A common belief is that selling on Amazon is an effortless way to start a small business, but it is not really. Amazon selling requires a more involved process than simply slapping a label on a product, typing awesome product titles and tossing it up there.
There is a structured process to get your listing out into the market for proven sales. Especially when it’s the fourth quarter of the year where there is higher holiday spending, you’ll want to work on these tips as soon as possible.
#1 Optimize Your Listings to Rank
Amazon is one of the search engines of the largest marketing place online. Imagine you’re a high-intent customer, you’ll start with product searches in Amazon to see what are suitable. This is the time where you’ll get discovered, and it’s vital to optimize your product listing for higher rankings. Of course, this takes an understanding of SEO and keywords that aren’t complicated concepts. You need to master them to get a leg up on the competition. Knowing how to get to the top of an Amazon sales rank is important if you’re planning on an Amazon business venture.
It is extremely essential to optimize your listings to rank in the Amazon’s search engine. You’ll want to have relevant keywords in your listing so that the Amazon algorithm is able to crawl and easily understand what you are offering so you can rank accordingly with relevant keywords.
Finding Profitable Amazon Keywords
Finding the right keywords is one of the most difficult parts of running an Amazon business. It’s important to understand that there are many different factors that will go into your keyword research, and it’s not as simple as just finding a word or phrase that has high search volume.
We recommend using Helium10’s Cerebro function to pinpoint keywords that have a high search volume that are not overly competitive. Search volume refers to how many shoppers actually use those keywords to search for your competitor’s product.
For your product to appear at the top of the search results, there are two main ways to consider:
1) Amazon SEO
Amazon has it’s own search engine algorithms. You’ll want to take steps to optimize your Amazon product listings so they rank highly in the search results with relevant keywords. When your products can be found on Page one of the search results, it means that you’ve got better rankings and more visibility. This prompts consumers to choose your product (since it is what they see first). And more sales means more revenue!
You want your products to appear on the first or second page of the Amazon listings for your specific product category. If you are unable to rank your product on the first 2 pages, it simply means that you’re losing out on potential product sales. Consumers don’t have the patience to scroll through all the pages to check out products. Their short attention span is only sufficient to browse quickly before making a decision.
If people don’t see it close to the front of the inventory, it’s unlikely they re going to pay attention to it at all. Because of that, they won’t buy it.
Amazon wants to sell the products so the company gets its cut of the profits. It is important to be on the first page of results so that you can get a lot of sales. This is why it’s critical to rank your product on the first 2 pages of Amazon. So how do you do it? The algorithm was created in order to raise the number of successful transactions. There are two steps to this process: keyword filtration and purchase likelihood.
The algorithm first considers the keywords entered and targets your product if the keywords appear in your listing. Then, Amazon looks at how well your products have been performing. If your product is doing well, it will be on the first page. You can increase the number of keywords included in your listing by including a lot of pictures. These pictures should include as many keywords as possible and should be placed strategically to grab the attention of the buyer.
You’ll need to insert appropriate keywords in your product description. The listing needs to inform the buyers what it is, and it needs to be readily understood quickly so that the consumers buy your product readily. The description should be clear and does not leave doubts on what is included, its dimensions, how to use it, product name, material, color, size, quantity. This will help boost the visibility of your product in Amazon.
Once you’ve collated a list of valuable keywords for a product, make sure to include them in your product title, description, and other areas throughout your product page.
While it’s important to make sure you use keywords where they fit, don’t be tempted to stuff them in at every given opportunity. Your listing’s content still needs to read well and be informative to consumers.
2) Using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) in Amazon
Amazon offers its amazon advertizing and marketing services for new sellers, allowing you to target keywords and get products in front of your target audience.
Unfortunately, Amazon is a game of advertising. If you do not set aside a sufficient budget for amazon advertising, it is difficult to reach out to potential buyers quickly in a short period of time. Paid ads give you the control on where and how to appear at the forefront of your buyers.
There are PPC strategies to consider when you launch your product. Do not leave it to Amazon to automatically place your product ads where they think is relevant! This is money wasting and can quickly run out of control and eat into your advertising budget.
