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Amazon 24hr review cookie - how much business lost really???

by adam westrop
6 replies
With the Amazon cookie being 24 hours, assuming you are targeting someone towards the middle-end of the buying journey (e.g. Brand or very item descriptive), how much potential business is lost on the fact that cookies are only valid for 24 hours?

Has anyone done a test say compared to Target or another giant?

Im trying to keep my site very secretive, and to only refer customers on what they are really interested in buying. (e.g. Keep a lot of product info on my site) and refer customers only when it seems they are very interested in buying..... But am still a bit wary of trying to go head to head and look like a retailer and competing against Amazon and Target etc, so im trying to refer people as early as they seem like that want to buy, but at the same time, not too early that they are perhaps just information gathering at present.
#24hr #amazon #business #cookie #lost #review
  • Profile picture of the author trishworks4u
    I have never seen Amazon as an affiliate money-maker. My earnings from them last month were $71. Maybe it's just because I don't focus on them, I don't know.

    The 24 hour cookie thing really bugs me. With sites where I have a choice, I'll send people off to Best Buy or other big retailers if I can.
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    • Profile picture of the author adam westrop
      Originally Posted by trishworks4u View Post

      I have never seen Amazon as an affiliate money-maker. My earnings from them last month were $71. Maybe it's just because I don't focus on them, I don't know.

      The 24 hour cookie thing really bugs me. With sites where I have a choice, I'll send people off to Best Buy or other big retailers if I can.
      Thanks Trish,

      Do you think you lose some business when sending people to Bestbuy as they may then decide to pop into store to buy the item?
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by adam westrop View Post

    how much potential business is lost on the fact that cookies are only valid for 24 hours?
    There isn't a way of knowing, Adam.

    Originally Posted by adam westrop View Post

    Has anyone done a test say compared to Target or another giant?
    That wouldn't provide the information needed to answer your question, even if you did it on a split-link-testing basis from the same websites, for identical products. There are many other factors involved which such a "test" doesn't and can't take into account.
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  • Profile picture of the author remodeler
    Just from talking with others, as well as my own testing on over 50 sites, nothing comes close to Amazon sales, regardless of cookie duration. Not Target, Walmart or any other program I've tested.

    Amazon has built up such a trusted presence, as well as an enormous product line, that people don't hesitate to order anything. The 24 hour cookie may seem like a huge obstacle, but it doesn't bother me. Just yesterday I had someone order an item from one of my pages, as well as also buying several other items including a $400 stroller. That's part of the power of Amazon.

    As far as lost business due to 24 hour cookies, there is no way of knowing. I wouldn't be concerned about it. I'd just stay focused and in control of what I have control over. Let the things I don't, roll off my shoulders.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      You know, when I find something I'm convinced I want to buy, and I can afford it, I buy it. So, you know, a 1 hour cookie would be more than sufficient.

      Sure, sometimes I'll save something for a later purchase, but I might not actually purchase it for months, sometimes years, later. (Yes, occasionally years.)

      Should Amazon have a cookie that spans a year or more? I don't think so.

      I suspect most sales are going to happen right then and there, so a 24 hour cookie is going to be more than sufficient in the vast majority of cases.
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    • Profile picture of the author ElectronPlumber
      Originally Posted by remodeler View Post

      Just from talking with others, as well as my own testing on over 50 sites, nothing comes close to Amazon sales, regardless of cookie duration. Not Target, Walmart or any other program I've tested.

      Amazon has built up such a trusted presence, as well as an enormous product line, that people don't hesitate to order anything. The 24 hour cookie may seem like a huge obstacle, but it doesn't bother me. Just yesterday I had someone order an item from one of my pages, as well as also buying several other items including a $400 stroller. That's part of the power of Amazon.

      As far as lost business due to 24 hour cookies, there is no way of knowing. I wouldn't be concerned about it. I'd just stay focused and in control of what I have control over. Let the things I don't, roll off my shoulders.
      I totally agree with Remodeler. The cookie length is a bummer. But the fact that Amazon does such huge business and you get credit for ANYTHING a affiliate tagged customer buys is big enough. Target and Amazon have close to equal total revenue, but Amazon's is 100% online. Target doesn't report their online vs stores, but online is probably way less than 5% of their revenue. You may get that 30 day Target cookie on their computer, but they're way less likely to buy online from Target.

      I try to target people who are shopping without worrying about the buying cycle. I target keywords in product categories that someone in a shopping mood would search for, like "best stand mixer", then write an article that gets them to click through to Amazon from my site to see more details about the stand mixers I recommended.

      Just getting them to open Amazon in a browser is enough to remind people they wanted to buy SOMETHING, even if it isn't the targeted product. My Amazon conversion rate for clicks goes from ~6% this time of year to over 20% during November and December.
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