Let’s now look at the practical side of boosting Amazon Product Listing traffic via an effective Amazon SEO Strategy (more about our Amazon SEO Services). Amazon uses its A9 algorithm to determine which products to surface (and in which ranking order) in response to search queries shoppers type into the Amazon search bar. More on this topic in this article on the Amazon A9 algorithm.
In this post we dissect the mechanics behind Amazon’s search algorithm and share nine critical steps that you should complete as part of your Amazon SEO strategy. Following this SEO step by step guide will help you get your product listings to the top of the Amazon search results. If Amazon search engine optimization is a topic you are not yet that familiar with, we recommend that you check out our related blog post on this topic (What is Amazon SEO?).
Article Contents
TL;DR: 9 Steps to Optimize Your Product Listings to grow Amazon Search Results
For those of you who are looking for straight answers, here is a list of the seven steps you need to follow to optimize your listing pages:
Keyword Research: Identify high-volume, relevant keywords to target.
Effective Copywriting: How to meet the needs of Amazon’s A9 algorithm (include keywords), while maintaining good readability for humans.
Backend Keywords: Add hidden search terms to your Amazon product listings to improve discoverability.
Image Optimization: Ensure high-quality images to attract clicks, use infographics to explain features.
A+ Content: Use enhanced visuals and branding for improve conversion rates.
Leverage Amazon PPC to Boost Your SEO Efforts: While there is no direct link between SEO and PPC, there is an indirect one: sales conversions are an important ranking factor of the A9 algorithm. Thus driving sales via PPC ads will indirectly benefit your SEO efforts (How Amazon SEO and PPC interact).
External Traffic: How to use External Traffic to Support Amazon SEO – Same logic applies, selling more generally gives you a leg up in the SEO game.
User Reviews: Providing a Superior Customer Experience is key and customer reviews impact your conversion rates. Another factor that you need to consider in your Amazon SEO strategy.
Now let’s break all these steps down in more detail.
Keyword Research for Amazon SEO Optimization – What is it and How to Do It?
The first step on your SEO roadmap is keyword research – always. Keywords are the foundation of almost any type of SEO. If you don’t even know what search terms you’re trying to rank for, the rest of the strategy doesn’t matter. To conduct keyword research, you can pick from a number of popular keyword research tools, or use the Seller Central Amazon Ads platform. If you are already selling on Amazon, reviewing keywords, or more specifically search terms that you product listings already rank for, and then optimizing these is the most promising strategy. We explain how to to this in this article on Amazon Search Term Optimization.
Popular Amazon SEO Keyword Research Tools
Popular keyword research tools are provided by popular Amazon marketing tools, such as Helium 10’s Keyword Research Tool, or Jungle Scout’s Keyword Scout. You can even use the Google Ads Keyword Planner to get an idea as to what keywords may be worth targeting (although search behavior on Google is of course not perfectly correlated with search behavior on Amazon). Our favorite tool for Amazon keyword research: Sellersprite. Sellersprite’s pricing is more competitive than that of most of its peers while offering the same (if not better) functionality. For any number of keywords, these tools provide you with tons of statistics, such as search volumes, competitiveness of a given keyword, number of competing ASINs and so on.
To get a full overview of your options, check out this in-depth article on Amazon SEO Tools. Get a keyword research tool, and spend time coming up with a full list of keywords for your product.
If you just want to get a first idea as to what keywords may be relevant for your products, start by getting ideas from the Amazon search bar. Type in so-called root keywords and let the Amazon auto-complete feature do its magic: It will suggest other, popular search queries related to your search term.
Reverse ASIN Keyword Lookup to Boost your Amazon SEO Strategy
If keyword research is entirely new to you, you may still be wondering what I am talking about. How on earth are you supposed to know just WHERE to get started?
Point taken! Let me share another, very effective and time-saving approach to conducting Amazon keyword research: Reverse ASIN keyword lookup. This term describes the process of researching keywords that your competitors’ product listings already rank for. This allows you to reverse-engineer their SEO keyword strategy. All the popular keyword tools listed above have such a reverse ASIN lookup feature (see below).
