The Ultimate Amazon SEO Guide
Your Amazon search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can make or break your content. Luckily, we’re here to help you navigate the basics so you can make your keywords work smarter, not harder.
Does SEO matter on Amazon?
YES! With new sellers and products being added to the eCommerce marketplace every day, a content strategy that focuses on SEO helps your product pages stand out from the competition and be found by Amazon’s internal algorithm. Optimizing your Amazon listings helps improve product and brand visibility, drive more traffic to your listings, and generate more product sales.
This Ultimate Amazon SEO Guide will cover everything you need to know to take your content to the next level.
Table of Contents
- What is Amazon SEO?
- Amazon SEO vs. Google SEO
- How to Improve Amazon SEO
What is Amazon SEO?
The Amazon Algorithm
Amazon’s search is intended to sell and product ranking is used to capitalize on the profits generated from those sales. The Amazon search algorithm is dependent on two factors:
- Performance: Performance factors reflect the success and popularity of a product among customer purchases; the key metrics that contribute to these factors include the overall sales, click-through-rate (CTR) and conversion rate.
- Relevance: Relevance factors indicate the relevancy of the products to the keywords used in the search query. Relevance factors are measured by search relevance, keyword positioning and keyword usage.
There is no instant-fix for improving search rank. The algorithm is constantly changing and requires consistent keyword research and strategy. However, maintaining a general understanding of the basic function of the Amazon algorithm is the first step to successful optimization. You can include keyword data in the following locations:
- Titles
- Bullet Points
- Product Description
- A+ Content
- Backend Keywords
- Advertising
What is the Difference between Amazon SEO and Google SEO?
Google SEO
Several factors go into Google SEO. Google verifies content by taking all external links, internal links, images, and metadata into account. User searches on Google tend to be more broad and learning-based, with some people even using full sentences or questions. As a result, Google places a higher emphasis on long-tail keywords. But the contextual relevance of those long-tail keywords is also important.
Amazon SEO
Amazon determines search rank based on a variety of factors such as relevancy, detail page completeness, price, ratings, and more. Relevancy is heavily dependent on SEO strategy as keywords carry more weight on Amazon than they do on Google. Long-tail keywords can be useful in unique cases, however, utilizing category research and keyword insights to target short-tail keywords is an essential step in the process. According to eMarketer, Nearly half (46.7%) of US internet users started product searches on Amazon compared with 34.6% who went to Google first. Amazon is no longer just a channel to buy everyday essentials, but also for research and discovery – consumers are using Amazon as their product search engine.
Amazon places a stronger emphasis on each individual word rather than keyword phrases, as Amazon users tend to have more specific queries. As you craft your keyword strategy, consider the indexing priority. First and foremost, prioritize your keyword placement in order of importance:
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- Title: Most important keywords
- Bullets: 2nd-tier keywords
- Product Description & Back-End Keywords: 3rd-tier keyword
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Incorporating SEO into Content
Understanding the difference between content optimization and SEO may be the difference between your content flourishing or flopping. Focusing on SEO alone neglects other factors that impact Amazon’s A9 algorithm. Learn how to implement an effective keyword strategy while also appealing to customers.
Amazon SEO Checklist
- Keywords
- Product images
- Product titles
- Product pricing
- Product descriptions
- Key features (bullet points)
- Backend search keywords
The Amazon platform has conditioned shoppers to find what they are looking for within the first page or two of search results. Aside from sponsored products, that leaves only about twenty opportunities to rank on the first page of the search results depending on the category. There are many tools available for researching relevant keywords that offer a report of the most commonly searched terms surrounding a specific keyword. Using these resources for the initial keyword research will help you better understand the types of keywords associated with the product you are listing.
Amazon has not only become one of the largest e-commerce platforms, but it has also evolved into a fully functional search engine. Consumers go to Amazon looking for a category of product, and often use long-tailed search terms if they aren’t looking for a specific product or brand. Long-tailed keywords are search terms that include more than just the product term.
We’ve helped large and small brands achieve major successes throughout these last few difficult years, and we look forward to continuing that success in the future. From PDP optimizations to advanced advertising using DSP, we’ve been pushing retail media advertising to its limits to meet eCommerce trends and ensure major successes for our Brand Partners.
From our Denver-based headquarters, and with offices worldwide, Macarta is a global full-service marketplace agency specializing in retail media to drive growth and sustained success for our brand partners. Reach out to us here, and let’s get started!