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AMAZON SEO AND PPC OPTIMISATION

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 3

WHAT IS AMAZON SEO? 4

Amazon 4

SEO 4

WHY DOES IT MATTER? 5

1. Visibility 6

2. Relevance 7

3. Conversions 7

4. Reviews 7

KEY SEO CONSIDERATIONS 8

AMAZON ADVERTISING (PPC) 9

The rise of Amazon Advertising 9

Amazon’sadoffering 10

FINAL THOUGHTS 13

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INTRODUCTION

Amazonhasbeenredefininghowweshoponlinesince1996–andthechangeshavenotstoppedcoming,withAmazon’sshareofshoppingsearchesnowat54%.

Inadditiontothis,90%ofallproductviewsontheAmazonplatformcamefromsearches–ratherthanfromadsorproductaggregatorsand45%ofallofthoseviewswenttoproductsonthefirstthreerowsofthesearchresult.

Whilethesetoprowsincreasinglyfeatureads,thisisn’tlikelytodiminishthepercentageshareofclicksforthetopresultsbymuch–thoughtheGoogleandAmazonSERParenotexactlyinterchangeable,theshareofclicksissimilarand,onecansafelyassume,consumerbehaviourisunlikelytosubstantiallydifferbetweenplatforms.

Thismeansthat,ifyourbrandoperatesonAmazon,itisasimportant–ifnotevenmoreso–thatyoufeatureinthetoppositions.ThiseBookwilllookatbothAmazonSEOandPPCandwe’llshowyouwhatcanbeachievedthroughpaidadvertisingand–themostcosteffectivemethod-improvingyourAmazonSEO.

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WHAT IS AMAZON SEO?

Tobeginwith,weshouldbeginbydefiningthetwoterms.

Amazon

Beginningasanonlinemarketplaceforusedbooks,AmazonhasbecometheprimaryeTailsite,makingitsfounderJeffBezostherichestmanintheworldintheprocess.Amazonisnowresponsibleforthemajorityofproductsearchesandwhileitsgrowthisbelowtheoverallgrowthoftheverticalsitisrepresentedin(forexample,IKEA’sonlinesaleshaveincreased,ashaveonlinefurnituresalesingeneral,morethanAmazon’ssales,butallhavegrown),ithasbecomesuchamajorplayerineCommercethatbrandsaslargeasNikenowsellthroughthesite.

SEO

SEO,or‘searchengineoptimisation’,istheprocessofadjustingcontent,presentationandmoretocaterbettertosearchenginerankingfactorstoimproveperformancetherein.

So,AmazonSEO…cateringtoAmazon’srankingalgorithm–referredtoasA9(aftertheAmazonsubsidiarythathandlesitsSEO)–AmazonSEOistheprocessofoptimisingbothyourselleraccountandyourproductpagestoappealtotherankingmethodthatunderliestheAmazonsearchengineresultspages.ThissharessomethingsincommonwithSEOforGooglesearch,butisheavilyweightedforrelevanceandperformanceofyourproducts.

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WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Asmentioned,Amazonstarts54%ofallproductsearchesand,asof2018,Amazonwasresponsibleforathirdoftheapproximately£175BngeneratedbyUKeCommerce(makingitthefifthlargestretaileroverall).

Thismeansthat,likeGoogle,ifyou’resellingonline,youprettymuchhavetobeonAmazon(asmentionedpreviously–eventhelargestsportswearbrandintheworldsellsdirectlythroughtheplatform).

So,withyourcompetitionconsistingofeverythingfrombasement/garageboundstartupretailerstomulti-billionmega-corporations,youshouldbeensuringyou’redoingeverythingyoucantoensurethatyourproductiscapableofstandingoutfromthecrowd–andthatstartswithoptimisation.

UnlikeGoogle,whoprefertokeeptheiralgorithmicblackboxsealed,lockedandguardedbywolves,Amazonhasbeenquiteclearaboutthefactorsitexpectssellerstooptimise.Therearefourelementsthatweneedtoexamine:

1. Visibility

2. Relevance

3. Conversions

4. Reviews

AccordingtoAmazon:“Customersmustbeabletofindyourproductsbeforetheycanbuythem,andsearchingistheprimarywaytheycandothat.Customerssearchbyenteringkeywords,whicharematchedagainsttheinformation(title,description,andsoon)thatyouprovideforaproduct.

