Whether you want to earn some side cash, replace your income, or get rid of some old books, selling on Amazon is a great way to make money online. With Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon makes it simple to launch and scale an ecommerce business.
New and even experienced Amazon sellers often ask, “How do I get my products to rank higher in the search results?” It’s a crucial question with a multi-pronged answer.
First, it’s important to understand what we mean by “rank”. As an Amazon seller, rank can refer to either your Best Sellers Rank (BSR) or your organic keyword rank. The BSR is your overall product ranking in your main product category; organic rank refers to the position in which your product appears in the results for a particular keyword search, and is a function of keyword relevance and sales velocity.
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Brian Connolly is Ecommerce Expert and Writer at Jungle Scout
We’ll focus on strategies for achieving a higher organic ranking, as it makes your product more likely to convert into sales and is a key driver of profitability.
How to rank higher in search on Amazon
Amazon’s search algorithm (known as A9) arranges products on search results pages according to their organic rank. Amazon wants to present shoppers with products they’re most likely to buy, so the more relevant your listing’s keywords are to a given customer’s search query, the better its chances of showing up on the first page of search results. Higher-ranked products appear at the top of the page, followed by lower-ranked products moving down the page.
It’s easier to conceptualize organic rank if we consider the absence of those determining factors. Let’s say you’re selling a mesh trucker hat but somehow forget to include the keywords “mesh” or “trucker” anywhere in your listing. Your hat won’t show up for “mesh trucker hat” searches, because there’s nothing in your listing telling Amazon that it’s relevant. And because it doesn’t show up in searches, your sales velocity probably isn’t that great.
In order to rank higher for relevant keywords, you need an optimized listing, plus a strong conversion rate. Fortunately, there are simple strategies you can follow to help increase your rank.
Optimize your listing title
Your listing title is one of the most important pieces of an effective Amazon listing. It should entice both customers and A9 with clues about your product’s relevance.
When writing your title, place your most important keywords at the beginning, so customers immediately know what you’re selling. Front-loading your title keywords is also vital because Amazon truncates long titles in certain categories.
After you pull customers in with your great title, the rest of your listing needs to sell them on your product.
Strategically price your product
Pricing is competitive on Amazon. If you’re priced too high, customers may opt for the more affordable choice; priced too low and you could spark a “price war” that devalues your niche.
So, how do you choose the perfect price for your products?
- Understand your profit margins. We recommend you aim for a profit margin between 25% and 30% after landed costs, seller fees, and PPC spend.
- Price competitively. Figure out the average price range for your product niche and stay within it. If you’re launching a new product, you can start out at the lower end to help trigger early sales, then slowly increase your price over time.
- Differentiate your product. Is your product different or higher-quality than those of your competitors? Distinguish your product by improving on the pain points your competitors’ customers note in their reviews. Then, highlight its superiority within your listing.
Optimize your images for conversions
While they don’t directly influence A9, high-quality images and infographics in your listing will help improve your conversion rate by enticing customers — which in turn boosts your sales rank.
You should use the maximum number of allowed images (in most cases, seven) on your listing to give customers as much information as possible about your product.
The main image must have a pure white background, but the others can feature eye-catching elements like interesting lifestyle settings, informative text, and logos. Use infographics and size comparisons or charts to provide important information that helps customers convert.
Create compelling listing copy
Between your listing’s bullet points and description section, you get ample room to describe your product to potential customers. Use these spaces to sell your product in a compelling yet informative way — skip the fluff.
On your product detail page, Amazon displays the product’s title, images, price, and bullet points “above the fold.” That is, those are the listing elements a buyer can see before scrolling down.
You should pack this section full of concise but detailed information, and fit in any relevant keywords that you didn’t use in your title. If your customers can find what they’re looking for without doing much on-page digging, they’re more likely to convert.
Your “below the fold” copy, including your description or A+ content (if you’re brand registered), is where you can add additional information about your product and tell your brand story.
Keep in mind that on mobile, your description or A+ content shows up before the bullet points. Two in three consumers shop on mobile devices in 2021, so don’t skimp on this section.
Drive paid traffic
One of the most effective ways to increase your rank on Amazon is by advertising your listing, either through Amazon pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns or by driving external traffic to Amazon via Facebook and Google ads.
Amazon PPC ads allow you to target keywords, categories, and even competitors’ products. They’re especially helpful when you need to generate visibility for a newly launched product. An optimized listing should have no problem converting traffic generated by your advertising campaigns.
You should regularly analyze your ads’ performance and make changes to increase your return on ad spend. As your campaigns convert into sales, you’ll see your sales rank improve.
Start ranking higher on Amazon
The key to ranking well on Amazon comes down to relevance, conversion, and sales volume. With a fully optimized listing and a competitive price, you’ll be on track toward a higher rank.
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