We highly suggest that you test this approach. Start by searching for a broad but relevant keyword that describes your product (i.e. “electronic toothbrush” if that is what you are selling), see which products show up in the Amazon search results, then copy their ASINs (you can find that on the product detail page) and then research which keywords these ASINs rank for. This will help you identify so-called long-tail keywords (the holy grail of keyword research).
Long-Tail Keywords vs Short-Tail Keywords
One note on keyword research is to understand long and short-tail keywords. You’re going to find some keywords that are short and broad. For example, “pillow” or “backpack”.
These generally have a lot of search volume. However, they’re not very focused. If someone searches for “backpack”, there are a lot of different types of products they could be looking for.
On the other end, you’ve got long-tail keywords. These are longer search terms, with multiple words. Examples could be “hiking backpack with water bladder” or “pillow standard size set of 4”. These keywords tend to have fewer people searching for them. But they’re much more focused, and generally much more likely to lead to a sale.
Don’t get caught up in looking at search volume alone when judging the most important keywords for your product listing. You may get in front of more people by ranking for a short-tail, high-volume keyword. But these people are not as far along in the purchasing journey and are often not ready to buy right away.
You will likely generate more sales by focusing your SEO efforts on long-tail keywords with less search volume but more focused intent.
Why it is Important to Prioritize Long-Tail Keywords
To recap this section: There are two steps to successful keyword research: First, come up with a few keywords that will be your core keywords. These are the most relevant keywords, with the highest search volume. You’ll put more effort into ranking for these keywords, because they have the highest sales potential, should you get your product listing to rank.
Second, find as many relevant keywords as possible and focus on long-tail keywords that you can rank for easier, as they are less competitive. The reason therefore is that, for most queries, the first three search results account for around 60-70% of all clicks. So in other words, just like at the Olympics, finishing 4th is really unfortunate when it comes to SEO. You really want to break into the top rankings to ensure that your product listings do get clicks (and subsequently sales).
So, most products have a huge number of search terms that shoppers might use to find them, focusing on those that you can “win” is the backbone of a successful Amazon SEO strategy. The more of these search terms you can show up for in high positions, the more searches your product will show for, and the more you will eventually sell.
Listing Title and Bullet Point Optimization for Amazon SEO
The next step is to place the keywords you’ve found in your product listing. The above is a good example of using keywords naturally. Notice the variations and different long-tail versions of the main keyword.
There’s an art to doing this effectively. You’ll have a large list of relevant keywords, and only so much real estate to use them. You have to balance keyword inclusion with writing your product listing to maximize conversion rate as well. Which means your product listing has to read well, and the keywords should feel natural. Keyword stuffing will just turn away potential customers.
It’s also important here to prioritize the most important keywords in the most important areas.
Optimizing Amazon Product Titles
Your product title is the top spot. This is where you’ve got the least room, and where the most important keywords should go.
You’ve got more of a chance of ranking and getting click-throughs if the keyword is in your product title. So reserve this space for 2-3 keywords that are super-relevant and that have the most search volume. Writing highly effective product listing titles is probably the most important component of Amazon SEO strategy. After this, add keywords to your bullet points and product description. Bullet point copy is also critical for keyword optimization.
Amazon Bullet Points: Include Synonyms and Usage Scenarios
Your listing bullet points are a good place to start adding long-tail keywords. Fill your bullet points with specific use cases for your product, which generally have high search intent. “Running shoes for _____”, for example.
Try to include as many keyword variations in the bullet points, while keeping it brief and readable. Amazon only indexes the first 1000 bytes (characters + spaces) in the bullet points, so if you go overboard, the algorithm will just ignore the excess.
Pro tip: While most Amazon Sellers think of all relevant product description variations many forget including product usage scenarios when crafting their Amazon SEO strategy. However, when users search for products, they often think of them in a specific context. “Charcoal BBQ” is very different from “Charcoal BBQ for camping”. The later product needs to be light, easy to assemble etc. If you sell barbecues that are ideal for camping, then consider this when writing your bullet point copy. Keywords and user intent go hand in hand and understanding how your customers use your product is key, because it provides you with the reason why they chose your products over competitors’ products.
Adding Keywords to the Backend
Lastly, you can also add keywords to the backend of your Amazon Listing. Include all your most important (i.e. commercially viable) keywords here. These keywords are not visible to shoppers, but to the A9 algorithm.
