Ken Zhou

Ken Zhou is the CEO of Seller Interactive, a digital marketing agency focusing on Amazon and Ecommerce. With nearly a decade of experience in managing high-performance teams, Ken brings a unique combination of strategic vision, business acumen, and hands-on leadership. He has a proven ability to streamline processes, optimize resources, and drive growth, resulting in increased efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and outstanding business outcomes. Ken is a graduate of McMaster University and holds a Computer Programmer Diploma from Seneca College. He is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving tech landscape. Fun fact: Ken is an avid car enthusiast and enjoys following the UFC. LinkedIn
How To Handle Customers Who Abuse the Amazon Refund Without Return Policy

The truth about returns is that they are inevitable, whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or an online shop. It’s only a matter of time before some customers become dissatisfied with their purchases and decide to send them back. Unfortunately, this situation is more prevalent in ecommerce businesses, as buyers cannot physically see or touch the items before purchase.

Amazon introduced the returnless refund system to address this concern. But not all third-party sellers rejoiced with the news. They have to suffer from its drawbacks and recalibrate their operations accordingly. Even worse, they feared this policy would encourage shoppers to pretend to receive faulty products for free items.

Despite the contentions, Amazon continues to implement the policy. Sellers have no choice but to adhere to the marketplace rules to maintain their selling privileges. But that does not mean you cannot handle your business proactively, especially with respect to returns and refunds.

It’s never too late to protect your sales while giving customer satisfaction. This article will outline how customers capitalize on the Amazon refund without a return process and provide strategies for effectively managing these situations.

Pros and Cons of Amazon Returnless Refund Process

pros and cons with alarm clock

From the name itself, a returnless refund happens when a customer asks for a refund for the item they purchased without having to deliver it back to the third-party seller. This means they can keep the product in whatever condition and still get their money back.

Returnless refunds may not favor Amazon sellers entirely, but you can still use this system to your advantage. In other words, it has pros and cons for your business, which we will explore in detail.

Pros

Amazon would not have launched the refund method if they thought it would not provide sufficient benefits to all parties involved. Even though it only seems useful to customers, it can also help sellers, their employees, and even our planet. Below are some advantages you can gain from using the Amazon returnless refund system as a third-party seller.

  • Free From Additional Fees: Consider the returnless refund system as a way to escape the other extra fees. From return shipping fees to storage costs, this can help you avoid these expenses, making it a more cost-effective option for your business.
  • Customized Rules and Conditions: Amazon allows sellers to set criteria and issue returnless refunds for specific SKUs. Use the Buyer-Seller Messaging platform on Seller Central to settle any customer issues professionally.
  • Increased Customer Satisfaction and Visibility: Returnless refunds provide an immediate resolution to frustrated customers, keeping them satisfied despite the mishap. This can prevent negative feedback and improve your ranking on Amazon SERPs.
  • Saved Time and Resources: Sellers can avoid communication with buyers and having to inspect returned goods, which allows them to focus on other tasks. 
  • Environmentally-Friendly: Returnless refunds also save the environment by reducing packaging waste and fuel consumption from shipping products back to Amazon.

Cons

As previously mentioned, the returnless refund concept of Amazon can pose challenges for sellers due to persistent issues in the marketplace. Here are a few things to watch out for if you’re considering offering a returnless refund option.

  • Financial Setbacks: Product returns might hinder your goals, especially if you receive too many buyer refund requests. Multiple refunds can cause damages and losses on your end.
  • Unnecessary Chargebacks: Buyers may file a chargeback with their bank instead of disputing a transaction with Amazon, which can affect your reputation as an Amazon seller.
  • Lost Buy Box: This Amazon feature allows customers to buy products from your store without comparing other offers. If your refund rate is too high and bogs down your seller rating, you can lose your spot in the Buy Box, leading to fewer sales overall.
  • Account Suspension: High refund rates can result in Amazon suspension, affecting the seller’s rating and account health. Amazon may suspend the account to protect buyers if they notice many customer refund requests.

From this information alone, it’s no wonder Amazon sellers must be cautious about abusive buyers and their unethical tricks. After all, a lessened Amazon return rate is essential in gaining more sales and growing your business.

How Does the Amazon Refund Trick Work for Customers?

Behind Amazon’s goal of becoming the most customer-centric company in the world is a seller who also wants to run a hassle-free business. But here’s the truth: Amazon’s return policies are so generous that some exploit the system for personal gains. Who doesn’t want to get free items these days? 

As an Amazon seller, you must know how customers can abuse the refund payment method so that you can respond accordingly when you spot them in action. Here are some examples of how they do it.

  • False Claims: Some customers falsely claim that the received item doesn't match the product description. They can request a full refund without providing evidence or returning the item, even if the item received is in the expected condition.
  • Manipulating the Reason for Return: Customers may select "changed my mind" or "no longer needed" instead of a valid reason like "item damaged" or "incorrect item received."
  • Abuse of Multiple Accounts: Some buyers create multiple Amazon accounts to abuse the system. They might purchase items using different accounts and request returnless refunds on all of them. Worse, they might resell the products at a profit.

Protect Yourself Against Abusive Customers

no to fraud

If you’re reading this, chances are you suspect someone is trying to pull an Amazon refund trick. It’s a serious problem that can have far-reaching consequences. 

Protect yourself against refund fraudsters. Here are things you can do to help reduce the number of return and refund requests.

1. Understand the Amazon Returnless Refund Policy

If you want to maximize the possible advantages of Amazon's returnless refund policy, analyze its entire context first. From there, you can find ways to turn the rules in your favor.

For example, Amazon allows third-party sellers to customize their returnless refund policies and choose which specific SKUs are eligible for a refund request. This way, you can save yourself from paying the return and possible restocking fees. You can also retrieve expensive items that are best to be resold rather than given away.

Hiring an Amazon expert is best if you do not have the time to study Amazon’s regulations about returns and refunds. Their experience and expertise in the field allows them to provide appropriate solutions for your pressing problems.

2. Handle Customer Inquiries Properly

Refunds and returns can be tricky for any customer service representative. The best thing you can do is train them well enough to accommodate customers who are unhappy with their purchases, no matter how hot-tempered they may be. 

Taking this step shows that you do not encourage return fraud. Here are steps to help your employees handle customer inquiries about returns and refunds.

  • Keep your CS representatives familiar with your store’s policy. They must be able to explain the policy clearly and confidently to the customers.
  • Equip your customer service representatives with the necessary skills to handle common complaints related to refunds and returns, including how to promptly resolve challenging situations and urgent issues.
  • Encourage them to use their best judgment when managing customer returns and refund concerns. There will inevitably be some gray areas, but they will handle these concerns well with the right information and attitude.

3. Make Your Refund Policy Visible to Customers

Whether you like it or not, some customers do not read descriptions or policies. You must still provide them with the information they need to know to protect your brand from fraudsters, fake accounts, and customer complaints. 

Display your return and refund policies in your storefront, website, and product listings. This action will help them know and understand your store policies before purchasing. It can even minimize confusion and prevent the damage of your reputation from false customer feedback.

4. Escalate Difficult Situations to Amazon Customer Service

Amazon customers have multiple ways of scamming sellers to get free stuff using the returnless refund system. Although refunding them and moving on might be tempting, there are better courses of action than this.

Report a customer directly to Amazon if you suspect them of pulling refund tricks. Amazon hase advanced tools to track customer records for excessive returns. With these details, Amazon will warn them about marketplace policies. Or worse, they might be given a returnless refund limit, which prevents them from scamming more sellers. 

5. Practice Good Record Keeping of All Transactions

Good record management can prevent refund fraud. That means keeping track of every purchase made through your store, including the date and time of the sale, the customer's Amazon account name, contact information, and the item purchased.

Maintaining a detailed record can help you confidently respond to refund requests and disputes. You can also provide proof of delivery or other necessary documentation, improving your business operations and increasing credibility.

6. Keep Your Product Listings Accurate

Accurate and detailed product listings are essential in preventing abusive returnless refund requests. When they have all the necessary product information, it eliminates any potential misunderstandings or false claims about the features or specifications.

Include product descriptions, images, and any other information on the listing. Dimensions, materials, and sizes are also relevant since it gives buyers a clear idea of what they’ll purchase from your store. Done correctly, it will save you from complications.

Woman holding an Amazon Prime package

7. Secure Your Packages

Use sturdy boxes and high-quality packaging materials. Choose materials strong enough to withstand the weight of your products and the rigors of shipping. Bubble wrap, foam peanuts, and other protective materials can help prevent your products from shifting or moving around inside the box.

Consider adding tamper-evident seals or labels to your packages. These seals can help deter potential theft by making it clear if someone has opened or tampered with the package. These can also provide evidence to protect you against fraudulent claims of missing or damaged items. 

Final Thoughts

Many third-party sellers have a love-hate relationship with Amazon’s returnless refund system. Although Amazon has measures to prevent fraud, maintaining customer honesty remains challenging.

Building a good reputation and customer relationships is still crucial for the success of your business. You have no option but to treat them as loyal customers while ensuring the system works in your favor.

If you find it difficult to balance these factors, consider hiring Amazon experts from reliable agencies like Seller Interactive. We have competent and skilled team members who can help you with your returnless refund issues.

To schedule an appointment, email [email protected] now!

Read More
How To Return Amazon Items Without Breaking A Sweat

It's no secret that no one likes returning stuff they've bought online. It's a pain to box everything back up, print out the return shipping label, and carry the package back to the post office. But sometimes returns are inevitable—maybe the item was damaged, didn't fit quite right, or wasn't what your customers expected.

With Amazon, it's vital to ensure your customers are happy with their purchases; return policies can be a big part of that. So here's a guide on returning Amazon items to help your customers navigate the return process.

Returning Amazon Items 

Sometimes, customers can end up ordering the wrong thing for various reasons. Maybe it needs to be a different size, or they don't like the color. It may also be because they've clicked the wrong button for no reason. 

There might even be some items that are damaged or defective upon delivery. But for items that are not damaged or defective, customers have two options: either return the item for a refund or exchange it for a different size or style. Whatever the reason, returning items to Amazon should be easy and stress-free.

How To Return Items on Amazon

If you're an Amazon seller, it's critical to understand how the return process works. What for? There are customers who will wonder about the possibility of returning an item and will come for your help sooner or later. Knowing the return process can help you with potential customer queries about returning an item.

Assisting with queries is part of giving a positive shopping experience. As a result, customers may be more inclined to shop from you again. To assist your customers better, here is a step-by-step guide on how to return items on Amazon.

Log In to the Amazon Account

Ask your customers to go to "Your Orders" and find the order they want to return. Then, click the "Return or Replace Items" button.

Select the Item for Return 

After selecting the item they want to return, they will have to choose the reason for the return in the drop-down selection. Then, your customer should choose whether they want a refund or a replacement.

Print the Shipping Label

After choosing the item and indicating the reason for the return, it will generate a PDF of the shipping label, which they can print out and attach to their return package.

Pack and Send the Items

If possible, customers should pack the item securely in the original product packaging. If they can't find the original package, they may use a sturdy box and include packing material such as bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts to protect the item. They must include everything included in the original package (like all the parts, accessories, and documents).

Different Ways To Return Items to Amazon

There are multiple ways to return items to Amazon. However, returning them through the mail is the simplest option. Customers should pack the item they want to return, attach the shipping label to the package, and drop it off at the nearest post office.

They can also use Amazon Hub Locker to return the items. These are available at select locations and work as self-service kiosk一customers can drop off their return items in the locker, which will then be returned to Amazon.

Shoppers also have the option to return items to a physical Amazon store. First, they should go to Amazon's website and use the store locator tool to find the nearest store location. Then, they’ll need to bring the item and order confirmation to the customer service counter.

Some items can be returned using Amazon's "Flexible Returns" service. With this, they can schedule a free pickup of their return right from their doorstep.

A Kohl's store with the signage at the center of a rectangular facade

Returning Purchased Items at Kohl's

Buyers can now return their Amazon purchases at a nearby Kohl's. Once enjoyed by only a few in 2017, Kohl's widened their scope on Amazon returns to 1000 stores. Amazon shoppers in the US who have Kohl's in their area can now drop off to-be-returned items to third-party sellers in the Amazon marketplace much faster.

What makes Kohl's Amazon returns even better is that the buyer can drop off the items purchased at the store as is. Packaging and labeling aren't necessary—Kohl's takes over the task and sends it right to Amazon!

Be sure to ask your customers if they have Kohl's nearby. If they do, give them this walkthrough.

Log In to the Amazon Account

Tell your customers to log in to their Amazon account and go to the "Returns and Orders" section.

Choose the Items To Be Returned

Instruct them to select the items they wish to return and choose the appropriate reason from the drop-down menu. Afterward, they can click "Return or Replace Items" and choose whether they want a full refund or a replacement in case of a wrong item.

Select a Return Payment Method

Customers typically choose the account they used to pay for the item as the return payment option. But there are other modes they can choose from: debit cards, checking accounts, and credit cards are among the most popular options. If your customer wants to check all their options, they can review this Amazon resource.

Pick a Dropoff Location

Among the options they can choose is a UPS dropoff, or they can choose to ship and pay using their courier. Instruct your customer to choose the Kohl's dropoff option from the list of choices provided.

Wait for the QR Code

Once everything is settled on the Amazon front, tell your customer that a QR code will be sent their way. They will have to show this code to the Kohl's staff upon dropping off the items.

Bring the Item to the Kohl’s Store

The last step is for the customer to bring their items to Kohl's, packed or unpacked, present the QR code sent to them, and wait until the staff receives the item or gives them a discount coupon from Kohl's.

