impersonating sellers.
Dustin:
Exactly. Amazon wants to make sure you’re handling the data responsibly and not aggregating it for resale or anything “black hat.”
Tom:
Makes sense. So if someone’s just starting out — say, a small seller working from home — should they bother setting up API access?
Dustin:
Probably not. If you’re managing one account, tools like bulk files or simple automation scripts are enough.
But if you’re a large brand or an agency managing multiple accounts, the API is essential. It saves hundreds of hours and lets you own your data instead of relying entirely on Amazon’s dashboards.
And for big brands like Coca-Cola or Nestlé who handle everything in-house, the API is incredibly powerful.
The Developer Side
Tom:
So, what kind of developer skills are needed to use the API?
Dustin:
You do need some development knowledge — especially if you’re integrating it into a database or building automation logic.
The documentation isn’t perfect — typical Amazon! — and some of it’s outdated or contradictory. But the good news is, tools like ChatGPT can now help you write or debug API scripts. You can literally paste in the documentation, describe your goal, and it’ll build the code for you.
Still, a basic understanding of Python, SQL, or how APIs work is definitely helpful.
Tom:
That’s encouraging. I remember trying to take the Amazon Marketing Cloud exam, and it immediately started testing my SQL knowledge — I failed miserably.
Dustin:
Haha, yeah, that’s normal. SQL can be a bit intimidating at first, but once you grasp the basics, it’s extremely useful.
Using the API for Optimization
Tom:
Let’s talk practical examples. How has the API helped BetterAMS optimize campaigns?
Dustin:
The biggest benefit is speed and scale.
For example, when Destiny develops a new strategy, I can translate it into an automated process. Instead of five people spending hours downloading reports, I can pull data directly from the API into our dashboard, make adjustments, and re-upload everything in minutes.
It’s also great for trend analysis — we can pull performance data daily, store it in our own database, and see changes over time that the Amazon console doesn’t easily show.
Tom:
And it helps with reporting too, right?
Dustin:
Yes. You can pull Business Reports, Brand Metrics, and Category Benchmarks directly through the API. That lets us see, for example, how our conversion rate compares to the category median or top performers — then visualize it over time instead of just as a static number.
Tom:
That’s really powerful.
Moving to the Amazon Marketing Stream
Tom:
Let’s move on to Marketing Stream, because a lot of sellers are asking about it.
What exactly is it — and how is it different from the standard API?
Dustin:
Marketing Stream is exciting because it’s the first time we can see hourly advertising data.
With the normal API, you pull daily reports. Marketing Stream, on the other hand, constantly pushes data to your AWS inbox — like a live feed.
Every hour, you get updates like:
“This campaign had three impressions, one click, two sales.”
So instead of pulling data once a day, you’re receiving a real-time stream.
That allows for true dayparting — adjusting bids or budgets based on the time of day that customers are most active.
Tom:
Exactly. I’ve been using it through Perpetua and it’s amazing. You can actually see when shoppers are most engaged — lunch breaks, evenings, weekends — and scale bids accordingly.
Dustin:
Right. And an important point: the sales attribution is tied to the hour of the click, not the hour of the purchase.
So if someone clicks your ad at 4am but buys later that day, the sale is attributed to that 4am click. That’s crucial for interpreting your data correctly.
Tom:
That’s good to know! I think a lot of people miss that nuance.
Dustin:
Yeah — and it’s why you shouldn’t just pause your ads in “low-performing” hours. You might actually be cutting off valuable early-stage clicks that convert later.
Tom:
Exactly. That’s why I prefer lowering bids rather than turning ads off completely.
Dustin:
Same here. The risk of pausing too aggressively is that you can send negative signals to the algorithm — and if a script fails to turn things back on, it can hurt performance.
Access and Integration
Tom:
Are there any prerequisites for using Marketing Stream?
Dustin:
You’ll need API access and an AWS setup — it’s more complex than the standard API.
If you’re using a third-party tool like Perpetua, Pacvue, or Teikametrics, they handle all of that for you.
One restriction: if your Marketing Stream feed is already connected through a platform like Perpetua, you can’t connect it again elsewhere. It’s one subscription per brand per marketplace.
And currently, Marketing Stream supports Sponsored Products and Sponsored Display — not yet Sponsored Brands, though hopefully that’s coming soon.
The Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)
Tom:
Now for the big one — the Amazon Marketing Cloud. What is it, really?
Dustin:
The simplest way to describe it: it’s a data clean room.
It combines your DSP and Ad Console data, anonymizes it, and lets you run custom SQL queries to uncover deeper insights.
It’s where you can see things like:
-
Path to purchase (how many touchpoints before a sale)
-
Time to purchase (how long it takes from first ad click to conversion)
-
Geographic and demographic breakdowns
You write queries, run them, and Amazon outputs the results as an Excel file.
Tom:
I’ve used it through PACVue and XPN — and the amount of data is insane. But I always feel like there’s more hidden behind the curtain.
Dustin:
There absolutely is. Some data is restricted to protect user privacy, but you can access an incredible amount — especially when you combine Ad Console, DSP, and Brand Analytics data in one place.
The challenge is knowing what to query. Amazon provides around 50 sample queries to start with, which you can tweak. Between that and ChatGPT, most users can build their own custom reports.
Tom:
I love the Path to Purchase report — it really shows how many touchpoints it takes for a customer to convert, and how DSP ads complement Sponsored Products.
Dustin:
Exactly. And pairing that with Time to Purchase gives you even more insight — especially if you sell both impulse and high-consideration products.
Tom:
Are there still limitations?
Dustin:
Some. Data discrepancies happen — impressions or clicks might not always perfectly match what you see in the Ad Console. But the insights are still incredibly valuable.
Final Thoughts
Tom:
This has been a masterclass. Before we wrap up — if there’s one key takeaway for our listeners, what would it be?
Dustin:
For smaller sellers, don’t feel like you’re missing out if you’re not using APIs yet — you can still succeed without them.
But for agencies and advanced brands, owning your own data is game-changing. Once you control it in your own database, you start seeing new opportunities everywhere.
Tom:
Brilliant. Thank you so much, Dustin. It’s always great connecting with the BetterAMS team.
To our listeners — if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a colleague or fellow seller.
You can reach us at clearads.co.uk if you’d like to work with our team.
Before we go — Dustin, where can people find you?
Dustin:
I’m most active on LinkedIn — I post once a week, usually about tech-related topics. If anyone needs help getting started with the API, Marketing Stream, or Marketing Cloud, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to help.
Tom:
Perfect. Thanks again, Dustin. That’s bye from me —
Dustin:
—and bye from me. Thanks, everyone!
