Is Amazon Affiliate Marketing Still Worth It in 2025?

Once upon a time, Amazon affiliate marketing used to be a side hustle for bloggers and social media influencers. Over the years, it has evolved and gained recognition, and it is now a major income stream for hundreds of thousands of online entrepreneurs. But let’s cut to the chase. You are probably here because you are asking, “Is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it in 2025?”

With new affiliate programs springing up, growing competition, and changing commission rates, even expert affiliate marketers consider some essential factors that give them insight to reevaluate their strategies and answer the question: Is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it in 2025? 

Beyond just the hype, Amazon’s Affiliate Program (also called Amazon Associates) has been a go-to for many affiliates, thanks to its global recognition and massive product catalog, among other features. As stated earlier, it has also evolved; hence, it’s not just about recommending or posting products. It’s about understanding your audience’s behavior, staying updated with new trends, and using helpful tools.

In this article, I will break down everything you need to know. We’ll look at Amazon Associate’s pros and cons, earning potential, best practices for success, and how to increase your Amazon affiliate conversions and revenue in 2025.

Is Amazon Affiliate Marketing Still Worth It in 2025?

The straightforward answer, which you might have guessed, is “yes.” But I am not only here to give you that answer. The truth is that the landscape of Amazon affiliate marketing has shifted; hence, you’d need to understand that it’s no longer just embedding some product links on your blog post and simply making sales and receiving commissions.
Now, people who are more conscious of the recommendations they get online can spot a shallow and biased review or a sales pitch from a mile away. More than ever, it’s about understanding your target audience’s needs, building an audience-centric strategy, creating genuinely valuable content and product display, optimizing for search engines and UX, and building a loyal audience base.

Need another reason why Amazon affiliate marketing is still worth it in 2025? Amazon has over 300 million active customers and millions of products, and it’s one of the most conversion-friendly affiliate platforms. People trust Amazon, and that trust translates into more purchases than its competitors.

According to Amazon’s news release, Amazon’s annual net sales crossed $638.0 billion in 2024, which is an 11% increase compared to $574.8 billion in 2023, of which affiliate-driven sales was a key contributor. Generally, to generate substantial Amazon income, you need to become a trusted source of information while leveraging Amazon affiliate tools to make conversion much easier.

What is the Commission Rate of the Amazon Affiliate Program?

To further help you understand and answer why is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it in 2025? Let’s look at Amazon’s commission rate. How much commission can you earn from these products? This commission rate varies by product or product category, and you must know these rates to help you identify potential opportunities you can explore.

These commission rates typically range from 1% to 20%, subject to the product category. They can be divided into two major parts: the fixed commission income rates for specific product categories and the special commission income rates.

Fixed Commission Rates on Specific Product Categories

This includes various product categories from Amazon games and outdoor gears to electronic gadgets, fashion wear, pet care products, the list goes on. The affiliate product category with the highest is Amazon games with over 20% commission rate, followed by Luxury Beauty with 10%.

Other products fall within the range of 1 to 10%. It is also important to know that some products on Amazon do not have any commission attached to them (0.00%). These products include: Gift cards, wireless service plans, alcoholic beverages, digital Kindle products purchased as a subscription, vehicles – leasing and sales, food prepared and delivered from a restaurant, and Amazon Appstore, Prime Now, or Amazon Pay places.

Sometimes, new affiliates might just want to stick to the higher commission paying categories because they feel they are the most profitable niches on Amazon. Here is a best practice recommended by expert Amazon affiliates: Don’t just chase the highest commission rates.

You should focus on products you genuinely know and love and that align with your audience’s interests. A 4% commission on a product you can sell tons of is better than a 10% commission on something nobody wants.

Special Commission Income Rates

Special commission income is another part of the Amazon affiliate program that is less explored compared to products with fixed commission rates. Think of this as a service-focused aspect of affiliate products. This covers sub-programs like the Amazon Bounty Program and the Trade-In Program, among others.

Here, we are focusing on the Amazon Bounty Program, which allows Amazon affiliates to earn from advertising Amazon services and programs to their audience. The bounties (commissions) are fixed for different services or programs in this section.

