Everything You Need to Know About Amazon's Affiliate Program

Amazon Associates is essentially a referral program that pays a commission to referring websites. So when you send a customer to Amazon via a link on your ... Skiptocontent EverythingYouNeedtoKnowAboutAmazon’sAffiliateProgram 2.7Kshares2.7Kshares Amazonisoneofthelargestretailersintheworld.Infact,intheU.S.alone,it’sresponsiblefornearly40percentofallonlinesales.Andanyonecanaccessashareoftheretailgiant’sprofits—allyouneedtodoishaveawebsiteorsocialmediapresenceandsignupfortheAmazonaffiliateprogram. Amazon’saffiliateprogram,alsoknownasAmazonAssociates,isanaffiliatemarketingprogramthatallowsuserstomonetizetheirwebsites,blogsorsocialmedia.AmazonaffiliateuserssimplyplacelinkstoAmazonproductsontheirsite,andwhenacustomermakesapurchaseviaoneoftheirlinks,theuserreceivesacommission.ReadontolearnhowyoucanparticipateinAmazon’saffiliateprogramanddiscoverstrategiesyoucanusetomaximizeyourprofits. Whatisaffiliatemarketing? AffiliateorassociatemarketingprogramslikeAmazon’sarebasicallyarrangementsinwhichanonlinemerchantlikeAmazonpaysaffiliatewebsitesacommissiontosendthemtrafficand/orsales.Affiliatesiteslinktothemerchantsiteandarepaidaccordingtotheprogram’sagreements.Amazon’saffiliateprogram,forexample,paysaffiliatesitesbasedonthenumberofpeopletheysendtoAmazonwhoalsomakepurchasesonthesitewithin24hours. Thereareseveralbenefitstoaffiliatemarketingforboththemerchantandparticipatingaffiliates.Forthemerchant,it’sanopportunitytoexpandreachandincreasesalesthroughaffordablemarketing.Becauseaffiliatemarketingisperformance-based—affiliatesarepaidonlywhenthedesiredactiontakesplace—participantsintheaffiliateprogramarealsomotivatedtodriveconversions. Foraffiliates,takingpartinanassociatemarketingprogramallowsthemtobecomeinvolvedinecommercewithouthavingtoestablishormaintaintheirownstore.Italsoprovidestheopportunitytomonetizeawebsite,blogorsocialmediaandearnacommission. Therearethreetypesofaffiliatemarketing: pay-per-sale:Inthistypeofprogram,themerchantpaysanaffiliatewhentheaffiliatesendsacustomerwhomakesapurchase.Somemerchantspaytheaffiliateafixedratepersalewhileothers,likeAmazon,payapercentageofthesale.pay-per-click:Inthisarrangement,theaffiliateispaidbasedonhowmanyvisitorsarriveatthemerchant’ssiteviatheaffiliatelink,andtheaffiliateispaidregardlessofwhethervisitorsmakeapurchase.pay-per-lead:Thistypeofprogrampaysaffiliatesbasedonthenumberofvisitorstothemerchant’ssitewhosignupasleadsorfillouttherequestedinformationonthewebsite. HowdoesAmazon’saffiliateprogramwork? AmazonAssociatesisessentiallyareferralprogramthatpaysacommissiontoreferringwebsites.SowhenyousendacustomertoAmazonviaalinkonyourwebsite,yougetapercentageofthesaleofwhatevertheypurchaseoverthenext24hours. Yourcommissionvariesthoughdependingonwhattypeofitemacustomerpurchases.RefertothechartbelowtoseewhatAmazon’sfixedstandardprogramfeerateisforvariousproductcategories. It’simportanttokeepinmindthatthepercentageofthesaleyoureceiveisn’ttheonlyfactorinyourcommission.Your