What Items Can Be Returned?

When it comes to returns, Amazon is pretty lenient compared to other ecommerce platforms. This is their way of making themselves known as the most customer-centric shopping website available.

Most Amazon orders can be returned within 30 days after delivery if the item is new and unused. That means if your customers accidentally ordered two of the same item, or if that shirt they bought doesn't fit quite right, they can return it hassle-free. But before returning an item, they should check the product listing to see if there are any special return requirements. For example, some clothing items must be in their original packaging when returning them.

What Items Can’t Be Returned?

There are some items that Amazon doesn't accept returns on for various reasons. Here are some of the most common items that you can't return:

  • Gift Cards: Once an Amazon gift card has been redeemed, it can't be returned for a refund. 
  • Digital Content: This includes items like ebooks, digital music, and apps, since these items can be downloaded and used immediately. Kindle products can be returned within 7 days of the initial order, but the option will be removed if the book has been partially read. 
  • Grocery Items: Due to food safety concerns, Amazon does not accept returns for groceries. This includes items like baby food, alcohol, and perishable goods. 
  • Hazardous Materials: Items that are flammable, corrosive, or otherwise dangerous can't be shipped through Amazon's return center. This includes things like liquids, batteries, and the like.

How To Track Returns

Amazon is usually great at handling returns. Customers can return items without any problems. But sometimes, things get lost along the way, and it can be tricky to track down a return. Fortunately, Amazon makes it easy to track returns so your customer can be sure that their items are being processed and that they'll receive a refund promptly.

If they want to track their returns, simply tell them to log in to their Amazon account and go to the "Returns Center." There, they should see a list of all the items returned and return attempts in the past 30 days.

For each item, they’ll see the return date, the status of the return (whether approved or rejected), and the expected refund amount. It is also through this page wherein they can track the progress of their return by clicking on the "Track Package" button next to each item.

Wooden letter blocks spelling the word CANCEL

What if a Customer Wants To Cancel a Return?

As an Amazon seller, you need to understand the process and take the initiative to help your customer in this cancellation process. 

First, you must know your customer's reason for returning the item to know where to start. Ask your customers to do the following steps:

  1. Visit the Returns Center page on Amazon.
  2. Select Manage Returns.
  3. Select Cancel This Return.
  4. If they want to cancel the return, a text box will appear asking them for confirmation.

After withdrawing the existing return, they can choose whether to ignore pickup attempts if they’ve requested a pickup for their return or contact the carrier to inform them that the pickup is no longer needed as the return has been canceled.

Tips for Amazon Sellers

For buyers, returning an item bought on Amazon is pretty simple一just head to the returns center and follow the instructions. But if you're a seller, things are a bit more complicated. You'll need to issue a refund, deal with the return shipping, and provide top-notch customer service, which can be a hassle, expensive, and requires plenty of patience from your end. 

However, it's essential to accept that returns are just part of doing business. The good thing is that you can do a few things to lessen the occurrence of returns in your business. 

First, make sure to state your return policy on your product listings clearly. This will help set buyer expectations and reduce the likelihood of buyers returning items simply because they weren't aware of your policy. 

Second, try to be as flexible as possible regarding returns. For example, you can offer to issue a refund or exchange instead of insisting on a return. 

Finally, don't take returns personally. It's important to remember that not every sale is going to be perfect. Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance between protecting your business and giving a positive customer experience.

Final Thoughts 

Here's the thing about returns: they happen. Whether it's a case of buyer's remorse or a package that arrived damaged, customers will occasionally want to return an item they've purchased from you. So make sure your return policy is clear and easy to understand so that customers know what to expect when buying from your shop.

With all the things mentioned above, you can now confidently assist your customers when they ask you how to return Amazon items. However, Seller Interactive understands that running a business while handling returns can be overwhelming. That's why we believe that working with a competent account manager to assist you with your Amazon returns is a practical idea. With years of experience, we are confident that we can assist you with all your return concerns.Send us an email at [email protected] to know more!

Read More
Amazon PPC Strategy: Boost Sales with Proven Tactics

Amazon Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising is essential for businesses, agencies, and third-party Amazon sellers looking to boost their visibility on the vast online marketplace. As a seller, you can benefit from a good Amazon PPC strategy to target specific keywords for product advertisements. This approach can significantly improve your product's exposure and drive sales.

Understanding and implementing Amazon PPC strategies can be the key to standing out among other merchants on the platform, optimizing costs, and positioning your product for maximum success. You can maintain control over your ad campaigns by choosing the right campaign type and setting a daily maximum budget.

Let's dive deeper into the world of Amazon PPC advertising with the objective of creating efficient and profitable Amazon PPC strategies for your business.

Understanding Amazon PPC Ads Strategy

PPC is essential for Amazon sellers looking to grow their eCommerce business as it can help your listings rank on search results and have excellent ad placement. As a result, your products gain visibility and boost sales.

By implementing an effective Amazon PPC strategy, you can achieve a better return on investment (ROI) for your marketing spend. Additionally, Amazon PPC helps you test and optimize product listings and pricing.

As you build your Amazon PPC strategy, here are things you should keep in mind:

  1. Keyword Research: Identify the high-performing and relevant keywords for your products from relevant keywords, long tail keywords, and other keyword types using tools like Amazon Keyword Research or Google Ads Keyword Planner. Analyzing your competitors' PPC campaigns can also provide insights into successful keywords.
  2. Sponsored Ad Formats: Amazon offers various ad formats, including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display Ads. Each has features that best fit in satisfying your campaign needs.
  3. Monitoring and Optimization: Regularly track the campaign performance of the multiple ad groups in your campaigns using Amazon Advertising reports. You can easily access this data in your Amazon Seller Central account. Adjust your keyword selection, bids, and ad copy to improve your results. Invest in the ad group where you can have more gains.
  4. Budget Management: Allocate a reasonable budget to your campaign. Allot a higher budget for an automatic targeting campaign and slowly reduce it when you've determined the keyword to invest in for your manual campaign.
  5. Data Monitoring: Monitor the performance of the ad groups you launched to optimize your spending. Use Amazon's automatic targeting as a starting point and gradually transition to manual targeting for better control over your bids.

To ensure your Amazon PPC strategy is successful, you must also consider factors like seasonal demand, inventory management, and marketplace competition. By continuously refining your keyword selection, targeting, and budget allocation, you can make your Amazon PPC campaigns work effectively for your business.

Types of Amazon PPC Sponsored Ads

Amazon has three main ad types: Sponsored Product Ads, Sponsored Brand Ads, and Sponsored Display Ads. Each has its unique benefits and ideal uses.

Sponsored Product Ads

Sponsored Products are Amazon PPC ads that appear as product listings in Amazon search results and can help drive more traffic to your product detail pages. You can target specific keywords you want your product to rank for and set bids for each keyword in a Sponsored Products ad. 

You can also monitor your Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) and adjust as needed to optimize your Sponsored Product ads' performance.

Sponsored Brands

Sponsored Brands are meant to put your brand in the spotlight for customers to notice and remember. Because of their banner-like design, Sponsored Brands are also more eye-catching, establishing recall among potential customers. 

With Sponsored Brands, you can allow customers to visit your Amazon Store or a custom landing page. These ads increase product discovery with up to three allowable product listings and build brand awareness with logo and custom headline provisions.

When creating a Sponsored Brand Ad, you'll need to choose your target keywords and set your bids. Creating engaging headline search ads and selecting relevant products that represent your brand is essential. You may opt for a sponsored brand video ad for your PPC ad campaign to be catchier and to increase ad impressions and click-through rates.

Sponsored Display Ads

Finally, Sponsored Display Ads offer a unique way to target customers based on their interests, shopping behaviors, and product detail page views. They appear across the Amazon ecosystem, including product detail pages, search results, and third-party websites. 

You can also target audiences using Amazon's extensive customer data accessible on your Amazon Seller Central account. With this data, Sponsored Display Ads help you reach potential customers who have visited your listing, clicked through your ads, or added some products to cart but abandoned them.

To create a Sponsored Display Ad, you'll need to select your target audience, choose which products to advertise, and set your budget. Be sure to monitor your ad campaigns regularly and make optimizations as needed to improve performance.

By understanding and utilizing these three ad types in your Amazon PPC strategy, you can increase your brand visibility, drive more traffic to your product pages, and ultimately grow your sales on the platform.

Winning Strategies for Building a Successful Campaign

All Amazon sellers will pick one, two, or simultaneously all types of PPC ads on the platform, but strategy will set each seller apart. Here are some areas you can optimize for your ad campaigns to stand out:

Managing Bids and Budget

A well-structured bidding strategy ensures control over your Amazon PPC campaigns. You can decide on the daily maximum budget for your ad campaigns with several bidding options suitable for different goals and budgets.

Don’t be stuck with default bids too. Tweak them from time to time based on clicks, impressions, and conversions. High-performing keywords with strong relevance to your product listing are worth bidding more on. Sales data from organic ranking can guide your bidding decisions, so make sure to check them as well.

Consider using Amazon's dynamic bids. This bidding type adjusts bid amounts in real time based on the data acquired by the algorithm. They’ll bid higher on high-performing keywords and lower for mid and non-performing ones. Dynamic bids can help optimize your ad spend without much effort on your end, achieving better results.

Keyword Targeting and Match Types

Effectively targeting long-tail keywords and other related keywords is crucial to a successful Amazon PPC campaign. Amazon offers various keyword match types to help you reach your target audience:

  • Exact Match Keywords: Exact match campaigns trigger your ad only when the search terms match the exact keyword you chose to rank for.
  • Phrase Match Keywords: This shows your ad when the customer search terms include your keyword as part of a phrase.
  • Broad Match Keywords: Broad match campaigns display your ad for a search term related to your keyword, including synonyms and variations.
  • Long-Tail Keywords: Your ad strategy should focus on identifying and targeting these long-tail keywords with lower competition and Cost per Click(CPC).

You can incorporate these keywords in the product detail page and store backend. Effectively using these match types lets you optimize your keyword targeting and improve ad performance.

Manual and Automatic Targeting Ad Campaigns

Amazon offers both manual keyword targeting and automatic campaigns. A manual campaign gives you more control over selecting specific keywords, match types, and bids. This approach is an advanced Amazon PPC strategy that lets you tailor your PPC ads to your target audience, but it requires continuous optimization and management.

On the other hand, automatic targeting may save you time, as Amazon's algorithms handle most of the PPC advertisements. However, an auto campaign provides limited control and may not target your ideal audience as effectively because of the default bid system. Also, in an automatic campaign, you may bid for the same keywords and repeatedly use the same campaign with adjustments as needed.

Keyword Research and Harvesting

Keyword research involves finding relevant, high-converting keywords for your products using the most reliable keyword research tools. You can also combine Amazon’s manual and automatic campaigns to leverage their strengths.

By analyzing the search terms and ASINs from your automatic campaigns, you can gather high-performing keywords to include in your manual campaigns. Run manual and automatic campaigns for your products for a week or two. If you see the need for adjustment after a performance and competitor analysis, enact it right away.

Negative Keywords and Search Terms

Another crucial aspect of optimizing your Amazon PPC campaign is using negative keywords. One negative keyword won't hurt, but you want to exclude these irrelevant search terms from your ad campaigns when they start to pile up. They are irrelevant or not converting well.

Refining your negative keywords list can prevent your PPC ads from showing up for unrelated searches or unprofitable search terms. This practice can ultimately save your budget and improve your campaign's effectiveness.

To identify negative keywords, analyze your search term report to find irrelevant or low-performing search terms triggering your ads. Exclude them from your campaigns, and continuously update your negative keywords list as needed.

Product and Category Targeting

In addition to keyword targeting, you can use product targeting to display your PPC ads on relevant product pages or within specific categories. Here are some advanced Amazon PPC strategies for successful product and category targeting:

  • Have a PPC ad campaign that targets listings and categories of your competitors, so your ad appears side-by-side with their listings.
  • Launch an ad campaign targeting listings and categories with lower ratings than yours, so your product will appear as a better choice.
  • Set up an ad campaign that targets listings and categories of items your product can complement. Customers may not be looking for your product but may purchase it because it matches the item they want to buy.

By creating a well-planned Amazon PPC strategy that includes properly setting your campaign budget, implementing both manual and automatic targeting, effectively utilizing keywords and match types, and leveraging category and product targeting, you can succeed with your Amazon advertising efforts.

Tracking and Improving Ad Campaigns' Performance

Monitor and analyze your ads' performance regularly to ensure their effectiveness. Have the eagerness to follow plans to drive results, but be flexible if there are game plans that need adjustments.

Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS) is the percentage of your ad spend in relation to your sales. A lower ACoS means a more profitable campaign. Another essential metric is Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), which is the opposite of ACoS. A higher ROAS indicates a better return on your advertising investment.

ACoS Formula: Total Ad Spend/Total Generated Sales

ROAS Formula: Total Sales/Total Ad Spend

For instance, if you spend $500 on your Amazon PPC campaign and generate $2,500 in sales:

ACoS = (500 / 2,500) * 100 = 20%

ROAS = 2,500 / 500 = $5 revenue for every $1 of ad spend

A good ROAS is a $4 revenue:$1 of ad spend or a revenue ranging from $3-$5 per ad spend. Meanwhile, a range of 15%-20% is excellent ACoS for Amazon. Track and compare ACoS and ROAS to understand the efficiency and profitability of your ad campaigns and adjust your bids, budgets, and strategies accordingly.

Conversion Rates and Click-Through Rates

Another crucial aspect of tracking ad campaign performance is monitoring conversion rates (CVR) and click-through rates (CTR). These metrics help you estimate the success of your campaigns concerning compelling potential customers to click on your ads and make a purchase.

