When we talk about SEO, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Google and the known and unknown ranking factors are probably the ones that scare marketers. Each update to Google’s SEO algorithm is a heart test for everyone in the market, but rest assured that we are talking about another type of SEO. This article will talk about the Amazon ranking algorithm or Amazon product ranking algorithm.
According to a survey by the website e-marketer, 65% of transactional searches in the United States begin on Amazon, a trend that is also expected to reach the US market. This trend consists of users using the most varied e-commerce platforms as starting points in their purchasing journey.
The first signs appear in a survey carried out by Conversion on the state of US e-commerce, in which 43% of all accesses to the largest e-commerce platforms in the US came from direct traffic, that is, the user entered the retailer’s website directly, without going through Google.
To play the game on these platforms, you need to know which factors are taken into account when displaying one product in relation to another. In this article, we will explore the main factors for appearing on the first pages of Amazon.
The exercise we will do with Amazon can be a way to see other platforms, as Amazon’s SEO has been studied for much longer in the American market. We still have little information about platform factors, but I would not be surprised if a large part of the algorithms of the e-commerce platforms we see here have drunk from the source of the American giant.
Difference Between Google and Amazon SEO
1. User Intent
The intention of a Google and Amazon user are very different, so let’s exercise to understand why a user enters the Google or Amazon website and how each of these companies should present the best result for a search.
A Google search can be very broad, including recipes, addresses, products, etc. In the end, Google needs to answer the user’s question.
Amazon is a place that brings together buyers and sellers. As a business model, the company makes money from a commission on each sale or by reselling products directly to the end customer. That said, Amazon’s goal is to deliver the product with the highest probability of sale for a given search.
2. Relevance
That said, both algorithms need metrics to determine the relevance of search results. How do you measure the satisfaction of the person searching for something to deliver exactly what they want?
Google defines relevance based on (several) metrics, some examples are engagement metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), behaviors on the site, such as bounce rate, time on the site, links pointing to that page or site, etc.
Amazon considers factors such as a product’s conversion rate for the given search term and total sales, among several others that we will explore later.
In the end, Amazon’s algorithm seeks to satisfy both sides of its business: for the seller, that their product is sold, and for the buyer, to deliver the product that best meets their need. In short, it seeks to deliver the product most likely to be sold for a given search. Amazon ranking factors are divided into content, performance, and indirect factors.
Performance Metrics
1. CTR
The click-through rate is the first indication that the search result was interesting to the person searching. To increase the click-through rate, you need to pay close attention to the product images, title, description and reviews.
Product conversion rate:
What better metric for an e-commerce to measure how accurate a search result was than the conversion rate?
Conversion rate refers to the number of sales a product has had in relation to how many times it has been clicked. Conversion rate is a quality metric for the algorithm, the measure that provides which product is most effective when placed in front of the user. Factors that influence conversion rate: price, product title, reviews, product description, delivery time.
2. Sales speed
The algorithm looks at a quantity metric in addition to a quality metric (conversion rate). What’s the point of having a 100% conversion rate if there is only one sale per year?
Amazon seeks a balance between quality and volume, and to achieve this, it considers the total sales volume of the product for a given search. The period in which the algorithm looks at this sales velocity is not very clear, but most sellers believe it is a week or a month.
The main trigger for increasing sales speed is increasing investment in Amazon ads, the advertising platform within the Amazon website. By increasing ad spend, the brand will be placed in front of new customers, increasing search coverage, clicks, and product sales.
3. Price
The price of the product will influence your product’s competitiveness compared to competitors. Among the factors already mentioned, the price influences the conversion rate and the speed of sales.
Suppose your products are sold at higher prices than products in the category. In that case, this will likely result in a lower conversion rate and sales velocity than your competitors, resulting in weaker organic rankings for your products.
Here, it is essential to understand the profit margin issue linked to how much this influences the product’s position in the category, seeking to understand the elasticity of this price.
Content
1. Keywords
Customers need to find your product before they can buy it, and the main way to find your product is through a search. This search occurs when the customer types in a search term that best defines what they are looking for. Amazon’s algorithm first matches which products have the search term in their title, description, or any content on the listing page.
New algorithm updates understand word variations and synonyms, but it is important to use all available space on the product page to fill it with keywords and information relevant to the user.
Keyword Tips
- Notice the autocomplete in the Amazon search bar;
- What keywords do your competitors use in their titles and descriptions?
- Which keywords are most purchased on Amazon ads?
- Bring in historical data from other platforms like Google or Bing.
2. Product image
A picture is worth a thousand words and in the case of Amazon, a few hundred million or perhaps billions of reais. The image is probably the most relevant factor influencing the click-through rate, so here are some tips:
- The image must contain only the product, without accessories and complements;
- The image background must be white;
- The main image cannot contain animations, text or illustrations;
- One tip is to make the image large enough for the customer to be able to zoom in;
- Adding more images can give the user more confidence by giving them the chance to see different uses or angles.
3. Product title
The product title influences factors such as click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate, and can also help inform the buyer in their decision-making process. Here are some tips on how to optimize your product title:
- Use the brand name;
- Describe the features of your product;
- Make room for your product’s value proposition;
- Mention your product attributes like size, color, quantity and ingredients.
4. Product Description
The product description should help the user make a purchasing decision and at the same time help convince the user to buy your product. The description impacts your conversion rate, so here are some tips:
- Provide as much information as possible about your product;
- Use of storytelling;
- List the benefits of the product in a way that is easy to scan;
- Avoid repeating the same information from the title unless it provides additional information.
5. Reviews
Amazon was a pioneer in adding reviews to its website after understanding the importance of users finding experiences that other buyers had with the product in question. Reviews influence the purchasing decision, and therefore affect sales speed, conversion rate and click-through rate.
The algorithm looks at two dimensions when looking at reviews:
- Number of reviews;
- Quality of reviews.
The company uses machine learning algorithms to identify the content of reviews, identifying attempts at fake testimonials and click farming. It seems that the quality of reviews matters more than the quantity.
Indirect factors
1. External traffic
Links pointing to your product are a sign of authority and trust, which is why Amazon considers external traffic a positive thing. Although the weight given to external traffic is less than the other factors mentioned, links can greatly help in competitive scenarios.
The company has even launched an Amazon Attribution platform that helps brands better measure the performance of external traffic sources such as Google and Facebook. The platform is still in Beta, and it is not expected to arrive in the US.
2. Seller authority
Factors such as customer feedback, product returns, and complaints, among others, are analyzed to try to understand what experience the seller is providing to buyers.
The importance of advertising
Proactive actions by sellers can influence some of the abovementioned factors, but others cannot.
This is because, unlike Google, organic positioning can be influenced by ad spending. Each real invested in advertising has the capacity to increase the organic rankings of that product by influencing ranking factors such as sales speed. The product will be in front of new consumers, generating new sales and showing Amazon how relevant it is to appear in the top positions organically.
Investing in advertising on platforms like Amazon will be increasingly necessary, as capturing demand with ads helps with total organic product sales in the long term.
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