10 Amazon Affiliate Program Requirements

The success of an Amazon affiliate is not limited to one of the most popular beliefs, or better put, factors, “promoting the bestselling products.” Other not-so-often stated factors, like the Amazon affiliate program requirements and policies, also play significant roles in the entire success of an Amazon affiliate, from signing up to account approval and your operation or interaction with Amazon’s products.

A thorough understanding of these requirements, guidelines, or policies, and the best Amazon affiliate marketing practices, can ensure compliance, reducing the risk of losing your affiliate account and commission due to oversight.

In this article, we curated 10 categories of Amazon affiliate program requirements, guidelines, and policies every “wannabe” or an already Amazon affiliate should know to further enhance their success and compliance in the program.

How Does Amazon Affiliate Program Work?

If you are new to the Amazon affiliate program, you might wonder how it works. Does it operate in the same terms as other affiliate programs? What made and still makes millions of people sign up for it? We will address these uncertainties and questions in this article section before we give you insight into the Amazon program’s requirements, guidelines, and policies.

The Amazon Affiliate Program, like other affiliate programs, allows you to earn a commission when people buy/purchase Amazon products through your unique link provided by Amazon (called “affiliate link”) on your website, or your social media pages. The commission on Amazon products varies across various categories, ranging from 1% to up to 20%.

Signing up to become an Amazon affiliate is easy and can be done within a few minutes. Here is an overview of how Amazon’s Affiliate Program works:

• Firstly, you sign up and register on the Amazon Associate website.
• Your account will get approved when you meet Amazon affiliate program requirements
• Start promoting the products with your unique affiliate link on your website or social media pages.
• You earn a commission when your audience purchases Amazon products through your link.

Here is a detailed guide on how to get started on the Amazon Affiliate Program as an associate.

What are the Amazon Affiliate Program Requirements?

These Amazon affiliate program requirements are a set of conditions or guidelines intending affiliates must meet to participate in the Amazon program successfully. These guidelines are not limited to the “must haves” or ”must do” to join the program. It also includes operational policies or guidelines that describe how you interact with their products while promoting their products.

Generally, these guidelines were designed to ensure legal compliance and maintain the quality standard of Amazon products and services to both affiliates and Amazon customers.

Amazon Affiliate Program Requirements 

#1 Age Requirements

One of the requirements before you can become an Amazon affiliate is that you must be 18 years and above. In cases where you are a minor, you can still participate but You will need your guardian or parent to sign up on your behalf. This makes the program easily accessible to different age groups. 

#2 Legal and Location Requirements

To be legally eligible to join the program, you must be a legal resident of a country supported by the Amazon associate program. There are up to 21 supported locale/countries on this program you can register from. You will also need to have either a valid tax ID number to comply with tax withholding regulations or a social security number.

#3 Website, Traffic Quality, and Content Standard

Before you can sign up for the Amazon associate program, you need to have a functioning website with a decent amount of content. As a rule of thumb, you should have up to 10 publicly available blog posts on your website with the most recent post published within the last 60 days.

It is also required that your content is original, valuable, and relevant to your target audience. As per traffic requirements, Amazon does not have a minimum traffic requirement but when your website has higher traffic, it increases your chances of getting approved faster and has high commission potential.

Amazon also requires that your affiliate website does not promote content or products related to alcohol or sexual explicitness. You can only promote approved products by Amazon.

#4 Using Amazon Product Images and Product Details

One of the most important Amazon affiliate program requirements affiliates must understand and hold dear, is how Amazon wants its affiliate to use their images and other product details.

Ideally, Amazon frowns at downloading their images or using product details from Amazon with their express permission.

To avoid instances of non-compliance with this guideline, they created a compliant means of adding product details to affiliate blogs or websites tagged “Amazon Product Advertising API.” This PA Advertising API allows you to access product details like images, product titles, descriptions and pricing with just a  few clicks. 

The Amazon AffiliateX Product display blocks come with the PA API feature, giving you the option of either manually adding your unique product image and details, or automatically retrieving it from Amazon through your connected API.

