3 ms·

>> Q. And Penguin Random House pays Amazon to improve its search results? >> A. There is something that is available to our publishers, it’s called Amazon Mark

• russellbeattie 3y ago
  It's a protection racket. Here's how it works: The big companies that pay for AMS get listed ahead of companies that don't in the search results. Since they all pay, it means that the top results are basically ranked the same as if none of them paid. But if you don't pay, your books will appear in the "organic" results - after all the marketed ones - essentially destroying any chance of being seen. This way Amazon can claim that their search results are fair and algorithmic, protecting them from accusations of monopolistic practices. AMS is a simple paid marketing service, not at all like a tax or protection money, right? But what's really happening is companies are paying just to make sure they're included somewhere in the top results rather than the organic ones, which no one bothers to look at. They do the same for their App Store search on Fire TVs. No rev share? Good luck finding that app - even if you search for it by name. So "hopefully better" is all the publishers are paying for.