Amazon UK announced the introduction of a new widget on Monday. The Amazon Search Widget allows marketers to provide their site visitors with a means of searching the Amazon catalogue without leaving the page they are on.
Established Amazon affiliates will already be familiar with similar widgets, but the latest addition to Amazon’s range of promotional tools offers the added advantage of being suitable for display on mobile-optimized sites. The new widget can also be set to automatically make any size adjustments that may be necessary for optimum display on a variety of screen sizes.
How to add the new Amazon Search Widget to Your Site
No one could ever accuse Amazon of overcomplicating matters. All of their affiliate tools quick and easy to set up and implement. The new widget is no exception. It’s just a case of visiting the widget set-up page, selecting the preferred preferences—such as the default search term or category—and then copying and pasting the necessary JavaScript code into the required page location.
Amazon Search Widget: Key Benefits at a Glance
- Responsive layout: The widget works optimally across a variety of devices (desktop, mobile phone, tablet devices).
- Touch-Friendly: For an improved experience on mobile phones and tablets.
- Compact Design: Capable of promoting up to 10 products (in the 320×250 ad unit).
- Contextual Results: Affiliates can promote relevant products by selecting default search queries and categories.
- Customizable Appearance: To ensure the widgets are a good match for all sites and color schemes.
- Simple Integration: Just copy and paste—one size fits all.
Possible Problem Areas
Amazon admits there may be possible integration issues with some content management systems (including WordPress), but assure affiliates that any problems can be resolved by enabling widgets or gadgets for mobile templates.
*How to Implement Widgets into WordPress Themes*
Potential Benefits
More people are viewing sites via mobile phone browsers and tablets than ever before. This is a fact that is unlikely to change so any form of promotional tool that enables internet marketers to effectively display promoted products across a variety of devices is a step in the right direction and should ensure potential sales are not lost due to site compatibility issues with a particular device or screen size.
