Everything About the Amazon Affiliate Program
If you want to increase your revenue with online content, implementing an affiliate marketing strategy may be a good idea.
Amazon operates one of the most popular affiliate marketing programs, accounting for nearly half of the entire affiliate network market. With over 900,000 affiliate partners, the Amazon Associates program helps content creators, publishers, and bloggers generate revenue from their traffic.
Research shows that Amazon is the first stop for most shoppers . With such strong brand awareness, you can expect higher conversion rates when you direct people to Amazon products in your content.
Next is How to sign up for Amazon Associates, tips, steps, and real-world examples.
What is the Amazon Associates Program?
The Amazon Associates Program is one of the largest affiliate marketing programs in the world. Like the Shopify Affiliate Program, it allows creators, publishers, and bloggers to monetize their web traffic by promoting Amazon products in their content.
After you sign up for this free program, you can create an affiliate link that you can promote to your audience. When someone clicks on your affiliate link and purchases a product, you will receive a commission for that sale.
Amazon 's commissions range from 1% to 20% depending on the product category.
Amazon has very few requirements for how you promote your affiliate links, making it a popular choice for a wide range of creators and businesses. Amazon Associates include YouTubers, bloggers, TikTok influencers, online stores, and product review websites.
Amazon How much can affiliate partners earn?
Amazon Earnings from the affiliate program depend on the commission rate for the products the partner chooses to promote and the number of clicks they can generate from the related web traffic.
Amazon Affiliate partners can earn anywhere from a few hundred dollars a month to six-figure revenues annually.
Hugo Guerreiro, founder of men’s fashion affiliate website ‘ The Men Hero ’, shared the site’s early earnings: “I started a men’s lifestyle blog in late April 2021. In November, we made $963.69 from Amazon Associates, and that number continues to grow.”
According to ZipRecruiter , the average annual salary for an Amazon Affiliate Partner is $77,893. Top earners make up to $126,500, while the bottom 13% make between $35,000 and $43,499.
Amazon Affiliate Program Requirements
To join the Amazon Associates Program, you must meet the program’s rules and requirements. Key participation requirements are outlined in Amazon’s Program Policies . After you join, Amazon will review your initial activity and may reject your account if you do not meet performance requirements. Here are some key Amazon Associate requirements :
Platform Requirements
- The website must be public and contain accurate and up-to-date information.
- Mobile apps must meet Amazon's policy criteria.
- Supported social media channels are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch.
Affiliate Content Rules
- Your website or social channels must contain recent content (at least 10 posts within the last 60 days).
- All affiliate links must contain a properly tagged identifier.
- Content must be original.
Minimum performance criteria
- You must achieve a minimum of 3 qualifying sales within the first 180 days of starting your affiliate relationship.
- Social media affiliates must have a minimum of 500 followers.
Common reasons for rejection
- Insufficient or non-original content.
- Using incorrect affiliate links.
- Non-compliant content or non-compliant practices.
Becoming an Amazon Affiliate Partner: Pros and Cons
There are many reasons to join the Amazon Affiliate Program, but it's not right for everyone. Let's take a look at the pros and cons to decide if Amazon affiliate marketing is right for you.
merit
- Amazon links are reliable and well known.
- Access to global marketplaces.
- You can choose your payment method from direct deposit, check, or Amazon gift card.
- There are millions of Amazon products you can promote.
- Amazon affiliate links can be promoted on your ecommerce store using Shopify's tools and apps.
disadvantage
- Amazon’s cookie lifespan is shorter than some affiliate programs. You will need to add items to your cart within 24 hours of your referral clicking your link to earn a commission. (Note: Referrals can pay later.)
- You may not promote products via email.
- Commission rates are lower compared to direct affiliate programs from brands.
For some, the fact that they have access to a huge global marketplace with virtually unlimited products is enough of a reason to join. However, the inability to promote affiliate links via email can be a huge disadvantage for those who already have a large email list.
If you're interested in making money as an Amazon affiliate , read the step-by-step tutorial below.
How to become an Amazon Affiliate Partner
- Go to the Amazon Associates Center and click the "Signup" button.
- Please enter your information.
- Add a website, mobile app, or YouTube channel.
- Set up your profile.
- Describe how you drive traffic to your site or app.
- Add tax and payment information.
- Integrate with Shopify using the Amazon Associate Connector app.
