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Affiliate Linking Tools & Resources Amazon Associates Ecommerce Geniuslink News Geo-Fragmentation Performance Marketing

Amazon Associates Ecosystem [Infographic]

Charting Amazon Associates

We are always looking for helpful resources to share with our clients and friends around the world. With the massive reach of the Amazon Associates program, there are so many types of resources, in so many places, that it can be overwhelming to keep track of useful tidbits you’ve found along the way. So, in an effort to help you better navigate the Amazon Associates landscape, we put together this “map” of the best forums, websites, blogs, classes, YouTube channels, books, tools, plugins and site builders.

Whether you are new to the Amazon affiliate space or are a seasoned veteran, we hope that this map of the Associates Ecosystem will be useful in your journey.

Please find additional links and details about each resource and tool later in this post.

(Click to view the interactive PDF of this info graphic.)

Mapping of the Amazon Associates Ecosystem.
Mapping of the Amazon Associates Ecosystem.

(Click to view the interactive PDF of this info graphic.)

Amazon Associates Programs

There are 11 different Amazon affiliate programs found across the world.  Each affiliate program is specific to an Amazon storefront, so be sure to sign up for each program in the countries where you see traffic.

 

Resources

Websites and Blogs

These sites vary greatly in content and style but are all useful resources for affiliate marketers to discover original articles and learn from other accomplished affiliates.

  • Pro Blogger – Blog by @DarrenRowse, helping bloggers reach their potential, including tips and discussion on affiliate marketing.
  • Entrepreneur Boost – Blog by @ChrisGuthrie discussing how to take your online businesses to the next level.
  • Homeschool Blogging – Homeschool Blogging is a resource blog and website for homeschool bloggers and businesses alike.
  • Pro Blog School – Website and training materials everyone should have for monetizing a blog and building a business.
  • Associate Programs – Website providing constant updates on how to leverage affiliate programs to earn a living online.
  • ClickZ – The largest resource of interactive marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, research, and reference in the world.
  • Affiliate Tip – Affiliate marketing blog by @ShawnCollins, co founder of the Affiliate Summit and affiliate marketing entrepreneur since 1997.
  • AM Navigator – AM Navigator is an affiliate marketing consulting, program management, and education-oriented company. Its legendary blog contains over 1,300 articles, and was named Best/Top Affiliate Marketing Blog in 2010, 2011, and 2013
  • Eric Nagel – Affiliate marketing blog by PHP and affiliate marketing professional Eric Nagel.
  • MatthewWoodward.co.uk – Award-winning no nonsense SEO and affiliate marketing blog featuring tutorials reviews and case studies.
  • Dumb Passive Income – A blog about simplifying ways to create passive income.
  • Rat Race Grad – Internet marketing blog by Jennifer Bland featuring income reports, products and resources.
  • Amazon Associates Blog – The official blog of the Amazon Associates program.
  • PerformanceIN – Website with the latest in performance marketing news, reports and views in real time including Amazon associates.
  • Zac Johnson – Blog about making money online including through Amazon featuring podcasts and resources.
  • Sprout Wealth – A website designed to teach you how to grow your income or expand your assets in multiple ways including affiliate marketing via the Amazon Associates program.

Forums

Online discussion sites where people can share their questions, answers and ideas with a like-minded community. For affiliate marketers, both novice and seasoned, these are places to stay up to date on changes in the space, get answers to questions and connect with peers.

  • Warrior Forum – Internet marketing forum and marketplace community built to share collective knowledge.
  • Wicked Fire – Affiliate Marketing and Internet Marketing Webmaster SEO forum.
  • A Best Web – The Net’s largest Affiliate Marketing forum – visitors come to ABW to share information about networks, merchants and best practices.
  • Digital Point– The largest webmaster community in the world. Includes tools and a large marketplace.
  • MoneyMakerDiscussion – Forum for internet marketers, webmasters and affiliate marketers. All like minded individuals focused on one thing, Making Money!
  • STM: Stack That Money – Premium Affiliate Marketing Community. The Method to the Madness of Affiliate Marketing.
  • Amazon Associates Discussion Board – The Official Discussion Board of the Amazon Associates program.
  • PerformanceIN – Affiliate marketing forum from the site with the latest in performance marketing news, reports and views in real time.
  • AffiliateFix – The number one affiliate marketing forum and resource online.

Recommended Reading

Comprised of both physical and e-books, our list of Amazon Associates literature includes content for beginners and those familiar with the Amazon Associates ecosystem. These works will allow you to analyze and internalize the methods of those who have mastered the art.

Conferences

These live gatherings are hotbeds of affiliate marketing expertise. Featuring seminars, speakers and networking events, affiliate marketing conferences are a great place to switch gears from Internet research and engage in dialogue about the latest concepts and strategies used by savvy Amazon Associates and other affiliates.

