Amazon Has Ridiculous Referral Rates

Thinking about dumping them...

[celgins]

I've been with Amazon.com for a number of years, but I'm fed up with their low referral rates. I make pennies on $15 book purchases.

Does anyone know what Barnes & Nobles referral structure is like?

[gamiziuk]

HALF a penny.

[hunderdown]

B&N is no better--5% and no increase with volume. More important, Amazon converts better because visitors are much more likely to have an account with them already.

Amazon works well in certain instances, not in others. I've found I can double my income by using AdSense on reviews I wrote for Amazon.

[vite_rts]

you can make adsense money on writing reviews of books?

Dare I ask you how? we probably don't read the same stuff

[jomaxx]

It's more like a buck on a $15 purchase, depending on what tier you're in. Not spectacular, but not bad either and Amazon has got to be the best program by far for books in particular.

[hunderdown]

Reviews of nonfiction. The books are about the same subject matter as my site. I recommend them as ways for people to learn more about X. And since it's the same subject matter as my site, the ads are along the same lines....

[MarkWolk]

I look at Amazon in a different way. They are definitely more serious than CJ (at least, Amazon does not cancel my account for lack of activity), and relevant Amazon links actually enhance the content of my site. I have just redone an entire travel site (offering tours to France) and filled up the empty spaces with on-topic books selected from Amazon. I know that I might sell only 1 book per month; but these links bring value and content to my site.

[Green_Grass]

Dumped them long back... adSense is better.

[MarkWolk]

100% agreed. Amazon does not replace AdSense; it complements it.

[pcgamez]

As with everything, it depends on what kind of site you are running. My site is about what Amazon is best known for. Because of this, I do fairly well with 400+ orders per quarter. With AdSense, the same category has very low bids and CTR resulting in a very low income. As a result, I get about the same from both Amazon and AdSense.

[arikgub]

What is ridiculous is not their fees, but the referral period of only 24 hours. Nevertheless, Amazon is converting so well, that it is worth to keep. My conversions on Amazon's links from highly relevant pages are about 5-8%. That's a lot.

[Quadrille]

I find it varies a lot with niche - one of my sites does amazingly well for the number of visitors - and the adsense helps too. My worst barely ticks over; but once set up, that's not a loss, is it?

[iamlost]

What is ridiculous is people expecting one indirect revenue stream to be universally relevant, profitable, and constant.

Content sites generate significantly higher ROI, year in, year out, with multiple targeted varying revenue options on every page.

Relying upon only one or two, whether AdSense, Amazon, or whatever, will be a short term rollercoaster - fun, great while it lasts, but always ending too soon.

There are lots of revenue options: pick, choose, and test to determine the best for each niche, each site, each page. None are perfect and all change their Terms and Conditions like women's fashions. Be aware and open to those changes. And work at it. Create your own. Sweat equity on the web returns increased knowledge which can return profits (relatively) forever - certainly long after the work has been done.

Just as one site can get lost in the SERPs, one revenue source can dry up. Multiplicity is as important on the web and in business as in life.

[miwilliam]

Kind of difficult finding good affiliate referral programs these days. CJ cancels accounts for non activity and Amazon's commissions are too low to make it worth while. You can decent book affiliate programs over at shareasale.

William :)