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Reply With QuoteThanks for posting this. I wonder how that will work.
Do they mean direct PPC I wonder.
I haven't got the email yet.
What if it's a page with Amazon and 2 other merchants?
What about compare sites?
I got the email today, effective from Feb 1st.
It was good while it lasted.
Thanks for posting this. I wonder how that will work.
Do they mean direct PPC I wonder.
I haven't got the email yet.
What if it's a page with Amazon and 2 other merchants?
What about compare sites?
It applies to affiliates sending traffic direct to Amazon from PPC (classified as Paid Search Affiliates). If you are driving traffic to your own sites first, then that is OK.
Another interesting bit from the email:
In addition, as of February 1, 2010 we will no longer pay referral fees on purchases made by customers who are referred to Amazon.co.uk: Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more or Shoes & Handbags - Free One-Day Delivery & Return Shipping: Javari.co.uk via Free Search Results. Free Search Results are links containing an Associate's tag displayed in a search engine's free, natural, or organic search results in response to a search query which send customers directly to an Amazon site without the customer first being sent to an Associate's site and the customer clicking on a link to arrive at the Amazon site.
How on earth will they detect that the customer did not see and click the affiliate page before being redirected through all the affiliate urls?Originally Posted by Kevin-ProperPrice
sorry if the answer is obvious. I am not an amazon affiliate.
Please could you post the full email? I didn't receive it, thanks.
No problem!After careful review of our Associates programme, we have made the decision that as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to Amazon.co.uk: Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more , aStore for Amazon Associates or Shoes & Handbags - Free One-Day Delivery & Return Shipping: Javari.co.uk through keyword bidding or other paid search on Google, Bing, Yahoo! or any other search engine, or their extended search networks. In connection with this change, as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer provide Associates who engage in such paid search activities with access to our Product Advertising API or datafeeds. If you are currently enrolled in the Associates Programme as a Paid Search Placement Associate and wish to continue to participate in the Programme after February 1, 2010, you must choose a new category that most accurately describes the method you will use to send users to the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk site. Of course, just choosing a new category is not sufficient - you will also need to stop sending traffic via paid search links, as you will no longer be paid for such traffic starting on February 1, regardless of what category you choose. You may change your category by writing to us using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central or by following this link:
https://affiliate-program.amazon.co....ciates/contact
If you are enrolled in the Associates Programme as a Paid Search Placement Associate and you do not contact us to modify your category on or prior to March 1 2010 your Associates account will automatically be closed.
In addition, as of February 1, 2010 we will no longer pay referral fees on purchases made by customers who are referred to Amazon.co.uk: Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more or Shoes & Handbags - Free One-Day Delivery & Return Shipping: Javari.co.uk via Free Search Results. Free Search Results are links containing an Associate's tag displayed in a search engine's free, natural, or organic search results in response to a search query which send customers directly to an Amazon site without the customer first being sent to an Associate's site and the customer clicking on a link to arrive at the Amazon site.
These changes do not prohibit you from purchasing paid search advertisements or submitting links to search engines so long as the links that appear on the search engines send customers to your site. If customers arrive at the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk site by clicking on Special Links displayed on your site (ie, links on your site pointing to Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk with Amazon Associates tags), you will continue to earn referral fees in accordance with the Associates Programme Operating Agreement. There are a number of tools available through Associates Central to assist you with integrating Special Links into your sites, such as aStore by Amazon, various customisable widgets, and the Product Advertising API.
These changes apply only to the Associates Programme in the UK. If you are conducting paid or free search activities in connection with one of Amazon's Associates Programmes outside of the UK, please refer to the applicable country's Associates Programme Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.
For a summary of these changes please visit this page See what's changed, and to review the Operating Agreement please visit this page Operating Agreement. If you're not sure if these changes affect you, please visit this page for FAQs .
