SEO, keyword research, optimization- these are some of the terms relevant for online content to rank high in search engines. But do you consider only Google while optimizing your content?
Well, let me tell you that Amazon SEO is equally important if you want to up your game of selling any products online!
If you go on Amazon, you will see that there is a search bar where customers or potential buyers do their searches. Now if you want your products to rank first in the search list and want to increase your sales, then you must be well aware of Amazon SEO procedure. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that Amazon is a buying platform; hence the working of Amazon SEO is a tad bit different from Google SEO.
Why Amazon ranking is better and crucial is because, in these past decades, the growth of Amazon is humungous. It has become one of the most trusted and biggest e-commerce sites. And obviously, as a seller you want your product to be listed on top of Amazon searches so that it furnishes maximum sales.
This article will give a detailed overview of what is Amazon SEO, how it works and what you can do to increase your traffic and sales of Amazon products.
What is Amazon SEO?
Amazon SEO is merely optimizing the product listings in such a way that it appears at the top of search results on Amazon. Basically, the product that you are selling must be at the top of the search results when the buyer or consumer searches for it. If it is better ranked, it will be more visible paving the way for more profit and sales.
While using Google search, we usually open all the links that are embedded in the first page. Similarly, while buying any product on Amazon, we tend to buy those products that are listed on top of our search list.
Hence if you are a seller on Amazon, you must utilize the working of SEO and try to rank your product higher in order to sell more.
Next question that must be coming to your mind is how this ranking system works! It is essential to understand the ranking system of Amazon as it works differently than any other platforms.
Let’s Talk About A9- Amazon’s Ranking Algorithm
A9.com is a subsidiary of Amazon that is responsible for managing the search algorithm of Amazon. Hence Amazon’s search algorithm is known as A9. The ranking of the product that you are selling is determined by A9 algorithm; this is what decides your profit.
Let’s understand a bit more deeply, how this A9 works!
How Does the Amazon Ranking Work?
Amazon Ranking works on the same principles as that of Google search engine. Amazon uses algorithms to help choose customers with a relevant product out of millions of products. However, there’s a fundamental difference between the functioning of Google and Amazon.
Amazon will show the product that the buyer is most likely to buy instead of what is more relevant, like in the case of Google. There are a number of factors on the basis of which the likelihood of the buyer is determined, and that is precisely what we are going to ponder upon in this article.
As a seller on Amazon, you need to focus on optimizing the following things for the product that you want to sell.
- Conversions
- Performance
- Relevance
- Visibility
Now in order to optimize the things as mentioned earlier, it is crucial to look into each of the factors that help in ranking your product on the top of the search list.
Product Listing Optimization for Relevance Related Ranking Factors
The relevance of the product that you are selling can be influenced by optimizing the product’s title; it’s listing on Amazon and various other things that we shall now look into. By using relevant keywords in these things, you will be able to rank your product listing higher.
The Product’s Title/ Name
Just like for Google SEO, we need to put the relevant keywords for it to rank on the top, your product title must have the relevant keywords for it to be optimized. Following are some of the ways of optimizing your Amazon product name.
- Have a clear and precise description of the product
- Include the brand name of the product and product type
- Include the essential material or key feature of the product
- Clearly specify colour, size and other relevant things of the product
- If the product is quantifiable, make sure to mention the quantity
One of the things that can set your product listing apart from others is the way you order all these elements while describing your product along with making use of additional keywords.
There are two things to keep in mind while determining the relevant keywords of a product: keyword order and keyword choice.
The title of the product must contain the most relevant keywords first. Hence the order of the keywords is crucial from the optimization point of view. Also, the choice of keywords must be practical and in accordance with the relevance of your product.
While optimizing is good, one thing to keep in mind is that keywords must never be stuffed in the title as that can look spammy and might lead to the product being ranked low. Use the proper and relevant keywords in such a way that it looks natural.
Some action steps for optimizing Amazon Product Title
- Use any tool to research the prominent keywords of the product. You can use Helium 10 – Magnet and Keyword Inspector.
- You can pick up a competitor in the first three spots of the product search and look at their data and keywords.
