How To Optimize Your Listings For Amazon Algorithm
Getting your product(s) noticed among Amazon’s nearly 500 million other product listings can be a huge challenge, which is why optimizing your listing has to be approached from two angles. You have to appeal to customers and find a way to make your brand stand out, and you also need to be able to rank in Amazon’s Search Algorithm.
Some traditional rules of search engine optimization (SEO) apply on Amazon, but you’ll need to adapt them for Amazon’s unique SEO environment. Unlike Google, Amazon’s main goal is to convert customers, so their search and ranking algorithm focuses on delivering not only relevant results, but also results that are more likely to convert.
What does this mean for sellers? It means that optimizing your product listing is about much more than simply utilizing the right keywords. You can increase the visibility of your product listing by proving to Amazon that your listing is a converting machine! Luckily there are two consistent ways you can do this:
Are You Cultivating Your Product “Findability?”
We’ve recently spent a lot of time discussing the importance of optimizing your product listing through your title, bullets, keywords, and product description. But you would be remiss if you stopped there!
We’re talking specifically about the backend of your product listing. We find that this is of the most underutilized tools by many sellers. The backend is how you describe your product to Amazon’s search engine for indexing. While the keywords in your title and bullets matter, it’s only one piece of the puzzle that makes your product easier to find. Fields such as your product model number, charging time or even stain resistance can have a cumulative effect on how easily buyers discover your products.
Our advice? Be thorough! By completing the fields relevant to your product, you’re providing Amazon’s search engine with all of the information that it considers important for that category. Ensure that important identifiers are filled in, such as manufacturer model numbers and part numbers. Don’t fill these fields with false and misleading information for your product. If it doesn’t include a battery, you shouldn’t include charging time. If your product doesn’t include a camera, there’s no need to enter megapixels. And above all, don’t stuff your backend with irrelevant keywords! This could actually cause your product to be ranked lower, or worse, your listing could be reported for false/misleading information.
Are You Monitoring Your Reviews?
Amazon watches what your reviewers are saying, and they notice if you care about your customers. If you haven’t already, get in a regular rhythm of paying attention to both the quality and quantity of your reviews. And remember, it’s all about verified reviews now.
A few practical ways you can implement include:
- Address negative feedback by working with customers to right any wrongs. A review amended to three stars is still better than a one-star review.
- Operate within Amazon’s guidelines and develop a sequence of post-purchase customer messages to encourage product from your users. If you have questions about email guidelines, check out our recent post about the changes Amazon made to Marketplace Email.
- Analyze your reviews and identify common trends. Are customers using your product for another purpose entirely? Do they often mention a feature of your product that’s not in the original listing? Product reviews can be great source for brainstorming new search terms, keywords, backend search terms or advertising campaigns.
If you have more questions about optimizing your listing for Amazon’s search and ranking engine, pop over to our Facebook community and ask away!
Karen and Neil Gwartzman, the creators of the Private Label University® have over 35 years’ experience private labeling products and have sold millions of dollars of products in retail and on Amazon. They have guided countless chain stores and entrepreneurs with sourcing, importing and private labeling products, specializing in helping entrepreneurs build private label businesses on Amazon. To learn more about Karen and Neil and the Private Label University visit www.privatelabeluniversity.com and get your FREE gift
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