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Is SEO killing the Amazon associate program?

by JohnCitizen
30 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I'm interested to know how Amazon associates are being affected by all the recent Google changes.

There's no doubt that over the years, SEO has become more demanding. It's more riskier than before, meaning marketers need to resort to white hat techniques, which ultimately drains more time.

Since Amazon associates really depend on the quantity of sites to maximize low payout commissions, I can only imagine sites being harder and longer to rank, ultimately making the Amazon associate program unfeasible.

I suppose you could outsource everything, but with the constant push for quality SEO, it will mean that there are more steps being introduced to minimize getting sandboxed, hence mounting to most cost, ultimately again challenging the feasibility of the whole program.

I'd like to hear current Amazon associates and how they are coping with SEO changes.

Thoughts? Thanks
#amazon #associate #killing #program #seo
  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    How about PPC and SMM to supplement the SEO?
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Originally Posted by aaron655 View Post

    I'd like to hear current Amazon associates and how they are coping with SEO changes.

    Thoughts? Thanks
    I'm coping just fine. Penguin has never bothered me because I don't build unnatural links.

    Panda very rarely gives me trouble because my content is stuff that people actually want to read. The fact that my sites get referenced by very large sites and see their fair share of repeat visitors validates this.

    The EMD update had zero effect because I don't use EMDs (because I want referral and repeat visitor traffic).

    I am one of those who looks forward to updates rather than cringing when they roll around.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      I am one of those who looks forward to updates rather than cringing when they roll around.
      I don't do much amazon on my own, as I now concentrate on adsense.
      But my squidoo lenses, that's another thing. I am doing quite well.

      There's plenty of info out there on how to do it right. Squidoo just
      published a help-guide as well.

      SEO is no harder, in fact, it might be easier. Why? Because once
      we get rid of all the voodoo SEO, what's left? Half of what the
      whole(sic) industry did! So, quit the crap (and crap has always been
      crap) and start working on the OTHER half!

      Good, useful SEO has never changed. Only the ways people think
      to get around it.

      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    Quite a few people have learned to go directly to Amazon over the years. Considering the depth of the reviews on Amazon and the high-quality of their product information, a lot of people just search from there.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

      Quite a few people have learned to go directly to Amazon over the years. Considering the depth of the reviews on Amazon and the high-quality of their product information, a lot of people just search from there.
      People may go directly to Amazon to buy but when they get there and the product on Amazon shows one or two reviews only (or none at all), they go searching for more information. I'm more than happy to provide them with that information.

      I just assume that most of my traffic has already been to Amazon anyway. I mean, they saw the product "somewhere". Chances are good that they saw it on Amazon and are now looking for info that Amazon didn't provide.
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      • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        People may go directly to Amazon to buy but when they get there and the product on Amazon shows one or two reviews only (or none at all), they go searching for more information. I'm more than happy to provide them with that information.

        I just assume that most of my traffic has already been to Amazon anyway. I mean, they saw the product "somewhere". Chances are good that they saw it on Amazon and are now looking for info that Amazon didn't provide.
        True enough. I know that's why you recommend the lower competition items too. If they only find one or two reviews they may jump back to Google just to see what the 'rest of the Internet' has to say about it.

        Do you build these sites on a one niche per domain basis?
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

          True enough. I know that's why you recommend the lower competition items too. If they only find one or two reviews they may jump back to Google just to see what the 'rest of the Internet' has to say about it.

          Do you build these sites on a one niche per domain basis?
          I build my sites on a one niche per domain basis. Some niches are broader than others. Since I prefer my sites to have no fewer than 50 product reviews on each, the niche has to support that number of products that meet my criteria.
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          • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
            Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

            I build my sites on a one niche per domain basis. Some niches are broader than others. Since I prefer my sites to have no fewer than 50 product reviews on each, the niche has to support that number of products that meet my criteria.
            You said you don't do any link building. So what's the advantage to putting them on separate domains? I think if I were to implement your strategy I might be tempted to put all the pages on one big-ass domain that just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

            I'm just curious since you don't use EMDs or link building.
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    Today I had only 33 clicks, which is pathetic. The worst in the last year I think.

    The problem is that authority sites have been favoured hugely in the Penguin update and the EMD update is just a double whammy. Type in a niche keyword + reviews in Google and you see Amazon, next tag, etc.. dominate the first few pages even though those pages aren't the best info for that search term.

    I think associates are still doing well with SEO, but they're varying their anchor texts a lot when backlinking and using branded domains.

    Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

    Quite a few people have learned to go directly to Amazon over the years. Considering the depth of the reviews on Amazon and the high-quality of their product information, a lot of people just search from there.
    Maybe, but I don't think that is the problem because lots of people search in Google when looking for a product.

    Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

    How about PPC and SMM to supplement the SEO?
    What is SMM?

    I've tried PPC with Amazon using Adcenter. I broke even just about. The problem is that it took about 3 weeks to get $200 worth of sales so it's really slow. I was bidding about $1 per click also. So gaining a reasonable daily profit seems like a tough task.
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    • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
      Originally Posted by cooler1 View Post

      Today I had only 33 clicks, which is pathetic. The worst in the last year I think.

      The problem is that authority sites have been favoured hugely in the Penguin update and the EMD update is just a double whammy. Type in a niche keyword + reviews in Google and you see Amazon, next tag, etc.. dominate the first few pages even though those pages aren't the best info for that search term.

      I think associates are still doing well with SEO, but they're varying their anchor texts a lot when backlinking and using branded domains.



      Maybe, but I don't think that is the problem because lots of people search in Google when looking for a product.



      What is SMM?

      I've tried PPC with Amazon using Adcenter. I broke even just about. The problem is that it took about 3 weeks to get $200 worth of sales so it's really slow. I was bidding about $1 per click also. So gaining a reasonable daily profit seems like a tough task.
      SMM is social media marketing. You can always add YouTube video, Pinterest Pins and status updates to your mix.

      I think the $1 per click price range is a bit too high because you're dealing with a relatively low commission. Maybe you can try some of the second tier traffic providers. Send them to a landing page on your domain and then move them into Amazon. I don't know if the really low end clickers are buyers, but I guess just about everyone has an Amazon account by now.
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      • Profile picture of the author cooler1
        Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

        SMM is social media marketing. You can always add YouTube video, Pinterest Pins and status updates to your mix.

        I think the $1 per click price range is a bit too high because you're dealing with a relatively low commission. Maybe you can try some of the second tier traffic providers. Send them to a landing page on your domain and then move them into Amazon. I don't know if the really low end clickers are buyers, but I guess just about everyone has an Amazon account by now.
        The problem is that low end PPC programs have lower volume so you'd probably be lucky to get 1-2 sales a week from just one site. Then add that to the fact that the traffic quality will be worser than Adcenter, I doubt the results would be fruitful.

        I did bid lower initially, but I was getting almost zero clicks so I had to increase the keyword bid.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Well, I do have to qualify the "link-building" comment. I don't do any manual link building. The only "link-building" I do (and I don't really consider it link-building) is the automated social-bookmarking of each new review that I publish. Outside of that, there is no back-linking done.

    As for niche-based domains versus a more general, larger site, it's really just a preference since I try to stick with niches and topics that I'm knowledgeable in. For example, if I'm only knowledgeable in power tools, sewing, and iPads, it's hard to group them into a single domain without it looking odd to the visitor.

    For that reason, I keep them separate.
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    • Profile picture of the author cooler1
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Well, I do have to qualify the "link-building" comment. I don't do any manual link building. The only "link-building" I do (and I don't really consider it link-building) is the automated social-bookmarking of each new review that I publish. Outside of that, there is no back-linking done.

      As for niche-based domains versus a more general, larger site, it's really just a preference since I try to stick with niches and topics that I'm knowledgeable in. For example, if I'm only knowledgeable in power tools, sewing, and iPads, it's hard to group them into a single domain without it looking odd to the visitor.

      For that reason, I keep them separate.
      How about using subdomains? Is there any disadvantage using them as it won't look odd to the visitor because they're seperate sites despite being on the same domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    I suppose sub-domains might work. Never tried it though.
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    • Profile picture of the author adamcm
      Great topic OP. Was curious about this myself. This morning I have been trying to look for examples of affiliate sites selling Amazon/CJ products that are still doing well after these latest updates to try and emulate them.

      The most common sites I see are sites with many niches covered. Sites like top10reviews, bestcovery, etc. I have rarely seen any focused sites specific to the niche being covered. To me it feels like these larger sites are the ones that Google wants to promote now for products that have been in the market for some time.

      The other option I think would be to implement a model like Tom's where you target specific low competition keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    I just ran 25 searches for items that were over $100 with less than 4 reviews and man Amazon itself is dominating the first 4 slots on every term I looked for.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

      I just ran 25 searches for items that were over $100 with less than 4 reviews and man Amazon itself is dominating the first 4 slots on every term I looked for.
      I don't target exact product names. I rely on traffic from the dozens of related terms for each product. I also don't worry about ranking ahead of Amazon because as I mentioned earlier, I know my visitors have probably already been there anyway. They are searching Google because Amazon didn't give them what they wanted to begin with.