The fixed amount is paid when a referred user signs up for an Amazon service or subscription, such as Amazon Prime, Audible, Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Music Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, Kids+, baby registry, wedding registry, and more. The commission/bounty rate ranges from $25.00 to $0.25.

One of the best practices for promoting bounty events is using display blocks like the Call to Action or Notice blocks to display these services at the header or footer and within the post or on web pages, making promoting these services more interactive, effective, and conversion-focused.

How Much Can I Make from Amazon Affiliate Marketing in 2025?

When the question “Is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it in 2025?” popped up in your mind, one of the major reasons may be your desire to know the profitability of Amazon affiliate marketing. The truth is, there is no one-line statement or specific figures to answer this. 

Your affiliate earnings will depend on factors like your chosen niche, the quality of your content, your traffic, and your conversion rates. Some affiliates make a few hundred dollars a month, while others make thousands. Let’s say you picked a niche with a 3% commission rate on the products. If you make consistent sales, you can earn thousands of dollars compared to another affiliate who picked a niche with a 15% commission rate but barely makes 5 sales in a month.

This is why having a good understanding of how to choose a profitable niche is essential. But that isn’t where you put a fullstop. You also need to know that to have a successful Amazon affiliate marketing business, you need Amazon affiliate tools like display blocks, which enhance your effort and make conversions easier for your audience.

Statistics have also shown that successful affiliate marketers often focus on building an email list and engaging with their audience regularly. This builds trust and credibility and encourages retention. So, while there’s no single income figure, with the right strategy and consistent effort, you can make a substantial amount from Amazon affiliate marketing in 2025.

6 Advantages of the Amazon Affiliate Program Over Other Affiliate Programs

1. Amazon is a Reputable and Reliable Brand

One of the best bets about Amazon affiliate marketing is the reputation and reliability Amazon store has built over the years. This reputation and credibility translates into trust for shoppers, increasing click-through rates and making conversion easier. 

2. Vast Product Catalog

No matter what your niche is, Amazon has a good or even a countless number of products for it. What this means for you as an Amazon affiliate is that you are not limited by the number of products you can promote in that niche.

From product reviews comparing two or multiple products and sharing a product’s pros and cons to sharing product recommendations within a “how-to” blog post, this vast catalog gives you endless opportunities to create helpful and promotional content and earn more commissions.

3. Amazon Prime Perks

Another factor that answers “yes” to the question, “Is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it?” is the Amazon Prime benefits for Amazon customers who are subscribed to Amazon Prime.

There are over 200 million subscribers to Amazon Prime, and one of the benefits they enjoy is free and speedy shipping. This means that when you promote products with the Amazon Prime logo on them, it can convert faster when Amazon Prime subscribers bump into your content. 

When adding products with Amazon Prime benefits within your content, you can use the “ribbon” feature in the product display blocks to emphasise that it is a Prime featured product.

4. 24-Hour Cookie or Customer Tracking

One of the best things that will make you understand why Amazon affiliate marketing is worth trying, especially in 2025, is the 24-hour cookie, which allows you to earn commission even if the product bought isn’t what you promoted but the customer got into Amazon through your affiliate link.

Let me break it down. Let’s say you promoted a pair of Nike sneakers in your content with your affiliate link. When the readers click the link, which takes them to the Amazon store, but instead they purchase fitness gear, pet care products, and a wristwatch within 24 hours, you will earn commission on each of these products.

5. High Number of Reviews & Ratings to Support Your Effort

Reviews and ratings from customers who have used the products in the past boost potential buyers’ trust in the product’s efficiency and your credibility, which promotes higher conversion rates.

A vast majority of Amazon products have hundreds or thousands of reviews and ratings. This is great for you as an Amazon affiliate because aside from going through these comments to learn customers’ verdicts on the product, you can also include these reviews and ratings within your content using product rating display blocks.

These provide support that makes your product reviews and promotion easier and more effective. 

6. Access Direct Amazon Product Details

Most affiliate programs, Amazon included, frown at downloading the store’s image and using it on your affiliate website. Violating this policy may cost you your affiliate membership.

