Warning! Don't mix Adsense with Amazon Affiliates

I do it simply because it's likely having Amazon (or other affiliate programs) on Adsense pages blurs the line of "Made for Adsense" from Google's point of view.

Hmm that's a good point. The site I used has ~30 pages of content so I think it has passed the threshold of "made for Adsense"

But with smaller sites, especially if you are creating them fast, I totally see where you're coming from.

I have a mix of lot of things in somes of my big sites and I haven't see any side effect.

Hi

Your subject is very deceptive. I thought you were going to post a reason or evidence on why not to combine AdSense and Amazon. Pertinent info for me as I am considering adding AdSense to my Amazon sites. My reasoning is below.

For AdSense it is a good idea because Google likes to see another method of monetization other than AdSense. Right now my sites are mostly adsense or Amazon but not both.

For Amazon sites, it may take away from product sales, but I wonder about the commissions for a low volume Amazon site.

Product keywords are valuable for AdSense so if you can get $2-$4 a click, that is the same as selling $75-$100 of product at Amazon depending on how your sales volume affects your commission percentage. As I said, this may not apply to high volume Amazon sites.

So if 1 ad click = 1 Amazon sale, or even 2 ad clicks = 1 Amazon sale would you rather get AdSense clicks for the $$$ or an Amazon click and hope they follow through and buy?

AdSense pays you on the click.

Amazon pays you if that click converts.

Edit: I think AdSense would also help monetize traffic that is still in 'research' and not 'buying' mode. If not ready to click through to Amazon, they may click an ad in search of more information or pricing.

Mahlon

There can be also a different approach to mixing both monetization methods.
First of all Google treats affiliate links as ads so if you have to many AdSense units and few affiliate links it might be bad - content to ads ratio.

Here's another angle...Let's say I'm create a page for Adsense. If we can write about anything, why not write about something people can buy?

And if we write about something we can buy, why not have a link to let them buy it from Amazon?

IMO, Amazon is the best "content helper" site there is to help create content for Adsense.

Maybe having both hurts conversion percentage. On the other hand, using Amazon to help create content for Adsense lets you create content faster and by writing about things people can buy, you create a second revenue stream.

I can't see having both of them on your website hurting you. I've had both in the past and they tend to work good together.

Only thing you must keep in mind is that if you are adding Amazon to your website that you have been monetizing through Adsense, you can and should expect CTR to probably drop a bit since you are giving the visitor another option on how to leave your site (amazon affiliate link)

But if that's something you can handle, then you should not have a problem!

-Omar

I use both adsense and amazon. The reason being, the first thing they will see is the Amazon products, and if they don't find what they are looking for, they will then likely look for links to continue their "search," in which case adsense is another exit from your site. I haven't had the guts to try dropping adsense and going with amazon only, but that's because i make money from both. Why change it?

Very interesting guys, great answers thanks. Time for me to start mixing more.

I have sites that have both amazon affiliate links and adsense but I don't put them both on the same page.

For example, I have sites that review products and the product review pages have link to amazon. The same sites will also have informative articles and on the article pages I have adsense.

Thanks for sharing your opinion guys..I have a few pointers now

Depending on the situation..
I have a few sites which I mixed adsense & amazon together and I don;t see any issues with them. The only reason I do that is when I have a low paying amazon product, adsense rev can come in handy..

But as a rule of thumbs, it all depends on your strategy..

You don't have automatic penalties when you do both.

What people mean is that when you plan a site, you usually choose keywords that are good for one or the other. Some keywords might be really great for amazon review style content but don't have any advertisers or low CPC.

The other way around might happen, too. Insurance topics have high CPC so if you build a site around insurance keywords, what do you want to link to on Amazon? Maybe a little insurance selection guide book or something, but the big money is in the Adsense clicks.

It's easier to plan sites when you have a specific method of monetization in mind.

This is a really interesting discussion. I'd love to hear an Amazon vet (Gaz Cooper, Jan Roos, Paula & Wanda) weigh in on this. To me, it makes sense to use both methods, and others for that matter, because if it truly isn't about the money, you should offer your readers more options.

Same would go for using other affiliate links besides Amazon. If Best Buy had a better price on something, why not use a link to them for a specific product?

I like to take my chances. Unless Adsense or Amazon change their TOS, i will use both on my sites. Asian traffic converts well for Adsense while Amazon is focused for US/EU traffic.

To me sometimes I point the link to other sites, it's common. Adsense is good for Asian users as Kreative4 said.

I think everything is about how nice you mix them on your site and what is the user reaction on it. If you think first about your users and only after that about Google or any of affiliate programs...you will always have success. Build user experience and user friendly sites...money will come like water...

dumitrumidon hit the nail on the head. Presentation along with providing a solution always pays off.

In my opinion its a big NO! if Google for some reason decide to penalize my Adsense sites I will lose the earnings from Amazon as well. I'd even go so far as to say I'd keep them on different IP's or hosting. Maybe I'm just being over cautious though?

Doesn't it also show a lack of confidence in the product you are promoting?

I use both adsense and amazon on the same page regularly and haven't experienced a problem, but I encourage you to try testing all three ways though because some markets convert better with amazon while other's with adsense.

Once you get some decent traffic, start switching between the 2 and play around with the ad placements until you find the highest earner.

I'd rather test one against the other. After all, you want to maximize the amount you make.