Top Tips for Ranking High on Amazon

Amazon.com is one of the world’s largest online retail platforms. In the e-commerce industry, it isn’t unusual to hear comments such as: “There’s e-commerce, and then there's Amazon.” With Amazon enlisting over 1 million new sellers in 2019 alone, how can new entrepreneurs and startups compete?

The following are some useful tips that will help businesses top Amazon’s ranking system.

The A10 Algorithm

To many sellers, the A10 Algorithm can often feel like a foreign, unattainable concept. But when it comes to algorithms, the key is knowledge. To navigate the online platform, it’s important that individual sellers understand Amazon’s A10 algorithm and grasp the differences between the various versions. A10, the latest version, differs from A9 in that a buyer’s search holds more prevalence than it did before. With A10, Amazon shoppers are directed toward what they’re actually looking for rather than what someone else thinks they should be looking for.

Using FBA for Superior Logistics and Shipping

Having a reliable and consistent logistics and supply process is essential for any business, and this is especially true for Amazon sellers. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) allows sellers to manage their customer orders with ease. Currently, approximately 66 percent of the world's top 10,000 Amazon sellers use FBA to automate their shipping process.

FBA facilitates the entire shipping and logistics process so that sellers can focus on other aspects of their business. Additionally, sellers with positive customer interactions and ratings will always have a better ranking. To ensure a positive ranking on Amazon, sellers need to make sure their team is properly equipped to deal with complaints, returns and defective products. Using FBA and staying on top of customer feedback is a surefire way for sellers to increase their overall ranking.

Optimizing Content

Content optimization must never be underestimated. Content generation on Amazon is absolutely critical, therefore sellers must understand the role and effect that optimization has on organic ranking. Each element on a seller’s page — from images and bullet points to enhanced brand content, or even a template file upload — are instrumental in achieving a high ranking. With the right procedures and organization, optimization tasks can be easy. If a seller doesn’t have a large team of employees or an overwhelming amount of resources, he or she can simply tackle one criteria at a time.

To start, sellers should ask themselves if their current images satisfy Amazon’s guidelines, which are outlined here: www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200109520.

If the answer is no, images will need to be updated accordingly. Next, it’s important to make sure that product descriptions includes bullet points, which attract attention and are easier to read. Each bullet point should bring attention to a key feature of the product and be distinct enough to stand alone on the page.

Keywords

Some key definitions to retain:

• Pay per click (PPC): A method of bidding that determines how a product will be listed in a product search result.
• Enhanced brand content (EBC) (aka A+ Tool): A feature of Amazon’s listings that only brand-registered sellers can use. EBC provides additional images and information to customers as they scroll through a product page.
• Optimization: Optimization is the act of enhancing material to achieve higher search rankings.

Applying keywords and using PPC advertising can often feel like overwhelming tasks, especially given the constant, shifting nature of PPC bidding and keyword optimization. The latest top-performing phrase can quickly become the source of a drop in sales over time. That’s why sellers need to stay informed and updated.

There exist many third-party software applications that can help sellers analyze PPC markets like Amazon. Many of these apps are easy to learn and can be mastered within a few weeks. The key is for business owners to find the software tool that will best suit their needs. Each application has its own distinct benefits and drawbacks, which is why sellers should do their due diligence when choosing the right one.

EBC

Sellers that have a registered trademark for their products should consider using EBC. With EBC, additional images and text will appear on product pages, creating longer view times that can potentially increase sales. EBC can turn a simple product page into a professional one that warrants extra attention. The first step in using EBC for a brand is applying for a trademark. EBC guidelines for Amazon can be found here: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/202102950.

In the spectrum of e-commerce sales platforms, selling on Amazon can be a daunting task. However, with these simple tricks, any novice seller can decipher the most common issues and head toward the road to success.

Kharen Minasian is the co-founder of Lab 916, an Amazon-focused marketing consultancy that takes the guess work out of selling on Amazon. As a branding and marketing expert, Kharen helps his clients achieve optimal success in the global Amazon marketplace.