Using the Amazon Cookie to Identify New Opportunities

byKristian1974

1.5K followers

Updated 10 years ago

There are a number of ways that you can use the Amazon Cookie (and the random purchases that it provides) to identify new opportunities.

The Amazon Cookie - Good & Bad

The main criticism of the Amazon Cookie is that it only lasts 24 hours unless someone puts an item into their shopping cart or adds it to a wishlist, when it becomes a 90 day cookie.

Some people complain about the commission rate too - My current US Amazon rate is 6.5% based on about 50+ sales per month (It is 6% for 30+ sales). I don't have a problem with this rate. Whilst this compares unfavourably with many digital product affiliate deals (40-50%) and some of the smaller retailers (10% isn), it is much better than most of the major players in my niche (Argos, Walmart, Target, ToysRUS etc - 2-3% 'ish)

The good thing about the Amazon Cookie is that you get commission on ANYTHING that the visitor buys from Amazon within that 24 hour window and, as we all know, Amazon is very good at tempting visitors when they get to the site. I have earned Amazon commission from many random items in the past few months and they soon mount up.

So, overall, I think that the Amazon affiliate program is a good one and all worth considering as a new blogger - especially as they are not very fussy about who that accept onto their books.

How to Identify New Opportunities from the Random Purchases

Earning commissions from items that you don't even mention on your website is very nice. However, the benefits are not just limited to the immediate commission payment on that one sale. You can take also take advantage of this situation by listening to what the customer is telling you. After all, they chose to buy this product instead of the one that you reviewed and there must be a reason for this.

Today, for example, I sold a US harness to booster car seat that I do not mention on my site. In fact, I had never even heard of it before. It is a seat that gets 4.5 stars from 90+ reviews on Amazon so is quite popular amongst those that have bought it. But, aside from the $13 commission payment, how can I take full advantage of this new information.

The answer is to research this product and add it to my website. I will be doing 5 things to my site as a result of this 1 sale:

1. Individual Product Review of this seat;

2. Add this seat to my "The Best Harness to Booster Car Seat" post (gets 10-15 daily visitors so already have an audience);

3. 3 separate posts comparing this seats features with each of the other 3 harness to booster car seats that are already reviewed on my site.

What About the Randon "Non-Niche" Purchases?

These are harder to take advantage of.

However, I always take a look at the product page and think about whether my customer is providing me with the heads-up on a new profitable niche. If they are buying this product, perhaps other are too? You might find that you get an idea for a whole new site from one of these random purchases.

For example, my recent visitors have bought night time dental protection shields to prevent girding, Coconut Cooking Oil, Insulin pump cases - any of these could provide someone that it sufficiently interested with an idea for a new niche website.

I haven't found one yet, but I will continue to monitor them.

Conclusion

Always listen to your Amazon Customer and don't just concentrate on the short-term commission payment. Use the information that they provide to improve your site by finding new content ideas. You never know when one of them will provide you with an idea for another profitable niche.