Rules for using Amazon Associates on Blogger

This article has links to the official Amazon Associates terms and conditions, and has some brief guidelines about complying with them. are available on Amazon's site, currently here.

Always refer to the official version for definitive answers about any programme's Terms and Conditions.

Amazon Associates Terms and conditions

Each Amazon site (remember, Amazon has different sites for different markets) has its own set of terms and conditions, usually called its Operating Agreement. They are similar, but there are subtle differences between each one, and in how each of the Amazons interprets things.

You always need to make your own decisions about whether a particular approach meets their rules.

You can find the operating agreement for each of the sites, as at the time of writing, at:

Amazon Europe: UK and Ireland, Germany, France and Italy. (The English language one is definitive, accourding to Amazon at Sept 2011).
Amazon Canada
Amazon.com - ie USA and rest of the world - except for China and Japan

In Summary

I prepared the following guide for myself when I first signed up with Amazon.com, using to help me make 100% sure that I meet the terms and conditions. It is not definitive, and not up to date (new T&Cs have come out several times, and while I've read the change summaries, I haven't updated the following.. Also, it's only for Amazon.com, not the others (which Blogger did not integrate with).

Associates must

Use any data, images, text, or other information obtained from Amazon in connection with the agreement, only in a lawful manner and only in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

Promptly delete any Content that is no longer displayed on the Amazon Site or that Amazon notify is no longer available for use.

Display a logo (a small graphic image that identifies the site as a Program participant, provided by Amazon ) or the phrase "In association with Amazon" somewhere on their site.

Use the graphic images and text provided by Amazon to identify their site as a Program participant and to generate Product sales.

Comply with laws, regulations, licenses, etc - ie any requirements of any governmental authority that has jurisdiction over them. This means pay tax (among other things!)

Stop participating in the Amazon Associates programme if any change to the terms and conditions is unacceptable to them.

Associates may

Buy paid search advertisements to send users to their own site and then, when the user affirmatively clicks on a Special Link on the site, direct the user to the Amazon Site.

Associates must not

Buy products during sessions initiated through the links on their own site (for personal or commercial use, or re-sale) [it is ok to click on links - just not to purchase thru them? double check this]
Offer incentives (ie rewards) to people for using links on their site.
Read or change how the user interacts with the Amazon site [I guess Google Analytics use is ok ... surely it records an exit to Amazon?]

Change how anything on the Amazon site works.

Do any transactions on Amazon on behalf of any third party, or help anyone else to do any.

Do anything that could reasonably cause customer confusion about their relationship with Amazon or about the site on which things (e.g., search, order, browse) are happening on.

Show advertisements or material promoting Amazon around or in conjunction with the display of the Amazon Site (e.g., through"framing" or pop-up or pop-under windows), or assist, authorize, or encourage any third party to take any such action; - except for displaying advertisements provided by Amazon.

Try to get around the referral fee schedule or artificially increase their referral fees.
This could include encouraging people to buy low-price items in order to exceeding any referral fee threshold or causing any page of the Amazon Site to open in a customer's browser other than as a result of the customer clicking on a Special Link on their site)
[so no referral links in emails, Facebook, Twitter, etc - some of the stuff on the AA discussion forum seems to say differently]

Try to intercept or re-direct traffic from or on, or divert referral fees from, any web site that participates in the Program;

Use any Content or Special Link in connection with any handheld, mobile, or mobile phone application without our prior written approval; [BUT HERE WILL BE SOME MOBILE USERS - ESP OF BLOGGER SITES ...hmmm]

Try to purchase or register any keywords, search terms or other identifiers that include the words "amazon," "endless," "kindle," "javari" or any other trademark of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, (inlcuding variations or misspellings)

If they bid on or purchase keywords ib keyword auctions on (eg on Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, or any site in their respective search networks (e.g., AOL, Ask.com, etc.), - then the paid search advertisements they purchase may not send users to Amazon without a click by the user on that intermediate site. [NEEDS BETTER WORDING]

Show or refer to a trademark/logo of a 3rd party seller on the Amazon Site;

Obscure or change a “Privacy Information” link or Amazon trademark (logo or text that's is a Special Link which Amazon provide

Use Content relating to any Excluded Merchant or any product sold by any Excluded Merchant;

Change any graphic provided by Amazon, except to resize it;

Change any text link provided by Amazon, except to shorten it;
[LAST TWO CONTRADICT ONE FURTHER DOWN?]

Sell, redistribute, sublicense or transfer any Content;

Use Content provided by Amazon to send sales to any other site

Use any Content, including any name or likeness embodied therein, in a way that implies endorsement, sponsorship, commercial tie-in or other association with, any product, service, party or cause.(e.g., placing it close to unrelated 3rd party materials)