Amazon Affiliate Program Booster
Find and fix broken Amazon links and increase affiliate revenue of your website or YouTube channel
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How Does AMZ Watcher Boost Your Affiliate Income?
We help you increase affiliate revenue in three ways:
Increase Your Conversion Rate
At AMZ Watcher, we know how important a great user experience is for improving website conversion rates and making money as an affiliate. That’s why we created an excellent site monitoring tool to help supercharge UX and generate sales.
Nothing creates a poor user experience on your affiliate site more than broken links or links to unavailable and out-of-stock products. These types of links reduce your visitors’ trust and send them straight to your competitors.
Our link checker tool helps you fix this issue by checking your website or YouTube channel for:
- Broken Amazon links
- Links without affiliate tags or those with the wrong tags
- Links to products that are low-quality, sold-out, or no longer available
Let the tool crawl thousands of pages and generate a detailed report that will help you recover lost affiliate income within seconds.
Identify New Income Opportunities
AMZ Watcher also has a tool that helps you identify alternative affiliate marketing programs to join and increase your earnings.
You can use our Alternatives Finder tool to add additional revenue streams from complimentary affiliate programs. This way, you don’t only have to rely on the Amazon Associates referral program but can introduce others as well.
Our tool finds the products you recommend or similar ones in other stores with a great affiliate network. Then, you can join and start sending them traffic.
Get More Traffic to Your Website
The more traffic you attract, the higher your chances of making money through the affiliate links on your website.
But you need to get the right traffic for this to happen.
We always recommend Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as your primary traffic acquisition method. That’s because organic traffic is cheap, consistent, and always converts better when highly targeted.
You’ll find all the resources and guides you need to optimize your site correctly in our blog section.
Generally, you can use these three ways to maximize your profits on any affiliate marketing program. However, we specialize in boosting your revenue on the Amazon online Associates program.
All the lessons, tips, and suggestions we provide in our detailed manuals, tutorials, and free tools come from our failures and successes as participants. We’ve earned our stripes on the program and have years of experience with it.
[Get a free report on your site’s Amazon links’ status here.]Find a summary of everything you need to know to set yourself up for success below:
What is the Amazon Affiliate Program?
The Amazon affiliate program requires little in the way of introduction. It’s one of the world’s largest online affiliate marketing programs.
It’s free to join and allows bloggers, content creators, and publishers to generate income from their web traffic.
Whether you’re working on a side hustle or becoming an entrepreneur, it’s possible to get your hands on a share of the retailer’s profits through the affiliate program.
How Does Amazon’s Affiliate Program Work?
When you apply to join the program, you’ll get a unique identifier known as an Associates ID. This is your affiliate store ID.
Then, you can create Amazon affiliate links in your Associate’s account to start promoting products.
Once you have your links, embed them within your blog posts. Alternatively, place them on different sections of your website.
You’ll earn a commission when a person clicks on your affiliate links and performs a specific qualifying action in the Amazon store. The action could be purchasing items from the store, or signing up for an Audible service (learn more about becoming an Amazon Audible affiliate in our detailed manual).
How Much Can You Earn From the Amazon Affiliate Program?
Amazon pays on a commission basis in two distinct ways:
- As a percentage of the product’s sale
In this case, you make a percentage of the sale when customers click on your affiliate link and purchase specific items. You can earn a low or high commission depending on the category of products you promote.
As it is, Amazon affiliate commission rates are about 1% to 20%. Therefore, you can earn as low as $10 for an item that costs $1,000 and is under the 1% category. Or as high as $200 for an item that costs the same $1,000 but is under the 20% category.
It’s essential to note that there’s no limit to how much you can make with Amazon affiliate marketing. It depends on the number of visitors you persuade to visit Amazon and the number of products they buy.
That’s because you earn commissions on a person’s entire shopping cart. This is one of the reasons the Amazon affiliate links program is lucrative.
- As a fixed fee
Amazon pays a fixed commission when you promote the services and events under the bounty program. It’s often called the special commission income and ranges from $0.50 to $25.
Amazon Affiliate Commission Rates 2022
Before, Amazon’s commission rates were volume-based. You made money depending on the number of products sold.
The more products you sold, the higher the commission percentages you got. However, things changed to the current category-based structure as of March 1, 2017.
Here is their current commission structure (2022)
As you can see, you can earn anything from a small commission of 1%, to a higher rate of up to 20%. But the volume of products you sell in a particular category still matters.
For instance, if you’re in the luxury beauty niche, you make 10% off each sale. Say you sold two items at $1,000 each in a day. You’d earn $200 in commission from two transactions.
What if you sold the same product 20 times each month? You’d make $4,000 monthly from one product.
[Pro Tip: Always consider the category of items you wish to promote and their demand before creating your affiliate website]
Use our Amazon affiliate earning calculator to check how much you’d make from a category before you get started.
