Everything You Need to Know About Amazon’s Affiliate Program



Amazon is one of the largest retailers in the world. In fact, in the U.S. alone, it’s responsible for nearly 40 percent of all online sales. And anyone can access a share of the retail giant’s profits — all you need to do is have a website or social media presence and sign up for the Amazon affiliate program.

Amazon’s affiliate program, also known as Amazon Associates, is an affiliate marketing program that allows users to monetize their websites, blogs or social media. Amazon affiliate users simply place links to Amazon products on their site, and when a customer makes a purchase via one of their links, the user receives a commission. Read on to learn how you can participate in Amazon’s affiliate program and discover strategies you can use to maximize your profits.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate or associate marketing programslike Amazon’s are basically arrangements in which an online merchant like Amazon pays affiliate websites a commission to send them traffic and/or sales. Affiliate sites link to the merchant site and are paid according to the program’s agreements. Amazon’s affiliate program, for example, pays affiliate sites based on the number of people they send to Amazon who also make purchases on the site within 24 hours.

There are several benefits to affiliate marketing for both the merchant and participating affiliates. For the merchant, it’s an opportunity to expand reach and increase sales through affordable marketing. Because affiliate marketing is performance-based — affiliates are paid only when the desired action takes place — participants in the affiliate program are also motivated to drive conversions.

For affiliates, taking part in an associate marketing program allows them to become involved in ecommerce without having to establish or maintain their own store. It also provides the opportunity to monetize a website, blog or social media and earn a commission.

There are three types of affiliate marketing:

pay-per-sale: In this type of program, the merchant pays an affiliate when the affiliate sends a customer who makes a purchase. Some merchants pay the affiliate a fixed rate per sale while others, like Amazon, pay a percentage of the sale.

pay-per-click: In this arrangement, the affiliate is paid based on how many visitors arrive at the merchant’s site via the affiliate link, and the affiliate is paid regardless of whether visitors make a purchase.

pay-per-lead: This type of program pays affiliates based on the number of visitors to the merchant’s site who sign up as leads or fill out the requested information on the website.



How does Amazon’s affiliate program work?

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 website, you get a percentage of the sale of whatever they purchase over the next 24 hours.

Your commission varies though depending on what type of item a customer purchases. Refer to the chart below to see what Amazon’s fixed standard program fee rate is for various product categories.



It’s important to keep in mind that the percentage of the sale you receive isn’t the only factor in your commission. Your conversion ratealso matters because it reflects how many people are actually clicking an affiliate link and making a purchase after visiting your site.

Your conversion rate is the percentage of visitors to your website who make a purchase via your affiliate link out of the total number of visitors to your site. For example, if during the month of August, your website receives 5,000 visitors and 10 of those visitors made a purchase after clicking on your affiliate link, that would be a conversion rate of 0.2 percent.

The average affiliate conversion rate is 0.5 percent to 1 percent. However, some affiliates regularly have much higher conversion rates.

Because you get a percentage of everything a customer buys from Amazon within 24 hours of when they arrive at Amazon.comfrom an affiliate link, there’s also the potential to earn more revenue from products that you don’t specifically advertise. For example, if you run a beauty blog that features affiliate links to luxury beauty items, which have a fee rate of 10 percent, you may get 10 percent of the purchase of a high-end moisturizer, but also 8 percent of the cost of a box of dog treats if the customer also purchases biscuits.

However, to earn a commission from Amazon purchases, a customer must place an order within 24 hours of arriving at Amazon.comfrom your affiliate link. Once that 24-hour window closes — or if the customer re-enters Amazon through another affiliate’s link, you won’t earn any fees from subsequent purchases. However, if the customer returns to Amazon via one of your affiliate links, a new 24-hour window opens, and you’ll again be eligible to earn fees based on the customer’s order.

