Amazon is the giant among online retailers who search for alternatives to attract customers and outperform their competition in the eCommerce marketplace. The most important question asked by online retailers is: “How can you display products which grab the attention of potential customers, win the coveted buy-box and generate solid reviews?”
That’s why a large number of retailers are turning to Amazon.
Tracking the number of online purchases across 100 million devices from 500 different e-commerce retailers and marketplaces, Jumpshot reports that Amazon took a 97 percent market share of online battery purchases in Q1 of [2018], along with a 94 percent share of kitchen and dining product purchases, a 93 percent share of home improvement tool purchases, a 92 percent share of golf-related product purchases and a 91 percent share of skin care product purchases. (Marketing Land)
What is Amazon SEO?
Amazon SEO refers to the optimization of marketplace offers so that they meet the requirements of the Amazon search algorithm and are displayed above competitors. An Amazon search engine optimization process is slightly similar to Google SEO which measures the on-page and off-page areas.
For example, the product title, description, bullet points, keywords are optimized to attract the correct visitors based on their search query.
3 key Amazon product ranking factors
As mentioned earlier, Amazon optimization is about relevance and performance. Here again in the overview, are the ranking factors which are of importance to Amazon:
#1 – Relevance
In order to make sure your product is relevant to customer searches on Amazon, make sure your keywords are placed in the following locations:
- Product title
- General keywords (only visible in the Seller Central)
- Bullet points
- Product description
Optimization tips:
In addition to the product titles, general keywords or backend keywords are also important because they can only be seen and maintained as a merchant in Seller Central. A typical Amazon user will never see these keywords, this is why you should place a high degree of importance on these keywords. Above all, optimizing your Amazon product keywords can lead to an increase in conversions.
In most cases, 90% of retailers seek the help of agency professionals to help them optimize their products.
Another thing to remember is: Amazon is not the same as Google. Although conclusions can be drawn from each search engine, the individual search intentions and users behavior are very different. Every optimization step you make should be made with the intention of attracting buyers.
#2 – Performance
There are a number of ranking factors that helps Amazon determine your rank based on performance. These ranking factors include:
- Sales rank (also abbreviated to BSR = Bestseller Rank)
- Rate of order defects
- Cancellation rate of your orders
- Rate of late deliveries
- Dissatisfaction with returns
- Violations of guidelines
- Contact response time
- Customer feedback (or seller ratings)
Optimization Tip:
If you simply compare relevance and performance factors, you can easily see how Amazon prioritizes products. Of course, relevant keywords are very important in order to be found in targeted product searches. More importantly this is key to deliver a clean performance, i.e. to sell as much as possible and trigger few returns and / or complaints. Amazon is all about customer satisfaction which sets the bar very high for retailers.
Respond quickly and to questions and requests from buyers and you could become the top seller in your market.
As with Google, the goal of Amazon SEO is to reach the top product places in the Amazon ranking algorithm The optimization measures for the Amazon search engine A9 are based on similar principles as the Google SEO, but there are also serious differences. In principle, the MPO on-page and off-page factors also play a role.
Relevance as the decisive criterion is another commonality. While Google’s focus is on the informative, solution-oriented search results, the Amazon search is about buying the best, cheapest products. How online retailers effectively optimize their products for Amazon’s algorithm will determine success or failure.
#3 – Product Page Content
An enhanced Amazon product page scores very well. This includes meaningful content, the right keywords and high-quality images. The ultimate goal must always be to increase the chances of generating a sale. At the same time, pay attention the number of product views as compared to actual sales.
These factors influence the overall Amazon ranking of a product:
- Product title
- Images
- Product description
- Product list
- Keywords
Conclusion:
As with any search engine optimization, Amazon SEO brings its own set of challenges and opportunities to rank your products higher in the marketplace. If you have questions about our Amazon SEO services or are looking for a specialist to help improve your product rankings, contact us today!
Don says
Good Amazon tips Daryl, I think it’s also good for businesses to be able to brand themselves with their own website from an organic SEO perspective. They can then manage the back-end of their website more in terms of meta etc. It is also good to be on Amazon, from the perspective of building a sound distribution mix. I read that Target is opening their website to vendors as well to be competitive with Walmart. Good article btw Daryl.