Amazon is the go-to option for experienced and newbie affiliate marketers looking to make a profit.

But as an Amazon seller, you can also use the program to push your products and increase sales.

The Amazon Associates program presents the potential to succeed with affiliate marketing as there is a broad range of products you can promote on your affiliate site. Or, because there are so many people with affiliate sites, it’s an opportunity to promote your best products on the sites to sell more.

Although this article is mainly for affiliate marketers, if you put yourself in their shoes and approach it with a “what’s in it for them” mindset, you can foster a win-win relationship. If they list your product, you get the sale and they get the commission from Amazon.

Win-Win.

Below, you will find the top Amazon product categories for affiliates and how you can approach picking products for your affiliate site. We’ll also briefly touch on Amazon FBA vs affiliate marketing (or affiliate marketing vs Amazon FBA, if you prefer it the other way around).

Amazon category requirements:

It’s important to note that if you’re considering selling products in certain Amazon categories, you’ll need to meet specific Amazon category requirements. These requirements ensure that only high-quality products are listed and that sellers adhere to strict Amazon guidelines. Some categories, like ‘Luxury Beauty’ and ‘Amazon Devices,’ may have strict entry criteria, while others are more lenient. Understanding these can help you better navigate between being an affiliate marketer and a seller.

#1 – Amazon Games

Amazon Games are the very top with a whopping 20% fixed income rate. One thing to note about this specific category is that you must not mistake it for video games in general.

No, by Amazon Games, we mean IPs owned by Amazon or the company in charge of distributing it.

Perhaps the best example of an Amazon Game is New World—an MMORPG that combines virtually all the aspects you expect to find in an RPG while also adding an open-world player-versus-player game mode, encouraging more than just world exploration.

Lost Ark is another title that is part of Amazon Games. Even though the game is developed by Smilegate—a Korean company, Amazon is the one responsible for publishing the game outside of Korea. You can play Lost Ark on Steam and other platforms thanks to Amazon’s efforts to make the game accessible to the West.

At the moment, Amazon Games is a category with a relatively limited selection of titles, making it difficult to advertise to a general gamer audience, and as an online business model.

Nevertheless, setting up an affiliate page for Amazon Games is worthwhile because the commission rate is head and shoulders above other categories. And if you start early, you can build your business and scale it later while adding more Amazon Games as affiliate products. It is no secret that Amazon will invest more in developing its games, considering how massive the gaming industry is.

#2 – Luxury Beauty

Luxury Beauty, also known as Premium Beauty, has a 10% fixed income rate and is in second place among the most profitable product categories.

Hair perfectors, makeup subscription boxes, skin care serums, and smoothing creams are just a few examples of popular beauty products on Amazon.

The catch with the Luxury Beauty category is that it includes specific brands with excellent products and relatively unusual approaches, such as the aforementioned subscription box.

Given how many people want to look their best, beauty products are an excellent evergreen niche for an affiliate business and for making money online.

#3 – Amazon Explore

Amazon Explore is another product category with a fixed 10% income rate. However, unlike physical goods, this one is an entirely different approach to consumer products.

As a service, Amazon Explore allows users to experience various virtual locations worldwide. Besides visiting interesting destinations, one can also master new skills with interactive lessons and even shop in far-away markets.

By signing up for Amazon Explore, users can schedule a session. There is no need to have a camera or virtual reality equipment, and a computer with an internet connection is sufficient because the video feed is one-way. 

You can present an exciting service to potentially interested people as an affiliate marketer by redirecting them to Amazon Explore.

#4 – Digital and Physical Music

Digital and physical music is at a 5% fixed commission rate, which is still decent enough considering how wide the niche is.

Millions of people enjoy music, and many of them could not imagine a life without having their favorite tunes available to them at all times. Availability is easy to achieve thanks to digital music, and Amazon Music is one of the services that offer such a thing. You can purchase individual tracks or entire albums in a digital format and listen to them on your device.

In terms of physical music, plenty of people like to collect physical records and CDs. Not only do such products let you enjoy the music, but they also hold sentimental and other value.

#5 – Physical Books

Amazon is sometimes considered to hold a monopoly on physical books. Smaller publishers cannot compete, so most authors and publishers end up signing exclusive deals with Amazon to get their books there.

According to Statista, the number of books sold yearly rose from 590 million in 2021 to 825 million in 2021. 

Sure, without the rise of Kindle and other ebook readers as well as audiobooks, physical book numbers would be even higher. However, there is no denying that reading is still a popular pastime, and physical books are not going away.

With a commission rate of 4.5%, physical books are among the top product categories for Amazon Associate partners.

#6 – Amazon Devices

Amazon Fire, Kindle, and Amazon Echo are examples of Amazon devices that affiliate marketers can promote on their websites. The commission rate for these products is 4%

Unsurprisingly, Amazon also developed its tablet after realizing how successful Samsung and Apple products are.

As for Amazon Kindle, it is hands down the best ebook reader. Amazon reported that it had sold more than 90 million ebook readers by 2018, and the number only increased because it is not just new readers. Owners of older Kindle models want to upgrade their devices.

Finally, Amazon Echo and Alexa devices. These AI digital assistants revolutionized the way consumers approach smart devices. 

#7 – Toys

At a 3% commission rate, toys could be a worthwhile idea. Studios like Disney and Pixar release new movies regularly, and each new movie introduces new characters that are followed by a series of toys. And that is just a small part of the toy niche.

Board games, figurines, stuffed animals, cards (think Pokemon), playdough, and other products in the toy category all have a place on an affiliate website.

Also, it is worth noting that while the majority of products in the toys category are targeted at children, you should not underestimate the number of adults who also like to collect toys of their favorite characters that they fell in love with early in childhood.

Ungated amazon categories:

It is worth noting that while the majority of products in the toys category are targeted at children, you should not underestimate the number of adults who also like to collect toys of their favorite characters that they fell in love with early in childhood.

Many profitable categories for Amazon affiliates, like ‘Toys’ or ‘Luxury Beauty,’ may also be of interest to sellers. However, some of these categories can be gated, requiring special approval to sell in them. If you’re planning to sell in addition to your affiliate marketing efforts, understanding ungated Amazon categories can be crucial. These categories allow sellers to list products without the need for prior approval, making them easier to enter for new sellers while still providing high affiliate commissions.

#8 – Computers and Computer Components

Computers and computer components are at a 2.5% commission rate, which is still decent enough due to the sheer number of consumers who spend money to either purchase a new computer, replace a damaged computer component, or upgrade their current computer.

Be it entertainment or work, an underperforming computer is not optimal. And if you want to fix a slow computer, replacing or upgrading hardware is often the right approach.

Suppose you were to pick this niche for your affiliate website. In that case, you could write detailed reviews on different computer components, emphasizing their advantages and disadvantages and compatibility with other hardware.

People should also be interested in simply purchasing a new computer. You can prepare lists of the top computers available on Amazon and help your website visitors pick the most suitable option.

Conclusion

All in all, Amazon offers various products that can be promoted on an affiliate site. Whether you are an experienced affiliate marketer or someone who aspires to start an online business from scratch, the opportunity is there, waiting to be grabbed.

An Amazon Associates success will depend on your hard work, innovation, creativity, and a little bit of luck.

Frequently Asked Questions