Have you ever wondered why certain products appear in Amazon search results while others do not? How do some Amazon listings get many clicks while others fail to attract attention?
There tend to be patterns that product sellers can follow to gain exposure on Amazon. In fact, many elements contribute to a successful product listing on Amazon. Still, product listing optimization seems to be one of the most important ways to improve exposure — along with reviews, as explained in our other article: “What are the benefits of Amazon reviews?“.
Introduction
This article will explore the critical aspects of Amazon SEO and what guidelines to follow to optimize your Amazon product listings.
Many factors contribute to a successful product listing on Amazon, but optimizing your listing is one of the most important things you can do to drive sales. Soon we will explore the process of optimizing your product listing and explain why it is so important.
Amazon product listing optimization: why is it so important?
As you already know, Amazon product listings or product pages are the core of Amazon’s e-commerce business. Every customer relies on them to get information about a particular product. Amazon listings should be your first focus if you want to increase sales.
To be successful, you must succeed in this area and make sure all areas are accounted for — from the product title to reviews (which are also extremely important). Many other factors will play a role in the visibility of your products and, therefore, your sales.
Amazon A9: an entire search engine that is all about products
Amazon developed its own search engine, which powers its product searches, under the name A9. The Amazon A9 algorithm ranks products at the top of its search results page that is relevant to the customer’s query, as every other search engine does. But it does it differently.
The enormous amount of structured data in the Amazon catalogue allows them to combine different relevant features and display search results explicitly tailored for individuals. It does so thanks to various factors; some are still unknown since Amazon A9’s source code is proprietary.
This algorithm adapts to search patterns and displays what customers are looking for (even when they don’t search for the correct item). It considers what it learned from previous search patterns and applies them to the items it displays to customers. The optimizations are then applied to related products, cart suggestions and most places where Amazon shows their products.
Key factors that influence Amazon A9’s ranking system
Thousands of companies and internet marketers had difficulty finding the inner workings of their A9 algorithm. Still, we identified some aspects that significantly affect your Amazon conversions and sales for product listings. The characteristics are the following:
Keyword relevance
Relevance is what determines the ranking of products. It’s a calculation that considers keywords, descriptions, and other factors to assess their relevance for any given search term or keyword.
The more relevant your products are to a term, the higher they will rank in search results. Creative titles and SEO-optimized descriptions are essential for getting your product to rank high. Do not overfill your descriptions with irrelevant keywords, as they reduce relevance and rankings.
Parent and child products
Amazon’s parent/child product feature is an excellent way to display variations of the same product instead of showing them as entirely different items. Your customer can find all the same products on a single page. Amazon’s ranking system evaluates your products by listing similar products higher on the search results page than they would otherwise.
Some examples of parent and child products are the same socks available in different colours, lipstick available in different shades, frames available in other formats and sizes etc. Another benefit of using this functionality is that your visitors will stay on your page longer and will be more likely to make a purchase.
Pricing
The Amazon A9 search engine has a complex algorithm. All it does on the surface is display the bestselling and relevant products, but to achieve this, it also checks if a product has been priced appropriately.
It does this by looking at the best price amongst local competitors and judging how well an Amazon product listing represents the product. It’s essential to keep the balance between these two critical requirements.
Sales Velocity
The A9 algorithm, which we briefly explained earlier, grades each seller based on a sales velocity analysis. This analysis compares dollar volume (amount) and item quantity per transaction (number). The seller with the highest sales velocity wins out, plain and simple.
In reality, this calculation is pretty much more complex as it includes other factors such as the merchant’s industry size, the product’s category and geolocation. The exact formula is unknown. However, it is known that sales velocity plays a significant role in Amazon search rankings.
There are many ways to boost sales velocity and increase conversions. For instance, promotions can provide a quick bump in sales. However, it’s not a long-term strategy. Discounting your product may provide you with an immediate boost in sales and conversions. Still, it would be best if you were very careful while offering them, as long-term use of discounts may have adverse effects on Amazon search rankings.
Stock Availability
You may have noticed that Amazon product listings with low stock disappear entirely from the top rankings. This is because the algorithm that ranks your product considers the current stock quantity (and future stock prediction).
In other words, running out of stock negatively impacts your Amazon product listings and can significantly reduce the sales volume. There are many proactive ways to ensure that stock quantity never falls under a certain amount. One of these ways is joining the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) program.
