Have You Seen This Amazon Associate Linking Tool Page?

In this post I’m going to highlight a single Amazon Associate “Link Building Tools” page that really simplifies generating referral links to any page on Amazon.com using our Associate ID. This page is run by and hosted on Amazon Associates themselves, so not third-party promotions in this post. 😉

The Amazon Associate Program (Amazon.com referral/affiliate program) can be a valuable secondary monetization strategy for bloggers. I say secondary because most of us won’t get the traffic and volume required to generate a significant (full time) income from a single blog BUT we can earn a profit each month by linking to Amazon products.

Why Use The Amazon Associate Program?

The Amazon Associate Program (Sign-up Here if you’re not already an associate) is well known for their very low commission structure and to some bloggers this is a reason to avoid linking to Amazon products and finding other monetization options or not linking to anything at all. I fully understand that but allow me to retort.

Please, continue, you were saying something about best intentions. What’s the matter? Oh, you were finished! Well, allow me to retort.
Jules ~ Pulp Fiction (My favorite movie ever!)

Amazon stuck it to me 5 or 6 years ago; deleting my account and keeping several hundred dollars I had earned. I don’t want to go into detail but it had to do with a member of a link tracking membership site I owned abusing the associate program using URLs generated from our member tracking tools. No notice, no questions, and no chance of appeal – just deleted.

Anyway, I was totally pissed to say the least so if anyone should enjoy trash talking Amazon it should be me, right? Sure, but I’ve earned a surprising amount since those days simply by linking to books and products I was mentioning anyway. I didn’t target specific products and use my blog to promote it, I just linked to relevant products I mentioned (until today) and I’ve received consistent Amazon income (blog profit) every month. See, not a bad way to help monetize your blog.

It’s Not Only About Your Links

Okay, so let’s look at a made-up scenario real quick. You get 450 clicks on an Amazon product referral link. Out of those 450 clicks, 4 items are ordered and shipped for a grand total of $26.32. Your take? A whopping $1.05!

When you’re done laughing, consider this; while within that purchase session (24 hours), one of those customers also bought a $750 camera and a $100 Amazon Gift Card that you DID NOT link to. Well, now your Advertising Fees (Your commission) just grew another $36.00. (See Associates Program Advertising Fee Schedule for fee details). This is still an almost laughable commission but it takes less than a minute of time to “supplement” blog profits while helping your readers find what you’re talking about without going to Google and searching for it. Personally, I’d link to it even with zero commission if it helped my readers.

This happens, and it happens a lot. We benefit from Amazon’s on-site marketing and up-selling expertise. Your link tracking cookie is good for 90 days, a session is 24 hours but there are a ton of exceptions and exemptions so be sure to check Amazon’s Associates Program Operating Agreement for the latest details; they’ve actually done a decent job in keeping it as clear and understandable as possible.

Back To The Amazon Associates Linking Tools Page

Wow, I did it again, sometimes I get carried away and run off into left field. Hopefully I didn’t chase you away or cause you to forget the point in this post; Amazon Associates Linking Tools Page.

So Amazon has a single, easy to use, page that helps you generate your referral links in just a couple of clicks. I love this page and keep it bookmarked because I use it so often. The potential blog profit is there and if it doesn’t generate anything, no worries, it took less than a minute of my time.

Amazon.com’s Link to Any Page Tools

Amazon has short forms that will generate referral links with your Associate ID embedded for:

• Link to Favorite Destinations
• Link to Search Results
• Link to Any Page

Link Checker

Do you worry about getting credit for a link you’re using? Do you have old blog posts with links you’re not sure about? You’ll find a tool for that as well. The link checker will test links to insure your Associate ID and Tracking ID is correctly embedded.

Here’s The Linking Tools Page Link…

Here it is, Amazon Linking Tools Page (Must be signed into Amazon Associates Program to view this link).

Wrapping Up

That’s about all I have for you. I took up 900+ words of digital space to point out a single page on the net. 😉

Hot Tip: Check out the Amazon Bounty Events (Must be signed into Amazon Associates Program to view this link) where you get paid (bounty) for giving away free trials. Advertising fees and bounties can be seen here.

Action Step

First, determine how you should monetize your blog. You should have a primary monetization model but, as someone that has had the rug pulled from under them several times, I believe in multiple streams of blog income. Amazon is so easy that it’s almost a no-brainer for many of us. If you haven’t already signed up for the Amazon Associate Program, Sign-up Here.

Link where it makes sense and don’t plaster ads all over the place (Notice the sidebar banner for effect and testing only).

Track, test and don’t be afraid to mix it up every now and then.

Important Amazon Associate Program Links

• How are fees calculated in the Performance Fee Structure?
• Associates Program Advertising Fee Schedule
• Associates Program Operating Agreement

Your Thoughts?

Any advice for me or our readers? Are you using Amazon affiliate (associate) links? I’d love any deeper tips, cautions, solutions or questions regarding the Amazon for blog monetization.