If a customer arrives at Amazon from one of your affiliate links, adds an item to their shopping cart and leaves Amazon without completing their order, it’s still possible for you to earn a percentage of that sale. As long as the item was added to the shopper’s cart within that 24-hour window, you’ll receive the referral fee if the order is placed before the shopping cart expires, which is typically 90 days.

Amazon affiliate program: Pros and cons

Earning income simply for linking to an Amazon product may seem like a no-brainer, but there are a few things to consider before becoming an Amazon affiliate. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Amazon Associates.

Pros:

It’s easy to become an Amazon affiliate. You can register and start sharing affiliate links, detailed in the following section, in just a few minutes.

Amazon is an ecommerce authority. The retail giant is a trusted, well-known brand, so affiliates don’t need to sell visitors on purchasing from the website.

There are many products to advertise. With more than 3 billion items for sale, in addition to services like Prime Video, there’s no shortage of products to promote via affiliate links.

Participants earn income from products besides the ones they link to. When you send traffic to Amazon via an affiliate link, and that user makes a purchase, you get a percentage of everything they purchase within 24 hours. And because Amazon is skilled at conversion and upselling, it’s very likely that a customer will add multiple items to their cart.

Cons:

Amazon’s commissions are very low in some categories. While the Amazon Associates program has a commission rate of up to 10 percent for some items, such as luxury beauty products, others, such as video game consoles, are as low as 1 percent.

The Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreementcan be difficult to understand and is frequently updated, so members can easily be found not in compliance if they don’t stay up-to-date.

If you don’t already have a website with product reviews or other suitable content that would be a good fit for affiliate links, creating one can require a lot of time, effort and upkeep.

Given the benefits and challenges, who should become an Amazon affiliate?

Just because you don’t have a personal blog or a website with product reviews doesn’t mean you shouldn’t become an Amazon affiliate. You can launch a website that includes affiliate links to products you endorse and continue to add content and links over time. While your site may not be immediately profitable, this is a good way to create a steady stream of additional income in the long-term.

If you have a YouTube channel or are interested in starting one, you can also include affiliate links in YouTube videos. Adding affiliate links to videos can make them more professional and enhance the user experience by providing additional value.

Amazon affiliate links can also be shared on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, making the affiliate program a great option for anyone who’s active on social media. You don’t need a large following to benefit from using such links. Promoting products you know and love is powerful word-of-mouth marketing, and friends and family may be more likely to take your recommendations because you’re a trusted source.



How to become an Amazon affiliate

Registering for the Amazon Associates program is a simple process. To begin, simply visit affiliate-program.amazon.comand click “Join Now for Free.”



First, you’ll have to enter your account information, including your name, address and phone number. Next, you’ll be asked to enter the websites and mobile app URLs where you plan to display banners, ads or affiliate links. You can enter up to 50 websites and mobile app URLs combined.

In the following section, you’ll select a store ID and provide information about your websites or mobile apps and what kind of products you intend to promote, as illustrated below.



You’ll also choose the topics from a drop-down menu — such as apparel, books, gaming or movies — that best describe your websites or mobile apps.

Next, you’ll need to describe how you drive traffic to your sites, how you generate income from your sites and apps, how you typically build links and how many total unique visitors you get on a monthly basis.



Once this section is complete, you simply have to enter your phone number, click “Call Me Now” and answer when you receive a call from Amazon. You’ll be instructed to input a four-digit PIN, and then your account will be set up.

From here, you can choose whether to enter your payment and tax information now or later, and then proceed to your dashboard to begin creating Amazon affiliate links.

How to create Amazon affiliate links

Once you’ve created your account, you’ll be taken to your Amazon Associates dashboard where you’ll be able to view a variety of analytics, including earnings revenue, as well as create affiliat

Who has your team signed? Who has been shipped out?

Check below for a comprehensive list of all the Premier League ins and outs from the 2021 January transfer window, which opened on January 2 and closes at 11pm on February 1.