A higher CVR indicates that your ads successfully drive sales. A 10%-15% conversion rate is a good range on Amazon. Measure the effectiveness of your ad in attracting clicks by dividing the number of clicks by the total number of impressions. A higher CTR means that your ads are catching attention. Treat a 0.5% and above CTR as good news, as this is good data.

Conversion Rate (CVR) Formula: Number of conversions / Total number of clicks

Click-Through Rate (CTR) Formula: Clicks / Impressions

Keep an eye on your CTR and CVR as they provide valuable insights into your ads' appeal and relevance, allowing you to optimize keywords, ad creatives, and bidding strategies.

Monitoring Competitors and Market Trends

Lastly, continuously monitor your competitors and market trends to stay ahead and maintain a successful Amazon PPC strategy. Analyze search results, analytics, and competitor listings to identify product gaps, trends, and opportunities you can leverage in your campaigns.

Use competitive analysis tools to do the following:

  • Learn about your competitors' keywords, ad placements, and targeting strategies.
  • Monitor their ACoS, ROAS, and profit margins.
  • Identify market trends, seasonal demands, and emerging products or niches.

Stay on top of the dynamic Amazon marketplace by adapting some competitor strategies and incorporating the insights you gain through competitor monitoring and market analysis.

Benefits of Having Solid Amazon PPC Strategies

Do you already see yourself using some of the strategies we mentioned above? To nudge you further, we’re also sharing the benefits of having a strong Amazon PPC strategy with you:

  • Increased Online Exposure - Promoting your products on Amazon automatically increases their online exposure. You also gain more influence because these make users on Amazon more familiar with your brand and products. Consequently, when consumers are more familiar with your brand, they are more likely to buy or recommend your products, leading to increased sales. 
  • Put Your Products in Front of Potential Buyers - Because your Amazon PPC campaign appears on the platform, they directly connect with potential buyers. This means you no longer need to search far and wide for ideal locations for your ad placement. This benefit allows you to devote more time to other important tasks instead of scrolling through the perfect place to display your ads. 
  • Great Keyword Target-Specific Options - To gain brand exposure, many advertisers use Google Ads in a multi-layered approach to test and ensure full coverage across networks and targeting types.

Seller Interactive's Amazon PPC Campaigns

In conclusion, Amazon PPC advertising is vital for any business to gain visibility and boost sales on Amazon's vast online marketplace. Employing proven tactics like keyword research, monitoring and optimization, budget management, and use of various ad formats can help achieve a more efficient and profitable Amazon PPC advertising campaign.

By incorporating well-planned strategies, you can make your Amazon PPC campaigns work effectively for your business. Understanding the different types of ads available and their unique benefits is necessary to decide which suits your advertising needs best. Do not use all the keywords you get; continuously refine your keyword selection, targeting, and budget allocation.

With solid Amazon PPC ad strategies, advertisers can increase online exposure, put their products in front of potential buyers, and have great keyword targeting specificity.

Working with an Amazon PPC agency or a team of dedicated and experienced professionals eager to assist you in running and managing your advertising campaigns could be just the thing you need for your business. 

Seller Interactive is here for you! Call us now, so we can tailor the perfect campaign for you and discuss our services in more detail.

Read More
Here's Why You Should Consider an Amazon FBA Investment This 2023

Do you own an Amazon store? Are you still exploring your options on the popular eCommerce platform? Whatever your seller status on Amazon is, an Amazon FBA investment is definitely worth considering this year.

In this article, we’ll outline several benefits of an Amazon FBA business. Read on to learn more about the Amazon FBA program and discover the incredible potential for growth and global reach that awaits those who seize this opportunity.

What does Amazon FBA Business Mean?

First things first—Amazon FBA stands for “Fulfilled by Amazon.” This program enables Amazon sellers to store their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers, making it easier to store and ship orders to customers. 

You might be wondering if the Amazon FBA program is really worth the investment. Why not just do things your own way and take care of shipping orders yourself? 

Here’s why: You’ll need a lot of staffing for tracking shipments, handling orders, and other things when selling on Amazon. When you let Amazon handle the heavy lifting, you can free up so much of your time and effort. Aside from that, you can also give customers a more seamless online shopping experience with this program. 

And if that’s not enough to convince you, here are 10 more benefits:

Benefits of an Amazon FBA Investment

Making the switch from being a rookie Amazon seller to an Amazon FBA business is a huge deal. We already mentioned how the program helps you manage other key parts of the business instead of shipping orders and worrying about logistics, but what else can sellers get from it? 

With the risks and costs, this program may not be ideal for some Amazon sellers, but if you want to grow as a business and succeed long-term in the world’s largest ecommerce platform, here’s a list of benefits to help you decide.

1. Increased Exposure for Your Products

If you sell on Amazon, you already know competition is tough. If your products aren’t visible enough, interested buyers may not stumble upon them at any time during their search. This can be a problem, especially since navigating through the platform is already challenging for many customers. With FBA, you get the following perks that equate to increased product visibility:

Buy Box

You have a chance to get approved for Amazon Buy Box much faster. Buy Box is located on the right side of the product detail page. It allows customers to easily add products to their cart through the "Buy Now" box. 

Prime Eligibility

Using Amazon FBA also provides sellers access to an audience of over 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers. You also get the added credibility as a Prime seller. Get the chance to sell your products during the annual Amazon Prime Day, which has amassed a total revenue of $11.79 billion in 2021 alone. 

2. Simplified Shipping Solutions

Another huge benefit to selling with Amazon FBA is that you get various simplified shipping options, including Prime, which provides customers with fast and reliable delivery. Prime-eligible products can be delivered to customers within one or two days, depending on the shipping speed selected.

Because inventory and logistics are a huge part of selling on Amazon, this advantage is one of the primary reasons many Amazon sellers take the FBA route.

3. Convenient Storage and Inventory

Amazon's vast network of fulfillment centers allows for quick and convenient storage of your products. Once your inventory is received, Amazon manages and organizes it within its facilities. Not only will this help your business run efficiently, but it’ll also give you more time to focus on other aspects of your Amazon store.

4. Easier and Faster Order Fulfillment Process

When a customer places an order for your product, Amazon's system automatically picks, packs, and ships the item on your behalf. This process typically happens within a few hours, ensuring fast order processing.

5. Reduced Labor Cost

If you’re a beginner Amazon seller, you must look for ways to minimize expenses and properly allocate your budget. With an Amazon FBA business, you can easily manage your business without needing to employ a logistics team or a third-party courier, customer service, and overseas managers. These are roles within the scope of Amazon FBA.

6. Incentives for New Sellers

If you're not investing in Amazon FBA yet, you might miss out on excellent incentives for new sellers. 

Aside from Prime eligibility and the Buy Box advantage, you can also scale your business with Amazon's fulfillment services. 

The Multi-Channel Fulfillment, for one, enables you to sell from your own or third-party marketplace platforms with Amazon picking, packing, and shipping the products to your customers. 

Amazon sellers who use Amazon FBA also benefit from Amazon Global Logistics, which will ship your cargo from China directly to fulfillment centers in the US, UK, or Europe. 

7. Amazon Handles Customer Service For You

If you’re an Amazon seller, it’s important to have a solid customer service team to handle customer service inquiries. But if you’re just starting out, hiring additional employees would be costly.

With Amazon FBA, you'll have access to FBA customer support. Amazon will take care of your customer's concerns via phone or email. Amazon also manages customer service related to order fulfillment. The platform also directs customers who want to return a product to their online returns center. 

8. Cost-Effectiveness

Paying for more doesn’t guarantee you’ll drive more sales when selling on Amazon. For instance, some Amazon sellers pay for slow shipping options being offered by major carriers. This is costly and also affects customer satisfaction. 

But investing in Amazon FBA allows you to save more money on shipping products. Amazon doesn't charge free shipping under Amazon Prime and eligible orders. You'll only have to pay for the storage and fulfillment fees. FBA fees depend on each product’s size, weight, and category. 

How to Get Started With Your Amazon FBA Business

Do these benefits sound good to you? If you think the Amazon FBA program is a match for your business, here’s a simple guide to get you started:

1. Register for FBA

If you already have an individual or professional Amazon seller account, you're eligible to enroll in Amazon FBA. Here are the steps to register for FBA:

  • Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of Seller Central. 
  • Choose "Account Info" and click "Manage" on the "Seller Account Information" tab. The page will display the option to register to FBA or other tools and programs you may be eligible for. 
  • Review the products that you're eligible for. 

2. Ship Your Products to Amazon

Once you’ve added all products eligible for Amazon FBA, it’s time to send your stock to a fulfillment center through Send to Amazon. You must create an FBA shipment, which includes prepping, packing, and labeling your items, printing box labels, and confirming the carrier if you're sending pallet shipments. 

Ensure that you use proper packaging and labeling so that your items will get transported safely to Amazon's fulfillment centers and not incur unplanned fees. Doing this will also help Amazon to ship your products to your customers much faster.

amazon fba program

3. Wait for Order Fulfillment by Amazon

Once the product has shipped, all you do is sit back and let Amazon take care of the rest. You can track your order through their “Your Orders” page and be notified via email whenever a buyer purchases something from your store.

4. Monitor FBA Inventory Through Seller Central

Here are the steps to managing your FBA inventory: 

  • Select the menu icon in the top-left corner of Seller Central. 
  • Click "Inventory" and choose "Manage FBA Inventory." 
  • Upon clicking, you'll see different reports that can help you maintain a balanced inventory level, keep your most popular items in stock, and more. 
  • At the top of the page, you'll also see additional FBA inventory tools and resources. 

Enroll Your Online Business in Amazon FBA

If all of these benefits sound good to you, then it is probably time for you to enroll your business in Amazon FBA! Start by learning more about the basics of this program and enjoy a satisfying retail experience with relatively low financial input.

Are you up for finally starting an Amazon FBA business but unsure where to start? Our expert account managers can help scale your business. Our team can guide you in maintaining a healthy Seller Account, so you can focus on what matters more—selling on Amazon. Send us an email at [email protected] so we can start talking business!

Read More
Stand Above the Fierce Marketplace With Amazon Competitor Analysis

A great Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu once said, “Keep your friends close and enemies closer.”  This quote also applies to the ecommerce world. With Amazon having millions of active sellers, keeping a vigilant eye on your competitors is your key to winning. This is precisely where conducting Amazon competitor analysis becomes essential.

By closely monitoring your direct competitors, you acquire insights into their strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and overall market position. With this knowledge, you can make informed decisions and take strategic actions to gain a competitive advantage.

Check this article to deepen your learning of competitor analysis on Amazon and how it can elevate your business to new heights.

A young man in a white collared shirt, seated before a laptop, deep in contemplation

Photo by Matt Moloney on Freerange

What Is Amazon Competitor Analysis?

Amazon competitive analysis revolves around collecting and evaluating various areas of your competitors' Amazon selling activities. 

Your goal is to perceive the cutthroat environment of Amazon, explore new opportunities for differentiation, and formulate effective business strategies that will give them a competitive edge.

The Importance of Conducting Amazon Competitor Analysis

Some Amazon sellers are hesitant to engage in competitor analysis.  They think keeping track of how much inventory their competitors have, how they manage reviews, and market themselves are not crucial.

Little do they know that understanding these aspects can significantly impact the success of their own business. Below are the advantages you can get from Amazon seller competitor analysis:

1. It Widens Your Perspective

The more information you gather, the better you can identify more assets. By conducting thorough competitor research, you can spot areas where your Amazon competitors may be lacking and use that knowledge to your benefit.

For instance, you can examine their pricing tactics and offer a lower price without compromising profitability. A pricing strategy like this can attract customers and position your Amazon business as a superior alternative.

Similarly, studying your competitor's ad campaigns and marketing tactics can reveal opportunities to advertise your brand and instantly reach the target market.

These initiatives can provide you with visibility that surpasses what your competitors can achieve.

2. It Teaches How to Optimize Business Operations Effectively

As you analyze competing sellers, you understand how their business operates. This competitive analysis serves as a valuable guide in managing your processes.

Let’s say you notice how streamlined your competitor’s marketing strategies are. You can glean insights into their messaging or promotional offers by studying how they handle their marketing activities. Applying these learnings will refine your marketing efforts and allow you to connect with the right people.

Another area to consider examining is customer service. This lets you uncover opportunities to enhance your practices. Such strategies may involve implementing live chat support, improving response times, or providing personalized assistance. 

Embracing this information helps you optimize your processes, enhance customer satisfaction, and strengthen your online presence in the market.

3. It Tracks Trends and Click-Worthy Content

Faced with challenging circumstances concerning trends? Observe and learn the nature of your competitor brands to see how they deal with the ever-changing market. You may even think of copying their ideas, but refrain from doing so. Being mindful of the fine line between inspiration and imitation is important.

Don’t copy; curate. Instead of outright copying, you can always infuse the elements of their system with your vision.

This approach lets you stay attuned to the latest market trends and consumer preferences. Combining your innovative perspective with successful elements borrowed from your competitors makes your selling proposition highly appealing to potential buyers.

Competitor analysis positions you as a dynamic and forward-thinking seller who understands the pulse of the marketplace. It showcases your ability to adapt and evolve, offering customers an evergreen and compelling experience. 

6 Types of Relevant Data You Can Derive From Competitor Analysis

An Amazon competitors analysis covers a wide range of aspects, encompassing not only direct and indirect rivals but also primary, secondary, and tertiary competitors. 

If you're still unsure about the significance of performing an Amazon competitive analysis, this comprehensive list highlights the invaluable data it offers.

