Social Networking

If you frequently create text links to Amazon products you'll appreciate this easy way to do so while you're reading about a product on Amazon. The technique described in this post allows you to create a special bookmark in your browser that automatically generates the HTML, with your Associates ID contained, in Associates Central to link to the product you're viewing on Amazon. Bookmarks like this that consist of JavaScript snippets are known as "bookmarklets."

First, you need to create the bookmarklet using the following process:

1. In Internet Explorer, choose Favorites -> Add to Favorites. (In Firefox, choose Bookmarks -> Manage Bookmarks -> New Bookmark.)
2. Name the bookmark.
3. In the "Create In" box, select the Links folder and click Ok.
4. From the "Links" toolbar, right click on your new bookmark and select "Properties." If the Links toolbar is not visible, you can enable it by choosing View -> Toolbars -> Links.
5. Delete any text in the URL box. Copy the JavaScript snippet below and paste it in the URL box (You may have to copy each line individually, but there shouldn't be any spaces when pasted into the URL box):

javascript:var%20re=/\/([0-9A-Z]{10,10})\//i;if(re.test(location.href
)==true){var%20asin=RegExp.$1;void(win=window.open
('http://associates.amazon.com/gp/associates/network/build-links
/individual/get-html.html
?asin='+asin+'&linkType=static-text'));}

You're now ready to use your new bookmarklet. First, go to Associates Central and log in to your Associates account. Then, go to Amazon.com and start browsing. When you find a product that you want to add to your Web site, just click the bookmark in the Links toolbar. A new window will appear with the HTML you need to link to the product, and it will include your Associates ID. After you've copied the HTML, you can close the window and continue browsing on Amazon.

Do you have other shortcuts or time-saving tips to share? Discuss them on the Associates Discussion Boards or send them to us via email.  We may post them on the blog in the future.