Also, there’s more money to make with the bounty events’ special commission rates:
Check out the entire list of bounty programs and their commission rates.
How Much Money Can You Lose Because Of Broken Links?
From our experience, an average site has around 15% of links broken. If we keep calculations simple, it means that an average site is losing as much as 15% of affiliate income per month.
Say you’re making $150,000 like we were by 2016 – losing 15% of this would be a whopping $22,500. That’s life-changing money if you ask us.
On the lower end, say you just crossed the $2,000 per month in affiliate income. But 15% of your Amazon links are broken. You could be losing around $300 each month. It’s still a large sum to lose, especially if your business is just starting to pick up, right?
But don’t worry. We’re here to help you stop losing money and increase your passive income.Use our free link-checking tool to estimate how much money you lose to broken Amazon links.
How to Become an Amazon Affiliate
To become a successful Amazon affiliate in 2022, you must create an Associate account following a simple 4-part application process.
Specifically, you’ll need to provide your account information (part 1) and website or mobile apps list (part 2). Then create your profile (part 3) before you start using Associates Central (part 4).
Follow the steps below to apply successfully:
Create an Eye-catching Website or Blog
Even though there are ways to make money from an affiliate site without a website, we will assume here that you have a traditional WordPress blog. On top of this, for Amazon to approve your application, you must add a website or mobile app when setting up your account.
The site you are applying with must be active with recent content (updated within the last two months). It should look professional and, ideally, should be valuable for both your target audience and Amazon.
Also, note the following information about your website or blog. You’ll need this info in one of the steps below:
- Purpose – what’s your site for
- Target audience – who are you targeting
- Traffic sources – how will you bring traffic to your site
Head to the Amazon Associates Homepage and Hit the Sign Up Button
If you have an existing Amazon account, log in, and scroll to the bottom.
Under the make money section, click Become an Affiliate. You’ll proceed to the affiliate sign-up page.
Alternatively, follow this link to get to the sign-up page straightaway: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/. Then click Sign up.
Enter the Necessary Account Information
Fill in your information accurately under the spaces provided. Then click Next.
Enter Your Web Address
Enter your website address in the required field and click Add.
After clicking the Add button, the Next button will pop up in the bottom right corner. Click it.
Then confirm whether your site caters to children under 13. This is a disqualifying factor. So select No before clicking Confirm to proceed.
Stipulate Your Preferred Store ID
Fill in your preferred Associates’ ID. It’s advisable for website owners and bloggers to use the same name as the main website.
Then enter the rest of the information to create your affiliate profile.
Describe How You Drive Traffic to Your Website
In this part, you’ll briefly explain the ways you send traffic to your website and include all the requested information.
Once you finish filling in your traffic and monetization info, complete the security captcha section.
Then agree to the program’s operating agreement and click Finish to submit your application.
You’ll receive a congratulatory message from Amazon together with your associate ID.
Select Your Preferred Payment Method
You’ll find a section to fill in your payment and tax info below the message with your affiliate ID. You can enter the requested information immediately or skip it for later.
Afterward, proceed to your Amazon Associates dashboard.
Create Amazon Affiliate Links
On your affiliate homepage, you’ll find:
- Your performance dashboard. It shows total clicks, an overview of earnings, etc.
- A search area you can use to look for products to advertise and create affiliate links for promotion purposes. We’ll cover how to create links later.
Amazon Affiliate Program Rules and Requirements
Amazon lays out its program guidelines in its Associate operating agreement and operating policies.
You risk losing all your earnings and getting banned from the program if you don’t follow the rules in their agreement. Stay alert to remain updated on any changes they make.
You can also follow this site to remain in the know. Meanwhile, here are a few essential rules you must remember:
Key Amazon Affiliate Rules You Should Follow
Always keep the following dos and don’ts of Amazon affiliate marketing in mind:
Make Three Sales Within Six Months to Avoid Deactivation
Your account will be closed if you don’t make at least three sales within 180 days of joining the program.
Add a Prominent Amazon Affiliate Disclosure
You must include the affiliate disclosure statement conspicuously on your site to disclose your affiliate partnership with Amazon. Read our guide on Amazon disclosure generation to learn more about this.
Don’t Cloak Amazon Affiliate Links
Amazon prohibits link cloaking, i.e., hiding or masking your affiliate links, in section 6 of their operating agreement.
Only Include Prices If You Use the Amazon Associates API
Amazon changes the prices of the products you recommend from time to time. So, they don’t allow including price tags in your promotional materials unless you use the Amazon Associates API.
Do Not Self-Host Product Images That You Download From Amazon
Amazon doesn’t allow you to use their images as your own. However, you can use images for advertising if you link out to their respective products on the store.
