3 Metrics Better Than CTR to Grow Amazon Affiliate Income

Every Amazon Associate looks at their report and checks their Click-Through Rate (CTR) first. We all do it! A high CTR means your posts are getting clicks, and that feels good.

But here is a secret that the pros know: Clicks don't equal cash.

If you want to really want to boost your income and become an authority in your niche, you need to look beyond clicks.

You need to focus on metrics that show you what actually turns a website visitor into a paying customer.

In this simple guide, we will break down three crucial numbers in your Amazon Associates reports that are far more important than CTR. These numbers tell you what content is making you the most money.

1. The Metric That Matters Most: Earnings Per Click (EPC)

Forget about CTR for a moment. This single number tells you exactly how much money you earn every time someone clicks on an Amazon link on your website.

What is EPC?

EPC is short for Earnings Per Click. It takes all the money you made in a given time period and divides it by the total number of clicks you sent to Amazon.

• Simple Math: If you earned $100 and had 500 clicks, your EPC is $0.20. (\$100 / 500 clicks = \$0.20 EPC).

Why EPC is Better Than CTR

A high CTR just means your button or image is clickable. A high EPC means your post is doing the hard work: convincing the reader to buy not just the product you linked to, but also anything else they toss into their Amazon cart during that 24-hour visit.

• The Test: Imagine two blog posts:
  • Post A has a great headline and an amazing button. It gets a high CTR, but a low EPC ($0.10). This means people clicked, but didn't buy much.
  • Post B has an okay headline, but gets a high EPC ($0.50). This means the content is highly convincing, and the visitors it sends are serious buyers.

Your Action Step: Find your highest-EPC content and create more posts just like it! This is your secret formula for finding what truly motivates your specific audience to spend money.

2. The Conversion Metric: Total Items Shipped Rate

Amazon's reports use two confusing terms: "Items Ordered" and "Items Shipped." This distinction is a huge, important one.

The Difference Explained

• Items Ordered: This number goes up right away when a customer clicks your link and places an item in their cart and clicks "buy." This number is exciting, but it’s not final.
• Items Shipped (or Dispatched): This is the real number you get paid on. It is the total number of items that were successfully delivered to the customer and weren't cancelled or returned.

Why "Items Shipped" is Your True Conversion Rate

The total number of items shipped is your real conversion rate. It tells you the final outcome of your hard work.

Sometimes a high "Items Ordered" number might drop because of cancellations or fraud. Focusing on "Items Shipped" gives you an honest look at your income.

• Authority Insight: If you have a big difference between your "Items Ordered" and your "Items Shipped" on a specific post, you might be promoting a product that has high cancellation rates, a high rate of fraud, or is constantly out of stock. You should either remove the link or find a better product.

Your Action Step: Always check the Link-Type Report in your Associates Central dashboard. Look for links that generate a low "Items Shipped" number and swap those products out for something more reliable.

3. The Research Metric: Products Ordered That Weren't Linked

This is the most underused, hidden piece of information in your entire Associates report, and it shows you exactly what your audience is secretly looking for.

What This Metric Is

In the "Orders Report" section, Amazon lists all the items that were purchased after a click from your site. Often, you will see products listed that you never even linked to!

This happens because the Amazon cookie works across the entire store. If you link to a kitchen knife, and the reader buys the knife plus a pair of shoes, you get a commission on the shoes, too!

Why This is Gold for Content Creation

When you see a lot of people buying the same item you didn't link to, it tells you two things:

1. You Found a Need: Your audience is clearly interested in that specific product or category (like shoes in the example above).
2. You Have a Content Idea: You should immediately write a dedicated review or list post about that exact item or category. You already know your audience is ready to buy it!

Example: You run a cooking blog. You see your Orders Report shows lots of sales for "Smart Plugs" and "Desk Lights," even though you never linked to them.

• The New Blog Post Idea: "5 Smart Home Gadgets Every Home Cook Needs to Make Life Easier." You just found a high-converting topic straight from your audience's data.

Your Action Step: Download your Items Shipped or Orders Report every month and sort by "All Other Items Ordered." If you see a trend, write a post about it right away.

Final Takeaway: Stop Chasing Clicks, Chase Conversions

A high CTR is great for your ego, but Earnings Per Click (EPC) is what pays the bills.

Becoming an Amazon Affiliate authority means knowing more than just how to create a good link.

It means using the powerful data Amazon gives you to refine your content, remove low-performing links, and create exactly the content your audience is ready to spend money on.

Take it from someone who's been there and done that.

Start focusing on these three metrics today, and watch your actual income grow.