Product Listings

Effective competitor analysis provides immediate access to valuable product listing data. This includes everything you can see on Amazon's products—the product title, image, bullet points, pricing, and description.

Excelling in one or multiple parts of a product listing sets you apart and increases your chances of generating high traffic.

Keyword Strategies

Competitors’ keyword strategies are another vital data you can derive from the analysis. By understanding the targeted keywords, relevance, placements, or use of long-tail keywords, you can fine-tune your optimization efforts and gain a competitive strength over other businesses.

A good keyword strategy also includes examining your competitors’ sponsored ad campaigns, as it gives you insights into the terms and phrases driving their paid traffic. It can help you identify high-performing keywords and comprehend the level of competition for those words in the market.

Ad Campaigns

Observing the success of the competitors' Amazon ad campaigns can inspire you to escalate your advertising efforts. While some ad campaign details can not be disclosed, you can at least observe the impact of their ads on their sales performance.

Pay attention to the messaging, visuals, targeting methods, and promotional offers they utilize in their ads. This way, you’ll learn what elements push their business to thrive despite the crowded digital landscape.

Customer Reviews

Among the highlights of a product listing is the review section. Customer reviews can make or break a sale and ultimately decide the fate of an Amazon business in the long run. 

Gaining information about the average customer reviews of your competitors' products can give you a clear picture of how shoppers perceive them. This knowledge can tell you how to avoid having low-star ratings and terrible reviews by delivering exceptional service.

Pricing and Sales

In ecommerce platforms like Amazon, pricing is one of the major factors shoppers consider when buying a product. Therefore, devising a competitive pricing strategy that outperforms your competitors drives buyers to hit your Buy Box over others.

Resorting to a very low price isn't a guaranteed motivator, so choose a price that can keep up with the costs and deals offered by your competitors. This strategy can lead to a higher profit margin and more positive feedback when done correctly.

Social Media Accounts

Assessing competitors' activities in today's digital landscape goes beyond the Amazon platform. It is equally important to explore their online presence on social media. 

Analyzing your competitors' social media accounts gives you more valuable data about their brand positioning. Note how your competitors engage with their audience and the type of content they share. Review the frequency of their posts and the tone and style of their messaging.

These details help you understand how they build connections, generate interest, and entice customers to visit their Amazon store.

Fuel Your Competitive Spirit With Seller Interactive

Amazon competitor analysis should not cause stress for sellers; it should empower those who seek it. A meticulously crafted and accurate competitor analysis can create a huge difference in outperforming your rivals. When your business decisions are anchored in factual information, you are more on track toward achieving your goals.

At Seller Interactive, our mission is to transform the stress of competitor analysis into an exciting opportunity for growth and success. We will equip you with the tools and knowledge necessary to thrive on Amazon. Partnering with us transforms learning the ropes of Amazon competition from uncertainty to confidence.

Interested in knowing more about your competitors? Book a call now

Read More
Is Amazon FBA Partnership Right For You?

Being a one-person unit selling on the Amazon marketplace is no easy feat. Working alone means you need to iron out all the details yourself. There's no shortage of what needs to be done, such as brainstorming what to sell, researching and sourcing your products, creating your product listings, and keeping up with your competitors.

It's easy to get overwhelmed when managing all of these on your own, especially if you're working on areas that aren't your forte. This is why the Amazon FBA Partnership exists. Keep reading for some valuable Amazon FBA advice that will help ease up your day-to-day selling journey.

We'll cover the ins and outs of bringing an Amazon FBA partner into your organization and how it can change your business and life as a seller. Learn the benefits of hiring one and how to find the perfect fit for your business. 

What is an Amazon FBA Partner?

Most Amazon sellers are already familiar with what an Amazon FBA program is. The platform offers this service, enabling sellers to take advantage of Amazon's fulfillment centers. It also means Amazon will handle the fulfillment process, shipping costs, product warehousing, and customer service.

To start with Amazon FBA, sellers must sign up on their Amazon seller account and enroll their products in the program. But what precisely does an Amazon FBA Partner do

An Amazon FBA Partner refers to an Amazon specialist or a member of a team of eCommerce experts dedicated to ramping up your FBA business to the next level. Depending on who you hire, they may not be experts in all facets of business operations but specialize in significant parts of the process. 

One of the best parts is that they have mastered the art and science of maximizing profits with minimal resources. With Amazon FBA, Amazon sellers no longer have to learn the ropes of and outsource order fulfillment processes. 

That said, you still have your own responsibilities as an Amazon FBA seller. One is to secure inventory from your supplier to Amazon Fulfillment Centers and optimize product listings to rank on the first page of the search results.

You'll occasionally deal with other matters, such as customer returns and FBA inventory reimbursement. Managing so many tasks on your own can be daunting, so having an FBA Partner is an incredible asset to your business's growth and solution to your day-to-day.

aerial view of business professionals doing a handshake

Why Amazon FBA Partnership is Good For Your Amazon Business

Having an Amazon FBA partner can prove to be an excellent strategy for sellers managing their business at any stage. But in what ways, to be exact? Keep reading to learn why having the perfect business partners can significantly benefit your Amazon FBA business.

  1. FBA Partners are masters of the craft.

Professional Amazon specialists and agencies thrive because they do what they do best—assist Amazon sellers with various business models at different stages. Their expertise is often developed through courses and experience in Amazon selling, Brand Registry, PPC advertising, copywriting and product listing, basic graphic design, and more. 

To have worked in this industry firsthand, helping Amazon sellers navigate the platform and learning best practices for growth is the best way to build experience and knowledge of this field. 

  1. Having an excellent FBA partner helps you avoid wasting time and resources. 

FBA partners deeply understand how Amazon FBA works, which means you can be confident that your business is in great hands. They streamline your FBA operations, optimize logistics, and provide expert guidance throughout the process, preventing wasted time and resources.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars doing the work on your own, an FBA partner can put your resources to better use to reap profits more efficiently.

For example, you don't have to pay separate fulfillment fees if you're running an Amazon FBA business. Your FBA partner will ship your products to Amazon's fulfillment centers instead. Another essential benefit is that you can better allocate your time toward other core business tasks.

  1. You will have someone knowledgeable and reliable to answer your questions.

You may feel like you’re lost in a maze when navigating through Amazon Seller Central. This is understandable, particularly if you're new to selling on the platform. But those days will soon be over with a well-established FBA partner who can answer your questions and provide valuable solutions.

They will help you understand complex terminologies and features and suggest the most suitable approaches for specific situations, helping you navigate the platform and implement best practices for your business model.

  1. You'll have the exclusive opportunity to learn from your FBA partner.

Having an FBA partner who can answer your questions, do their job well, and constantly innovate strategies will allow you to gain exclusive and invaluable knowledge. This opportunity to learn will enhance your understanding of what's going on with your business and apply different practices moving forward.

  1. FBA partners can motivate you to push yourself.

Are you struggling with procrastination and slacking off when things don't go as planned? Having business partners like an Amazon FBA partner can help you get back on track and regain that passion for productivity.

Think of it as a reset and a positive influence on your life as a seller. More motivation, greater productivity!

aerial shot of office supplies and a notepad spelling out we are hiring to illustrate hiring preparation

Things to Do When Hiring An Amazon FBA Partner

You can only enjoy the benefits of having an FBA partner if you find the right collaborator for your business. This is crucial to ensure a smooth-sailing and productive relationship. When choosing your FBA partner, you should consider several things. Here's a list to take note of:

  1. Set Criteria For Your Potential FBA Partner

Do some research before hiring an Amazon FBA Partner. It's essential to vet who you bring onto your team. Once you do, set specific expectations on what you need them to deliver. By setting clear expectations upfront, you can avoid misunderstandings and ensure success in building your partnership.

  1. Leverage Your Profit Margins

If you plan on hiring an Amazon specialist or a team of Amazon experts to be your FBA partner, ensure your business funds can cover the costs. Hiring can be expensive, but it may be a more cost-effective solution for you in the long run.

  1. Build Trust and Communication

Establishing trust and effective communication is paramount in every business partnership. Successful collaborations stem from the confidence each party has in the other, which is to fulfill their duties and deliver good results.

If problems arise, they will be addressed with utmost transparency. This is reinforced by having a dedicated channel for communication where each party can be heard and understood.

Final Thoughts

Having an Amazon FBA Partner has its pros and cons. Finding the perfect match will reap long-term profitability. Conversely, a mismatched FBA partner leads to headaches and wasted efforts. That's where Seller Interactive comes in.

We are geared towards alleviating stress in Amazon FBA business operations. To accomplish this, we offer services in many facets, from full account management to PPC marketing. Our Amazon specialists want nothing but the best results for your business. 
So let's get in touch!

Read More
9 Costly Amazon PPC Optimization Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Amazon PPC optimization happens after you start running your sponsored ads campaign. It’s when you realize you’re not meeting your objectives and your ACoS (Average Cost of Sale) is too high. 

When that happens, it’s time you backpedal a bit and revisit your live Amazon PPC campaigns. Take this opportunity to determine the root of the problem, find cost-effective solutions, and develop the best Amazon PPC strategy.

We’ve listed some common and costly sponsored ad mistakes Amazon sellers encounter and how to apply the right PPC optimization technique to each. We will also share some best practices to ensure successful PPC campaigns. 

9 Amazon PPC Optimization Mistakes That Affect Your Ad Spend

Amazon advertising allows you to introduce your brand and products to the public, especially if you are new in the industry. As this strategy involves spending money, you must be more cautious in running your PPC ad campaign to avoid costly mistakes. 

Here are nine common mistakes that can affect your advertising cost: 

Mistake #1: Treating Amazon Ads Like Facebook Ads

Amazon ads work differently from Facebook ads, but you may not be aware of it and treat them similarly, leading to significantly costly mistakes. The consumer behavior, targeting and intent, placement, and ad format and design are unique in each platform. 

For example, Facebook ads are quite similar to intrusive pop-up ads that appear unexpectedly on various parts of the screen. Amazon PPC ads don’t work this way. They only appear when they are relevant to the customer’s needs. One of the factors contributing to this behavior is the keyword the buyer enters in Amazon’s search box. 

How to optimize it: 

Amazon uses an auction-based cost-per-click (CPC) inventory model. Sometimes the seller with the highest bid grabs first place in Amazon’s search results, followed by the second, and so forth.

Consider several factors, like your bid price and the product’s relevance. Also, try tweaking your keywords by doing the following:

  • Use relevant keywords. If you’re selling pillowcases, avoid keywords associated with electronics.
  • Add relevant keywords. It is pretty rare for shoppers to use exact-match keywords. Utilize other keyword match types like phrase match and broad match to maximize your chances.

Mistake #2: Poor Structure of Amazon PPC Campaigns

All your efforts will be futile if you fail to structure your PPC campaigns properly. It will be impossible to scale up your advertising campaign over time. 

While it's tempting to cleanse, repeat, or delete your current ad to create a new one, doing so can affect the performance of your product listings and sales. This ultimately leads to wasting the allocated ad campaign budget.

How to optimize it:

Avoid adding several related products in a single ad group. For starters, use this basic structure:

Amazon PPC campaign structure

Mistake #3: Unsystematic Naming Convention

If not done right the first time, the naming convention may affect your PPC optimization in the future. Imagine labeling an Amazon PPC campaign “Test 123,” “Test ABC,” “XYZ ad,” or “Amazon Campaign no.1.” when you’re A/B testing. Then, after running several tests over the week, you launched it without making changes. 

This makes it difficult to track and analyze your campaign performance effectively. It also leads to inefficiencies, confusion, and wasted resources, hindering your ability to allocate ad budget wisely. 

How to optimize it:

Before creating an advertising campaign, plan a logical and easy-to-understand naming format. For example, use the template “Campaign name: wireless headphones.” Be sure to put the product you will promote on the label so you won’t have trouble monitoring it.

Mistake #4: Excluding Misspelled Keywords

Wrong spelling is wrong, right? Keyword typos in your campaigns can cause irrelevant clicks, low conversion rates, limited reach, and high competition. This leads to higher bid pricing and CPC. But they can benefit your PPC strategy, which we reveal below.

How to optimize it:

On the contrary, Amazon’s A10 algorithm considers and evaluates misspelled search queries when ranking product listings. It has a bearing on your PPC campaigns’ visibility. If a customer enters “headfones,” it will not show ads with “headphones” as its keyword. So, don’t skimp on the opportunity and add misspelled words to your keyword list.

Add some negative keywords and close variations, such as “shoes” and “shoe.” On the other hand, Amazon ignores words like “the,” “when,” “of,” and “if.” But while it’s good to expand your keyword coverage and maximize your reach with these variants, learn to exclude irrelevant terms to avoid hurting your account's performance.

Mistake #5: Using Automatic PPC Campaigns Only

Running your Amazon PPC in auto-campaign mode helps you match your ads to relevant search queries and products. However, you might overspend your ad budget if you only use automatic campaigns and always follow Amazon's recommended bid. 

On the other hand, manual campaigns give you more control to customize and optimize Amazon PPC campaigns. 

How to optimize it:

We recommend using both types of Amazon PPC campaigns to widen your targeting opportunities and have more control over your budget. You may use the keywords from the automatic campaign’s ‘Search Term Report’ and add these to your manual campaign. In this way, you won’t have to conduct exhaustive keyword research.

Here’s an additional, more in-depth tip for utilizing effective automatic and manual campaigns, according to our team’s experts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHGNHI5gBQ

Mistake #6: Monitoring ACoS Only

In PPC optimization, one of the metrics you should continuously check is ACoS or Advertising Cost of Sales. ACoS is computed by the total amount you’ve spent divided by the total sales on a single campaign. 

