The Amazon Associates program is an effective way to create an additional revenue stream for your business. It’s an opportunity to monetize your existing traffic and add to your bottom line.
Using your WordPress website, you can add affiliate links to direct visitors to specific products. It’s important to note that this affiliate program won’t be an overnight success. However, with time and a plan, you can gain more profits.
In this post, you’ll learn how to add Amazon affiliate links to your WordPress posts and get strategy tips to maximize your earnings. Let’s get started.
Add Amazon Affiliate Links to Your WordPress Site
The first step is to log into your Amazon Associates account. If you don’t have an account, you can create one here.
Under the Product Linking tab, you can create links to favorite destinations, search results pages, or popular product pages on Amazon. Pick the tab that suits your preference, and you can start building the HTML for your affiliate link.
Note: In the past, you would be working with an interface like this to select products that you want to link to:
Now, Amazon does most of this work for you on the link builder page. This is where you can design the URL structure of your Amazon affiliate link.
Below are some of the parameters you’ll see when designing your unique URL.
Text Only links are text links that include your affiliate code. There's also some pre-formatted anchor text, which you can customize. If you want to promote products with a call-to-action message at the end of your posts, this option is the best way to do it.
Image Only links embed the link and affiliate code into an image of the product. This method is good for promoting products in the middle of a post. The visual will catch the visitor's attention and encourage them to click. And of course, Text and Image is a combination of both these options.
In the Customize Link section, you can choose the text and destination of the link. After that, click on the Highlight HTML button, and copy the highlighted link to place on your website.
Now, go to your WordPress dashboard and open the editor for the post you want to add the link to. Click on the HTML tab and insert the Amazon affiliate link where you want it to appear on your page.
After you save the changes, you'll see the CTA on your page. Here's how it might look:
Double-check that you're posting the correct links to your blog. If it’s incorrect, you'll miss out on any affiliate revenue.
Add Amazon Affiliate Links Using a Plugin
Instead of manually adding Amazon affiliate links, you can use the Amazon Auto Links plugin to automate this process. Below are the steps.
1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Go to Dashboard > Amazon Auto Links > Add Unit by Category.
3. Configure the options and select categories.
Source: WordPress
4. After saving the unit option, go to Manage Units to get the shortcode. Add this shortcode in the visual editor of a post or within a widget.
5. Here’s how Amazon affiliate links will appear within a post:
Source: WordPress
Not the right plugin for you? Try one of these WordPress Amazon affiliate plugins instead.
Create an Amazon Affiliate Link Strategy
If you already have banner ads and other forms of advertising on your website, you can seamlessly incorporate Amazon affiliate links with your current advertising displays. For example, if you have a sidebar full of ads, you could easily add a few Image Only Amazon affiliate links.
However, if your blog is focused entirely on content, these links might puzzle your visitors. A sudden infusion of obvious ads could give the wrong impression. In this case, you might include Text Only Amazon affiliate links into relevant content, such as how-to guides, top ten lists, and ebooks.
Another strategy is to create a Store section on your website with a product catalog with your affiliate links. Then, you can use social media posts to promote your affiliate products.
In the end, it's up to you. Every blog is different. Consider your audience and the tone of your content to develop your Amazon affiliate link strategy.
It’s always a good idea to make more money for your business. The Amazon Associates program can help you earn revenue by adding affiliate links to your WordPress posts. And with the right strategy, you can improve how you position your links to increase profits.