“Factorssuchasdegreeoftextmatch,price,availability,selection,andsaleshistoryhelpdeterminewhereyourproductappearsinacustomer’ssearchresults.Byprovidingrelevantandcompleteinformationforyourproduct,youcanincreaseyourproduct’svisibilityandsales.”

Bearinginmindthefourkeypointsabove,thisishowwewouldconsiderSEOoptimisation,andinstructbrandsandbusinessesthatwanttoadheretoAmazonRankingfactors.

Therearealotofcrossoversbetweenthesefactors–therearen’ttoomanythingstooptimise,sothereareboundtobe–ourexpert,JohnWarnerdealswitheachpointindependentlyinthefollowingsummary.

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1. Visibility

Visibility,asfarasAmazonisconcerned,representstheconsumer’sabilitytofindtheproductand,therefore,relatestotheeffortsellersputintocompletingtheinformationsectionsforyourlistings.Whileyoucandothisen-masseusingaspreadsheetupload,allofthefieldsforasololistingshouldbepresentinthesheetyouuseforthemassupload.Theseinclude(notanexhaustivelist):

Intabone:

• Product name – thisshouldfeaturethekeywordyou’relookingtorankforatthebeginningorasclosetoaspossibleasthetitlelengthdisplayedvariesdependingonwhereonthescreenordevicethelistingappears.

• Manufacturer –ifyou’resellingyourownproduct,thisshouldbeyourownbrandname,ifyou’reareseller,usetheinformationfromtheoriginalmanufacturer.

• Brand name – asabove,dependentonyourinventory,yourownorthemanufacturer’snamegoes here.

• Package quantity – simplythenumberofpackagesthatwillarrivewiththeconsumer.

• Material type – thematerialfromwhichyourproductismade(there’salistofoptionsifyouclickintothecell).

• Shape – whileitmaynotbeasearchedforterminyourindustry(carshapedtoycars?),ifyourproducthasashapewhichmaydifferentiateitorbesearchedfor,mentionithere.

• Size – whethersellingclothesorcontainers,listthegenericsizeshere(small,XLetc).

• Hand orientation – whileitmaynotapplytoeveryproduct,theleftorrighthandednessofaproductcanbeasellingpoint,somakesureyoufillthisinifit’sappropriate.

• Tension supported – again,thisisunlikelytobeafeatureformost,butifyou’resellinghangingbasketsorhangingchairsoranythinginbetween,thetensionoftheitemshouldbelisted here.

Intabtwo:

• Variations – thisiswhereyoucandefineanyvariationsofthesameproduct,whetherthat’ssize,colourorshape.

Intabthree:

• Offers - ifyouhaveanyreductionsinpriceoroffersapplicabletospecificareas,theyareentered here.

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Intabfour:

• Images - there’splentyofspaceforimages,soyoucanuseasmanyhigh-qualityproductsnapsasyouneedtoshowoffyourproduct.

Intabfive:

• Key product features - thesewillbethebulletpointsnearthetopofyourlisting,somakesureyouhelpyourproductstandout.Inaddition,whileithasnotbeenstatedexplicitly,thereisanecdotalevidencetosupporttheideathatkeywordsplacedintheproductfeaturescanhaveapositiveimpactonrankings,sousethemiftheycanbeusedorganically.

Intabsix:

• Keywords - you’relookingforasmanyunique,applicablekeywordsaspossible.Inthisregard,yourgeneralPPCkeywordresearchwillcomeinhandy.Helpyourconsumerstobuyyourproductbyensuringyouthinkaboutitfromtheirperspectiveandhowtheymaylooktofindyou.Optimisingthisprocessisthekeytoachievingvisibilityforyourproducts,soensurethatyou’regivingthisasmuchthoughtasitdeserves.

