Amazon Associates, created by Amazon, is a great way to add some extra income to your blog. You can write product reviews or share special tools used for a delicious recipe. You can add a banner along the top to advertise Audible on your book review blog or link to your WishList. Today we will walk you through the different Product Links and how to add them to your blog.
Let’s get started!
Now that you've created your Amazon Associates account, it's time to add the code to your blog. All the options below can be found when you first log into your Amazon Associates account. Click on the Product Linking tab and you will see them all. Select the one you want and get started.
Product Links
Product links allow you to showcase a specific product in your post. This is great for product reviews or showcasing a special product featured in your post. You can create a URL to add to text or an image readers can click on to review and purchase the product.
From the Product Link page, search for the keyword or ASIN/ISBN of the product you want to share. Review your results and click on the Get Link button for the one you want. In the first pop up, you will see a URL you can use to link your text to the product page on Amazon. To create an image that shows on your post, click on Build Link. Here you can customize the image that will show on your post. Once you have everything customized, highlight the HTML and copy it.
To add the code to your blog post, click on the Source Code button (<>) on the Compose page. In the pop up you will see the code for the page. Place the code from Amazon where you want the image to display. Click on Ok, you will see the Amazon product image on your page.
Banner
Amazon has banners of all sizes and subjects to fit your sidebar or the top/bottom of your blog. These will show on every page and post of your blog. The banners encourage readers with discounts or themes to click on the banner to get to Amazon.
On the Banner page, you will see different categories of banners to choose from. Click on the type of banner you want, then you will see a page that shows you the different size banners for your blog. For your sidebar you want to select a small narrow banner. For the top or bottom of your blog, you want to select the short wider banners.
Once you find the banner you want, highlight the code. Make sure you select to use the Iframe code. To add to your Typepad blog, click on the Design tab, then Content. To add to the sidebar, you can add your code to an Embed Your HTML module. To add to your blog footer, click on the Blog Footer module, then click on Advanced. Paste in the code, click on OK, then Save Changes. If you have a Design Lab theme, you have access to the Ad Module. The Ad Module places an ad banner at the top of your blog, under your navigation bar.
Native Shopping Ads
Native shopping ads allow you to create multiple ads in a row. These ads can be placed on your blog post and customizes to focus on a particular category or with custom products. These are designed to easily allow readers to shop for products.
Recommended Ads
Recommended Ads allows you to select a category from Amazon. They will showcase different items from this category readers can click on. This is great if your blog post is not about a specific product but you want to share items that people would be interested in that are related to the post.
Search Ads
Search ads allow you to showcase items based on specific search terms. This lets you narrow down the products that are displayed even further.
Custom Ads
Custom ads allow you to pick specific products that are displayed on your post. You can narrow it down to specific products that you are talking about in your post.
Example of Native Shopping Ads
Once you have created your ad, copy the code Amazon provides. Log into your Typepad account and compose your post. From the Compose page, click on the Source Code button (<>). Here you can paste in the code you want to use, where you want it. Click on OK, then you can save or publish your post. It works the best if you create your post first, then add the code where you want it.
Mobile Popover
This ad is only viewed on a mobile device and will appear at the bottom of the reader's screen. It shows when the page loads and readers can minimize it.
On the Mobile Popover page you will see some code to add to your blog. This can’t be customized. Copy the code to add to your blog. Log into your Typepad account and go to your Design tab. Click on the Content tab to add an Embed Your Own HTML module. Give the module a name (like Amazon Mobile Popover) and paste in the code. Click on OK, then Save Changes.
Link To Any Page
This tool helps you build links to popular pages on Amazon. This is just a text URL, there is no image to go with it. You can build a link to popular Amazon pages, specific search results, or any page you like on Amazon.
Favorite Destinations
Here you can select the product line and subcategories. The name you give your link will be what readers will click on to view the page.
Link To Search Results
If you want to showcase products from specific search results you can add the keywords here. You can even narrow it down by product line so only certain results are shown.
Link To Any Page
Is there a specific page on Amazon you want to showcase? You can create a URL that links to popular pages or specific search results. If you have a wishlist to share, you can create a custom link by adding the URL to Your Wish List.
Once you have the code for the link you can add this anywhere on your site. You can add it to a post by using the Source Code (<>) button to insert the code or you can use the Embed Your Own HTML module to add it to the sidebar.
With Amazon, you have to make sure you are creating content that will drive readers to click on the links to explore or purchase products. You can’t just add it to everything and hope it makes money. You have to think through what your readers will expect and what would encourage them to click on Amazon’s links.
Don't forget to add your Amazon Associates ID to Typepad. That is another way to showcase products from Amazon and earn a little money as well.
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