The Hidden Problem With Amazon Affiliate Revenue: Why “Six Figures” Doesn’t Always Mean Growth

"I'm making six figures in revenue from Amazon Affiliates.”

On the surface, that sounds like a win.

But when you look under the hood, the story often changes.

Over the last month, I’ve audited more than 20 Amazon affiliate accounts. Almost every single one had the same pattern:

• Strong affiliate-attributed revenue

• Active Creator Connections campaigns

• A handful of “top-performing” partners driving most of the sales

And yet in many cases nearly 80% of that revenue was coming from publishers bidding on the brand’s own keywords.

Not net-new demand. Not incremental traffic. Just branded search interception.

The Brand Keyword Bidding Problem

Here’s what’s often happening behind the scenes.

Affiliate publishers typically deal, loyalty, or coupon-focused partners run paid search ads bidding on branded terms. When a shopper searches for your brand, they click the affiliate’s ad instead of going directly to Amazon.

The shopper was already looking for you.

The affiliate captures the click.

You pay the commission.

Revenue shows up in your affiliate dashboard and it looks like growth.

But in reality, you’ve paid for demand you already owned.

Why Creator Connections Revenue Can Be Misleading

Since Amazon’s policy updates expanded Creator Connections, more brands have leaned heavily into the program.

On paper, it makes sense:

• Performance-based payouts

• Creator-driven distribution

• Revenue tied directly to conversions

But what many brands don’t realize is that the “top creators” driving revenue aren’t always driving incremental traffic.

In multiple audits, the top five partners responsible for the majority of revenue were:

• Bidding on branded keywords

• Capturing high-intent shoppers already searching

• Intercepting demand that would have converted anyway

That’s not true affiliate growth, it’s commission leakage.

Revenue vs. Incrementality: The Metric That Actually Matters

Amazon affiliate dashboards show revenue.

They don’t show incrementality.

That distinction matters.

Real affiliate growth should:

• Introduce new customers

• Drive off-Amazon traffic

• Expand brand visibility

• Increase sales velocity beyond branded search

If most of your affiliate revenue is coming from branded keyword interception, your program isn’t expanding your market, it’s redistributing margin.

There Is a Smarter Way to Structure Amazon Affiliate Programs

Over the last year especially after Amazon’s policy changes allowed Creator Connections to scale more aggressively, I’ve focused heavily on solving this exact problem.

The objective:

Leverage the full Amazon affiliate ecosystem Without compromising traffic quality Without overpaying on cart commissions Without brand search cannibalization

It requires:

• Clear paid search policies

• Strategic partner recruitment

• Commission structures that reward incrementality

• Ongoing auditing and oversight

Most affiliate programs aren’t failing because affiliates don’t work.

They’re underperforming because they’re unmanaged.

How to Know If Your Affiliate Revenue Is Truly Incremental

Ask yourself:

• Do you know how much affiliate revenue comes from branded keyword traffic?

• Are your top affiliates content-driven or search-driven?

• Would those sales have happened without the affiliate?

• Are you paying commissions on customers already searching for your brand?

If you’re unsure, that’s usually a sign you need a deeper look.

Final Thoughts

Six-figure affiliate revenue looks impressive on paper.

But revenue alone doesn’t equal growth.

The real question isn’t how much your affiliate program is generating, it’s how much of that revenue is truly incremental.

Understanding the difference could be the gap between scaling efficiently and quietly leaking margin.