Amazon SEO: How to Rank your Products on Amazon?

Everything in the online world somehow crosses its path with SEO. Search engine optimization is not only applicable for search engines; the logic can be used in every relevant website. Insomuch that, the famous shopping website Amazon has its own algorithm to rank results.

Just like a website ranking higher on the search engine results page will have more views, and people will be more likely to trust whatever is on the website, your product on Amazon will have greater success if it’s ranking higher. In fact, not many people look at the following pages of results to see if they can find the product they want.

When the case is like this, there is only one solution left: to rank higher. We mentioned that Amazon’s algorithm is different. But how will you publish your product in a way that it would rank higher?

Today, we are here to talk about all the details of ranking high on Amazon. During this article, you will learn about Amazon’s algorithm, as well as learning the methods to rank higher on Amazon.

Without further ado, let’s start learning about Amazon’s algorithm.

What is Amazon’s algorithm?

The word algorithm might scare you if you are not into SEO or anything related to it, but there is nothing to scare you. Basically, algorithm means what Amazon considers while ranking results as a specific keyword or set of keywords are put in a search query.

Amazon’s algorithm is named the A9 algorithm, and it can be said that it is somehow like Google’s algorithm. Both algorithms choose to rank the most relevant results high on the search results page.

However, there is a major difference between the two algorithms. Amazon considers the sales conversion into consideration, and it is not something minor. It plays a big role while ranking results.

This is pretty understandable since Amazon is a business website, and people are visiting there to buy stuff. That’s why Amazon values the sales background of a supplier’s product.

Now, it might sound like a vicious circle: if your sales and conversion rate is high, you will rank higher. As you rank higher, you will make more sales, and your rankings will be even better. And if your ranking is low, you will not get to make many sales, and you will not rank higher.

If all the other variables are stable, the case might be like that. However, your aim should be not to keep other variables stable and optimizing your listing as much as possible to rank higher. Because optimizing your listing is as important as your sales background, and there is no place for hopelessness! 

See More: Enterprise SEO

How to Rank Higher on Amazon?

Amazon’s A9 algorithm cares about one thing: buyers.

Like how Google aims to offer the most relevant and informative results to its visitors, Amazon aims to offer the results that would satisfy the buyers.

Before digging deeper into the details of how to rank higher on Amazon, one thing to note is that A9 is an algorithm that is still growing and developing. Hence, you should always be kept on track while you are applying the following tips. Nobody can predict what will be the next chance on the algorithm, so the only way is to keep your eye on it.

1. Optimize Keywords

Even though you do not know Amazon’s algorithm, you can infer that keyword optimization plays an essential role in your rankings.

People will put specific keywords on their search queries, and if your listing does not have the essential keywords, it means that you are losing in the first place. How can one expect buyers to find your products if the search query does not match with what you posted?

So, it is crucial to include both high volume and relevant keywords on your listings. For context, high-volume keywords refer to those which are frequently used for specific products.

You can guess some of the relevant keywords; however, you will need to use more. For example, if you are selling a coloring book, you will have to use the words “coloring” and “book,” obviously.

But how about the other ones? Luckily, Amazon designed a keyword tool that will offer you high volume and relevant keywords regarding your listing.

One thing to note regarding keywords is to never overuse keywords. You might want to include as many keywords as you can but keep them relevant and meaningful. Do not just put all the keywords randomly but create meaningful titles and descriptions.

2. Optimize Listing Title

You would definitely optimize your keywords on your listing title, but it does not end there. Your title will be one of the most essential predictors of your listing’s success, and you need to be extra careful about it.

Luckily, Amazon gives us some tips about what should be on your title. Your title must be able to tell:

• Product line
• Brand
• The key feature and/or the material
• Product type
• Size
• Color
• Packaging
• Quantity

Of course, not every product will be including every single thing that was listed above. Of course, when it comes to ordering those, you cannot go random about it. There has to be a specific order, which will influence your ranking on Amazon.