2. Relevance

Whilethisisalsodeterminedbythedatayouenterintoyourproductlisting,relevanceissomethingyoushouldconsiderseparately–youwanttomakeyourproductsdiscoverable,butyoualsoneedtomakesurethatthekeywordsyou’retargetingareentirelyfocusedonthoseyouridealconsumer,orbuyerpersonaswouldbeusingtofindyourproduct.Whileincreasingthenumberofkeywords,orusingbrandedkeywordsfromcompetitorsmay(probablytemporarily)increasevisibility,leavingaconsumerdisappointedwithyourproductisapoorfirstimpression.

3. Conversions

SalesandsalesvelocityseemtobethekeyfactorsforrankingonAmazon–whiletheremaynotbetoomuchyoucandotoinfluencethisatfirst,youcanusepaidsearchtoboostyourinitialsalesfiguresthroughbothAmazonandsearchPPC.Whileboostinginthisfashionwillimproverankings,itshouldbenotedthatitislastingsalesvolumethatproduceslastingrankingimprovement.

4. Reviews

Whetherit’safriendlynotewiththeproduct,oranemailfollowingthepurchase,youneedtopickupreviews–notonlyisitbeneficialforsales(asmostconsumerswillprefertopurchaseanitemwhichhasbeenrated),butitisalsoarankingsignaltogetthosereviewsrollingin.

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KEY SEO CONSIDERATIONS

InsummarynearlyeveryAmazonsearchistransactional.That’swhyitsalgorithmactuallycomesdowntoonlyacoupleofthings:

• Relevance

• Performance

ThismeansthatifyouoptimiseyourAmazonproductpageforthesetwo,crucialrankingfactors,you’llendupconvertingandsellingmoreonthesite.ProbablythemostimportantelementofAmazonSEO,asfarasrelevanceisconcerned,istheproduct-titlerankingfactor.You’llwanttoputthemostrelevantkeywordsforyourproductinthetitle.

Thatbeingsaid,itisimportanttoavoidkeywordstuffinginyourtitle,asthatcouldharmyoursearchrankings.Atitlethatdoesn’treadnaturally,canlookspammyandhaveanegativeimpactonyourCTR.

Aswellasthisyoushouldconsidertheimpactofyoursellernameonyourrelevanceasarankingfactor.Ifyourbrandiscalled‘ShoeWorld’andyouincludethisinthetitle,eg,‘ShoeWorld-Men’sBrogues’,youmayfindthatyourproductsarepickedupbymoresearches.Thisisespeciallyhelpfulforcertaintypesofsellers.

Performancefactorsareabithardertodirectlyexertcontroloverbecauseadditionalconsiderationsbeyondkeywordscomeintoplay.ThingslikehowmuchyouchargeforyourproductsignificantlyimpactsyourAmazonconversionrate.Youneedtomakesurethatyouareofferingitemsatacompetitiveprice.Carefullycomparewhatyourcompetitorsonthesiteandothersitesaredoing,andsetyourpriceaccordingly.

Yourproduct’sconversionrateisanotherhighlysignificantperformancefactorinyoursearchranking.Unfortunately,itishardertogettheseanalyticsoratleastcomparedtoyourownecommerceperformance.ThebestthingtodoislookattheSellerCentral’sDetailSalesPageandTrafficunderBusinessReportsandReports.Here,you’llwanttolookattheUnitSessionPercentage,whichisessentiallythenumberofunitsthatareboughtpervisit.It’stheclosestyou’llgettoapureconversionrateforyourproductpage.

Anotherpointtoconsideristhatyoushouldincludehigh-qualityimages.Amazonstatesthat:“Imagesshouldbe1,000pixelsorlargerineitherheightorwidth.Thisminimumsizerequirementenablesthezoomfunctiononthewebsite.Zoomhasbeenproventoenhancesales.Thesmallestyourfilecanbeis500pixelsonitslongestside.”

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AMAZON ADVERTISING (PPC)

WhenitcomestoadvertisingROI–AmazonPPCseesa10%conversionratecomparedwith1-2%forGoogleAdsmeaningthatitisano-brainerfortoday’smarketer.