The lower your ACoS, the better. But ACoS is not the only barometer of an efficient PPC campaign. If you monitor ACoS only, you risk spending more on your ad spend without knowing if your ads rank or attract more clicks.  

How to fix this mindset:

Besides ACoS, measure other metrics like conversion rate (CR) and click-through rate (CTR). If you score high in both indicators, you can win a bid better. CR gauges your sales, and CTR determines how relevant a product is to customers. 

As a standard, a good CR is around 10%, CTR is 0.5% and above, and ACoS is about 15% to 30%. These rates, however, are only general estimations. The perfect rates for your metrics still depend on your niche, product type, profit margins, and advertising goals.

Mistake #7: Mixing Brand and Non-Brand Keywords

Branded keywords and non-branded keywords offer different functions and intent. Brand keywords target customers with a high intent to search for your products. Meanwhile, non-branded keywords focus on people who are unaware of your business but looking for similar products.

Using brand and non-brand keywords within a single PPC campaign is not advisable. It can lead to lower ad relevance and fewer CTR because of the confusing targeting and intent of the ad. Naturally, this results in inefficient budget allocation. 

How to optimize it:

Better put each keyword in separate PPC campaigns to maximize targeting outreach. According to the Search Engine Journal, this strategy gives you transparency to monitor your PPC ads well and optimize them easily. It also prevents competitors from using your brand keywords to sabotage your Amazon PPC campaigns.

Mistake #8: Running Out of Stock

You’re so focused on the technical aspects of your PPC optimization that you forget about your inventory. That is not good; what if you run out of stock? That would mean you will continue to run PPC campaigns without available products, resulting in wasted costs.

Product stock availability is also part of Amazon's Retail Readiness Checklist. It's your duty to ensure your items are available. Otherwise, it creates a wrong impression that you're unable to fulfill your customer's needs. Amazon will stop showing your PPC ads, affecting conversions, organic search ranking, and overall listing performance.

How to optimize it:

Ensure proper inventory management and devise restocking strategies to maintain product availability and prevent stockouts. Don’t know how to start with inventory management? 

Amazon can help you with multi-channel inventory management if you sell across multiple marketplace platforms. Amazon offers free software called Veeqo, which syncs and monitors your inventory across channels, locations, and FBA. This will help you avoid overselling. 

If you're an Amazon FBA seller, you can access the tools under the FBA program to help you monitor your inventory in Amazon's warehouses. You can view these tools through your Seller Central dashboard and mobile app. 

Aside from the tools, you can also practice proper inventory management by

  • monitoring your inventory levels, 
  • restocking popular products quickly, and 
  • running promotions to avoid spoilage and free up your storage space. 

Mistake #9: Developing a Habit of “Set-it-and-Forget-it” Approach

Do you continuously optimize your Amazon PPC campaign? Or did you simply launch it and expect your ad campaign to do its magic? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “magic pill” when managing Amazon PPC campaigns. 

Devising the best Amazon PPC strategy requires hard work, dedication, and an analytical mind. If you treat your campaigns as a one-time task, you are wasting every penny you spend on every ad.

How to fix this mindset:

Whether you’re busy or simply forgetful, make it a habit to monitor and optimize Amazon PPC campaigns regularly. For example, set a fixed schedule at least once a week. The ecommerce world is constantly evolving, so it is best to consistently check on your advertising efforts and ensure they align with your current goals.

To do this:

  1. Put your campaign objective on top of your mind as you review your ad, and check out metrics like CR, CTR, ACoS, etc.
  2. Analyze if you need to adjust your bid or optimize your keywords.
  3. Try applying the right PPC strategy to get on top of Amazon's search results.

Best Amazon PPC Optimization Practices for Your Ad Campaigns

Now that you know the common mistakes in Amazon campaign optimization, learning more about how to optimize PPC campaigns better would be helpful. In this section, we listed some of the best Amazon PPC tips you can do to achieve great heights for your business.

  1. Research High Performing Keywords

Even though you will receive important keyword data once you have started Amazon advertising, it would still be best to do your keyword research. For keyword optimization, gather the highest converting keywords to get the most out of your ad spend.

Doing this will help you get more insights into what customers are searching for and trends you should watch out for before implementing your next ad campaigns. You can use online keyword generator tools to help you find the right keywords. 

But if you need professional help for this task, you can reach out to Amazon SEO or PPC managers instead.

  1. Identify Your Budget for Amazon PPC Campaign

As mentioned above, Amazon’s PPC ads are convenient even for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because they are affordable but effective. But as an Amazon seller, you must also be wise about how much you must spend on running your Amazon campaigns.

So, calculate your ACoS first because it will influence your advertising budget. Also, avoid putting all your resources immediately. Study consumer behavior and trends and consider your overall advertising budget. 

By doing these, you can run your Amazon ads longer, leading to more visibility. 

  1. Apply Strategy Testing

Once you start running your Amazon PPC ad campaigns, you have control over which keywords to bid on, how much you want to spend, and how long you want the ads running. Of course, you will also encounter changes in the weekly data you gather. 

So it’s important to review the ad reports and use them to modify your strategies on keyword selection and bidding amount. Mix and match all possible options and check which ones would work best for your advertising campaigns. 

aerial view of the hands of two businessmen reviewing documents with a tablet presenting pay per click data to illustrate ppc campaign optimization

Some sellers manage this, while new sellers often refer to professional opinions from reputable Amazon PPC marketing agencies

  1. Study the Results

Key metrics can be used to study your advertising campaigns’ results, such as RoAS and ACoS. Examine these results and ask yourself which ad campaigns successfully generated sales with minimal ad spend. 

You can boost these campaigns and turn off those not performing as well. Monitoring your results should be conducted at least once a week to allow Amazon to reflect your Campaign Manager’s exact data.

  1. Create Eye-Catching Amazon Ads

Aside from optimizing your keywords and other aspects of your ad campaigns, don’t forget to improve your product descriptions and photos. People can already judge your brand based on what they see in the ad. 

If they like what they see, they will likely click your ad and look at your product listing. For example, your product listing copy should be compelling to persuade your target customers to buy your items. 

Even if they click your ad, it’s not guaranteed that they will purchase from you unless you convince them through compelling product descriptions and pictures. So while PPC strategies are necessary, don’t forget to craft a compelling product listing.

Final Thoughts

Don’t be disheartened if you make a mistake with your sponsored ads. You can apply the best PPC optimization tips mentioned above until Amazon deems your product relevant. An optimized PPC campaign is your way to outsmart your competitors, increase brand awareness, and improve your sales.
Do you want to have the best Amazon PPC strategy? Seller Interactive has a team of expert Amazon consultants knowledgeable in Amazon PPC optimization. Send us an email at [email protected] to get started.

Read More
Personalized Search in Ecommerce: Your Pathway to Online Success

You’re probably wondering how a huge marketplace like Amazon became an ecommerce standard. The secret behind Amazon’s success lies in something crucial to the market: personalized search in ecommerce.

Amazon has always strongly emphasized a customer-centric approach, ensuring their services benefit everyone engaging with their platform. But this is just one part of a larger strategy. They also extend beyond the platform, embrace exciting technologies, and implement techniques to elevate everyone’s ecommerce experience.

You too can adopt their approach to emulate similar success. Find out how personalization can help you build connections with your target audience and thrive on the platform. Plus, discover how to go beyond the search experience to enhance success in the broader landscape, even outside of Amazon.

What Is Personalized Search in Ecommerce?

Businesses are problem solvers and information banks. They offer products and services that make a customer’s life easier, more efficient, and fun. 

It’s the same in digital shopping. Online enterprises make complex shopping effortless by utilizing game plans that streamline the customer journey and deliver a personalized experience.

One powerful strategy they use is personalized ecommerce search. It involves customizing the individual’s search experience based on their preferences, interests, and past interactions using the digital medium.

By analyzing data on user behavior, browsing history, purchase patterns, and demographic information, online businesses can gain insights into each customer’s unique needs and priorities.

How Amazon Dominates the Market With Search Personalization

Before you get inspired to try personalization for your business, learn how Amazon accomplished market domination through personalization solutions.

As a customer-centric marketplace, Amazon has deployed various tactics prioritizing personalized search experiences, giving them a competitive advantage. 

Here’s a glimpse into some of their notable strategies.

an infographic of how amazon wins the market using search personalization

From machine learning to search customization, these services exemplify the Amazon ecommerce business strategy, which is focused on bringing effortless shopping to people. By learning how to implement personalized search, customers are likely to have repeat purchases, leading to increased sales and conversions for the marketplace.

Techniques To Improve Ecommerce Site Search Experience

Now that you know how Amazon uses personalization, you can apply similar principles to improve customer’s site search experience. In addition to the tactics mentioned above, here are some additional things to consider.

Analyze Market Trends

Retailers and merchandisers continuously explore innovative techniques to elevate the online shopping experience. Personalized search results play a pivotal role, enabling them to:

  • Identify Emerging Demands: Businesses can pinpoint emerging demands by analyzing market trends and swiftly adapting their strategies to meet evolving customer needs.
  • Understand the Market Landscape: Businesses can fine-tune their offerings and improve their brand positioning by knowing what other players in the market are doing and how consumer preferences are evolving.
  • Spot Profitable Niches: Businesses can identify untapped niches with potential once they personalize search results. They can capitalize on these opportunities and cater to specific customer segments that others may have overlooked.
  • Target Marketing Strategies: Personalized search results enable businesses to determine the most important channels, messaging, and promotional tactics to resonate effectively with customers and drive engagement.

Personalization is no longer exclusive to big players. Even businesses like yours can reap the rewards of customer connection and conversion, especially with the emergence of exciting technologies such as:

  • AI-powered personalization and intelligent search engine tools;
  • Conversational search interfaces, such as voice assistants and chatbots; and
  • Mobile devices, with search personalization optimized for smartphones and tablets.

Collect Customer Data

Search personalization in ecommerce starts with collecting and analyzing customer data. But why is it so crucial? The answer is simple: it forms the foundation for delivering the most relevant search results about their needs and desires.

It also helps you understand your customers deeper and make data-driven decisions to optimize your business. But how can you efficiently use the gathered data for your customization needs?

Check out these pointers below:

  • Implement Tracking Tools: Use Brand Analytics or other third-party solutions to gather essential customer metrics. These tools will provide valuable information about customer interactions, search queries, and website behavior.
  • Use Data Storage: Don’t forget to use cookies and local storage, especially if you want to remember customer search data, what they type in the search bar, and other browsing habits.
  • Combine Demographic and Behavioral Data: Combining this information can help you create detailed user profiles. You can understand who your customers are, how they act, and what drives their purchasing decisions.
Pro Tip: Using customer data responsibly and ethically is crucial. Always comply with privacy regulations and ensure transparency with your customers about your data use.

Optimize Search Relevance

The goal of personalized search goes beyond simply analyzing trends and collecting data. By tailoring users’ search experience, you can remove the clutter of irrelevant results and present options more likely to meet the buyer’s particular requirements.

You can redefine ecommerce site search by applying these tips below:

  • Use Advanced Filtering and Sorting: These options modify search results based on various attributes such as price, brand, size, color, and more. Users can narrow down their search and find the most relevant products quickly.
  • Incorporate Best-Seller Lists: Highlight popular and best-selling products if you’re personalizing search results. This tactic helps users identify popular choices and adds a social proof element to their decision-making process.
  • Display User-Generated Content: Present relevant content such as customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials. They can provide feedback from real customers, helping users make more informed purchasing decisions.
  • Practice Regular Monitoring and Analyzing: Monitor and analyze search performance metrics, including click-through rates, conversion rates, and user engagement, for a more personalized shopping experience.
  • Use Natural Language Processing: Leverage natural language processing techniques to understand the context and semantics of search queries. This way, you can get a more accurate interpretation of user intent.

Take Advantage of Tools and Technology

Incredible tools and technology are available to help you deliver effective personalized search experiences for your ecommerce needs. Some of them are as follows.

Elastic Enterprise Search

This platform offers a range of features to help create a personalized search experience, such as:

  • Search UI: A quick and easy way to build search interfaces without all the extra code.
  • Web Crawler: Scans your website and automatically indexes relevant content.
  • Search Analytics Dashboards: Monitors your search performance and identifies areas to improve.

APIs and Libraries

These tools help streamline the development, implementation, optimization, and ongoing management process, making it a breeze for your personalization needs. Here are some functionalities to consider:

  • Ingestion Flexibility: Allows you to ingest your data regardless of its structure or origin.
  • Artificial Learning Capabilities: Increases relevance and personalization with intelligent search algorithms.

While these tools may have technical aspects, don't worry if you're unsure about implementing them yourself. Seek help from an expert ecommerce management team that can guide you through the process.

Maximize Personalization Strategies Beyond Search Results

Personalization is not limited to search results alone. There are other ways you can use this strategy to strengthen your Amazon business and offer exceptional customer experiences.

Landing Pages as Virtual Showrooms

Imagine virtually accompanying a shopper in your ecommerce store. If there’s an upcoming event or holiday in a few days, it’s the perfect moment to sell your brand.

One way you can connect with them as if you are guiding them in finding what they need is to create a landing page. This page can be an image of a product collection or a new product category that discusses the event and introduces your product’s relevance. 

Your web page should be your virtual storeroom. Personalizing this area will help customers understand what your business is all about and help them make a purchase decision.

Feedback Surveys

Customers prefer personalized surveys, and it's no wonder why. These surveys excel at asking quick, specific, and relevant questions that directly align with their recent interactions with the brand. But there's more to it than that.

Personalized surveys go beyond the traditional questionnaire format. They are designed to be conversational and human, fostering a sense of value and connection for customers. By using language that feels natural and engaging, these surveys make them feel heard and appreciated.