In our course, we recommend creating manual ad campaigns to target specific keywords.
As a new seller, you should stick to Sponsored Product Ads. Start with a small budget and gradually use the data from your ad campaigns to optimize future campaigns.
#2 Have an Adaptive Pricing Strategy
In the launch phase, having a competitive pricing can allow you to enter into the marketing with the lowest price point. Without any reviews, buyers are willing to purchase and try out your product. Unless your product is 100% unique or offers a feature that consumers can’t get elsewhere, the lower you can get your prices while still making a profit, the better.
There is a function in Amazon Seller Centre that allows seller to compete based on retail price. This is the adaptive pricing option. What it means is that, as market demand changes, Amazon is able to adjust your competitive prices to allow their shoppers to make better decisions. For example, you are a new competitor joining that market share, Amazon’s algorithm is able to make proactive decisions on your behalf (once you opt-in, of course) to ensure your prices fit with the changing times.
For those just starting as an Amazon seller or those with a small inventory, it will be preferred to change your prices manually or set rules for when your prices change according to what your close competitors are charging.
If you’re offering a wide range of products though, there are tools available to enable you to sell competitively while maintaining your desired profit margins. Using complex algorithms and real-time data, these tools can lower or raise a seller’s prices accordingly. Reputable repricing tools like Repricer.com can be considered.
#3 High-Quality Photography
People buy what they see. If your product does not look appealing enough, nobody will buy it. So, you first need to focus on the quality of your product images.
Amazon has specific guidelines to upload a product image on Amazon. Here is the gist of it:
- Image Format: TIFF (.tif/.tiff), JPEG (.jpeg/.jpg), GIF (.gif) and PNG (.png)
- Dimensions: 1000 or larger in either height or width
- Color mode: sRGB or CMYK
- The image file must have a product identifier like Amazon ASIN or 13-digit ISBN, etc.
Be prepared to invest money into getting your product photography right if you want to catch people’s eye and sell yourself. You can check out Fiverr or other professional sites for high resolution pictures of your photo.
Obscured or grainy pictures can unintentionally put someone off and generate a negative first impression of your product. Make sure to offer potential buyers plenty of photos to display different angles, product detail, and your product in use. This will enable them to imagine the real world application of using your products.
Always take your photos against a white and clutter-free background so they’re easy on the eye. Your potential consumers ought to be able to make a logical connection concerning the benefits of your product being used at home.
Having more photos will help buyers better understand what they’re buying and make them more likely to buy it without having to return it later because they don’t like it after seeing the size or shape in person!
#4 Get Into Amazon’s Buy Box
The next of our Amazon selling tips is to try your utmost best to appear in the Buy Box. Almost all retailer that manage to get their products in the Buy Box see this reflected in their sales.
What Is The Buy Box
You can find it located on the far right of a product listing and includes information that makes it easy for shoppers to buy the product. This is an additional feature to allow shoppers to quickly add it to cart for purchase.
The Buy Box includes features for the shopper to select such as new or used, shipping speed, and gift options. Amazon shoppers are also able to select the quantity number. Once all this information is entered, the buyer clicks “Add to cart” and the item is ready to be purchased.
How To Win The Buy Box
Now that you know what the Buy Box is, you want to do your best to get online shoppers to use the Amazon Buy Box in your product descriptions and get those new products into their cart.
As Amazon has a special selection process for certain sellers to be enrolled in the Buy Box strategy, you can increase your chances of being in the programme by:
- Competitive pricing
- Stock availability
- Use Amazon FBA
- Quick shipping times (2 days or less)
- Seller ratings
- Product reviews
- Product bundles
- Excellent tracking rate and full tracking information
- On-time delivery
- Low refund and cancellation rates
Having a good track record for making the online purchase smooth for your buyers is definitely a condition for Amazon’s Buy Box. Make your product the preferred one amongst all your competitors.
#4 Be Listed Under Amazon’s Choice
Once your product sales has stablised, Amazon is able to make recommendations under Amazon’s Choice to buyers on what it deems are relevant and popular to further boost your product sales.
