The Ultimate Amazon Associates Affiliate Marketing Guide
The Amazon Associates Program is an ideal way to monetize your blog or website and create a passive income stream. The program is very popular, particularly among affiliates, bloggers, and niche site owners. In this article, we will introduce you to the Associates program of Amazon.com and explain all the important information you need to know about it.
The Online Retailer Amazon
Responsible for 50% of all US eCommerce, and offering around 350 million different products and services, Amazon is one company that needs to introduction.
Perhaps these two facts alone make it clear why so many people have been making the decision to become an Amazon Associates partner. With net revenue of around half a trillion dollars a year, becoming part of this massive affiliate scheme and taking a share of this enormous pie is an obvious choice.
There are many benefits to partnering with Amazon besides the revenue though. With speedy delivery available almost anywhere in the world, an unrivaled range of products, and an excellent level of customer service, they are a brand you can trust and rely on. That’s also true of their affiliate payment system, which is more than can be said of some!
While we’re focussing in this article on the Amazon affiliate scheme, we should note that there are several other ways of making money through Amazon besides their Associates program, including several that most people haven’t even heard of. Check out our article on ways to make money on Amazon.
Some Interesting Facts About Amazon
- Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and started as a small online bookseller. Today, the company is not only the largest and most successful eCommerce provider but also one of the most valuable brands (according to Forbes) in the world.
- The yellow arrow of the Amazon logo pointing from “A” to “Z” symbolizes that customers can find virtually anything on Amazon. Coincidentally, the curved arrow can also be interpreted as a smile.
- Amazon has several subsidiaries. These include, for example, the cloud service AWS (Amazon Web Services) as well as the virtual assistant, Alexa. However, beyond that, Amazon owns several other companies.
- The Internet giant is both a retailer and a marketplace operator. This means that Amazon does not only sell its own products under its own name. Part of the product range is offered by external online retailers via the integrated sales platform, Amazon Marketplace.
Amazon.com on Social Media
- 29 mil. Facebook fans
- 4.6 mil.Twitter followers
- 3.6 million Instagram followers
- 621K TikTok followers
- 508K YouTube subscribers
Why You Should Become an Amazon Associate
Becoming an Amazon Associate is, in our opinion, one of the best strategies if you want to make money online.
As an affiliate of Amazon, you earn your commissions by promoting products available on the Amazon website. There are several ways to do this, such as recommending products on your blog, or via social media. The Amazon Associates Program is also ideal for monetizing a niche site.
Advantages as an Amazon Associate
Here are the top 5 benefits you’ll enjoy as an Amazon Associate:
Trusted Brand
Customers trust Amazon. It is not without reason that the website is one of the most popular online shops worldwide. Many Internet users now prefer to purchase from Amazon rather than elsewhere, with Amazon Prime members spending over $1,000 every year (and with over 100 million Prime members… well, you can do the maths, but that’s a lot of sales!)
Many customers often buy more than one product from Amazon. The great thing about this is that, as an affiliate, you will have a share in the total shopping cart. This means that no matter how many products the customer buys, you will benefit from the total sales, even if most of the products weren’t even ones you recommended or linked to!
Extremely Wide Product Range
Amazon’s product line is extremely broad and diverse. Regardless of which niche your blog fits into, the Amazon store provides you with the opportunity to monetize almost any niche.
Use of Social Media
Amazon allows its Associates to use social media. There is great potential on social media platforms! Not only is it a good source for generating website visitors but also a good platform for displaying your affiliate link. This includes ad and link-building platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, visual platforms such as Instagram, and video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube.
Punctual Payment
Amazon pays out commissions to its associates on time. This is a huge plus because you will never have to wait for your money, and you can be sure that it will be paid out reliably.
What Is the Amazon Associate Program?
The affiliate program on Amazon.com is known as Amazon Associates. This is Amazon’s own in-house affiliate that gives you the opportunity to earn money with your blog or website. That means every time you refer a new customer, you can earn a commission of up to 20%.
How It Works
The first challenge is of course to generate visitors. This could be through your social media channels, or it could be the careful use of SEO if you’re trying to direct them to your website. Once a visitor clicks on one of your Amazon affiliate links they’ll be taken directly to that product page on the main Amazon website.
If they don’t place a purchase immediately, don’t panic. Amazon uses cookies to record information about the visitors you send their way, and as long as the visitor completes their purchase within 24 hours, you’ll receive the commission.
