Goodreads joins Amazon DSP as new supply source for advertisers

Amazon announced in October 2025 the integration of Goodreads into its Demand-Side Platform (DSP), making the book review platform available as a new supply source within Amazon's Owned & Operated inventory. Self-service advertisers can now access Goodreads inventory directly through the DSP ad console, where it appears alongside other Amazon properties including Amazon.com, Fire TV, Alexa, IMDb, and Twitch.

The integration supports all display creative formats eligible to appear on Goodreads. These encompass Standard Display and Component-based creatives, including Responsive eCommerce, Asset-based, and Brand Store creatives. The technical implementation enables advertisers to reach Goodreads' audience through existing Amazon DSP campaign management interfaces without requiring separate platform integrations.

"Advertising on Goodreads allows brands to reach millions of engaged U.S. readers, driving awareness and consideration," according to Amazon's Advanced Tools Center documentation. The platform positions itself as providing access to an educated, discovery-oriented audience exploring diverse content categories.

Platform specifications and technical access

Goodreads discovery and targeting capabilities become accessible through two key application programming interfaces: the Discovery Inventory Source Exchanges API and the Targeting API. These technical integration points enable advertisers to programmatically access and optimize campaigns targeting Goodreads users within the broader Amazon DSP ecosystem.

The integration marks another expansion of Amazon's consolidated first-party advertising inventory, which the company unified across multiple owned properties in January 2025. That consolidation brought together Amazon.com, Grocery online, Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Alexa, IMDb, and Twitch under a single inventory management system for display and online video campaigns.

Geographic availability currently limits the Goodreads inventory to United States markets. The documentation specifies that self-service advertisers accessing Amazon DSP can utilize the inventory as part of their campaign strategies targeting U.S. audiences.

Audience composition and targeting opportunities

Goodreads had more than 150 million members as of September 2023, according to documentation from the platform. The site operates as a social cataloging website where users search databases of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Members generate library catalogs, create reading lists, participate in discussion groups, and engage with book recommendations.

The audience spans multiple content categories beyond traditional fiction genres. Users explore finance, technology, travel, wellness, and culinary arts content, creating opportunities for brands across numerous verticals beyond publishing. The platform's positioning emphasizes discovery-oriented behaviors among its user base.

User activities on Goodreads include rating books on a five-star scale, writing reviews, creating customized bookshelves, participating in reading challenges, and tracking reading progress. The reading challenge feature, where users commit to reading specific numbers of books per year, has demonstrated effects on increasing reading frequency among participants according to recent literacy studies.

Historical context and Amazon ownership

Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler founded Goodreads in December 2006, launching the platform in January 2007. The site reported 650,000 members and 10 million books added by December 2007. Membership reached 10 million by July 2012, with 20 million monthly visits and 30 employees.

Amazon announced its acquisition of Goodreads on March 28, 2013, in an undisclosed transaction completed during the second quarter of 2013. The purchase consolidated Amazon's position across book discovery and sales channels, combining retail infrastructure with social book recommendation capabilities.

By July 23, 2013, Goodreads announced its user base had grown to 20 million members. The platform maintained operations under its existing brand identity following the acquisition, with Chandler continuing to run Goodreads until 2019. The New York Times noted at the time of acquisition that Goodreads had "a more reputable reviewing system than Amazon's" and functioned as "a rival to Amazon as a place for discovering books."

Implications for publishing and brand marketing

The DSP integration provides publishers and authors with programmatic access to Goodreads' reader audience at moments of active book discovery. Authors can already create Sponsored Display campaigns through Amazon's advertising platform, a capability the company expanded to authors in September 2025. The Goodreads inventory adds another touchpoint within the broader Amazon advertising ecosystem.

For brands outside publishing, the integration offers access to audiences engaged in content consumption and discovery behaviors. The platform's user activities around reading, reviewing, and cataloging content create signals about consumer interests across multiple categories.

Amazon DSP reached a monthly ad-supported audience of 275 million customers in the United States as of October 2024. The platform's recent enhancements include frequency cap controls that saved up to 26% of campaign budgets and drove up to 21% incremental reach, according to Amazon Ads data from October 2024.

The Goodreads integration follows Amazon's pattern of expanding DSP inventory throughout 2025. Amazon and Spotify announced a programmatic partnership on October 1, 2025, providing access to 696 million monthly users across nine markets. Netflix became available through Amazon DSP starting Q4 2025 across 11 international markets. Disney inventory launched on June 17, 2025, through Disney's Real-Time Ad Exchange integration.

Competitive positioning and market dynamics

The integration continues Amazon's strategy of building comprehensive omnichannel advertising solutions that combine owned properties with third-party premium inventory. Amazon advertising revenue reached $15.7 billion in Q2 2025, representing a 22% increase year-over-year, with DSP capabilities contributing to growth across multiple advertising categories.

