If you are looking to sell on Amazon, it’s essential that you understand its algorithm and search engine. The retail giant’s custom, proprietary search engine is called A9. It was designed and built specifically for their online sales platform. To understand how to maximize your SEO visibility and sales on Amazon, you need to understand how this complex system operates so that you can create your listings accordingly.
The Challenge
Like other proprietary algorithms, grasping exactly how A9 works is a closely guarded secret. When it comes to search engine optimization, instead of cracking the code, you generally need to simply work to write honest content that mirrors what consumers put into a search engine. Understanding Amazon’s A9 algorithm, however, is a little more complex, as it is tied to sales conversions—that is, how many people buy after visiting your page. Writing product listings with an understanding of A9 can lead directly to more consumers not only seeing your product in their first page of product listings, but to clicking the buy button once they’ve seen what you’re offering. As such, it’s worth taking the time to understand how to best optimize your page for top A9 search results.
Rankings are Important
How many products you sell can directly affect how soon consumers see your product in their search results. Still, getting to that point can be tricky. How do you get folks to find your product so that you can sell it and begin climbing the ladder to page 1? This is where Amazon listing optimization comes in.
It’s believed that somewhere around 70% of consumers never click past the first page of results on Amazon after conducting a search. By writing your listing so that consumers are more likely to see it when searching for particular keywords, you increase the likelihood of popping up early in the search. Writing that drives action and entices customers to buy then begins to feed those efforts. More views plus more sales equals higher conversion rates, which also equals better rankings. The more you sell, the earlier your product will show up in search. This may feel like a bit of a catch-22. Still, there are some tricks to optimizing your listings so that your product can be easily found to begin with.
The Best Listing
The best listings rely on a several factors to drive sales. The first key to listing optimization is a strong use of keywords. From the title to the bullets to the product and company description, every box you fill in when creating a listing is an opportunity to include keywords that consumers search for when trying to find a product like yours. Conduct keyword research to develop a comprehensive list of what is popular in your niche. Look at other listings similar to yours and figure out how to write your product listing better, for more impact, and to ensure it is distinguishable. What makes your company or product special or different? Give the consumer all the reasons they need to buy, and ask for the sale directly with a call to action.
Photos are another critical element to your Amazon listing. Be sure that you include high-quality photos from every angle. The images should also show every side of your product, including clear and understandable close-ups, so the consumer can truly understand what the product looks like. You want to make it such that a buyer feels they understand just what holding or owning your product would be like. In addition, it’s a good idea to show the product in action to give an idea of its size or function.
Availability is important when it comes to listing rankings, so be sure to restock and update your Amazon listings appropriately. If your product is running low or out of stock repeatedly, that can negatively affect rankings via A9. After all, Amazon wants to sell products. It’s not in their best interest to drive consumers to listings that are nearly out of stock.
The cost of your item is also an essential aspect of your listing. It almost goes without saying, but you must be competitively priced to get the sale. If there are other products available just like yours but that cost less money, you need to explain to your consumer why your product is better. This could be because it is made with higher-quality ingredients, crafted from organic materials, or made in the USA. Other benefits, like if it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee or lifetime warranty, are also worth noting. Any factors that can distinguish it from similar products that may be priced lower are important to include in your listing.
Last but not least, don’t forget about backend keywords. You might have wondered what to do with all those keywords you couldn’t find room for in your product listing. Here’s how to make them work for you. The backend keywords area is where you can use up to 250 keywords that may also be words consumers search for. Consider misspellings, plurals, words in other languages, synonyms, and related keywords that may draw a consumer to your listing. These keywords should be ones you might have omitted from the listing’s earlier sections because it would have made it seem fake or stuffed with unnatural language. Get those words in on the backend.
Advertising
Allocating an appropriate portion of your budget for advertising online can help increase your visibility. This translates directly to more sales. More and more, you’ll see “Sponsored” products at the top of your search results, regardless of the search engine that you’re using. This may even displace the most relevant native results in a search.
Amazon also offers advertising opportunities in the form of headline search ads and product display ads. A headline search appears like a bar at the top of your screen after searching. While it’s a banner ad in its size and placement, consumers may look at it first and think the ad is part of native search results, then choose to click there first.
The third opportunity for advertising is a product display ad. These are small ads off to the side that display next to a product a consumer has clicked on to learn more. Your opportunity here can be with competitive pricing or other facets of your product that distinguish it from a competitor’s product, catching the consumer’s eye and causing them to click on your ad and away from the product listing they’re in.
Reviews
Encourage consumers to post reviews of your products. Entice them with coupons for repeat orders, reward them with positive feedback, and address any negative comments promptly to show customer service. Reviews are an important part of the success of your product on Amazon. Most consumers check out both positive and negative reviews before making a purchase, so ensure that potential buyers will see what they want to see by working towards great customer services.
Two-Purpose Listing
Ultimately, when writing your Amazon product listing, keep in mind that you are writing for two entities: your potential customer and the A9 algorithm. Every part of your listing should be crafted to be the best description of your product and your company, with great photos, optimized keywords, and descriptors that set you apart from the competition. You not only need to attract the customers you want, you need to convert their peek to a sale. You then need to work to build good customer relationships through reviews and customer service. Creating a high-quality Amazon listing in every aspect and utilizing elements like backend keywords and advertising opportunities can help you reach the top of the Amazon heap.
By learning how A9 works and responding accordingly, you will be well on your way to increasing your Amazon sales ranking and doing all you can to increase potential sales. It’s essential to harness these and other SEO and algorithm strategies to remain competitive in the complex and ever-changing world of online retail. For help with your tactical Google SEO and Amazon SEO needs, reach out to the experts at Galileo Tech Media.