Amazon affiliate report not working?

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  1. path-finder profile image57
    path-finderposted 10 years ago

    Hi all.

    I have set up Amazon Affiliate program on hubpages and featured Amazon products on a number of my hubs. Looking at it after a while, the link-type report in the Amazon account shows that no one has clicked on the products so far. I wanted to know whether this actually works, so I clicked on the product links myself. To my surprise it is not shown in the Amazon report. What is going on? Have anyone used this report?

    I know Hubpages splits impressions, but it seems that no one ever clicked on the product links so far.

    1. Christy Kirwan profile image92
      Christy Kirwanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi path-finder,

      It can take a lot of effort and careful product placement to make money with Amazon. Robin offers some good tips in the HP Blog: http://blog.hubpages.com/2013/07/hubpag … your-hubs/

      Also, it's a bad idea to click on your own products. Amazon can recognize when you do and it's against their policy (they may send you a reprimand for doing so). That is probably why your click isn't showing up.

    2. profile image0
      Jennifer Sucheyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      After a month or two with Amazon, I began to wonder the same thing. I used my husband's computer and Amazon account to click on a product I wanted to buy and see if it actually showed up in my affiliate account.

      It showed the clicks and exactly what was purchased, including two other products I purchased that I did not click on. But there was no revenue from any of it

      I sent Amazon an email asking about this, mentioning there were items that had been purchased but no revenue. I got a very nice email back implying that perhaps I or a family member had clicked on the product and purchased it and that Amazon does not pay revenue for those products. DOH! They got me. They're smart, them Amazon people!

      However, it did show me that my product link was working. And they didn't reprimand me. They didn't contact me until I contacted them first asking what was up.

      I have been placing Amazon ads for four months now and have 17 hubs and around 10 blog posts with ads. It is rare indeed that anyone clicks on them. But I did finally have activity a few times, one here, another there, none for a long time again now. I think I've earned revenue a total of three times. The other day I noticed on my website that an Amazon link had been clicked, but no one purchased.

      So it's slow going. I understand your biggest question to know if your link is even working since you clicked on it and did not see any clicks on your report. In writing this reply to you, I did some surfing around my Amazon reports and discovered there is a "link checker". Click on Links & Banners, which is the far left option on the horizontal menu. Then in the left column is an option for Link Checker.

      I'm SO glad you got me messing around with stuff, because I discovered that one of my links is not working right, because I think I chose the wrong option when I created the link. And it makes me think I probably have several incorrect links! So now I will be checking every single one of them to make sure they are working.

      Aside from the Link Checker, if you are still not sure, I'd try to Amazon forums or contacting Amazon directly with your questions.

      I'm off to check links now!

      1. path-finder profile image57
        path-finderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        The links are working! I just checked using the Link Checker. The first time it was a negative, then, after refreshing the hub page and copying the same link again, the link tested positive for a valid affiliate link. I guess this is how the impressions are split. I've found that, If you see your Tracker ID in the link then it leads to your own account; you get credited for the sale.

        Thanks for your reply.

        1. profile image0
          Jennifer Sucheyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Glad I could be of help. And I'm glad your post caused me to realize I needed to fix several of my links. wink

    3. lovebuglena profile image84
      lovebuglenaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you login to Amazon associates acct and click to view tracking ID report you should see clicks if they have been generated. If you don't see any clicks that means no one clicked on those products.

    4. Marisa Wright profile image87
      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes HubPages code appears in the capsule, and sometimes your code appears. That's how the sharing works.   You may have clicked on the ad while the HubPages code was showing.

      1. profile image0
        Jennifer Sucheyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Good point Marissa.

  2. lovebuglena profile image84
    lovebuglenaposted 10 years ago

    You cannot use your special links to buy amazon products for yourself or have someone buy amazon products for you I am assuming even though you used your husband's computer you shipped items to you so it wouldn't count toward your earnings.  Also if someone buys a product on Amazon and ships to someone else and not themselves you will not get paid for that sale.

    1. profile image0
      Jennifer Sucheyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you lovebulglena. Yes . . . I get all that. But like path-finder, I finally felt compelled to test out a link somehow to see if it even worked. I knew I wasn't technically supposed to and, obviously, Amazon caught me. This is why I shared it with path-finder, so they wouldn't bother to try the same.

  3. IzzyM profile image86
    IzzyMposted 10 years ago

    Amazon don't pay per click, so you can click on your own Amazon links as often as you like.

    You just cannot buy from that link, because Amazon will discount the sale. They know the IP address of the person clicking. Not only that, they are likely to kick you off the program if they suspect you are buying. They store a 24 hour cookie when you click-through, so remember not to order anything from Amazon in that time-frame.

    If you have no clicks at all showing, when you or someone you know has clicked on an Amazon link, then remember that that this may have happened during HP's share of the revenue time.

    To sell through Amazon, you really need to reach a targeted audience.

    Your hub may be extremely informative, and may help the potential buyer make up his mind what product he wants to buy.

    Chances are he was searching for information about that product when he happened by your hub. You may help him to make up his mind, in which case he is likely to click through to Amazon and get the 24 hour cookie if he doesn't buy there and then.

    He may decide to buy something else entirely while he is browsing Amazon, and you will get the commission.

    Amazon sales happen when you target an audience.

    Identify what people want to know about a product. Answer that query. Attract buyers, not browsers.

    1. path-finder profile image57
      path-finderposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So Amazon credits us for sales of products that we haven't featured, though we helped the person get to the product? Glad to know this. Thanks for the info.

      1. IzzyM profile image86
        IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Yes.
        If you can write a hub in such a way that every reader simply has to click on your Amazon link and go through the Amazon, your sales with soar. That 24 hour Amazon cookie is worth its weight in gold. Anything at all they buy in that time-frame will be credited to you.
        Product reviews are probably the best way to achieve that nowadays. Write about a product you know, and try to choose an angle not extensively covered online already.
        We used to able to write simple sales pitches about a product and get sales, but Google and HP have mostly put paid to that. HP don't seem to like pure sales hubs, and Google always list the shops first in search.
        Now you need to find an angle, something the shops don't tell you about, even if it is a downside.
        Else, write about how to grow something, and include products. Write about how to decorate something, and include products. How best to do something, and include products.
        If you get viewers, you will get Amazon clicks, and sales.
        Don't write a hub and stick in products as an after-thought. Target the sales. Write paragraphs around your products. Make them stand out.
        Good luck!

 
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