In the world of Amazon, personalized feedback surveys offer a direct channel for users to express their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions. They capture real-time insights and sentiments by collecting feedback after customers interact with the brand, providing a clear picture of the customer experience.

Geo-Location Personalization

Your offers can vary per location (e.g., shipping policy, limited discounts, special services). So, it’s necessary to segment customer locations to make sure you’re giving the right information about your products. 

Personalization takes place by redirecting your visitors to a geo-based version of your site. It can be an automatic redirect, or visitors can select their preferred shopping location. 

Doing this will help boost conversions and make strategic planning easier since you can get location-based data, which is more specific. It’s also handy for personalizing ads or social media content to promote or show support for local events.

Category Finder

When it comes to customer preferences, the ability to express their shopping interests holds great appeal. By incorporating a category finder, you can focus on providing relevant results that will likely lead to a sale. Let’s explore how it works:

  1. Online stores display a set of category selections.
  2. Customers pick a category they are interested in.
  3. The site shows products relevant to that particular category. 

It makes the shopping experience easier for both customer and the brand: the customer filters items as desired while the company analyzes specific buying behavior. It’s a creative way to engage customers to browse your store, significantly decreasing your site’s bounce rate.

Navigate the Path to Success With Search Personalization

If you're not using search personalization, now's the time to learn and implement it! Many businesses have lost revenue by neglecting it. We don't want the same thing to happen to your brand, so we recommend you to explore this personalization strategy, not only for search results but also across multiple facets of your business.

It can be challenging, especially when faced with numerous techniques and tools. But fear not! Seller Interactive is here to guide you. Whether you need assistance with account management, strategic planning, or personalizing search experiences, our experts are ready to spearhead your journey to success.
Together, let's navigate the path to enhanced ecommerce experiences and maximize your brand's potential through search personalization. Book a call today.

Read More
Why Is Everyone Talking About Amazon Digital Marketing Services? Here's the Complete Answer

The race towards business digitization is on! Everyone who wants to get a piece of future sales wants to get front-row seats for the action. As the slots fill for the ride to big profits, the competition gets more intense, and the only way for a new seller to keep up or secure their spot is to understand digital marketing.

This is why everyone's talking about digital marketing services.

For you to adjust as fast as your competitors in the transition from physical stores to the World Wide Web, you need professional assistance, and that is what you'll get from a full-service Amazon digital marketing agency.

What Is a Full-Service Amazon Digital Marketing Agency?

Digital marketing agencies come in two main types: niche and full-service. 

As the name suggests, a niche agency focuses on a specific marketing area, such as social media or email. It has a smaller, more specialized staff, which makes it more affordable than a full-service agency.

On the other hand, full-service agencies offer a wider range of services to businesses of all sizes. They often have bigger budgets and more resources and tools at their disposal, which makes them better at giving their clients the best services.

Full-service agencies offer a comprehensive suite of services, although the mix may differ. This includes search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Besides these main services, some agencies may provide graphic design, reputation management, web design, and web development. Essentially, they serve as a one-stop shop for all your online marketing needs.

Technically, you could hire individual freelancers or niche agencies to handle these services separately. But getting full-service marketing services gives you these unique benefits.

  1. It's more cost-effective: When you work with multiple providers, you'll have to pay them separately, which can be confusing and time-consuming. But with a full-service digital agency, you can bundle all your services into one package and get a discount.
  2. It's more convenient: Once you work with a single provider for all your digital marketing needs, you only have to deal with one point of contact. You don't have to recall which freelancer or agency works on a particular project, saving you from stress.
  3. It allows for greater coordination in all aspects of your online presence: Since full-service agencies have different team members working together toward one goal, they can more easily coordinate their efforts to create a cohesive overall strategy. Also, communication and the completion of tasks will be more accessible because of their familiarity with each other and the nature of their work.
  4. It results in better accountability: If you work with multiple providers, tracking who is doing what and how well they're doing it will not be easy. With a full-service agency, one team does everything, so it will be easier to keep track of performance metrics and assess your strategies' effectiveness.

Benefits in Partnering With Amazon Marketing Experts

Every Amazon digital marketing agency is composed of experienced professionals. Combined with their marketplace expertise and management skills, they can help raise your online business to new heights, giving you the following benefits.

A Team To Brainstorm With About Your Goals

In all ventures, goal setting should be a priority and it is always better to do it with a team. For your Amazon business marketing strategy, what are your goals?

  • Reaching your target audience by knowing their demographics and purchasing behaviors. 
  • Knowing your competitors to be on par or better than them. 
  • Optimizing your store for the algorithm. 
  • Continuing best practices for best-selling products and work on the goods that don't sell.
  • Achieving profitability.
  • Growing and expanding your business.
  • Auditing your marketing goals, strategies, and results regularly.

With all these tasks and many other mini-goals under them, you'll need help. With an Amazon marketing company, you can break down your vision into SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) goals. By the end of every business period, you can look at your marketing's key performance indicators to assess your campaigns and plan according to data. 

A Diverse Team of Amazon Marketing Experts

Partnering with an Amazon digital marketing agency will allow you to work with more than just one professional. You'll tap a full roster of experts and get a chance to learn and collaborate with the following.

  • Account managers: Your point of contact in the Amazon digital marketing agency. They ensure the team accomplishes all tasks needed to hit your marketing goals.
  • Marketing and advertising team: Specialists who can formulate your marketing strategies.
  • SEO experts: Store and ad optimization for the A10 algorithm ensures your store appears on customer search results, and these SEO experts will get the job done.
  • Content and graphic design team: The texts and images in your ads should be creative and well-executed, which will be possible with a team of writers and designers.
  • Pay-per-click (PPC) specialists: Amazon's PPC management is crucial for Amazon's marketing and advertising. Plan, execute, and monitor data with trained PPC specialists.

Keyword Research and Strategy

Using the right keywords will get your target audience's eyes on your stunning ads and persuasive copy. An Amazon agency helps you with that by:

  • Using a trusted keyword research tool to look for relevant keywords.
  • Studying your competitors' keywords through reverse ASIN and seeing how you can utilize the data for your Amazon ad and store optimization.
  • Strategizing whether you'll target broad, phrase, or exact matches for your campaigns.
  • Creating auto campaigns and monitoring keyword performance for manual campaign bidding.
  • Picking which keywords to bid for a manual campaign.
  • Monitoring keyword performance to halt non-performing ones and invest more in keywords that convert to Amazon sales.
  • Carefully picking negative keywords to ensure your product doesn’t appear on irrelevant searches.
  • Seamlessly incorporating keywords to the front end of your store and ads.
  • Optimizing backend keywords.

Keywords are the lifeblood of Amazon businesses, and it’s extremely helpful to have a dedicated team keeping an eye on them. 

Creative Ads That Convert

The most captivating marketing materials evoke curiosity, move viewers, or trigger a need upon seeing the products or messages. Your design, content, and marketing partners from the agency will all work together to create compelling ads—as well as a great brand logo, tagline, and layout—which, when seen by your customers, will urge them to click to learn more about your business. 

Amazon has different options for sponsored ads, here are some of them you should be aware of.

  • Sponsored Brand: A Sponsored Brand will appear as a logo on top of Amazon pages when customers search. Even if they do not buy from you, you’ll still achieve brand awareness. They may not buy now, but with your solid content, they may return another time to finally make the purchase.
  • Sponsored Products: Product Display Ads is an Amazon advertising option you can use to boost the sales of an already performing product or increase the visibility of products with the potential for higher sales. If you have a partner agency, account managers and Amazon PPC experts can use product attributes marketing or category-specific marketing for your Sponsored Product ads.
  • Headline Search Ads: Similar to Sponsored Product Ads are Headline Search Ads. This paid ad shows up as a banner on your Amazon seller account, just below the category menu of the product results page. Headline ads allow you to position your brand and product in a way that lets you tell a story. Sellers can showcase at least three products and one brand. Note that headline ads and banner ads are different. 
  • Display Advertisements: This type of ad is very similar to sponsored product ads. The difference is how you're going to be charged for it. For this, it's cost-per-click or CPC. The listing you choose for this won't only be boosted on Amazon's website and mobile application, but it will also be displayed on other websites. You can also customize where these ads are going to take your customers. You can direct them to your product page, Amazon store, or landing page. 

Helps You Build an Affiliate Network

A10, Amazon's algorithm, now measures click-through rates from links outside Amazon, making affiliate marketing essential in your digital marketing strategy. This service is another thing you'll get from partnering with agencies. They can help you by: 

  • Building a website dedicated to posting round-up and single reviews with links leading to your product page or Amazon store.
  • Looking for websites related to your brand and product where you can pitch guest posts with links leading to your store and product page.
  • Calling out to interested bloggers and website owners and sending requests for them to become your marketing affiliates. 

Amazon Associates is the service catering to affiliate marketing on the platform. The process is easy! You need to have a significant number of followers or website traffic, then simply sign up, complete all required details, and use SiteStripe to get product links you can incorporate into your website or social media content. 

Engages Customers Through Social Media Marketing

In social media marketing content creation, hard selling is a big no-no. What earns a resounding yes is creativity.

Get your creative juices flowing with the equally out-of-the-box thoughts of your agency's marketing team. Their plans will ensure that your social media marketing achieves the following goals:

  • Creating a venue for more interactions between you and your customers, between customers and their fellow customers, and between patrons. 
  • Posting daily content that has a human touch and seamlessly includes product endorsements.
  • Using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn posts as venues for you to ask for customer reviews.
  • Keeping viewers updated on your latest products, offers, discounts, and sales.
  • Creating a community that shares views and opinions about your content and your products.
  • Strategically posting sponsored ads to reach new customers and grow followers.
  • Partnering with other influencers to endorse your products

The Power of Videos

According to statistics, 91% of consumers want to see more videos from brands. With this much at stake, your videos are better done with professional videographers, scriptwriters, and marketing experts. But what to produce? You have plenty of videos to choose from:

  • Demo videos
  • Brand videos
  • Live videos
  • Casual and daily life videos by influencers
  • Interviews with experts
  • Amazon product review videos
  • Customer feedback videos
  • Live videos

Amazon Live is the platform's way of adapting to the trend of live selling. Aside from streaming on your different social media accounts, you can also stream on Amazon. Live selling is a chance to get same-day sales, interact with your audience, and give limited offers to early buyers. 

For recorded videos, your marketing and production team will ensure that you state your CTAs clearly and at the right time. 

Directs Your Next Steps With the Help of Data

Despite all the creativity surrounding digital marketing, you will still judge the effectiveness of all your campaigns based on the numbers they produce, which you can easily access through marketing services. 

Through regular reports from your account managers, you'll know your ad spend, ad and keyword performance, search traffic, and PPC spend. Aside from that, they will provide you with action plans to sustain your success or turn failures into success stories.

Other Marketing Strategies That You Should Consider

There are a lot of Amazon marketing strategies you can employ to boost your sales. However, you have to understand how they work so you can fully utilize them. Here are some of the commonly used strategies.

Email Marketing

Another digital marketing strategy that you can explore is email marketing. For this, you don't have to spend a lot of money. Just make sure that you are able to come up with promotional content that will catch the interest of your audience.

According to The Radicati Group, a tech marketing research firm, there are more than 4 billion people using email worldwide, and by the end of 2026 this number is estimated to reach 4.7 billion. You can take advantage of these statistics by sending a promotional email highlighting your products, sales, product launches, and coupons. 

Answering FAQs on Your Listings

One proactive way for you to connect with your customers is by answering the questions posted on your FAQs. Since these are all posted on your listings by people who have shown interest in your products, it's only logical that you give them the answers. 

It's not just a way for you to engage with your customers; it's also a way to elaborate more on what the product is all about. It's an effective form of proactive advertising which won't cost you a lot of money.

Optimized Product Listings

If you truly want to maximize your advertising reach, you will have to focus more on optimizing your listings. It's a win-win situation for you. Optimized listings always do well on the platform, and you can easily reach out to new customers because of them.

Take the time to do your keyword research and integrate it into your product listings. You should have creative yet fully optimized titles, product descriptions, and images. In this way, you're capturing the attention of both your customers and Amazon's algorithm, as well.

Using Google Search Ads

You can scale your sales further by making Google ads a part of your paid search strategy. Google, as we know, is the largest search engine out there. It's a vast ocean of searchers, and within that population are people looking for a solution to a problem that your product can solve.

Google Ads helps you get more top-funnel leads. The more people get exposed to your product outside of the Amazon marketplace, the more likely you will get potential customers drawn to your Amazon store. If you want to get in with this marketing strategy, check out Google Ads.

Best Practices To Improve Strategy From an Amazon Digital Marketing Manager

Aside from incorporating digital marketing strategies into your account, you must also know the best practices that many Amazon digital marketing managers use to maximize account performance. With that, here are some tips and tricks.

Organize Your Campaigns Accordingly

One of the best practices you can adopt is organizing your advertising campaigns on the Amazon Seller Central platform. The more thought-out and organized your campaigns are, the better you'll manage them and the more likely you are to reach your advertising goals.

The first step you can take is to determine what aspect you want to focus on. Once you have determined this, you should create at least two sets of campaigns. Both campaigns should have the same set of offerings. The difference will be that one will capture a broader reach for keywords. 

For one ad group in a campaign, you can use more general keywords. For the other, you can use a more specific set that caters to particular products, targeting those who already know what they are looking for.

These two campaigns will comprise your initial structure. So, you are going to have two separate ad groups for the keywords that you're putting your bid on. After this, you can now embed these keywords into your copies.

