Amazon Search Engine Optimization for Beginners: All About Product Listings

October 29, 2020
Written by Ken Zhou
amazon search engine optimization

Amazon is one of the biggest and fastest-growing retailers on the internet. Countless businesses sell their products through this platform but stand out and increase your consumer audience. That said, you need to use Amazon search engine optimization (SEO).

Amazon Search Engine Optimization means boosting your product listings to show your listings at the top of the Amazon search results. With this said, several strategies can give your products a better Amazon ranking, more visibility, and, therefore, more sales. But before you can come up with a great SEO strategy, you must first learn about how the algorithm does its rankings and get into Amazon search engine optimization secrets.

Understanding A10, Amazon's Ranking Algorithm

How do I rank an Amazon keyword on a search result page? Like Google and Opera, Amazon uses a simple search engine with a complex algorithm. When people search for products on Amazon, they will only be able to pull up your product if they use a search term that matches the high-performing keyword/s in your Amazon product listing.

The underlying search engine algorithm is called A10, which supersedes Amazon's A9 algorithm. It uses numerous parameters to calculate the relevancy of millions of products kept in a database with the search term entered by the users.

The thing about selling with the online marketing strategy of Amazon is that it uses this maturing algorithm with inconsistent and unpredictable updates. These updates can be the bane of an Amazon seller's existence. But the most important note is that the higher the product ranks on a search result page, the more you sell.

For example, if your product ranked on page 3 or lower, it's unlikely to get sold. More than 66% of shoppers search for new products on Amazon, and for every single search query, Amazon needs to decide which one of the thousands and millions of products will be put on pages 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

This search rank algorithm focuses on two main factors: performance and relevance. Amazon ranks the products based on purchase likelihood as a part of generating revenue. Statistics

Keep in mind that Amazon wants to give a pleasant and satisfying purchase experience for its consumers, and only a happy user will keep on coming back to buy more of the same product. The trick to increasing purchase likelihood is to have more product engagements, which can also be done by Amazon product listing optimization.

Listing Product on Amazon

Amazon Product Listing Optimization

Your product listing includes the product title, bullet title, description, and backend terms. Optimization is the best first step before trying any other Amazon marketing strategy.

Product Title

The Amazon product title optimization is the most valuable estate on your product listing. This is because they are the first to appear after a search is done. The product title is the part of your listing that will have the most significant impact, both positive and negative, on your product's performance in the search ranking. However, the case may be, among all the product listing elements, the product title elicits the most significant traffic.

A 2018 study deduced that most of the 3,000 top-ranked listings on Amazon had product titles between 60-80 characters long. But it is still a good practice to maximize the allowed number of words and characters. The product title must-have elements such as the brand name, product line, material or critical feature, product type, color, size, and quantity in each pack. To further maximize the character limit, avoid using identifiers like "the" and "a." The most important thing to remember is to put the brand and keywords at the beginning of the product title.

Bullet Points

Bullet titles are used as an opportunity to present the features and benefits of your product. It is essential to break down the information so it's manageable for the audience to read. This way, the bullet points can effortlessly supply the buyers' information to make their decision to buy the product. Optimized bullet points not only earn more conversions but also increase your Amazon listing's relevance to searches.

In writing bullet points, make sure to arrange the features in order of importance. To improve your bullet points, consider visiting the question and answer section of your Amazon listing (as well as your competitor's). Find out the most frequently asked questions and answer those questions in your bullet points. As these are bullet points, keep them short and avoid turning these points into paragraphs.

Product Description

An optimized product description seals the deal by ensuring that your product listing's visitor makes the sale. This can decrease the probability of potential buyers closing your page and leading to other brands.

When a buyer reads a listing's description, it means that there's something about the listing that has caught their attention, therefore, already one step towards making a sale. An effective product description would secure that sale by telling a story inadvertently letting the buyer know why they need your product and the different things they can do with the product. The description also justifies the price and why the product is worth buying. However, it would be best to remain honest and not raise expectations that your products cannot meet.

Backend Search Terms

The backend search terms are a great place to stuff your keywords and place misspellings or slang in the product's niche. This is because backend keywords are not visible on your page but are still crawled by Amazon's algorithm. This part helps you avoid keyword stuffing on your product listing's description and keeping the copy of your product clean.

For example, if you sell a 'string of lights' and only use these words for your keywords, you could lose many potential purchases. This is because a lot of people don't search for strings of lights exclusively. Some people search for light strings, Christmas lights, patio lights, or light strands instead of the term "string of lights." Instead of missing these terms, they can be placed on the backend.

The secret to a compelling title is how you arrange these elements along with additional target keywords. Keyword research and placement can drastically influence sales and search ranking, which makes for an effective SEO strategy. Place the most critical keywords in first and strategically place them before each character breakpoint in the title. Use as many relevant keywords as possible for your Amazon listing to show up despite variations.

Product Image

What first captures a buyer's attention other than the title is the feature photo. A customer is more likely to be convinced to buy a product that they can see. This is why it is essential to take advantage of the product image provisions in the listings. Ensure that you include clear photos from multiple angles and emphasize angles or features that you want to highlight. Amazon usually uses pictures with a white background, but it is only required for the feature image (the first photo). You can opt to include lifestyle photos in the mix to give the buyers a better idea of how the products will look like in real life.

Maximizing Amazon Search Engine Optimization

Remember that an effective product listing is a product description that tells a story with a strong and direct call to action (e.g., Buy Now, etc.). Like any investment, seeking the help of SEO professionals or finding time to understand Amazon Search Engine Optimization and applying it on your page can take you steps closer to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

If you want to know more concerning the Amazon marketing services guide or how an Amazon marketing agency can assist you, send a message to [email protected] today to get you started.

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