Whose Amazon account goes on a client's affiliate site? The client's.
Amazon bars your tag on a site that isn't yours, and only an account's primary owner can create Creators API credentials. PaapiPlugin is set up for exactly that split: the client's tag goes in settings, product boxes and comparison tables run on the Managed API with no Amazon API credentials needed yet, and Premium covers 1, 3 or unlimited sites.
Account ownership is Amazon's rule, not a line in your proposal
Section 6(b) of Amazon's program policies bars links carrying your tag on a site that is not your Site. The application rules add that you must own your website. So the agency builds and maintains, and the client holds the Associates account, the tag and the payouts.
That also answers the revenue-share question. Your tag on their site is out. If your fee depends on results, agree it with the client and read the results through their reports.
A client onboarding sequence that fits Amazon's rules
Four steps, in the order that avoids anyone sharing a password.
- The client holds the Associates account. If they don't have one yet, they apply with their own details and their own site.
- The client invites you as a user. Only the Full Access user, the account holder, can add or remove users. The roles are Full Access, Reports Access and Basic Access, and an invite expires after 48 hours. See Amazon's user access help.
- You install PaapiPlugin and enter the client's tag. Boxes, tables and search start on the Managed API with no Amazon API credentials needed yet.
- The client creates Creators API credentials when Amazon allows it. Only the primary account owner can sign up, with at most two applications per store and up to two credential sets each. The client hands them over and you enter them in settings. Per Amazon's FAQ, they work across marketplaces once regional approval is in place.
What the plugin handles on the agency side
Licenses by site count
Premium is one plan in three sizes: Personal for 1 site, Professional for 3, Agency for unlimited sites. Each site still needs its own Associate tag. Prices are on the pricing page.
The tag lives in one setting
Box shortcodes hold an ASIN and table shortcodes hold a table ID, never a tag. Change the tag once and every box, table and search block on that site uses the new one. PaapiPlugin never adds a tag of its own. On Premium, Settings > Import and export copies one site's appearance and search display settings to the next client site with a file that never carries the Associate Tag or credentials. It can carry geotargeting too, tracking IDs included, so leave that group out when each client has their own.
Our name off the front end
On Premium you can hide the "Powered by PaapiPlugin" line on that site. The plugin keeps its name in the WordPress plugins list and in its own admin screens.
Lists that keep a roundup current
Premium includes auto-updating top seller and new release lists that refresh at least once a day. That means fewer client emails asking why a roundup still shows last year's models.
Offboarding and site sales
Amazon's Operating Agreement says it cannot be assigned without Amazon's express prior written approval, so an Associates account does not simply travel with a site. Site brokers such as FE International describe the usual route: the buyer opens a new account and swaps in their own link code, and a few links tend to get missed.
On a PaapiPlugin site the swap for boxes, tables and search is a single setting. Links typed by hand into post content still have to be found and changed. Decide the plugin license at kickoff too: some agencies keep it while the client is on a care plan, others have the client buy it from day one. Either way, licenses are managed in the PaapiPlugin customer portal.
Agency and freelancer questions
Can I put my own Amazon tag on a client site and split the commission?
Amazon's policies rule that out: links with your tag may not appear on a site that is not your Site. The client's tag goes on the client's site. If you want a performance fee, agree it with the client directly and ask for Reports Access so you can see the numbers.
Do all my client sites share the Managed API searches?
Only on the Agency plan. Agency gets 3,600 searches a month in one pool for every site on the license, so a busy client can use up what the quiet ones would have had. If the pool runs out, search, boxes and tables stop showing new results on all those sites until it resets. Personal and Professional give each site 1,200 a month of its own, and a site running on the client's Creators API credentials does not use the Managed API.
Can I white-label PaapiPlugin on client sites?
On the front end, yes. Premium lets you hide the "Powered by PaapiPlugin" line on that site. WordPress still lists the plugin by name, and its admin screens keep PaapiPlugin branding for whoever manages the site.
Who should own the PaapiPlugin license, the agency or the client?
Either can work, as long as the contract says which. Keeping it on your account suits a care plan; having the client buy it makes the handover cleaner. Licenses are activated, changed and deactivated in the PaapiPlugin customer portal.
Is the agency responsible for disclosures on client sites?
Partly, if you write or publish the content. The FTC's endorsement guidance says you could be liable if you play a role in creating or disseminating endorsements, and it names ad agencies as a focus. Agree with the client who checks disclosures before anything goes live.
Licensing for a client roster
Use the free plan for pitches and staging builds. Premium is sold by site count and comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Product boxes and comparison tables
- Live Amazon product search
- Both Creators API and PA-API v5
- 5 Amazon categories, 5 pages of results
- Autocomplete and filters
- Responsive grid
- Smart caching for staging builds
- Visual shortcode builder
- Everything in Free
- Full styling and badges for boxes and tables
- Editorial and Spotlight product box styles
- Analytics with no cookies, no PII
- Auto-updating top seller and new release lists
- Geotargeting
- Settings import and export, to copy one setup to the next site
- Every Amazon category your store offers
- Base and accent colors, button text color, product text colors and sizes, buy button color and size, corner radius per client
- Dark mode, Google Fonts, card styles
- Deal and discount filters (with your own Amazon credentials)
- White-label mode
- Up to Amazon's 10-page ceiling
- 14-day money-back guarantee
Set up the next client site the way Amazon expects
Install PaapiPlugin on a staging copy, enter the client's tag, and show them a product box and a comparison table built from their own niche. Free to start, and the license can sit with whoever you agree on.