Amazon SEO Tips and Tricks: Bringing Out the Best in Your Sales Strategy

Even if you have never been involved with the world of online retail sales, the chances are high that you are already quite familiar with Amazon. Billed as the largest digital marketplace on the planet, it is estimated that more than 1.3 million new products are added daily. In other words, this digital medium is a seller's paradise if the correct techniques are adopted from the very beginning. However, many Amazon accounts tend to focus their efforts towards conversions alone. This is akin to putting the digital horse before the carriage. Without the proper SEO strategies, you will never take your presence to the next level. Let us take a quick look at how Amazon ranks products before moving on to examine some sure-fire approaches.

What is the Amazon A9 Algorithm?

Like all other online sales portals, Amazon needs to determine how your products will be ranked within the search results. Their developers have therefore embedded what is commonly referred to as the A9 algorithm. Although this method is similar to Google in regards to factors such as keyword placement and density, Amazon also takes into account conversion rates (after all, they are a retail-based platform). In other words, sellers with higher conversion statistics and a solid sales history will rank more favourably.

The end result of this unique synergy is that consistently high sales figures will enjoy more visibility. In turn, this leads to increased conversion rates. It is clear to see that such a situation will have a cumulatively positive effect. So, the main question, therefore, involves how you can take advantage of this algorithm -in order to propel your sales figures into the digital stratosphere.

Keyword-Friendly SEO Practices

We once again have to mention the critical significance of high-value keywords within an Amazon retail campaign. Of course, this is nothing new. Keywords have represented an integral portion of SEO since the terminology first entered into our digital lexicon. However, you may be surprised to learn that you will no longer have to rely upon intuition alone.

Websites such as MerchantWords have been specifically engineered to cater to the online selling community. To put this utility into perspective, MerchantWords has collated more than 1.6 billion sales-related keywords in its more than six years of existence. Leveraging this and similar tools will provide you with the insight and clarity required to make targeted decisions in advance; increasing the all-important conversion rates mentioned previously.

Descriptive and Relevant Product Titles

Another core facet of any productive Amazon sales strategy involves the description of the product in question. We can envision a page title as a digital “billboard” that is intended to attract as large (and as relevant) of an audience as possible. This is why there are several factors which will come into play:

• A clear and concise product description.
• Metrics such as the choice of sizes and colours.
• The product brand name.
• Essential ingredients and/or materials.

Let us also remember to embrace white-hat SEO techniques. Avoid keyword stuffing and construct the title in question for humans as opposed to automatic algorithms.

Your Seller Identity

The name of a seller will likewise exert a substantial influence in regards to overall ranking factors. While some identities may be quite memorable and catchy from a macroscopic point of view, we also have to take into account the fact that certain names can be engineered to increase sales and your overall ROI. Let’s look at two contrasting examples:

Imagine for a moment that your Amazon page specialises in marketing t-shirts to women. Here are two examples of a seller identity:

• Fab and Fantastic Female Tees.
• T-Shirt Emporium.

While both of these titles describe the product in question, the first example specifies that the seller is catering to a female audience. Thus, more targeted search results will be obtained when a potential customer makes a query through Amazon. This will help to boost the ratings of the seller and ultimately, lead to higher conversion rates.

What are Amazon “Backend” Keywords?

There are other hidden factors which will influence your exposure throughout Amazon search results. One perfect example is the presence of what are known as Amazon “backend” keywords. What exactly are backend keywords and why are they important?

Backend keywords can be thought of in many ways as a series of meta tags which have been modified to resonate with the aforementioned A9 algorithm. While not immediately visible to the shopper, these keywords allow Amazon to better understand what it is that you are marketing so that its algorithm is able to display the most relevant search results to the potential customer.

Having said this, we should note that there are certain rules to keep in mind so that you can fully leverage the presence of backend keywords:

• Each of the five available fields is limited to 50 characters (including spaces).
• Amazon does not include commas within their character count.
• No words should be repeated.
• It is wise to use keyword variations when possible.

While it may take a bit of tweaking to discover the appropriate backend keywords for your products, such efforts will undoubtedly pay off from a long-term perspective.

Readability

It is also important to remember that Amazon will partially determine SEO rankings by analysing the amount of time that a visitor remains on a specific page. This is why content layout should never be taken lightly. Visual presentation goes a long way in regards to keeping a reader (and a potential customer) interested in what it is that you have to offer. Avoid long blocks of interminable text and superfluous language. Mention the key points of the product within the first few sentences. Break up its primary benefits with the help of bullet points. The ability to scan through a section of text and to appreciate the advantages of a specific item will simplify the entire shopping process.

Creating Desire: Motion and Emotion

Our final SEO suggestion involves the organic relationship between the buyer and the seller. From the simplest perspective, appealing product presentations will always garner higher conversion rates. As the retail-based software developer SellerApp notes, there are several factors which come into play:

• Providing a series of high-definition product images.
• Boasting competitive price points.
• Obtaining positive Amazon star ratings.
• Clearly illustrating why your product is different or better than the competition.

We can, therefore, see that Amazon SEO still involves a number of decidedly traditional practices.

Amazon SEO Made Simple: One Step at a Time

It can be difficult to simultaneously implement all of the suggestions mentioned above. This is why many successful sellers will focus upon one or two areas at any given time before moving on to other methodologies. However, never forget that flexibility goes a long way in terms of digital success. Never be afraid to experiment with different strategies in order to ascertain which one(s) produce the most desirable results. Amazon provides you with the potential to earn a substantial income, and as always, it pays to be a winner.

About our author

Ron first arrived in Barcelona, Spain in 2007. Although initially pursuing a career in wealth management and finance, he learned that the content writing community provided the highest level of personal satisfaction while still being able to personally help clients. He has been a full-time professional writer since 2011. Some of his other interests include martial arts and bodybuilding.