If you have questions or concerns, please write to us by using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central or by following this link:
https://affiliate-program.amazon.co....ciates/contact
Best regards,
Your Amazon.co.uk Associates Team
Bob-Webgains-UK (15-01-10)
I guess amazon can just check the referring URL, anything direct from google will be canned...
Thanks Kevin.
Amazon banning direct PPC is no big deal IMO, it's no different to the policies of most other merchants.
What worries me is this thing about not paying commission on links that are direct from Google SERPS. Last Referrer is not infallible and doesn't always reflect where a click came from. Looking at my stats for other programmes I often see the last referrer being Google when I know for sure that it wasn't, as the redirector link is not in their index.
I'm always a bit surprised that any merchant would prevent this.
Do they actually make any MORE money by restricting PPC?
It'd be interesting to know the actual shape of things from a merchants point of view.
Yeah, nice while it lasted.
Here's the truth of the matter...
The Paid Search Commission structure was a hugely lucrative structure for those affiliates lucky enough to gain access it.
It came about back in July '09 when Amazon UK changed their terms of agreement. Affiliates were asked to opt in if they considered themselves Paid Search Placement (direct to merchant) affiliates. If they didn't respond they'd automatically be assigned to the standard performance plan which pays between 5% and 9% with a £7 cap (so if I sell £1,000 worth of goods I'd earn £7). Once on the performance plan there's no going back without applying expressly in writing to Amazon Associates UK (something Amazon UK didn't make very clear on their website).
However, if affiliates selected, rightly or wrongly, that they were a Paid Search Placement affiliate (supposedly running direct to merchant ads) then Amazon would unlock the programme to offer a variable commission structure (depending upon the product category) of between 5% and 10% without a cap. They never publicised this commission structure on their website but emailed it out to the relevant affiliates and have been paying up to 10% on certain very popular high value electrical items (so if I sell £1,000 worth of goods I could earn up to £100).
As you can imagine, Amazon UK have been paying certain savvy affiliates some very large chunks of money since July. This snowballed (excuse the pun) during the Christmas and New Year rush during which time I earned a very healthy £XXX,XXX in commissions from Amazon UK alone. This was accrued quite legitimately but the programme was totally wide open to abuse and I can only imagine that the abusers of the system earned a hell of a lot more than I did. I know of other affiliates who've earned similar sums to myself and would estimate that Amazon UK are due to pay out a good few million in commission for the Christmas period that they could easily have avoided paying if they'd only managed their affiliate programme better. Even to a giant retailer like Amazon a few million quid knocked off their bottom line will make their accountants raise an eyebrow.
In my opinion whoever has been managing the Associates UK programme has been doing a piss poor job and someone's finally realised. I assume that's the case anyway after receiving a very nice email today from Amazon UK's Business Development manager Kevin Adley who clearly knows nothing about affiliate marketing but a lot about maximising profits. I can't blame them for pulling the plug although I've never understood why they changed their policy back in July '09. Amazon US is still running their Associates programme the same way they always have done with Classic and Performance structures. Clueless.
Ahh well. I'm significantly better off than I was this time last year :tup
Only available since July 09?
Although to be fair I was sure it wasn't possible last year anyway.
Oh well, made my extra pocket money, the search continues...
Would Amazon have generated £millions of sales less without these PPC affiliates?
What is Amazon's profit margin on a 10% commission?
What is Amazon's marketing budget as a % of revenues?
Bottom line, will Amazon be better off without PPC affiliates earning a 10% commission?
I've always been quite intrigued about how people make a lot of money doing PPC direct to Amazon. I've done some brief experiments in the past, but never found it worthwhile.
As those of us who use Adwords likely know, where you share a display URL (in this case, Amazon.co.uk) with someone else bidding on a keyword you have to outbid the other person(s) for your ad to appear.
I found the problem is the bids necessary become so prohibitive that you at best get, say, a 5% profit margin or at worst break even or lose money. Even the most niche of products seem to be aggressively bid on with the Amazon display URL.
Can anyone shed some light?
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