Amazon Product Listings: Do’s and Dont’s for Increased Traffic
Have you ever wondered why some products rank atop Amazon Search Engine Page Results (SERPs) while others don’t? Or why some Amazon product listings get thousands of clicks and sales while others barely get any attention?
The tricky functionality of Amazon’s complex ranking system can often perplex sellers and make them doubtful about their efforts, but the truth is that there are techniques that will help some items rank higher than others.
Plenty of factors contribute to a successful product listing on Amazon, but among the most important are product listing optimization and how much Amazon’s A9 algorithms favor your listings. In this article, we will explore Amazon Search Engine Optimization(SEO) and some of the most innovative guidelines that can lead to improving your conversion rates in no time.
What is Amazon Product Listing and Why is its Optimization Important?
An Amazon product listing or product page is loaded with all the data that a customer needs to know about a given item. It comprises images and videos of the item (including promotional content from brands), a product description that outlines the item’s features in bullet points, customer reviews from those who have already purchased it, as well as technical details for those interested in what makes this item appropriate for them.
Amazon product listing optimization is the process of enhancing the presentation of your items on the Amazon product detail page to increase clicks and conversion rates. It is one of the most useful tactics for moving your product to the top. In order to be successful, you must excel in this area and ensure that the following fields are perfectly curated:
- Content creation
- Reviews (which should be numerous)
- Advertising strategy
- Relevant keywords within your product title and descriptions
Amazon product listing optimization is fundamental to crafting a tailored and memorable experience for customers. More than 353 million items have been sold on Amazon in 2021, creating a vast pool of competition in the marketplace. Therefore, even if you have a top-notch product, you may not be able to get the desired sales and revenue if you don’t outrank your competitors on the Amazon SERP. Optimizing these listings ensures that customers will be able to easily find or search for the items that you are selling!
While increasing your product’s visibility on Amazon SERPs, Amazon product listing optimization also ensures a seamless connection among your product’s branding, messaging, reviews, and ratings. When you implement consistent messaging style with definite product details across the producttitle, description and images, you instill trust among your audience and build a sense of credibility, as well.
The key to ranking higher in Amazon’s search results is by first understanding Amazon’s A9 algorithm.
Introduction to Amazon’s A9 Algorithm
A9 is the name of the search engine algorithm that Amazon created to foster its item searches.
The A9 algorithm is a powerful component for sellers to consider if they want to rank high on the Amazon SERP. This AI-based framework has an innovative way of selecting which products to display for each search query. It takes into account the product keywords, images, title, description, reviews, and various other components to evaluate which items to display and how to rank them.
To rank higher on Amazon SERPs, you must optimize your listings for SEO and ensure that they have strong relevance to customer search intent.
How Did We Ensure the Best Amazon Product Listing Optimization?
How do you make your listing a top-performing one? At Sellerapp, we found that out by comparing two listings using our set of tools – Index Checker, Listing Quality Score and Keyword Tracker. In fact, we not only figured out the tricks and strategies required for optimizing your listing but also decided to share them with you.
So what did we do? We picked a high-performing product listing on Amazon and evaluated how it performed so well. Here’s what we discovered:
When it comes to Amazon product listings, there are six elements that can make or break your business. Be it a private label or retail arbitrage, these elements are important to understand as a third-party seller:
- Product image
- Product title
- Product description
- Product features
- Product ratings
- Product reviews
How to Optimize Your Amazon Product Listings?
Many factors drive the success of a product listing, such as optimizing for keywords, having high resolution images, having engaging and keyword-rich titles and descriptions, and more!
Let’s examine these important aspects step by step.
First, Perform Keyword Research
Though you can always use Google Keyword Planner, it is best to have a keyword tool that not only gives a detailed representation of what buyers are searching for on Amazon’s search box but also provides every detail on competitor keywords and helps with backend keywords, reverse ASIN, targeting keywords for sponsored ads, and so on.
You can search for potential keywords based on your listing categories. Type the product or product category that you are selling on Amazon. You will get a complete list of keywords associated with what you have typed and related data such as match type, relevance, search volume, and cost-per-click(CPC).
The integrated tool allows you to search for long-tail keywords. Once you have identified your keywords, it’s time to optimize your listing.
Amazon Product Listing Optimization
Here is a list of elements you must address for product listing optimization. Make sure to follow them consistently and watch your ranking skyrocket in no time.
Product Images
Images can make or break your selling strategy in an e-commerce platform where buyers cannot interact with the product in person. Bright, clear, high-quality pictures of an item can go a long way to improve your conversion rates.
Upload high-resolution photos, taken from all angles, that depict the item’s size, functionality, and other properties. This appeases the A9 algorithm to boost your rankings while also enabling shoppers to get a clear understanding of your listing attributes.
Ensure that your product images are clear and of high resolution. But how many images should you include? Most of the top-ranking listings tend to have between 5 and 8. According to SellerApp’s findings, the ideal number is 6 images.
Do:
- Every photo should be taken in clear lighting.
- Adjust the focus on the center of the product.
- Include only the main product in the main image, with no accessories, boxes, or other additional items.
- Use a white background.