To mitigate this, Amazon allows their affiliates to retrieve product details like images, title, description, price, and your unique tracking ID directly from their store using the Amazon Product Advertising API available to affiliates.

Using Amazon API can benefit you with high-resolution images for your product reviews, updated product pricing (since the product details update themselves automatically), and a more stress-free way to search for and include products in your website content.

Does Amazon Affiliate Marketing Have Disadvantages?

Since knowing if Amazon’s affiliate marketing is worth trying is important to you, you would surely love to know if it has some cons. The answer is yes. Here are the disadvantages:

Low Commission Rates on Some Products

As stated earlier, some of Amazon’s products have commission rates as low as 1.00% for product categories like groceries and Amazon Fresh. This translates to low affiliate revenue.

On the flip side, a product with a 1.00% commission rate but with a consistent and high conversion rate can generate a significant affiliate income for you compared to a 15.00% commission rate product with lesser conversion. In essence, the low commission on some Amazon product categories can be discouraging, but the right strategy and implementation can make the difference.

They Do Not Support Payment Through Paypal

Another downside of Amazon affiliate marketing is that they do not support paying affiliate commission through PayPal. This is discouraging for those who prefer receiving payments via PayPal. It supports other payment options like direct deposit or Amazon gift cards.

How to Increase Your Amazon Affiliate Income/Revenue

Promote What Your Target Audience Wants to Buy

There is the possibility that what you think your target audience might want might not be what they are looking to purchase. This shows the importance of doing thorough research before you begin promoting any product.

You can either do keyword research or visit Amazon to find the most profitable products on featured pages, such as the bestseller page. This research helps you understand your audience’s needs and preferences

Optimize Product Reviews for Search Engines 

Your content needs to be optimized for search engines if you want to be easily seen by your target audience or potential buyers. Optimize your product reviews with relevant keywords to improve your search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic to your affiliate website or blog post, which will increase your click-through rates and sales. Also, include metadata and structure your content to help search engines understand what your content is about.

Compare Two or Multiple Products

Here is the trick: Shoppers love being offered multiple options for the same product. These can be the same product from different manufacturers, different versions of the same product, or the same product with varying pricing options.

A summarized comparison of two products can be added to your blog content using the product Versus block or the product Comparison Table, which accommodates multiple products. This helps your readers explore multiple options of the same product and make better purchasing decisions.

Enhance User Experience & Click-Through Rates

When your website or blog has a bad user experience, like slow loading time or unstructured content format, it can increase the bounce rate and reduce the potential of conversions. 

To enhance user experience and CTR, use lightweight WordPress themes for speedy loading times and affiliate product display blocks, which are interactive and highly customizable. These blocks help structure and organize your products for promotion, while making it easier for potential buyers to assess the product, and click to make a purchase.

How Can I Become an Amazon Affiliate in 2025?

If you are already considering becoming an Amazon affiliate, visit the Amazon Associates Program website and sign up. Before that, you must ensure you meet certain requirements to qualify. Below are the key eligibility guidelines:

• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must have a website, blog, YouTube channel, social media account, or mobile app where you can promote Amazon products.
• For the blog, you must have at least 10 original blog posts on the website.
• If you want to promote through a mobile App, the App must be available for free in the Google Play, Apple, or Amazon app stores.
• To use a social media account, it must be active, and if you are choosing to use a Facebook or Instagram account, they are required to be a business account.
• Your website or platform should have a focus that aligns with products sold on Amazon. For example, if you have a fitness blog, promoting athletic wear or workout equipment from Amazon would be a good fit.
• You must comply with Amazon’s Operating Agreement, which outlines detailed program rules and guidelines.

Here is a more detailed guide on becoming an Amazon affiliate.

Conclusion

Having gone through this guide, I believe you can now confidently answer the question: “Is Amazon affiliate marketing still worth it?”

Generally, Amazon affiliate marketing is a profitable affiliate business anyone can succeed at, with the right strategy, commitment, and Amazon affiliate tools. Do not just chase commissions; focus on building a sustainable business that provides genuine value to your audience. When you put your audience first, the commissions will follow.

Frequently Asked Questions