Are you looking to increase your sales on Amazon?
Then you need to think about your Amazon SEO strategy.
Amazon is a highly competitive e-commerce platform. And many retailers want to promote their products there.
It’s no surprise that Amazonās revenue skyrocketed to almost 200 billion dollars last year.
Making sales is the only way to start an Amazon business.
But here comes the tricky part: Amazonās priority is to only show listings that are more likely to convert.
Thatās why the success of your brand on Amazon completely depends on rankings and putting a complete SEO strategy together.
Here’s What We’re Covering:
- What is the Amazon Search Ranking
- Understanding Amazon’s A9 Search Algorithm
- Amazon SEO: Improve Relevancy with Keyword Optimization
- Complete Amazon On-Page Optimization Checklist
- Amazon SEO: Improve Conversions with Perfect Images
- Jumpstart Initial Sales with a Product Launch
What is the Amazon Search Ranking?
According to Amazon, the Amazon Sales Rank shows the productās popularity in a specific category. Sales Rank only works for products that are part of a category. Because some of the products displayed on Amazon donāt have a category.
The Amazon Sales Rank is a reverse ranking system, meaning that the worst selling product has a higher number. While the best-selling products have a lower rank.
It’s updated every hour, and the more frequent the purchases, the better the rank gets.
Hereās the example of a product with a description of its Sales Rank:
While many experts and Amazon users still try to figure out, what determines sales ranking, there are three things every Amazon seller should remember:
- Amazon has the features of a search engine. Therefore good SEO strategies boost your sales;
- Customers will definitely search for your product before they find it among dozens of other similar products. Thatās why you need a higher rank to improve your visibility;
- Your competitors use Amazon as well, so you better start implementing Amazon SEO strategies right away.
But how do you do that?
No worries.
We asked some Amazon retail experts to put together some tips on how to master Amazon SEO and skyrocket your product rankings.
First, we need to understand exactly how the Amazon A9 Algorithm works.
Amazon’s A9 Search Algorithm
There are 3 main ranking factors that Amazon’s A9 ranking algorithm takes into account.
- Conversion Rate
- Keyword Relevancy
- Customer Satisfaction
Your Amazon SEO plan has to take all of these into account. Conversion rate has to do with the amount of traffic your product listing gets to the amount of people that purchase. So images, customer reviews, and price are a big influence in your conversion rate. Later in the article we’ll discuss best practices in each of those conversion factors.
Relevancy has to do with the keywords you choose to rank your products for. Your title and product description are two of the main sections the A9 Algorithm uses to figure out if your listing is relevant. Your product can rank for multiple keywords but only a few keywords with buyer intent. It’s important to know the difference when doing your keyword research.
Finally, customer satisfaction is one of the ranking factors the A9 Algorithm uses to rank your product. Seller feedback and return rate are key here. If you’re going to create an SEO strategy then you need to optimize for these 3 pillars.
We created a larger post that specifically covers everything about Amazon’s A9 Search Algorithm and the 23 Ranking factors that affect conversion, relevancy, and customer satisfaction. If you want a deeper dive then check it out below.
Amazon A9: All 23 Ranking Factors
Amazon SEO: Keyword Optimization
Relevancy with your product listing has everything to do with keyword optimization. That doesn’t mean to stuff keywords everywhere.
You should make the customer feel comfortable buying from you because they believe your product solves their problem.
Focus on these 4 areas to optimize your Amazon listing for relevancy.
1. Work On Your Product Title
The title is the first thing you need to worry about when it comes to Amazon SEO. The right title will also have a great impact on your conversion and click-through rates.
Depending on the type of the products youāre selling, you need to include the following:
- The title of the product (specifically the name of the product, as itās the first thing your customers look for);
- Name of the brand (to ensure brand awareness);
- The material, of which the product is made (optional);
- The key feature of the product (important to help your products stand out);
- Type of the product (optional);
- Color (specific color of your product, as identifying the wrong color will impact your rankings);
- Size of the product;
- Packaging
Including these steps will help you provide a detailed introduction to your product.
