In 2023, Amazon's net sales revenue hit $574.78 billion in the world and a huge chunk of the market.
The ecommerce giant accounts for 37.6% of the ecommerce market in the US. More interestingly, 63% begin their searches on Amazon and 70% of Amazon shoppers never go past the first page of SERPs.
This means 2 things:
- Amazon is a great channel for product discovery
- It's crucial to optimize your Amazon listing to rank on page one
In this guide, we'll share all you need to know about Amazon listing optimization to drive more sales.
What makes an Amazon product rank?
Amazon runs on a system that weighs several factors to determine ranking—they call it the Amazon A9 algorithm.
While Amazon doesn't present exactly what goes on in the algorithm and how it works, their main goal would be to provide exceptional experience to users so they'd keep coming back for more shopping.
That means likely 3 factors come into play:
- Relevancy
- Sales
- Conversion rates
Keywords and relevancy
Most product views come from searches. Users have in mind what they're looking for, they enter it into Amazon's search bar, and listings surface on results.
These listings have to be relevant to the search so users find what they want and end up buying it on Amazon, not elsewhere.
Amazon depends on keywords to understand what your product is about and when it should place your products on the search results.
To get a good ranking on Amazon, you'll have to start with relevant keywords.
Put yourself in the shoes of a user and think of what they'd enter in the search bar to locate your products. That would give you a good starting point to get your list of keywords.
Sales performance
Sales volume and velocity is one of the important ranking factors on Amazon. The more you sell, the more Amazon earns, the better you rank. So that you can sell more and Amazon can earn more.
But how do you get more sales?
Assuming you're selling a product people love, there are a few ways. You could run Amazon PPC campaigns and target relevant high-volume keywords to put yourself in front of ready buyers.
You could increase demand and gain awareness by promoting on social media with posts and getting influencers to showcase your products.
These could drive potential buyers to your Amazon listing. But ultimately, the quality of your listing is what would increase conversion rates, which brings me to my next point.
Conversion rates
The job is not done after showing your products to potential buyers and getting them to click in. Because if your listing has many views but doesn't convert, Amazon views it as a problem.
Conversion rates depend largely on the quality of your listing quality. Amazon has a metric for this—the Listing Quality Score (LQS). LQS goes from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest score.
It considers things like your keyword relevance, product titles and descriptions, reviews, and the quality of your images.
So while you try and optimize your listing for conversion rates, you can use LQS as a guide as well.
What is the A10 algorithm?
There have been discussions around an A10 algorithm, supposedly the new version of A9.
It looks like there's a story around this. People got the name A9 from the subsidiary of Amazon, A9, which was founded in 2003 to focus on developing the technology for search and advertising.
The name is a numeronym of algorithm (A and 9 characters).
There used to be an A9.com search portal which got taken down and redirected to Amazon's site after they announced that they've changed their search algorithm. Thereafter, people started calling it A10.
So does the A10 algorithm exist? I don't think it matters.
What matters is still the relevancy and overall sales performance of your listings, so we'll focus on that.
But before diving into that, there's one more important thing to know, which is the Best Sellers Rank (BSR).
What is Best Seller Rank (BSR) and how to increase it on Amazon?
The Best Seller Rank (BSR) is given to every product with at least 1 sale.
- The higher the number of sales, the better the rank.
- There's no overall Amazon-wide BSR, only categorical ones, therefore your product could have multiple BSRs.
- It's updated hourly
A few factors contribute to your BSR:
- Current and historic sales having the most influence
- Product price changes and promotions
- Competitive products
It is not the same as organic ranking and doesn't impact your Amazon organic ranking. But it appears as a "Best seller" label on your products, which helps a great deal in attracting clicks. Products with high BSR also get a chance to appear on best seller lists, which helps increase visibility.
What are the 6 pillars of Amazon product listing optimization?
Mastering Amazon listing optimization is crucial for driving sales and improving your visibility on the platform. Let's dive into the six key pillars that form the foundation of a well-optimized Amazon product listing.
Conducting keyword research
There are 2 types of keywords on Amazon: the keywords that are visible to page visitors used in your product title, bullets, and descriptions, and the keywords that you enter on the backend.
