Amazon SEO 2024: A Step-By-Step Guide To Improving Your Product Listings On Amazon

If you haven’t stepped on the e-commerce trend train, it is high time you do. There is a high chance that you are not fulfilling your sales potential just by selling your products on your website. The solution to all your sales problems is Amazon; however, only having a product page on Amazon will not ensure success; you want your page to appear first on the search engine results page ( SERP) when a customer tries to find a product that you are selling. 

If you want the customers to buy that product from you, you must learn how to comprehend  Amazon SEO by simply cracking Amazon’s A9 algorithm. First and foremost, you have to understand that Amazon is a buying platform, and its SERP works differently than traditional search engines like Google or Bing. Hence the varying factors or elements for the A9 algorithm are much simpler but, at the same time, tricky to understand. 

Every seller in the business wants a piece of the action by getting their pages through the top ranks of the Amazon SERP because they know that their customers use this platform rigorously. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss not only how the Amazon product ranking algorithm works but also take notes on some key strategies on how to rank higher on Amazon than your competitors. Let’s get into it.

What is the Amazon’s Search Algorithm? Understand How Amazon Search Works.

To understand the Amazon search algorithm, we must dive into the structure of algorithms as a whole. A search algorithm is a sophisticated system of ranking factors that determine which content is relevant based on a search query. These algorithms are updated and constantly evolving to improve the search experience of the customers. 

The structure of Google’s search algorithm, for example, is very similar to that of Amazon. The only major difference is that Google is centered around study, navigation, and research, while Amazon’s only focus is shopping and e-commerce. The search algorithm for Amazon is called the A9 because Amazon SEO is handled by the Amazon subsidiary – A9.

Before we find out how to rank higher on Amazon, let us understand how the A9 works, search Amazon, and check out the search results. The A9 matches your query to a group of relevant products, and these products are shown to you in a series of pages. The question is how Amazon selects these products to display.

The answer is ranking factors that are similar to Google but only exclusively built for e-commerce. The primary factor that helps customers find your product on search is the keyword you use in your product information – title, description, etc., along with other factors such as the price, availability, reviews, sales, etc.

We will discuss the several ranking factors on Amazon SEO further in this article.  

What Is Amazon SEO, And Why Does It Matter?

Amazon Search Engine Optimization is a process that allows you to rank higher on the research results of Amazon.com. If you are constantly wondering how to rank higher on Amazon SEO, a few simple steps and tactics can help you optimize your product search, boost sales and enable the shoppers to find your brand at ease. 

Following are the main reason why you must youse Amazon SEO as a seller:

• To generate more and more traffic to your product page and listings
• To enhance your brand as well as your product visibility
• To increase conversion rates and boost sales. 

How Amazon SEO Works?

To learn about optimizations made in Amazon product listings, we must first understand how Amazon SEO works. This generally includes detailed information about the search result page, sponsored products, search box, and Amazon sales rank.

Search Results page

Every time a shopper searches for a product on Amazon, they can see the searches or the product display in two ways – a List view where the layout features 15-16 products on the search page or a Gallery view where 24-25 products appear on every result page. 

To boost your SEO ranking on the results page, certain will help you determine the same, namely – Product titles, descriptions, features, optimized images, and competitive pricing. 

Sponsored Products

Sponsored ads are another strategy used by Amazon sellers where they can promote individual product lists with the help of PPC or CPC campaigns. Sellers who have a Professional seller account enrolled in the Amazon Brand registry can set up these ads. After the ad is set up, Amazon will match your ads to the shopper’s queries, and your product will appear to high-intent shoppers who are actively looking for product categories that are similar to your listings. 

The ads usually appear on the top of a product page or sometimes are even combined with the organic results. Hence, these ads can help you increase the visibility of your product on the shopper’s search results. 

Search Box

Amazon search box is located at the top of the platform’s homepage. Amazon SEO retrieves relevant searches for the word or phrase that has been typed in the search box and enable customers to narrow down or refine their search result. The search box helps the shoppers to find the products quickly by just typing in general keywords. 

Search Filters

There are various filters in place that can be used by online shoppers to customize their search results in a certain order. These are – department, best-sellers, new arrivals or realizes, featured items, customer reviews, movers and shakers, high or low price, digital content and devices, programs, and features. 

Sales Rank

This is the rating given to sellers based on their performance, account health, reviews, etc. If you want to know how to rank higher on Amazon, you must consider improving on these points to enhance your selling potential. 

What are Amazon Search Ranking Factors?

Several factors influence the Amazon search ranking or the A9 algorithm. They are-

• Price – When pricing your products, you must evaluate how much the shoppers are willing to pay for the categories that are similar to your product listing. A huge price difference between your product and that of your competitors can pose to be a disadvantage for you. 

• Stock supply – Keeping your stocks updated can ensure that your products appear on the search because running out of stock can disappear your listing and push it further down. 

• Text Relevance – Using the most relevant keywords in your product listing page, especially in the title and description, can optimize your product on Amazon SEO. 

• Sales velocity – The more products you sell, the more chances are of rankings becoming successful on Amazon. Therefore if you want to know how to rank higher on Amazon, you must have a successful sales velocity. 

Optimize Your Amazon Listings in 7 Steps.

Amazon SEO is a never-ending process that helps you engage with all the customers on the platform.  By focusing your efforts on seven different steps, namely – Keywords, product images, product titles, product pricing, descriptions, Key features, and backend search keywords, you can improve and optimize your product listing from an SEO standpoint. Let us discuss this in detail. 

Step 1 – Amazon Keyword Ranking Research

Keywords are the key to finding your products; they are a comprehensive set of words or phrases that a customer uses to find something online. Think like your customer before listing your product; what phrases or words will you use to find your product on Amazon? 

