Optimizing Amazon Listing - With These Effective Tips for a Successful Amazon Appearance

1. Listings on the Amazon Marketplace
2. Why is Amazon Listing Optimization so important and what role does SEO play in Amazon Listing Optimization?
3. What are the benefits of Amazon Listing Optimization and what goal is pursued?
4. Which aspects need to be considered in optimizing the Amazon listing?
5. Tools to optimize your Amazon SEO content
6. Conclusion: 8 steps to optimize your Amazon listing

Amazon PPC Advertising is becoming an increasingly sought-after discipline in e-commerce, which can scale revenues on the world's most significant online marketplace at an unbelievably rapid pace with professional support. Entire brands owe their growth to the use of keywords, bids and Amazon PPC campaign constructs. However, a successful Amazon appearance isn't at all to be neglected. Whilst the advertising leads customers to the product detail page, the content of the listing is responsible for converting page visitors into buyers. With the help of Amazon SEO, you can optimize your organic Amazon ranking.

In the following article, guest author Fynn Drees explains which areas of the listing you need to pay attention to during an Amazon PPC Optimization, and how you can optimize your Amazon ranking. Also, we show you helpful Amazon PPC Tools, Lastly, your listing will contribute just like Amazon Advertising to an increase in sales, and you can successfully sell your products on Amazon.

Listings on the Amazon Marketplace

Every product available on Amazon has its own listing on the respective country-specific page of the e-commerce marketplace. A product's listing includes the product detail page, which is the part visible to users in the front end, and the product data in the background, like backend keywords, shipping dimensions, and other back-end visible properties. For ideal product performance, all parts must be well maintained to provide information and shipping information.

While you can access the backend area via your Seller Central or Vendor Central login, you can reach a product detail page of a product by entering a search term in the Amazon search bar and then clicking on one of the search results. If you want to call up a product for which you have the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), you can call up the product detail page through the URL amazon.de/dp/ASIN. You can also reach the product detail page independently of Amazon via search engines like Google.

The product detail page consists of title, brand line, product images, price and offers, variants, bullet points, product information, and A+ content. But also, the Q&A and the review area are on the product detail page. In addition, there are numerous places for other products such as "often bought together", "customers who viewed this item also viewed" or sponsored product ads. Some frontend data and the backend data can either be maintained directly in the Amazon product catalog, via special Excel sheets or third-party software like ChannelEngine or TRADEBYTE.

Difference Desktop vs. Mobile

The listing on Amazon differs between the desktop version and the mobile version in several aspects. For one, the arrangement of the individual modules is different between the desktop and the mobile version. In the mobile version, the A+ content is displayed further up and thus plays a more significant role in the mobile shopping experience. Therefore, you must not only attach great importance to strong and precise content in text form but also place a lot of value on the selection of images to optimally address shoppers on all devices. Also, not all parts of the bullet points are directly displayed, so that some must first be unfolded.

Therefore, it is advisable to put the most important information in the first two to three bullet points. However, also logical consequences of mobile use like a smaller display of images should be urgently considered when it comes to an ideal product detail page in both versions.

Why is Amazon Listing Optimization so important and what role does SEO play in Amazon Listing Optimization?

For brands that want to sell successfully on Amazon, several aspects are in focus. Firstly, the own brand must be presented to the customers in such a way that they build a connection with the brand and increase brand awareness. This is important to keep new customers with the brand and optimize the relationship between the customers and the brand manufacturer.

On the other hand, the optimization of the Amazon listing is important to increase the findability of the product. The keywords contained in parts of the listings are relevant for the Amazon search. Without an optimal listing, products become almost invisible to the relevant target group. A product can then have outstanding properties, an attractive price, and great production conditions - but without an optimized Amazon listing with well-researched keywords, it is all in vain.

In optimizing Amazon listings, search engine optimization (SEO) thus plays a crucial role since it is responsible for getting interested customers to the product detail page.

What are the benefits of Amazon Listing Optimization and what goal is pursued?

Amazon listings offer the major advantage that customers receive all-important characteristics of a product and specific product data at a glance. The Amazon listing thus has an essential information function for the customers. However, this information must be ideally represented by thorough market research and correct product details to perform the information function in the fast-paced e-commerce in the shortest possible time.

For the manufacturers, the listing has another advantage: It can go into the entire brand world of the product via features like A+ content or the brand history and the advertising slots contained on the product page.

