SUMMARY
Publisher Rocket helps authors succeed on Amazon by making it easier to choose the right keywords and categories—the two most critical factors for book visibility. But as their product evolved and user expectations grew, so did the complexity of their data needs. Their internal systems—and previous vendors—struggled to keep up with accelerating feature demands. When Publisher Rocket set out to build a deeper, more data-rich product experience, they turned to Traject Data. The platform gave them access to structured, high-volume Amazon data—pulled directly from the source—with the speed, stability, and flexibility they needed to scale. The result? Less time spent on maintenance, faster feature delivery, and a dramatically improved experience for their users.
THE CHALLENGE
Self-publishing on Amazon is booming—but it’s also incredibly competitive. To stand out, authors need to optimize for Amazon’s internal search engine. That’s where Publisher Rocket comes in: it helps authors research which keywords and categories give them the best chance at visibility and sales. But delivering those insights requires pulling, structuring, and analyzing massive volumes of data from Amazon. And as Head of Product, Hank Marcacci, explained, their old systems just weren’t built for the level of insight they wanted to deliver next. The turning point came when the team began developing a new historical category insights feature. It required 10 to 20 times more data than anything they’d built before—and their current approach simply couldn’t support it.
We used to spend up to 20 hours a week chasing maintenance issues— category changes, third-party system bugs, and third-party uptime fixes. That’s time we couldn’t spend building what really matters to authors.
THE SOLUTION: TRAJECT DATA
Publisher Rocket chose Traject Data to power their new capabilities—and quickly realized it was more than just a data feed. The platform gave them structured, production-ready Amazon data at scale, plus the flexibility to build the features they’d always wanted to ship.
When a new feature was initially taking 45 seconds to run in beta—far too slow to bring into production— Traject Data stepped in. Their team rebuilt part of their infrastructure to support a faster query. The result: a custom API query that brought runtime down to 5 seconds.
Publisher Rocket also praised Traject Data’s playground and sandbox tools, which let them test new ideas without writing code. “I can validate an MVP using real Amazon data, run some napkin math, and know it’s going to work—before involving engineering,” Hank shared.
And critically, the data Traject Data provides isn’t scraped from third-party sources or passed through layers of unknown processing. It’s the real thing.
“Traject Data gives us a direct line to Amazon,” Hank said. “You’re the magnifying glass—not some black box or aggregator. What you surface is what’s really on the page.”
THE RESULTS
10-20 hours per week reclaimed for innovation
“Now that maintenance is off our plate, we’re focused on building—the stuff that gets authors excited.”
Built faster, more scalable features
Traject Data’s custom API work helped transform performance bottlenecks into seamless UX.
Faster prototyping and lower risk
Using Traject Data’s sandbox, the team could test feature ideas before committing developer time.
Reliable data, even during surges
“When we launch something new, thousands of authors can hit the system at once. We don’t worry about crashing—Traject Data handles it.”
Built with real Amazon data
“Traject Data gives us a direct line to Amazon. You’re the magnifying glass—nothing aggregated or altered, just what’s actually there.”
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