Amazon Product Listing Optimization Guide

What is Listing Optimization on Amazon?

Amazon product listing optimization is a way to update your product pages to improve your search visibility.

In addition, you can also improve click-through and conversion rates, ultimately leading to more sales for your store.

Listing optimization includes keyword discovery, listing text optimization, and product image optimization. This optimization is done so you can get more reviews.

Listing optimization is one of the essential tools that an Amazon seller must use to reach potential buyers. The following are the fundamental approaches to product optimization:

• Search terms: keyword search and page activity
• Content: product information, text, and images
• Reviews: customer reviews and their inquiries.

Why is Amazon Listing Optimization Important?

Listing optimization of Amazon FBA business is done to achieve several strategic goals. One of these goals is conversion. A listing that does not contain errors uses the best photos, and optimized texts will be much more effective in converting buyers. Conversion is reached by persuasion. Even if you are going to carry out paid campaigns promoting products, sending qualified traffic to unpersuasive product pages will be throwing money away.

The other aspect is purely technical and even preliminary. To have the option of convincing the public, the buyers must find us. In Amazon, as in any other platform that you can think of, there is a search engine, and where there is a search engine, specific actions can be taken to improve our organic positioning. Amazon listing optimization is done to improve the positioning of our product pages, so it’s crucial for every Amazon seller.

Ultimate Guide About Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR)

Everything You Need to Know About Amazon’s A9 Algorithm

Amazon’s A9 algorithm is just like any other search engine. It collects and analyzes all data from the platform. Whenever a customer searches for an item or types something in the search bar, Amazon presents them with the product options they think are most relevant to the query. In a nutshell, the A9 algorithm matches products to a consumer’s search term. The most relevant results appear first.

How does knowing this help Amazon sellers?

Amazon hasn’t revealed the exact math behind its algorithm and how they rank products. However, there are a few key factors that play a crucial role when it comes to search results. These factors revolve around two broad themes: listing relevance and sales performance. Unlike Google or any other search engine, Amazon is a marketplace. Therefore, sales play an essential role in the organic search ranking of your product.

As mentioned, there isn’t much information about the A9 algorithm, but we have identified a few factors that play a crucial role in your conversion and sales success. These factors are:

• Parent-child products

Parent-child products are a tremendous built-in function of Amazon that displays variations of the same product on one page instead of displaying them with other listings. Identical t-shirts with different colors are an example of parent-child products. Products with multiple options rank higher and increase the purchase chances.

• Text-match relevance

The ranking system factors keywords, descriptions, and even bullet points to see how “relevant” your items are to a given search term or keyword. Writing creative titles and keyword-rich descriptions can increase the chances of your listing ranking higher.

• Sales velocity

Dollar volume (the amount) and quantity of items per transaction (the number) are crucial factors affecting Amazon’s ranking.

• Stock availability

The algorithm checks your stock availability, and your ranking will be downgraded if you don’t have the items in stock. To avoid this, try not to run out of stock or run low on inventory.

• Pricing

Your products must be priced appropriately to have a chance of ranking higher on Amazon.

• Amazon FBA

By using Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), you’ll increase the possibility of winning the Buy Box and getting a Featured Merchant Status, increasing exposure on the Search Page.

Other essential factors include advertising, customer reviews, high-resolution images, promotions, A+ content, the name of the brand and manufacturer, and the product category.

How to Optimize Your Amazon Product Listing?

So, we know that Amazon uses an algorithm that it has never given too many explanations about. We know that it marks the positioning of the products in the search results and that we can extract valuable information about them by looking at the highlights of the marketplace.

Now we are going to move on to the practical part. Here you will see a series of essential guidelines for Amazon listing optimization that help to improve your presence in this giant eCommerce. We will also provide helpful tips to help you know what you should and should not do.

1. Choose Relevant Keywords

Amazon has a powerful keyword tool that tells which are the most popular search terms among its customers. You must use it to quickly and easily identify relevant keywords and phrases for your product listings.

You can compile a comprehensive list of keywords by typing various words and phrases in the Amazon search box and writing down the suggestions in the drop-down. While compiling your list, consider long-tail (relatively specific keywords with lower search volume and less competition) and short-tail (broader searches with higher search volume and more competition) keywords.

2. Optimize Product Search Terms

Product Search Terms are backend keywords that help you create engaging and readable content for a product page while ensuring that Amazon indexes all relevant keywords. To optimize your Search Terms, try only to include generic words, including synonyms, abbreviations, and alternative names for the product.

