Tips on Using the Amazon & eBay Capsules

In the future you will be able to earn directly from Amazon through the HubPages Earnings Program. Eventually, this will be the only way to earn from Amazon on HubPages, so if you do not already have an Amazon Associates Account, we do not recommend signing up with Amazon directly at this time.

If used correctly, the Amazon and eBay Capsules can be a great addition to your Hubs. Offering related products to your Hubs can give your readers a useful resource as well as give you an additional way to earn more money on HubPages. However, they are only effective in certain contexts and configurations. Here are some tips on using Amazon and eBay Capsules successfully:

In order to maintain a standard of high quality, HubPages now asks that every Hub contains 50 words per Amazon or eBay product, e.g., if you have three related Amazon products in your Hub, you need 150 original words.  Hubs that fall below this threshold will be moderated and need to be updated before they can be republished. 

It seems obvious, but only include products that are described in your Hub. People are more likely to buy something if they are searching for a specific product and find it on your Hub. There are two ways to use the Amazon Capsule in a Hub.

1. Write a Hub about a specific product. If you write a Hub about a specific product, it makes sense to offer your reader a link to buy that product. For example, if you write a Hub reviewing the new Amazon Kindle, you could link it within the Amazon Capsule.
2. Write a Hub about a process that includes many products. For example, if you write a Hub about how to make the best raspberry, chocolate cake, you could add links to mixers, spatulas, and cake pans. Just remember, you need 50 words per product, so a recipe Hub with many Amazon links won't make the cut.

When you select products by URL, ISBN, or ASIN, you can write in custom descriptions for these products instead of going with the default product descriptions.  This gives your reader more meaningful descriptions within the context of your Hub, and probably helps with encouraging people to buy these featured products.

Even if you have enough text to support your product listings, we recommend only adding Amazon and eBay Capsules if they create a richer, more informative Hub. Superfluous capsules can lead to slow-loading pages that drive readers away from your Hub and can hurt your ranking in search results.

It's best to place Amazon and eBay Capsules within the greater body of your Hub, perhaps to the right of a Text Capsules to which they're related. Do not place Amazon or eBay Capsules at the top of your Hub. (Hubs that have an Amazon or eBay Capsule as first full-width capsule will be moderated and taken down for revision.)

As a general rule of thumb, consider your Hubs from a reader's perspective. If you're searching for gift ideas for your Uncle Leroy, you'll probably appreciate seeing Amazon products featured in the gift guide you find on Google - it's nice to be able to buy something right away. If, however, you're searching for a guide to the best vegetarian restaurants in Seattle and find a ton of Seattle travel books and DVDs in the overview you view, you'll not be so interested in them, and might even be annoyed by the way they clutter the page.

Considering these tips as you use the Amazon and eBay Capsules will help you earn more money on HubPages and write better Hubs in general. We hope you find them to be useful!