Amazon is one of the world’s largest retailers. In 2019, it generated the most online sales in the U.S. The beauty of Amazon lies in the openness of its marketplace, both to buyers and sellers. All you need to do is have a website or social media presence and sign up for the Amazon affiliate program.
Since the Amazon affiliate commission rates and structure do change, below is a breakdown of the current affiliate program.
The Amazon Associates Program is one of the most dominant networks that allows affiliates to monetize their online traffic. As a result, the Amazon Associates Program supports various content and web creators, online publishers, bloggers, and more.
With a variety of products, affiliates can utilize link-building mechanisms to guide their audience to Amazon products and earn a percentage of qualifying purchases.
This is a commission-based program, and Amazon affiliate rates vary depending on the product category.
For instance, if you have a cooking blog that includes recipes and tutorials, you may benefit from the Amazon affiliate program. When suggesting utensils or kitchen tools in your blogs, you can directly link the products from Amazon.
Once an interested reader clicks the link for the mentioned product, their visit will be tracked through your unique affiliate link. If the person makes a purchase, you will earn a commission from the sale.
The affiliate link is individual to you, and the percentage you can earn will differ depending on the commission rate for the specific product.
The Amazon Associates program sets different rates for various product categories. Here’s a look at the current rates:
| Category | Commission Rate |
|---|---|
| Amazon Explore Beauty Luxury Beauty | 10.00% |
| Digital and Physical Music Digital Videos Handmade Items | 5.00% |
| Automotive Kitchen Physical Books | 4.50% |
| Amazon Fire Tablet Devices Amazon Fire TV Devices Amazon Kindle Devices Amazon Echo Devices Amazon Cloud Cam Devices Ring Devices Fire Edition TVs Women’s Fashion Luxury Store Fashion Apparel Men’s and Kid’s Private Label Handbags Accessories Watches Jewelry Shoes Luggage | 4.00% |
| Home Home Improvement Furniture Lawn & Garden Pantry Outdoors Business & Industrial Supplies Tools Sports Baby Products Toys Amazon Coins Musical Instruments Headphones Pet Products | 3.00% |
| PCPC Components DVD & Blu-Ray | 2.50% |
| Televisions Digital Video Games | 2.00% |
| Amazon Fresh Physical Video Games Video Game Consoles Grocery Health & Personal Care | 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 | 0.00% |
| All Other Categories | 4.00% |
The steps to becoming an Amazon Affiliate are relatively simple.
Amazon will take care of the rest. When your users click on the links and make purchases on Amazon, you will receive a percentage of the sale (as outlined in the table above).
There are plenty of positive features and characteristics to the Amazon Affiliate Program, making it a great passive income opportunity.
Amazon is a big name in the industry. Besides dominating eCommerce, their affiliate program is also a notable online business opportunity.
Amazon’s variety of merchandise, reliable delivery, and quality have established it as a leader. Amazon has become a household name and earned a reputable reputation. Affiliates can cash in on their popularity by utilizing their program within their social media pages and websites.
Amazon offers a wide range of products, ensuring that affiliates won’t run out of items to feature and promote. As a result, Amazon’s variety can provide affiliates with more opportunities to link products and earn money. Additionally, Amazon also has a great filtration system to keep the products that sell and remove the ones that don’t.
Amazon’s affiliate program does not only concern the products you promote. You can also receive additional profit from other products that people purchase after they have followed your link to the initial product.
Amazon’s cookies can remember your customer for up to 24 hours. If the customer you directed returns to Amazon within 24 hours and makes another purchase, you may receive a commission on it.
Technically, all you must do is send customers to Amazon, and if they complete a purchase, you may receive a cut of the profit. However, the type of product will determine the Amazon Associates’ commission rates received.
Amazon is a safe, reliable, and secure platform for both buyers and affiliates.
For affiliates, the earnings are safely and securely held until the pay period. Unlike other unauthorized affiliate programs, Amazon ensures payment will be promptly disbursed. Moreover, Amazon offers direct payment to your bank account.
Keep in mind that even the best companies have a few drawbacks with their affiliate programs.
Amazon pays the average rate compared with other affiliate networks — such as the AliExpress affiliate program, which starts at a minimum of 2.40%.
Additionally, other affiliate programs that target a niche market might provide higher commission rates for affiliates who endorse specific products in that field. For example, if you promote jewelry, another affiliate program that only focuses on the jewelry industry may offer you more commission than Amazon’s 4% rate.
Amazon will remember cookies for 24 hours, allowing the customer to return and make a purchase. The affiliate can still earn a commission on purchases within those 24 hours. However, some websites retain cookies for up to 90 days. As a result, other programs may offer affiliates more commission opportunities due to this extended period.
PayPal somewhat dominates the online payment system, but Amazon still does not support its platform. Instead, Amazon pays their affiliates through other methods, such as:
● IBAN (International Bank Account Number): The IBAN is an international number for your bank account. The funds are directly deposited into your bank account.
● BIC (Bank Identifier Code): The BIC is a unique global code for a credit institution.
Until 2017, Amazon utilized an advanced commission structure, allowing affiliates who sold more products to be paid higher commission rates. However, Amazon removed this structure and began employing flat commission rates based on the type of product.
Now, Amazon promotes a fixed commission structure, which pays affiliates based on the fixed rate for the product category. Affiliates receive a percentage of the item’s total price, and the percentage depends on the type of product. You can reference the table above for a breakdown of the categories and their associated fixed rates.
Commission income is typically paid by direct deposit — through the methods mentioned above — approximately 60 days after the end of the month for which they are being paid.
For example, payments for January are disbursed in late March, payments for February are disbursed in late April, and so on.
Amazon Affiliate Marketing can be an easy way to monetize your traffic for social media enthusiasts with a significant following. You can add the Amazon product link that you are promoting in your blog or post and watch the magic happen. Amazon’s affiliate commission rates, variety of products, and consumer base can make the program a great side gig. However, as you get more experience with affiliate marketing, there are other platforms that offer higher commission rates, and those are worth exploring.
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