Amazon quietly shutters product ads that drove traffic to outside sites

Cutting them off: Amazon is dropping ads that drive traffic to external websites.

SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon.com Inc quietly shuttered a pay-per-click advertising programme that allowed businesses to divert traffic from the retailer's platform to their own websites on Aug 11, saying it would permanently discontinue the programme in October. 

The programme allowed many businesses that are not necessarily sellers on Amazon's online marketplace to buy ad space on its website. Targeted ads for specific items would pop up on Amazon's website and drive shoppers to the retailer or manufacturer's own site.