What is the Amazon Associates Program?
The Amazon Associates Program is Amazon’s affiliate marketing program. Through the Associates Program, content creators, publishers and bloggers can monetize their websites, social media user-generated content or online software application. As an Amazon affiliate, you’ll place what Amazon calls Special Links to Amazon products on your website or social channels. Each time a person buys a product by clicking the Special Link, Amazon pays a commission for what they define as a Qualifying Purchase.
“For each Qualifying Purchase, the corresponding ‘Qualifying Revenue‘ is equal to the amount we receive from that Qualifying Purchase, less any shipping charges, gift-wrapping fees, handling fees, taxes (e.g., sales tax and VAT), service charges, credits, rebates, credit card processing fees, and bad debt.” (Amazon).
Even if a person does not purchase the product you’ve linked to, you can still generate revenue as long as the consumer purchases on Amazon. Amazon’s affiliate program, “pays affiliate sites based on the number of people they send to Amazon who also make purchases on the site within 24 hours,” according to Sellbrite. This is due to Amazon’s use of sticky cookies placed on a shopper’s browser to track the purchases made through affiliate links. Anything purchased on Amazon will create income for the affiliate that provided the link.
To become a part of the Amazon Associates Program, you sign up, receive approval and go on to place Amazon’s affiliate links on your site. Once a visitor clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you will earn a commission from the referral. The Associate’s Program Commission Income Statement further describes how you receive a commission for Qualifying Purchases and what limitations might apply.
A Qualifying Purchase will become disqualified if it violates the Associates Program Commission Income Statement. Make sure that you’re up to date on Amazon’s Associate Program Policies in order to avoid any disqualifying issues.
How Do You Set Up an Amazon Associates Account?
The first step to becoming an Amazon Associate is to create a personal website. This could be a blog or content site. You can also have an app, Instagram account or an active YouTube channel. The key is to have a clear understanding of what type of content you’re creating and the audience you’ll be targeting. You’re going to have to describe the purpose of your website in your Amazon application, so it’s wise to have thought this through before you start the application.
Your site should look active and authentic, so having content on the site before applying for the Amazon Associates program is recommended. It would help if you also considered how you’re going to drive traffic to your website, as this will be a big part of how you’re going to generate revenue. Are you going to promote your channels on social media? Through email marketing? Look for SEO tools that can be helpful when you’re doing keyword research. Do some digging on your competitors too.
The most important thing to remember is that quality content is the crucial factor to success. You should be adding valuable information to your audience and only share relevant affiliate links on your site and channels.
It would be best if you also thought about other affiliate marketing programs you might enroll in, as this can determine the niche you choose as well. Here you can find a list of the best affiliate programs for beginners and how they make money.
Summary: How to set up an Amazon Associates Account
- Define your niche and target audience
- Create a website/blog/app/YouTube Channel
- Populate with valuable content
- Plan how you’ll drive traffic
- Fill out the Associates Program application by clicking “Sign up” and following the steps in the application.
What are the Amazon Associates Program Policies?
Under the headline Enrollment and Eligibility, Amazon states several requirements your website must meet to be eligible. The requirements include a site with original content publicly available with an address provided in the application. There are several factors that Amazon uses to determine if your site is unsuitable.
Amazon states the following: “Your Site(s) must contain original content and be publicly available via the website address provided in the application. You must identify your Site(s) in your application. We will evaluate your application and notify you of its acceptance or rejection. Your Site will not be eligible for inclusion in the Associates Program, and you cannot include any Special Links or Product Advertising Content on it, if your Site is unsuitable.”
Affiliate links may not work on some products offered by Amazon merchants. Be sure to keep up with the program’s Terms of Service as Amazon changes its policies a few times a year.
After you have applied to the Associates Program, you can display Special Links on your Site. These links allow accurate tracking, reporting and accumulation of commission income. When using Special Links you must use the Associates ID assigned to you by Amazon.
How Do You Transfer an Amazon Associates Account?
As you’re creating content for your site and growing your audience, you are building online real estate. Over time, this “property” could become valuable, and you might want to sell your content site.
Disclaimer: The below is a guide, but for direct reference, it is recommended you contact your Amazon representative to facilitate the transfer.
There are two ways to transfer an Amazon Associates account. Still, the process can differ depending on all the various geographical locations where they have accounts (i.e., Amazon UK, DE, IT, etc.). Sellers are at risk of losing a few affiliate links depending on the way they do the transfer.
As each website is structured differently, there are things to consider, and we, therefore, advise that you speak to your Amazon representative before proceeding. However, below is a guide that will provide you with insight into how you can go about this process should you acquire a content business.
- Go to Amazon Associates Central and click “Join now for Free”. You will be prompted to either “Sign up” or “Sign in” using your existing Amazon account.
- Fill out your account information (your name, address, phone number). Then, select yourself as the payee and main contact for the account.
- For the “Website and Mobile App List” step, put the site you’re acquiring as the website address, and it will push you to the next step, where you will fill out your profile.
- On the “Profile” step, enter your preferred store ID and explain that you are acquiring the website from its current owner and what you hope to accomplish with it. Then select the applicable Amazon topics that the site will cover/target.
- You will then reach the step where it asks you to specify your intended traffic and monetization methods. Select the methods you plan to use to drive traffic to the site, generate income and build links.
- If they require Identity Verification, enter your phone number and select “Call Me Now”. You will receive a call right away and it will generate a PIN for you to input and verify your identity.
- Enter your payment method and tax ID information.
- You will then be taken to your new Amazon Associate dashboard.
- Transferring the affiliate links: One code is associated with the business’s Amazon affiliate links. Once you have created your own Amazon account, you will be able to put the existing link code into this account, and the links will be yours.
- Suppose you decide to exit your affiliate marketing business; there is a step-by-step process to changing your Amazon Affiliate tracking ID provided by affiliate marketer Alex Cooper from WP Eagle. Follow the steps outlined in the video to change the link codes on your new content website from the previous owner’s links to your own.
FAQ’s About Amazon Associates Account?
How much do Amazon affiliates make?
Amazon shares their Associates Program Standard Commission Income Statement where you can see an overview of the standard commission you can expect from a Qualifying Purchase. As an affiliate, you can make up to 10% within the luxury beauty niche, which is the highest commission rate offered by Amazon.
What qualifies you to be an Amazon affiliate?
Having a qualifying website is going to be your first step. According to Amazon, “bloggers, publishers and content creators with a qualifying website or mobile app can participate in this program.” To become an affiliate, you must comply with Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement. If an associate does not comply, it could result in being banned from the Associates Program.
Some key points of the agreement include:
- Not making “inaccurate, overbroad, deceptive or otherwise misleading claims about any product, an Amazon site, or any of our policies, promotions, or prices.”
- Always disclose on your site, or in any communication where you could potentially earn a commission that, as an Amazon Associate you are earning from Qualifying Purchases.
- Amazon prohibits the use of the link in offline promotions, email and eBooks or PDFs.
Read Amazon’s full policy to learn more about their Operating Agreement.
In Summary
Diving into affiliate marketing can seem daunting at first. But this can prove to be a great way of making passive income and building a business that can help people who are looking for reviews and content on specific products.
Your main focus should be to build a site that provides value to your followers and employ SEO best practices to grow organic traffic. Over time, you’re bound to see income from affiliate marketing.