What’s more, if they go on to add other items to their cart while on Amazon, you’ll get a commission on everything they buy, regardless of whether you are linking to that product. So you might be advertising 4K televisions, and end up earning a commission on an ironing board or some moisturizing soap!
Amazon Associate Program Compensation
The commission rates you can earn through the scheme vary quite considerably, from 1% (Business & Industrial Supplies) to 20% (Amazon Games). Understanding the different rates for each category will be important in deciding how best to make a good income. The table below offers a summary.
Note: You’ll want to keep an eye on the advertising cost compensation as this may change in the future. On the Amazon Associates page, you can always call up the current advertising cost compensation rates.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Amazon Associate Program
There are of course both benefits and drawbacks with almost any affiliate scheme, and Amazon is no different there. Here are some of the points it’s important to be aware of before signing up.
Advantages
- Beginner-friendly
- High conversion rate
- Great trust factor
- Diverse product range
- Daily updated reports
- Commission share for each product purchased
Disadvantages
- Brief cookie runtime of 24 hours
- Partially outdated advertising media (Flash widgets)
- Low commission in some product categories (e.g. TVs or smartphones)
Amazon Associate Program Sign Up
Signing up for the Amazon Associate Program is easy. You essentially need a website or blog with good content. Your content doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should have some added value for your visitors.
As an Amazon Associate, you must also meet certain requirements. You must also abide by the Terms and Conditions of the Associate Program above all else, otherwise, you will be removed from the program. To ensure that this does not happen, you should read the two links below and their contents very carefully before registering with Amazon Associates.
- Requirements for Participation in the Amazon Associates Program
- Conditions of Participation for the Amazon Associate Program
- 7 Key Amazon Affiliate Requirements You Should Know
The content from the above two links is critical. It describes exactly which requirements you must fulfill and what you are permitted and not permitted to do. Do take the time to read through them carefully.
How to Sign up for Amazon Amazon Associates
Once you’ve read through Amazon’s requirements and Terms and Conditions and you’re ready to sign up, please check the following beforehand:
- Is your site/app accessible, and does it contain initial content?
- Is there a legal notice and a privacy policy on your site/app?
- Have you incorporated the advice from Clause 5 of the Conditions of Participation into your blog? (This details how you must clearly identify yourself as an affiliate on any site/post where the links appear. This usually involves have the test “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases” clearly visible somewhere.)
Once you have fulfilled the points above, you are eligible to apply for the Amazon Associates program and have a good chance of getting approved.
We already talked about signing up for Amazon Associates in our step-by-step guide, but in general, here’s what you should do:
- Go to Amazon Associates website and click on Sign Up
- If you have an existing account you can sign in, but if not, you will be prompted to create a password and submit your name and email
- Submit all mandatory information (marked with *) to Amazon
- Add the URL of your website and provide basic details about its category, content, and traffic
- Create an Associate ID (this is just for your own tracking information, and you can add additional ones in order to track different campaigns)
- Provide information about traffic, and existing monetization methods
- Agree to Amazon’s Operating Agreement
- Select the payment method you want to use for receiving your commission payouts
…and that’s it!
Your details will now be verified by Amazon. If everything checks out, you should be granted access pretty much straight away. Now that you have access to Amazon Associates, we recommend that you use this time to familiarize yourself with the interface.
Note: Of course, it is possible that Amazon will reject your application. There are several possible reasons for this. Ensure that your blog does not contain any inappropriate content, and is not targetting children under 13 years of age See also Clause 2 of the Conditions of Participation.
Amazon Associates Advertising Material
As an Amazon Associate, you can choose from a variety of advertisements to include on your blog. As an Amazon Associate it’s extremely easy to get affiliate links to any product. If you navigate to the Amazon home page you’ll see that you have a new bar running across the top of the website. This is Amazon’s SiteStripe feature, and you can use this to create your affiliate links in several different ways.
Product Links
You can use a product link (text link) if, for example, you want to link to a specific product on Amazon in your text. It is also possible to link to a specific product category, a bestseller list, or any other Amazon page.
