Amazon SEO: 7 ways to improve your product’s search rankings

When done right, Amazon search engine optimization (SEO) can be a win-win for sellers and customers alike. Effective optimization can boost sales while helping shoppers find the products they want. This guide will cover:

• What Amazon SEO is
• How SEO works in the Amazon store
• Ways to improve your rankings

What is Amazon SEO and why does it matter?

Amazon search engine optimization (SEO) refers to a number of strategies you can use to improve product and brand visibility in Amazon search results. For example, you can conduct keyword research and add search terms to product titles and descriptions. You can also tweak photos and adjust price points to organically move up in search results and generate more sales.

Let’s dive into the details of how to improve your selling potential and connect with more customers through SEO.

How Amazon SEO works: 5 components

Here’s a quick overview of how customers find products in the Amazon store.

1. Amazon search box

Customers find products by typing a term or phrase into the Amazon search box and browsing through results. There’s also a drop-down menu of departments like Pet Supplies and Sports & Outdoors.

2. Search filters

Customers refine a search by using different filters like delivery day, customer reviews, and price. The Amazon homepage also has links to Best Sellers, New Releases, Movers & Shakers, and other collections.

3. Search results page

The Amazon search engine results page shows product offers to customers so they can compare prices, shipping options, and other factors.

4. Amazon sales rank

The Amazon Best Sellers list shows the most popular products in the Amazon store based on real-time sales. Best Sellers Rank is a metric that indicates how well a product is selling within featured categories.

5. Sponsored Products and advertising

Cost-per-click ads like Sponsored Products and other forms of ecommerce marketing can help offers rise through search results, stand apart from the competition, and capture the attention of customers.

Learn more about Amazon advertising

7 ways to improve search rankings and boost sales

1. Conduct keyword research

What words and phrases are customers using to find products like the ones you offer? Which keywords should you be targeting in your product titles, descriptions, and ads in order to drive sales? Do some keyword research to find out.

There are many different ways to perform keyword research. Here are a few strategies:

• Type a variety of keywords into the Amazon search box. Mine the suggestions in the drop-down menu for ideas, then compile a comprehensive list of keywords that could be valuable for your offers.
• Take a look at your competition. Scan competitor offers for words and phrases that might enhance your content.
• Use SEO tools to dig into keywords, discover related phrases, explore demand, and find data to guide your strategy. Product Opportunity Explorer is one tool you can use to identify top search terms and trends in Amazon customer search volume.

While performing research, think in terms of “short-tail” and “long-tail” keywords.

• Short-tail refers to words and phrases that tend to be broad in terms of search intent, such as “furniture” or “shoes.” They might have high search volumes along with high competition.
• Long-tail refers to a more specific words and phrases like “water resistant lawn furniture” or “vegan leather brown loafers.” These queries might be less popular, but they could enjoy higher sales conversion rates because their search intent is more specific.

Try to use a mix of short- and long-tail keywords in your product content. Remember, short-tail keywords can have high visibility but might be harder to rank for, while long-tail phrases might increase conversions but have lower search volumes.

2. Craft high-performing product titles

Product titles are a great place to use the primary keywords you identify through your keyword research.

To craft concise and compelling titles, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about the most important details they want to know. The product title is an appropriate place to highlight:

• Product type
• Brand name
• Descriptive information like color or size

For example, the title “Good Sleep Premium Collection 300-Thread-Count Pillow Cases (Blue, Queen, Set of 2)” will likely perform better than “Blue Pillow Cases” because it includes the brand name (Good Sleep) and product line (Premium Collection) along with details about the material and other key attributes.

Keep in mind the Amazon product title character limit is 200, and we recommend no more than 60. Include the most important keywords to capture the attention of your intended customers and convince them to click and learn more. Don’t worry—you’ll have a chance to add more keywords in other parts of the product detail page like the product description, which we’ll cover next.

3. Create informative product descriptions

The product description is an opportunity to use secondary keywords to expand on features and benefits, helping customers find and evaluate your products. Here are some examples of the types of details you might want to mention in a product description:

• Materials
• Colors
• Quantities
• Sizes
• Dimensions
• Care instructions
• Warranty information

Have you heard of keyword stuffing? It refers to repeating or overusing keywords in an effort to help a product rank in search results. Keyword stuffing can create a poor customer experience and hurt your rankings. Instead, focus on writing naturally and provide the information your audience is seeking.

Here’s a good rule of thumb for product descriptions: if you use a key phrase once, you probably don’t need to use it again. Refer to your research and try to use keyword variations, weaving in as many valuable phrases as possible while ensuring they make sense in context

Watch: Intro to product detail pages

4. Highlight key details with bullet points

The bullet point section on a product detail page can be another opportunity to use keywords effectively, balance the level of detail you’re providing, and enhance the customer experience.

When crafting bullet points for product page, choose the most important details you want to stand out. Highlight a product’s design, illustrate special features, or explain unique uses. Think about it from the customer’s point of view and highlight related terms or features they might be looking for in the product.

When formatting bullet points, start with a one- or two-word description, then offer an explanation in 100 characters or fewer. Use fragments (no need for full sentences) and capitalize the first letter of each bullet. Using these tips to craft great bullet points can help your product stand out to customers.

5. Add back-end search terms

You can add keywords to a product’s catalog data. These keywords are not visible to customers, but they can still help a product rank for specific searches.

To add search terms for a product:

• Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
• Under Inventory in the main menu, go to Manage All Inventory.
• Find the listing where you want to add backend keywords and click Edit.
• Click the Product details tab.
• Enter your keywords in the Generic keyword field.

Use this section as a spillover for keywords you want to include if you run out of room or if they don’t fit naturally in other parts of the product detail page. Include synonyms, abbreviations, and alternative names for products, but avoid redundant or irrelevant terms.

When entering back-end keywords, use all lowercase letters and separate words with spaces only. You can also skip articles and prepositions.

Learn more about using search terms effectively

6. Showcase high-quality product images

Images can convey key information about a product to customers that can be difficult to communicate with words alone. Use the following best practices for product photography:

• Include a variety of shots showing the product from different angles.
• Highlight key features.
• Make sure images are clear, focused, and well-lit.
• Use plain white backgrounds.
• Have the product fill 85% or more of the frame.

Research best practices for professional product photography based on the type of product you want to offer, such as clothing or jewelry.

When adding images to your product detail pages, make sure you’re making the most of the “alt-text”, which provides another opportunity to optimize SEO and help your product appear in search results. Alt-text isn’t visible on the product detail page, but it describes the image to visually impaired customers and is ranked by search engines. Alt-text should be a simple sentence describing the image that includes 1-2 keywords.

7. Adjust product prices to drive sales

Adjusting your list price to stay competitive can improve your product ranking and increase sales. To find your pricing sweet spot, try the following:

• Consider your costs (including shipping costs) and calculate your margins to make sure you can make a profit. The Revenue Calculator can help you estimate profits and margins for a products by fulfillment method.
• Research your competitors. Take a look at prices for similar products to get a sense for the range of appropriate price points.

You can also use Amazon’s Automate Pricing feature to automatically adjust prices across your inventory.

Learn more about Automate Pricing

Other Amazon tools for growing sales

SEO is just one of the many ways you can attract customers. You might also explore earning positive reviews or offering faster delivery through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), a fulfillment option that allows you to ship products into Amazon’s fulfillment network and outsource packing, shipping, customer service, and returns.

You can also turn to resources like Seller University or Strategic Account Services for additional support.

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