Amazon provides an income stream for a variety of individuals and organizations, which is why Amazon product copywriters are in such high demand. However, as competition intensifies, sellers need to bring their best game to maximize Amazon rankings and sales. Creating compelling Amazon product descriptions is key, but success goes beyond good product description writing.

Even on the world’s largest e-commerce website, sales can hit a glass ceiling. With around 120 million products available for purchase on Amazon, how do you ensure potential customers find your listing?

The solution – whether you’re a company, sole trader, or a reseller – is to focus on Amazon SEO.

In this post, we’ll look at why Amazon SEO matters, what you should do to increase your Amazon rankings, and how to use these strategies to increase sales.

Why Does SEO Affect Amazon Sales?

When thinking of SEO, we often think about ranking on Google. However, consumers are just as likely to be searching for your business and products on the Amazon platform.

Like Google, Amazon uses its own algorithm – called A9 – to rank products according to various factors. So marketers can optimize their product listings to rank higher on Amazon, just as they would optimize their content for Google. And just like on Google, users are more likely to click on the first few search results.

This is why your Amazon search rankings are so important. Unlike many Google users, searchers on Amazon are ready to buy. Understanding Amazon’s algorithm is, therefore, key to improving your visibility and increasing sales.

Boosting the ranking of each product listing comes down to two things:

  • How relevant your listing is to a search query.
  • Product sales performance and the competitiveness of your product listing.

If you can get these two things right, you’ll end up ranking higher and selling more, which further boosts your rankings.

Five Tips to Improve Your Amazon Rankings

So what exactly should you do to increase your Amazon rankings? Here are our five top tips for taking your Amazon game to the next level

1. Build a Writing Team

No matter how good your product is, if your copy is weak you’re unlikely to show up on the first page of Amazon results. The words you use in the product title, description, and in backend search terms are critical to the sales performance of each listing.

Let’s say you’re an affiliate selling regularly on AliExpress. You’ll need a continuous supply of product descriptions that are not only unique but also persuasive and SEO friendly. You could do this in-house, but it may not be the most efficient option. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the average cost of hiring an in-house writer is over $7,000 per month.

One of the most effective ways to ensure you can create a steady stream of product descriptions is to have a team of copywriters on hand. Constant Content has spent years building its database of freelance writers, including Amazon product copywriters. You can hire according to your content requirements, so it’s a scalable, affordable solution. We can also help you assemble a writing team and manage your workflow.

2. Research Keywords

To boost your Amazon rankings for specific terms and capture more potential buyers, you need to do competitive research and keyword research. With the right keywords, shoppers will find your products more quickly and see you before the competition.

Amazon relies on various factors to determine when your listing appears. Like Google SEO, you have to optimize content with search terms that your target audience are using.

What exactly are searchers looking for? Your brand name, a specific product, or product features? These are the words you need to include at the beginning of your product title, in the product details section, and in your list of backend search terms. We’ll look at how to find the best keywords later on in this post.

3. Optimize Product Images

Many marketers overlook the persuasive power of images. Good-looking, high-quality images are key to boosting Amazon rankings because they have a significant impact on conversion rates.

Studies have shown that images can be even more influential than reviews, so you need to get them right. In short, if a customer sees a poor product image, they’re likely to conclude that the product or company is also poor quality.

The main product image is the star performer. It needs to comply with Amazon’s image guidelines, which are:

  • Images should be at least 1000 pixels in either width or height.
  • The product should fill 85 percent of the frame.
  • Product photos should have a pure white background.
  • File formats must be JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF.
  • Don’t include text, borders, or logos.

Check Amazon guidelines for the most up-to-date information and requirements for additional product images.

4. Maximize Positive Reviews

The quantity and quality of your reviews is one of the most important ranking factors in the A9 algorithm. In particular, positive reviews are extremely beneficial. Look at any top listing on a search results page and you’ll see that it has a high number of reviews and also good ratings. Best-sellers in each category also get top billing.

Encouraging customers to leave positive reviews will lead to more click-throughs from other shoppers and higher rankings. The way you respond to reviews also matters.

Obviously, receiving more positive reviews depends on the quality of your products and your customer service, but there are ways to maximize customer engagement and get better feedback. We’ll go into some simple strategies later on.

5. Ensure Your Amazon Listings Rank Higher on Google

Getting good rankings on Amazon is crucial, but it shouldn’t be your only objective. Many Amazon sellers aren’t even thinking about their rankings on Google, which is a missed opportunity that you can use to your advantage. Increasing your Google rankings for your product listings should attract even more traffic to your product pages.

By optimizing your listings for Amazon and Google, you’ll greatly increase your chances of being seen by potential customers. Google is, after all, the largest search engine in the world.