Be Careful Where You Include Affiliate Links
You cannot include an affiliate link in offline sources like eBooks, pdf documents, etc.
Don’t Make Purchases Via Your Own Amazon Associates Link
Amazon prohibits this under section 6 (u) of the participation requirements.
Amazon Affiliate Сookies Duration
The Amazon affiliate cookie duration extends over a 24 hour period. If someone clicks your affiliate link and visits Amazon, they must make a purchase within 24 hours for you to earn.
Payment Methods
Amazon supports three payment methods:
- Direct bank deposit
- Check transfer
- Amazon gift card
Amazon Affiliate Program Login
To log into your existing Amazon Associates dashboard, visit this page: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/welcome
Then click sign-in on your top-right side:
How to Create an Amazon Affiliate Link
Creating affiliate links is simple. You can do it within minutes following the 5-step process below:
Sign Into Your Amazon Associate Account
Before you start creating affiliate links you can use to recommend different types of products, confirm that you’ve signed into your Amazon Associates account. This will ensure the link texts you generate associate the products you’re advertising with your affiliate account.
Select Product Linking in the Top Toolbar and Click on Product Links
Hover over the product linking section, then choose product links from the menu. You’ll open a page where you can create your links.
Add the Product ASIN OR do a Manual Product Search on Amazon
Find and assign every item its respective Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) to create direct product links.
An ASIN is a unique identification code Amazon gives its products for easier identification in its extensive product catalog.
The code is available in the product information section of Amazon’s product listing.
Alternatively, you can browse the products’ catalog to find the item you want to advertise.
Click on Go
Once you find your item, click the Go button to generate your affiliate link.
Click the Get Link Button That Appears on the Right
Doing this will copy your link to your clipboard. Then you can paste the link on your site.
Alternatively, Use SiteStripe to Generate Affiliate Links
You can also build links using the SiteStripe bar. You’ll find it on your product pages whenever you sign in to your specific Amazon affiliate panel.
Go to the text button on the bar, copy the link provided, and post it on your blog or site. You can also use the image or text+image options.
We also have an Amazon link generator tool you can use to create affiliate links for free.
Place Generated Links on your Site or Marketing Materials According to Amazon's Standards
Remember to follow all rules outlined in the operating agreement when sharing affiliate links on your site to promote Amazon products.
How to Make Money With the Amazon Affiliate Program
Now that you’re fired up and ready to make money, let’s check that you’ve got these three critical points in place:
- Proper brand set-up and positioning
- Consistent online traffic
- Strategically placed affiliate links
When you get these aspects of digital marketing right, you create a way to consistently earn commissions and become a successful affiliate.
Here are a few suggestions you can implement immediately to start making money.
Choose a Niche That Will Work With the Program
Naturally, some niches offer more opportunities for making money than others. In some cases, you’ll find yourself up against a lot of competition. In others, the commission payout rates may be low.
So, it’s critical to opt for a niche where you can find balance and shine. Focus on one niche that you’re excited about and know you can create lots of great content for.
It’s also really useful to have personal expertise in the niche you promote so your content holds more authority.
Remember to stay away from the zero-commission niches like prime now and wireless service plans. You won’t make anything from these.
Learn more about niche selection in our article on niche ideas or in this step-by-step guide on niche research.
Build Your Affiliate Site
Your affiliate website is your money-earner, so don’t cut corners when building it.
Most people buy premade affiliate websites that allow them to hit the ground running. These sites have an existing footprint in Google and already generate revenue. All you have to do is continue publishing content on them.
Others build their sites from scratch. In this case, you need to buy a domain, set up WordPress, and publish a lot of content on the site.
Although the second approach can be cheaper, it’s more time-consuming. It can take a while before you earn anything.
With this in mind, we recommend buying a turnkey site through the proper channels to start earning right away.
Install WordPress Amazon Affiliate Plugin
Many WordPress plugins exist to help you master your affiliate game.
For example, our WordPress plugin allows you to track broken links, monitor product availability, and track your link health score over time.
After examining reports on the plugin’s dashboard, you can ensure your site and links are optimized to convert buyers and boost your income.
Sign Up For Amazon Associates
Signing up for an Amazon Associates account is free. Follow the process we outlined earlier.
Publish Commercial Content
To publish commercial content, target high-intent buyer keywords. These are keywords people use when they intend to buy products. Often, such keywords include
- [Product-name] review
- The Best [product-name]
- What type of [product-name] should I buy or get
Learn more about finding the right keywords in our keyword research guide.
Insert Amazon Associates Links
When you’re ready to insert Amazon Associates links into your content, log into your Associates’ dashboard.
One of the easiest ways to generate links is through SiteStripe. The SiteStripe toolbar appears on product pages when you’re logged in.
