Amazon just recently released a new beta tool for their associates (affiliates). It’s called Amazon AStore.
It allows you to build your own customizable store. This is what a store looks like: http://astore.amazon.com/bristolwebdes-20
The things I like about it are:
- It’s simple and easy to set up. Mine took less than 5 minutes.
- It allows you to feature products on the homepage and add your own descriptions to them.
- You can add your own logo and customize the color scheme.
Unfortunately, one of the first things you’ll notice is where the store is located. It is hosted on Amazon’s servers. To use or promote the store you are stuck with three options.
These descriptions are taken directly from Amazon’s page:
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Link to your aStore as a stand-alone site Make your aStore a stand-alone section of your Web site by adding a “Store” link to your main site navigation bar that links directly to your new store. This is the easiest way to integrate your aStore; however, it will appear to your users as if they are leaving your website when visiting your store. |
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Embed your aStore using an inline frame An inline frame is a great way to embed your aStore into any existing or new page on your Web site. This method of embedding your aStore will appear to your visitors as if the aStore is part of your site and enable them to shop without leaving your site. |
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| Integrate your aStore using a frameset Frame your aStore into your Web site using a frameset by placing your aStore in one frame and your Web site’s navigation in another frame. This method of embeding your store will also be appear to your visitors as if the store is part of your Web site and enable them to shop without leaving your site. |
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You’ll notice that none of the options are search engine friendly. Search engines treat frames and iframes as links, simply following them rather than thinking of it as part of your site. If it were possible to make it part of your site, it would allow you to rank your Amazon category and product detail pages in the search engines separately.
I’ve recently come up with a solution whereby you can have your AStore hosted on your own domain and fully indexable by the search engines. Here is my first store:
Would you be interested in this solution?
How important is it to be able to customize the headers and footers (outside of the customization allowed by Amazon)?
If enough people are interested, I’ll make it available for download.