Last Updated on December 27, 2020 by Guest
Get ready for the Business Olympics! It’s now all about Citius, Altius, and Fortius — becoming faster, higher, and stronger. Your revenue needs to be better than the competition, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, this mindset puts you in the difficult position of outdoing, not just everyone else, but also yourself.
This applies to your Amazon listing more than you’d care to think. There are new sellers to contend with, new updates with the A9 algorithm, and improved ways to improve the search ranking of your Amazon listing.
It’s not like you have a choice. There are over 2 million active sellers you have to contend with, and only 10% of them reach the $100,000 mark in annual sales. In order to be competitive, you have to reconsider many things that you’ve been doing to optimize your Amazon business.
Product Title
Like what any guide to online marketing says, you’ll want your title to appeal to customers. However, Amazon has strict requirements for writing product titles. You can’t just write anything that comes to mind. Your title should include this information:
- Brand name
- Variant (i.e., color, flavor, texture, etc.)
- Size or quantity
- Keywords
For example, if you’re selling women’s handbags, your product title should generally look like this: Gucci Leather Women’s Handbag. Of course, this is a simpler version of what your title should be. You can flesh it out as long as you follow Amazon’s guidelines.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Amazon allows you to write a product title of up to 250 characters in most categories. However, they also suppress product listings that exceed 200 characters. It’s no surprise that many sellers stay below 200 characters just to be safe. Why they set the limit to 250 is beyond anybody’s understanding.
Don’t Stuff Keywords In
This tactic isn’t new. Many sellers have tried this, and the A9 algorithm has learned from them. Though it’s not against policy to put as many keywords as you can in the product title, it will be counterproductive in the end. Amazon will give you a lower search rank if you try stuffing your title with keywords.
Because Amazon Tech in Business is becoming standard practice, the new name of the game is relevance and readability. Sure, you can put many keywords in your title for relevance, but the readability suffers, and that will cause your search rank to plummet. Put a maximum of two keywords in your product title. You can put the rest in the other parts of your listing.
For Keywords, the Important Things Is Location, Location, Location
More than 150 million users access Amazon using their mobile phones. The smaller screen makes it more difficult for them to view the entire product title. To make it easier for them, you need to put your primary keyword in the first 80 characters of the title. That way, they don’t need to click the “show more” link. After that, you can put the second keyword anywhere in the title.
Points to Ponder
Besides the requirements, you also have to consider a few things when making your product title:
- Never use all-caps.
- Capitalize the first letter of each word except for articles, prepositions, etc.
- Use “and” not ampersands (&).
- All numbers used should be in numeral form.
- Don’t include the price and quantity.
- Never put any promotional messages like discounts or sales.
- Don’t use special symbols.
Bullet Points
After the product title, customers will look at the bullet points. This is where you can highlight the key features of your product. Plus, they make your product descriptions easier to understand. Compelling bullet points can spell the difference between a page visit and a sale.
Bullet points are the first items prospective buyers look at when they need additional information about a product.
Length Matters
Third-party sellers have the option to create as many as five bullet points with a maximum of 500 characters each. Vendors can have ten bullet points at 255 characters for each one. Take advantage of the space given to you by Amazon, but not to the detriment of readability and relevance. If there’s a way for you to be more succinct in outlining your product’s key features and additional keywords, then do so. Not everyone has the time to read lengthy explanations. You can save the other details for your product description, the standard rule for Amazon listing optimization.
Keep the Guidelines in Mind
Don’t forget about Amazon’s guidelines on writing bullet points. These are:
- Capitalize the first letter of your bullet points.
- Bullet points should be sentence fragments, not sentences.
- You shouldn’t end bullet points with punctuation marks.
- Separate phrases in the same bullet point with a semicolon.
- Never include promotional content or links.
No HTML code and Special Characters
According to Amazon, HTML can’t be used in product descriptions, and that includes bullet points. The same goes for special characters and fancy script. Keep your bullet points straightforward and professional. No survey has proven that adding these special characters will improve your search ranking or conversion rate, so you have no reason to use them.
Discuss Customers’ Pain Points
Most buyers go to Amazon to look for a product that solves a problem they’re having. Those are called “pain points.” Discuss how your product can solve that problem for buyers, so they’ll want to purchase. This has to take precedence over highlighting the key features. Your customer should be convinced that your product can solve their problem before they even get to the product features.
Product Images
Amazon allows sellers up to nine product images in their listing. Use them wisely. Include as many high-quality images as you can. If you need to hire a professional photographer, so be it.
You have to remember that images are the second thing people look at when searching for products. Customers use keywords to look for a product, and their next click will solely be based on your product images. If they like what they see, they’ll want to read more about the key features.
Keep Buyers Interested
Make your photos at least 1,000 pixels wide and 500 pixels high. Too low a resolution might not have the effect you desire.
Use a white background and have ample lighting. Make an effort to show your product from different angles. It’s sometimes frustrating for customers to only look at the front because that’s the only angle available. For electronic equipment, show the cables, ports, and specifications in your pictures.
Show Products in Everyday Situations
Include pictures that show your product being used. If it’s possible, put photos that highlight the key features of your product. For example, a waterproof electronic gadget might have a product image of it being used in the rain.
Product Description
In this section, you can compare your product to other similar ones and show how yours is superior. Within 2,000 characters, include your other keywords, so your description will be considered relevant by the A9 algorithm.
Never put anything that might be considered as false advertising or over-embellishment. Amazon’s Prohibited Product Claims Policy makes sure its customers are protected from any false advertising.
Keep Reinventing Your Amazon Listing
As long as you keep improving your processes, there will always be a way for your products to be competitive in the Amazon marketplace. All it takes is the will to do better and the know-how to do so efficiently. The only difference between the Olympics and selling on Amazon is the prize. An Olympic athlete can win a medal. You can win a more secure financial future for yourself for the remainder of the year 2020 and beyond.
Ou guest contributor
Jayce is the managing director of Seller Interactive, an Amazon full-service marketing agency dedicated to helping brands grow on Amazon. His content marketing expertise has led him to work with brands such as Toyota and GoDaddy, producing content that reached over 20M views in a month. He is on a journey to help D2C brands scale their business on Amazon.