While researching for keywords, you can follow these ideas –

• Check out the Amazon search box after typing in a bunch of words and phrases, and note down the relevant suggestions from the drop-down menu. 

• Compare your product search terms and take your competitors as a reference. If you type in the phrases that are relevant to your product listing, you will find the different types of searches on Amazon to begin with. 

• Compile a list of short and long-tail keywords that have high and low search volume, respectively. The search box is a great way to find popular keywords. Lastly, you can use the Amazon suggested and related item categories to explore new ideas for your keyword research. 

Step 2 – Product Title Optimization

Remember to know how to rank higher on Amazon SEO; you must think like your customers. Product titles are a great way to increase your chances of being discovered by a customer and for them to click on your product page. Following a few things like matching the title to the physical packaging, keeping the title length between 60-80characters, using punctuations, conjunctions, and capitalization, using numerical, using abbreviations, and using catchphrases (best-seller, hot items, etc.), can help you increase your search volume.

Step 3 – Product Description Optimization

A high-quality product description highlights the product features and usage in such a way that it enables the customers to find, analyze and purchase your products. A high-quality product description will include the following – 

• The Brand name
• The details like size, shape, etc
• The material type used in eh products
• And other relevant details like colors, packaging, delivery time, specs, etc

Before making your product description, the seller must read and adhere to the rules and policies mentioned in the product listing guidelines and review them properly. 

Step 4 – Optimizing Product Key Features

Key features are bullet points that are added to the details on the product page and play a very important role in Amazon SEO. This well-written bullet points describe your product specifications, contains keywords, and communicate with the customers so that they can make a buying decision. You can follow the below-mentioned guideline to develop your bullet points – 

• Include five bullet points for every product and keep them under 100 characters to improve readability and appear in full on the product details page. 

• Prioritize and highlight the top key features of the product that you want your customers to notice and consider while making a purchase decision.

• Maintain consistency in all your product bullet points in terms of the order, and keep mentioning the important information that has been used in your product title and description.

• No promotional or pricing information should be mentioned. 

• Do not end the points with punctuation, and always start the first word with a capital letter.

• Adhere to the rules and policies of Amazon SEO and the details page

Step 5 – Product Image Optimization

Online shopping is heavily dependent on visualization and the ability of the customers to access your products. Hence keeping high-quality images of the products from different angles can persuade the customer to choose your product over the competitors. Always show the product you want to highlight, keep various angles, use the high resolution to minimize pixelation when zoomed in, and highlight different features of the products. 

Step 6 – Search Term Optimization

Search terms are backend keywords that allow you to maintain the engagement and readability of your content while making sure that Amazon SEO indexes all relevant keywords for the product. These search terms are embedded at the backend of your product listing and do not appear to the shoppers but enhance the discoverability of your product. 

Some ideas to optimize search terms

• Include generic words, synonyms, abbreviations, and alternative names of the product.

• Minimize unnecessary characters and maintain the logical order of the search.

• Include spelling variations

• Avoid punctuation and repeating words such as a, an, and, by, of, etc.

• Use either singular or plural search terms and use all lowercase letters. 

• Always separate the words with spaces only

Step 7 – Product Price Optimization

Price can heavily influence your customer and determine the performance of your product. Research the pricing of your product based on competitors listing and develop a compelling price point. Keep in mind that overpricing your product can pose a disadvantage for you.  

Five General Amazon SEO Best Practices 

1. Avoid repeating keywords at all costs. The only way to know how to rank higher on Amazon SEO is by providing a good customer experience. Only give the information your customers needs and avoid stuffing and repetition of keywords.

2. Keep your focus on the sales copy by answering relevant questions and product inquiries. Anticipating important information about the product can help you a great deal while crafting a description.

3. Improve your ranking by offering fast deliveries, enrolling in the brand registry and using A+ content, and becoming an Amazon Prime seller, which gives you a prime badge and your customers fast and free shipping. 

4. Improve your listing by using basic styling tips like being descriptive but conceive, persuasive but not pushy, authentic and truthful, as well as avoiding exaggeration. 

5. Improve your Amazon SEO game by downloading the Amazon Quick Start seller style guide that lets you customize your product detail page and its formatting. 

What is Amazon’s A9 Algorithm?

Amazon A9 is the official name for the Amazon search algorithm that looks for products and prioritizes content based on two important ranking factors – 

Relevance – Revenacy is found in the keywords that are search terms embedded in your Amazon product listing. These search terms must match the search queries of the shoppers. To rank better on Amazon SEO and make your products visible to the customers, you must use the most relevant search terms in your product detail page, including the title, bullet points, description, etc.

Performance – When it comes to several ranking factors make that make it is tricky to prioritize and therefore exert control. Every single aspect of your product performance requires a distinguished strategy that is based on actionable metrics along with several Amazon Seller tools. When it comes to product performance, Amazon leans on metrics like Sales Velocity/history, conversion rate, Click-through rate, stock availability, Reviews, Sponsored products, and other indirect ranking factors that can help you top Amazon SEO. 

Amazon SEO Tools

Amazon offers some SEO tools that are shortlisted below.

• A+ Content 
• Listing Quality Dashboard
• Manage your Experiments and Run experiments tools
• Tools to add high-quality image listings
• Seller Central Partner Network
• Seller University
• Amazon Selling Coach

Amazon SEO: Wrapping Up

A successful Amazon SEO strategy depends on how well you understand the A9 algorithm and what it wants from the seller. When you figure this out, make sure you figure out how to make your customer happy and improve their experience. The A9 algorithm’s functionality comes down to the relevance and performance of the product page. Once you implement the ranking factors, your sales, conversion rates, and page performance will improve automatically. 

Amazon SEO: FAQs

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