The Amazon affiliate program, also called "Amazon Associates" can be an easy way to monetize your website or blog. Simply sign up, receive immediate approval, and place Amazon affiliate links on your site today. When someone makes an Amazon purchase via one of your links, you get the commission -- it's that simple.
USE HEAT MAPS TO SEE WHERE PEOPLE CLICK
Heat maps are a tool that show you very clearly where people click when they are on your website. Something that stuck with me from a conference I attended last year was a speaker who was talking about heat maps and said “I guarantee people are clicking on things that aren't clickable.”
Your heat map will start tracking clicks on a given page and then you can check out the results like this:
Image Source: AppSumo.com/heat-maps/
Whether it's making your images clickable like I mentioned earlier, or even just getting a sense of what might be the best place to put your ads and comparison tables, it certainly won't hurt to have this knowledge.
There are a number of solutions out there, but an easy one I've used is from SumoMe. (They also have some other cool tools for your website.)
AMAZON AFFILIATE 90 DAY COOKIE: TEST USING “ADD TO CART” OPTION
Did you know that you can get a 90 day cookie when you send someone to Amazon through your affiliate link? When you use a regular affiliate link, the cookie is just 24 hours.
However, if you create a special link that automatically adds the product to someone's Amazon cart when they go through your affiliate link, Amazon will lengthen your cookie to 90 days! (If they buy in 90 days, you still get the commission).
Now, I would like to clarify that I think you should test this option. It may or may not work better in your niche.Each market and website is different, so this option may or may not be the best for you.
To be honest, I don't know how to create an affiliate link that auto-adds a product to someone's cart without using a tool. This is just a simple option in AmalinksPro that you can turn on or off.
Here's a screenshot of several of the options in Amalinks Pro; including the Add to Cart Option:
Since my time with EasyAzon, I've become a pretty big fan of Amalinks Pro.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that if you produce great content for your niche site, not only will you rank better in Google, but more people will actually buy from you.
A big part of creating “great” content is just understanding what your audience is really looking for and meeting those needs. Some of this can be done through highly targeted content and research; but part of it also just comes with seeing what your competitors are doing and deciding what you can do better.
A couple of simple areas that you can often do better than your competitors is creating comparison charts and best seller lists. This is even more helpful if you are updating content that already ranks in Google. Since it's already ranking, you know that Google and readers like the content. Now you just have to make it even better!
To do this on Niche Pursuits (like I'm doing with this post) , I use a keyword research tool like Long Tail Pro or KWFinder. I like to see what my competitors are ranking for and then insert more of those keywords on my post.
Sometimes this involves creating deep, new content on posts. If I'm trying to rank for the word “protein” and my competitor has a whole section on carbs and fats, then I want to add something similar and better on my site.
Updating content has produced massive results for my businesses. I've even gotten a traffic boost of 712% in 30 days using this tactic!
CREATE FAIR COMPARISONS
Another long tail keyword we like to use is Brand A vs. Brand B or doing articles on which type of product you should choose. When you write those, do your best to be very fair and honest with your readers.
Trust is a big part of conversion, so the more people feel like they can believe what you say, the better your chances are that they'll actually make a purchase based on a recommendation.
Most people understand that products aren't perfect, so don't be afraid to make a list of “cons” or things that could be improved about a product when you're review it or comparing to another model.
The odds are, if you write about every product like it's the best thing since sliced bread, readers will tune you out because you just sound like someone who really wants them to buy something.
Don't be that person!
Even if you gain sales in the short term by being dishonest, you lose sales in the long term! Customers never come back, never trust you, leave your email list, and avoid your site like the plague.
You will make more sales and more money by being honest than by acting like every product is a gift from heaven.
CREATE BEST SELLER LISTS
Another way to increase your amazon affiliate earnings is to create best seller lists within your blog posts. This is a bit different than a comparison chart. A comparison chart might only focus on survival knives under a certain price point for example.
A best seller list will focus on the products that sell the most in your given category.
For example, let's say I wanted to create a list of the top 5 selling point and shoot digital cameras on Amazon. One option is to go to Amazon.com/BestSellers and select the correct category to start creating your best seller list. This is the current list of best selling point and shoot digital cameras:
You would then have to take the information from each of those products and insert some kind of list on your site. This could get time consuming.
I could create a much more comprehensive best sellers list or change up how the links act. But overall, I was able to quickly create a list of the best selling products on Amazon for my chosen category, and they are immediately inserted into the post with my affiliate link.
The best way to do this is through a table. Table Labs or Amalinks Pro are my favorite picks for tables.
CASH IN ON COMPETITION
As you may know, one of past my affiliate sites made some of its money by promoting my own brand of products sold via Amazon FBA. However, we don't hesitate to talk about and even recommend some of our top competitors on Amazon.
Why?
Because people aren't going to buy my product 100% of the time.
