HP's Amazon ad policy is utterly confusing

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   LHwritingsposted 3 years ago

   I find HubPages' policy on Amazon ad links totally confusing.
   
   I have been refurbishing some of my older articles originally posted 10 years ago, in an effort to spruce them up, update the content, and make sure they conform with current policy. The article at issue is this:
   https://hubpages.com/travel/Cincinnati- … ar-Project
   
   At the end of the article it contained an Amazon ad link for a book relevant to the old Cincinnati subway, which I mentioned in the beginning paragraph. It's my understanding that Amazon ads must be relevant to the article and the author must comment on the ad and indicate familiarity with the product. This ad was for the book 'The Cincinnati Subway' and had remained in the article for 10 years.
   
   To ensure conformity with HP policy I added comments that I had read the book (I have a copy) and recommended it. I submitted the refurbished article for re-publication.
   
   Today I received an Email notice that the article had been "snipped" by "product removal" for non-conformance with policy guidelines:
   
   >>
   You have personally used or have demonstrated firsthand experience with the product and give a genuine, first-person review.
   The product is 100% relevant to the content.
   A reader would be happy to see the link to the product and would not be confused or feel like they are being sold something solely for the benefit of the writer.
   The topic is commercial, e.g., if you googled the keyword of your topic, you will likely see shopping results.

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      eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think I've ever read the policy. I just add links and hope for the best.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 3 years ago

   I gave up on using Amazon on HP ages ago. Even when the editors weren't removing my links/capsules, I wasn't making any sales anyway.

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3. 81

   theraggededgeposted 3 years ago

   The way to add books is to reference the text in some way...
   
   "As Peter Pepper points out in his book, "Title", the importance of blah blah in the running of this railroad in texty text cannot be underestimated."
   
   Then quote directly from the book using a quote call-out capsule.
   
   The link should be added to the title of the book (anchor text). Don't use Amazon capsules.
   
   That method demonstrates how the book is linked to the topic. It shows that you have referenced it and have read it.
   
   Tip: if you haven't got the book, then download a sample from Kindle. You should be able to find a decent quote in the intro/first chapter.
   
   Hope that helps.

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      LHwritingsposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Ragged, thanks. You advise: " quote directly from the book using a quote call-out capsule."
      
      Sorry to be so thick here, but what's a "call-out capsule"?  I see that it's an available tool when I'm in Edit mode, but what does it do? How does it relate to Amazon?
      
      Thanks — Lyndon

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         theraggededgeposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         So when you are in edit mode, just give it a try. It will become clear once you add text to it and play with the available options.
         
         Use it for a quote from the book. But you can't link to Amazon within it. Do that in your main text.
         
         Here's an example:
         
         

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   Rupert Taylorposted 3 years ago

   As I've been updating my articles I've added links to Amazon for books that I've quoted from. Routinely, I get a list of broken links to these Amazon titles. I simply ignore them. But, like FFC I don't think I've made a sale yet.

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5. 65

   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   Callouts are for highlighting important information to the reader, e.g. a fact or a quote. I use them sometimes for definitions in tutorials or warnings in DIY guides. The first one below is a colorbox type. The other two are classic and quote types (Both of which now seem to give the same results). "This is a callout" is the text added to the "callout header" text input box when editing.
   
   
   

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