To create an Amazon product link, first, navigate to the product page, and at the top of the page, in the SiteStripe bar, click ‘Text’. You can then create either a short link or a full link, that can be pasted directly into your own site:
Image
Amazon Associates also has a very wide range of different banners that you can use for your advertising activities. These are available for some of the categories, but can’t be used for individual products:
Both categories and banner images/sizes are updated from time to time. Currently, this shows the selection of sizes available:
Link Builder Plugin
Integrating Amazon products using a WordPress plugin such as AAWP is even easier than using SiteStripe. With this, you can display high-conversion product boxes, bestseller lists, geotargeting, comparison tables, and other premium features on your website or blog. In addition, all product data is always updated automatically.
You can read our article analyzing the 12 best Amazon affiliate plugins for WordPress in 2022 to find out more.
How to Promote Amazon Products
There are several ways you can promote products from Amazon.com. You can, for example, write a blog post about a particular problem for which the Amazon product is the solution. It is always important that you offer added value to your visitors in your promotional activities. Below, we will tell you about three more options you can use to promote Amazon products.
Product Presentation
Writing a product introduction to generate sales is a method commonly used by Associates. If your introduction is helpful, you can expect a good conversion rate. Make sure that the product you are promoting fits your niche.
Comparison Table
Comparison tables are very popular and are frequently used on niche sites. No doubt you’ve seen a comparison chart or two and know what we’re talking about. With such a comparison table, you can make a terrific presentation of products. Plus, you offer your visitors genuine added value.
YouTube Video
If you bought a product from Amazon, you can make a video about it and upload it to YouTube and your blog. Present the product in detail in your video. Talk about what you like and don’t like about the product and what special features it has. You can then promote the product by including your affiliate link in the YouTube video description. You can, of course, add more than one, and many people include lists of their ‘10 Top Recommendations’ for a certain category. Don’t forget though that to comply with Amazon’s terms you must make it clear in your video that it includes promotional material.
Amazon Bounties
Finally, we’d like to introduce you to Amazon Bounties which, as an Associate, you can also promote to earn money. These are special categories and services that can net you huge commission rewards.
You are certainly familiar with Amazon Prime or Audible. If you promote one of these services, you will receive a bonus for each visitor who signs up – even if just for a free, trial membership. The great thing about Bounties is that, rather than getting a percentage rate, you receive a flat fee for each registration- even if they later decide to cancel their trials. This means that you can earn a huge income, even if none of your visitors spends so much as a single cent!
You can advertise the following Amazon Bounties as an Associate. We’ll cover the basics here, but for a more in-depth look, check out our full guide here: The Amazon Bounty Program – Everything You Need To Know.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is a premium membership. Amazon customers who are not yet signed up for the service can sign up for a trial membership for 30 days free of charge and take advantage of many benefits. This includes, among other things, free shipping or free eBook lending on Kindle.
Your bonus: $3 for each eligible trial membership.
Amazon Prime Video
Prime Video is Amazon’s video streaming service. With this, Prime members can rent and watch a variety of popular movies as well as series online. This includes quite a few Amazon original series such as “Good Omens” or “Bosch.”
Your bonus: $10 for each eligible trial membership.
Amazon Channels
With Amazon Channels, Prime members can add more channels to the video streaming service for a small monthly fee. The advantage for users is that the channels can be added individually and can be canceled on a monthly basis.
Your bonus: $2.50 for each eligible trial membership.
Amazon Music Unlimited
Music Unlimited is Amazon’s music streaming service with several million songs. This service, however, should not be confused with Prime Music which is included with a Prime membership. With Music Unlimited, users have access to a much wider selection of music.
Your bonus: $3 for each eligible trial membership.
Audible Audiobooks
The audio service Audible is a subsidiary of Amazon. Audible offers users a wide range of products. These include audio books, audio plays, and audio magazines. The membership includes one audiobook per month that can be streamed or downloaded.
Your bonus: $ 5 for each eligible trial membership.
Conclusion
With so many opportunities it’s easy to see why Amazon is the first choice of affiliate program for so many people. If you already have an existing website that you’re looking to monetize, it’s highly likely that you will be able to find either products, categories, or Bounties that match your niche. But if you’re looking instead to set up new niche websites, our advice is to look carefully at the commission rates, and at your competition, and take the time to identify a niche area you can really succeed.
If you do decide to develop a WordPress website, as so many people have already, then we strongly advise that you integrate the AAWP plugin so that you are able to benefit from much more visible, eye-catching, and creative product advertisements, as well as dynamically updated content such as Bestseller Lists and New Releases, ensuring your visitors, see the most relevant products, massively increasing your click-through rate. You can visit this AAWP plugin demo page to see just how good your content can be.
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