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Why does offsite traffic still matter for brands on Amazon?

Shoppers don’t often start and end their product journey on Amazon. Even in 2025, they use Google and social platforms to discover, compare, and research products, especially those they’re unfamiliar with. Offsite media like paid search is often where high-intent shopping begins.

Key reasons offsite traffic still drives value:

  • 46% of product searches begin on Google (eMarketer, 2025)
  • 61% of shoppers say they research outside of Amazon before purchasing on it
  • Paid search and social traffic remain major discovery sources for both new and repeat purchases

Without visibility in these upstream moments, brands risk being left out of the consideration set entirely.

What just happened with Amazon’s offsite ads?

In July 2025, Amazon dramatically exited Google Ads in the U.S. market. This move wasn’t gradual; it happened in less than 48 hours, dropping from an estimated 50–60% impression share to nearly zero across branded and non-branded search queries.

The implications of Amazon’s pullback:

  • Brands no longer benefit from Amazon-subsidized discoverability on Google
  • High-intent shoppers are redirected to DTC sites or long-tail retailers
  • The path to purchase becomes fractured, creating friction and risking lost sales

This shift means brands must now take control of their own offsite presence if they want to maintain traffic momentum and sales velocity on Amazon.

How does Amazon’s exit affect brand conversion rates?

When shoppers land on DTC sites or niche retail pages instead of Amazon, conversion rates suffer. Amazon remains the most efficient conversion engine in ecommerce.

U.S. market conversion benchmarks (2025):

  • Amazon: 13-15% for high-performing categories, ~74% of Prime Members convert once viewing a product
  • DTC brand sites: 3-5% is considered an excellent conversion rate

Sending high-intent traffic to Amazon typically yields 3-6x better performance than DTC. Brands that don’t control their offsite strategy risk sending shoppers into lower-converting channels, leading to lost revenue.

Are shoppers buying elsewhere if they can’t find you?

Absolutely. When your product isn’t discoverable on Google, shoppers either pick a competitor, go back to search results, or bounce entirely. According to Think With Google, over 50% of shoppers say they abandon a purchase if they can’t find enough information right away.

What happens when brands aren't visible offsite:

  • Competing brands with paid listings take your traffic
  • Shoppers may buy offline instead if their research online stalls
  • Brand recall suffers, especially for newer or lower-share players

Even if Amazon comes back to Google Ads in the future, brands must assume this is the new normal and act accordingly.

Is this a temporary pullback or a permanent shift?

The truth is, no one knows for sure. Amazon has a history of testing its advertising strategies. But even if this is temporary, it’s a loud signal that brands cannot rely on Amazon alone to fund their growth.

What this shift proves:

  • Brands must build their own discoverability strategy
  • Owned offsite media is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity
  • Long-term success on Amazon depends on controlling traffic sources

The cost of waiting is too high. If you're not showing up on Google, you're losing ground daily.

How does this impact Amazon's joint business planning (JBP)?

When brands bring measurable offsite traffic to Amazon, they earn leverage in JBP discussions. If your media is driving high-quality, converting traffic to Amazon listings, it affects Amazon's bottom line and gives you negotiating power.

Why this matters in your next JBP:

  • Brands can quantify their contribution to Amazon sales via offsite traffic
  • Demonstrating incremental revenue impact earns you more support
  • Media investment proof points open doors for better placements, co-op deals, and more favorable terms

Now is the time to turn media transparency into business leverage.

How can Ampd help brands take control?

Ampd empowers brands to run, automate, and scale high-performing Google Ads that drive traffic directly to Amazon product pages. With AI-driven optimization and full-funnel measurement, brands using Ampd gain both performance and proof.

What Ampd delivers:

  • AI-powered Google Ads that auto-optimize for Amazon conversion
  • Full visibility into traffic, spend, and revenue performance with closed-loop attributiony
  • Real-time insights that feed JBP conversations, retail growth strategies, and in-flight execution

In a world where Amazon has stepped back, Ampd helps brands step up.

What should brands do right now?

The landscape has changed. If your visibility depended on Amazon’s ad spend, now’s the time to act.

Immediate steps to take:

  1. Audit your current discoverability on Google and other offsite channels
  2. Launch or scale paid search to retake the share Amazon left behind
  3. Use tools like Ampd to ensure traffic is measurable, profitable, and optimized for Amazon outcomes
  4. Start preparing offsite impact reports to bring to your next JBP

You can’t afford to wait for Amazon to return to Google. If you control the traffic, you control the sale.

Don’t let Amazon’s ad exit take your sales with it.

Own your shopper journey. Ampd makes it easy to drive, scale, and measure offsite traffic back to Amazon, so you don’t just stay discoverable, you win.


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Joshua Gebhardt
Post by Joshua Gebhardt
Jul 28, 2025 11:54:51 AM
Joshua Gebhardt is the Co-founder and CEO of Ampd. Under his leadership, Ampd has become a trusted partner to global brands, helping them drive measurable retail outcomes from the world’s largest ad platforms. Joshua brings deep expertise at the intersection of digital media, retail, and analytics. Before Ampd, Joshua led strategy at the world’s top Google Analytics consultancy, advising Fortune 100 marketers on performance and transformation.