“Why only sell goods in my own store when I can just as easily offer them on the big marketplaces?” This thought has certainly crossed the mind of one or two online retailers. However, just as with your own website, having an Amazon account with items listed is not the only thing that counts. After all, what good is the listing if it can’t be found? Just as for search engine listings on Google, there are also basic principles for store rankings on Amazon. In the following, we will show you how to find your way into the coveted top search results.
Amazon SEO - What's behind it?
Certain guidelines for Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, also apply to Amazon. In fact, the popular online marketplace has long since ceased to see itself as just a marketplace. Instead, it has increasingly developed into its own search engine for products. However, there are significant differences between SEO for Google and Amazon. The most important reason for this is the following: Those who sell the best end up at the top of the listings. This is because Amazon receives a commission for every successful sale – the more sales, the greater the profit for the company. So if you want to be in the top ranks, you need to score points as a reliable and high-selling retailer.
The levers for sales success
The basics for the ideal Amazon listing can be derived from our own purchasing behavior. This so-called on-page optimization consists of the following points:
The product title: This should consist of a catchy combination of brand, product and product features.
Bulletpoints: Good these as much as you can, using more keywords that describe your product. Here you should already mention the most concise advantages of the item.
Product images: As we all know, the eye eats with you – so buyers will punish you with ignorance if the pictures are bad or too small. Amazon itself prefers images with at least 1,000 x 1,000 pixels so that the popular zoom function can be used. Ideally, you should offer buyers several images of a product.
Product description: If you slip up here, you will prevent your items from being found even in these comparatively simple first steps. Provide sales arguments for your items, ideally combined with an emotional, personal approach.
Is the price unimportant? Quite the opposite, because it is one of the performance factors in Amazon search engine optimization. The following criteria are important to customers when buying from you:
Price: Unsurprisingly, the price is often one of the killer arguments for customers. You are not only competing with the possible price of Amazon itself, but also with other retailers on the marketplace.
Delivery / Prime: Customers naturally check whether the goods are in stock and can be delivered quickly. If you can only deliver in two weeks’ time or have no stock at all, you can also expect lower demand. However, the tipping point is the Prime logo. Experience shows that customers prefer to buy from providers with the Prime option.
Shipping costs: Shipping costs are another hurdle that causes buyers to cancel their purchase. Prime customers are already spoiled by free shipping. So it’s worth offering a low-cost, if not free, option here.
The retailer: Trust is an important basis for online business. Those who have received numerous good retailer reviews not only enjoy the trust of customers. A high number of positive reviews also helps with the jump into the BuyBox – a decisive advantage. A quick response to customer inquiries, prompt shipping and efforts to provide a positive customer experience are all part of this rating.
Sales rank: The more often a product is sold in a category, the higher it ranks. This often goes hand in hand with a customer review as an Amazon bestseller. This in turn motivates customers to buy and the rank increases.
Reviews: Products with predominantly positive reviews sell better. However, in addition to this obvious point, Amazon itself also pays attention to the quantity, topicality and average customer review of the product.
Returns: Especially in times of Zalando and Co., returns are a matter of course for many customers. But be careful: Amazon prefers retailers with a low return rate. This is because only a completed sale generates commission for the company. The fewer goods are returned, the better it is for the ranking.
Those who sell faster end up higher up
These steps have already laid the foundations for optimized sales. However, Amazon reviews three factors over which you have no direct influence. They are particularly important for the so-called customer journey, the customer’s path to purchase.
Click Through Rate / Click to Sale (CTR / CTS): The first three hits are clicked. If you only appear on the second or even third page, the chances of your product being purchased drop drastically. Accordingly, Amazon monitors how often customers click on your products and, in particular, how often this leads to a direct purchase. The aspects mentioned above should already ensure an improvement in the CTR, which then also increases the CTS.
Dwell time: The longer potential buyers stay on the product page, the more likely they are to make a purchase. Accordingly, a high dwell time is considered a positive ranking factor. This is in stark contrast to a high bounce rate, which reflects how quickly customers switch from the detail page back to the listing.
Conversion: Ultimately, it is the completed purchase that counts. The more products you actually sell, the higher you will climb in the rankings. If customers click on your product, study the page carefully, but then leave without buying, you should perhaps work on the product itself.
Conclusion
The first improvements in your Amazon ranking should be noticeable after a short time with these changes. Ideally, Amazon’s system behaves like a cycle: You optimize the SEO, customers have a better opportunity to find your products, buy them and as a result you continue to rise in the rankings. So a little extra effort when creating Amazon listings pays off. We wish you every success in selling!
