Millions of products sit on Amazon’s virtual shelves, waiting for interested consumers to click the “Buy” button. If you want to take advantage of income opportunities and sell on Amazon, then, how do you rank above all the competition?
Marketplaces drove e-commerce growth to well over $1.5 trillion in annual sales in 2014 and according to the 2014 Online Marketplace Sellers Survey conducted by Feedvisor and Web Retailer, 63% of sellers only sell on marketplaces. Marketplaces work because they offer sellers access to new markets and new customers with minimal investment. Check out Payoneer’s Marketplace Sellers Guide to find out everything you need to plan, build and execute your marketplace seller strategy
Optimize each of your Amazon listings with relevant keywords that will appear in the Amazon SERPs (search engine results pages) as well as in search engines like Google. Keywords should relate to the product you are selling as well as its intended use. For example, if you’re selling a book, you might use the book’s title, its author, and related keyword strings like “reading thriller novels” and “New York Times bestseller.”
Find a keyword research tool that aligns with your workflow. These tools help you find keywords that receive significant search volume and that perform well for a specific audience. Optimize all parts of the listings with keywords, including titles, descriptions, specifications, and other components.
A9, Amazon’s proprietary search algorithm, determines which sales pages rank highest when a consumer enters a certain search query. You do not have to dive into complex code to rank higher on Amazon; however, understanding the goals behind the algorithm can give you a competitive edge.
Specifically, according to the A9 website, Amazon puts the customer first when deciding how to rank sales pages. They consider buyer history and conversions to determine which products are most likely to result in a sale. As mentioned above, keywords increase relevancy, which A9 lists as one of its core tenets.
Amazon considers products with lots of reviews more relevant and important than those without any reviews. Whenever possible, encourage your customers to leave reviews after they buy and receive a product. One simple way to do this is to insert a small postcard in each package your ship that says something like, “How did you like this product? Visit our Amazon product page to leave a review and tell us all about it.”
You can also join review groups or send cold emails to top reviewers on Amazon requesting a review. The more people who leave feedback and ratings, the higher your products will rank in the SERPs.
Some Amazon categories are more competitive than others. Browse through the listings and note the total number of products in each. If you can fit your product into a highly relevant yet uncompetitive category, you might rank higher as consumers conduct their searches. Just remember that irrelevant categories can hurt you. Some consumers click on a category first and search only within that spectrum. If your category isn’t included, you won’t rank at all and your products will lose visibility.
High rankings in Amazon can increase your income potential and help you develop a positive reputation in the community. Focus on targeted keywords and relevant but non-competitive categories that take into consideration A9’s values and tenets.
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