Joining the Amazon Affiliate Program is easy because most of the review process is done after you sign up.
Before you go to Amazon, make sure your website or content channel is live, public, and has content already published. Then you can sign up for an Amazon Associates account.
1. Go to the Amazon Associates Center and click the "Sign up" button.
To join the Amazon Affiliate Program, you must either log in with your existing Amazon account or create a new account. If you only have a personal account, we recommend creating a new account to separate your business. However, if you have a phone number associated with your personal account and do not have a business phone number, you will not be able to create a new account.
2. Please enter your information
Next, you'll need to enter your affiliate account information so Amazon can accurately pay you your earnings.
3. Add a website, mobile app, or YouTube channel
You can add up to 50 websites or mobile apps. If you have multiple digital channels, add them all. This is where you can place your affiliate links.
After you add your website and click the "Next" button that appears, you will be asked whether your site or app is directed to children under 13 (such sites will not be eligible to participate in the program).
4. Profile Settings
This section asks you to enter your website information (including your preferred store ID, which is usually your business name). Amazon wants to know what your website is and what types of products you will be creating affiliate links for.
5. Explains how to drive traffic to your site or app
The next section of the Amazon Affiliate Account process requires you to describe how you drive traffic to your site (you can choose more than one option). You will also need to share how your current website or app generates revenue, how you build affiliate links, the total number of unique visitors, and why you want to join the program.
After that, you will need to complete the security CAPTCHA and agree to the operating agreement.
6. Add tax and payment information
Once you complete the application, you will be prompted to add your billing and tax information, but you can choose to do so later. You can then use Associates Central to generate your affiliate links.
7. Integrate with Shopify using the Connector app
If your website runs on Shopify, you can quickly bring Amazon products into your Shopify store using the Marketplace Connector app.
This method produces high quality Here's how to quickly create an Amazon Affiliate website. After you've linked your Amazon Associates account, you can import specific products using their product URLs.
When you add a product through the Connector app, it will appear in your Shopify store and visitors can click to purchase it.
Affiliate Marketing Tips to Increase Your Earnings
Running a successful Amazon affiliate program requires a strategy.
After you set up your Amazon Affiliate account, here are some tips and strategies to help you grow your affiliate earnings and build a passive revenue stream.
Finding a Niche
As with any brand strategy, establishing yourself in a niche is a great way to target a specific customer segment. A niche is a part of a larger market that is defined by its unique needs and knowledge. This is where your expertise as an affiliate marketer comes in.
“Dive deep into your niche and develop the ability to solve problems related to that product,” advises Arun Grewal, founder of affiliate niche site Coffee Brewing Pro . “Affiliate marketing is about adding your own insights and perspectives and becoming an authority on a particular niche or problem.”
Focus on a specific product category that you are truly interested in. This will make it easier for you to build your business. For example, Amazon Associate Elise Dopson founded a site called Sprocker Lovers , which provides pet care advice, tips, and product reviews.
According to her, “Amazon Associates has been a key component in monetizing our blog traffic and providing our readers with trusted, high-quality product options.” Elise includes Amazon affiliate links in her niche blog posts to encourage her readers to purchase a variety of pet-related products.
So how do you find your niche? Consider the following criteria:
- This is a topic of interest : Good affiliate marketers become experts in their industry over time. Follow trends, attend events, and constantly learn.
- You can solve a problem in a niche : People will follow you because they enjoy your insights and because you help them solve problems.
- Niche is profitable : Check out how popular your niche is by searching Google Trends. Look at market research reports and see how often people are searching for that topic. This can signal whether people are ready to buy.
Create original content across multiple platforms
As an online entrepreneur, you probably already know the value of original content. Original content helps you stand out, build credibility, and build trust with your followers. These are all elements necessary for successful affiliate marketing.
But creating original content isn’t enough. You also need to distribute it across multiple platforms. Omnichannel customers shop and spend 1.7x more than single-channel customers.
Take, for example, Package Free, a socially responsible business that also serves as a storefront for its blog and YouTube channel, Trash is for Tossers , and is a zero-waste lifestyle brand.
YouTube channels are full of content that helps people live a more sustainable lifestyle. By creating this content and demonstrating your expertise, you will ultimately attract the type of people who are more likely to trust and buy from you. So when you include Amazon affiliate links in your content, you are seen as trustworthy.