There are many ways you can conduct keyword research:
Use the Amazon search bar
Start the search with relevant words and check out the autocomplete suggestions. If you're selling a sofa, type in the word sofa and you'll get a list of popular keywords as a starting point.
Research your competitors
Review your competitors' listings. Do a quick scan on the relevant keywords they're using that may be relevant for your products. You could also use Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer to identify top search terms and trends.
Leverage keyword research tools
While we optimize your listing to rank on Amazon, there's a large percentage that come through Google as well. Conduct keyword research using tools like Semrush to find relevant search terms that you could use on your listing.
Leverage AI automation
If you're an Amazon seller offering a large volume of products, conducting keyword research for each product is going to be too time-consuming. That's where you can leverage AI.
Hypotenuse AI's SEO monitoring or keyword finder tool automatically suggests keywords on a product level so there's no need for you to manually search for keywords.
It takes into account popular keywords and competitors to reveal keywords that balance relevancy and volume.
Crafting an optimized product title
Now that you have your keywords, let's optimize your product title.
Product titles have a limit of 200 characters but Amazon advises to keep within 60. Your title should provide sufficient information and be clear and concise, so visitors know what you sell.
Amazon advises sellers to follow this structure.
Here are some guidelines to help you optimize your product title:
- Include your brand name, model, product type, size and who the product is for. If you're selling a bundle, indicate the quantity in brackets.
- Include your main keywords so it coherent with what people search for, but avoid keyword stuffing
- Use numerals instead of spelling out your numbers
- Avoid using HTML tags or special characters like ™ or ® or other Type 1 High ASCII characters
Showcasing your product with high-quality images
Images feature information that words sometimes can't convey. It also has a huge impact on conversion rates.
You can use up to 9 images or 8 images and 1 video. But only the first 7 images (or 6 images and 1 product video) shows up on your listing.
Follow the list of image requirements by Amazon.
Technical requirements
- Images must be 500 px to 10,000 px on their longest side
- Images must be provided in JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), TIFF (.tif), PNG (.png), or non-animated GIF (.gif) file formats, and
- Images must be clear, unpixellated, and have no jagged edges.
Requirements for main product images
- Accurately represent the product as a realistic, professional quality image and not be a placeholder.
- Have a pure white background (RGB color values: 255, 255, 255). This allows us to create a consistent shopping experience for customers across search and product detail pages.
- Show the product as 85% of the image.
- Not have text, logos, borders, color blocks, watermarks, or other graphics covering the product or in the background. Products with multiple pieces must be relative in size, with no one piece enlarged.
- Show the entire product within the frame of the image, not cutting off any part.
- Not show accessories that aren’t included with purchase or any props that might confuse the customer.
- Only show the product once in the image, for example, front only and not both the front and the back in the same image.
- Show only one unit of the product and any accessories that are included in the purchase. For multipacks or assortments, see further guidance in the "Product category" section.
- Not include packaging, unless it’s an important product feature, for example, a carrying case or gift basket may be included.
- Not show any part of a mannequin, regardless of the mannequin’s appearance. This includes being clear, solid-color, flesh-toned, framework or on a hanger.
- Show a single shoe, facing left, at a 45-degree angle (applies to all footwear).
- Show clothing accessories or multipacks flat with no model.
- Be on a model if it is clothing in adult sizes. The model must be standing, not sitting, kneeling, leaning or lying down. However, we encourage representing various physical mobilities and models who use assistive technology, such as wheelchairs and prosthetics.
Requirements for all product images
- Accurately represent the product you are selling.
- Match the product’s title.
- Not contain nudity or be sexually suggestive. This includes both models and drawings.
- Show children’s clothing flat with no model.
- Not include customer reviews, five-star imagery, claims (for example, free shipping), or seller-specific information.
- Not include text or pricing details (Swatch only).
- Not include any Amazon logos or trademarks, variations, modifications, or anything confusingly similar to Amazon's logos and trademarks. This includes, but is not limited to, any words or logos with the terms "Amazon," "Prime," "Alexa," or the Amazon Smile design
- Not include any badges used on Amazon, or variations, modifications, or anything confusingly similar to such badges. This includes, but is not limited to "Amazon's Choice," "Premium Choice," "Amazon Alexa," "Works with Amazon Alexa," "Best seller," or "Top seller." For more details on trademark usage, go to Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers - FAQ about Trademark.