As you may already guess, the most relevant keywords should take place at the beginning of your title. Regardless of the algorithm, you would want to give people the information of what you are selling. You have a limited time to attract possible buyers’ attention, so you would want to be wise about it.

Additionally, Amazon’s algorithm will evaluate the order of the keywords you put into your title. Getting inspired by the first three to four listing titles might help you to understand the algorithm better. You cannot copy their title, but it is about seeing what seems to be working for Amazon’s algorithm.

3. Optimize the Price

It might sound irrelevant, but the price of your product has an impact on your Amazon rankings.

We mentioned how sales conversion plays a crucial role in your Amazon ranking. The price you put on your product will give Amazon an idea about your future conversion rate. Please note that even Amazon does not know if your product will have a low conversion rate or not, but it will rank it based on estimation.

At this point, what Amazon thinks is a simple economic principle. If your prices are way above the market, people will choose the other convenient options, and you will have a low sales conversion rate.

Why would Amazon bother ranking your results higher if it already knows your product will have low sales conversion? Therefore, it is crucial to do market research regarding your product. What is the pricing of other sellers who sell similar or the same products as you?

As you search for the results, you would want to put a price that is in a similar range. For example, if your product is being sold for around 40 to 70 dollars, you would want to pick a price between those numbers.

4. Work on Referral Traffic

Working on the technical aspects of Amazon’s algorithm is a great way to start. However, most of the Amazon sellers are aware of this algorithm, and basically, everyone will be working on it.

Once again, you must optimize your Amazon listing within a line to the technical aspects. But, if you would like to go one step further, you should work on what you can do to increase outside traffic.

Working on the outside traffic will help your Amazon rankings not directly, but it will influence the most important factor that Amazon considers while ranking its results: sales conversion rate.

Working on referral traffic is not easy, but if it’s done correctly, the results will be worth the effort.

First, you will need to find where your target audience is. Are they on Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok? Please note that you need to lead them to a landing page of your Amazon listing. This way, you would be optimizing your conversion rates through external traffic.

Additionally, if you lead your customers to a landing page, you can get to collect precious information such as the location, click sources, bounce rates, etc. That information will give you a great insight into your target audience, and you will get the chance to work on your external traffic even more.

5. Get Positive Reviews

Since Amazon values customer satisfaction more than anything else, it would be foolish to think that you can have bad reviews and get away with it.

Of course, having one or two bad reviews would not be the end of your listing, but getting more positive reviews will absolutely increase the trust you have both between the Amazon algorithm and the customers.

It is no secret that people love to hear other people’s opinions, especially on a product they have never tried earlier. The comments get a significant factor while people are deciding to shop from your store or not.

You must make sure that you are getting positive reviews.

But how is it possible?

While getting a positive review is mostly in the hands of your customers, there are several ways that would improve your customers’ satisfaction, and hence, get more positive reviews.

Fast Shipping

The first thing you would want to do to receive positive reviews is to have a fast shipping. It is no secret that late shipping is one of the main reasons for negative reviews. While you need to avoid negative reviews, you should work on getting positive reviews, which is possible through fast shipping.

If you do not have a proper shipping plan in which you have defined timelines to ship as you get an order, it means you are doing something wrong. Create a timeline of shipping to satisfy your customers with the ease and quickness of your shipping period.

While it might not always be possible to ship as soon as you get an order, especially if you get a lot of orders, you might want to ship your orders within three days.

Keep your product listing up to date

Online products are somehow a gamble since you cannot physically see the product until it arrives. If the customer does not get what they were expecting, of course, it will leave a negative impact.

Like Amazon, your goal is to satisfy your customers with what they receive. This is the only method to get positive reviews from them. If you try to glamorize your product with false promises and fancy words, customers will be very much disappointed as their products arrive.

You need to be crystal clear about your product and what they will receive. Never lie about what you are selling. Make sure that the description perfectly fits the product, and the customer will not experience something unexpected. Putting clear and representative pictures of your products will increase the chances of customers knowing exactly what they are buying.

