Quick tip for choosing Amazon products to promote...

14 replies
Since there have been several very popular threads recently about Amazon's associate program, I thought I'd chip in a tip for when you search the site to select products.

One of the things Amazon does exceedingly well, and which works to your advantage as an associate, is track user browsing and buying behavior in order to make attractive suggestions.

This could hinder you when selecting products to promote. The products you see will be colored by what you have purchased or looked at in the past. Unless you are promoting to people just like you, you may not be seeing the best choices. And the more you search, the more skewed those choices may be simply due to extensive searching.

If you browse using FireFox 3.5 or later, you can use a feature called 'Private Browsing' to get around this. All you have to do is look under the 'Tools' menu, select 'Start private browsing' and click the button that pops up to start the private session.

Navigate to Amazon, and you'll see that it does not recognize you. Therefore, it does not have access to your buying and browsing history. You can search to your heart's content as if it were the first time you visited the site.

And when you end your private session, none of that search history will be saved, nor will Amazon have a cookie on your machine to reference that session or your profile.

As a side benefit, you also don't mess up the recommendations you get from Amazon for your personal use...
#amazon #choosing #products #promote #quick #tip
  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    Thanks John - I didn't realize that your searches could be affected that way.

    I've developed a love affair with Amazon this year so that will really come in handy!

    Lee
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  • Profile picture of the author I.M.Retired
    This is an excellent tip John. I had no idea it was possible to do this. Thanks for posting the information - I'm off to check it out right now!

    Just back from checking it out. Works like a charm! I usually promote stuff that I like, so of course, Amazon has been feeding me lots of goodies that fill the bill. It's quite an eye opener to see what is popular, however, without the results being tainted by your own recent purchases.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Dotcom Hippie
    I thought the "private browsing" tool was for... um... other things.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by The Dotcom Hippie View Post

      I thought the "private browsing" tool was for... um... other things.
      "Different strokes for different folks"... :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author Rock Solid
    Wow this is excellent, I've been promoting with Amazon for quite some time now but this really helps. Thanks John!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    And if you guys use google chrome, here's how you bring up that private window.

    Google Chrome:

    While the chrome window is open and selected, Press Ctrl + Shift + N. This will open up the Incognito Window. If you see a masked person on the top left of your screen, you are in the incognitio window.

    Here's how it looks like:

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  • Profile picture of the author iw433
    Now that's what I call a first class tip. Thanks a bunch.
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    • Profile picture of the author TedMarlett
      John,

      Thanks so much. I was not aware a person could do this. I am intent on getting some sites going and now I will be able to look around without influencing myself with what I look at.

      This is great.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
        If you browse using FireFox 3.5 or later, you can use a feature called 'Private Browsing' to get around this. All you have to do is look under the 'Tools' menu, select 'Start private browsing' and click the button that pops up to start the private session.
        Well that's a new one on me. Thanks for the tip. One learns something everyday on this forum.

        Regards,
        Jeff.
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  • Profile picture of the author ThrillerAuthor
    Thanks for this John, it is valuable info.

    I know about how Amazon fills your pages with product suggestions based on what you've searched for in the past, but I've never thought about this idea to surf anonymously to filter out that clutter.
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  • Profile picture of the author simbat
    Great tip, but I thought it was about how to detect buyer interests on amazon , where is the link between the two , did I mess something ?
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    I guess clearing your cache is pointless, as it would start tracking your search behaviour immediately, yes?
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by simbat View Post

      Great tip, but I thought it was about how to detect buyer interests on amazon , where is the link between the two , did I mess something ?
      Sorry if I gave you that idea. There are already plenty of ways to gauge buyer interest in a particular product - hot lists, best sellers, up and coming lists, even the number of reviews posted.

      This tip was mainly to filter out your own personal search patterns when doing the research.

      Without doing something like this, any results you see will be colored heavily by your interests. I want the results to be as close to unbiased as I can get.

      Originally Posted by ramone_johnny View Post

      I guess clearing your cache is pointless, as it would start tracking your search behaviour immediately, yes?
      I suppose you could try clearing your cache, wiping any cookies and make sure you aren't logged into your Amazon account. That might be good for one session or even a few sessions with similar products. I haven't tried it.

      By using the private surfing feature, it looks like you are starting over every time. With no indication of your past history, they have to rely on aggregate data from other users doing similar searches.

      Which is really what I should be telling simbat...

      By using the private browsing feature, you are getting a better picture of the market in general rather than your own preferences.
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  • Profile picture of the author gentleness8
    Thanks, this is solid information. I definitely need all the tips I can get because my last attempt at promoting Amazon products was a complete bust.
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