With AdWords and AdSense, Google has shared the wealth and referral power of its search engine with small businesses.
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Now Amazon is doing something very similar with its new, quietly-launched Product Ads. Think of it as a shopping search engine built into Amazon, one that can link out to your site and drive new sales for pennies on the click.
Amazon already collects affiliate fees from small vendors via its Amazon Merchant Program. Product Ads, by comparison, lets Web merchants buy cost-per-click text ads on the Amazon.com site linked to specific product searches.
The test, according to TechCrunch, appears limited now to a few product categories, including Electronics & Computers, Home & Garden, Tools, and Toys, Kids & Baby.
For its ability to pass along customers ostensibly deeper into the buying process than a Google search, Amazon Product Ads is worth watching.
Read some early reports on the value of Product Ads here:
ComparisonEngines: Amazon Becomes the Largest Shopping Engine