conversionratealsomattersbecauseitreflectshowmanypeopleareactuallyclickinganaffiliatelinkandmakingapurchaseaftervisitingyoursite. Yourconversionrateisthepercentageofvisitorstoyourwebsitewhomakeapurchaseviayouraffiliatelinkoutofthetotalnumberofvisitorstoyoursite.Forexample,ifduringthemonthofAugust,yourwebsitereceives5,000visitorsand10ofthosevisitorsmadeapurchaseafterclickingonyouraffiliatelink,thatwouldbeaconversionrateof0.2percent. Theaverageaffiliateconversionrateis0.5percentto1percent.However,someaffiliatesregularlyhavemuchhigherconversionrates. EstimatingyourpotentialAmazonaffiliateprofitscanbetrickyandinvolvesmorethanjustyourconversionrateandAmazon’sfeerates.LearnmoreaboutestimatingprofitsfromAmazonAssociateslinks—andgetaccesstoafreecalculationtool— here. BecauseyougetapercentageofeverythingacustomerbuysfromAmazonwithin24hoursofwhentheyarriveat Amazon.comfromanaffiliatelink,there’salsothepotentialtoearnmorerevenuefromproductsthatyoudon’tspecificallyadvertise.Forexample,ifyourunabeautyblogthatfeaturesaffiliatelinkstoluxurybeautyitems,whichhaveafeerateof10percent,youmayget10percentofthepurchaseofahigh-endmoisturizer,butalso8percentofthecostofaboxofdogtreatsifthecustomeralsopurchasesbiscuits. However,toearnacommissionfromAmazonpurchases,acustomermustplaceanorderwithin24hoursofarrivingat Amazon.comfromyouraffiliatelink.Oncethat24-hourwindowcloses—orifthecustomerre-entersAmazonthroughanotheraffiliate’slink,youwon’tearnanyfeesfromsubsequentpurchases.However,ifthecustomerreturnstoAmazonviaoneofyouraffiliatelinks,anew24-hourwindowopens,andyou’llagainbeeligibletoearnfeesbasedonthecustomer’sorder. IfacustomerarrivesatAmazonfromoneofyouraffiliatelinks,addsanitemtotheirshoppingcartandleavesAmazonwithoutcompletingtheirorder,it’sstillpossibleforyoutoearnapercentageofthatsale.Aslongastheitemwasaddedtotheshopper’scartwithinthat24-hourwindow,you’llreceivethereferralfeeiftheorderisplacedbeforetheshoppingcartexpires,whichistypically90days. Amazonaffiliateprogram:Prosandcons EarningincomesimplyforlinkingtoanAmazonproductmayseemlikeano-brainer,butthereareafewthingstoconsiderbeforebecominganAmazonaffiliate.Let’slookatsomeoftheprosandconsofAmazonAssociates. Pros: It’seasytobecomeanAmazonaffiliate.Youcanregisterandstartsharingaffiliatelinks,detailedinthefollowingsection,injustafewminutes.Amazonisanecommerceauthority.Theretailgiantisatrusted,well-knownbrand,soaffiliatesdon’tneedtosellvisitorsonpurchasingfromthewebsite.Therearemanyproductstoadvertise.Withmorethan3billionitemsforsale,inadditiontoserviceslikePrimeVideo,there’snoshortageofproductstopromoteviaaffiliatelinks.Participantsearnincomefromproductsbesidestheonestheylinkto.WhenyousendtraffictoAmazonviaanaffiliatelink,andthatusermakesapurchase,yougetapercentageofeverythingtheypurchasewithin24hours.AndbecauseAmazonisskilledatconversionandupselling,it’sverylikelythatacustomerwilladdmultipleitemstotheircart. Cons: Amazon’scommissionsareverylowinsomecategories.WhiletheAmazonAssociatesprogramhasacommissionrateofupto10percentforsomeitems,suchasluxurybeautyproducts,others,suchasvideogameconsoles,areaslowas1percent.The AmazonAssociatesProgramOperatingAgreementcanbedifficulttounderstandandisfrequentlyupdated,somemberscaneasilybefoundnotincomplianceiftheydon’tstayup-to-date.Ifyoudon’talreadyhaveawebsitewithproductreviewsorothersuitablecontentthatwouldbeagoodfitforaffiliatelinks,creatingonecanrequirealotoftime,effortandupkeep. Giventhebenefitsandchallenges,whoshouldbecomeanAmazonaffiliate?Justbecauseyoudon’thaveapersonalblogorawebsitewithproductreviewsdoesn’tmeanyoushouldn’tbecomeanAmazonaffiliate.Youcanlaunchawebsitethatincludesaffiliatelinkstoproductsyouendorseandcontinuetoaddcontentandlinksovertime.Whileyoursitemaynotbeimmediatelyprofitable,thisisagoodwaytocreateasteadystreamofadditionalincomeinthelong-term. IfyouhaveaYouTubechannelorareinterestedinstartingone,youcanalsoincludeaffiliatelinksinYouTubevideos.Addingaffiliatelinkstovideoscanmakethemmoreprofessionalandenhancetheuserexperiencebyprovidingadditionalvalue. AmazonaffiliatelinkscanalsobesharedonsocialmediasiteslikeFacebookandTwitter,makingtheaffiliateprogramagreatoptionforanyonewho’sactiveonsocialmedia.Youdon’tneedalargefollowingtobenefitfromusingsuchlinks.Promotingproductsyouknowandloveispowerfulword-of-mouthmarketing,andfriendsandfamilymaybemorelikelytotakeyourrecommendationsbecauseyou’reatrustedsource. HowtobecomeanAmazonaffiliate RegisteringfortheAmazonAssociatesprogramisasimpleprocess.Tobegin,simplyvisit affiliate-program.amazon.comandclick“JoinNowforFree.” First,you’llhavetoenteryouraccountinformation,includingyourname,addressandphonenumber.Next,you’llbeaskedtoenterthewebsitesandmobileappURLswhereyouplantodisplaybanners,adsoraffiliatelinks.Youcanenterupto50websitesandmobileappURLscombined. Inthefollowingsection,you’llselectastoreIDandprovideinformationaboutyourwebsitesormobileappsandwhatkindofproductsyouintendtopromote,asillustratedbelow. You’llalsochoosethetopicsfromadrop-downmenu—suchasapparel,books,gamingormovies—thatbestdescribeyourwebsitesormobileapps. Next,you’llneedtodescribehowyoudrivetraffictoyoursites,howyougenerateincomefromyoursitesandapps,howyoutypicallybuildlinksandhowmanytotaluniquevisitorsyougetonamonthlybasis. Oncethissectioniscomplete,yousimplyhavetoenteryourphonenumber,click“CallMeNow”andanswerwhenyoureceiveacallfromAmazon.You’llbeinstructedtoinputafour-digitPIN,andthenyouraccountwillbesetup. Fromhere,youcanchoosewhethertoenteryourpaymentandtaxinformationnoworlater,andthenproceedtoyourdashboardtobegincreatingAmazonaffiliatelinks. HowtocreateAmazonaffiliatelinks Onceyou’vecreatedyouraccount,you’llbetakentoyourAmazonAssociatesdashboardwhereyou’llbeabletoviewavarietyofanalytics,includingearningsrevenue,aswellascreateaffiliatelinks.YoucancreateAmazonaffiliatelinksintwoways:byusingthe ProductLinkToolorusing SiteStripe. CreatingaffiliatelinkswithAmazon’sProductLinkTool TheProductLinkToolisthemostcommonwaytocreateanaffiliatelink.Toaccessit,simplyclick“ProductLinking”atthetopoftheAmazonAssociatesdashboardandselect“ProductLinks,”asillustratedbelow. Thiswilltakeyoutoascreenwhereyoucansearchforaproduct.Youcanenterasearchtermthat’sfairlygenericsuchas“yogamat,”oryoucansearchforaspecificbrand,modelorproduct.Forexample,ifyou’recreatinganaffiliatelinkforareviewoftennisshoes,youcansearchfor“tennisshoes”orsearchmorespecificallyfortheexactproductyou’rereviewinglike“NewBalanceMen’s990v4.” Onceyou’veenteredyourquery,thesearchresultswillappearbelow,andyoucanselecttheproductyou’dliketocreateanaffiliatelinkfor.Togetthislink,simplyclick“Getlink”nexttotheproductyou’dliketoadvertise,asintheexamplebelow. Aboxwillpopupwithyouraffiliatelink,andyoucancopytheHTMLcodeforyoursiteas-is,oryoucancustomizeitfirst.Youradcanbeanimageandtext,justtextoranimageonly.Youcanalsocustomizethelookofthead.Forexample,youcouldchangethetitleorpricecolortomatchthebrandingofyourwebsite. Oncethecodeiscopied,simplypasteitintothecodeforyourwebsite. CreatingaffiliatelinkswithSiteStripe TheSiteStripetoolallowsyoutocreateanaffiliatelinkdirectlyfromanyitem’sAmazonproductpage.Onceyou’vesetupyourAmazonAssociatesaccount,thetoolwillautomaticallyappearatthetopofany