Amazon is one of the biggest marketplaces in the US. As one of the core platforms for buying and selling products, it has become the catalyst for the success of various e-commerce businesses. With an increasing number of consumers and sellers on the platform, e-commerce businesses cannot help but start to implement every technique and optimization process to have a chance at increasing visibility on Amazon and driving conversion to their product listing page on the platform.
Amazon SEO is the process of optimizing and improving various elements of the Product Detail page on Amazon and improving the Amazon SEO Ranking. Optimizing Amazon Detail Page can help increase the visibility of products and drive traffic.
The core of the Amazon search engine is A9 or Amazon Search Algorithm which has helped Amazon to retain its position as number 1 for product discovery and purchasing. Amazon is a product-based search engine so taking proactive measures based on the product is the best way to drive conversion.
When you search for something on Amazon, the unpaid results you see are called “organic listings.” Amazon decides which products appear in these results based on a few things, like how relevant they are to your search terms, the information in the product listing, customer reviews, and how well the product is selling. To make certain organic listings stand out from the crowd, Amazon might award them special badges that grab shoppers’ attention and encourage them to click and buy. The chart below shows what a typical first page of organic shoe listings on Amazon might look like.
According to Amazon’s own data, 70% of Amazon customers never click past the first page of the search result. This makes it that much more vital for brands and retailers to have their products show up on the first page of the Amazon SERP. The more optimized your listings, the better your rankings, which leads to increased visibility that leads to more sales.
Amazon is all about providing the best product experience for the customers. And as a seller on the platform, it is imperative to provide the best product shopping experience to digital shoppers. We have listed some of the key elements of a product listing to optimize the product shopping experience on Amazon.
The product title is arguably the most crucial element for ranking high in Amazon’s search results, and it’s also the first thing potential customers will see on the product page. So, it’s key to keep your title clear and concise, highlighting the most important details about your product.
Optimized Product or Listing titles will have the greatest impact on product experience and shopper behavior.
Here are a few things to remember to include in Amazon Listing.
Analyzing the data on shoe products, we found that having shopper attributes like size, material, color, etc. has quite an impact on ad visibility. As shown on the graph below, the ads on the first page of the Amazon SERP have a very high percentage of ads with a brand, variant (color, material, size), and demography (age, gender) in the title of the products.
Suggestions: Amazon Product Performance will entirely depend on how to use these elements with other Amazon SEO ranking factors.
Take a closer look at the examples above: each product title has a different number of characters, highlights different features, and uses varying approaches. Interestingly, the product with the “Best Seller” badge (Listing no. 4) also boasts the most optimized title. What does this tell us?
When optimizing your product title, including relevant keywords is crucial, especially toward the beginning. A close analysis of the Amazon SEO algorithm reveals that titles containing relevant keywords at the start tend to perform better.
Our data on shoe products sold on Amazon further supports this. We found that organic ads appearing on the first page of Amazon search results (SERP) have a very high match between the searched keyword and the product title. As the graph below demonstrates, over 80% of these titles exhibit a strong keyword match. This suggests that the A9 algorithm (Amazon’s search engine) heavily prioritizes the relevance of keywords in product titles.
Your product description is your golden opportunity to sell your product and convince customers why they need it. It’s a crucial element for both persuasion and search engine optimization (SEO) on Amazon. A clear, well-written description packed with relevant keywords will significantly boost your chances of landing a top spot on the platform.
Here are some of Amazon SEO tips that you can use as a seller.
One of the major ranking factors on Amazon SEO is Bullet Points. Bullet points are descriptive text about specific aspects of any Amazon Product. As per Amazon guidelines, the sellers can add up to 5 bullet points on their product detail page.
Bullet points are used specifically to attract your audience and lead them to buy your product using your keywords features. One of the facts about Amazon shoppers’ behavior is that most of them prefer reading bullet points over boring product descriptions. Which may turn out to contribute to a greater conversion rate.
Bullet points are usually indexed alongside the Product title and description so using relevant keywords in Amazon Product bullet points can increase product visibility.
Things to remember about Bullet points
High-quality images are a very valuable element and the best way to convince your customers using visual information. Product with high-quality images tends to have a higher product performance and conversion rate.
One of the most important aspects of the Amazon product listing page is the product price. Ultimately what the buyers are looking for is a suitable and appropriate product price. The Amazon algorithm provides the digital shopper with the most relevant ads.
The graph below shows the importance of targeting shoppers at all stages of the shopper journey. It shows that when a shopper searches for the “best” of something, the price range of the products are on the higher end, and in searches with keywords like “cheap” or “sale” the price range of products is typically on the lower end.
Amazon’s Pricing strategy is what makes or breaks your online presence and the trustability of any brands or sellers. Optimizing product prices can be quite challenging for various sellers on Amazon.
