Amazon Changes The Rules
Hey gang,
Did you get the shocking email yesterday from Amazon?
If not, here it is in it’s entirety:
<==Begin email==>
Dear Amazon Associate:
We’re writing to let you know about a change to the Amazon Associates Program. After careful review of how we are investing our advertising resources, we have made the decision to no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, or www.endless.com through keyword bidding and other paid search on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines, and their extended search networks. If you’re not sure if this change affects you, please visit this page for FAQs.
As of May 1, 2009, Associates will not be paid referral fees for paid search traffic. Also, in connection with this change, as of May 1, 2009, Amazon will no longer make data feeds available to Associates for the purpose of sending users to the Amazon websites in the US or Canada via paid search.
This change applies only to the Associates programs in North America. If you are conducting paid search activities in connection with one of Amazon’s Associates Programs outside of the US and Canada, please refer to the applicable country’s Associates Program Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.
We appreciate your continued support and participation in this advertising Program. If you have questions or concerns, please write to us by using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central.
Sincerely,
The Amazon Associates Program
<==End email==>
Thanks to the advent of Google Cash Detective and the like, major players like Amazon are able to see what affiliates are promoting, what keywords they are using and in essence, pull the rug out from under them whenever they wish.
I see this becoming the norm for a lot of CPA offers and affiliate programs.
Why would they pay you a % when they can hire a team for a fraction of the cost and keep 99% of the money in house?
I think we are in for some very interesting changes here in the next several months.
Scot
From what I understand the change was a result of Amazon realizing that the quality of the traffic that they receive via paid search was of lower quality thus resulting in fewer conversions and not worth the investment.
But… as this article points out they could very well be making exceptions for the bigger players that are more knowledgeable about paid search marketing. I think most experienced marketers know that targeting a term like “toaster” won’t yield much in terms of conversions whereas a targeted term like “Hamilton Beach Toastation Toaster” would be much more successful.
http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=30026
Amazon is already one of the biggest players in paid search, they’ve got handled without any Google tools, it’s pretty straight forward. Sounds like good business to me, I can’t say I want to pay an affiliate for junk traffic that doesn’t convert. This will separate “the men from the boys” in internet marketing, the strong will survive