#5 Benefit from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a program that allows sellers to hand over a significant amount of the hassle of fulfilling orders to Amazon themselves. You can store your inventory in their warehouse, where Amazon will pick, pack, and ship all orders for you as and when they come in.
You will also be eligible to offer exclusive discounts to Amazon Prime subscribers who benefit from the incredibly short delivery times that come with it.
Of course, there are higher fees involved with using FBA, but both your sales and overall strategy will see a benefit by leaving you with more time to channel into other areas of your brand.
#6 Use Automation To Get More Reviews
Gaining 5-star reviews for your product is essential if you want to gain a consistent income from your Amazon sales. Positive reviews (4 or 5 stars) can boost your product rankings more effectively. Likewise, having a negative review (1star or 2 star) can have a significant impact to drag your sales.
Always make it an effort to get written reviews for your products once your product has been delivered. You can also get feedback before you order the second batch of products from your suppliers.
You should use Amazon to automatically request reviews from your customer orders and ask for a star rating.
# 7 Provide Good Customer Service
Don’t sit back and relax once your Amazon listings are optimized and launched, there are plenty of other aspects to becoming a successful Amazon seller. One of these is customer service – you need to go above and beyond when dealing with both prospective, current, and generate positive customer retention over the long run.
Responding to customers in a professional, helpful, and meaningful manner will determine whether people choose to buy from you again or go to your competitors instead. When responding to a customer query, aim to solve all problems in your response and remove any potential obstacles preventing an individual from making a purchase.
Should you get any negative feedback or complaints about your products, tackling these positively and professionally can turn a negative exchange into a profitable one.
How To Manage Amazon Customer Service
Make sure to respond to customers promptly, politely, and fully. Even if you don’t have the answer to a question, being honest and open about it can help build your reputation on Amazon. Having an excellent reputation can lead to more sales and repeat customers. Respond promptly to show your dedication to your customer’s feedback. It will also help build your online reputation as a good seller.
#8 Leverage Instagram’s Power
Social media has become an important factor in ecommerce sales. As online shoppers become more comfortable with mobile shopping, you can tap onto the influencer marketing as part of your Amazon seller’s strategy.
Seek relevant influencers for your product and send them samples so that they can promote your products via sponsored posts, IG stories, and other methods.
However, note that influencers will likely charge a fee for the promotion to build brand awareness to your product. They can reach a warm audience who are already in your niche.
If you want to start your IG page by yourself, it’s free to do so, but take note that you’ll need to spend time and effort to build a following before you can promote your product to them.
#9 Proactive Inventory Management
Letting your inventory fall too low or letting a product go out of stock completely can not only impact your sales but can influence the overall rankings of your products overall. In our course, we suggest to keep an inventory to last at least 100days to prevent any stock out situations.
Amazon uses the inventory of brands as the main ranking factor when deciding where and when to display certain products.
#10 Content is Key
An overarching Amazon selling tip to keep in mind is that content is king. If your product listings are not well written and informative, no one will buy from you. When describing your products, you should aim to tell a story of your brand, be creative, and use bullet points to spell out your product’s key features.
Use A+ Listings – Get Pictures to Tell Your Story
The Amazon product listings should be of such a nature they jump off the page and persuade customers to buy the products. That is why you need to use A-listings. This means that your image should be a large and detailed picture of your product, not just a small snapshot. When you write your product listings, don’t just add the specifics, make the content creative and engaging. Your brand should be able to sell itself in the product listing and you have to tell a story of why your products are better than your competitors. For example, if you re selling a green tea, tell a story about how it will make you more energetic or less stressed.
Additional Amazon selling tips
How do I get better at selling on Amazon?
Focus on differentiating your product. Having a unique selling point will enable your product to accurately solve a problem that your target audience is facing. Use appropriate PPC to enable Amazon’s algorithm to rank your products.
Want To Start Your Amazon Journey?
Your selling strategy can be largely affected by these tips. Before your Amazon store can become a money churning machine, you’ll need to spend your resources (aka time and money) to invest in your business so that you get more visibility to eventually generate more revenue.
Click on the Contact Us page to use a proven framework to score your success on Amazon now!