Click on Text, Image, or Text+Image, to generate the type of link you want. Your tracking ID will be automatically inserted in the link.
From there, copy the link to the clipboard and apply it to your promotional content as you see fit.
[Pro tip: Read Amazon’s instructions on how to insert Associates links in this step-by-step guide.]
Use Search Engine Optimization to Promote Your Site
SEO is one of the most reliable ways to promote your site and attract highly targeted traffic that converts well.
A lot goes into SEO, so we created a comprehensive SEO guide you can access here.
For now, it’s critical to know that you need to create content that Google trusts and humans enjoy to get results.
As a starting point, you need to do some keyword research. This will help you determine what keywords to target in your content to attract an audience.
Once you have engaging content on your website, you can start link building, which is the other major pillar of SEO to focus on.
When you have external links pointing to your content, it tells the search engines that your content is high-authority and that people trust what you have to say.
In turn, Google will reward you and boost your content ranking, making it more visible on the search engine results pages.
With better visibility, you’ll have more web visitors and more opportunities to drive sales and earn commissions.
Amazon Affiliate Website Examples
Understandably, there are millions of affiliate websites in existence. After all, Amazon has one of the largest affiliate marketing programs in the world.
If you’d like to discover what other affiliates are doing well so you can learn from their lessons, check out our helpful write-up on Amazon affiliate website examples. On the list, we’ve included:
- Babygearlab.com
- Consumersearch.com
- Dogfoodadvisor.com
- Thisiswhyimbroke.com
- Gearpatrol.com
- Wirecutter.com
- Outdoormancave.com
You can find out information about their affiliate stats, what they do well, and how to create your own success story.
Pros and Cons of Becoming an Amazon Affiliate
Is the Amazon affiliate program right for you? Let’s weigh the pros and cons of the program to help you answer this question.
Pros | Cons |
It’s simple to start. You gain access to promotional materials to start making money immediately if you fill in all the required information. | Short cookie duration compared to other programs. |
Once you qualify, you can promote millions of products in their inventory. | Their category-based revenue model makes the commissions earned from some products low. |
Amazon is a trusted brand. It’s easy for many visitors to follow your product recommendations and buy items. | You can lose your account and get banned anytime if you breach the Associates’ operating agreement |
You earn commissions on a customer’s entire shopping cart, not just the items you promote. | |
Provides tools and resources to support affiliate efforts, including updates on seasonal offers. |
Receiving Payments From Amazon
Amazon’s payout is straightforward, as explained in their commissions’ income statement.
How Does Amazon Pay Associates?
The company deposits funds to your bank account directly. You can also choose to receive your payment as a check or gift card via mail.
When Does Amazon Do Payments to Associates?
You’ll get paid 60 days following the end of the month in which you earned your commission.
FAQs
We’ll cover some common questions in this section:
Is Amazon Associates Still Profitable In 2022?
Absolutely. Amazon Associates is still profitable in 2022. In fact, its international Amazon affiliate platforms are growing in popularity. That’s more income sources to make more profit.
What are the Predictions About Amazon Affiliate Program for 2023?
Research predicts Amazon’s e-commerce stock will increase the most through 2025. And their net sales will keep growing to exceed $1trillion through 2026.
Since their affiliate program is a big part of the company’s success, it will remain profitable and continue to grow in 2023 and beyond.
Is Amazon Affiliate Free to Join?
Yes. The program is free to join, provided you’re eligible.
Does Amazon Affiliate Pay For Clicks?
We can look at this question in two ways, and in both cases, the answer is no.
- The program does not pay for clicks. You won’t get paid when people click on your affiliate links. They have to either buy a product or sign-up for a service for you to earn.
- As an affiliate, you cannot pay for people to click your affiliate link and buy on the store.
How Many Followers Do You Need to Become an Amazon Affiliate?
Your social media account must have been active for a while and have at least 500 organic followers.
What are Bounties in Amazon Affiliate?
Bounties are the flat commissions you earn when you recommend your visitors to sign-up for Amazon’s services and social events. A good example is the kindle audiobook subscription service.
Can I Share Amazon Affiliate Links on WhatsApp?
Yes, you can. But be careful not to violate any guidelines on the operating agreement.
How to Promote Amazon Affiliate Links Without a Website
Without a website or blog, you can promote affiliate links as an influencer on social media.
Use various social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitch.tv, and YouTube.
For social media content creators, it’s best to sign up for an affiliate partnership through the Amazon influencer program.
How to Transfer Money From Amazon Affiliate to a Bank Account
The company makes the transfer automatically once you meet the minimum threshold and the required waiting period elapses.
How to Track Amazon Affiliate Links
You can track your affiliate links using affiliate tracking IDs. Amazon provides multiple tracking IDs (up to 100) to help you monitor the performance of your affiliate links and optimize your campaigns.