Accurate descriptions
Product descriptions are not only about long text and keywords. Quality plays a prominent role when it comes down to search rankings. It’s paramount that your content passes even the most advanced plagiarism checks. When you are listing a new product, avoid copying other descriptions at all costs.
Educate your future customers about your listing conditions and all the benefits of buying from you. Tell them why your products are better than others without telling them that your products are better than others. Remember to provide thorough descriptions and high-quality images to ensure your product can be accurately listed and ranked accordingly.
Questions and Answers
With this form of marketing strategy, you will create a fantastic customer experience for visitors browsing through your products. You can increase engagement and reduce friction by providing answers in the Q&A section of your product listings.
This can be achieved either organically or artificially. Generating genuine and relevant questions can be extremely hard for some products. Ormosis can assist you in the process of obtaining more Questions and Answers for your Amazon products. For more information, please refer to our Amazon services page.
Full-HD+ images
To succeed online in today’s competitive markets, you must give your products a boost by having the sort of high-quality images that appeal to your shoppers. You can find the perfect product images using A/B testing, either manually or using external tools.
Amazon wants you to upload images that show the product in use. Pictures of the product in use generate more clicks as buyers constantly assess if they are getting a good deal. Soon, your visitors will want 3D images to see exactly how the product looks before purchasing it. Many websites other than Amazon are adopting this technology.
Photo-realism and 3D rendering look unique and irresistible — especially since merchants do not widely use them. In the future, these images may become an actual requirement. There are a plethora of tools that can transform your products into 3D renders. Some of these tools only require a smartphone and an internet connection.
Amazon recommends uploading as many acceptable images as possible, taken from all angles. Numerous high-quality images are known to appease the A9 algorithm and boost search rankings. Place quality over quantity. If you do not have many photos available, focusing on the correct pictures is vital as finding the best order.
Customer reviews
By far, the most significant influence on your sales is reviews. Product ratings will be shown in search results, while reviews will be displayed on the product page. Both play a massive role in search rankings and customer decisions.
Amazon will always value products with a high amount of detailed reviews. The keywords inside those reviews may influence search rankings and include your products in more search results. Reviews play a crucial role in the A9 algorithm to determine whether shoppers are engaging positively or not. This goes beyond star ratings, as Amazon leverages AI to perform a Customer Sentiment Analysis on every product.
At the same time, reviews will significantly affect your customer decisions and reduce purchase friction, as explained in our article “What are the benefits of positive reviews?“. Getting more reviews will make it much easier for buyers to move forward in their purchasing decision on your products. Ormosis can help you obtain more positive Amazon reviews. For more information, feel free to visit our Amazon reviews service page.
A+ content
Amazon says: “A+ content is the best way to improve product sales“. This bold statement by Amazon explains that for companies to increase their sales, they must provide more information to prospective customers.
It is known that multimedia content will make the product’s listing appear more intriguing. A study conducted by MediaMind, which reviewed 24,000 websites, found that multimedia content helped increase impressions by 3x. It wouldn’t be surprising if the same concept applied to most internet pages, including product pages. [Source: Study Finds Rich Media and Video Improves Digital Ad Engagement]
Category
When you are publishing your products on Amazon, make sure you divide the products into their most specific categories. Otherwise, customers may not know where to find what you offer.
Always ensure your categories are very specific for customers to find your product listings effortlessly. Amazon may not show your products to the right customers if the category in your listing is too broad or incorrect.
How to optimize your Amazon listings
Now that we explained the key factors, it’s time to discuss what you can do to optimize your Amazon products. Most merchants tend to forget two essential concepts:
- Choose the right keywords, category and ad copy to help rank the terms buyers search for.
- Optimize images, titles, and descriptions with the right keywords and high-quality content to increase conversion rates.
It isn’t only about achieving good rankings on Amazon’s search results. It is also about your product’s quality, features, and what consumers think of it. Ultimately, you are trying to influence consumer decisions positively so they do the hard work for you.
Take a closer look at the list above and ensure that every single element is heavily optimized. Ormosis can help you climb the mountain of Amazon search results with proven methods and never-seen-before services. For more information, please have a look at our Amazon services page.
TL;DR
If you are trying to optimize your product listing on Amazon and climb the search results, you must start working on the basics. Product titles, descriptions, images and reviews are the key factors that can influence your odds of success on Amazon.
If you are stuck at the bottom, Ormosis provides a range of services that can organically boost your Amazon listings and skyrocket your sales. For more information regarding our methods and their cost, refer to our Amazon services page.
Source: Amazon listing optimization 101
