GeniusLink and AAWP are two popular affiliate marketing tools for bloggers and niche site owners, especially for those who monetize through Amazon Associates program. Before I get down to GeniusLink vs. AAWP comparison, I must reveal that both of these plugins are paid affiliate marketing tools, and I have had a little bit of experience with them.
However, I ended up trying one of them after buying both these paid affiliate marketing tools. If you ever wondered which is better among GeniusLink and AAWP, then this blog post might be of help.
| Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in the blog post could be affiliate links, which means we’d earn commissions if you buy the products, but it won’t cost you any extra money. Please read the disclosure page for more details. |
As far as their comparison is concerned, these affiliate marketing tools are relatively different but still considered competitors. Maybe, the reason is that niche site owners use both these affiliate marketing tools for monetizing their affiliate niche sites.
If you’re about to start an Amazon Associates based niche site and wondering which one of these tools you should pick from, then pay close attention to the gist of this blog post. I have a revelation to make about these tools.
Hang tight because this blog post could save you a ton of time, energy, and money.
It’s essential to explain how these affiliate marketing tools work so that a common man could also figure out all this.
How GeniusLink Works
GeniusLink is a URL shortener used by affiliate marketers, bloggers, and YouTubers not just for link cloaking but also for tracking clickability metrics. Link cloaking means you replace the long, clunky URLs with the short and clean URLs.
GeniusLink provides all the reports in the user dashboard so that the user could keep an eye on the important metrics. This URL shortener is quite popular among affiliate marketers who use the Amazon Associates program. The GeniusLink team seems confident that its tool complies with Amazon Associates. Please read this blog post till the end if you want to know an essential aspect of this tool.
Anyway, GeniusLink is smartly built to support multiple affiliate platforms, but it looks like the majority of their users are Amazon Associates’ users. The tool supports multiple Amazon sites like Amazon Canada, Amazon Spain, Amazon France, and others, meaning the users can add their Amazon storefront IDs and cash in on the commissions from several Amazon sites.
Furthermore, what makes this tool stand out from the rest is that it works for several affiliate programs and networks. When bloggers and marketers find out that GeniusLink supports multiple affiliate programs and platforms, it changes their whole perspective.
Since GeniusLink costs as low as $5 for up to 2,000 clicks on your links, it does look like an attractive tool to try out for affiliate marketing.
How AAWP Works
AAWP is a popular affiliate marketing tool, which is used for Amazon Associates program. It requires an Amazon Associate API key to work. I bought the subscription to the AAWP plugin in the past, but it didn’t work out for me.
I couldn’t use the AAWP plugin because my Amazon Associates didn’t record sales during that month. I didn’t know about this requirement of the AAWP plugin. I found out when I reached out to the support staff of AAWP. Not only did they explain it to me, but they also refunded the amount right away.
The takeaway is that even if you have the Amazon Associates API generated in the past, it doesn’t matter until you generate at least three sales that month. So you’ll be better off if you buy and configure the AAWP plugin only when your site is generating regular sales through Amazon. Please read the complete blog post before trying out AAWP for your Amazon Associates niche site because you might think twice about using this plugin after finish reading this blog post.
The next part of the blog post is the cream.
| Disclaimer: I’m neither an expert on Amazon Associates nor my opinion is an accurate answer to the problem. Please choose either one of these tools after your research and due diligence. I won’t be responsible if these plugins cause any trouble regarding Amazon Associates. |
Compliance with Amazon Associates
Since both AAWP and GeniusLink are widely popular for Amazon Associates based affiliate niche sites, so it’s hard for me to burst the bubble. Not only do bloggers use these tools, but they also promote these tools on blogs and YouTube channels.
The irony is that both these companies claim that they comply with Amazon Associates, meaning it’s safe to use these tools for Amazon Associates niche sites. And I also believed this until a few weeks ago as a lot of niche site builders and well-known bloggers use and recommend these tools.
Here’s the deal: I reached out to Amazon Associates support when I was about to try out GeniusLink for the second time just to be sure about the compliance with the Amazon Associates program.
It took me by surprise when they told me that GeniusLink is a URL shortener, and it’s not okay to use a third-party URL shortener. Please don’t quote on this, but instead, take a look at the screenshot for the exact words:
So after the response from the Amazon Associates support team, I couldn’t resist it and asked whether or not AAWP and Amalinks Pro are A-OK. Unfortunately, they didn’t specify the reason, but they suggested not to rely on any third-party tools when it comes to Amazon Associates’ links.
I figured out that it’s one of the gray areas where no one should make guesses. So if I were you, I might not go ahead with any of these tools until I’m 100% sure about their compliance with Amazon Associates.
Which One Would You Choose Between GeniusLink and AAWP?
If you have a non-Amazon associates niche site, then you’re okay with using GeniusLink. However, check with the terms of use of the affiliate program you’re using. You can check out my blog post on the best Amazon Associates alternatives as well.
As far as AAWP is concerned, it’s designed for Amazon Associates users only, so there is no point in discussing its compatibility with other affiliate programs. There are dozens of bloggers and niche site builders I follow that are using the AAWP plugin for their Amazon Associates niche site, and they never ran into a problem with it.
However, I can’t recommend any of these tools until I’m dead sure about this compliance headache. You’re free to make your decision about these tools.
Which one of these affiliate marketing tools are you likely to try out?
Let me know in the comments box.