It’s easy to limit our understanding of SEO to Google alone, especially when high search engine rankings are a primary goal. However, your website isn’t the only online space where you can showcase and sell your product. For instance, if you utilize Amazon, ensuring your product page stands out is just as crucial as achieving a first-page ranking on Google for your industry keywords.

Neglecting Amazon SEO, much like traditional SEO, directly translates to reduced traffic and consequently, fewer sales. It’s important to remember that Amazon’s search algorithm operates differently compared to Google or Bing when displaying search results. In essence, it relies on a smaller number of ranking signals or factors, unlike typical SEO, which some estimate to be around 200 factors (although others dispute this).

One might assume this makes ranking on Amazon easier, but it’s not quite so straightforward. Approaching Amazon SEO through a web-SEO lens will likely lead to difficulties. This is primarily because Amazon functions as a buying platform above all else. A multi-channel ecommerce strategy is an effective ecommerce strategy. Download our free guide to Google Shopping and start spreading your brand today!

Understanding Amazon’s Search Algorithm

Amazon’s search algorithm, known as A9, gets its name from the subsidiary company responsible for managing Amazon’s SEO, which is also called A9. To quote them directly: “We manage search and advertising technologies that are scalable, highly available, and cross-platform for our parent company, Amazon, and other clients.”

As the world’s largest ecommerce platform, Amazon’s primary focus is its bottom line, meaning it prioritizes efficient selling to its massive customer base.

While Google caters to a wider range of searches, including informational ones, practically every search on Amazon is transactional in nature. This explains why their algorithm boils down to two fundamental elements:

• Relevance
• Performance

Optimizing your Amazon product page for these two key ranking factors can significantly boost your conversion rates and overall sales on the platform. Let’s delve deeper into the sub-categories of both relevance and performance.

Factors Influencing Relevance in Amazon Rankings

You can directly impact these ranking factors by strategically incorporating relevant keywords within specific areas of your Amazon product pages.

The Title of Your Product

In terms of relevance, the most critical element for Amazon SEO is arguably the product title ranking factor. Make sure to feature the most pertinent keywords for your product within the title.

For example, the top 3 Amazon results for “mortar and pestle” all include these keywords in the product title.

Here are some pointers for crafting an effective Amazon product title:

• Incorporate your brand name
• Provide a concise description of your product’s function
• Highlight a key ingredient or core material
• Specify the product’s color
• Clearly state the product’s size
• Mention the product quantity (if applicable)

Similar to ethical SEO practices, avoid keyword stuffing in your title, as this can negatively impact your Amazon search rankings. Keyword stuffing often results in an unnatural-sounding title that appears spammy and can harm your click-through rate.

The Name of Your Seller

Don’t underestimate the influence of your seller name on your relevance ranking. Some marketers have observed improved organic search rankings on Amazon by integrating primary product keywords into their seller names.

Let’s illustrate with an example. Searching for “American flag ties for men” on Amazon yields “Man of Men” as the top result. It’s plausible that the word “men” in their seller name contributes to their ranking. (Removing “for men” from the search yields different results.)

Therefore, strategically crafting your seller name can provide an extra edge in Amazon’s SERPs.

Backend Keywords on Amazon

Backend keywords are essentially “hidden” keywords utilized exclusively within the backend section of your Amazon Seller Account. These keywords signal to Amazon’s algorithm which specific keywords your product listing targets on the platform.

To draw a parallel with search engine SEO, these backend keywords function similarly to meta tags that inform Google about your webpage’s content, aiding the search engine in determining when to display your page to users seeking specific information.

Sellers have five fields at their disposal to input backend keywords, each limited to 50 characters. Exceeding this limit prevents your backend keyword from being indexed by the site.

Here are five key rules for effectively populating your Amazon backend keyword fields:

• Avoid repeating words
• Refrain from using quotation marks as they consume character count
• Don’t excessively use variations of the same word
• Commas are disregarded
• Include spelling variations or synonyms

Your Brand Field

A product’s brand field, consistently displayed on the product page (above the title or headline), links to various search results showcasing other products from the same brand. When listing products, prioritize accuracy in spelling your brand name.

Typically, Amazon shoppers often search for products using brand names, highlighting the importance of consistently providing an accurate brand name.

If your product has multiple viable brand names, leverage a keyword tool to determine the most frequently searched variation and use that.

