Step by Step Guide To Amazon SEO And Cracking The A9 Algorithm

Starting a business is usually not so difficult. If you’re resourceful, you can find almost any information you need on the internet. However, after starting, the real work lies in scaling your business. If you intend to sell online, Amazon to be precise, visibility will be a major determinant of how much sales you’ll make.

Amazon is the largest online marketplace with an over 50% stake in the eCommerce market. According to a 2019 report, the platform has helped over 140,000 third-party sellers to exceed $100,000 in their annual sales.

Last year almost 1,29,528 new sellers joined Amazon. With these many sellers selling their product, how does Amazon ranks the products? Just like Google, Amazon uses its own algorithm called A9 to rank products on its platform. Amazon SEO is important if you want to get the algorithm on your side. In this post, we’ll tell you how Amazon SEO works.

There’s a lot of information, so to ensure we touch on every area, we have split this post into two parts. In this section, we’ll tell you:

• What is Amazon SEO?
• What is the similarity and difference between Amazon SEO and Google SEO?
• What is the A9 algorithm used by Amazon and how does it work?

If you would like to learn how to improve, measure and report your Amazon SEO, check out the next part here.

Ready to begin your journey to learning about Amazon SEO? Let’s get right into it!

What Is Amazon SEO?

You may have heard of Google SEO which is a process through which Google optimizes websites to rank on search results. Similarly, Amazon SEO is the process of optimizing your product listing to rank higher on Amazon search results. Like Google, Amazon SEO involves optimizing product listings using keywords that customers are like to use when searching for products. Amazon uses its A9 algorithm to decide which relevant products should appear in search results.

Similarities and Differences Between Amazon SEO and Google SEO?

Similarities

• Both search engines rank search results using keywords.
• The higher your ranking on either search engine, the more sales or traffic you will get.
• Amazon and Google search result pages include both organic and paid results.
• Like Google, Amazon search engine optimization takes time and needs to be constantly updated.

Differences

• The main difference is that Google is a universal search engine but Amazon is a product-based search engine.
• Google considers external linking factors to rank a website, whereas Amazon mostly focuses on keywords optimization. In other words, Amazon does not allow sellers to externally link to other websites from the product listing.
• Unlike Google, Amazon’s search engine algorithm is designed for selling products. So, rankings on Amazon are dependent on the sales volume but Google’s ranking factor depends on the number of clicks.

Related: The Amazon Buy Box and how it works

What Is Amazon’s A9 Algorithm And How Does It Work?

Amazon’s algorithm is called A9. The A9 algorithm is programmed to help customers find the most relevant products quickly.  Also, the algorithm uses keywords and sales volume to rank the most relevant products for the customers. Here is some example of metrics used by the A9 algorithm.

• Click to sales rate (CTS)-  The click to sales rate is the number of people who bought your product after clicking the product link. The higher your CTS rate, the higher your rankings go.
• Sales page content- Sales page content is where you put your target keywords to make the algorithm understand more about your product.

How Does Amazon’s A9 Algorithm Work?

Amazon’s A9 algorithm considers multiple parameters to calculate the ranking. No one knows what criteria Amazon uses to rank products but here are a few factors that we think matter.

• Product’s relevancy to the keyword or search term entered by customers.
• Sales volume of the products.
• Preferences and behavior of previous customers.

Whenever a customer performs any search on Amazon, the A9 algorithm automatically combines various factors to show products that are most important and most relevant in no time.

The algorithm is based on two factors: performance and relevance. What that means is, a product with high sales volume and better optimization with keywords will rank higher.

The sellers who are able to generate more sales on Amazon are able to rank their products higher on search rank. So in order to make more sales, you need to optimize your product listing and make use of sponsored ads to beat the competition.

Related: Amazon product research

Amazon Ranking Factors

Here is a list of ranking factors used by Amazon based on Product’s relevancy, Sales volume or conversion, and Customer behavior.

Product’s Relevancy

Product Title: The product title should be short but descriptive and should contain the target keyword. If your product title is good, it will definitely increase your conversion rate.

Keywords: Make a list of all relevant keywords, then include them in your product titles and description. Amazon also allows sellers to add “hidden” keywords on the backend. How to find relevant keywords? Keep reading and we’ll show you how.

Product Description: Amazon’s A9 algorithm considers and prioritizes the products based on the most relevant and optimized product description. Make your descriptions short but clear. Provide sufficient information and use keywords in a coherent manner. Also, include product images in your descriptions.

Bullet Points: Use bullet points in your product descriptions when listing your product features or benefits. You can also use bullet points in the “About the product” section. It will be helpful both for your customers and Amazon SEO as well.

Specifications: In the specifications section, you have to add more details about the product like the product’s size, weight, color, etc.

Sales Volume or Conversion

Amazon’s Best Seller Rank: Amazon gives a seller rank to its product based on sales volume. More sales result in a higher Best Seller Ranking, Hence, this is a very important ranking factor.

Reviews: This is another important factor. Customer reviews and positive feedback, and good ratings definitely improve your product’s ranking on Amazon.

Answers to questions: Answered questions not only improve your ranking but also play a good part in your conversions.

Image: You should add multiple high-quality images of a minimum of 1,000 X 1,000 pixels. Completing these details will help you improve your sales volume and optimize for Amazon SEO.

Product Price: Your product’s price can directly impact your sales performance. You should always set the price that is competitive and best both for you and your customers as well.

Check out this post for more information on these terms.

Customer Behaviour

Negative Feedback: Too much negative feedback and bad reviews may harm your business. For the most part, your sales and conversion rate will suffer.

Speed of order processing: Customers like to get their products fast, so to be successful you need to process orders speedily. If you have taken the Amazon FBA model then you do not have to worry about this as Amazon takes care of it and does the best for its customers.

Product Availability: Yes, your product’s in-stock history will also affect your ranking. Always be prepared and keep an eye on how fast your product is selling and when you have to source your products again.

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Conclusion

A large part of Amazon SEO depends on your listings and keywords. Hence, keyword research and listing optimization are essential processes if you want to ace your Amazon SEO game. However, these are complex processes that most sellers struggle with. If you’re one of those who has very little idea of how these processes work, you don’t have to worry, you can automate them.

ZonBase is the best Amazon software for sellers who want to discover relevant keywords and create well-optimized listings. The software offers a set of 13 tools (Research and listing tools are at its core). Its set of keyword research tools will help you generate relevant keywords for your Amazon SEO. You can then proceed to include these keywords in your listings for better conversions. If you struggle with listing creation and optimization, you can use ZonBase’s listing tools for that. The tools help you create your listings taking cues from your competitors’ listings (titles, descriptions, and keywords). If you want, you can even outsource your listing creation and optimization to a professional team for better results.

The software is available at a pocket-friendly price and there are two plans available. If you want to try it out before making an investment, sign up for a 7-day free trial. Stop dillydallying, get the software and improve your SEO game today.