So, providing them with as many details as possible will improve the click-through rate, thus, impacting your Amazon product ranking.
š§ PROTIP: Many foreign retailers display their products on Amazon. They often have the titles of their products in other languages. But for successful Amazon retail results, itās necessary to have these titles translated properly. According to the top 10 translation companies, ambiguous and inconsistent translation of a product title can result in lower click-through rates, as it negatively impacts a customerās understanding of the productās purpose.
2. Use Bullet Points to Describe the Features
The second tip to improve your Amazon SEO results is to pay special attention to the way you describe the features of your product. Hereās when bullet points come to the rescue: using them is a well-known way to improve readability.
In order to provide maximum readability of the features of the product, itās necessary to include the following:
- key statements about the product, which aspects of the product make it unique;
- product benefits for the customers;
- advantages of using this product every day;
- warranty details to provide your customers with the maximum security;
According to Nielsen Norman Group, customers pay the most attention to the first bullet points and the least attention ā to the ending bullet points.
Thatās why, when providing product features, itās necessary to include the most important ones first.
Itās also important to remember that each bullet point shouldnāt be longer than 200 characters to provide maximum readability.
š§ PROTIP: Itās important to include a numbered list only when the count of the features is important. For product features, itās better not to use a numbered list. Itās also important to give your bullet point list of features a proper introduction to improve customer engagement. In general, try to keep the list as consistent, as possible. Donāt overuse bulleted lists because the more you include, the less readable they will be.
3. Pay Special Attention to Product Descriptions
Surprisingly, product descriptions have a small impact on your Amazon SEO. But they are still effective when it comes to your conversion rates.
Writing a detailed product description is important in e-commerce, itās the only way the customers can learn about the product.
Kissmetricsā CEO Neil Patel offers the following advice on writing product descriptions:
- Identify your audience before you start writing a description. Who will buy your product? What will they use your product for? Answering these questions will help you define your target audience.
- Write the description yourself: try not to hire anyone for help or look for similar descriptions online. No one knows your products better than you do, and only you can make the description look original;
- Re-state main features of the product again: even if youāve already included a bulleted list, mention them briefly in the description again.
š§ PROTIP: Mentioning product features several times in your description and bulleted lists makes them serve as keywords. The better you apply them, the better your Amazon SEO will be. To make your product descriptions more readable, divide the whole information into several meaningful parts, as seen in the example above.
4. Provide Full Technical Details of the Product
If you sell electronics, itās important to provide technical details in full. Not only will it boost your Amazon SEO but helps customers compare your product.
š§ PROTIP: Your customers may be interested in several of your products. Save them some time and do a product comparison by yourself. Make a chart where you compare technical properties of a few of your most searched products to help them decide. Itās also a great Amazon SEO strategy to help you boost your product rankings.
Amazon Keywords: 4 Tips for Perfectly Optimized Product Listings
Amazon On-Page SEO Optimization Checklist
Every product listing you create needs to be optimized with the following checklist:
- 1. Multiple images and a product video
- 2. Sell with a brand name
- 3. Make sure the title is optimized for the focus keyword
- 4. Answer all the product questions and respond to reviews
- 5. Use Amazon Prime for free 2 day and same day shipping
- 6. Offer multiple options (child listings)
- 7. Use Featured Bullets to highlight benefits of the product
Now:
It is also important to remember a few things when responding to the questions of your customers:
- Give as much information as possible. Remember: youāre helping your customers make the right decision.
- Write specific answers. Donāt be vague, your answer should be tailored to the question.
- Be polite. Sellers have to deal with hundreds of questions every day. But remaining respectful and polite is important. It wonāt skyrocket your SEO results, but it will definitely help you make sure that a lot of your customers will come back.
Next, images are influential in converting visitors into customers. Make sure to use this to your advantage.
Learn to Use Multiple Images
If you want to master Amazon SEO, itās important to pay attention to the images that describe your product. People prefer visual content and find it more informative than boring lengthy texts.
