How lame is it that Amazon isn't counting traffic from mobile sites?

[MrSavage]

Sometimes I get bogged down on the details, but my understanding is that Amazon doesn't permit affiliates to put code on mobile version of our sites. Apparently we can only with written permission!?

I can't say how many people are going to be shopping on Amazon and buying via a mobile phone or tablet. However here is my point.

What percentage of your traffic is from mobile? If you are getting 20%, then that at least a 20% drop in earning potential right there. Yes your links will still be within your content right? I don't think anyone is rewriting their mobile content differently than their standard sites are they?

So the question is, will Amazon change the mobile dilemma or do most affiliates not really care? I've seen less revenue and then it does occur to me that discounted mobile traffic must be part of it. Either that or I totally don't understand the Amazon policy.

Anyone care to explain this better to a simple minded person like myself?

[1script]

I get a feeling that Amazon would love to simply drop their affiliate program altogether but are reluctant to do so just yet. Perhaps considering a possible PR backlash, perhaps because sales through affiliates still account for several % of the total they don't want gone yet - who knows? Not allowing mobile would create a great way to lose affiliates gradually, without raising any red flags, as the total % of mobile traffic grows.

I would venture a guess that since last year, as Amazon host crowding in Google SERPs shot up to ridiculous heights (and is probably coming again this shopping season), they see no reason for the small but cumbersome marketing channel that affiliates are. It's much easier for Jeff to play golf with Larry and agree that G gives A free reign of the first 2 pages of SERPs (and perhaps get some cut - why not?) than to deal with 1000s of individual affiliates, 1099s, EBTs, ToS and DMCA compliance etc.

That said, are you sure this is about mobile Web and not mobile app traffic? I have to admit this is a news to me - any chance to post a relevant quote from the ToS?

[MrSavage]

Okay this is why we are the sheep. The idiots as it were. So today I check my earnings, and guess what? A column for device type. So, now there is a new link with mobile for associates. Here is a quote we all might be interested in:

Prior to this announcement, associates were not permitted to integrate affiliate links into their mobile-optimized websites.

If you don't feel like a sheep now? Please let me know if you parsed those affiliate links out of your content before showing it on your mobile site. Likely not eh?

I'm sure in a round about way Amazon really appreciated the "free" traffic. Well, of course I could be wrong and those links, when clicked on a mobile, resolved to a page error and not an Amazon page. Again, likely not.

The most comical aspect of all this is the ignorance and obscurity to what was really going on. Reminds me of the many BS policies on CJ that if played right, let you the publisher provide free, not tracking links to websites without you ever knowing it.

Last word? Baaaah.

[1script]

So, what's an associate with a site with responsive layout to do? That was the whole point of responsive layout so we don't have to look at the User Agent to change HTML. I might simply pull Amazon altogether. Earned perhaps $1000 (tops!) in more than 10 years of having it all over the site. I feel it's time to retire Amazon.

[onlineleben]

@MrSavage
Where ddi you see this additonal column? Cannot find it (maybe it is on the .com only? I am on .de)
Anyone else seeing this?

[creeking]

I feel it's time to retire Amazon.

try ebay's affiliate program

[MrSavage]

@creeking, wow, I see what you're saying. Could this only apply to Amazon.com? Wouldn't that be shameful.

I try not to rock the boat, but this comes to mind.

If you have been running a mobile version of your site for the past 12 months, what happens now that Amazon starts counting and "remembering" those clicks? IF you see a spike in revenue, the question then becomes how much money have you lost out on over that past year. You lose, but I would 99.99999% guarantee that you weren't sparsing the associates code from your posts. People clicking those links? Where did they end up anyways?

My point is, it might be interesting for some people who can do a A/B comparison. A before and after as it were. I guess I'm lucky in a sense because only recently I've gone full on mobile with my sites.

Can anyone confirm (if you had a mobile site over the past while) what happened when your affiliate code ended up on you mobile content and where those clicks would resolve to?

I find the clarity of the mobile policy to churn my stomach. Clear as day now, but before? Hardly clear. You couldn't find the word "mobile" anywhere on the associates policy. What does that really say about this?

Regardless, I'm very happy that Amazon has turned the lights on. This is HUGE. Can't change the past I suppose. What I can say is that I'm a fanboy once again regardless of how pathetic I find this situation.

[jadebox]

"I get a feeling that Amazon would love to simply drop their affiliate program altogether but are reluctant to do so just yet. Perhaps considering a possible PR backlash, perhaps because sales through affiliates still account for several % of the total they don't want gone yet - who knows? Not allowing mobile would create a great way to lose affiliates gradually, without raising any red flags, as the total % of mobile traffic grows. "

I think that you're half right. Amazon is no longer interested in promoting the affiliate program. So, my theory is that they didn't bother making sure that sales thorough the mobile version of Amazon are tracked. Instead of admitting that you may not get credit for sales through the mobile site, they say that sites "optimized for mobile" (whatever that means) aren't permitted. It gives them an out for sales that aren't tracked.

[BoostSoftware]

I think Jadebox has the crux of it. So many people shop via smartphones and tablets now, if they really intended to keep their affiliate growing over the long term, they would allow affiliates to put code on all their mobile versions of their sites. They may just be trying to put a dampener on their affiliate program so that they can slowly fade it out. Is eBay's affiliate program much better than Amazons?

[Rick_M]

I know this thread is kind of old, but I was surprised when I read it today. I logged into my associates account and it appears that since August 2013 Amazon does now count mobile traffic. From their website:

Amazon Associates for Mobile


Starting August 27, 2013, associates can earn advertising fees by driving mobile traffic to Amazon from their mobile-optimized website. Approved Android developers can integrate the Mobile Associates API into their app through a separate sign-up process at our Mobile App Distribution Portal.


For mobile websites:

In most cases, you won’t have to do anything different to monetize your mobile-optimized websites. You will earn the same fees and use many of the same tools to refer your mobile web users to Amazon. Unless noted, our Links and Banners work on mobile-optimized websites.

I'm not sure what their long term plans are with the affiliate program, but it seems they are continuing to support it.