Pro Tip: Limit your advertisements to 2–3 ads per group. This way, you can test out different keywords and see how these perform.

Create an Effective Message

Creating advertisements on Amazon is more than just targeting which products you should boost through your ads. Ultimately, it's about capturing your target consumers' attention.

What you can also do is create a sense of urgency. You should be able to convey to your customers why they need to buy your products now. Use your copy to highlight sales, markdowns, and clearances. If you don't have current promotions running, focus on highlighting the key benefits of your products.

Pro Tip: To create a powerful ad, you have to create copy that sells using the right keywords. Never use any keywords that might mislead your customers. Don't create false expectations about your products since this might backfire on you.

Compete Well

One winning strategy that you can employ is to use searches for your competitors' products. Incorporate these into your keyword bidding strategies and bid on these keywords. This way, you can significantly increase your exposure to those people who are looking for the same products. 

Utilize this strategy if you want to show up in consumers' results even if they are not particularly looking for your product.

Make sure that you give out as many details as you can in your product listings, give them an excellent return policy deal, and make sure you invest in customer service for good reviews.

In Closing

These are the reasons why Amazon's digital marketing assistance is making noise these days. If your business is still adjusting to the new normal of selling online, you need expert help to build solid foundations. And even if you are already a seasoned Amazon seller, you still need these services to do better. 

If you are looking for an Amazon marketing agency, we at Seller Interactive can be your partner.

Let's help you make success stories even in these trying times. Contact us at 1-800-820-3746 so that we can discuss the details of our services with you.

Read More
Amazon Order Fulfillment Services: 5 FBA Issues Consultants Can Solve

An upset customer complaining about a terrible buying experience can make you more anxious than any cup of strong coffee. Amazon order fulfillment services, also known as Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA)), can be a significant yet challenging aspect of your business. You risk losing your customers, reputation, and money with a small mistake.

You don't want this to happen, so you're seeking advice about fulfillment problems and counteracting them. Well, you're in the right place. This article discusses five of the most common issues in eCommerce fulfillment, including solutions from working with an Amazon FBA consultant. But before that, here's an overview of what Amazon FBA is all about.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): How Does it Work?

Amazon's fulfillment service lets sellers take advantage of warehouse space (called Amazon fulfillment centers) to store their products until it's time to ship to customers. In return, FBA sellers have to pay fulfillment fees in exchange for using the service.

Compared to Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) and Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), Amazon sellers benefit more from FBA because the platform handles almost everything. Amazon's in-house fulfillment team is the one that picks, packs, and ships the ordered items. With this, the seller can focus more on other aspects of their ecommerce business.

Here's a run-through on how to start using the FBA program:

  1. Add FBA to your Amazon seller account.
  2. Create and optimize your product listings to prepare for shipment.
  3. Present a shipping plan to Amazon's fulfillment centers. They will pick a warehouse for you to send the packages to.
  4. Once you send your product out, it will end up in its designated Amazon fulfillment center. A team of experts handles all the work from there: running the inventory, shipping procedures, updating and answering customers, and handling returns and refunds.
a businessman smiling on camera while typing on his laptop

How Does an Amazon FBA Consultant Deal With Order Fulfillment Issues?

Now that you understand how Amazon FBA works, it's time to discuss how consultants can help handle your eCommerce fulfillment issues. We've enumerated five common fulfillment mistakes below.

Complex International Shipments

Greater distance means extended hours and higher shipping costs. Third-party sellers participating in the Amazon marketplace must understand that going international means their packages won't arrive in a few days like local shipping.

If they make their buyers wait for too long, they might lose the chance to grow customer loyalty. In addition, international shipping is challenging because of customs, duties, and return processing.

An FBA consultant lets you know how Amazon fulfillment works internationally. Once you send your products to their global warehouse, the team will smoothly process everything from picking to shipping. On top of that, their customer service is available 24/7 so that you can relieve yourself of the swarm of customer inquiries. 

Poor Customer Service

The customer's buying experience is one of the most crucial aspects of fulfillment, especially with Amazon as the marketplace. To provide them with the best service, you need a smooth fulfillment process; the key is to avoid making minor errors that massively impact your entire system. These errors include wrong delivery items and addresses, incorrect labels, and more.

Poor customer service results in bad reviews; any seller wouldn't want that. With Amazon as your fulfillment partner, you don't have to worry about the nitty-gritty details anymore. Add to that a competent team of customer service professionals that handles all buyer inquiries on a 24/7 basis, and you'll save up a lot of time and unnecessary stress.

With these systems in place, the role of an FBA consultant is to maximize the use of Amazon's services through full account management. By managing your account, they minimize any order casualties, reducing potential returns and customer calls, thereby optimizing your customer service.

Challenging Inventory Management

It is tough to handle inventory if you fulfill orders in large quantities. Whenever an order is placed, there are three things you need to work out fast: locating the product, warehouse operations, and communicating with suppliers/manufacturers. If these steps don't turn out smoothly, your shipments will be delayed.

With an FBA consultant, you can ensure that processes are well coordinated both on the online storefront and the fulfillment company, which is Amazon. A consultant can make excellent use of the inventory management system to avoid shipping delays and miscommunication between the teams.

Apart from a smooth logistical process, a consultant can also drive the flow of products in and out of the Amazon fulfillment center. By driving demand using available marketing activities, they can sell products fast and help with a fast inventory turnover. This will reduce or even eliminate your long-term storage fees.

Difficult Shipping Negotiations

All sellers want to save on shipping costs. The objective is easy, but negotiating rates or finding affordable shipping solutions is challenging. Small businesses, for instance, might not have enough power and authority to make an agreement with major courier companies and get the best discount on shipping rates.

If you have an FBA, you no longer have to be the one negotiating. Amazon has partnership agreements with UPS, FedEx, DHL, and other major carriers that give great shipping discounts. 

FBA consultants can also manage your shipping fees and strike the right balance between price and cost. Whether you have one or several sales channels, they can adjust the pricing structure to maximize your profit per unit sold if you're on a multi-channel fulfillment setup.

Inadequate Customer Trust

All businesses start from scratch before they reach a certain level of success. However, working with a reliable and customer-trusted company can help you get closer to success faster

An advantage of working with Amazon FBA consultants is that they have knowledge and experience with a brand that many customers trust: Amazon is a go-to shopping store and a trusted platform for shopping inspiration—because of this, working with an FBA consultant can increase your chances of generating more sales. 

Keep These Things in Mind Before Working With An Amazon Seller Consultant

After learning the benefits you can acquire if you choose to work with Amazon experts, here are a few things to note to ensure they can help you make a wise business decision. 

  • FBA can be a costly program since they charge a variety of fees from the seller. Having them handle fulfillment teams and processes saves you workforce fees, but you will still get charged for storage, membership fees, returns processing, and many more. 
  • If you sell with FBA, your products are automatically eligible for free shipping on Amazon Prime. You have to pay for the shipping costs, so while it may be in the Prime buyers' favor, it might not work out well on your end.
  • Make sure to calculate the fees first before using FBA. Your FBA consultant can help you break down these essential details on costs.

Conclusion

Some order fulfillment issues are inevitable, but you can minimize the potential damage with excellent preparation and collaboration with a team of experts. Suppose you need guidance on jumpstarting a business under Amazon FBA or are interested in knowing more about our experienced Amazon sales consultants, contact us today.

Read More
Find Wholesale Products to Sell on Amazon: The Ultimate Guide

Online sellers have a variety of Amazon sales models to choose from, and one of the most popular and effective ways is wholesaling. However, finding wholesale products to sell on Amazon can pose a challenge, especially for newbies—you have to comb through millions of products on the Amazon Marketplace. Let's not even mention the number of suppliers and categories.

Don't worry because we've got you covered. In this article, we will discuss something that will make this task easier for you: using product research tools to find wholesale products to sell on Amazon! 

We'll also dive into how the wholesale business model works on Amazon, why it is lucrative, and how to choose the right suppliers for selling wholesale.

What is an Amazon Wholesale Business?

Amazon wholesale business is buying products in bulk directly from manufacturers or distributors and reselling them as individual units on Amazon Marketplace. Like any other business model, you need time, money, and killer marketing strategies to sell wholesale on Amazon.

Benefits of Starting a Wholesale Business on Amazon

Selling wholesale on Amazon might be daunting at first, but despite the complicated process, it offers the following benefits:

  1. You don't have to create your listing, which would require expert copywriting skills. Instead, you only need to add value or an irresistible offer on the brand's existing product listing.
  2. Wholesalers carry inventory from different manufacturers and suppliers. It gives you access to a much broader range of products than a retail store would. You can find exactly what you need without settling for the second best and sell well-known brands.
  3. You're not building a brand from nothing. It has an established reputation across different marketplaces.
  4. If you're selling established brands already loved by consumers, you only need a little push to ramp up your marketing efforts.
  5. It generally offers higher profit margins than retail. Retailers typically mark up their products by a significant amount to make a profit. When you purchase in bulk, you can avoid this markup and pocket a larger percentage of the sale price. 
  6. Expect steady sales due to the brands' popularity and high demand.
  7. You can restock your product inventory at any time.
  8. You don't have to spend time introducing the brand to the market or building a customer base.
  9. It offers sellers a lower unit cost. When you buy in bulk, you can take advantage of economies of scale and get a lower price per unit. As a result, you get big discounts, especially if you're purchasing items to resell.
  10. Your chosen brand has Amazon's seal of approval, which means less Buy Box competition.
  11. It saves you from having to replenish or create more stock. All you have to focus on is the selling part.
  12. It can help businesses build relationships with one another. By working with various suppliers, brand owners can better understand the market and learn about new products and trends in the industry.

8 Tools to Help You in Your Wholesale Product Research

Narrowing your research down to Amazon's best-selling products is a great head start. But keep in mind that best-selling doesn't always mean popular. We want these products to be profitable enough to jumpstart your wholesale business. 

Here are the top 8 tools to aid you in your wholesale product search: 

Helium 10

Helium 10 is a product research tool you can easily compare to a Swiss knife. It has several tools with different functionalities. One worth mentioning is the Black Box, Helium 10's product finder and product research tool. It uses smart filters to search by price, amount of sellers, product category, and estimated monthly sales revenue.

AMZBase

Do you want a broader search base? AMZBase lets you access other search engines like Google, eBay, AliExpress, Alibaba, and CamelCamelCamel. It is an all-in-one instant product research tool that allows you to obtain the listing’s Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) and title description.  

IO Scout

In just a few clicks, IO Scout's Amazon Product Finder helps you gather detailed product data and trends. Moreover, it can save you from math troubles with its integrated FBA Calculator and Sales Estimator.

It also eliminates the hassle of searching all over again because it saves your current filter. In case you want to go offline, Amazon Product Filter can export up to 20,000 rows of spreadsheet data.

AMZScout

Easily brainstorm and choose potential brands with AMZScout's web app. It lets you enter a keyword or product ASIN to start your search. If you want to conduct comprehensive product data research, the web app comes with 44 advanced filters you can tweak.

Furthermore, the web app can track the historical data of a product to determine if it is cost-effective.

Unicorn Smasher

The tool's brand name might be misleading, but this free tool from AMZ Tracker can help you choose a product with ease. Unicorn Smasher provides a comprehensive report organized in a single dashboard. You don't have to install clunky software because this is only a Chrome extension. 

The search starts right on the Amazon website. After entering your desired product in the search box, hit Enter and click on the Unicorn Smasher icon on your browser. It will display a small window with the results. Click Add to Dashboard for a broader view.

SellerApp

SellerApp's Amazon Product Research Tool uses product intelligence capabilities to provide you with valuable data displayed in one dashboard. This product-sourcing app has over 35 million products in its database, so the possibilities are endless.

On top of that, SellerApp offers free tools to help you find keywords, check the quality of your listings, estimate the sales of your products, and more.

ZonGuru

If you want to discover wholesale products by category, ZonGuru has a product research tool called Niche Finder. It lets you find the right products by selecting a category in easy mode or advanced mode.

Choose the easy mode if you don't want to set filters, and then select the appropriate business metric. It has three business metrics: Easy Starter, Business Builder, and Big Hitter.

Jungle Scout

It is a useful tool for both first-time sellers and seasoned merchants. Aptly called Product Database, it can sift through over 70 million products filtered from the Amazon catalog. Alternatively, you can use its Keyword Scout, which returns high-ranking keywords and ASINs.

Meanwhile, the Product Database can keep track of your products and competitors for a quick comparative analysis.

If you get easily intimidated by numbers, visit the Amazon website and follow these steps. 

Go to Amazon.com. Scroll down until you spot the Amazon Top Sellers section, and click See More. It will direct you to the International Best Sellers page. On this page, you can limit your search by category or department listed on the left pane of the window.

Bonus: Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Another automation tool you can use is the Amazon web services marketing strategy. Although it is not the same as the tools above, it has numerous features that will make your job much easier. Also known as Amazon Marketplace Web Service, it is an API that helps you with the following:

  • Inventory management
  • Order management
  • Reports management
  • Creating and checking the status of inbound shipments
  • Outbound shipment management

Factors to Consider in Amazon Wholesale Product Research

Now that you have the right tools, how do you determine which products are profitable? Don't let your precious data go to waste, and consider the following:

  • Amazon.com doesn't sell the product itself.
  • The manufacturer is not the direct seller of the product.
  • It is not a seasonal product.
  • It has the potential to have a high monthly sales volume.
  • It is reasonably priced to earn profits.
  • The product is always in demand.
warehouse full of products

What to Consider in Your Supplier Search

With so many options on the market, it can be tough to know where to buy wholesale products of excellent quality. Moreover, you might encounter suppliers whose work ethics can stress you out even more.