Conversion-Optimized Copywriting is Key to Amazon SEO Strategy
Amazon SEO strategy is all about satisfying the algorithm. But Amazon doesn’t want product listings that are written for an algorithm. They want product listings written for humans, because Amazon customers are humans.
The algorithm takes conversion rates into account for rankings, so craft your listing with human readers in mind, because ultimately only that will maximize conversion rates.
While conversion rate may be important for Amazon SEO, it’s also important for your business in general. Higher conversion rate equals more sales.
Copywriting, product images, and pricing are three key parts of your product listing to focus on here.
The Secret to Effective Amazon SEO Copywriting
Many Amazon product descriptions are, truthfully, quite awful from a copywriting perspective. They’re focused only on keywords and are hard to read. They also talk solely about features. Instead, you should, as mentioned above, focus on benefits.
Focus on Product Benefits – not just Features Features explain what a product is or what it does. For example, size, capacity, material, and functionality. Benefits explain what it means for the customer. How the size or capacity helps them. Why that type of material is a good thing. Why a certain functionality is useful.
Benefits help sell the product much better than talking about features. Key product features are still worthwhile to mention, but explain why these features matter. Here are two examples of effective and not-so-effective copy.
The first talks about features – “Velocity Flow Ventilation system”, “NutraFog II anti-fog, anti-scratch and UV-protected shield”. While these lines partly describe benefits, they’re quite cold, and don’t speak directly to the customer.
This example focused more on benefits – what the features mean to the customer. “FOR SMALL & BIG HEADS”, “NO PINCHING”.
How Product Images can help Improve Amazon Conversion Rates
Images can be overlooked when rolling out your Amazon SEO Strategy because they don’t include keywords. But they’re vital for selling the product, which makes them a key part of your Amazon SEO optimization efforts as well.
Use your product images to show your product from different angles, with different uses, and highlighting key features using infographics.
High-quality images are important, showing your product off in its best light.
Give potential buyers as much information as possible to convince them to make a purchase. Product images can oftentimes communicate more than product titles, product descriptions, and bullet points.
Amazon Product Image Optimization Tips
Use high-resolution images (at least 1000 x 1000 pixels)
Include lifestyle images to showcase product use
Ensure compliance with Amazon’s image requirements (e.g., white background for the main image)
Pricing – The Importance of Finding the Sweet Spot
Consider your pricing here too. Again, you might not think of this as relevant to grow Amazon search results, but it plays a part.
The right price point will help maximize conversions. You don’t want to be too high, or too low, compared to the competition.
Amazon’s algorithm also wants to see competitive pricing. Amazon wants to be known as a place to find good deals. If your product is way overpriced, they’re less likely to want to recommend it to shoppers. This is where Amazon is different from Google. While the Google algorithm only considers clicks, Amazon goes one step further: Amazon’s ultimate goal is to maximize its own revenue and that is tied to shoppers buying products. Thus, while clicks are great, sales are king! Pricing is ultimately a key factor that impacts sales. So while your product pricing does not directly impact your Amazon SEO activities, it does impact it very much indirectly by skewing your conversion rates. Thus finding a sweet spot where you can optimize your product listing traffic and conversion rate to maximize PROFIT is key.
Other Steps to Boost Product Listing Conversion Rate
There are a few other things you can do to get higher conversion rates (alongside writing good copy and having high-quality images on your product detail page).
The Role of CTR and Conversion Rates in Amazon SEO Strategy
Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Conversion Rate (CVR) are two of the most critical factors influencing your product’s ranking on Amazon.
CTR (Click-through-rate): The percentage of users who click on your product after seeing it in search results. Improved titles, images, and competitive pricing can boost CTR.
CVR (Conversion rate): The percentage of users who purchase after clicking on your listing. High-quality images, A+ Content, and strong reviews drive higher CVR.
How Video can help Amazon SEO Efforts
Video, for one, is a great tool to get more conversions. Video content works essentially the same way images do, giving customers a better look at the product, and how to use it.
Many product listings include a video in the image carousel these days, and for good reason – it works to sell the product.