- Make the image large enough to be zoomed in.
- Add a tagline to explain the durability of the product.
- Include the product size, if necessary. For example, if it’s a tripod or a mirror, adding its height and length will ensure a better user experience and increase the chances of generating sales.
- Include only the JPEG (.jpg) file format.
- The resolution should be 72 pixels per inch with a minimum size of 1000 pixels.
Don’t:
- Insert logos, text, or watermarks on the images.
- Include multiple similar pictures if the item is a multipack.
- Include a congested background on the main image.
- Show various views of a product in a collage format on the main image.
- Show accessories that you are not selling with your product.
Product Title
There is a connection between the length of your product’s title and its sales velocity. What does this mean? Amazon will include the first five words in the URLs, so adding keywords in the first few lines will help your product outshine the competition.
How to ensure your product title is up to snuff?
Follow these simple do’s and dont’s to optimize your product listing title:
Do:
- Add at least 80 characters. Ensure the number of characters is between 100 and 150 .
- Add potential keywords in the title but use hyphens or dashes to break the keywords.
- Add size, model type, series, watt, and quantity.
- Integrate your keywords.
- Pay attention to user intent and align your keywords with audience search terms.
- Capitalize the first letter of each word in your product title.
- Use numerals instead of spelling numbers out.
- Write measurements in words, such as “centimeters”, pounds,” “inches,” or “feet.”.
Don’t:
- Use all capital letters in a word.
- Waste your valuable space adding irrelevant terms within the 200-character limit.
- Add intricate details to your item. Example: “Free Shipping.”
- Add words like “fantastic,” “awesome,” or “great.”
- Use special characters like “#”, “$”, “@”, “&”, etc.
- Overuse keywords.
Look at the example below to have a more vivid understanding of how to craft your product title:
Product Description
A product description is one of the most important determinants of Amazon product listing optimization. A good product description is the ultimate key to a successful listing. If done well, it can help you sell more and rank higher on Amazon SERPs!
If buyers reach your product description, they are more likely to buy your product. Remember, if you have gotten a click, the product description, bullet points, and reviews are what will motivate the customer to buy your product.
Look at the example below to understand better:
The product description above has all the relevant points listed. Furthermore, it is concise, precise, and easy to read. Here are some guidelines you must follow while crafting the best Amazon product description:
Do:
- Write it in a short, clear, and precise manner.
- Product description length should be of approximately 250 words.
- Add descriptive and factual information.
- Highlight the product’s important attributes.
- Capitalize the first letter of every sentence, if you are writing a paragraph.
- Add a page break when writing a new paragraph.
- Look for grammatical errors.
- Insert brand name, model number, and other features, even if they already appear in the title.
- Add color, size, and compatibility information.
Don’t:
- Include terms like “best-selling this year” or “great value.”
- Include shipping or promotional information such as “Free Shipping.”
- Use HTML tags.
- Add email or web addresses.
- Insert special characters.
Product Features
Product features are usually created using bullet points rather than large paragraphs or chunks of words. This is because it improves readability and enhances the user experience.
Look at the example below to understand better how it’s done:
The bullet points must include every important attribute that distinguishes your listing from competing products. Therefore, keep them engaging, interesting, and clear.
Follow the below-mentioned guidelines for an optimized product bullet points list:
Do:
- Include the most important feature of your product within the first two bullet points
- Use only five bullet points.
- Add call-to-action words.
- Ensure that the first letter of every bullet point is capitalized.
- Use a few keywords, but don’t overuse them.
Don’t:
- Use exclamation marks or multiple dots like “…”.
- Add special characters or HTML tags.
- Add shipping or promotional information.
- Add such descriptors as “hot-selling” or “great value.”
Product Video
Before you upload a video of your product, follow these rules for optimizing your listings:
Do:
- Have the copyrights to the product video that is to be uploaded.
- Create a high-quality resolution video.
- Create a video using either the standard YouTube orientation or a 16:9 aspect ratio.
- Create a video with a minimum resolution of 1280×720. The ideal resolution is 1920×1080.
- Create a video with an RGB (Red-Green-Blue) color profile with 300 DPI.
- Use only these file formats: MP4, MOV, FLV, AAC, AVI, 3GP, and MPEG-2.
- Use PNG or JPEG format for the thumbnail image of the video.
- Use a high-quality thumbnail image.
Don’t:
- Include contact information.
- Include distributor, company, or seller details.
- Add your competitor’s products.
- Add your authorized seller status.
- Add the product’s price.
- Add descriptive promotion information such as “on sale,” “hot-selling,” or “free shipping.”
- Add shipping cost details.
- Add customer reviews.
- Add third-party or editorial quotes.
- Add guarantee or warranty details.
- Add brand logos that you don’t own.
- Add links to any website other than Amazon.
- Add potentially offensive content.
Final Thoughts
There’s a reason why Amazon is called the only e-commerce giant in the world. People around the globe use it to search for products more than they use Google! This is why Amazon’s A9 algorithms are so refined and continue to get upgraded.
Optimizing your product listing to meet the A9 algorithm standards is vital to gaining a competitive edge in the Amazon seller industry.