Amazon DSP operates through a technology infrastructure that pairs first-party insights with clean room technology. The platform uses artificial intelligence to deliver advertisements to audiences through automation that streamlines campaign planning, buying, and measurement. Machine learning systems process browsing, shopping, and streaming signals to optimize advertising effectiveness.

The addition of Goodreads inventory raises questions about the increasing commercialization of platforms users valued for community-driven book discovery. Goodreads has faced criticism regarding its recommendation algorithms and content moderation practices. The platform's moderation system operates manually and faces backlogs of flagged reviews, according to reporting from The Washington Post in July 2023.

Review manipulation has affected Goodreads, with novels experiencing negative review campaigns sometimes occurring before publication. The platform said in 2021 it takes "swift action to remove users when we determine that they violate our guidelines" and was developing technology to "prevent bad actor behavior and inauthentic reviews in order to better safeguard our community."

Technical implementation and campaign management

The DSP integration operates through Amazon's existing interface, requiring no additional technical implementation from advertisers. Campaign management processes incorporate Goodreads inventory selection within the standard Amazon Owned & Operated inventory options presented during campaign setup.

Advertisers retain control over brand safety settings, placement exclusions, and targeting parameters across the unified inventory. The system integrates with existing Amazon advertising products including Amazon Attribution, Amazon Brand Lift, and Amazon Marketing Stream for measurement and analytics purposes.

Display advertising capabilities extend across Goodreads inventory, supporting multiple creative formats through the DSP platform's standard specifications. The Component-based creative options include Responsive eCommerce formats that dynamically adjust to different placement contexts, Asset-based creatives that leverage individual creative elements, and Brand Store creatives that connect to advertisers' Amazon Brand Store destinations.

Market availability and advertiser eligibility

The consolidated inventory offering including Goodreads remains specifically available to self-service advertisers who access Amazon DSP. Market access follows the standard Amazon DSP eligibility criteria established for owned and operated inventory across the platform's geographic markets.

The timing coincides with Amazon's broader expansion of DSP capabilities throughout 2025. Microsoft Monetize joined Amazon's Certified Supply Exchange program in October 2025, while Amazon and SiriusXM announced programmatic audio integration on September 16, 2025, providing access to 160 million monthly digital listeners.

The Goodreads integration represents another step in Amazon's consolidation of advertising opportunities across its property portfolio. The company has systematically brought owned properties including shopping, streaming, and content discovery platforms under unified advertising management systems accessible through DSP interfaces.

Campaign optimization features available within Amazon DSP apply to Goodreads inventory. These include Performance+ capabilities that use machine learning and advertiser-provided signals to automate audience relevancy and campaign optimization for conversion and customer acquisition goals.

Timeline

• December 2006: Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler founded Goodreads
• January 2007: Goodreads platform launched
• December 2007: Site reached 650,000 members and 10 million books added
• July 2012: Goodreads reported 10 million members, 20 million monthly visits, and 30 employees
• March 28, 2013: Amazon announced acquisition of Goodreads for undisclosed sum
• July 23, 2013: Goodreads announced user base grew to 20 million members
• September 2023: Goodreads surpassed 150 million members
• January 15, 2025: Amazon consolidated first-party ad inventory across owned media properties
• June 17, 2025: Disney inventory became available on Amazon DSP
• September 10, 2025: Netflix announced partnership with Amazon DSP
• September 16, 2025: Amazon and SiriusXM announced programmatic audio integration
• October 1, 2025: Amazon DSP added Spotify's global audio and video inventory
• October 2025: Goodreads onboarding to Amazon DSP announced in Advanced Tools Center documentation

Summary

Who: Amazon integrated Goodreads, the social cataloging website with more than 150 million members, into its Demand-Side Platform. The integration enables self-service advertisers using Amazon DSP to access Goodreads inventory for display advertising campaigns.

What: Goodreads became available as a new supply source within Amazon's Owned & Operated inventory through Amazon DSP. All display creative formats are eligible to appear on Goodreads, including Standard Display and Component-based creatives such as Responsive eCommerce, Asset-based, and Brand Store creatives. The integration provides programmatic access through the Discovery Inventory Source Exchanges API and Targeting API.

When: Amazon announced the Goodreads DSP integration in October 2025 through its Advanced Tools Center documentation. The timing follows Amazon's January 2025 consolidation of first-party advertising inventory and continues the company's pattern of expanding DSP supply sources throughout 2025.

Where: The Goodreads inventory is available exclusively in the United States through Amazon DSP's self-service ad console. Advertisers access Goodreads as part of Amazon Owned & Operated Inventory within their existing DSP campaign management interfaces.

Why: The integration enables brands to reach an educated, discovery-oriented audience exploring diverse content categories including fiction, finance, technology, travel, wellness, and culinary arts. Amazon positions Goodreads as providing access to millions of engaged U.S. readers during active content discovery and consideration phases, creating opportunities for brands targeting high-intent audiences across multiple categories beyond traditional publishing.