When it comes to Amazon product rankings, itās important to remember a few rules about product images:
- For a clean-cut picture, itās important to use a white background to make the colors of your product stand out. If the major color of your product is white, use a darker color for the background but make sure that the colors donāt mix.
- Use only high-quality images: when looking at your product, customers would want to zoom in, thus, using a high-quality image is important.
- Add multiple images: for your customers, itās important to see the product from different angles. You can include several images, as well as post a photo of your product placed in a certain setting.
š§ PROTIP: Amazon advises the retailers to post the photo, where the product occupies 85% of the image. It should be big enough for the customers to look at the product closer. There also should be no text and other distractions on the photo.
Amazon Image Size Requirement
Amazon has basic requirements for their images. To enable the zoom in feature for your customers Amazon requires an image size of 1,000 px by 1,000 px. An image size that large gives the customer the best resolution and builds trust that you believe in the quality of your product.
There are 3 different types of images you can have in your product listing. The more you use them the more likely you are to make a sale.
#1: Infographic Image
#2: Competitor Analysis Image
#3: Action Shot
#4: Product Video
Amazon is continually giving you opportunities to “wow” the customer.
Jumpstart Sales with a Product Launch
When it comes to generating sales on Amazon there are a few ways to do it.
Of course there are tools, services, and general tricks to drive the first few Amazon sales. But specifically in this section we want to go over a tactic that has worked for us, the product launch.
Common ways to generate initial sales include:
- PPC advertising
- Having friends and family purchase products
- Amazon compliant deal sites (Like JumpSend)
- Running paid traffic from google or Facebook to a landing page
- Running a product launch campaign
The benefit of a product launch is that you are paying to have someone manage your launch for you. They help you target high value keywords, create one time coupons, help manage inventory, and run the campaign for 90 days.
You will understand the process of making your first sales on Amazon along side professionals. The reason why product launches are included in your Amazon SEO strategy is because it accelerates all the efforts you have put into your product listings.
Wrapping this up…
Here is your SEO strategy in a nutshell:
1. Select a high value buyer intent keyword for your product.
2. Optimize your listing for keyword relevancy.
3. Optimize your images for conversion.
4. Include a product video to gain customer trust.
5. Follow the on-page Amazon SEO checklist.
6. Generate your first few sales with one of the methods discussed.
It takes work to make a sale on Amazon but it’s not impossible. You have all the tools here at your disposal. If you run into a roadblock I hope that you ask questions below.
Once you understand how Amazon’s search engine works you’ll realize that putting the customer first is what Amazon wants. The best listings are the ones that help people solve their problems with the best information.
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Good Stuff Kristen, can’t wait to try this. You’ve got my trust already by providing free information. Obviously if I need more information that has to be paid for, I know where to come. Clever strategy not many other use
Thanks for checking out the article Pat!
Wen need to ask these questions before:
Does selling on Amazon save money?
What problems can you encounter when selling on Amazon? How much should I spend to sell in Amazon?
Is the money you earn worth the effort and money you spend? Is it advantageous to sell in Amazon?
Starting an online business with Amazon will save you money because the startup costs are lower. You spend less money getting people to see your products. If you google “how to sell on amazon startupbros” we have a huge guide that will help you through the process, step by step.
Great post, thank you for the tips!
Yes, it is important. For an e-commerce site that sells its products online, it is important to have a clear, concise image in the correct dimension and proportion and should load quickly.
Here Iāve documented everything- https://www.rapportrix.com/optimize-seo-images-product
Hey Vichithra, thanks for the tips! You’re absolutely right š
Similar to regular SEO, are there any tools or techniques to measure the progress that you have made with Amazon SEO?
Hey Varn, yes there absolutely are. The main thing you want to do is track the keywords you want to rank for to see if what you’re doing is working. We recommend Helium 10 for that because they have a keyword tracker that you can use and it’s relatively inexpensive. If you have any trouble using it please let me know!
Hi great article for new seller like me. keep up doing this good work.
Awesome i have a lot of knowledge about this now hope will be able to generate lot of sales. Thanks for your information Kristen Savage. Keep up doing good work.Thanks again