Increasing sales and traffic has always been a priority for many online businesses, Amazon is no exception. But, with so much competition on Amazon, it’s easier said than done. So how can you increase sales, increase traffic, and rank higher on Amazon? The easiest answer is SEO but it’s not that simple. There are some nuances that you need to know to help your FBA label rank higher and potentially get more sales on Amazon. Here are a few ways you can improve your SEO for Amazon.
Amazon’s Search Algorithm
To get a good idea of how to improve your SEO for Amazon you’ll first need to know how the algorithm works.
Amazon’s product search algorithm or A9 algorithm isn’t the same as other search algorithms like Google for example. Unlike how Google uses keywords and rankings, Amazon’s algorithm uses relevance and performance.
Amazon constantly evaluates its algorithms by using human judgments, programmatic analysis, key business metrics, and performance metrics to maximize revenue per customer. To this effect, Amazon uses three factors for the A9 algorithm: conversion rates, relevancy, and customer satisfaction/retention.
In essence, if you want to rank higher on Amazon, you need to optimize your Amazon product listings to get people to come back. By providing relevant and complete information about your products, you can improve your product’s overall visibility, retention, and sales.
With that in mind, what can you do to improve your FBA label’s SEO?
Amazon FBA Keyword Research and Relevant Keywords
Keywords are a vital part of setting up your product listings on Amazon and if you use them properly you’ll see a significant increase in your search rankings. If you want the best results possible it’s important to do keyword research.
You can manually search for the most relevant keywords for your product but it’ll be easier to use Keyword research tools. By using an effective keyword research tool you’ll be able to see different keywords and pick one based on search volume.
Once you know what keywords to use you can simply implement them into your copy and if you want the best results possible, you should use keywords that are relevant to your product.
However, having the right keywords isn’t enough, if you want to rank higher you’re going to need to use them properly. Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to keywords.
Keyword placement
Knowing where to put your keywords is just as important as knowing the right ones. Proper keyword placement is a vital factor in getting indexed and boosting traffic.
You can experiment around with what works for you, but using this order increases the likelihood of getting indexed: Title, Back-End Search Terms, Bullet Points (Features), and, finally, Description.
Character limit
By understanding character limits for Amazon, you’ll have an easier time prioritizing putting high-ranking keywords first before moving over to low-ranking ones.
Amazon allows a maximum of 200 characters per title, 500 characters for bullet points, 2,000 characters for descriptions, and 249 characters for your back-end search terms. This includes spaces.
Try not to hit the maximum character length, because, for Amazon, less is more. But when it comes to using keywords for back-end search terms feel free to use all 249 characters.
Broad and narrow keyword phrases
Broad and narrow keywords or long-tail and short-tail keywords are best used in combination.
While broader keywords tend to rank higher for SEO, using more of them in your copy can make it look sloppy and unprofessional.
With that in mind, you can break down broad keywords into multiple narrow ones. For example, you can break down “organic dog food for dogs” into narrow keywords like dog, organic, and dog food.
Foreign languages
If your product caters to multiple demographics that speak foreign languages it’s important to add keywords from that language into your back-end search terms.
This way Amazon’s search bar can still pull up results relevant to your product, even if the language is set to English.
Keyword stuffing
This is something you should definitely avoid when writing your copy. Amazon SEO has evolved since the early 2000s and keyword stuffing isn’t a viable strategy anymore.
Today, the A9 algorithm is programmed to find what’s the most relevant product for each user and their interests. If a Product Detail Page is filled back to back with keywords, it probably won’t be indexed as much.
If anything it makes your content look unprofessional, making customers less likely to trust you and buy from you.
Optimizing Your Amazon Listing Copy
Aside from utilizing proper keywords and keyword research the optimization of your Amazon page is just as important. Everything from the title, the bullets, and finally the product description is utilized for ranking higher on Amazon’s algorithm.
Titles will have the greatest impact on your customers and they will have the greatest impact on your performance in search. It’s the first thing people will see and the first thing they’ll be searching for.
As per Amazon’s suggestions, the best practices when it comes to writing your title should contain the following:
- Brand
- Product line
- Material key
- Product type
- Color
- Size
- Packaging
- Quantity
It’s also important to take a look at what competitors are doing and try to get an idea of what they’re doing and try to utilize them in your copy. Meanwhile, bullets can affect your conversion rates and relevancy.
Listing bullets are a great opportunity to inform customers of the features and benefits of your products. Although bullet points don’t directly impact your rank in search results you can still use them to great effect by using whatever keywords weren’t used in the title.
Similar to bullet points, product descriptions don’t necessarily impact your rank, however, it does impact indexing and visibility.
With that in mind, product descriptions are a perfect way of telling a compelling narrative for your product. A well written description can be a strong call-to-action for potential consumers. While you’re at it you can even throw in a few strong keywords in your description.
High-Quality Product Photos and Videos
If you want people to trust your label you’re going to need to show it, literally.
Having high-quality images and videos to showcase your products lets people see how well-made and professional your products can be. This can build trust and a sense of security that their purchase is going to be worthwhile.
Images and other visual aspects are also important because people will remember images better. Having a lasting impression with a good photo or video can have a significant impact on your conversion rates.
Here are Amazon’s recommended guidelines when it comes to making images for your products:
“Images should be 1,000 pixels or larger in either height or width. This minimum size requirement enables the zoom function on the website. Zoom has been proven to enhance sales. The smallest your file can be is 500 pixels on its longest side.”
Including high-quality and visually striking images that follow Amazon’s guidelines can help ensure that your product listings aren’t relegated to the end of the search results, which can negatively affect your ranking. When your conversion rates increase due to these optimizations, your Amazon search results rankings should do better.