Product Description and Bullet Points

These two elements go hand in hand. Both offer a more detailed and persuasive explanation of your product, allowing you to strategically incorporate crucial keywords.

For the description, strive for clear, engaging, and persuasive copy from a sales perspective. Adhering to ecommerce landing page best practices can resonate with potential buyers beyond the SEO benefits gained from including keywords.

The same principle applies to bullet points. Their scannable and easily digestible nature makes them a prime focal point for customers. Utilize bullet points to highlight the benefits of your product (not just features) and include vital information like ingredients or dimensions. Seamlessly weave relevant keywords into these bullet points to enhance the value of each piece of product information provided. Always keep an eye on your competition and ensure your content is as comprehensive as theirs.

Performance-Based Factors Impacting Amazon Rankings

Performance factors are harder to control directly as they involve elements beyond keywords. However, understanding them is crucial for effective Amazon SEO.

Pricing of Your Product

It’s a given that the price you set for your product significantly influences your Amazon conversion rate and overall sales volume on the platform. A competitive price compared to other platforms selling your product or similar ones should positively impact your conversion rate.

However, a sometimes overlooked aspect is how your price compares to similar products within the same category on Amazon.

If numerous products within the same category are priced lower than yours, two things are likely to occur:

• Your sales volume will lag behind those similar products
• Amazon’s algorithm will likely deduce that your product won’t sell as well

In essence, overpricing your product relative to competitors can hinder your Amazon search ranking, potentially excluding you from the market. Thoroughly research your competitors’ pricing strategies both on and off Amazon and set your price accordingly.

If your price is higher, ensure there’s a justifiable reason, such as superior reviews.

Your Conversion Rate on Amazon

Closely tied to pricing, your product’s conversion rate is another critical performance factor influencing your search ranking. Unfortunately, accurately gauging your conversion rate compared to others can be challenging due to the limited access to Amazon’s analytics compared to your own ecommerce site.

Your best bet for conversion data is the “Detail Sales Page” and “Traffic” sections within “Business Reports” and “Reports” in Seller Central. Focus on the “Unit Session Percentage,” which represents the number of units sold per visit, providing the closest approximation to a true conversion rate for your product page.

If your conversion rate is underwhelming despite believing your product should perform better, revisit the previously mentioned relevance factors. Aim to improve your visibility in Amazon searches and enhance your product page copy to boost conversions.

The Images of Your Product

Studies reveal that products featuring high-quality images consistently have a higher conversion rate. The same holds true for your Amazon product page.

Amazon itself emphasizes the importance of larger images in its Seller Central Product Image Guidelines, stating:

“Images should be 1,000 pixels or larger in either height or width. This minimum size requirement enables the zoom function on the website. Zoom has been proven to enhance sales. The smallest your file can be is 500 pixels on its longest side.”

Incorporating high-quality images that adhere to these guidelines ensures your product listings don’t get lost in the lower ranks of search results, which can negatively impact conversion rates. Improved conversion rates achieved through these optimizations can subsequently boost your Amazon search result rankings.

Reviews on Amazon

It’s no secret that online reviews, which 85% of customers trust as much as personal recommendations, constitute another performance-related factor influencing Amazon’s algorithm. Observe the correlation between Amazon search results and products with numerous reviews. Top-ranking products for broader keywords generally boast a higher volume of positive reviews compared to those positioned lower on the list.

This suggests that a higher review count can boost click-through rates, leading to increased sales and ultimately impacting overall product ranking on the platform. It’s worth noting that Amazon has recently cracked down on fake reviews to enhance its integrity, so attempting to manipulate the algorithm is not recommended.

To encourage customer reviews on your Amazon product page, implement follow-up reminder emails after purchases, prompting them to leave feedback on their recent purchase.

If your Amazon reviews are negative, carefully analyze customer complaints and proactively address any issues with your product. For additional strategies on acquiring more and better Amazon reviews, explore further resources.

Aiming for the Coveted “Amazon’s Choice”

Successful Amazon SEO hinges on understanding and meeting the expectations of Amazon’s algorithm, which ultimately prioritizes customer satisfaction. While there are numerous ways to optimize your product page, they all boil down to two fundamental aspects: relevance and performance.

By prioritizing optimization based on these crucial factors, you can expect to see positive changes in your search rankings, conversion rates, and overall sales.

If you’re seeking assistance in elevating your products to sponsored results on Amazon, explore nexus-security’s comprehensive guide to Amazon advertising.