Arsenal

In

Martin Odegaard - Real Madrid, loan

Omar Rekik - Hertha Berlin, undisclosed

Tolaji Bola - Rochdale, end of loan

Mat Ryan - Brighton, loan

Out

Mesut Ozil - Fenerbahce, free

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - West Brom, loan

Joe Willock - Newcastle, loan

Shkodran Mustafi - Schalke, free

William Saliba - Nice, loan

Sead Kolasinac - Schalke, loan

Sokratis - Left by mutual consent

Matt Macey - Hibernian, undisclosed

Daniel Ballard - Blackpool, loan extension

Matt Smith - Charlton, loan

Zech Medley - Kilmarnock, loan

Aston Villa

In

Morgan Sanson - Marseille, £14m

Out

Lovre Kalinic - Hajduk Split, loan

Tyreik Wright - Walsall, loan

Conor Hourihane - Swansea, loan

Indiana Vassilev - Cheltenham, loan

Henri Lansbury - released

Brighton

In

Moises Caicedo - Independiente del Valle, £4.5m

Percy Tau - Anderlecht, end of loan

Evan Ferguson - Bohemians, undisclosed

Out

Warren O'Hora - MK Dons, undisclosed

Jayson Molumby - Preston, loan

Viktor Gyokeres - Coventry, loan

Bernardo - Red Bull Salzburg, loan

Mat Ryan - Arsenal, loan

Glenn Murray - Nottingham Forest, undisclosed

Max Sanders - Lincoln, undisclosed

Burnley

In

Dara Costelloe - Galway United, undisclosed

Out

Chris Conn-Clarke - Fleetwood, undisclosed

Adam Phillips - Accrington, loan

Lukas Jensen - Bolton, loan

Bobby Thomas - Barrow, loan

Mace Goodridge - Barrow, loan

Chelsea

In

-

Out

Danny Drinkwater - Kasimpasa, loan

Charlie Brown - MK Dons, undisclosed

Lucas Piazon - Braga, undisclosed

Fikayo Tomori - AC Milan, loan

Crystal Palace

In

Jean-Philippe Mateta - Mainz, loan

Out

Brandon Pierrick - Kilmarnock, loan

Max Meyer - Left by mutual consent

Nya Kirby - Tranmere, loan

Sam Woods - Plymouth, loan

Everton

In

Josh King - Bournemouth, nominal fee

Out

Yannick Bolasie - Middlesbrough, loan

Matthew Pennington - Shrewsbury, loan

Jarrad Branthwaite - Blackburn, loan

Ellis Simms - Blackpool, loan

Cenk Tosun - Besiktas, loan

Jonas Lossl - FC Midtjylland, undisclosed

Jonjoe Kenny - Celtic, loan

Beni Baningime - Derby, loan

Anthony Gordon - Preston, loan

Cenk Tosun - Besiktas, loan

Fulham

In

Josh Maja - Bordeaux, loan

Out

Neeskens Kebano - Fulham to Middlesbrough, loan

Stefan Johansen - QPR, loan

Matt O'Riley - MK Dons, undisclosed

Aboubakar Kamara - Dijon, loan

Leeds

In

-

Out

Jay-Roy Grot - VfL Osnabruck, undisclosed

Conor Shaughnessy - Rochdale, undisclosed

Jordan Stevens - Bradford, loan

Ryan Edmondson - Northampton, loan

Robbie Gotts - Salford, loan

Rafa Mujica - Las Palmas, loan

Leicester

In

Matty James - Barnsley, end of loan

Filip Benkovic - Cardiff, end of loan

Out

Demarai Gray - Bayer Leverkusen, undisclosed

Filip Benkovic - OH Leuven, loan

Admiral Muskwe - Wycombe, loan

Callum Wright - Cheltenham, loan

Matty James - Coventry, loan

Daniel Iversen - Preston, loan

Islam Slimani - Lyon, free

Darnell Fisher - AFC Wimbledon, loan

Liverpool

In

Ben Davies - Preston, £500,000

Ozan Kabak - Schalke, loan

Liam Hughes - Celtic, undisclosed

Out

