Amazon cuts publishers’ affiliate commissions earned via automatic link tagging

[Stuart Wright]

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/08...ate-commissions-earned-automatic-link-tagging
So the links which our members post to Amazon (UK, mostly) in our bargains forums, previously earned good revenue via Skimlinks' affiliate code applied to them, are now not going to generate any revenue at all.
So we are using a new feature of Skimlinks which adds new links with more information after the Amazon link. Because these links are added by our system and not originally posted by the user, Amazon will pay affiliate revenue.
Because the new link includes the (latest) price of the product, we hope this will encourage readers to click the new, added link in preference to the original link, thereby sidestepping Amazon's new rule.
This is what it looks like:

and we're looking at re-colouring the original posted link so that it's the same colour as standard text, thereby making it not look like a link any more, so the reader will be even more inclined to click the new link.
But all the while the original poster's content has not been changed. Just added to.

It takes much investment of time and (usually) money to build up a community which will share links to retailers. By switching off affiliate revenue generated by auto affiliating user links, Amazon are not acknowledging the worth of having a community which posts links to them.

 

[Martok]

I came across this the other day when I noticed something I'd purchased on Amazon via a link on my site hadn't earned commission.

I use Viglink so I contacted them about this. They explained the changes but also kindly game me the expected commission. What they then told me to do was set up an Amazon Affiliate account and then let them have the Affiliate number once registered. They have then added this to their system so that when folk buy things on my site using Amazon, the links will work through my Amazon Affiliate account rather than Viglink.

 

[Stuart Wright]

So you get all the commission?

 

[Martok]

I should do. When I click on a link on my forum that takes me through to Amazon, it now has my Amazon tracking ID on it rather than the Viglink ID it had previously.

 

[DRE]

I made 6 cents off Viglink when I was on vBulletin 4 lol.

Sometimes I wonder if this link stuff is worth the effort.

 

[MattW]

I've been using SkimLink for a while now, but never had anything via Amazon, until I created my own link for some baby stuff I wanted to buy!

I've just signed up for the Affiliate Programme, as I guess I was missing out on that part!

 

[Stuart Wright]

If you steer your site so you have popular bargain forums for whatever subject your forum covers, then you will have people coming to the site to post and find links.

 

[MattW]

If you steer your site so you have popular bargain forums for whatever subject your forum covers, then you will have people coming to the site to post and find links.

Nice one, we do well from eBay as people are always selling car parts on there, so that is where we are getting the majority of clicks and commission from at the minute.

Do you need to do anything special to have Skimlinks convert the links to look like you posted in the first post?

 

[Stuart Wright]

No, they do it. We're piloting it, kind of. If you are already a Skimlinks account holder, contact them, they may well enable it for you.

 

[Vidmarc]

What's the latest on this?