      As long as I rank on page one, I'm happy. The primary reason for this is due to the mindset of the visitor I am targeting. People looking for product reviews are likely to click more than one or two listings in the search results. I already know they aren't going to click the Amazon listings because they were already there so I can throw those out.

      Sure, I have to produce more content than some other webmasters but content is what I enjoy doing (not spamming backlinks all over the internet). The strategy works well. I've built sites for many, many clients so I have a broad range of niches that I can keep track of even though I'm not an expert in any of them. Most of them continue to do well with this strategy.
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      • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        I don't target exact product names. I rely on traffic from the dozens of related terms for each product. I also don't worry about ranking ahead of Amazon because as I mentioned earlier, I know my visitors have probably already been there anyway. They are searching Google because Amazon didn't give them what they wanted to begin with.

        As long as I rank on page one, I'm happy. The primary reason for this is due to the mindset of the visitor I am targeting. People looking for product reviews are likely to click more than one or two listings in the search results. I already know they aren't going to click the Amazon listings because they were already there so I can throw those out.

        Sure, I have to produce more content than some other webmasters but content is what I enjoy doing (not spamming backlinks all over the internet). The strategy works well. I've built sites for many, many clients so I have a broad range of niches that I can keep track of even though I'm not an expert in any of them. Most of them continue to do well with this strategy.
        Gotchya. So you're expecting the person to search in number six because they're looking for a site other than Amazon to validate their decision to buy. These related terms you speak of, are they on Amazon on the product page?

        I take it many of these pages get very low traffic but high conversions?
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        • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
          I can answer the last bit: yes, they get much less traffic than big keywords like "best tablet PCs", etc. but they convert much better.

          In the end, it's less effort, less traffic but more money

          Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

          Gotchya. So you're expecting the person to search in number six because they're looking for a site other than Amazon to validate their decision to buy. These related terms you speak of, are they on Amazon on the product page?

          I take it many of these pages get very low traffic but high conversions?
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          • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
            Originally Posted by Berkinb View Post

            I can answer the last bit: yes, they get much less traffic than big keywords like "best tablet PCs", etc. but they convert much better.

            In the end, it's less effort, less traffic but more money
            Are you building one domain per niche like Wolf or are you putting it all one one site?
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

          Gotchya. So you're expecting the person to search in number six because they're looking for a site other than Amazon to validate their decision to buy. These related terms you speak of, are they on Amazon on the product page?

          I take it many of these pages get very low traffic but high conversions?
          Well, I always PREFER to be in the top spot (and many of my reviews are). That said, I'm comfortable in the top 10 because people are looking for social validation before buying, especially when it comes to more expensive items.

          The terms are usually related in some way to the product itself, whether it be model number, or product type, or partial product name, etc. There are so many different combinations that I see in my stats.

          There is usually at least one or two instances a month where a site of mine will get referenced by a much larger site and I'll see a huge influx of referral traffic. This typically happens when a product I've reviewed goes on sale somewhere. When that happens, I can expect to see several hundred visitors to that one product alone in the span of a few hours (or days).
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          • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
            Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

            Well, I always PREFER to be in the top spot (and many of my reviews are). That said, I'm comfortable in the top 10 because people are looking for social validation before buying, especially when it comes to more expensive items.

            The terms are usually related in some way to the product itself, whether it be model number, or product type, or partial product name, etc. There are so many different combinations that I see in my stats.

            There is usually at least one or two instances a month where a site of mine will get referenced by a much larger site and I'll see a huge influx of referral traffic. This typically happens when a product I've reviewed goes on sale somewhere. When that happens, I can expect to see several hundred visitors to that one product alone in the span of a few hours (or days).
            Wolfmmiii, can you specify how you choose the titles for a product review? You have said you don't look at keyword tools, so out of all the related terms, how do you choose which one to use for the title?
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            • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
              Catherine,

              I can try and answer that for you:

              You just select a niche (or a number of related niches if you go for a bigger site) and then write a review for new/popular products on that niche. The title is generally the name of the product + review.

              Something like: "TomTom XXL 540TM GPS Navigator Review" (or "TomTom XXL 540TM Review" if you prefer shorter titles). I prefer the first one since it contains more words and increases the potential of being found with more keywords.

              When you do that, people find your post when searching for a lot of different keywords like "TomTom XXL review, TomTom XXL 540TM review, TomTom XXL 540TM GPS review", etc.

              Some of the products you review will not rank, but they will still add value to your site as new and relevant content.