Liam Millar - Charlton, loan

Adam Lewis - Plymouth, loan

Sepp Van Den Berg - Preston, loan

Takumi Minamino - Southampton, loan

Manchester City

In

-

Out

Patrick Roberts - Derby, loan

Jayden Braaf - Udinese, loan

Aro Muric - Willem II, loan

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - Blackburn, loan

Morgan Rogers - Lincoln, loan

Nathanael Ogbeta - Shrewsbury, undisclosed

Thomas Scott - Port Vale, undisclosed

Keke Simmonds - Birmingham, undisclosed

Manchester United

In

Amad Diallo - Atalanta, £37.2m

Dylan Levitt - Charlton, end of loan

Out

Teden Mengi - Derby, loan

Facundo Pellistri - Alaves, loan

Timothy Fosu-Mensah - Bayer Leverkusen, £1.8m

Ethan Laird - MK Dons, loan

Jesse Lingard - West Ham, loan

Tahith Chong - Club Brugge, loan

James Garner - Nottingham Forest, loan

Marcos Rojo - Man Utd to Boca Juniors, undisclosed

Newcastle

In

Joe Willock - Arsenal, loan

Out

DeAndre Yedlin - Galatasaray, undisclosed

Rolando Aarons - Huddersfield, undisclosed

Sheffield United

In

-

Out

Jake Eastwood - Grimsby, loan

Rhys Norrington-Davis - Stoke, loan

Michael Verrips - Emmen FC, loan

Southampton

In

Takumi Minamino - Liverpool, loan

Out

Yan Valery - Birmingham, loan

Tyreke Johnson - Gillingham, undisclosed

Callum Slattery - Gillingham, loan

Jake Vokins - Sunderland, loan

Dan Long - Bournemouth, loan

Tottenham

In

Kazaiah Sterling - Southend United, end of loan

Out

Paulo Gazzaniga - Elche, loan

Jack Roles - Tottenham to Stevenage, loan

Kazaiah Sterling - Greenock Morton, loan

Gedson Fernandes - Benfica, end of loan

Harvey White - Portsmouth, loan

Jubril Okedina - Cambridge, loan

Jack Clarke - Stoke, loan

Anthony Georgiou - AEL Limassol, undisclosed

Brandon Austin - Orlando City, loan

Shilow Tracey - Cambridge, loan

Troy Parrott - Ipswich, loan

Jonathan De Bie - R.W.D. Molenbeek, undisclosed

West Bromwich Albion

In

Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Arsenal, loan

Okay Yokuslu - Celta Vigo, loan

Mbaye Diagne - Galatasaray, loan

Robert Snodgrass - West Ham, undisclosed

Andy Lonergan - Unattached, free

Out

Sam Field - QPR, loan

Owen Windsor - Newport County, loan

Charlie Austin - QPR, loan

Jonathan Bond - LA Galaxy, undisclosed

Filip Krovinovic - Benfica, end of loan

West Ham United

In

Said Benrahma - Brentford, £20m

Jesse Lingard - Man Utd, loan

Out

Sebastian Haller - Ajax, undisclosed

Robert Snodgrass - West Brom, undisclosed

Dan Kemp - Leyton Orient, undisclosed

Winston Reid - Brentford, loan

Oladapo Afolayan - Bolton, loan

Aji Alese - Cambridge, loan

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In

Willian Jose - Real Sociedad, loan

Niall Ennis - Burton, end of loan

Morgan Gibbs-White - Swansea, end of loan

Terry Taylor - Grimsby, end of loan

Patrick Cutrone - Fiorentina, end of loan

Out

Luke Matheson - Ipswich, loan

Jamie Pardington - Mansfield, loan

Niall Ennis - Plymouth, undisclosed

Patrick Cutrone - Valencia, loan

Terry Taylor - Burton, undisclosed

Roderick Miranda - Left by mutual consent