Trying to craft an Amazon marketing strategy to take advantage of the possibilities of its algorithm? Read on to discover how Amazon SEO tactics can give you a boost!
A9, Amazon’s Algorithm
A9 is Amazon’s algorithm that displays search results which are based on a variety of direct and indirect factors. With Amazon being such a major retailer, it is important for marketers to capitalize on opportunities provided by the algorithm so companies can move more products.
A9 varies greatly from algorithms that consumers come across elsewhere. Amazon differs from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo because the Amazon search engine is mainly consumer-based, whereas the other search engines help facilitate searches of a variety of types.
When searching for something on Amazon, a user has clear intentions to buy or get a price estimate on a given product. With Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines, the chance of buying something directly from the search engine site is more unlikely.
Breaking It Down
To see the impact that Amazon has as a consumer-based search engine, let’s take a closer look at the numbers via Search Engine Journal:
- 81% of clicks are on brands that are on the first page of results
- 35% of Amazon users click on the first item displayed on the search results page
- 70% of Amazon consumers do not click beyond the first page of provided results
- The first three products on the search results page make up around 64% of consumer clicks
Ranking Factors – How to Use the Amazon Algorithm to Your Advantage
Direct Factors
Some of the biggest direct factors that affect the Amazon algorithm and marketing on Amazon can be broken down into three subfactors: text relevance, stock and price.
- Text Relevance – This is the most important factor out of the three. It is vital to make the product title, description and text copy all relevant to what consumers will be searching for. You should also conduct keyword research so that your page will be the most optimized between you and your competitors.
- Stock – This is another important direct factor for the algorithm. The amount of product that you have left will greatly influence your rankings, so plan accordingly.
- Price – Price matching or undercutting your competitors will draw more consumer attention to your product, and will get you greater exposure via the algorithm.
Indirect Factors
The biggest indirect factor that influences the algorithm is that of sales velocity. Having a high sales velocity is key, and Amazon is more likely to promote your products when your sales velocity is in excellent standing.
Some ways to improve your sales velocity include the following:
- Having very descriptive context information is one of the many ways to boost your sales velocity. If your context information incorporates highly searched keywords that consumers are likely to use, your rankings will end up increasing over time.
- The incorporation of high-quality pictures will boost the credibility of your product. Consumers are more likely to select a product page with clear pictures that demonstrate what the product is and what it is made to do.
- By adding bullet points into your product description, it is easier to read and understand for the consumer. It is a way to organize the product’s purpose in clear and concise statements.
- Another way of improving your sales velocity is by way of product reviews. The more product reviews you have on your page, the more likely consumers will be willing to consider purchasing your product. Be sure to encourage product reviews, especially those that are positive in nature.
We wish you luck as you work to optimize your Amazon listings to take advantage of their algorithm. And be sure to check out our blog for more helpful marketing tips!
