Everything to know about Amazon's advertising business, which is $21 billion and growing

Marketers cut ad spending in the pandemic, but e-commerce advertising has boomed as people shop more from home — with Amazon leading the pack.

EMarketer said Amazon claimed 10.3% of the US digital ad market in 2020, up from 7.8% in 2019 — competing with Google and Facebook for ad budgets. That growth has attracted Walmart, Instacart, Walgreens and other retailersthat have joined Amazon in vying for a slice of the pie.

Here's the latest on what we know about Amazon's moves to grow its advertising business.

Amazon's ad business is big and growing

Amazon took in about $21.5 billion from advertising in 2020, up from roughly $9.3 billion in the year-ago period.

While that amount is a tiny sliver of Amazon's revenue from retail sales and Amazon Web Services, its cloud business, advertising is one of its fastest-growing areas. The tech giant continues to cut into advertisers' search budgets that mostly go to Google. It's also ramping up its audio and video sales pitch.

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• A Wall Street firm says Amazon is stepping up its efforts to win small advertisers with cheaper prices and help from sales reps
• Amazon's ad business is set to more than quadruple by 2023 — and Google should be worried

Who runs Amazon's ad business?

As its advertising ambitions have grown, Amazon has cultivated a team of execs who pitch advertisers on its ad business.

They include longtime Amazon employees like Colleen Aubrey, who is part of Amazon's executive suite; and big names from ad agencies and brands who work directly with advertisers.

• Read more: Alan Moss is spearheading Amazon's push to steal ad dollars from Facebook and Google. Insiders lay out his playbook for getting a slice of the $70 billion TV ad market.
  
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Amazon faces growing competition for ad dollars

Amazon's advertising has soared as people do more of their shopping online — but other big retailers and delivery companies like Walmart, CVS, and Instacart are nipping at its heels by building their own ad businesses.

• Read more:Retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Instacart are starting to chip away at Amazon's advertising dominance
• Walmart unleashes a crucial new weapon to grab advertising budget from Amazon, but it's still lagging behind
• Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart are vying for advertising dollars — here's exactly how much they charge for ads
• Experts lay out how Instacart, Walmart, and other retail ad sellers can take on Amazon in digital advertising
• Here's a look inside Instacart's playbook to take on Google and Facebook as it tries to build a $1 billion ads business
• Instacart just hired Facebook's Carolyn Everson. Here are 43 other big hires that show how it and other companies are warring for advertising dollars

Amazon's ad business is tough to navigate

Marketers have complained that Amazon is tough to navigate. Amazon said its complex approach is by design, but at the same time, it's been rolling out tools to make it easier for marketers to buy and measure ads. Nonetheless, its complicated structure has rise to a cottage industry of firms that specialize in helping marketers navigate the site.

• Read more:Meet 18 firms solving companies' giant problems selling and advertising on Amazon
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• Marketers say Amazon's advertising business is difficult to navigate. Here's why the company thinks the 'chaotic' structure actually makes sense.
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• Amazon started showing a favored metric for advertisers this month, making it easier for large brands to compare ad efficiency against Google and Facebook
• Amazon is rolling out a tool that shows just how much Google and Facebook ads drive people to do their shopping on the e-commerce site

How to get a job at Amazon

Amazon is consistently looking for advertising talent, but its tough interviewing process and particular culture can make it hard for outsiders to break into the company.

We talked to insiders about how to ace the interview process.

• Read more:Amazon is known for its ruthless interviewing process. We talked to insiders about how to get a job there.
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