So to avoid making decisions you will soon regret, you must learn some of the basics of looking for suppliers. Here are some tips on how and where to find the best suppliers for your wholesale business.

1. Inquire About the Product Quality

When running an ecommerce business, you must ensure that you get high-quality products from your Amazon wholesaler. If you want to assess the product's quality firsthand, it would be best to ask for samples of the product you want to resell. By doing this, you can get more customers and avoid multiple product returns, leading to refunds.

2. Look for Competitive Pricing

Because the price you pay for your wholesale goods directly impacts your bottom line, it is important to ensure you're getting the best possible deal. Also, ensure that their prices are competitive so that you do not have to overpay for your items, which can affect your profits later on.

3. Understand the Type of Production Required

As a business owner, you must understand that there are different types of wholesalers. Therefore, depending on your business needs, you should consider the production capabilities of your supplier.

For example, if you're selling products that need to be made to order, you'll need to work with a supplier that can produce your goods promptly.

On the other hand, if you're selling mass-produced items, you'll want to partner with an Amazon FBA wholesale supplier that can provide you with a consistent supply at a competitive price.

4. Ask About the Shipping Costs and Logistics

Another factor in choosing a wholesaler is the cost of freight. No matter how low the wholesale price, it won't make a difference if the shipping costs are sky-high. So when you're considering a potential supplier, be sure to get a quote for shipping so that you will have an idea of your total costs.

In some cases, it may even be worth paying a slightly higher price to a supplier with lower shipping costs.

Of course, you'll also want to take delivery time into account. For example, a supplier close to your business will usually be able to bring you your products more quickly than one located further away.

Ultimately, it would help if you find a balance between low prices and reasonable shipping costs to keep your products' prices competitive.

5. Consider the Product's Perishability

When you're wholesale sourcing, consider the perishability of the items you're purchasing. If you're stocking on perishable items, be sure to order enough to meet your customer demand, but not so much that you end up throwing away expired products.

For non-perishable items, you can order in larger quantities to benefit from bulk discounts. By considering these factors, you're always stocked up on products your customers need without wasting valuable resources.

6. Ask for Recommendations

Sometimes, it is best to get feedback from other business owners. After all, they have worked with several suppliers, so they may have a say on who's great to work with. Ask for their recommendations through forums or emails. This can be a faster and easier way to find reliable manufacturers who can provide the products you need.

7. Research Thoroughly

Read online reviews about the supplier's product quality and customer service, compare their prices, and check out their product offerings to see if they're a good match for your needs. Look for the minimum order quantities (MOQs), shipping times, and anything else significant to your operations. This way, you identify which supplier meets your criteria before contacting them directly.

Where to Find Wholesale Suppliers

Now that you already know the qualities of a good supplier and how to find one, you are probably feeling more eager to know where you can find your potential supplier. Let’s find out below:

Online wholesale directories

You can search for a trusted wholesaler directory that lists companies selling products at wholesale prices and often includes contact information and user reviews. Some popular and reliable online directories are Alibaba, Salehoo, DHgate, Worldwide Brands, and Global Sources.

But if you want to explore other wholesale suppliers, it would be best for you to read listicles about them. These articles briefly inform you about what kind of suppliers are on their websites.

professional trade show for home fashion in Paris, France

Trade shows and industry events

These events bring manufacturers and distributors together. New Amazon sellers are encouraged to attend them because they are an excellent place for you to network, make deals, and check out the quality of their products yourself.

Moreover, trade shows are a great way to get an idea of what products are available and to find out what kind of MOQs they require.

Local retail stores near you

Look for local retail stores that offer the kind of products you want to sell on Amazon. Then, ask for their recommendations of any good sources for your desired product or tips on dealing with potential suppliers.

Facebook and LinkedIn

Even though Facebook is commonly used for communicating with friends and family and LinkedIn is for job hunting and business networking, you can also use these two social media platforms to find wholesale suppliers.

On Facebook, you can search for groups that connect buyers and sellers in your industry. Unfortunately, many of these groups are private, so you will need to request access from the administrator. Once you're already a member, you can start posting about what you're looking for and see if any suppliers or sellers have leads for you.

Meanwhile, you can join multiple supplier directories or try reaching out to suppliers directly through LinkedIn's InMail feature.

What's Next? After finding wholesale products and reliable suppliers, you must determine how you are going to deliver the product to your customers. One of the options available is FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). If you want to learn how your business can thrive with Amazon FBA, read our detailed guide here.

Create a Successful Amazon Wholesale Selling Journey With Seller Interactive

If you want to start your business on Amazon, using the wholesaling method can benefit you in several ways, like lower unit cost and access to a wide range of products. However, you must be careful before purchasing large quantities because the wrong choice can drastically impact your business negatively.

Such choices involve selecting the right whole product to sell and its supplier. This blog offered a list of useful tools to look for top-selling wholesale products. It also included tips for finding suppliers, from rich supplier directories to local retail stores near you. Use them to ensure your wholesale venture is successful.

Still on the fence about how to buy wholesale products to sell on Amazon?

Consult professionals and Amazon account managers from reputable agencies like Seller Interactive.

Do you want to start a wholesale business on Amazon? Do you have a hard time finding wholesale products to sell on Amazon? If you need to become more familiar with how to start an Amazon wholesale business, Seller Interactive offers the Amazon FBA Wholesale Partnership Program to guide you on selling wholesale on Amazon.

To book an appointment, email [email protected] or call 1-800-820-3746!

Read More
The Power of Amazon Reputation Management in Building Brand Reputation

Brand reputation is an essential factor for a business's success, but it holds even more significance on massive ecommerce platforms like Amazon. Simply glossing over negative feedback can drive potential customers to another brand.

It's only natural for people to look for good Amazon customer reviews and ensure a smooth buying experience before committing to a product or service. Remember, trust is a sensitive relationship between a business and its buyers, so you should find ways to keep it strong. In other words, manage your reputation as early as you can. 

This article delves into the influential power of Amazon's reputation management, providing valuable insights into its definition and some effective strategies. It also explores techniques for protecting your brand against negative product reviews and building a positive image on Amazon.

What Is Brand Reputation Management on Amazon?

According to a BrightLocal report, 98% of consumers use the Internet to find information about businesses. So it’s no surprise that much shopping happens in cyberspace, where anyone can effortlessly drop online reviews and share opinions about a business.

And it’s not just consumers who are crucial to consider; businesses must also pay attention to prominent platforms like Google and Amazon marketplace. These platforms operate on algorithms determining a web page’s value, emphasizing the need for active brand reputation management.

Brand reputation management is the strategic and ongoing process of protecting and enhancing people's thoughts about a particular company, product, or service. Various actions are implemented to:

  • Build a Company’s Reputation: This involves establishing a positive perception and recognition among the target audience, fostering trust, and developing a reputation for delivering high-quality products or services. 
  • Maintain a Good Reputation: This involves monitoring and managing the brand’s online presence and reputation through active engagement with customers on social media, review platforms, and other relevant channels.
  • Recover When Receiving a Negative Rating: Negative feedback or incidents can occur no matter how well a brand is managed. In such situations, effective reputation management involves promptly addressing and resolving issues, demonstrating accountability, and transparently communicating with customers and the public.

By effectively managing brand reputation, Amazon sellers can strengthen customer satisfaction, attract new customers, differentiate themselves from competitors, and ultimately contribute to long-term success.

Why Do You Need Amazon Reputation Management?

In the ecommerce industry, where customer experience holds immense influence, brand reputation becomes a make-or-break factor for businesses. A single negative review can sway online shoppers towards rival brands.

This situation highlights the relevance of prioritizing reputation management efforts and gaining good reviews from customers. Here are four reasons why you should start adding them to your business core activities.

1) It Directly Affects Your Sales

Many customers buy items based on positive brand feedback. The presence of positive reviews directly impacts their decision-making process, influencing their willingness to proceed with a purchase. 

This simply illustrates the direct correlation between positive brand feedback and increased sales. By managing and fostering Amazon customer feedback, you can harness this influential factor to generate sales and establish a solid online reputation.

2) If You Don’t Move Now, Someone Else Will

Most of the time, the intensity of competition in Amazon can lead to unscrupulous practices. Everyone wants to be on top and get 5-star reviews to the point that some people take advantage and cheat their way.

If you don't bother with customer feedback, others might have a chance to hurt your business. These actors may resort to black hat tactics such as posting fake Amazon reviews or engaging in deceptive practices that undermine the platform's integrity.

3) Marketing Efforts Will Go Downhill

Negative Amazon reviews can hinder your brand's marketing efforts, regardless of the excellence of your brand content. It reduces customer confidence and interest, especially when they come across unfavorable comments about your brand's quality, reliability, or value.

The consequences of a bad reputation extend beyond just customer hesitation. Your marketing strategies, no matter how well-crafted, may lose their effectiveness when overshadowed by negative feedback. A tarnished reputation can weaken the impact of your marketing campaigns, rendering your messaging less persuasive and less likely to resonate with your target audience. 

4) It Boosts Your Search Engine Ranking

Positive reviews and high ratings act as valuable social proof, indicating to search algorithms that your product offers value, integrity, and customer satisfaction. Search engines recognize and reward these positive signals, leading to improved ranking over time.

Even if your product initially ranks low in organic search results, an exceptional customer experience can elevate its position. This amplifies your product's reach, impact, and visibility in your target market.

How To Maintain a Positive Brand Reputation on Amazon

Verified purchase review from Amazon

Maintaining a positive brand reputation on Amazon requires a proactive approach and strategic management. Here are some key tactics to consider.

Learn the Basics of Amazon First

If you wish to sell on Amazon, familiarize yourself with the platform. Amazon has its rules and regulations that ensure a fair and trustworthy marketplace for customer and seller feedback. With these rules, you can avoid violations that may negatively affect your brand reputation.

Know what your limitations are as an Amazon seller. Learn what's safe and what violates Amazon's policies. Your actions should be consistent with their standards to keep a positive standing on the platform.

Maintain Ethical Practices in Addressing Negative Feedback

A business with negative feedback doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of credibility or quality. Removing negative reviews is not right just because you want to keep customers. Constructive negative reviews help customers decide if a brand is worth the purchase. 

As a responsible business owner, your focus should be promptly and appropriately responding to negative feedback. Acknowledge their complaints if the problem is valid, and wrap it up with your will to improve. You can also offer solutions, such as a refund or replacement, to compensate for the damage. 

Invest in Review Management Tools

When you feel like you no longer have enough time for Amazon product review management, don't worry! There are valuable tools and software available to lend a helping hand. These review management solutions are tailored for Amazon sellers, providing efficient ways to streamline your Amazon tasks.

With these review management tools, you can bid farewell to the manual and time-consuming task of juggling multiple platforms and sifting through numerous reviews. Instead, you can manage and analyze feedback efficiently, helping you make data-driven decisions about your future product strategy and customer satisfaction improvements. 

Report Fake Reviews

Market prices are dynamic and fluctuate due to various factors such as supply and demand, seasonality, and competitor actions. By actively monitoring market prices, you can quickly adapt to these changes and make timely adjustments to your pricing strategy. 

Even with Amazon's efforts to improve the feedback system, individuals still get away with fake reviews. Sellers need to know common signs that can help identify these misleading reviews.

What are some telltale signs of fake reviews?

  • Reviews that read like an ad for another product
  • Reviews with an overly short length
  • Reviews with poor spelling and grammar
  • Feedback from an unverified purchase (verified purchases have the orange badge)
  • Another seller writing the review
  • Malicious remarks rather than constructive criticism

Optimize Product Listings

Listing optimization provides clear and precise information about your product, which helps you set realistic expectations for customers. They are more satisfied when they receive what they want based on the listed product database.

A well-organized, comprehensive, and visually appealing listing signals that your brand takes pride in its products and is committed to delivering high-quality service. This attention to detail can create a positive impression and reinforce your brand reputation as consistently delivering on its promises.

Monitor Market Prices

This responsiveness demonstrates your agility and ability to stay in tune with customer expectations, enhancing your brand reputation as a customer-centric and proactive seller.

Protect Your Brand

Amazon brand protection includes protecting your business against counterfeits, unauthorized distribution, trademark infringements, and other threats that can confuse customers and dilute your brand’s identity.

With brand protection measures and strict control, you’re ensuring that your customers can trust the authenticity and quality of your products when they purchase them from Amazon. You’re also sending a strong message that you value their trust and prioritize their safety.

In the Case of Account Suspension…

Any Amazon seller, including yourself, risks account suspension, particularly when encountering negative feedback. You might receive an email saying: "Your Amazon account has been suspended." 

When this happens, it means you have violated regulations from Amazon's perspective, so they're taking your privileges away. Here's what you need to do.

The Amazon Reinstatement Service

Amazon reinstatement is the process of appealing to get a seller's account or listing back. First, know the reasons why you got suspended. Once you figure that out, with or without the help of a professional, you will need to submit a Plan of Action (POA).

Your Amazon reinstatement letter must contain the following:

  • A brief introduction of your business on Amazon
  • A description of the issue and how you were able to identify the reason behind it.
  • An explanation of how you are going to deal with it (this should include long-term solutions)

To read more on the subject, see our article on how to craft a compelling appeal letter that will get your account or listings reinstated in no time.

Key Takeaway

Always remember that your brand's reputation is one of your biggest assets. It directly impacts customer trust, loyalty, and purchasing decisions. With effective Amazon reputation management, you can create a unique selling proposition, drive sales, and foster prolonged success.
If you encounter challenges delivering exceptional customer experiences on Amazon, Seller Interactive can assist you. Book a call today or reach out to us at [email protected].

Read More
crossmenuchevron-down