The rise of Amazon Advertising

Overthepastfewyears,Amazonhasbeguntorealiseitshugepotentialasanadvertisingplatformanddevelopedarangeofflexible,self-servesolutionsforsellerstopromotetheirproducts.It’spowerisintakingthetriedandtestedpay-per-click(PPC)modelalreadywell-establishedbyGoogleAdsandcombiningitwithitsownUSPs,namely:

High purchase intentPeopleusuallycometoAmazonwithaspecificproductinmind-makingitavaluableopportunitytoexposeyourproducttocustomerswithhighpurchaseintent(meanwhile,shopperstendtouseGoogletosearchforproductswhenthey’reintheresearchphaseoftheirpurchasejourney).

Rich customer dataNootherbusinessdoeseCommerceonsuchamassivescale,whichgivestheplatformanotheruniquecompetitiveadvantage:thedetailedcustomerpurchasedatathatsellerscanusetoleveragetheircampaigns.Amazonknowsthespecificproductsthatcustomersarepurchasing,andhowfrequentlythey’rebuying.Thismeansitsalgorithmshaveawealthofdatatodrawonwhenitcomestoaccuratelymatchingyouradstorelevantcustomersearches.

Ease of purchaseAfamiliarplatformforusers,withtheabilitytodropproductsfromarangeofdifferentsellersintheirbasketwithoutleavingthewebsite.Ifyoualreadysellontheplatform,advertisingonAmazonisaversatileandpowerfulwayforyoutopromoteyourlistings,forexample,topushyourbest-selling,seasonalorend-of-linestockuphigherinsearchresults,makethemvisibletoanewaudienceand,perhapsmostofall,makingiteasyforbuyerstopurchasethemthroughafamiliarcheckoutinterface.

Soit’seasytoseewhyAmazonissopopularwithadvertisers:researchbyThirdDoorMedia(publisherofMarketingLand,SearchEngineLandandMarTechToday)foundthat80%ofadvertisersplantoincreasetheiradbudgetsontheplatformin2019,withmanyshiftingbudgettherefromtraditionalsearchandpaidsocialmediaadvertising.

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Amazon’s ad offering

Amazonoffersthefollowingoptions:

Sponsored ProductsThesearebottom-of-the-funneldirectresponseadsthatdrivetraffictoAmazonproductpages,givingbrandstheopportunitytobrandsandsellersthatwantexposuretoshopperswithstrongpurchaseintent(ascustomersgenerallycometoAmazonwiththeintentionofmakingapurchase).

LikeGoogleAds,SponsoredProductsarecost-per-click(CPC)andlargelykeyword-driven,matchingthekeywordsthatfeatureinyourcampaigntothesearchtermsthatshoppersusetosearchforproductsonAmazon.

Whenashoppersearchesforthekeywordsinyourcampaign,youradhasachanceofdisplayingifitmeetstherequiredeligibilitycriteria.TheseimageadsappearinseveraldifferentplacesinAmazon(acrossalldevicesondesktop,tabletormobile):youradsmaybedisplayedontopof,alongside,orwithinsearchresults-theselooksimilartoorganicAmazonsearchresultsorGoogleShoppingads.

InApril2020AmazonannouncedthatitwasreleasingproducttargetingforSponsoredDisplayads.ThismeansthatmerchantscannowtargetsimilarorcomplementaryproductsandcategoriesviaSellerCentral.Withnewoptions,forexample,youcouldtargetrunningshoeadstoappearoncategorypagesforrunningshorts,saysAmazon.

Similarly,youcancross-promoteyourownproducts.“Ifyoualsosellsocks,producttargetingplacementsonyourshoes’productdetailpagemakesiteasyforshopperstoaddapairofsockstotheirshoeswithjustafewclicks.”

Untilnow,SponsoredDisplayadshavebeenaretargetingproduct.Advertiserscanuseaudienceviewstargetingtoretargetuserswhohaveviewedtheirproductdetailpagesinthepast30daysanddidn’tmakeapurchasewithSponsoredDisplayadsonAmazonaswellasonthird-partywebsitesandapps.Thetwotargetingmethodscannowbeusedtogether.