The main goal for companies is to provide customers with sufficient information to satisfy the buying needs of interested users. Furthermore, a high quality of product listings on Amazon can support far-reaching corporate goals such as branding, reach increase, and customer satisfaction.

Which aspects need to be considered in optimizing the Amazon listing?

1. Optimization of the Amazon product title

The product title is one of the most important components of every Amazon listing. It, along with the main image, makes the first impression, and leads potential buyers from the SERP (Search Engine Result Page) to the product detail page. Amazon has published its guidelines for the different product categories.

As a rule, the Amazon title length may consist of up to 150 bytes (important: not characters), whereby fewer are displayed in the mobile version. Accordingly, the most important information should be placed in the first 60 to 100 bytes so that all viewers in the SRP find the most important key data for a purchase decision beforehand. This includes the brand name, the type of product, and the most important properties.

If the maximum length prescribed in the respective guidelines is exceeded, there may be problems with the indexing of the keywords, and thus also with Amazon keyword optimization.

Structure of the product title

For brand owners, it is advisable to apply a uniform structure of product titles to offer customers the best possible experience and at the same time show professional branding. An example of a title structure is: [Brand/ Manufacturer] + [Series/ Model number] + [Product name] + [Product type] + [Number/ Size/ Color/ Volume, etc.]

Furthermore, the title is indexed for the SRP, so that the product can be found via all the words contained in the title. Therefore, the most important and widespread keywords that fit the product, should be filtered out with a thorough keyword research and integrated into the title. If you take into account all points, you can optimize Amazon product titles effortlessly, and in this way, improve your Amazon listing.

2. Optimization of bullet points

The bullet points are the list points on the Amazon product detail page. With few exceptions, up to five bullet points can be added to every product. The Amazon bullet points are text-based and relevant for the Amazon search, and bundle the most important information about the product. All keywords contained in the bullet points are indexed in the Amazon search. They thus have a significant influence on the visibility and the performance of products.

Structure of bullet points

Amazon bullet points are limited to 1000 characters, though it is recommended to use a maximum of 200 characters per bullet point. The bullet points should be clearly structured and contain information about both the product and the brand. The bullet points should contain the most important keywords and a product description that provides potential customers with the most important information about the product. The target group, materials, special ingredients, and other product data can also be picked up here.

The Thermos brand optimally uses the five bullet points and adheres to the maximum number of characters

3. Optimization of backend keywords

The backend keywords are also relevant for the search results, as all the terms contained here are indexed. However, the difference to bullet points and product title is that the terms from the Amazon backend are not visible to viewers. Therefore, it can also contain synonyms, typos, and terms that do not fit into the normal wording of the product detail page. The backend keywords can have a length of up to 250 bytes.

Special events such as Christmas, Easter, etc. can also be indicated in the backend keywords, should this find no place in the other areas of the product detail page. Important: The backend keywords may not contain any protected brand terms of other manufacturers. This is not permitted and is punished by Amazon's algorithm.

4. Optimization of the Amazon product description

Unlike the Amazon product name, the Amazon bullet points, and the backend keywords, the contents in the product description are only partly indexed. Here, it is mainly the long-tail keywords, i.e., keywords consisting of several words, which have a (low) influence on the findability in the product search. In the product description, more detailed descriptions of the products can be created, which are displayed in a text below each other. The product description is losing more and more relevance, as it is replaced by the A+ content if available, and thus is no longer displayed to users on the product detail page.

5. Optimization of product images

Pictures famously say more than a thousand words. It's not quite so drastic with Amazon product listings, though the importance of product images is steadily increasing. A total of four to six additional product images can be submitted to the main image. In addition to simple images of the product, lifestyle images are also possible, which provide additional atmosphere and support the imagination of the customers.

The images, next to the product title, give the first impression that users get from a product. They thus have a very different meaning from the product description, bullet points, or A+ content, as they are responsible for getting potential buyers to click on your products. But they also play a crucial role in the purchase decision, as they represent properties that either support the text or can't be reproduced in text form. These include, for example, packaging contents, which give an insight into the supplied accessories.

In particular, due to the increasing number of mobile users, the relevance of product images is also increasing, since these are displayed in the mobile version before the description text. With additionally added text and hint symbols (arrows, diagrams, etc.), the product images can create a very high visual added value. Especially important: In addition to the product images, a product video can also be added. You should definitely use this slot for a complete and professional Amazon appearance. All in all, the product images are often only optimized incidentally, as there are a lack of resources and the usefulness is difficult to measure. However, the effect on branding and performance is very high.