You have less than 250 bytes, so stay under the length limit and minimize unnecessary characters. Skip punctuations such as hyphens, colons, etc., separate words with spaces only, and don’t add stop words such as “a,” “an,” “and,” and so on.

3. Select Product Categories

Customers searching for products are directed to specific categories. That is why it is essential always to choose the most specific product categories possible. For example, if you sell a rug, you should highlight the “rugs” category, not just the “rugs and carpets,” which is more generic. If you select a field predefined by the platform, do it intelligently.

4. Choose Effective Product Titles

As we have already told you, the product title is an important place to attract the customer. But how can we make it effective? Include as much relevant information as you can. Amazon suggests this structure:

Brand + Sub-Brand + Model number + Size + Product description + Defining characteristics (for example, color, measurements, etc.)

The product title should match what is on the physical packaging of your product, have a length of approximately 60 characters, and contain the minimal information needed to identify the item and nothing more.

It is a way for users to have all the information about the product at a glance and an advantage over other products whose titles fall short. In addition, the title is also an excellent place to include those optimal keywords for your business. Do not forget that!

Do’s:

• If the product is a multi-pack, mention the quantity
• Use relevant keywords to make sure your product appears before relevant leads
• Capitalize the first letter of each word
• Use numeric values instead of spelling numbers out

Don’t:

• Capitalize all the words
• Include particular details, such as free shipping
• Use special characters or HTML tags
• Include too much information

5. Don’t Forget the Key Features or Benefits

Use bullet points to highlight key features or benefits of your products. Although it may seem that too much information can be too obvious, it is a critical step when it comes to Amazon listing optimization. You have up to 5 key points to convince your potential customers to buy. Our advice is to provide information and highlight the different characteristics of your product.

It is best to keep your bullet points under 1,000 characters, begin each bullet with a capital letter and write sentence fragments (do not use punctuation). Do not include any promotional and pricing information, and make sure you meet all product detail page rules and policies.

Do’s:

• List the essential features of your product on the first two points
• Use only five bullet points
• Incorporate a call to action
• Capitalize the first letter of every bullet point
• Use a few keywords but don’t stuff them

Don’t:

• Include shipping or promotional information
• Include time-sensitive or subjective comments like “hot sale.”
• Use special characters or HTML tags

6. Also Important: Product Descriptions

And a bit along the same lines, the product descriptions. If you want to position your product well within Amazon, don’t forget to specify its technical and physical qualities. As we told you previously, do it attractively and pleasantly for the consumer. For example, create a story around your product. Or talk directly to your audience, telling them how they could use it.

Use detailed information about product features and usage, including brand names, sizes (such as show size), material type, and other relevant details such as colors, packaging, and quantity.

Do’s:

• Highlight the important features
• Capitalize the first letter of every sentence
• Check for grammatical and spelling errors and edit them
• Give a page break when writing a new paragraph

Don’t:

• Use HTML tags, symbols, or special characters
• Include email or web addresses
• Use time-sensitive or subjective terms like “hot sale this year.”

7. Use Professional Images

We don’t necessarily mean studio photographs but high-quality, visually attractive images that present the product as faithfully as possible to reality. About 5 or 6 images are considered optimal on Amazon. A suitable number to upload shots from different points of view, product details, or the product in operation. Here are some helpful considerations about images:

• They must be 1,000×1,000 pixels.
• Neutral backgrounds, such as white, are usually the most effective image type.
• It is advised that the product makes up 85% of the frame (not too much background showing, and the product shouldn’t be too small).

The image must match the product description in size, color, and accuracy. The product must be recognizable, taken at a flattering angle, focused, and well-lit.

Do’s:

• Only use the JPEG (.jpg) format
• Keep the resolution 72 pixels per inch with a minimum size of 1000 pixels for the longest side.
• Include an infographic about the product’s benefits
• Make sure that the image is large enough to zoom

Don’t:

• Include logos, texts, or watermarks on the images
• Include background on the main image (it’s okay for other secondary images)
• Show various views of the product in the main image

8. Do Not Duplicate Product Pages

It is not recommended to create separate product pages for the same products in different sizes and colors, for example. You must facilitate the task for the consumer at all times, shortening the number of search results.

9. The More Reviews, the Better

Encourage your customers to leave reviews as often as possible because positive comments can significantly improve your sales. Some automated feedback request tools like High5 make the process much easier.