Another reason to create original content elsewhere is to target long-tail keywords in a variety of formats. In the image above, you can see some long-tail phrases in the playlist, such as “easy zero-waste alternatives” and “zero-waste shopping.”
Remember, building your content library is a long-term process. As with any affiliate marketing strategy, time and dedication will pay off big results.
Invest in SEO
If you want people to come to your website through Google or other search engines, you need to think about search engine optimization (SEO). Making sure your website is optimized for search engines will help it appear in search results.
But SEO isn't about keyword stuffing. So how do you optimize your website for search engines? Create web pages or include content that helps them understand your website better.
Product Reviews
Including product reviews serves two purposes: it helps create social proof for potential customers and boosts SEO, because it keeps your content fresh and up to date.
Affiliates who post honest and unbiased product reviews can build loyalty with their followers and convert reviews. In fact, a McKinsey study found that products with a 3.5 star rating or higher accounted for 95% of all sales.
“Share your experience with the product with your customers, and always provide examples of pros and cons,” says Guerreiro of The Men Hero . “Customers want to know what they like and dislike about your product, because they may have certain fears about buying it, and reading about their experience can help ease those fears and make them buy faster.
You can also create purchase and gift guides for products you recommend as an affiliate. Affiliate marketers often create gift guides as part of their content strategy and post recommendations with affiliate links such as Amazon.
If a reader wants to buy something, they can click on the link and buy it on Amazon. For example, The Everyday Farmhouse is an Amazon affiliate and has a self-sufficient gift guide .
Whether written as a blog post or a dedicated web page, product comparisons are another great way to improve your SEO. Data shows that 60% of customers start their product search on Amazon. Providing comparisons to similar products helps customers do their research.
Homepage
It’s easy to forget about SEO on your website. Some easy ways to optimize your website are to include your target keyword in your homepage title, optimize your page meta description, make it mobile friendly, add SSL, and keep your website loading fast.
“The best way to drive organic traffic to your blog and generate significant revenue is to combine high-quality content with SEO,” says Nicholas Martin, founder of affiliate site Pest Control Hacks . “Investing in SEO will help you get more exposure and drive affiliate sales naturally.”
Another way to rank higher on Google, though it’s just one area for SEO, is to build a blog. Consistently posting high-quality blog content builds credibility on a particular topic, which can help you rank higher for relevant keywords.
Start a blog
Creating a blog is similar to creating content on any other platform. The main reasons for publishing content on a blog are to build expertise on a topic, help with SEO, and drive people to your product.
Resources:
- Start a blog that can grow into a business
- Building a Brand: Ecommerce Blog Examples for Better Content Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing Tips: How to Get People to Buy from You
- How to Create a Successful Affiliate Program
Earn more with Amazon today
Entering the world of affiliate marketing through the Amazon Associates program is easy and free. All you need is a website, app, or YouTube channel, and you can start by signing up with Amazon and creating content that can include affiliate links.
But you can take it a step further and connect your Amazon affiliate account to your Shopify store using the Amazon Associate Connector app. This way, you can display your full Amazon product listings and affiliate links on your storefront while maintaining your store’s brand.
Getting started with Amazon Associates is a quick way to make money online. From the moment you post your first affiliate link, you are ready to start generating passive income by recommending great products to your loyal followers.
Amazon Affiliate Program FAQs
How do I become an Amazon Affiliate Marketer?
To join the Amazon Affiliate Marketing Program, you must follow these steps:
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Go to the Amazon Associates website and click the "Sign Up" button.
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Enter the required information.
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Add a website, YouTube channel, or mobile app.
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Set up your affiliate profile.
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Explains how to drive traffic to your site.
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Add tax and payment information.
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Use the Amazon Affiliate Connector app for Shopify.
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Place your Amazon Affiliate link in your content and wait for payment.
What are the benefits of becoming an Amazon Affiliate?
Becoming an Amazon Affiliate has several benefits:
- Amazon is the world's largest online marketplace.
- Consumers trust their purchases through Amazon affiliate links.
- You can get paid by direct deposit, check, or Amazon gift card.
- There are millions of products to choose from.
- You can connect your Amazon Affiliate account to your Shopify store.
How much can an Amazon affiliate earn?
According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary for an Amazon affiliate is $77,983. The top 3% of earners in the Amazon affiliate program earn between $110,500 and $126,500, while the lowest 13% of Amazon affiliates earn between $35,000 and $43,499.