RachelWould you believe us if we told you that the Amazon Associates Program launched in 1998? That was over 20 years ago, and the Amazon Associates Program was only related to selling books. Now, with Amazon growing into the online conglomerate that it is, the Amazon Associates Program feels like it is just getting started.
If you have a website, then you can earn a percentage of commission anytime someone purchases a product on Amazon by clicking the affiliate link on your website. This is called affiliate marketing.
The Amazon Associates Program that we know today is designed with website owners and bloggers in mind. Amazon capitalized on the advantage that bloggers and website owners bring to the table when it comes to networking and marketing; therefore, if you have a website or blog, you can be part of the Amazon Associates Program.
Getting Started
Make Sure Your Blog or Website is Active
First, you will need to make sure your website or blog is current, active, relevant and has a niche. Amazon will screen your content, so if your website is nonexistent or incomplete, Amazon can reject your request to become an associate.
Create an Amazon Associates Profile
Next, you will need to visit the Amazon Associates page and create a profile. To become an affiliate you will also need to link your website, app, and/or YouTube channel, so make sure these are active.
The application process to become an Amazon Associate is lengthy, so be prepared to answer numerous detailed questions. You will be asked to describe your website content and choose niche topics that are related to your website.
Traffic and Monetization
In this section of the application, you will explain how you will drive traffic to your website. Amazon requires this information to determine if your website will, in fact, help drive the sales of products on Amazon.
This section asks detailed questions, so be sure to have an answer for each one of them. You should have some valuable information on hand, such as average visitor volume, other website monetization, and why you want to become an Amazon Associate.
Creating Amazon Links
Now that you have created your account and verified your identity, you can finally access your Associate homepage. This is where you will search for products to link to your website or blog.
- Find product by searching for product under Quick Links or Browse for Product.
- When you find the product you want to link, click “Get Link.”
- Next, customize the look of the link by choosing text, image, text and image, or widget.
- Preview the link to make sure it looks exactly how you want.
- Copy the HTML code and paste it onto your website.
You will want to check your Amazon Associate homepage periodically to check your performance dashboard. This dashboard will give you an overview of your earnings, your monthly performance, and total link clicks, so it is important to keep a check of these statistics on your dashboard to see how you are shaping up.
Commission Schedule
You thought we would never get to this part, right? The current commission structure offers percentages from 1% to 10%, depending on the type of product.
| Product Category | Fixed Standard Program Fee Rates |
| Luxury Beauty, Amazon Coins | 10.00% |
| Furniture, Home, Pets, Pantry, Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden | 8.00% |
| Headphones, Beauty, Musical Instruments, Business & Industrial Supplies | 6.00% |
| Outdoors, Tools | 5.50% |
| Digital Music, Grocery, Physical Music, Handmade, Digital Videos | 5.00% |
| Physical Books, Health & Personal Care, Sports, Kitchen, Automotive, Baby Products | 4.50% |
| Amazon Fire Tablet Devices, Amazon Kindle Devices, Amazon Fashion Women’s, Men’s & Kids Private Label, Apparel, Amazon Cloud Cam Devices, Fire TV EditionSmart TVs, Amazon Fire TV Devices, Amazon Echo Devices, Ring Devices, Watches, Jewelry, Luggage, Shoes, and Handbags & Accessories | 4.00% |
| Amazon Fresh, Toys | 3.00% |
| PC, PC Components, DVD & Blu-Ray | 2.50% |
| Televisions, Digital Video Games | 2.00% |
| Physical Video Games & Video Game Consoles | 1.00% |
| Gift Cards; Wireless Service Plans; Alcoholic Beverages; Digital Kindle Products purchased as a subscription; Food prepared and delivered from a restaurant; Amazon Appstore, Prime Now, Amazon Pay Places, or Prime Wardrobe Purchases | 0.00% |
| All Other Categories | 4.00% |
The Amazon Associates Program also offers commissions if people sign up for a subscription service or business account using your Amazon Associates link. These are called Special Program Fees.
The bounties for these subscriptions are anywhere from $0.50 to $15.00.
Are Amazon Affiliate Sites Profitable?
Absolutely. With the right niche, targeted keywords, quality content, and hard work, you can make a lot of money through the ‘Zon. Hence, our love letter….
Limitations in the Amazon Associates Program
- Your account is only approved for 180 days at a time, and you must make a sale within those 180 days for your account to stay current. If you do not make a sale in those 180 days, your account will be closed and you will have to go through the entire application process again.
- Cookies related to your links only last for 24-hours. The only way to bypass this limitation is if your referral has placed the item in their cart during the 24-hour period. If this is the case, you will get credit if the referral places their order within 90 days. Otherwise, the commission doesn’t count.
- Your Amazon Associates link must be posted and accessed through a website, blog, or YouTube channel. You cannot email, text, or distribute Amazon Associate links in any other way. They must be linked on a website, blog, or YouTube. However, you can use social media to divert more traffic to your website etc.
- Amazon will not pay affiliates through PayPal. You will be paid through direct deposit or a paper check. If you are part of multiple Amazon Associate Programs, you will have to provide your payment information for each Amazon Associate Program.
If You’re Starting an Affiliate Site, Start with Amazon Associates
If you have a website, blog, or YouTube channel, you should take advantage of this affiliate marketing opportunity that is available from Amazon.
You can make as much or as little as you want with the Amazon Associates Program, but keep in mind that you need to make at least one sale every 180 days in order for your account to remain open.
If you feel like your traffic has decreased or products are not moving as quickly as they once did, take a look at your performance dashboard to see how many link clicks you have received.
The account dashboard is the key to determining if you need to make any adjustments to your Amazon Associates account.
Pro Tip: We use AmaLinks Pro to create polished product placements within our posts. It pulls the Amazon-compliant info straight from Amazon and looks amazing. We think it’s the industry standard.
Becoming an Amazon affiliate is a great way to make passive income and do something you love at the same time. Be sure to know your audience and your site so that you can monetize in the most strategic way.