Amazon.compageaslongasyou’reloggedintoyouraccount. TouseSiteStripe,simplyvisitanyAmazonproductpagefortheitemyou’dliketocreateanaffiliatelinkfor. TheSiteStripebaratthetopofthepageenablesyoutocreateseveraldifferenttypesoflinks.Youcancreateanativeadasillustratedabove,oryoucangetaplaintextlink,animagewithanembeddedlinkoratextplusimagead.YoucanalsoclicktoshareonFacebookorTwitter. Onceyou’veselectedthetypeofaffiliatelinkyou’dlike,theadcodewillappearinaboxbeneathit,andyou’llsimplyneedtocopythecodeandpasteitonyourwebsiteorsocial. Amazonaffiliateprogram:Gettingpaid ProfitsearnedfromAmazon’saffiliateprogramarepaid approximately60daysfollowingtheendofeachcalendarmonth. Payments canbemadebydirectdeposit,bycheckorviaAmazongiftcard.Thepaymentoptionyouselectplaysaroleinhowoftenyou’llreceivepaymentbecauseAmazonhasaminimumpaymentamountforeachtype,asindicatedbelow. Threetypesofpaymentmethods Directdeposit:Ifyouchoosetoreceivepaymentsviadirectdeposit,you’llneedtoprovideAmazonwithyourbankinginformation,whichincludesthebankname,accountnumberandotheridentifyinginformation.Amazonwillholdpaymentuntilyouearnthepaymentminimumof$10.Check:Forpaymentbycheck,youneedtosupplyAmazonwithonlyamailingaddress.Amazonwillholdyourpaymentuntilyoureachtheminimumpaymentof$100+a$15check-processingfee.Amazongiftcard:Forthispaymentmethod,Amazonwillsendgiftcardstotheprimaryemailaddressonyouraccountintheamountyou’veearned.Feeswillbehelduntilyoureachthepaymentminimumof$10. Amazonaffiliateprogram:Strategiestomaximizeprofits LookingtoturnyourwebsiteintoaprofitableAmazonaffiliatesite?TrythesetipstogrowtraffictoyoursiteandmaximizeyourAmazonpayouts. 1.Findaniche. WebsitesthatearnmostoftheirrevenuethroughtheAmazonAssociatesprogramareknownas nichesites,andthekeytosettingupasuccessfulnichesiteistofirstdeterminewhichpartoftheecommercemarketplaceyou’lltarget. Findingaprofitable,low-competitionnichecanbechallenging,butit’sagoodideatolookforanichethatyouhaveknowledgeoforanavidinterestin.Forexample,ifyou’reintonaturalskincare,youmaywanttostartabeautyblog,or,ifyou’reinterestedingaming,youmaywanttoreviewgamesorgamingconsoles.Creatingreview-focusedcontentisoneofthebestwaystoestablishaprofitableaffiliatesite;however,itcanberepetitiveandchallengingtoupkeepifyou’rewritingabouthomeimprovementproductswhenyouhavenointerestinthetopic.You’llalsostruggletocreatecompellingcontentifyoudon’tunderstandthemarketortheaudienceyou’retargeting. However,havinganinterestinyourtopicaloneisn’tenoughtomakeyournichesitecompetitive.Beforesettlingonaniche,dosome keywordresearchtodeterminehowcompetitivevariousnichesareandwhichkeywordsyoucouldmosteasilyrankfor. 2.Createregular,originalcontent. WhileyoucanpromoteAmazonproductsonsocialmediaoronYouTube,mostpeople—includingthose makingsixfiguresfromaffiliatelinks—doitbyblogging.WhilewritingsingleproductreviewsofvariousAmazonproductsisapopularoption,thereareotherwaystocreatereview-orientedcontentthatcanbemoreengaging. Writingroundupsofafewsimilarproductscanbeeffective.Thiscouldincludereviewsofthe“The5BestHandheldMixers”orcreatingaroundupofseveralreviewsthatdeclaresawinnerandarunner-up,suchas“TheBestFitnessTrackerYouCanBuyonAmazon.”Forexample,inthescreenshotfrom Wirecutterbelow,thewriterreviewedafewmosquitocontroldevicesandidentifiedthetoppickthatperformedthebest. Anotheroptionistocreateproducttutorialsorarticlesthatdemonstratehowaspecificproductprovidessolutions,suchas“HowtoUseYourNinjaAirFryer”or“10TipstoUseYourNinjaAirFryer.”Forexample,thescreenshotfrom Wirecutterbelowisfromanarticletitled“HowtoBackUpYourComputer,”whichdetailstheprocessofbackingupacomputerandhighlightsvariousproductsyoucanuse. It’salsoimportanttopostregularlytokeepyoursiteup-to-dateandtocreateuniquecontentthatdoesn’tsimplyrehashaproduct’sAmazondescription.Ifyou’renottestingaproductyourself,readotherpeople’sreviewsofittocreatecontentthat’sbothoriginalandusefulforpotentialbuyers. 