  • Affiliate Summit – The premier affiliate marketing conference, was founded by Missy Ward and Shawn Collins in 2003 for the purpose of providing educational sessions on the latest industry issues and fostering a productive networking environment for affiliate marketers.
  • Affiliate Management Days – The must attend event for affiliate managers who are responsible for their company’s affiliate marketing strategy, management and operations.

Classes

Like most online classes, these are designed to walk you through specific concepts with regards to Amazon’s Associate Program. With many gimmicks and scams out there, we have built a curated list of classes that have real impact. These are great for beginners but feature a couple advanced courses.

YouTubers

Everyone loves YouTube for their simple and accessible “how-to” videos. These YouTube channels feature reputable affiliate marketers breaking down how they have had success and how you can too.

  • Lisa Irby – Popular affiliate marketing youtube channel teaching how to monetize your online presence including how to use the Amazon Associates program.
  • Terry Lamb – Straight-forward YouTube channel designed to help you succeed in creating profits online with your own internet marketing business.
  • Ryan Stevenson – Affiliate marketing YouTube channel by a professional Internet marketing and WordPress plugin developer.

 

Tools

Amazon’s Tools

These tools are Amazon’s own tools for their affiliates. From an Associates link creator, to an e-commerce store creator, these are tools straight from the source.

  • Publisher Studio – Publisher Studio enables you to add links to products on Amazon directly from your website, without the need to visit Associates Central to get the link.
  • Promotions Hub – Allows you to find out about seasonal product promotions, offers, and trends that you can promote within your site.
  • Amazon Product Advertising API – Scratchpad is a tool to help Amazon Associates send basic requests to the Product Advertising API.
  • Amazon Webstore – Build a customized e-commerce site, on your own domain, with Amazon’s technology and expertise.
  • Amazon Associates Education Center – Articles and tutorials created from the Amazon Associates community or the Amazon team, designed to give practical help how to get your website noticed and better monetize it.

Link Management (Geo-Targeting Tools)

These tools allow you to globalize your links. With 13 storefronts and 11 affiliate programs, it’s crucial that you give a great experience to your readers and followers, no matter where they live. Geo-targeting tools give your affiliate links the ability to redirect international clicks so the user is sent to their local Amazon storefront.

  • GeoRiot – This enterprise-level link management tool offers full global support for the world’s largest online stores as well as in-depth reporting. GeoRiot’s “Genius Links” are used by both experts and novices alike, to maximize global commissions.
  • BookLinker – Published a book on Amazon? Use BookLinker.net to create a custom short-link for it that works for all Amazon stores.
  • A-FWD – Amazon specific geo-targeting tool that allows you to individually build custom links.
  • SmartURL.it – Focused on iTunes music, this service offers geo-targeting or device targeting for links.

Site-Builders

These site-builders let you create your very own Amazon Associates store to sell products and earn commissions.

  • Associate-o-matic – Allows you to build a stand-alone Amazon Associates store or add a shopping area to an existing website or blog in minutes.
  • Woo Themes – Site featuring premium themes, plugins and ecommerce for wordpress.
  • Prosociate– Allows your site visitors to have a real online shopping experience based on the Amazon products that you link to with Amazon Associates links.

WordPress Plugins for Links

These plugins help to create Amazon affiliate links within your WordPress blog.  Most offer basic geo-targeting and link translation.

WordPress Plugins

These handy tools can optimize your affiliate marketing efforts on your WordPress site. They can make a big difference in how the affiliate links on your blog or website are presented and perform.

      • AmazonSimpleAdmin – AmazonSimpleAdmin lets you easily embed Amazon products into your posts by use of specialized shortcodes.
      • Amazon Product in a Post Plugin – Plugin to add formatted Amazon products to any page by using the Amazon ASIN.
      • MyBookTable – A WordPress Bookstore plugin to help authors create great looking book pages that rank well on Google.
      • Azon Stock Checker – Plugin that shows you an overview of all the Amazon products in your site and their stock levels to warn about products you recommend that are out of stock.

Additional Tools

Solving a wide range of challenges the following tools are some of the most powerful.

      • FPTraffic– Scheduling tool that allows you to easily find, schedule and post content to your Facebook page.
      • BrowseNodes.com – Website that provides tools and information for Amazon Associates and Product Advertising API developers.
      • Find browse nodes – Search site that allows you to find all browse nodes for Amazon.com categories. (operated by Associate-0-matic)
      • Kehalim – Contextual affiliate platform that automates monetization of affiliate programs based on contextual and semantic technology.
      • SkimLinks – Skimlinks is a long-time, global Amazon Associates partner, working across North American and European programs. Skimlinks makes it extremely easy to earn commissions from Associates, as well as 18,000 other retailer programs.
      • VigLink – VigLink monetizes existing links and ensures they point to the right storefront (Convert), inserts new links where products are mentioned but the publisher forgets to link (Insert), and brings a page to life with a customizable visual unit based on the products mentioned (Spotlight).
      • GoldenCan – Provides data feed solutions in the affiliate industry.

Did we leave out your favorite resource? Leave a comment below so we can add it to our next iteration.