Amazon Affiliate Clicks But No Earnings

Why Your Amazon Affiliate Account Has Clicks But No Earnings

Hey there! If you’re new to the world of affiliate marketing, let me help you understand the Amazon Affiliate program, sometimes called Amazon Associates.

It’s a cool way for people like you to make some money by sharing products from Amazon on your website, blog, or even social media.

When you sign up for the program, you’ll get special links to Amazon products that you can share. If someone buys something using your link, you’ll get a little bit of cash for that sale.

In this guide, we’re going to look at why sometimes you might see people clicking on your links, but you’re not seeing any money from it.

I’m going to walk you through some common reasons this can happen. Maybe someone canceled their order, the item was out of stock, or the item just doesn’t earn you any money to begin with.

Ready to solve the mystery? Let’s jump in and find out why those clicks aren’t turning into earnings for you!



Why You Might Get Clicks Without Earnings as an Amazon Affiliate

The Customer Doesn’t Buy

If someone clicks on your link and doesn’t make a purchase, you won’t get a commission. You only get paid when customers buy from Amazon within 24 hours when using your link.

Orders Canceled or Returned by Customers

If someone clicks on your affiliate link and buys something from Amazon, but then cancels or returns their purchase, you won’t earn money from that sale. Here’s how it works:

  • Cancellations: Customers can cancel orders before they are shipped. They just go to their Amazon account, look for the order in the “Your Orders” section, and choose to cancel it.
  • Returns: If the order has already been sent out, the customer has to wait until it arrives and then send it back to Amazon.

When a customer either cancels or returns their order, you lose the commission you would have made. This is a normal part of being an affiliate because you only get paid for sales that actually happen.

Amazon Can’t Complete the Order

Sometimes, Amazon can’t send out an order because the item is no longer in stock or it’s only available for pre-order.

If this happens, the customer’s order won’t go through, and as an affiliate, you won’t earn a commission since no sale was completed.

Remember, you only make money when a customer successfully buys something.

Items That Don’t Earn Commission or Unapproved Discounts

It’s important to know the rules about what you can and can’t do with your affiliate links. Here are two big no-nos:

  • Personal Purchases: You can’t use your affiliate links to buy things for yourself or to give special deals to your friends and family. The affiliate program is meant for you to promote products to others, not for personal benefits.
  • Breaking the Rules: If you don’t follow these guidelines, Amazon might penalize you. They watch what affiliates do very closely, and if you’re caught breaking the rules, you could lose your affiliate account.

By understanding these rules and reasons behind not earning despite clicks, you can work on making more money and keeping your Amazon Affiliate account in good standing.

Keep an eye out for the next section, where I’ll share tips on how to boost your earnings and succeed with the Amazon Affiliate program.



The Amazon Affiliate 90-Day Cookie

The Amazon Affiliate program has a cool feature called the 90-day cookie.

When customers add items to their basket but don’t complete the purchase, Amazon gives them 90 days to complete the sale.

Think of a cookie as a little reminder that sticks on someone’s web browser when they visit Amazon through your link.

If they buy the items in the basket within 90 days, you get paid a commission, even if they don’t click on your link again.

So if someone takes their time deciding what to buy, you still have a chance to earn from their purchase.

Keeping Up with Your Amazon Affiliate Account

Amazon keeps your affiliate account fresh with the latest info. This means you’ll know about your clicks and money earned almost right away.

Stay on top of these updates by checking your account dashboard. This way, you can see how well you’re doing and make smart moves in your affiliate marketing game.

When Do Amazon Affiliates Get Paid?

As an Amazon Affiliate, you’ll get your commission around 60 days after the month ends.

For example, if you earn some cash in January, you’ll see it in your account by the end of March.

This wait time lets Amazon handle any returns or cancellations that could change your earnings.



Choosing How to Get Paid and Handling Taxes

When you set up your Amazon Affiliate account, you’ll pick how you want to get paid. Amazon offers options like direct deposit, gift cards, or checks.

Pick the one that works best for you to get your money smoothly and safely.

Also, don’t forget to give Amazon your tax info to meet legal rules and ensure your payments go through without a hitch.

Amazon Affiliate Earnings: Pay-per-Sale Explained

In affiliate marketing, there are different ways to earn money. Amazon’s program is based on pay-per-sale, which means you get paid when someone buys something after clicking your link.

This is different from pay-per-click, where you’d get paid just for clicks, sale or no sale.

With Amazon’s pay-per-sale, your commission varies by what’s bought, with different rates for different types of products.

Remember, Amazon uses a 24-hour cookie, so you’ll only get a commission if the person buys within 24 hours of clicking your link. Knowing this can help you focus on getting more sales to boost your earnings.



Conclusion

Summary of Why You Might Get Clicks Without Earnings

In this article, we’ve looked at why someone might click on your Amazon Affiliate links but you don’t make any money. Here’s a quick review:

Order Cancellations or Returns

If a person decides to cancel their order or send it back, you won’t get any money from that sale.

Amazon Can’t Send the Order

Sometimes Amazon can’t send out an order because they’ve run out of the item or it’s a pre-order.

If that happens, you won’t get paid a commission.

Non-Commission Items or Rule-Breaking Discounts

If you buy things for yourself using your own affiliate links or give special discounts that aren’t allowed to your friends and family, you’re breaking the rules.

Doing this could get you in trouble and you might lose your earnings.

Are you wondering why people are clicking but you’re not making money on Amazon? Maybe it’s about the pictures you use.

Having trouble understanding why there’s no income despite the clicks?

It might be due to an ‘unpaid balance’. Not sure what that means?

