Two different places your ad dollars can be spent
"Onsite" and "offsite" describe where a marketplace-run ad actually appears, and the distinction matters because the buying intent, the measurement, and the cost structure differ meaningfully between the two.
Onsite advertising places your ad within the marketplace itself — in search results, on competitor product pages, in "customers also viewed" carousels, or on category pages. The shopper is already on the marketplace, already in a buying mindset, and the ad is competing for their attention among other marketplace listings.
Offsite advertising uses the marketplace's own ad network (built from its shopper data) to place your ad on external websites, apps, and social platforms — outside the marketplace itself. The shopper who clicks is pulled back onto the marketplace to complete the purchase.
Why marketplaces run offsite ads at all
Marketplaces sit on enormous amounts of first-party shopping and browsing data. Rather than only monetizing their own search results, they package that data into targeting for ads shown elsewhere — this is the same underlying trend covered in Retail Media Networks Explained. Amazon's DSP (demand-side platform) and Etsy's Offsite Ads program are two concrete examples of this, though they work quite differently for a seller.
Amazon: onsite is opt-in and cost-per-click; DSP is a different animal
Amazon's core Sponsored Products/Brands/Display formats are predominantly onsite (Sponsored Display does include some off-Amazon placements as part of its retargeting reach, which blurs the line slightly). Amazon DSP is the fuller offsite/programmatic option — it lets advertisers buy display and video ads across Amazon-owned properties and a broad network of third-party sites and apps, using Amazon's shopper data for targeting. DSP is typically aimed at larger advertisers or brands with dedicated ad budgets and often has a higher effective minimum spend and steeper learning curve than Sponsored Products — it is not usually a sensible starting point for a seller just beginning marketplace advertising.
Etsy: Offsite Ads is not opt-in for many sellers, and it's percentage-of-sale, not CPC
Etsy's Offsite Ads program is structurally different from CPC advertising: Etsy promotes your listings on external platforms (search engines, social media, and other sites) automatically, and if a shopper clicks through and buys within a set attribution window, Etsy charges a percentage-of-sale fee — not a per-click cost. For shops under a certain annual revenue threshold, participation is optional; above that threshold, Etsy has historically made it mandatory. This means many Etsy sellers are already paying for offsite advertising whether they've actively chosen to or not, and the practical lever isn't usually "opt in or out" but understanding the fee and factoring it into pricing (see The Full Cost Stack of a Marketplace Sale).
Comparing the two models
| Onsite Advertising | Offsite Advertising | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it appears | Within the marketplace (search, product pages) | External sites, apps, social platforms |
| Typical cost model | Cost-per-click | Cost-per-click (Amazon DSP) or percentage-of-sale (Etsy Offsite) |
| Shopper intent | Already browsing/searching to buy | May not have been shopping at all |
| Typical minimum effort/spend | Low — accessible to most sellers | Higher (DSP) or automatic/mandatory (Etsy) |
| Best suited to | Most sellers, especially first-time advertisers | Larger advertisers (DSP) or as a built-in cost of doing business (Etsy) |
What this means practically
For most sellers just starting out, onsite advertising (Sponsored Products first) is the right place to spend both budget and attention — it's where buying intent is highest and where you have the most direct control. Offsite advertising is worth understanding as a cost and a strategic option, but it isn't the first lever to pull for a new advertiser, and on Etsy specifically it may not be a lever you control at all above the mandatory-participation threshold.
Mistakes to avoid
- Assuming Etsy Offsite Ads fees are optional without checking your shop's actual revenue tier against Etsy's current mandatory-participation threshold.
- Jumping into Amazon DSP before a Sponsored Products campaign is even running consistently — DSP works best layered onto an already-proven product and audience strategy, not as a starting point.
- Not accounting for the Etsy Offsite Ads fee in your product pricing, since it applies whether or not you actively wanted the sale to come through that channel.
FAQs
Can I turn off Etsy Offsite Ads? Shops below Etsy's revenue threshold for the trailing 12 months can typically opt out; shops above it generally cannot. Check your shop's current settings and Etsy's current policy, since thresholds and rules are periodically updated.
Is Amazon DSP worth it for a small seller? Usually not as a first advertising investment — it's built for brand-level, larger-budget campaigns and has more moving parts than a seller needs before mastering onsite Sponsored Products first.
Does offsite advertising show up in the same reports as onsite? Not always in the same level of detail — offsite click and conversion data is often reported separately or with a coarser attribution model than onsite ad reporting, which is one reason it can feel less transparent to sellers.