Amazon Updates Associates Operating Agreement – December 20, 2024
- December 20, 2024
Updates Announced
Amazon Associates has announced updates to their policies (the third time this year) and as you’d expect, announcements sometimes create more questions than they answer. We understand their Operating Agreement and Policies can be a bit intimidating, and because the recent update mentions links, we wanted to jump in to help decipher their “legalese” and to let you know we’re ahead of the curve.
Key Highlight
As always, our priority at Geniuslink is to ensure your geni.us links remain fully compliant with Amazon’s Policies while helping maximize your earning potential.
Of the five updates, one relates to using Amazon seller networks: If you are currently taking advantage of seller networks in your Geniuslink account (Levanta, Archer Affiliates, Wayward, PartnerBoost, MaverickX) the key change to know about is that you cannot earn from both Associates and seller network commissions on the same click. We are currently updating how your clicks are handled so you will stay in full compliance with Amazon’s new policy while still being able to use both forms of Amazon link monetization, but now independently.
If you are not currently using seller networks and would like to learn more, please see our knowledge base article.
For the full breakdown of all the upcoming updates keep reading.
Amazon’s Updated Operating Agreement
For over a decade, we have consistently helped our clients stay compliant, as well as informing and educating both clients and the wider affiliate industry about Amazon’s Associates Operating Agreement and Policies. This upcoming change is no exception. Let’s get you up to speed with five key updates that will occur on Friday, Dec 20 2024 to your Amazon Associates account.
Amazon’s Update
“Added language to clarify that creators should not attempt to earn commission from programs outside of Amazon for the same qualifying traffic or using the same affiliate link(s), through manipulation of tags or any other methods receive duplicate commission from the same customer traffic.”Our Perspective
This is the big update, right? Let’s keep it simple: With the Amazon Associates Program, you earn commissions from sales when you use links to Amazon that include your Associates Tracking ID (eg. “tag=xxxxx”). We understand this update simply means that for an Associates link, you are not allowed additional parameters, such as attribution parameters, which are what some Amazon seller networks use to track sales.
Note that creating Amazon Associates links with Geniuslink is absolutely still allowed and we can continue to help you with using Amazon seller networks, but following Amazon’s policy. If you are using Geniuslink with Amazon seller networks, don’t worry, we’ll ensure your links are in compliance; no action necessary on your part.
Amazon’s Update
“Added a section on our upcoming Creator Ads Boost program. This program is designed to provide additional earning opportunities for influencers in our Amazon Influencer Program (AIP). This program is currently only available to influencers in the US.”
Our Perspective
While this program is currently limited to US-based Amazon Influencer Program members, Amazon may update this at any time to include other regions so we’ll keep you informed as soon as we’re aware of any potential expansions or opportunities that might arise.
Amazon’s Update
“Specified that creators cannot accept compensation in exchange for posting a customer review on product detail pages in accordance with Amazon’s Community Guidelines.”
Our Perspective
We see this as Amazon reinforcing their commitment to review integrity. Clarifying that accepting compensation for product reviews is prohibited (and could result in negative action from Amazon) demonstrates compliance with the FTC ruling earlier this year and with existing European law. Ensure that any content you create remains genuine and follows Amazon’s Community Guidelines.
Amazon’s Update
“Clarified that data provided to creators in connection with the Associates Program should only be used for performance monitoring purposes.”
Our Perspective
Reports and insights in your Associates Central dashboard should only be used by you and your team for understanding your performance. If you accept compensation from a third party in exchange for this data, you could be subject to negative action from Amazon (eg. getting your account closed!). We believe this update relates to aggregators of Amazon sellers who offer additional payments for sales of their brand’s products. We do not integrate/support these types of networks because of our commitment to compliance (Amazon has had a similar rule about it not being okay to share data with 3rd parties for years!). We encourage you to avoid any secondary uses of this data that could be interpreted as outside the intended purpose of monitoring performance.
Amazon’s Update
“Added language to allow Amazon to contact creators via SMS and push.”
Our Perspective
Amazon may now contact you via SMS and push notifications. This will enable Amazon to reach you with marketing tips, offers, and new earning opportunities. This update feels like it’s timed to coincide with the introduction of Creator Central on Mobile to enable the types of push notifications for Amazon Associates that Amazon currently uses with Amazon Consumers to prompt them to open the app. Make sure your contact preferences and notification settings are up to date to receive important program communications. You can update your preferences in Associates Central here.
General Tips And Good Practice
- Continue building your geni.us links in your dashboard, via our API, Amazon Link Engine, JS snippet, Quick Build link wrapper, and Chrome plugin – we’ll create these to be compliant like we always do.
- Review your current affiliate marketing strategies (for tips check out our YouTube Channel and the Geniuslink Blog.
- Audit your existing links and tracking methods to ensure compliance with the new guidelines.
- Update your content and linking practices as needed.
- Sign up for Amazon seller networks (if you haven’t already)
We hope you’ve found this helpful and you can look forward to us continuing to provide guidance and insight into further updates to Amazon’s policies to keep you informed, aware and compliant. What else would you have found helpful here? Send any suggestions or feedback to help@geniuslink.com .
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