Check out my article on “What is Unpaid Balance on Amazon Affiliates?” to get a clearer picture.

I hope you found my article informative. Please leave any questions in the comments below. I appreciate all the feedback.

Newblogr.com participates in various affiliate programs. These affiliate programs are designed to provide a means for sites like Newblogr.com to earn fees by advertising and linking to their products and services at no extra cost.

24 responses to “Why Your Amazon Affiliate Account Has Clicks But No Earnings”

  1. EMMANUEL OKOYE avatar
    EMMANUEL OKOYE

    Someone bought a product with my link and i haven’t seen number of orders or sales yet

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hi Emmanuel. Thank you for your comment. Did you ask a friend or family member to use your link?

      1. lanae avatar
        lanae

        do they cancel ALL commissions if one family or friend opens a link? Also, how do they know who is friends/family? I give link to my clients if the product makes sense and also put them in lead magnets in my business.

        1. newblogr avatar

          Hello Lanae. Thank you for your comment. Amazon won’t pay a commission on sales from family or friends. I don’t know how they know, but they do. I don’t recommend sending affiliate links directly to your clients, this is against Amazon’s operating agreement (https://newblogr.com/not-get-banned-from-amazon-affiliate-program/#don-t-add-affiliate-links-to-emails-pdfs-or-ebooks). Try sending them a link to a blog post that has your link if possible.

  2. Yvette Boye avatar

    Reading about Non-Commision Items in part 3 I started to wonder if all products on Amazon are commision items. Do you know if there are som products/categories that are not?

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hello Yvette. Thank you for your comment. Amazon uses non-commission items to describe sales made to people you associate with. They consider that an authorised discount. As for items on Amazon with zero commission, here is a list I saw on their website.
      Gift Cards; Wireless Service Plans; Alcoholic Beverages; Digital Kindle Products purchased as a subscription; Food prepared and delivered from a restaurant; Amazon Appstore, Prime Now, or Amazon Pay Places 0.00%.
      https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/node/topic/GRXPHT8U84RAYDXZ

  3. Paul avatar

    Amazon Affiliate sales is a very tricky and does not end happy every time.

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hello Paul. Thank you for your comment. It is essential to target a specific audience when creating affiliate blog posts. Find a problem and present a solution. Offer step-by-step guides on how to use the product and why they should use it.

  4. Kathy Murphy avatar
    Kathy Murphy

    Hello. I am seriously researching getting into affiliate marketing. I have a few questions. 1) I read somewhere that if you don’t generate a sale within 180 days, Amazon closes your account. Can it be re-opened? 2) How can I be careful to avoid copyright infringement? 3) Also, if it’s good to blog about only one item (since it shows your expertise more effectively), can you set up a separate website to promote a different item?

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hello Kathy. Thank you for your comment. 1. Yes, you have 180-days to make three qualified sales. You can reapply if you don’t get the sales and start again. 2. Don’t copy someone else’s work or brand without permission. If you are not sure about something, Google it first. 3. Build a website about a topic rather than a product. You have to test various types of blog posts to see what ranks. Traffic must come to get sales. It is essential you become an authority on your topic and that means producing lots of quality content. I wouldn’t build a site to promote a product because ‘Seller’ search terms are competitive. Informative posts are easier to rank for.

  5. Jason rau avatar

    Amazon Affiliate sales is a very tricky and does not end happy every time.

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hello Jason. Thank you for your comment. Selling online is tough. It takes time to build a brand and trust.

  6. Malika Madani avatar
    Malika Madani

    Hey, i have like 119 clicks but no order but i’am sure that someone buy cuz u target the people that search where can they buy things and i give them the link directely

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hi Malika. Thank you for your comment. Amazon sends visitors to the Amazon store in their country when they leave your site. Are you a member of that country’s affiliate program? Have you checked your affiliate link using the affiliate link checker tool? If you are positive you should get a commission, drop Amazon support an email. Be careful giving your affiliate link to someone you know. Amazon won’t pay you if they think you know them.

      1. saiyo avatar
        saiyo

        if they copy paste the link from another platform not necessarly click the affiliate link from a blog or a website, will i get a comission ?

        1. John Ridley avatar

          Hi Saiyo. Does the link have your affiliate ID?

  7. fikayo avatar
    fikayo

    Hi, I have clicks and 10 orders but no earnings. what could have gone wrong

    1. newblogr avatar

      Hello Fikayo. Thank you for your comment. You get a commission when Amazon ships the item to the customer. Sometimes customers cancel, so there is a delay.

  8. Nancy avatar
    Nancy

    Can I post links in Facebook threads or do I have to have my own blog page?

    1. newblogr avatar

      As I understand it, you can post affiliate links on accounts where you are the administrator. I don’t recommend posting your links on random Facebook threads.

  9. Martin avatar
    Martin

    Hi, there is qualified purchases and unqualified purchases. Do they revert the unqualified sales straight away or at the “pay day”?

    1. John Ridley avatar

      Hi Martin, an unqualified purchase does not convert to a sale.

      1. Martin avatar
        Martin

        I see the below from dashboard. How to see if there unqualified or violation? Do you see them on your report or only when they will pay you or it takes few days then they disappear from your earning?

        Ordered Items / Shipped Items / Returned Items / Conversion /Shipped Items Revenue /Bonus NEW / Total Earnings (Includes Bonus)

        1. John Ridley avatar

          An unqualified purchase is anything that goes against Amazon’s operating agreement. If Amazon sees this, they send you an email to notify you your account is terminated. If it is minor, you given the chance to rectify it. Anything major, gets a lifetime ban.

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