Sending traffic straight to an affiliate link - is it allowed?

[Brassneck]

Hopefully this makes sense.

I have several domains with traffic - either type in or through links. Say, one of the domains has traffic for Kylie Minogue CDs - is there anything stopping me from redirecting (with 301?) the traffic directly to Amazon or elsewhere rather than via a landing page on my own site?

I have particularly a lot of expired holiday / hotel traffic that I would like to try this approach on. Is it best that I contact the affiliate programmes directly to confirm what might be allowed?

Cheers
Stephen.

 

[Systreg]

Amazon recently banned paid searches and also sending traffic direct to an aff link, traffic has to come via a click on a product link on your website and then to Amazon for it to count as a sale.

I'll see if I still have the latest Amazon email and come back and edit it in.

[edit]

Important Changes to Amazon.co.uk Associates Paid Search Programme

Dear Associate,

You are receiving this email because you have an active Paid Search Placement Associate Account with Amazon.co.uk.

Following careful review of our Associates Programme, as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.co.uk, http://astore.amazon.co.uk or www.javari.co.uk through keyword bidding or other paid search on Google, Bing, Yahoo!, or any other search engine, or their extended search networks.

In connection with this change, as of February 1, 2010, we will no longer provide Associates who engage in such paid-search activities with access to our Product Advertising API or datafeeds. As you are currently enrolled in the Associates Programme as a Paid Search Placement Associate, if you wish to continue to participate in the Programme after February 1, 2010, you must choose a new category that most accurately describes the method you will use to send users to the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk site. Please note, you will also need to stop sending traffic via paid-search links, as you will no longer be paid for such traffic as of February 1, regardless of the category you choose. You may change your category by writing to us using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central, or by following this link:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/gp/associates/contact

Please note, if you do not contact us to modify your category on or prior to March 1 2010, your Associates account will automatically be closed. If you have already contacted us to change your category, then please ignore this email.

In addition, as of February 1, 2010 we will no longer pay referral fees on purchases made by customers who are referred to www.amazon.co.uk or www.javari.co.uk via Free Search Results. Free Search Results are links containing an Associate's tag displayed in a search engine's free, natural, or organic search results in response to a search query which send customers directly to an Amazon site without the customer first being sent to an Associate's site, and the customer clicking on a link to arrive at the Amazon site.

These changes do not prohibit you from purchasing paid search advertisements or submitting links to search engines so long as the links that appear on the search engines send customers to your site. If customers arrive at the Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk sites by clicking on Special Links displayed on your site (i.e. links on your site pointing to Amazon.co.uk or Javari.co.uk with Amazon Associates tags), you will continue to earn referral fees in accordance with the Associates Programme Operating Agreement. There are a number of tools available through Associates Central to assist you with integrating Special Links into your sites, such as aStore by Amazon, various customisable widgets, and the Product Advertising API.

These changes apply only to the Associates Programme in the UK. If you are conducting paid or free search activities in connection with one of Amazon's Associates Programmes outside of the UK, please refer to the applicable country's Associates Programme Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.

For a summary of the changes detailed in this e-mail, please follow this link: See what's changed . To review the Operating Agreement, please visit this page: Operating Agreement . If you're not sure if these changes affect you, please take a look at our FAQ's .

If you have any questions or concerns, please write to us by using the Contact Us form available on Associates Central, or by following this link:

https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/gp/associates/contact

Best regards,
Your Amazon.co.uk Associates Team

https://affiliate-program.amazon.co.uk/
http://affiliate-blog.amazon.co.uk/

 

[Brassneck]

Amazon recently banned paid searches and also sending traffic direct to an aff link, traffic has to come via a click on a product link on your website and then to Amazon for it to count as a sale.

I'll see if I still have the latest Amazon email and come back and edit it in.

Cheers for that - I guess for other merchants I should check direct with them first.

Stephen.

 

[Skinner]

I guess it depends how devious you and how on the ball Amazon are.

Some of the blackhat forums are saying they are just going to do redirects.

Send the paid link to their site, pause a few seconds, then dump them onto Amazon.

Not sure if this will work but it does technically meet their requirements.

I wouldn't risk my account tho.

 

[digitalquill]

Just remember that google (and others) have people dedicated to checking this sort of thing out so do beware!

Simple answer is you need to check the terms each merchant has and that will tell you what you can and can't do. Some allow anything, some are very restrictive.