So in addition to having articles that feature our own products, we also have articles where our product really isn't a good fit based on the topic. In those cases, we don't hesitate to recommend different products on Amazon via our affiliate link. Hey, if someone wants to buy from a competitor I'd rather get 7 or 8% of that money than 0%.
So if you also sell products on Amazon in addition to using Amazon Associates, don't get stuck only writing about/promoting your own products.
There are some big time sites out there like Dealnews.com that pretty much do nothing other than scour the internet for discounts and deals and then list them out for their readers. In most cases, they are affiliates of those sites so when people purchase, they make money as well.
This model works because we all love getting a good deal!
So you can do a smaller version of the same thing by checking out Amazon on a weekly or monthly basis and finding products that fit your niche which are being sold below retail price.
You can even have a dedicated “deals” page on your website in your navigation menu so visitors can easily find it. Plus, sending a regular deal alert email using an auto-responder service like Aweber to make sure the people on your list get used to coming back to your site on a regular basis to find the best deals on products they're interested in.
DON'T FORGET THE SMALL FISH
While most people spend their time focusing on higher dollar products, it's also important to not forget about the ‘smaller fish' low dollar products that people buy.
It's true that Amazon changed its commission structure awhile back and instead of basing your commission rate on the quantity of items you sell, it's now based on the category of the item sold – selling small items still makes sense.
If you think about it, most of the big competitors are targeting people who are buying expensive things like electronics, appliances, etc. – so you might find some really easy wins in terms of traffic by just creating some content that's focused on a low dollar item.
While the individual commission on an $8 product isn't much, if you sell a few hundred $5 – $10 products per month in addition to the big money items, your overall commission goes up.
So be sure to have a nice mix of products, both low and high dollar so you can maximize both volume and commissions.
Amazon shook up the affiliate world in a big way in 2017 when they changed their commission rate structure. Virtually every affiliate was affected in a negative way – some much worse than others.
As you can see, if you're an affiliate focused on furniture then you can earn a healthy 8% commission on your sales.
However, if you're selling toys then you're only bringing in a 3% commission.
Under the old structure, those toy bloggers were still able to get 8%+ commission – so their earnings were more than cut in half overnight.
WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
Quite simply, the quickest solution is to now think about the category of your product before you decide to create content. If you already have a blog, then it might be a matter of pivoting slightly to add a category of content that you didn't have before.
For example, a toy blogger could starting blogging about toy storage & organization products which would likely fall under the “home” category and earn the 8% commission rate.
A site about PC's and computers getting 2.5% commission could do some posts about the best headphones for PC gaming and earn that 6% rate on headphones.
The possibilities are really endless, it just takes a little creative thinking and perhaps evaluating competitors to get fresh ideas for your content.
WHAT IF I'M BRAND NEW?
If you’re just picking a niche and about to start a website, then how does the Amazon affiliate commission structure affect you?
Clearly, you’re better off going in a direction where you can still earn a higher commission.
That doesn’t mean you should completely rule out lower tier categories if that’s really what you know and are passionate about.
There are certainly many ways to monetize a website beyond the Amazon affiliate program like pay-per-click ads, physical products, non-Amazon affiliate programs, and much more.
So don’t let a low Amazon advertising fee be the sole reason you move away from a particular niche. But do take it into consideration. Maybe you are passionate about video games ( 1-2%), but maybe you're also passionate about music (5%).
I'm not saying to avoid a niche due to the commission rates, but you may do well by looking at more than one of your passions.
FOCUS ON HIGH CONVERTING PRODUCTS
In the Amazon associates program, you only get paid actual money when you make sales – not just drive traffic.
That’s a somewhat obvious, but very important distinction.
While you don’t want to be overly salesy on your website and really push people into purchasing, you can control which products you give the prime real estate to on your website.
If an item is a best seller, you know that it’s popular and people are more likely to buy it than a product that has a very low sales rank on Amazon (meaning it doesn’t sell well)
HOW DO I FIND HIGH CONVERTING PRODUCTS?
There’s a browser extension you can add called Jungle Scout which will show you approximate sales data for any product on Amazon.
Let’s say for some strange reason you decided to compare the best fidget spinners on your website.
You could go search “fidget spinners” on Amazon, click the Jungle Scout button in your browser and see this:
Notice that Jungle Scout takes the sales rank in the category and shows you which products are currently selling the best, and even gives you an approximate sales revenue number.
All else being equal, you want to send your visitors to the products that are performing best on Amazon so you can make sure that when they arrive at Amazon, they are viewing a top product that they are most likely to buy.
While Jungle Scout gives you some estimated numbers to go on, there are some other things you should look for when deciding which Amazon products to feature on your affiliate website:
High Quality Images. Images sell. That's on Amazon and just about every other ecommerce website. So if you see a product that only has one or two images and they are low quality, that is typically going to hurt their conversion rate. Look for competitors who have professional photography.
Prime Shipping. Amazon Prime members spend almost double of what non-Prime customers do in a given year. They also love and prefer to buy things with Prime shipping, so use that to your advantage and avoid seller fulfilled items as an affiliate when possible.
