For a seller, Amazon offers enormous potential. The marketplace, which concentrates nearly half of the sales recorded by the platform, allows individuals and professionals to offer products to a large pool of consumers without the need to invest in an e-commerce site and marketing strategies.
However, the Amazon marketplace is not an easy Eldorado to reach. 5 million active sellers (understand: who have at least one product for sale) are listed on the platform, including 211,000 in France. To face the competition, it is essential to place its product sheets in the first places of search results and respect the rules of the game decreed by the site. This is called Amazon SEO: the art of optimizing its product sheets to differentiate them from the mass of references accessible to consumers.
On Amazon, however, visibility is not an end in itself: above all, it boosts the conversion rate and the volume of sales. Because the criteria for referencing on Amazon are also levers of transformation, we explain all that to you.
Amazon in numbers
Initially, Amazon is a “simple” online bookstore. With this in mind, Jeff Bezos launched his startup in 1994, focusing on the product most likely to sell quickly and in large volumes: the book. The success is such that the platform is diversifying. In 1999, Bezos was voted “Personality of the Year” by Time magazine for popularizing online commerce. The following year, Amazon opened its marketplace, offering everyone the opportunity to sell their products on the site.
Twenty years later, the numbers are staggering:
- Amazon has a 22.2% market share in the e-commerce sector in France, far ahead of its main competitor Cdiscount with 8.1% ( comarketing-news.fr ).
- Amazon is the leader in France in the worlds of fashion (37.5% of sales in 2019), cultural products (62.3%), electronics and household appliances (65.5%), beauty/health (23.9%) ( Fevad 2019 study ).
- Amazon is at the heart of e-commerce: 89% of consumers say they are likely to buy on the platform rather than elsewhere (“ The 2019 Amazon Consumer Behavior Report ”, Feedvisor).
- Amazon Marketplace brings together 5 million active sellers across the globe. The aggregate revenue from their sales reached $ 118 billion in 2017 ( feedbackexpress.com ).
SEO on Amazon: definition
The success of the Amazon marketplace has attracted many sellers around the world, both individuals and professionals. Both compete fiercely to appear in the top spots of search results, be visible to consumers, and thus sell more.
The only way to achieve this is to optimize its product sheets while respecting the platform's guidelines. This is Amazon SEO: the art of activating the right levers to position yourself at the top of the results with a given product. This improves visibility and increases its chances of being chosen by buyers who, like on Google, favor the first results of the list.
The importance of Amazon SEO can be summed up in one number: 78% of searches on the platform do not include a brand name but generic terms. This means that consumers are not motivated by the brands themselves but by the quality and performance of the products. Placing your product at the top of the bottom line, therefore, offers a great opportunity to capture the attention of buyers and convert them into customers - even when you can't rely on a well-known brand name.
To do this, you have to start by understanding how the Amazon SEO algorithm works.
The Amazon SEO Algorithm
Amazon has its own listing algorithm - called “Amazon A9”. Based on a certain number of criteria, this tool “chooses” the product sheets that appear in the list of results. This one is displayed in response to requests made by Internet users on the platform's internal search engine. . These criteria constitute the heart of Amazon SEO. They can be classified into two large families:
- The relevance. The purpose of the Amazon algorithm is to match an Internet user's search with a product sold on the platform (by one of the marketplace sellers or by Amazon as such). Therefore, Amazon SEO aims to optimize a product sheet to meet the needs and expectations of consumers. To this end, a certain number of guidelines must be respected: filling in of fields, use of keywords, compliance with form instructions (for visuals in particular), stock management, order processing, responsiveness, and efficiency in responses. Brought to questions from potential customers.
- Performance. The Amazon algorithm differs from that of Google. It considers sales data, with the company having as its number one objective to make a profit (knowing that it is remunerated on the transactions carried out by the sellers of the marketplace). Amazon, therefore, expects a seller to maintain a certain level in terms of performance (click-through and conversion rate, price competitiveness, quality of order handling) and customer satisfaction (there are thresholds of “negativity” not to be crossed: it is necessary to remain with less than 1% of defective orders, less than 2.5% of cancellations before execution, less than 4% of delays in the shipments).
Remember that Amazon seeks above all to promote serious sellers, those who offer a good experience to consumers - the goal is that they are satisfied and come back to buy on the platform. The practice of Amazon SEO must therefore take into account this fundamental requirement: everything must be done to ensure the relevance of the product sheet to meet the needs of buyers and boost sales. This will ultimately improve the visibility of the product sheet even further.
The 7 essential SEO criteria on Amazon
In this article, we will focus on the so-called “relevance” Amazon referencing criteria and answer the question: “how to optimize a product sheet to boost its visibility, and therefore sales volume.” Performance depends directly on visibility, which is the very first (essential) step.
What are these SEO criteria on Amazon? How do you convince the algorithm that a product sheet deserves to be displayed in the results in response to a given query rather than any other?
1. THE TITLE OF THE PRODUCT
Like its counterpart on Google (SEO), SEO on Amazon places great importance on the title. In this case: that of the product. This is the first piece of information a buyer sees when they search. To properly optimize this field, it is necessary:
- Highlight the product's main characteristics (name, a brief description with main characteristics, brand, typology, materials used, color/style, quantity, size, etc. - depending on the type of product).
- Indicate all the information allowing the user to determine if the product corresponds to what he is looking for.
- Observe the imposed limit of 200 characters for most categories.
- Insert the most important information at the beginning of the title.
- Use only plain text, without HTML tags.
- Place the main keywords you want to position your product page: those that users are likely to type to find this result.
To avoid optimizing the Amazon SEO of a product sheet: no keyword stuffing, no mention of the price or remaining stock, no information about the seller, no self-promotion.
