As in any other online business, Amazon is a money-making platform where being ranked on coveted top position is a crucial aspect for every seller. Now, one thing that entrepreneurs can not overlook is the high level of competition that imposes them to go the extra mile and implement the best SEO strategies possible.
Whether you’re just starting and need to figure out what is Amazon Listing Optimization that can increase traffic to your products, or you’re an established Amazon seller in need of a comprehensive Amazon SEO Guide – then you should look no further!
In this step-by-step guide, we will cover everything you need to know to successfully rank on Amazon, diving into the keyword research and explaining what Amazon SEO (2020 and beyond) is from a technical point of view.
What is Amazon SEO?
Amazon Search Engine Optimization (Amazon SEO) is the process of optimizing or updating your product listings, to increase their visibility and, therefore, rank higher in the Amazon search results for the desired keywords.
Most Amazon sellers know that listing optimization has a positive impact on their ranking and, therefore, their sales. When you optimize your product listing – you get better rankings – which means that your product gets more visibility – which eventually leads to more sales. But, just because you have optimized your listing once doesn’t mean that your product will always rank first. Optimization is an ongoing continuous process that requires going through the cycle of optimizing, analyzing, and repeating.
There are a few key principles any seller needs to implement to execute an effective Amazon SEO strategy.
First of all, to rise to the top of the platform’s search results and ultimately sell more, you need to get a basic understanding of what is Amazon’s SEO’s foundational tool – the A9 algorithm and how it works.
Amazon’s Ranking Algorithm (also known as A9) is the system that Amazon uses to decide how products are ranked in search results. It helps Amazon’s customers find the best products and display the most relevant product listings first. This algorithm looks at several different factors, including ones related to customer’s behavior, as if someone who did the same search purchased the product. It is similar to the algorithm which Google uses for its search results, only Amazon considers keywords in deciding which results are most relevant to the search and therefore which to display first.
The important thing to notice is that Amazon’s A9 determines how likely the searcher will be to purchase the product based on two main factors: Relevance and Performance. Performance is based on how well your products sell and relevance is based on how your keyword matches the search query.
Firstly, Amazon looks at the keywords in the shopper’s search query and analyses each one of them. Keywords are an important ranking factor in Amazon, thus A9 closely observes to look for relevance between the customer’s search query and the product listing. If your product doesn’t target the specific keywords then, probably your product won’t appear in the search results.
Next, Amazon tries to assess the purchase based on the sales conversion rate and your product’s performance in the past. This is because Amazon is a business, and has a vested interest in promoting listings which are more likely to result in sales. Amazon SEO is relatively straightforward: the more money you generate on the Amazon platform, the higher your rankings will be. If you establish a compelling sales resume for Amazon, it will be more than happy to give you a little special preference. Therefore Amazon will rank listings with a strong sales history and high conversion rate more highly.
As we saw, several factors determine a products’ rank in the algorithm, including the sales velocity, the review number, the fulfillment method, the price, but ultimately, everything comes down to the conversion. It has a cumulative effect: the more a product converts for specific keywords – the higher it will rank on Amazon for that search term. The higher a product is ranked – the more likely it is to receive more traffic and thus have a better chance of achieving high sales.
So, the most important aspect of executing the Amazon SEO strategy is properly implemented Keyword Research. You have to know exactly what Amazon customers are searching for and focus strategically on placing them in the product title, product features, description, and the search terms in the back end. The key here is relevant. Only the relevant keywords are going to leverage organic traffic to your product and get you to the #1 BestSeller position.
How do pros do Amazon keyword research for SEO?
Since Amazon is such a wide online platform, there are a lot of Keyword Research Tools that will allow sellers to look at what the potential search volume is for any given term.
Although no tool is going to be 100% accurate, it is still helpful to look at which search terms are higher relative to other terms, and base your decisions on that. You can research keywords with high volumes of searches using keyword tools designed specifically for Amazon, such as Helium10 or MerchantWords.
These tools can help you find out which relevant terms have the best search volumes for your product (or your competitor’s product) or gain additional potential search terms that your product already converts for.
The Importance of Keywords
As mentioned, keywords are one of the main factors Amazon looks for in determining relevance to search queries and therefore setting rankings on its results pages. Therefore it is critical to integrate high volume and importantly relevant keywords as part of your listings.
You want your product to be visible to the people who are most likely to buy it – you need to make sure you choose only the most relevant keywords to focus on. There is no point in being listed in search results for customers who are looking for something else – you simply lose money and sales!
You may also want to consider relevant, lower volume keywords that have less competition. In some cases, ranking first for a search with a lower volume of searches can be more advantageous than a lower ranking on a high volume search term.
How to Integrate Keywords
Once you have all of your potential keyword terms, you can add them to your spreadsheet, sort by relevance and volume, and use them strategically. This comes down to how you write your listing, you want to include as many keywords as possible while making sure the listing still reads well rather than being just an incoherent mess of keywords.
- If you have a brand-new listing and no product data to lean on – you can learn from your competitors’ rankings, and create your listings based on the search terms they are using.
- On the other hand, if you are already an experienced seller who has products listed on Amazon – you can use the additional potential search terms for your product to add more keywords to the listing or optimize it to be more relevant
A well-structured listing, with all the details and product information, accurately presented is what a customer would want and need to make a buying decision. Therefore, it is crucial to create an accurate and interesting listing with:
✔ A concise, unique, and optimized Product Title. The title is essentially your first and most valuable search field, therefore, it should be straightforward and contain the most crucial information about your item, including the product’s unique characteristics and benefits. The goal here is to leverage SEO and avoid keyword stuffing while keeping in line with Amazon’s policy and best practices.