In simple terms, the product price must be competitive and profitable. Try to determine the lowest price you can offer to the consumers based on the margin. Calculative Prices can convince consumers and increase your conversion rate. It is suggested that the sellers invest some time optimizing their price strategy to give a better ranking for their product detail page.
Around 91% of shoppers regularly read online reviews from Amazon to Facebook to Yelp and various other online channels. And 84% of them trust these reviews thus creating transparency to the shopping behavior and experience and their willingness to buy any products online.
In truth Product reviews may not be the sole deciding factor for Amazon Ranking, however, each product on “Best Sellers” and “Amazon’s Choice” gets impacted indirectly by Product Reviews Summary and ratings in the Product Detail Page.
Looking into our data on shoe products, we found that ads that have a higher number of reviews have a better chance of ranking higher than those that don’t. As shown on the graph below, there is a higher percentage of ads with less than 1K reviews as we move down the rankings.
Stand out from the crowd on Amazon by earning one of their coveted badges. These badges not only grab attention but also empower customers to make informed decisions. Ads with badges showcase product popularity, highlight deals, and build trust, ultimately driving clicks and conversions.
Analyzing the Amazon Search Engine results for shoe products on Amazon, we found that badges like Amazon Choice and Editorial Recommendations were exclusively on ads that were in the top 10 positions. The data also showed that almost 80% of the top 10 ranked ads had the Prime badge on them.
Below, we take a look at the various badges awarded by Amazon, what they mean, what are their advantages to sellers on the platform, and ways you can earn them.
The coveted “Best Seller” badge is a bright orange ribbon gracing the top left corner of product ads, signifying championship status within its category or subcategory. Earning it is no easy feat, but highly sought after as it whispers popularity and customer approval to potential buyers. This badge is a dynamic indicator, shifting hands hourly based on real-time sales performance within the category. In essence, sheer sales volume reigns supreme in determining this coveted title.
Having this badge will take make your ad stand out which can increase the visibility of your ad. Customers are likely to check out the best-selling products boosting your chance of a conversion.
Having optimized product content is the key to increasing your chances of earning this badge. This means you need to have good reviews and ratings, competitive prices, optimized titles, descriptions, images, fast shipping, etc.).
This badge is given to the products that best match the search keyword. It is an extremely sought-after badge, but it is difficult to attain since the criteria of being chosen are well-kept by Amazon. Just matching the keyword does not automatically give you the badge. The product ad should have optimized titles, descriptions, images, good reviews, high ratings, competitive price, quick shipping, etc.
This badge is another way Amazon is prioritizing the customer by ensuring the customer gets the most relevant product in front of them to increase the probability of sale.
Amazon’s search algorithm looks at the search query and tries to match the shopper’s intent with the product. So, this badge is given to the product listing that has all the aforementioned features while best matching the intent of the search keywords/shopper.
To get the Amazon’s Choice badge a product needs:
This is not exactly a badge but getting listed under the editorial recommendations signifies credibility. These recommendations appear as a snippet of one to three products on the Amazon search engine result page. It is attached to a full review of the products that are usually written by third-party experts, influencers, or content creators.
These review contents and recommendations of the products are a part of Amazon’s Onsite affiliates program which brings product-related content from third parties to help customers research and discover products.
Some of the criteria to qualify for an editorial recommendation are:
Amazon Prime badges stand out to Prime members as they know the benefits. Prime gives various benefits to both sellers and customers.
Prime for the customer includes:
Prime for the seller includes:
These badges make are promotional badges but are shown close to large events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You can craft your deals for these events on your Amazon Advertising interface. You have to make sure to submit these deals at least a week before the events as it may not show up if it is submitted too close to the event day.
Similar to event deals, limited-time deals are deals that are run for a short amount of time (as suggested by the name itself). Limited-time deal is shown under the product listing on the search result page on a red box. This lets the shopper know that this deal is going to run out soon, so it increases urgency and pushes shoppers to view or click on the product to not miss out on a deal.
One of the newer badges that amazon awards some product ads is the Climate Pledge Friendly badge.
This badge signifies that the product is following various environmental certifications (given by external certifications, governmental agencies, and independent labs). This lets the customers know that the product is more focused on being sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Since these badges are limited to only a select few products on the search result page, they make those that have them stand out over the rest of the products. Thus, helping a seller increase their product visibility and boost their chances of conversion/sales.
As Amazon is a product-based search engine, optimizing your product detail page elements is crucial for Amazon Product Rankings. Keyword Analysis and Product Experience Management are very important for Amazon Search Engine Ranking.
If the product shopping experience is optimized for multiple stages of the shopper’s journey, then you have a good chance of winning more sales. You can make it easier on yourself as a seller on Amazon by using GrowByData’s product feeds tool for optimized and enhanced product listing submissions, and our Amazon Marketplace Intelligence to increase the visibility of your ads with in-depth data, insights, and reports on ad performance on Amazon.