How to Stand Out From Your Competitors on Amazon

With price, shipping costs and positive product reviews ranking as the most important factors driving purchase decisions on Amazon.com among consumers, converting clicks to sales is imperative. There are millions of products listed on the marketplace, and as a result of Amazon’s business model, competitor product listings are visible on any initial listing. Breaking through the noise of rival products and brands is as important as ever in Amazon’s highly saturated marketplace.

There are a few quick ways this can be accomplished: keyword optimization, utilizing infographics, or adding “in use” photography. From an organic ranking perspective, positive product reviews and a seller’s rating will skyrocket a listing to the top of the algorithm. Below, we detail these ways, and others, to stand out from competitors on Amazon.

Keyword Optimization

When strategizing how to set a product apart from a competitor's, brands should go back to basics and ensure its Amazon product pages are ready to receive new shoppers. A combination of keywords, seller ranking, product reviews and price determines where a product lands in the search results. When it comes to writing copy for product pages, an optimal listing combines valuable keywords and the information the shopper needs to make a purchase.

Effective keyword optimization — which includes product title, bullet points and product description — can lead to a significant increase in traffic and conversions on the platform, thereby maximizing Amazon profit. Brands should expect to see a conversion rate increase up to 30 percent after optimizing titles and bullet points.

For example, if a brand is selling a portable high chair, the title should include notable specifications, such as color, if a tray is attached, and if it's easily moveable. A poor title would not include any descriptors or have vague wording.

Customer-Focused Photography

One way to improve an existing listing is to make sure it answers the following question: What does the product look like in use? A page should provide clear measurements and a sense of scale in product photography by comparing it against the size of a person or within a room.

Additionally, if a product has a key differentiator against a primary competitor that shoppers may also be looking at, brands should call that out in the listing and ask themselves questions such as, “Does my photography show the features my customers are looking for? Do I have a good mix of lifestyle and white-background photography?” Make sure to think through both the product-specific shots that will translate anything more technical in photography, along with strong lifestyle photography that will engage with the customer on a more emotional level, which then results in a purchase.

Meaningful Product Reviews and Accurate Seller Rating

In the era of pay-to-play, capturing meaningful product reviews is a free and easy way to boost listings to the top of searches. One way to capture these responses from customers is to offer an incentive for them to provide their feedback, such as a discount code or gift with purchase.

To help shoppers find reputable sellers, Amazon implemented a third-party seller rating system. The scale is one star to five stars, with five stars being the best. A third-party seller's average rating will appear alongside its name on the marketplace. Before shoppers leave a critical rating, Amazon advises they make sure that they have given the third-party seller every chance to resolve the issue first.

As Amazon continues to grow, the number of items listed and sold on the marketplace will continue to rapidly increase. Brands must make sure their products aren't drowned out in a sea of goods and competitors. Creating a detailed product listing can convert views to sales — a key resource as more shoppers turn to Amazon as opposed to brick-and-mortar or other online retailers.

Vanessa Ruminski is vice president of partnerships for SupplyKick, a fully integrated digital retailer for brands selling on Amazon.