With over 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers shopping daily, it’s easy to understand how Amazon owns 43% of all online sales. With so many searches, members, and products on Amazon, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of billions of options.
The beauty of Amazon, though, is the power for anyone to sell anything. We can find almost every type of brand on their website, from small stay-at-home parent-owned storefronts to household names such as Burt’s Bees or Adidas. As long as you offer your user great products, Amazon is interested in what you sell.
What makes or breaks a listing in something we call Amazon SEO. Amazon search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing product listings to help rank them higher in product searches on the website. Like Google, Amazon evaluates the search results, meaning there are a few key things you can add or change in your listings to give them a better chance of ranking.
What Exactly is Amazon SEO?
Amazon is constantly reviewing and studying its searchers, products, and backend information to ensure its users receive the best search results. When users type in an inquiry, such as “men’s dress shoes,” it considers multiple factors before presenting its user with options.
Amazon's current algorithm, A9, is the basis for determining which sellers will be displayed to buyers on the home page.
Amazon SEO happens when a business takes a product listing, optimizes it based on what their user wants best, and publishes those optimized results. As an Amazon seller, these SEO tactics can help you:
Drive more traffic to product listings
Increase product and brand visibility
Boost conversion rates and sales growth
Search Engine Optimization for websites like Amazon and Etsy is crucial because potential buyers can directly compare you and your competitor's side by side. This is exactly where Amazon SEO begins to come in. With the right Amazon SEO strategies, not only does it improve your rankings but your conversion rates as well.
Seven Tips to Improve Your Amazon SEO
Conduct Keyword Research and Understand What Your Audience is Looking For
Choosing the right Amazon keywords is essential to your SEO success. They are the best Amazon SEO tools to help your eCommerce business connect with your audience on the platform based on what they are looking for.
In our earlier example of “men’s dress shoes,” those would be one of the key terms our user searches for to find our product. Therefore, they are referred to as ‘keywords.’
Keywords are just one or two similar phrases; it can be any variation of “men’s dress shoes” that someone would use to search for that specific item. Keywords can be broad such as “dress shoes for men” or “men’s nice shoes,” or specific such as “men’s black wedding shoes.” Regardless of the length, your best-performing keywords should be placed in certain places on your Amazon listing.
Researching these keywords you and your competitors are ranking for will also help you understand your user's search intent. Based on the reviews of products that rank for your searches, what could users like better? What are they lacking? What do they want? These questions will help you create better products and product listings.
Collect or Update Your Reviews
Reviews are a crucial part of any business. In fact, 80% of people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. A9, the Amazon algorithm, also checks the validity and details of these reviews. These reviews can also positively impact the volume of traffic you get to your Amazon product pages.
When your shop and listings perform well enough, Google can begin to display your products on its site. After all, Google wants to give its users the best result for their searches. Positive reviews on your product listings that showcase your product help users, and Google, see how your products positively impact its buyers.
Here are four ways to generate more reviews for your Amazon store:
Send follow-up emails
Offer an incentive
Connect with your customers and personally thank them
Respond to the reviews posted
Optimize Your Images to Showcase Usability
Not only is your product image the first thing Amazon visitors will see, but it’s also one of the best ways to increase (or decrease) your Amazon rankings. When Amazon picks up on how throughout your product images are, such as showing a wide variety of uses, close-up and far-away image shots, and others, it could potentially rank that listing higher than your competitors.
After all, Amazon wants to give its users the best products possible for their search.
Here are three types of images every Amazon listing needs:
Main image: This is the first image displayed on the product detail page and search results page. The product must fill at least 85% of the image area with only the item that is being sold displayed. Additional accessories and packaging should not be included. This image should also be on a plain, white background.
Presentation of the USPs: The following 2-4 photos on your listing should show the unique selling points in detail. You will want to highlight the craftsmanship of your product first and foremost.
Action shots: Include images of your product being used to encourage people to purchase. These shots some consider being your most important.
When customers come across your product listing, the number one thing they are looking for is if they can see themselves using it. Giving them a wide variety of optimized images catering to this need will help them choose “add to cart.”
Use Bullet Points in Your Product Descriptions
Product descriptions allow you to provide your audience with valuable information about your products. Some companies use this area to add long paragraphs of information about their products. However, your audience won’t take the time to read large information sections.
To help give them the information they need, break it down into bullet points.
Don't Keyword Stuff Your Pages
When SEO first became a popular marketing service, it was acceptable to overuse content or keyword stuff. However, search engines quickly realized it created a poor user experience and made it difficult for customers to find the products they were looking for.
Instead, search engines focus on providing a positive customer experience by delivering the right results for the proper search. Writing naturally and focusing on giving customers the information they need to make a purchase decision will help you more than ensuring you include a specific keyword in every line.
This type of keyword repetition can be counterproductive and work against you, fatiguing your audience and search engine bots.
Utilize User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content, or UGC, is any form of content created and shared by users based on their experiences, opinions, ideas, or feedback. Digital platforms, mainly social media networks, are the user-generated content hub of the internet.
User-generated content is the most appropriate solution to increase your conversions & revenue. Not only does it increase user engagement, but that engagement is directly tied to conversions.
As we discovered earlier, Social proof is the validation customers provide to the brand about the trust, authenticity, and reliability of their products & activities. Suppose your brand has these loyal customers or, even better – brand advocates. In that case, you can use their created content to showcase brand advocacy that will help attract new consumers and generate revenue through the scope of existing customers.
This UGC can also be showcased on your listing. When new users see others creating content and are proud to use your products, it instantly gives your company a boost of credibility and trust.
Drive External Traffic to Your Amazon Products
Not all Amazon sales are started on Amazon! In fact, 21% of consumers start their search for products on social media.
Just because you can’t promote your online store on Amazon doesn’t mean you can’t use your other external traffic sources to promote your Amazon listings. By utilizing other markets, you can drive qualified traffic directly to your Amazon listings.
Key Takeaways
To increase your sales on Amazon, you need to differentiate your brand from competitors, improve your product rankings, and utilize high-quality images. Amazon drives more than 40% of online sales, making it a crucial platform for ecommerce businesses.
When you understand your Amazon SEO and how to take it to the next level, you’ll be able to attract better, more high-quality customers perfect for your business. In case you need help with your SEO services, our blog is always a guide to assist you in your research and development.