“Your Associates account is at risk of closure.”
This is the last thing an Amazon Associates account holder wants to hear! However, these types of emails can be quite common from Amazon. They have strict requirements for their Amazon Associates members, and if they find you’re not adhering to each and every one of their guidelines, they may go ahead and close your account.
Fortunately, there is something you can do to avoid this kind of closure: an audit. By taking the time to carefully examine everything attached to your account, you should have a better idea of how to keep it in good standing.
So yes, you should audit your Amazon Associates account. In fact, you may want to do so before you get any kind of warning email. Let’s take a closer look at why.
You Didn’t Read the Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement and Policies in Full
Now be honest: did you really read and understand every single word in the Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement and Amazon Associates Program Policies? These are the documents that lay out all the details surrounding the Amazon Associates program.
If you did, good on you, but you’re likely in the minority. Internet users get hit with so many online “terms and conditions” pages these days that we often just blindly agree to them without so much as a second thought. While this usually doesn’t result in any serious consequences, this may not be the case for your Amazon Associates account. You may have done things that are directly in violation of their policies without even knowing it, giving them grounds to close your account and stop your revenue stream.
This is exactly why you should conduct an audit. It will help highlight those areas that are in violation of Amazon’s policies, and give you an idea of how to bring them into compliance.
There Are Many Ways to Violate Amazon’s Policies
Amazon isn’t playing around. There are so many different ways to violate their policies that it can be difficult to keep track of everything. Here are just a few examples of practices that can result in a suspended account:
- Incentivizing Amazon links. For example, saying “click here to get 10% off”.
- Incorrectly using products prices and/or images. You can really only pull Amazon prices and images with the Amazon API.
- Using the Amazon logo or trademark without a disclosure statement. Any time you use either of these on your website, you must include “Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.”
And these are only a few of the small, seemingly insignificant details that may result in Amazon closing your account. By conducting an audit regularly, you don’t need to worry about remembering every single rule and regulation regarding your Associates account, as the audit will point everything out for you.
Now, you can probably imagine at this point that an audit can be A LOT of work, but there’s some good news here: you don’t have to do it yourself. At BrandBuilders, we offer an Amazon Associate Account Compliance Audit. We’ll figure out if your site has any violations, and help you resolve any issues with our support team. Learn more about this service here.