Strategies to Increase Sales and Conversions on Amazon

So how can you use these tips in practice? Let’s look at each one in more detail.

Building a Writing Team

We’ve already explained the two options you face: either use in-house writers to create a consistent flow of Amazon product descriptions or outsource this type of content to a writing agency. Obviously, you need to weigh up the pros and cons of each. For example, does your team have the time to create a regular stream of product descriptions, or should they focus on other content marketing strategies?

In the long run, it’s actually cheaper to hire writers on a project-by-project basis. By using a content platform such as Constant Content, you’ll have no recruiting or administration costs, you won’t need to train staff in the art of writing product descriptions, and you can scale up or down depending on your requirements.

To get started, simply head over to our content request page and send out a request for Amazon product descriptions, describing your company, products, and any other information you want to convey. You can send out a public request, put out a casting call for product descriptions, or contact specific writers directly with a private request.

Related Reading: How to Convince Your Team (and Boss) to Love Constant Content

Finding the Right Keywords to Increase Amazon Rankings

If you want to succeed on the Amazon platform, you need to use the right keywords in your title, product description, and the backend keywords section.

You can start your search for relevant terms using Google’s Keyword Planner. While 47 percent of online shoppers begin product searches on Amazon, around 35 percent still start their search on Google. So it would be a mistake for any e-commerce business to only focus on optimizing keywords for the Amazon platform.

Google’s Keyword Planner will help you identify critical keywords that searchers are also likely to use on Amazon. In the tools section, you’ll find the keyword planner. Simply input your search terms and you’ll receive stats on how frequently the search terms are used on a monthly basis and how competitive they are.

The next place to research keywords for free is on Amazon itself. Type your keywords into the Amazon search bar and keyword suggestions will pop up.

There are various alternative keyword research tools available online. For example, Sellics has a free tool called Sonar which shows you a keyword’s monthly Amazon search volume and related keyword phrases.

How to Optimize Your Amazon Product Images

There are various tricks you can use to ensure your images improve conversions.

On Amazon, you can upload up to nine product images. If possible, use them all. Here are some ways to make your images more attractive and engaging to drive sales:

  • Show your product from different perspectives so consumers can see the whole product.
  • Show how the product is used in real life so that consumers can imagine themselves using it.
  • Focus on the key features of the product.
  • Show the product in its natural surroundings. For example, a couch looks more attractive in a cozy living room environment.
  • Show the product with actual people to bring it to life.
  • Provide important information. For example, if the product is a multi-pack of four, insert a small icon that says “4-Pack.”
  • For smaller items, show its dimensions or relative size. For example, show it next to a pencil. This can also highlight how compact or well-designed it is.

How to Get More Positive Reviews

Amazon knows that searchers are more likely to click on listings with good reviews, so it gives products with higher average reviews more prominence in search results. Therefore, to maximize sales, you need more positive reviews. Don’t buy reviews; this could lead to having your account suspended. Instead, develop a process that encourages positive feedback:

  • Be honest about what you’re selling. Giving precise information about each product will minimize false expectations.
  • Email your customers and ask them how their experience was with your product. If they’re happy, politely ask for a review.
  • Reach out to your social media followers. Most followers will already be fans, so why not ask them for reviews?
  • Listen to feedback. If you receive a negative review, can the problem be fixed? Consider offering the customer a refund or replacement. Customers can remove reviews for up to 60 days after posting, so you have time to remedy the situation.

How to Improve Google Rankings for Your Amazon Listings

One way to get Google to notice your product page is to include a link on your website. Use Google Analytics to identify high-performing pages on your site. Which pages receive the most traffic and have low bounce rates? If these pages are relevant to your product, insert a link to your Amazon product listing. This will increase the chances of your product listing appearing in Google results, especially if the website has a high domain authority.

Finally, try to incorporate more long-tail keywords in your product copy. Amazon’s search engine may not pick up on them, but there’s a good chance that Google will. With voice search and natural language queries becoming more popular, it will increase your chances of ranking for niche keyword phrases related to your product.

Google also ranks for buying intent, meaning that search results adapt to search queries that are transactional in nature. For example, when searchers use words such as “buy,” “product,” or “order,” e-commerce product pages are more likely to rank higher. So try to include keywords in your copy that indicate buying intent.

In Summary

There are so many topics to cover when it comes to selling on Amazon that we can’t cover it all in one post. However, by now you should have a basic understanding of how Amazon SEO works.

The main takeaway is that if you want to increase sales on Amazon, every listing needs to be optimized for conversions with rich, informative copy, attractive images, and relevant terms that are used by your target audience. And when your sales increase, so will your rankings.

Remember, these strategies work best when they’re working together, so use them simultaneously and you should be well on your way to extra traffic, higher conversion rates, and more Amazon sales.