How Amazon Affiliate Links Work

The Amazon Associates program lets content creators earn referral commissions by linking to products. When someone clicks your affiliate link and makes a purchase within 24 hours, you earn a percentage of the sale.

What Is an ASIN?

ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number. It is a unique 10-character alphanumeric code assigned to every product on Amazon. Most ASINs start with "B0" followed by 8 characters. For books, the ASIN is the same as the ISBN-10.

What Is a Tracking Tag?

Your affiliate tag (also called a tracking ID) is assigned when you sign up for Amazon Associates. It typically looks like "yourname-20". The tag is appended to product URLs so Amazon can attribute the referral to your account.

Link Formats This Tool Supports

• Full product URLs -- the long URLs you get from browsing Amazon
• Short links (amzn.to, a.co) -- mobile share links and shortened URLs, resolved server-side
• Bare ASINs -- just paste the 10-character product code

Best Practices

• Always disclose affiliate relationships to your audience (FTC requirement)
• Use the clean short-format link (amazon.com/dp/ASIN?tag=yourtag) for readability
• Affiliate cookies last 24 hours -- if someone clicks your link and buys within a day, you get credit
• Commission rates vary by product category, typically 1-10%