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Product Display AdsTheseadscanappearacrossAmazondesktopandmobile,withplacementsondetailpages,abovesearchresultsandtopoftheofferlistingpage.Youtargettheseadsbyselectingspecificproductsorshopperinterests.ThereisspeculationthatProductDisplayadswillbeabsorbedintotheSponsoredProductsofferingasAmazonisputtingalotmoreemphasisonthelatterasthebest choice for sellers.

Sponsored BrandsSimilarlytoSponsoredProducts,theseareself-servesolutionsavailabletoregisteredsellers,vendors,bookvendors,KindleDirectPublishing(KDP)authors,appdevelopers,andagencies.Targetingsellersatthetopofthepurchasingfunnel,theyallowsellerstoboostbrandawarenesswithyourlogoandacustomisedheadlineinadsthatappearinsearchresults.

Thisoptiongeneratesrecognitionforyourbrandportfolioratherthanspecificproducts;aswellassolutionsviatheAmazonDSPforadvertiserswhowanttospendatscaleviadisplay,videoandcustomads.

Product Display AdsThisisbyfarthebiggestgrowingopportunityforadvertisers,andwhichaccountsforthemajorityofadspendontheplatform.

IfyousellonAmazon,ProductDisplayAdsofferapowerfulandversatilewayforyoutopromoteyourlistings,forexample,topushyourbest-selling,seasonalorend-of-linestockuphigherinsearchresults,makingthemvisibletoanewaudience.Visibility,whetherpaidororganic,iskeytosuccessas70%ofAmazonshoppersonlypurchasefromthefirstpageofsearchresults.

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Ad rankingInordertofullyunderstandhowtooptimiseforpaidadsinAmazonyouneedtogettogripswiththeiradrankformula.

There’sasignificantdifferenceinhowAmazonranksads(ie,decideswhenandwheretoshowthem)comparedwithGoogleAdsbecauseAmazonprimarilymakesmoneywhenitemsaresoldasitmakescommissiononeverysale;Googleprimarilymakesmoneywhenadsareclickedon.Inanutshell,Amazonranksprofitableadshigher;itprioritiseswhatthecustomerismostlikelytobuyfrombasedonperformanceandrelevancemetrics.

Theformulaisasfollows:

AdRank=CPCBidxAdGrade

AdGradeisbasedon:

1. Performancemetrics

• CTR(click-throughrate)history

• Conversion rate

• Overall sales

2. Relevance metrics

• Producttitle

• Description

• Search terms

• Seller name

Thebottomlineisthatthequalityofyourproductpageisjustasimportantasthequalityofthead(inthesamewayasyourGoogleAdRankispartiallydeterminedbythequalityandrelevanceofyourlandingpage).It’sthereforeabsolutelycrucialthatyouoptimiseyourproductdetailpageswithgreatimages,acleardescription,andacompetitiveprice,beforeyouevenstartadvertising.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

WhiletheAmazonalgorithmmaynotbeofthesamelevelofcomplexityasthatofGoogleorBing,it’sneverthelessimportanttoensureyou’retickingalloftherightboxeswithyourproductlistings.WithAmazoncontinuingtogrowitsshareofeCommerceandretailingeneral,therearefewbrandsthatcanaffordtoignoretheworld’sfavouriteshoppingsearchengine.

ByimplementingtherightAmazonSEOpractices,however,andensuringthatyoutaketheplatformseriously,youcanhelpyourbrandcompeteagainstlargercompetitorsandtakestepstosucceedinginanevermoredigitalworld.

There’snodoubtthatAmazoncandelivercustomersatanunmatchedscale,makingitacompetitiveplaceforsellers.WhileofferinggoodqualityproductsandfollowingeCommercebestpracticesareobviouslycriticaltoAmazonsuccess,there’sanincreasinglycompellingcaseforahybridoptimisationapproachoforganicandpaidcampaignsasthebeststrategyforbrandslookingtomaximisetheirvisibility.

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