Best Tools for Amazon SEO

Given the continuous evolution of both the platform and the sales generated, today, many tools cover the main on-page positioning elements for each product listing. Most of them focus on proper keyword research and relevant aspects such as prices and positions of the competition, general product ranking, or category optimization. The best tools for Amazon listing optimization are:

1) Keyword Tool for Amazon

Keyword Tool is one of the best Amazon SEO tools, very effective for keyword search and optimization. Its use is simple and very intuitive; just type the keyword in your search engine and it will return the results of the most tracked associated keywords and a ranking of the highest daily searches. The tool displays two lower areas focused on keyword results; a direct panel with the results of searched keywords and another personalized with those selected by you, allowing you to download the file.

2) Sonar

Beyond the first decisive step of selecting keywords and more focused on the management of the products themselves, Sonar not only offers a complete search for keywords associated with specific niches but also provides beneficial information on the most relevant products. This tool has an algorithm that collects Amazon’s movements and obtains results by analyzing a database of more than 30 million queries carried out by users and where it grants a search volume through its evaluation criteria representing it with a 5-bar system.

3) AMZTracker

If your primary concern is to optimize the conversion rate and the effective search for keywords, AMZTracker is an excellent alternative. Among its utilities and under a global analysis in Amazon searches, it offers suggestions of valuable words that complement your niche, enabling you to start from there while proposing new related suggestions and broadening the spectrum. Another function of this tool is that you can carry out a follow-up of your competitors by analyzing the rankings of associated products, the evaluation criteria, both positive and negative, and the classification given to each of the items for sale.

4) Uberseller

A tool for Amazon listing optimization whose primary function is its effective global sales tracker, automatically compares your sales figures with selected competitors. Its keyword research option offers you an extensive list of relevant keywords for the search term associated with your niche, in addition to being able to download the results obtained in CSV format. Within its research, it offers options such as searching for words associated with niches or global products. However, it does not offer factual information on the volume of searches for each term.

5) Helium 10

Helium10 is presented as a set of powerful tools to enhance word search and investigate competitors. From obtaining keywords related to a niche or business to obtaining results on purchasing trends, all of this goes through figures and profitability suggestions for your listings.

It has up to 13 internal tools to optimize SEO decisions, an “all-in-one” to control both product research by niche (Spy on the competition, business trends, keywords, etc.) as well as management aspects by file such as inventory optimization, inventory protection, refund management, and listings.

How To List a New Product on Amazon?

Before listing a new product on Amazon, note that you will only need to do this if you sell your product and are the first person to sell that product in the marketplace. Below, you will find a step-by-step guide to creating a new listing on Amazon:

1. Log in to your seller central account and click on “Inventory.”
2. Click on “Add a Product” from the sub-menu that appears.
3. You will be redirected to a new page where you can add your product.
4. Here, you can choose between selecting an existing item (by searching in Amazon’s catalog) or adding a new product that is not sold on Amazon.

To start selling, you will need to fill in a series of data or characteristics (the listing) of the product with the below information:

• A product identifier (GTIN, UPC, ISBN, etc.) so customers can identify the exact product you are selling.
• An SKU is a proprietary identifier that you create so you can quickly identify and track the product in your inventory in Seller Central.
• Offer details like price, product status, quantity available, shipping options, etc.
• Keywords and search terms to help buyers find the product when they search for it in the Amazon search engine.

Amazon also grants the possibility of enrolling in its Brand Registry if you want to sell your product with a registered trademark. This service is free and allows you to have greater control of your brand’s product detail pages. The Trademark Registry requires that the information be completed with:

• Title – With a maximum of 200 characters and uppercase in the first letter of each word.
• Images – It is necessary to insert the images at a specific resolution (mentioned above) to obtain the best quality.
• Variations – You can register different colors, aromas, sizes, etc.
• Key points are vital phrases describing the main features and benefits.
• Top offers are found on the details page, which you can buy now (“buy box”) or add to your cart.
• Other offers include other sellers offering the same product, but with different prices, shipping options, etc.
• Description – You should use keywords that make your product easier to find for customers searching in the Amazon search engine.

Read More: Best Product Ideas for Amazon FBA

Final Thoughts

If you are an Amazon seller and want your products to appear at the top of the list every time a customer searches for them, you need Amazon listing optimization.

You can create the best title for your product using different keywords that will help your product appear at the top of the Amazon search results.

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