              Originally Posted by CatherineMay View Post

              Wolfmmiii, can you specify how you choose the titles for a product review? You have said you don't look at keyword tools, so out of all the related terms, how do you choose which one to use for the title?
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              • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
                Originally Posted by Berkinb View Post

                Catherine,

                I can try and answer that for you:

                You just select a niche (or a number of related niches if you go for a bigger site) and then write a review for new/popular products on that niche. The title is generally the name of the product + review.

                Something like: "TomTom XXL 540TM GPS Navigator Review" (or "TomTom XXL 540TM Review" if you prefer shorter titles). I prefer the first one since it contains more words and increases the potential of being found with more keywords.

                When you do that, people find your post when searching for a lot of different keywords like "TomTom XXL review, TomTom XXL 540TM review, TomTom XXL 540TM GPS review", etc.

                Some of the products you review will not rank, but they will still add value to your site as new and relevant content.
                I have an EMD with the word "review" as the last word, preceded by the name of the niche. (Thankfully, it's survived the latest update. It slipped some, but survived.)
                So, I haven't added the word "review" to the post titles, since that would be too much.

                The homepage (with a lot of original content) ranks well, and I get a few sales, but that's overwhelmingly the way people enter the site, rather than through individual posts, which I'm sure would convert more.
                I've rarely used the whole name of the products in the title posts, as you say you've done, so maybe that's my problem. But I've always had it in the content somewhere...at least, I think I have.

                It looks like I need to go over my posts and make sure the whole name near the top of the content since it's not in the title, and beef up my related terms and LSI words.

                Thanks for your advice.
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                • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
                  Yes, the whole point of this system is to get laser targeted visitors through product related keywords. And that converts much better than more generic/high volume keywords.

                  And what's better, as Wolf put it sometime back, you don't even need to be on top 3; people looking for reviews will go to your site even if you're number 8-9-10.

                  Most of the SERPs (at least in my niches and for my keywords) are filled with Amazon and other e-commerce sites that do not offer much in terms of what the people are looking for.

                  Originally Posted by CatherineMay View Post

                  I have an EMD with the word "review" as the last word, preceded by the name of the niche. (Thankfully, it's survived the latest update. It slipped some, but survived.)
                  So, I haven't added the word "review" to the post titles, since that would be too much.

                  The homepage (with a lot of original content) ranks well, and I get a few sales, but that's overwhelmingly the way people enter the site, rather than through individual posts, which I'm sure would convert more.
                  I've rarely used the whole name of the products in the title posts, as you say you've done, so maybe that's my problem. But I've always had in the content somewhere...at least, I think I have.

                  It looks like I need to go over my posts and make sure the whole name near the top of the content since it's not in the title, and beef up my related terms and LSI words.

                  Thanks for your advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
    It's not killing Amazon associates, it's just that bigger sites with more related content seem to be the way. We have a few of those sites and they continue to do well regardless of the updates.

    It just seems that going after a big keyword on the home page and having 3-4 product reviews in total is not working anymore. More content (read more product reviews) means getting traffic from lots of long-tail and very targeted keywords.

    Less competition, no relying on a single keyword to bring all the traffic and better conversion.

    No, sir, Amazon associates are very much alive, those who have adapted at least.
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  • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
    I go the "broader" route. Our sites generally cover a bigger niche (say like "Home and Garden") with smaller niches used as sub-categories (like "Power tools", "Small appliances", etc.).

    But this is just a personal preference and ambition (we want to create gigantic sites). The downside is that you need to carefully design and structure sub-categories and navigation to avoid creating a total mess.
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  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    Thanks for the answers gents. BerkinB you have just earned yourself $4.60. Don't spend it all in one place.

    I like the idea of doing this one a big site. I get the worry about surfers getting confused by surfing around, but I assume a lot of them are going to be one page and gone type visitors anyway. It seems that if you keep on adding content to the same domain your job gets a bit easier over time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Berkinb
      Thanks for the beer mate

      Yes, it's absolutely my point. The more content (but good content), the more authority and love G seems to give.

      Originally Posted by PerformanceMan View Post

      Thanks for the answers gents. BerkinB you have just earned yourself $4.60. Don't spend it all in one place.

      I like the idea of doing this one a big site. I get the worry about surfers getting confused by surfing around, but I assume a lot of them are going to be one page and gone type visitors anyway. It seems that if you keep on adding content to the same domain your job gets a bit easier over time.
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  • Profile picture of the author TomerN
    For Amazon Associates, yes SEO kind of killed it.

    However, Google is pretty good with Google Shopping. If you're a dropshipper you can make a ton of money with Google Shopping if you know how to optimize your listings .

    I think standard SEO is going the way of the dinosaur for most affiliate marketers...
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