It is important to also note that the conditions for accessing Amazon API are: 

• You must have an active Amazon Associates account.
• If you are a new affiliate, you must have made 3 qualifying sales within the last 180 days.
• You must follow and adhere to the Amazon Associate Program’s terms and conditions.
• You must apply for the Amazon Product Advertising API and follow its guidelines.

#5 Linking Amazon Products on Your Website

Not complying to Amazon affiliate program requirements and policies on using affiliate links can lead to a ban on your associate account.

Amazon wants you to use your special affiliate link for each product as it is. They frown at cloaking product links. This is to ensure fairness and transparency in the entire affiliate operations. To avoid violating this guideline, Affiliates are recommended to use PA API to link Amazon products directly, which automatically has your special Amazon affiliate tracking ID.

#6 Guidelines on Commission 

Amazon offers a fixed commission rate on qualifying purchases of products within product categories ranging from 1% to 20%. It also has a 90-day cookie window for products added to the cart to ensure the affiliate still earns a commission if a purchase is completed within 90 days.

Here is an overview of the various commission rates for each category:

#7 Your Website’s Privacy Policy Requirement

Aside from Amazon affiliate program requirements, most countries’ laws (including the US and UK) require websites to have a valid privacy policy. This is because the privacy policy provides valid information to your visitors about the kind of data or information you will be collecting from them, how you will use the information, how you will protect their data, and the parties you will share the information with for the sake of transparency and credibility.

If you are just starting in affiliate marketing, you can check your competitors’ websites, or simply use Privacy Policy generators to generate yours by providing information about your website.

#8 Identifying Yourself as an Associate

One of Amazon affiliate program requirements when promoting their products as an affiliate is that you disclose your identity as an Amazon affiliate which is also required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since you are promoting products and services from a third party on your website.

It is important to add a disclaimer, especially to your posts when promoting a product to maintain transparency. We recommend adding a one-line disclaimer e.g.

“This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing something through it may earn us a commission” 
This disclaimer can be added at the top or bottom of your website or blog posts easily using a Notice block.

Aside from adding individual disclaimers to blog posts if your website is wholly dedicated to affiliate marketing, Amazon recommends adding a disclaimer to your “About Us” section or page or the footer of your website. Amazon also optionally recommends using one of their drafted disclaimer which reads,

“[Insert site name] is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to [insert applicable site name].”

#9 Compliance Requirements

It is always recommended that affiliates regularly update themselves with Amazon affiliate program requirements as it gets updated periodically. This is because any violation can lead to suspension, or the loss of an associate account.

#10 Operational Requirements

Amazon requires that after registration as an affiliate, you make at least three qualifying sales within the first 180 days.  A failure to meet this threshold will result in account closure, though you can reapply for your account to be reactivated later.

What are Amazon Affiliate Marketing Best Practices?

Now that you are well informed on the Amazon affiliate program requirements, here are some tips on some of the best practices top Amazon affiliates are using to consistently increase their affiliate income:

• Write valuable content that addresses your target audience’s recommendation.
• Use affiliate links to recommend relevant and best-selling products with good ratings and reviews.
• Use Amazon product display blocks to interactively showcase your affiliate products to make conversion easier for your visitors.
• Use Amazon Product Advertising API to help you stay compliant with Amazon requirements while accessing up-to-date product details directly from Amazon.
• Include an Amazon affiliate disclaimer either on your website or individual blog posts.
• Avoid illegally incentivizing people to use your affiliate links to make purchases on Amazon.
• Share your personal experience using the products by giving your verdict or pros and cons to guide your reader’s decision-making.

Conclusion

If you are looking to earn big money through the Amazon Associate Program and stay in the program for a longer period, then you need to understand its requirements, policies, and guidelines.

Meeting these guidelines might not come easy but Amazon affiliate plugins like AffiliateX come with perks of features that ensure affiliates stay compliant while displaying their affiliate products engagingly and interactively to convert more visitors.

It is also important to know that Amazon’s affiliate marketing success is not limited to meeting its requirements. You will need to create and present your content in a way that builds trust and credibility with your audience while addressing their pain points and delivering value.

Frequently Asked Questions