✔ 5 Bullet Points that will outline the key features and the benefits of the product. Focus on one benefit per point and connect each one with the customer. Try to include as many keywords as possible, but, note that it is always better to dominate for a few keywords than being lost in the shuffle for many.
✔ An accurate Description of the product, that will present a unique viewpoint on why people need your product in the first place. Expand a little on every detail and make the benefits a focal point of the text. It is also an excellent place to add your long-tail keywords. Keep it as concise as possible while using relevant, readable content that will get the customer’s attention.
✔ Only High-Quality Product Photos that will naturally draw to visual imagery and highlight your product’s best features. People pay attention to clear, easy to understand, information-rich, and aesthetically pleasing images of a product.
✔ A competitive Price – To have competitive listings, you need to see how your competitors are pricing products similar to yours. This will help you get a better idea of how to price your product and see if your product can even compete amongst the competition.
How to Optimize keywords on Amazon
- Optimize backend keywords – Try to place as many keywords as possible in the backend keyword field (also called ‘search terms’, or ‘generic keywords’) before adding keywords to your content. This practice will keep your content highly readable.
- Place remaining keywords in the product content – Try to include as many keywords as possible, but keep the text easy to read and concise.
- Fill in additional product and keyword fields – Try to fill the additional products and keyword fields because it can improve the searchability and visibility of your product.
- Monitor the keyword ranking – As soon as your keywords are in place, make sure you always measure your optimization success and regularly review the ranking of your product with a keyword ranking tracker. If your keywords are not being effective in ranking your products it may be time to return to the research phase to identify stronger keywords.
Overall, after optimizing your listing – you should always keep an eye on your product and engage in ongoing optimization in the future to improve your rankings and maximize your success.
What are the best Amazon SEO tools?
Since Amazon wants to sell as many products as possible, they are always attempting to serve the most relevant, appealing products for every single search term. Therefore, there are a lot of Amazon SEO tools that help sellers gather all the information they need to create a marketing strategy and improve the visibility and ranking of your Amazon products.
- Amazon Keyword Research Tools – Using Amazon Keyword Tools will enable you to put into action a marketing strategy based on real demographic data, which will attract a large number of customers to your product. Spending weeks or months researching keywords and optimizing your Amazon entries will improve the visibility of your products and increase sales. You can use the Keyword Tracker to track your keywords as well as your competitors’ keywords. With this, you’ll be able to find new keyword opportunities to rank and eliminate the underperforming keywords.
- Amazon Rank Tracker – Rank Tracker is a multipurpose tool capable of fulfilling the needs of many different sellers and their strategies while allowing you to monitor how your Amazon product listings are performing in search rankings over time. Within moments, you can generate a keyword list and see where your product ranks for various search terms compared to your competitors. Not only do these groups help you organize your tracked keywords, but they also allow you to glean insights that will help you better optimize your listings and PPC spend and earn more profit per product.
Who offers the best Amazon SEO services?
SEO tools provide data and alerts about the overall health and success of your website They help uncover areas of opportunity and identify weaknesses or issues that may prevent you from ranking and earning visibility in the SERPs. Let’s take a look at five of the best Amazon SEO tools:
- Helium10 – Features tools such as Frankenstein Keyword Processor, Magnet, or Cerebro Amazon Keyword research tools that make it a perfect tool for SEO professionals. Their keyword tool is one of the most powerful tools available right now. To use Helium 10, you simply insert the keyword that you want to look up and you’ll be met with extremely detailed results, such as search volume, distribution, top products, and word frequency.
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- Zonbase is an effective, web-based tool that helps Amazon sellers research products, find profitable niches, estimate sales,. It will help you target the exact keywords and help you increase your Amazon profit constantly by using their keyword base. Moreover, they provide the most accurate and relevant data that will help you get higher. Their slogan is “Sell More Work Less on Amazon.com”. It proves the main purpose of helping Amazon sellers earn money.
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- Jungle Scout – It’s a collection of tools that Amazon sellers can always put to good use to boost their online sales. They can: generate valuable keyword ideas to use in your Amazon PPC ad campaigns and product listings, use actual Amazon data to provide the broad and monthly exact search volume for keywords, help you create a proper ad budget, and calculate promotional giveaway volume, etc.
- Viral Launch – Viral Launch gives your brand the Amazon seller tools needed to scale and have only successful campaigns. They claim to be the ones that offer you the most accurate data from Amazon, starting with the filtration of the irrelevant keywords, showing the trends of search volume, and finding low bidding and low competition keywords for your ads campaign. With their easy-to-use software suite (responsible for helping drive over $8 billion in sales on Amazon), you own a competitive advantage.
- Seller Rise – They offer to track your real-time sales, net profits, and more 24/7. The tools they are using: Profit Dashboard, Smart COGS, Shipment Optimizer, Order Dashboard, Review Request will help you get a better understanding of your business processes and where you can grow to outperform the competition!
In a nutshell, to rank higher on Amazon you need to develop a continuous optimizing strategy that will always keep your product updated and relevant to your customers. Along with the above parameters, start driving internal and external traffic to the listings to create conversions and begin allowing A9 to rank your product accordingly, while constantly tracking your performance metrics on Amazon seller central.
Track real-time sales, net profits, and more 24/7 to get a better understanding of your business