In a case where you perfectly describe what you are selling, customers will know what they are buying. If they know what they are buying, they will only buy it if they will be satisfied. This will increase the chances of them leaving a positive comment since it is pretty common to get something irrelevant from what it had been told in the description.

Make Refunds and Returns Easy

No matter how clear you about the descriptions were, returning and requiring a refund is a basic customer right. If your customer did not like what they receive, they have the right to (as long as they are following the policies) return it.

If you take this right away from them by complicated processes and unrealistic expectations, it will only lower customer satisfaction. Remember, to get positive reviews; you need to work on enhancing customer satisfaction as much as you can.

Ask for feedback

One of the best ways of receiving feedback is to ask for one.

There is nothing wrong with asking your customers to evaluate their experience. While you cannot force anyone to leave positive reviews, you can always politely ask them to review their experience with your product and leave a positive comment if they are satisfied with it.

While asking for feedback, it would be best to send them an e-mail after they received it. Then, after two to four days, you can send a follow-up e-mail where you ask for a review.

Respond to your feedbacks

Another tip for increasing the positive feedback you have is to respond to them.

Responding to feedback (both positive and negative) will increase the interaction and the quality of the communication you have with your customers. Additionally, if people see that you are responding to every feedback (if possible for you), they are more likely to be encouraged to write one for you.

Besides, you can lower the impression those negative feedback will have on your future customers by responding to negative feedback. You can come up with a solution if they are complaining about a problem or make the necessary explanation if there is a misunderstanding.

6. Optimize Backend Keywords

The keywords that your buyers will see are highly significant, but so does the backend keywords. In simple terms, backend keywords are a set of words that you put in a specific section that is only visible to you. In other words, backend keywords are keywords you put for your listing, but only Amazon algorithm and you can see them.

Backend keywords are beneficial for sellers in terms of avoiding keyword stuffing. As we mentioned earlier, your title should only include the most relevant keywords, but there can be a lot more relevant keywords that you want to put to your title.

By putting those keywords as your backend keywords, you can inform Amazon’s algorithm regarding what you are selling.

You can think of the backend keywords as Google’s meta tags where you explain what your website is about. Unless this time you are explaining to Amazon what your product is about.

On Amazon, you can have up to five fields where you put backend keywords. Each field must have a maximum of 50 characters. So, you would want to be wise about your backend keywords as much as you would be on your visible keywords.

There are several things to consider while you are working on your backend keywords.

First, you would want to avoid repeating yourself. There can be a perfect keyword that you could not fit into the title, and backend keywords are a great method.

However, you wouldn’t want to overuse that phrase repeatedly to receive success. It would not work.

Secondly, you would want to stick with the character limit (50 characters). If you exceed that limit, Amazon will remove your backend keywords and leave you with nothing. To stay in line with the character limit, you might want to avoid quotation marks.

Lastly, you can use synonyms or different spellings of the same keyword to reach a larger audience. Not everyone would use the exact same word for a search query, and taking all of those into consideration will be the best option.

7. Optimize Product Images

We have talked about how images, where the product is clearly shown will increase customer satisfaction, and hence your ranking.

Besides customer satisfaction, high-quality pictures are directly related to Amazon’s algorithm. In fact, statistics show that there is a positive correlation between image quality and conversion rates.

Additionally, Amazon recommends including high-quality pictures on your listings by saying that the product images must have a minimum of 1,000 pixels (either width or height). By following those rules announced by Amazon, you can decrease the chances of your product listing having low rankings due to this simple technical issue.

Remember, as your rankings get lower, the chances of you having low conversion rates will increase. This can lead you to a vicious cycle where you cannot detect the problem. If you are in doubt, checking image quality is highly recommended.

Frequently asked questions about Amazon SEO

Optimizing your Amazon listings to have higher ranks will be only the benefit of you. There are many things to consider while optimizing your Amazon listings. Besides, since Amazon’s algorithm is constantly developing and improving, it might be challenging to understand what is going on.

The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about Amazon SEO and how to rank higher on Amazon to understand it better.

FAQ