While sticking to Amazon guidelines, we also want to make sure that your images are appealing and follow your brand guidelines. Showcase not just the product on its own but also lifestyle shots that show how your products are used and who's using them.
Hypotenuse's AI image batch editor helps you enhance your image resolution so it doesn't show up pixelated especially when zooming in. It also removes and changes your image backgrounds, crops your images to make sure your product takes up 85% of image and standardizes your images in bulk.
Last thing—optimize your image alt text by including your keywords and describing the image instead of just naming it for the sake of being organized.
Crafting compelling bullet points
Bullets take up prime space in your Amazon listing. They're a great opportunity to incorporate relevant keywords and convince users why they should buy your product.
Sellers can use up to 5 bullets, vendors are given 10. Each bullet point shouldn't go above 150 characters and the total character limit for bullets is 1000.
Your bullet points should expand on key product features and benefits. You can look at the ones that reviewers frequently bring up and use the terms they use and explain use cases that show it solves their problems
In your bullets, try to also address objections. Look at low ratings of your own or competitors to see what people are usually unhappy with. Tackle those.
Also, while you're given character limits, clarity and conciseness are key. Ensure your bullets are skimmable and easy to read.
Writing an engaging product description
Your product description is further down your listing. It's another opportunity for you to include secondary keywords, expand on your key features and benefits, and share other details that didn't make it to the bullet points. This could include care instructions or warranty information.
Here, you have up to 2,000 characters. And similar to titles and descriptions, no HTML is allowed except for <br>.
You should also not include promotional information and have too much text so it's easier to read.
Again, avoid keyword stuffing where you overuse keywords to try and rank for them. Keywords should be used in a way that's natural and helpful to potential customers.
If you have a brand representative enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry, you can tap on A+ content to enhance your product descriptions.
What is A+ content?
A+ content is a tool where you can add product videos, larger images and customized text placements to improve your listings. You can use A+ content to share more lifestyle shots, comparison charts, infographics, and even your brand story.
Leveraging ratings and product reviews
Is this product legit? Will I receive the product in one piece? Will the product arrive defective?
A product listing with few reviews makes it sus. Therefore, it's important that you harvest as many 5-star reviews as you can.
Amazon automatically sends a post-purchase email requesting for reviews. If the email doesn't work, you can also send a one-time "Request for Review" from your orders page.
Fundamentally, you should be offering a good-quality product that people want and providing unparalleled customer service.
The product extends beyond the item itself. Well-designed packaging can elevate the product and improve customer satisfaction, which can translate into good reviews.
In your packages, you can also include review requests together with QR codes to reduce friction.
More positive reviews can help make the last push towards a conversion. So make it a priority to have a steady stream of positive reviews coming in.
Amazon listing optimization with Hypotenuse AI
Optimizing your Amazon listings is not a one-and-done task. It's an ongoing process that requires you to monitor trends and competitors coming in to grab a share of the pie.
Without it, you can find your rankings slip over time. But with new collections to launch and thousands of products to watch after, how do you manage them all?
Leverage Hypotenuse AI's digital shelf optimization tool—it helps you research for keywords, analyze competitors, and monitor key metrics, then automatically optimizes your Amazon listing by rewriting your product titles, bullets, and descriptions.
It also checks your listing against Amazon guidelines and ensures that all your products follow these guidelines without you having to tick the checkboxes manually.
Conclusion
The Amazon marketplace is always evolving with new trends and competitors spawning now and then.
Ranking on page one is highly possible—it just takes a lot of work and patience.
Stay on top of the competitive landscape, review your listings periodically, and keep testing to see what works best for your products. By doing that, you'll start seeing your efforts pay off.
References:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266282/annual-net-revenue-of-amazoncom/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274255/market-share-of-the-leading-retailers-in-us-e-commerce/
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/65/SG3P/LISTING_GUIDES/Amazon.sg_Listing_Creation_Guide.pdf