Optimum use of product images by the Snocks brand

6. Optimization of A+ content and the brand history

The A+ content is the extension of the product description and replaces this section on the product detail page. Apart from text content not relevant for the Amazon product search, images, and logos can also be inserted in the A+ content through various predetermined modules. The A+ content is available for all sellers and vendors with a registered brand and can be created at ASIN level.

The A+ content can take your brand and product to a new level with vivid and emotional content, and thereby set you apart from the competition. Particularly interesting is the possibility of integrating a comparison table, with which you can show page visitors other products from your product portfolio. Also here, the contents are particularly relevant for mobile users, as they are displayed at a prominent position. So, when designing the A+ content, make sure that the contents are optimized for both the mobile and the desktop view.

In addition to the A+ content, there is also the possibility to create a brand story for some time now. This leads to a successful implementation for a uniform brand appearance and thus, particularly strengthens branding. The brand story is also a prerequisite for the creation of A+ premium content for sellers.

The A+ premium content, previously only available for vendors for additional costs, can now also be used by sellers. The premium A+ content provides additional modules that look more professional and high-quality and support, for example, the option of integrating videos. However, this option is only activated when all ASINs from the product catalog contain a brand story and at least 15 standard A+ contents are available for your brand.

The HAMMER brand uses the brand story to give potential customers insights into the company

7. Optimization of the product page by placing advertising

Also with the help of Amazon Ads the product page can be optimized. By running Sponsored Products PAT campaigns or Sponsored Display campaigns, you can advertise your products mutually on your product pages. Thus, on the one hand, you can prevent direct competition from asserting visibility of your customers and potential buyers on your product pages, on the other hand, you strengthen your branding and can show a more comprehensive part of your product portfolio. This leads to the fact that Your brand can grow with Amazon Advertising. Even though placing advertising on Amazon is chargeable, using Amazon PPC campaigns for optimizing your product pages is part of it.

The Söll brand protects its own product page from attacks from competitors by placing advertising for own products

Tools to optimize your Amazon SEO content

There are several helpful tools to optimize the content of your products on Amazon. With AMALYZE and Jungle Scout you can rely on the concentrated competence and experience of external service providers, use Amazon's own analysis tool, Brand Analytics.

Amalyze delivers numerous analysis options through which you can carry out a professional keyword research. The range of functions from Amalyze is leading in the Amazon sector when it comes to optimizing listings on Amazon. The various possibilities outside the content optimization also ensure that Amalyze is an absolute must-have in the Amazon business.

The Amalyze tool is one of the strongest tools in the area of optimizing Amazon listings

The browser extensions of Jungle Scout and Helium 10 help you view the market and the competition and carry out extensive analyses, besides researching best practice-cases in the content area. With these analyses, you can look at which products work particularly well in the market and use these pages as a guide for optimizing your own products. Jungle Scout and Helium 10 are also optimal tools to optimize your Amazon PPC campaigns.

Amazon Brand Analytics provides brand owners with a comprehensive data base, with which top keywords and bestseller products can be filtered out. Arbitrary time periods can be selected, so that the data can also be evaluated for different seasonalities or events. Brand Analytics is free for sellers and vendors, only a registered trademark must be present.

Conclusion: 8 steps to optimize your Amazon listing

This checklist gives you questions at hand, with which you can optimize your Amazon listing. If all questions are answered with "yes", your Amazon listing is well prepared and should generate more visibility, traffic and sales in addition to.

1. Carry out a professional keyword research to integrate all relevant search terms into your Amazon product optimization.
2. Check the guidelines and style guides of Amazon regarding title length and wording for your Amazon keyword optimization.
3. Check whether the most relevant keywords are contained in the product title.
4. Check whether all content elements are optimized for both the desktop version and the mobile version.
5. Use all slots for product photos and product videos, for Amazon listing optimization.
6. Check whether the bullet points contain meaningful content and cover the most important keywords.
7. Create a brand story to improve your branding.
8. Use A+ content to be able to optimize your presence on Amazon.

Provided you have internalized the tips in this article and optimized your product listings on Amazon, nothing stands in the way of a successful Amazon appearance. You want to get the top placements in your Amazon category? Then combine your Amazon SEO with Amazon PPC Advertising to improve your product ranking and reach the peak positions in the fiercely competitive Amazon business.