No Amazon ads showing?

1. 61

   genteelhartposted 16 years ago

   Hi all,
   
   I apologize in advance if this is answered elsewhere.
   
   I just submitted my first Hub a couple days ago, and my Google Adsense ads are showing up on it, but I don't see any Amazon ads.
   
   I did get approved as an Amazon affiliate, and put that affiliate number in my account information just like I did my Adsense i.d.
   
   Is it just that we don't necessarily get Amazon ads in every Hub? Or am I missing a step?
   
   Thank you, I am very happy to be part of this community and hope to get to know you all here on the forums!
   
   Pam

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2. 0

   Ghost32posted 16 years ago

   Genteelhart, to get Amazon ads to show up, you'll need to add an Amazon capsule to each Hub.  There's an icon for Amazon right up there (top right of the page) when you're in Edit mode.
   
   They don't work automatically like AdSense does; much more labor intensive on the part of the Hubber.
   
   Once you have a capsule where you want it, you also have to decide if you're going to give that batch of ads a heading (I do; seems like most don't.).  Then comes the decision whether to painstakingly pick out each PRODUCT to advertise in that spot  on that page, or just use keywords and let Amazon's computer pick 'em.  You're not going to be thrilled to hear this, but (on mine at least) the keyword pickem tool is worthless. 
   
   How worthless is it?  So much so that more often than not, Amazon's computer comes back with a "no Amazon products found" message, which I interpret to be Amazonian for "You're an idiot; why are you writing dumb stuff like that?"
   
   So I go to all the trouble--and it IS trouble--to pick out a few products that actually fit the Hub.  No wonder my average time to produce one Hub runs around 6 hours. 
   
   I'm pretty new at using Amazon.  If anyone else knows a simpler, better and more profitable way to do it, let's you and me BOTH hope they post after I do.  In my case (as of right now), I've had some clicks from Amazon but no sales, and they only pay on actual sales. 
   
   I do also foresee a potential Amazon related problem:  If a product I placed on a Hub is no longer available, then what?  Oh me.  Oh my.
   
   Have fun.

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3. 86

   Marisa Wrightposted 16 years ago

   Ghost, you're spot on.  If you want to use Amazon products, you should always select individual products using the ASIN numbers. I can usually get the keyword option to work, but you won't usually make any sales using it.
   
   To sell anything from Amazon on your Hub, it has to be very tightly associated with the content, so you need to choose exactly the right products, and add a short review to each of them.
   
   I can only get gift certificates from Amazon because I'm not in the States - they will pay me by cheque but it's in US dollars, which would cost me about $35 to bank, so it's not worth it.  I did have them on my Hubs regardless for a while, but they made such poor sales I've deleted most of them.

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4. 0

   Ghost32posted 16 years ago

   Marisa, I totally understand and agree.  Genteelhart, if you do things the ugly way like I do, you'll also need to figure out HOW to get the right code from Amazon for each product.  What's been working for me is:
   
   1.  Get the specific page for a given product on your screen (on the Amazon site).
   
   2.  Highlight the URL bar.
   
   3.  Click on the bar again to UN-highlight it.
   
   4.  The URL will have jumped to the left somewhat when you did number 3.  The bit of code you want is ten alphanumeric goodies long.  On some (of mine so far anyway) it shows just to the right of a "dp/".  On others it will START with a "B". 
   
   5.  Copy the 10 digit code.
   
   6.  Go back to your Amazon capsule on the Hub and paste the code into the appropriate box.
   
   7.  Rinse and repeat until satisfied or too disgusted to continue.

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      Lady_Eposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for this info.  I tried using Amazon on a Hub yesterday and it didn't work for me. These are useful tips.

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5. 61

   genteelhartposted 16 years ago

   Wow! I had no idea.
   
   Thank you both for the quick replies. I suppose I'll experiment with them and see how it goes.
   
   Dare I hope that, if a sale is made, the revenue MIGHT make some of this labor worth it?

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6. 0

   Ghost32posted 16 years ago

   One can always hope.  I should know; been living on the stuff for a while!

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7. 61

   genteelhartposted 16 years ago

   Okay, it wasn't actually TOO dreary once I got into it.
   
   Ghost, just to let you know, I found all my ASINs and ISBN in the body (had to scroll down some) of each product page itself, clearly identified, so I didn't have to use the URL bar "hunt an ASIN". I don't know if that would be faster for you or not.
   
   I just plucked four random products (relating to my article) out of the basic search, but I will definitely go back and find/review items that I've actually used now that I know how to do it.
   
   Thanks again!

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's exactly the way it's done. 
      
      Some people do well on Amazon - but if the products are low value, you're only going to get a small commssion. So I think the trick is to write Hubs that relate to high-value items.

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