Hack the Amazon Search Bar With These 3 Ways to Boost Your Brand

Americans might not agree on much, but we all appear to love Amazon.com. In less than 25 years, the retailer has captured almost half of all e-commerce sales and completely changed the way consumers shop. More than just simple convenience, Amazon has mastered personalization at scale through innovations in machine learning and its commitment to customer service.

However, while the platform is beloved by consumers, it's notoriously less friendly to brands. Marketers know they need to be on Amazon, yet it’s a challenge to stand out in a sea of competition. Amazon's algorithm first serves consumers’ previously searched-for brands, top-sellers, and well-reviewed products. That means that brands setting up shop on the marketplace for greater exposure to Amazon’s massive customer base are often relegated to the third or fourth search results page.

Amazon does prioritize paid ad content — to the tune of $4.61 billion in projected 2018 ad revenue, according to eMarketer — which can optimize other products for discovery. However, marketers still have to contend with sponsored ads for Amazon’s own brands. So even a big ad spend doesn't guarantee a spot on the first page of results. However, brands can take back the search bar by building awareness and social influence to make sure they're top of mind before consumers pick up their smartphones.

Fifty-four percent of digital shoppers choose to search on Amazon over Google. So when you can't secure a prominent position in Amazon's search results, it's imperative to employ other marketing tactics to raise your brand’s profile. Here are three ways to ensure consumers will search for you by name on Amazon:

1. Build brand love. As Amazon’s dominance grows, marketers must build both brand awareness and brand loyalty to stand a chance. One of the most effective ways to enhance brand-consumer relationships is through meaningful, personalized outreach. Engaging with consumers through experiential marketing strategies creates a connection that goes beyond the moment. In fact, Epsilon found that personalized experiences positively influence 80 percent of consumers. They're more likely to buy when you use segmentation to tailor your messaging to them.
2. Prioritize the customer experience. A recent survey by Salesforce found that when choosing among brands, almost 80 percent of consumers prioritize their experience just as highly as the products or services. Every dollar of investment to improve the customer experience can produce three times the return, according to a survey sponsored by Avanade and Sitecore. Furthermore, 37 percent of survey respondents said that improving the customer experience also improved sales cycles. When a consumer has a positive interaction with a brand, he or she is more likely to remember that brand and seek it out. This can also boost results for your products because Amazon’s algorithm prioritizes brands that consumers have searched for or purchased in the past.
3. Align with consumer lifestyles. Finally, in a sea of choices, a shared identity compels consumers to choose one brand over another. Food, beverages and personal care items are no longer just products; their brands are an expression of consumers’ self-images, aspirations, values, and lifestyles. For example, nearly three-quarters of millennials and Gen Zers pay more for products that support social change. Tap into this using immersive brand storytelling during experiential activations to help consumers understand what your brand is and how it aligns with their lifestyles. When consumers connect with a like-minded brand, it supersedes price and convenience and builds long-term loyalty.

Ultimately, marketers can't rely solely on sponsored ads or Amazon's algorithm to help their brands gain traction on the marketplace. Getting on the first page requires experiential marketing to put your brand in customers' minds and hearts before they start to search.

Jeff Snyder is the founder and chief inspiration officer at Inspira Marketing Group, an experiential marketing agency.