Review History. Amazon reviews matter to buyers. So if you're featuring products that have no reviews, or worse – really poor reviews – you're losing out on affiliate commissions. Stick to products that have lots of reviews, that are mostly positive when at all possible.
AMAZON AFFILIATE FAQ
While we’ve talked about some strategies for boosting your Amazon affiliate earnings, I want to start wrapping up by covering some common questions we hear from members of the Amazon associates program (both new and old).
ARE AMAZON ASSOCIATES AND AMAZON AFFILIATES THE SAME THING?
Yes. The program is officially called “Amazon Associates” but when people refer to the Amazon affiliate program – they are talking about the same thing.
WHAT IS AN AMAZON AFFILIATE?
If this is all new to you, then I’ll simplify by saying that an Amazon affiliate is someone who earns money from Amazon by referring people to Amazon who buy end up buying stuff.
HOW DOES AMAZON AFFILIATE WORK?
Amazon Affiliate works by allowing you to link to products on Amazon. When you link to a product and a customer follows your link to Amazon, you earn a percentage of everything the customer buys within 24 hours.
This is one of the reasons that the Amazon Affiliate program is so powerful: you can earn commission on products you don't recommend.
HOW DO AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS WORK?
You can get Amazon Affiliate links through paid tools (like Amalinks Pro, AAWP, or Table Labs). Or you can get the links through Amazon itself. The paid tools make the links look a lot prettier, but Amazon can give you plenty of links for free.
Sign in to your Amazon Affiliate account and search for the product you want. When you've found the product that you want to link to, go to the top left side of your screen where it says “Site Stripe”.
You can choose to get a text, image, or text+image link. In my sites, I like to just use Text and Image.
And a word to the wise: the image is pretty small. Always choose the large.
WHAT IS THE AMAZON AFFILIATE COMMISSION RATE NOW?
The commission rate is based on category – so there isn’t a single rate for all affiliates. The range is from 0% – 10% depending on what people actually buy. Here is a picture of the most recent Amazon Affiliate commission rate.
HOW MUCH DOES AMAZON AFFILIATE PAY PER CLICK?
Amazon pays per action. You will be paid when someone buys a product through your link, not when they click. If you convert your audience well, you could be making several dollars per click.
CAN YOU PUT AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS ON FACEBOOK?
This is a little complicated, because you’ve got 2 different terms of service to deal with: Facebook and Amazon. Generally speaking you CAN use your Amazon affiliate link on Facebook as long as it’s not a paid ad/boosted post.
For example, if you have a page for your brand and you want to recommend a product that sells on Amazon, you can post your affiliate link to that product.
That said, you should be disclosing that your link is an affiliate link, so people know you could be compensated when they buy something. Read more about affiliate marketing on Facebook here.
CAN YOU PUT AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKS ON YOUTUBE?
Yes, again using the same disclosure rules we mentioned for Facebook where you tell people that the link is an affiliate link. As long as you disclose it, you should be in the clear for adding an Amazon affiliate link on YouTube. Click here to read more.
AMAZON AFFILIATE COOKIE – HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
The Amazon affiliate cookie means how long do I have after a person clicks my link to earn a commission? The simple answer is 24 hours. So anything that person buys on Amazon in the next 24 hours you are eligible to earn a commission on.
The one exception to this is the 90 day cookie we discussed earlier when you use the “add to cart” link as your affiliate link. This doesn’t mean you get a commission on everything that person buys in the next 90 days, just a 90 day cookie on that particular product.
For myself, I usually just stick to the normal Amazon affiliate link that comes with a 24 hour cookie.
CAN AMAZON AFFILIATES MAKE MONEY FROM THE AMAZON BOUNTY PROGRAM?
Yes! The bounty program can be an interesting revenue source for niches where people consume a lot of books and music.
Amazon’s Bounty Program will pay you a flat rate for getting people to sign up for all kinds of Amazon services like a free trial of Kindle Unlimited, Prime Unlimited Music, and many, many others.
Overall, hopefully some of these tips that I've shared can help you increase your affiliate commissions on Amazon. These little tactics can ensure that you send the greatest number of people to Amazon.
Amazon has such huge brand awareness and trust that once you get people to the Amazon page, you just let Amazon do the rest.
In addition to the tactics and strategies I've mentioned, I do think a tool like Amalinks Pro can be quite valuable in speeding up the process of implementing lots of these strategies. I have been using Amalinks Pro on my Niche Site Project 4 and it's worked great.
Amalinks Pro makes it easy to create gorgeous review boxes, add text links, and make buttons. Best of all is that it works from within WordPress, so you never have to have another tab open and searching in Amazon.
And Amalinks Pro is obsessed about being compliant, so no worries about getting banned. The warning I gave at the beginning of this post will not apply to you.
As always, I'd love to hear any comments or questions that you might have in regards to increasing affiliate commissions on Amazon. Do you have any other tactics that you use that I haven't mentioned here? Let us all know!
