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How do I fix an Amazon link that sends clicks to the wrong country or product?
How do I fix an Amazon link that sends clicks to the wrong country or product?

How to intervene when our localization fails to find the result you expected

Joey White avatar
Written by Joey White
Updated over a week ago

Have you built an Amazon link that doesn't seem to be sending clicks to the right product? 

Perhaps you're testing a link and it's directing traffic to Amazon.com when you're expecting Amazon.it (Amazon Italy)? 

If you're seeing this behavior and would like to know why and how to fix it, then you've come to the right place!


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Why it happens

We're very proud of our patented localization algorithm, but there's only so much it can do. To be honest, product localization (finding a matching product between multiple storefronts) is very difficult!

With all the variables involved, we can't guarantee that our localization is going to find a match in every storefront for every product. While some popular products exist in many storefronts, ultimately each storefront has its own selection. We have found that oftentimes the same item in a different store has a completely different product ID.

If you'd like to know more about our Localization Algorithm, you can head over to this article to read more about the five distinct steps that we take to find a suitable product match.

When we can't find a match by product number or relevant metadata, we default to a generic search term using the product title. If no results are returned within the search, however, we simply send the user back to the original link to ensure we never degrade the user experience with an empty search results page. If your link is failing to translate, this is probably why.
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How to spot it

The fastest way to see how an Amazon product link translates across storefronts is to just view the results of the Visualizer tool. This will show you at a glance if we're finding a good product match, landing at a search page, or passing through to the original destination, shown as ‘No Local Match'.


In the screenshot above, we can see that this product doesn't translate to the Amazon.it storefront, instead, sending Italian clicks back to Amazon.com.

There are two ways to see the exact destination a link leads for a given country. You can click the URL provided in the field on the Visualizer. Secondly, you can use our old standby, the /iso2/xx testing parameter.
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How to fix it

When you notice poor localization for the storefronts that are meaningful to you, then it's time to add custom rules to your link. Our advanced options toggle will allow you to hand-select the destination used for any given country or region.

How to use advanced rules to repair poor localization:

You can now override our default localization with a URL of your choosing, by simply creating a single custom rule to any of our predefined Amazon regions!

Here is how to customize your Amazon storefront regions:

1. Head over to the storefront you’re trying to fix (Amazon.it) and manually locate the product (or the next best thing). Copy the product URL.

2. Find the link you'd like to repair on the Links tab of your Geniuslink dashboard and click the cog icon on the right side. Select Edit.

3. Select 'advanced' to add advanced options to your link.

4. Create a region rule for the storefront you're trying to fix. (e.g "If: Region: Amazon Italy")

These new regions will include all of our mapped countries for each of the different Amazon regions, so you will no longer have to add all of the individual countries one by one! This means that if you create a rule for Amazon Italy and someone clicks your link from Romania, they will automatically be sent to the destination of your choosing.

Note: Alternatively, if you would like to update only a single country, or even mix and match different countries, you can still do so by creating a custom rule for each specific country you would like to override.


5. Paste the desired product URL as the destination for the rule you created.

6. Once you're finished, click Update

Congrats, you have now finished your customized, optimized link! Take a break for a few minutes to allow the changes to hit our servers, then test your link with the iso2/xx testing method for good measure.

Once you have tested successfully, now, any of your customers clicking from Italy or the surrounding mapped countries will be taken to the custom destination that you have defined. 
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Time-saving tips:

Don't spend time setting rules for countries where you aren't earning commissions. As a general rule, please keep your attention on the storefronts that are meaningful to you as an affiliate marketer. If a product doesn't translate well for Amazon Italy, this isn't something for you to worry about - unless of course you are part of the Amazon Associates Italy program, and have considerable traffic from Italy.

Try using a different ASIN. If you're looking at setting 4+ rules to repair a link, you might save time if you find the same product under a different listing. A different ASIN may translate better, or require fewer rules. Sometimes it's worth a try!
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"I can't edit my link, because it's not in the dashboard! What's the deal?" 

It's probably a buy.geni.us link built by our WordPress Plugin or JavaScript Snippet!

These are links built programmatically, and they're basically simple links born anew whenever a page is loaded. These links can't be customized, so it's not possible to "repair" this link as it is. To fix it, simply remove the original raw product URL from your page and replace it with a link with Advanced Options built manually within our dashboard.

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