Amazon is doing the unthinkable over in the UK right now. Remember PPC going away in the US a few months ago? Well now they’re doing it in the UK and it does not bode well for US Affiliates (This Means You)!

In an article at SearchEngineLand they’ve quoted the UK Amazon letter ending PPC for Affiliates. And an additional paragraph has been added. Here it is:

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.

So, you’ve built out sites with quality content, even localized in many cases, did some decent SEO, have your newsletter going out, etc. Things are pretty nice now that your site is on the first page of Google, Yahoo, etc. And the link to a specific product on your site that sets your tracking and takes a customer to Amazon happens to show up on that search term. You’d think that was good. You’d think that your hard work and smart execution of your plan would bring you a commission.

You’d think that since your efforts brought Amazon that sale you’d get paid for it. But no.. Not if it’s after Feb1 in the UK. And don’t think it won’t start happenning here as well. I’m not a huge predictor of specific things but this is starting to fall into a disturbing trend. PPC is being penalized by Amazon (among others). Google is slapping affiliate links in PPC as well. Ebay is now judging your sites for “quality”. And now Amazon UK is penalizing your organic search results (if it’s an affiliate link). And as everyone knows… link cloaking isn’t exactly an accepted practice among a majority of networks and merchants.

I have a good idea that this will become a hot topic at Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas this weekend. And for good cause. I do believe that everyone is going to be scrambling to figure out how to preserve their earned affiliate commissions that are the result of a natural search. The other thing I know is that whoever cracks the code and figures out where all these moves lead is going to be a huge superaffiliate in 2011.

There has been much ado about the new FTC Rules/Guidelines for online marketing this week.  And I’m very suprised that few (if any) have been putting this together with the AdSense moves by the Google Affiliate Network, Quality Scores on the Ebay Partner Network, and the “buzz” around the industry about overall “Quality”.

But it does all make sense.  And it does all fit together.  And it’s not a “War on Affiliate Marketing”, nor is it “The End of Affiliate Marketing“.  It just isn’t.  It’s a maturing of an industry.  There is this thing called “The Business Cycle” for any industry and we are simply seeing it manifest itself.  That’s it.  That’s all.

No, I’m not ignoring it either.  And neither should you.  But this is predictable and you can use this to your advantage.  No matter what your niche, no matter what you sell, no matter how few or many sites you have.  This is opportunity and there is still time to prepare, plan, and execute in ways that will put you ahead of your competition.

How many times have you done a Google search and all you got back were “squeeze” pages touting some secret, hidden, amazing, astounding, killer way to make a bazillion dollars in the next week?  Or lose 100 pounds a day, or whatever?  Right, way too many.  Just bogus scams to pry money from your wallet for little or nothing in return.  Those are the targets of the current move to “Quality” and the reason the FTC is tightening their rules.  Those arn’t affiliate marketers.  They are the people that ruin good affiliate programs, destroy confidence in consumers, and siphon money out of the marketplace for real products, from real companies, who provide real value.

The days of simply throwing out a squeeze page, dumping a few thousand Craigslist ads per day, having software create a few million backlinks, and hard pitching for money are ending.  Well, in affiliate marketing it’s ending.  And that’s good.  It’s very good.  You all know just how hard and how much work it takes to build out a quality site, build real value, give your customers a reason to buy and visit often.  I’m just so tempted to remove “Quality” from my vocabulary and replace it with “Value”..  But that’s not descriptive enough.  I think it’s “Quality Value” that describes it best.

Remember the “Building an Affiliate Marketing Powerhouse” from a couple weeks ago?  That was about “Methods and Mechanics”.  An overview of building a quantity of local focused niche affiliate websites where you could provide Quality Value for specific local niches in a profitable way.  And you do need to know how it’s done.  How the methods and mechanics work.  But that’s not all.  You have to learn how to build in “Quality Value” for your site visitors/customers.

People want what they want and when they want it.  Your job is to help your site visitors and customers along this path.  To help them discover what they want and to help them get what they want when they want it…  FROM YOU!

In my normal weekend I don’t blog…  I research for the blog.  Which generally consists of reading 50-60 newspaper indexes, a fair amount of Google News, and visiting a big list of research sites.  This week it was the news that got my attention.  So much so I’m blogging on a Sunday morning.

The Government is targeting you if you are an Ebay seller or Ebay affiliate.  And no, not for income taxes (everyone is targeted for that, and if your not paying your taxes, you deserve what you get).  No, I’m reading about the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  I’ll explain.