3.Optimizeforspecificproducts. Mosttraffictoaffiliatewebsitescomesfromproduct-relatedsearchesorsearchesforreviewsofspecificproducts,souselong-tailtermsandusetheexactkeywordinyourURL.Forexample,ifyou’rewritingareviewofacertainappliance,includetheproduct’sbrandandmodelnumber,suchas“ReviewofAmazonBasicsHardsideSpinnerLuggage–28-Inch”bothinthetitleandtheURLifyoucan. Tolearnmoreaboutoptimizingforsearch,checkout thispostfromFollowUponecommerceSEOtips. 4.Usealinklocalizer. Linklocalizersenableyoutoredirectvisitorsfromcertaincountriestoaspecificsite.Forexample,ifaUK-baseduservisitsyourwebsiteandclicksanAmazonaffiliatelink,alinklocalizerwilldirecttheuserto amazon.co.uk.Ifyoudon’tusealinklocalizerforyouraffiliatelinks,youwon’tgetpaidacommissionfortheforeigntrafficyoudrivetoAmazon. IsAmazon’saffiliateprogramrightforyou? There’salottoconsiderbeforesigningupforAmazonAssociates.Ifyoualreadyhaveawebsitewithsuitablecontentthatyoucanaddaffiliatelinksto,itcanbeasimplewaytostartearningadditionalincomeinthelong-term. However,ifyou’recreatingawebsitefromscratchwiththegoalofmakingitprofitableviaAmazonaffiliatelinks,theprocessoflaunchingasiteandpopulatingitwithreviewsandproduct-relatedcontentcanbetime-consuming.However,developinganichesiteoptimizedwithaffiliatelinksalsohasthepossibilityofbecomingprofitableintheshort-term. Infact,asimpleGooglesearchrevealsnumeroussuccessstoriesaboutsuchnichesites,including thisoneabouthowTheWanderingRVbuiltasix-figureaffiliatemarketingbusinessusingAmazon. MichaelUginoistheco-founderofSellbrite.AformerIR300merchantandFortune500productmarketer,Michaelnowhelpssmalltomediumsizedbrandsandretailersbuildasuccessfulonlinemarketplacestrategy.He'dbedelightedforyoutoconnectwithhimonLinkedIn. AllPosts #AmazonDomination,Multi-channelOperations amazon,amazonmarketplace Selleverywhere,painlessly. Getupandrunningtoday. UnlimitedAccessfor30Days Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin ©2021GoDaddySellbrite,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Useofthissiteissubjecttoexpresstermsofuse.Byusingthissite,yousignifythatyouagreetobeboundbytheseTermsofService. TermsofService|PrivacyPolicy DoNotSellMyPersonalInformation DataProcessingAddendum Product Pricing HowitWorks ListProducts SyncInventory ShipOrders Menu Pricing HowitWorks ListProducts SyncInventory ShipOrders Login StartforFREE Menu Login StartforFREE Integrations Amazon Bigcommerce eBay Etsy GoogleShopping Newegg Sears Shopify ShopifyPlus Walmart WooCommerce Menu Amazon Bigcommerce eBay Etsy GoogleShopping Newegg Sears Shopify ShopifyPlus Walmart WooCommerce Resources EcommerceBlog Webinars&Training ResourceGuides HelpCenter APIDocumentation SystemStatus ChannelAdvisorComparison Menu EcommerceBlog Webinars&Training ResourceGuides HelpCenter APIDocumentation SystemStatus ChannelAdvisorComparison Company About CustomerStories PartnerProgram Menu About CustomerStories PartnerProgram ContactSupport Menu ContactSupport