2. THE SHORT DESCRIPTION
The short description is displayed at the top of the page, directly under the blocks dedicated to price and typological information. It appears in the form of bullet points, of which a maximum of 6 is immediately visible (if you put more, the user will have to click on a “display more” button). Its impact on Amazon SEO is indirect: the short description (like the long description, for that matter) mainly affects the conversion since it gives the buyer essential information about the product to l 'encourage people to go further. To optimize it, you must:
- Indicate the product's main characteristics at the rate of one characteristic per chip, placing the one that seems most important to you first.
- Highlight the strengths of the product.
- Insert keywords.
- Provide information on any standards that apply, the manufacturer's references, etc. - depending on the type of product concerned.
3. THE LONG DESCRIPTION
The long description is displayed further down the page, under the cross-selling and upselling blocks (similar products, special offers, bestsellers, etc.), and below the “product information” block, easily recognizable because 'it takes the form of an array.
In terms of Amazon SEO, the logic of this description is the same as that of SEO text. It is…
- Give as much precision as possible to the product.
- Develop a brand speech.
- Repeat the targeted keywords and their synonyms.
- Write complete sentences that are simple but pleasant to read, aiming for quality over quantity.
- Observe the limit of 2000 characters.
- Anticipate the questions that Internet users are likely to ask about the product.
Here again, the objective is the conversion rate.
4. TARGET KEYWORDS
Amazon gives the possibility to fill in 5 fields dedicated to keywords. These fields are invisible to users: they are therefore exclusively reserved for Amazon referencing.
The keywords correspond to the terms that Internet users are likely to type in the internal search bar to find a product and those that appear as suggestions when the first terms are entered (see example below). In short, these keywords allow everyone to find a reference and, therefore, come across your product.
Three things to know:
- Each field must be occupied by a single keyword, which makes 5 terms to be placed in all. Each of them must not exceed 50 characters.
- It is crucial to target the most relevant keywords and reason in terms of a semantic field.
- Long-tail keywords are preferred rather than overly generic terms, both to clarify the offer, reduce competition, and boost the conversion rate. For example, the expression "dressing gown" shows 90,000 results, while "woman's satin dressing gown" only shows 20,000 - among which it will always be easier to rank.
Because of the importance of keywords for Amazon SEO, it is better to choose them carefully. For this, you can use keyword research tools but also draw ideas from the internal search engine or simply see which expressions are placed on your direct competitors.
5. THE VISUALS
Visuals are essential in Amazon SEO because they participate in the purchase decision and help boost conversions. The photos chosen must present the product, and if possible, show it in use (when it makes sense) to help the Internet user to get a better idea of what he is buying. This is particularly the case with clothes and accessories, which are best shown worn. Amazon even offers the option to add a video.
Here formal requirements apply. It is necessary :
- Show exclusively the product offered for sale (except in the case of a scenario) as the buyer will receive it if he places an order.
- Photograph the product on a white background.
- Offer visuals of a size equal to or greater than 1000 x 500 pixels.
- Make the product occupy at least 85% of the image.
- Use formats recognized by the platform: JPEG, TIFF, or PNG (with a preference for the first).
- Use professional-quality visuals.
6. THE PRICE
When it comes to Amazon SEO, price is a big variable - and not just because it is an essential characteristic of the product in the eyes of consumers.
= Eskimoz wearing glasses and a pencil sticking out of his mouth, typing on an old-fashioned calculator (from which comes to a long ticket).
It should be understood that Amazon classifies the products. In the list of results, in ascending order of price (when two prices are the same, the platform considers the cost of delivery, then the popularity of the sellers). Knowing that more attractive prices are likely to capture attention and therefore optimize conversions. It is also THE most influential conversion factor, qualified as "very important" by 82% of users, ahead of the number of delivery costs and positive reviews (source: Feedvisor).
Therefore, the ideal, especially at the start of a sales campaign, is to stick to the prices charged by competitors.
7. BUYERS' RATINGS AND COMMENTS
As explained above, Amazon aims for consumer satisfaction. Therefore, we will not be surprised to find that buyers' opinions are one of the most determining Amazon SEO levers. It is also a valuable asset in terms of conversion, insofar as more than 80% of Internet users trust the opinions posted by previous buyers (source: Les Échos ).
For those who fear fraudulent reviews and bad comments posted by unscrupulous competitors, Amazon has implemented a control system called "Verified Purchase": whether anyone can rate or leave feedback about a product, only Internet users who have actually purchased this product on Amazon benefit from this mention which serves as a criterion of authenticity.
To properly manage your customer reviews and benefit from a boost in Amazon SEO, you must:
- Encourage your buyers to leave ratings and comments.
- Respond to negative reviews quickly and constructively.
- Answer the questions asked about the product in the dedicated section.
A good SEO on Amazon comes down to optimizing the fields of the product sheet, providing useful and relevant information, and providing keywords that users of the platform are likely to search for.
However, it should be borne in mind that the first criterion for Amazon referencing remains the volume of sales. All the optimization levers are oriented in this direction. A seller who references his product sheet well is more likely to sell, and if he sells well, to gain visibility, which will allow it to increase its sales, etc. Conversely, a product that goes unsold for weeks ends up plummeting in results and becoming difficult to see.
You also have to keep in mind that Amazon works on trust. It is true of the performance (of a salesperson, of a product), but it is also true of the implication. Thus, sellers who have subscribed to the “Fulfillment by Amazon” option (the platform's support for the entire logistics chain) benefit from a promotion.
Finally, given the importance of multichannel in e-commerce, it is necessary to think about the criteria of referencing external to the platform, in particular, SEO (via the relevant use of keywords) because Amazon product sheets can also be referenced in search engine results - even if Google tends to promote its own marketplace, Shopping.