A new law was passed after all those lead bearing toys came into the US from China.  I know you know about that.  The 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was passed in response with tough regulations governing the sales of new and USED toys.  The CPSC has implemented a program called the “Resale Round-up” which is intended to stop the sale of used products that could contain anything prohibited under the new law. Resellers caught selling anything on a huge list of identified products face fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and up to $15 million for a related series of infractions.

Now, according to the CPSC these rules are intended for large resellers.  And one of the largest I would think would be Ebay.  And in turn, who do you think Ebay is going to put pressure on…  That’s right, sellors and affiliates (EPN).

So, if your selling a toy from the mid 70’s that’s on the list, you’ve committed a crime.  And how are you going to know what is and isn’t on the list?  Well, the CPSC has made that easier.  You can download a PDF guide titled “Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Resellers” and an online section as well at www.cpsc.gov.

Admittedly, this isn’t “black helicopter” or “men in black” kinda stuff.  But if your selling collectibles and toys and your not paying attention to what your selling..  well, you could end up in trouble.  And the last thing an Ebay Seller or Affiliate needs is trouble.

Word to the wise…  Visit that CPSC site and do your homework.  We’d hate to hear your in trouble for selling a Barbie on Ebay.

(primary ref – New Government Policy Imposes Strict Standards on Garage Sales Nationwide )

Hello, I’m Scott and I’m an Accordion-A-Holic.  And in being that geeky tech guy that is into things, well, like accordions I’ve learned alot about Internet Marketing.  No, I mean it.  I’ve learned that to be a terrific Internet Marketer you need to Be Like Mike.

Who is this Mike?  Mike is one of my marketing heros.  I’ve never met him.  I don’t need to.  Mike is someone that by simply watching what and how they sell on Ebay you can take valuable lessons back to apply to your own efforts in ways that you cannot go wrong.

I introduce to you, Accordionist/Pastor/Ebay Seller Extrordinaire Mike Macchia of Hobart Indiana.

Accordionist Mike Macchia (photo from indiana.edu)

Mike does what he does so well that we should all “Be Like Mike”.  Here are the things I picked up on after running across a couple of his Ebay listings.

1) Mike has focus.  He knows accordions.  He sticks to it.

2) Mike is honest.  He tells it like it is.

3) Mike is consistent.  His item titles ALWAYS have the same phrasing.  Just search on Ebay for Accordion In Tune.  Almost every listing will be one of Mikes.

4) Mike embraces technology for what it does, not that its the “latest thing”.  He uses YouTube to demonstrate every accordion.  And yes, Mike can play.  Maybe even up to the par of Tony Lovello.  He’s very, very good.

Here’s a guy that started learning how to play the accordion at the tender age of 10.  Grew up, got an education, has been a Pastor for 45 years, teaches accordion and is obviously one busy guy.  And he’s developed his own style and method for selling used accordions on Ebay using all the same elements we all need to be using with our own affiliate marketing efforts.

And to digress just a second…  I’m looking for a Nobel 120 Bass 3/5 Set Reed Accordion..  And Christmas is coming.  I’m just saying.

You have to have watched his Ebay activities for a while.  And I have.  I’ve watched Mike sell accordion after accordion.  Proving that they’re in tune and very playable with his YouTube videos.  He says the same thing at the beginning and end of every video demonstration..  “Hello, it’s Mike Again…  This time I have a (insert detail and demo here)…  Bid high and take a look at my feedback I’m batting 100%”.  I did mention that Mike is personable, charismatic, consistent, and honest, didn’t I.  And all without being pushy, arrogant, or obnoxious.  And he sells alot of accordions.  A whole lot of accordions.  I’m guessing just a bit, but I think he’s selling nearly 100 per year.  At an average sell price of $350 or more.  That’s $35,000+ Gross Revenue in accordions!

And no, if you didn’t do the research you wouldn’t know that Mike is a church pastor, that he’s involved in the Indiana Master Artist Program, that he is an accordion instructor.  He doesn’t flaunt himself to sell his accordions.  He doesn’t claim to be a “guru” or an accordion wizard.  He doesn’t use his career as a pastor to convey trust to his customers.  In other words, Mike is just “Accordion Mike”.

Now go find out how you can apply the lessons from Mike on Ebay.  Watch his videos, watch how consistent his listings are while being true to the instrument he’s selling.  Look over his feedback and you’ll see why you should Be Like Mike.