- Once you have these data and keywords, try to combine everything and put a description of your product based on the frequency of these keywords.
- You may use special characters such as these (, & -) to add style and some breaks within your title.
Product’s Seller Name
According to some marketers, by mentioning the seller’s name, you can rank your product higher in the search list. The main keywords must be included within the seller name only. This will make sure that the keywords are there as well as the seller’s name. This way, the relevance of your product will be higher, leading to its optimization.
Mentioning the seller’s name is also essential for the product to be featured in the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). So pay attention to this while optimizing the product listing.
Product Descriptions
The product descriptions are important for improving the visibility of your product. In the product descriptions, mention the brand name, details about the product and in between utilize some keywords from your research before.
Make sure to use bullet points while writing the features of the product. The bullets make it easy to read from the point of view of buyers. Also, you can make use of the keywords by putting them properly in the bullet points. Always look at the product descriptions of your competitors and see what points are relevant or not.
Always remember to include a strong CTA (Call To Action) at the end of the product description, and it must be to the point. Some examples can be Buy Now, Order Today, etc.
Again don’t unnecessarily stuff all the keywords in the description, instead use it normally and your description must feel like a story being put there.
A well-structured story of the product ending with a good CTA.
Amazon Backend Keywords Search
Let’s start with a very basic question. What are the backend keywords?
Backend keywords are nothing but the hidden keywords that are used in the Amazon Seller Account’s backend section. The main task of these keywords is to tell the A9 algorithm that a specific product listing is targeting a specific keyword on the site.
There are about five fields where sellers can fill their backend keywords. There is a limit of using 50 characters in each of these fields. Hence, it’s important to keep a few things in mind while filing these fields.
- Avoid repetition of words
- Include variations in spellings, commonly used words and synonyms
- Do not write quotation marks as your word limit will be decreased
- Do not include variations of a particular word
Performance Related Optimization Ranking Factors
These factors are a bit difficult to control, as there are numerous other considerations beyond SEO to come into play. Nonetheless, since performance factors do influence your sales of a product, it is imperative to know about it.
Product Price
The product price impacts the Amazon conversion rate and also the number of units you want to move on the site. If the price of your product is competitive compared to other sites that sell your product or a similar product, then all these affect the conversion rate positively.
If similar products on Amazon are being sold for less than what your product’s rate is then two things are likely to happen.
- Amazon’s algorithm will judge that your product is not likely to be sold as many as the others.
- Your product will not be sold as many as the other similar products.
Hence, if the price of your product is too high as compared with the other similar products on Amazon, then your search ranking will be lowered, thereby leading to fewer sales. It is advisable to price your product carefully after looking at what other competitors on the site have done.
Even if you decide to keep a high price of your product, make sure that you cite the reason for it, such as more and better reviews, specifications of the product, etc.
Amazon Conversion Rate
The conversion rates are a bit difficult to understand as sellers do not have access to Amazon’s analytics, but nonetheless, this is one of the important factors for search ranking.
Under the Reports section in Amazon Seller Central, you can check the business reports section that gives you information regarding the conversion rates. You can check the number of units bought.
Amazon Reviews
The online reviews are one of the fundamental performance-related factors that affect the algorithms. If you notice the search list, generally the product placed at the top of the list has higher reviews and broader keywords than the one listed below the search list.
Hence getting more reviews of your product is linked to more significant sales that positively impact your ranking. Also, don’t try to add fake reviews as Amazon’s algorithm can crackdown on fake reviews to maintain its integrity.
Reviews let other buyers know that the product is safe to use and they can spend their money on it. Also, honest and unbiased feedback and reviews are very much important for the ranking of your product.
In order to get timely feedback and reviews for your product, you must indulge in the following things.
- Ask your customers for a review by writing them a custom email.
- Send them follow-up reminder emails after the purchase.
- Also make sure that in case of any bad review or complaints from the customers, you actually address those issues.
Amazon Product Images
The high-quality images of your products directly influence your conversion rate. According to the guidelines of Amazon, images must be 1,000 pixels or larger in height or width. There are other requirements that must be adhered to while posting of pictures and images.
