SEO & Social Media: Amazon
When we think of SEO, it’s often in a narrow way. Of course, you want your website to have high search engine rankings. But it’s not just your site you should have concerns about. If you sell products through an Amazon page, you want that storefront to perform well, too. Amazon is a profitable yet highly competitive marketplace for your products. However, placement on the first page of results is crucial because 70% of Amazon customers don’t venture beyond it.
With the right strategy, your Amazon page can be the first to show up on search engine results pages (SERP). This will help you enjoy more traffic and sales.
What’s Different About Amazon’s Search Algorithm
It’s important to note that Amazon’s algorithm is much different than that of Google or Bing. This is mostly due to the fact that Amazon is an e-commerce platform, not a search engine. You can’t optimize your Amazon page the same way you do for your website or social media profiles.
A9, a subsidiary of Amazon, is responsible for developing and managing the SEO algorithm. This algorithm is almost purely about money, in comparison to information-only Google searches. Amazon’s search algorithm only focuses on performance and relevance because its core concern is its bottom line.
Factors Impacting Your Performance Ranking
It can be a bit difficult to control your performance on Amazon, but it is a worthy task. The more you understand about the factors, the better you can tweak your page to attract more customers.
- Product Pricing: How much your products cost directly impacts your conversion rate. The goal is to have competitive prices in comparison to similar products. If there are a lot of cheaper products in the same category, Amazon’s algorithm will favor those over yours. Make sure to not price yourself out of the market.
- Product Images: Higher-quality images come with better results. The height or width should be at least 1,000 pixels. Your search-result rankings should improve with this image optimization.
- Reviews: There is a direct correlation to reviews and search results. Products that show up first tend to have more reviews — and more stellar reviews. You can get more of your customers to review your products by sending follow-up emails.
All these things impact your conversion rate. The best way to keep track of your conversion rate is by accessing the Detail Sales Page and Traffic under your Business Reports. Then analyze your Unit Sessions Percentage. If your rate is not ideal, revisit these factors to see if you can appear better in Amazon searches.
Factors Impacting Your Relevance
The good news is that you can influence your ranking by strategically using keywords, too. Here are the elements that matter most:
- Product Title: Include your brand name, short description, a specific material, or ingredient, color, and size. Avoid stuffing a bunch of keywords into the title though. This does not read naturally.
- Product Description: Ensure the copy of your description is natural, readable, and persuasive. Utilize bullet points to inform customers about the features and benefits of your product. Work keywords in naturally.
- Hidden Keywords: Your Amazon Seller Account has a backend section that allows you to use hidden keywords. These are essentially the Amazon version of meta tags. They tell Amazon that your product listing is targeting particular keywords. You can input five backend keywords with a 50-character limit. Avoid repetition, quotation marks, and commas when including these keywords.
If you are familiar with SEO and social media marketing, improving these factors should be fairly easy to accomplish.
Pursuing the “Amazon’s Choice” Distinction
The holy grail of Amazon’s SEO is Amazon labeling your product as an “Amazon’s Choice” item. While there is not an exact guideline for obtaining this honor, here are some characteristics of items that have this label:
- Frequent purchases
- Popularity
- High customer reviews
- Quick, Prime shipping
- Sold and/or shipped by Amazon
- Competitive price
- Low return rate
Products that earn this status tend to show up first in search results. The “Amazon’s Choice” banner is also eye-catching to customers and gives products more credibility.
Achieve Your Goals
Even though it may seem like a dog-eat-dog world, it is certainly possible to achieve higher Amazon rankings. Ranking higher on Amazon can take your company to the next level with a flood of sales. However, you won’t be able to cheat the algorithm. Enhancing your Amazon SEO requires diligence and trial and error.
But while we don’t offer Amazon SEO services, we do excel in search engine optimization! As a global leader in white label SEO, we have helped countless agencies deliver successful SEO campaigns for their clients. Learn how we can help you by checking out our SEO partner program and connecting with a digital marketing expert!