Best way to add Amazon ads to Wordpress site

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   Jennifer Sucheyposted 11 years ago

   I had no problem figuring out how to get Amazon ads on my hubs, but my own site is another story. I have downloaded a few different plugins to my wordpress site, but they either seem too complicated, or one I tried didn't work (so far). Does anyone have any tips on which plugin to use? There are only a gazillion of them.
   
   I mostly want to know how to place ads within my posts, but possibly in my sidebar as well.

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2. 73

   livewithrichardposted 11 years ago

   When you log into your Amazon associates account, there are links at the top of the page for product links or widgets... click on it and then add the products you want to promote.  When you go through their setup wizard you will end up with the code you need to insert into your posts or into a sidebar widget.

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   krisaclarkposted 11 years ago

   Agree with Richard above, that's what I've always done. You can use the code it provides for the link or widget and just post is as HTML on your post, page, or sidebar.

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      Jennifer Sucheyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your replies. I figured out how to get it in my sidebar but when I put it in my post it just shows as HTML code. I'm supposed to insert it just like I do on my hub? Cause its not working the same. Maybe I'm having a bug issue?

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         One of the annoying things about Wordpress is that it is too efficient - it often strips out "unimportant" code when you hit Save, which means that Amazon links stop working.
         
         The best way to avoid the whole problem is to use a good Amazon plugin.  Go to Wordpress.org and search for Amazon plugins - there will be lots!   Read them to find one that does what YOU want it to do, and also look at things like the number of stars it has (and from how many people) and take a look at the support forum to judge how helpful the author is.
         
         You'll find sidebar ads don't do much - like HubPages, it's much more effective to use Amazon ads within your posts, recommending products that are directly relevant to your post.

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         livewithrichardposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         There are 2 ways to you can make your posts from your dashboard, visual or HTML.  When you want to insert the Amazon code into a post, you must use the HTML method and then save it.  If you use the visual method it will do exactly what you are saying it does, show the code. 
         
         For any code you want to manually insert into a post, you must be in HTML editor mode.
         
         Sidebar code is easy... just move a text widget over to the location you want it and insert the code you want and you're done.
         
         An Amazon plugin can be helpful when first starting out but it adds a lot of code and free plugins are cesspools for page leaks to unrelated websites made by the creator of the plugin and often hidden or encrypted.  Plus, you don't get as much control when using them. 
         
         On your own blogs you will get the best results by promoting a single product and inserting a single product link.

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            Jennifer Sucheyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            THANK YOU!!!! That was the answer I needed, Richard. I just couldn't figure out why it seemed more difficult than it should . . . why I'd read in various places "just insert it in your post" and it wouldn't work.
            
            Also, thanks for the tip from both you and Marisa about inserting products in posts for best results. That's kind of what I was thinking and appreciate the confirmation from you both. I'm trying to come up with a nice looking ad for my sidebar that is a product I personally want to promote and fits with my site's design . . . as per Marisa's encouragement. It may not yield the results my post ads will, but we'll see if it's worth it.
            
            Right now I have AdSense ads coming up and have decided AdSense is much better suited for HubPages. I didn't realize I would have very little control over ads and that they change randomly. I like some, but many are just annoying. I'm one of those people who easily gets annoyed by in your face ads, so I won't be doing that to my readers.
            
            Thanks to everyone for your help.

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               Jennifer Sucheyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Okay, new question. I have the ad at the end of my post, but there is a very large space between the ad and the bottom of the past where the "Share this" buttons are and comment section, etc. I tried a few different things to modify this, but nothing is working. Any ideas? I'm thinking I need something at the end of the HTML code to fix it.

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