Important Changes To Amazon Associates Programme

On Thursday 14th of January, I received an email from Amazon with regards to some important changes that they have put in place related to their UK Associates’ Programme. The email clearly states that from now on Amazon will not be paying for referrals that are generated through paid advertising nor they will credit commissions that are coming from search engines directly to their website through an affiliate link. To avoid loosing your Amazon Affiliate commissions please make sure that you read the following email and to update your account:

Banner



Dear Associate,

We’re writing to let you know about some changes to the Amazon.co.uk Associates Programme.

After careful review of our Associates programme, we have made the decision that as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.co.uk, http://astore.amazon.co.uk or www.javari.co.uk through keyword bidding or other paid search on Google, Bing, Yahoo!, or any other search engine, or their extended search networks.


In connection with this change, as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer provide Associates who engage in such paid search activities with access to our Product Advertising API or datafeeds. If you are currently enrolled in the Associates Programme as a Paid Search Placement Associate and wish to continue to participate in the Programme after February 1, 2010, you must choose a new category that most accurately describes the method you will use to send users to the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk site.


Of course, just choosing a new category is not sufficient – you will also need to stop sending traffic via paid search links, as you will no longer be paid for such traffic starting on February 1, regardless of what category you choose. You may change your category by writing to us using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central or by following this link:


https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/gp/associates/contact


If you are enrolled in the Associates Programme as a Paid Search Placement Associate and you do not contact us to modify your category on or prior to March 1 2010 your Associates account will automatically be closed.


In addition, as of February 1, 2010 we will no longer pay referral fees on purchases made by customers who are referred to www.amazon.co.uk or www.javari.co.uk via Free Search Results.


Free Search Results are links containing an Associate’s tag displayed in a search engine’s free, natural, or organic search results in response to a search query which send customers directly to an Amazon site without the customer first being sent to an Associate’s site and the customer clicking on a link to arrive at the Amazon site.


These changes do not prohibit you from purchasing paid search advertisements or submitting links to search engines so long as the links that appear on the search engines send customers to your site. If customers arrive at the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk site by clicking on Special Links displayed on your site (ie, links on your site pointing to Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk with Amazon Associates tags), you will continue to earn referral fees in accordance with the Associates Programme Operating Agreement. There are a number of tools available through Associates Central to assist you with integrating Special Links into your sites, such as aStore by Amazon, various customisable widgets, and the Product Advertising API.


These changes apply only to the Associates Programme in the UK. If you are conducting paid or free search activities in connection with one of Amazon’s Associates Programmes outside of the UK, please refer to the applicable country’s Associates Programme Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.


For a summary of these changes please visit this page See what’s changed, and to review the Operating Agreement please visit this page Operating Agreement. If you’re not sure if these changes affect you, please visit this page for FAQs.


If you have questions or concerns, please write to us by using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central or by following this link:


https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/gp/associates/contact


Best regards,


Your Amazon.co.uk Associates Team