Benefits of A+ Content
A+ Content is another valuable tool to add more to your product descriptions. This feature (formerly known as Enhanced Brand Content), lets you add rich, more detailed content to your product listing. This is great for going in-depth into the differentiating features and benefits of your product, as well as promoting additional products in your line.
Improved Conversions: A+ Content highlights key product features, benefits, and brand storytelling, which helps convert browsers into buyers.
SEO Boost: Higher conversion rates and improved customer satisfaction send positive signals to Amazon’s A9 algorithm, boosting rankings.
Finally, product reviews are crucial for increasing conversion rate, as well as click-through rate from search results.
Why Amazon User Reviews Matter for Amazon SEO
Higher review counts and ratings lead to better conversion rates.
Positive reviews boost customer trust and increase your listing’s competitiveness.
You can have the best copywriting, images, video, etc, but potential buyers still want to see some positive reviews. These reviews are proof that other people have bought the product before and been happy with it.
More reviews help tilt the scale in your favor when it comes to clickthroughs for competitive search terms and help push people over the line after they come through to your product listing.
Leverage Amazon PPC to Boost Your SEO Efforts
Though Amazon SEO is about building organic visibility, Amazon PPC (Amazon PPC Services) still have a place in your strategy.
Remember, it’s important to build a history of sales, to show the search algorithm that people are willing to buy your product. But that creates a circular problem when you’ve just launched your product.
If you’re not showing up in Amazon searches yet, you can’t make any sales. Yet you need sales to start showing up in these searches.
When your product is new, you’ll need to pay to jump the queue. Amazon ads are a great way to do it. You can get your product into the SERP for your targeted search terms, and start building the momentum you need to rank organically.
When this happens, you can start scaling back your Amazon advertising campaigns (Amazon Ads Management Services). But at the start, it will help you break the circular loop that a lot of product listings get stuck in early on.
If you’re new to PPC, or just want help managing your Sponsored Products campaigns (Amazon Product Ads Management), use a tool like our Amazon PPC Software to boost performance. You might also want to consider a managed service from an Amazon PPC Agency to ensure you get optimal results from your ad campaigns.
How to use External Traffic to Support Amazon SEO Activities
Another great way to boost sales velocity early on in your product’s life cycle is with external traffic.
External traffic is traffic you send to your product listing from outside Amazon. This could be from Facebook Ads, Google Ads (Google Ads for Amazon Listings), TikTok, email, or your own website.
It’s basically the same as Amazon PPC. The goal is to be proactive in getting people to buy your product and thus generate the momentum you need to rank. But external traffic may even be more effective for this than Amazon ads.
Sellers have believed for a long time that external traffic sales carry higher weight for rankings. While it’s not possible to get actual data to prove this, many experiments strongly suggest that this is the case.
Use channels outside of Amazon to advertise your product and get people to your product listing. This is almost always a sure bet to boost your Amazon SEO performance.
How High Intent Traffic can Boost Listing Page Conversion Rates
High-level sellers use this trick to boost their Amazon SEO. They don’t just drive a lot of external traffic to their Amazon product – they drive high-intent traffic. If you’ve been sending a ton of people to your listing, you’re getting a lot of sales, but still aren’t increasing in rankings, this might be why.
You need to set up a step in between your traffic source and product page, so people can learn about your product before actually landing on your Amazon product listing.
By filtering your traffic, ensuring the only people who click through to your listing are invested and in the mood to buy, you’ll dramatically increase your conversion rate, and thus your rankings too.
An Amazon landing page works great for this. Create a page with your Amazon product images, bullet points, product description and all relevant buying info, hosted outside of the Amazon platform.
LandingCube is the best tool for creating Amazon landing pages. Click here to try it for free – it takes just 2 minutes to create a professional, optimized landing page featuring all your key product details, images and an opt-in form to collect emails.
Providing a Superior Customer Experience
Finally, providing a great customer experience should also be a part of your Amazon SEO efforts. Though it’s not clear if customer experience metrics like seller feedback and order defect rate have a direct effect on rankings, they’re good to focus on regardless.
In general, if you’re making Amazon customers happier, you’re going to rank higher.
And as the Amazon algorithm matures, things that go into a great customer experience will only become more important as ranking factors. It’s more likely that the algorithm will reward product descriptions and product titles that are easy to read, and written for humans, not computers.
Keyword stuffing doesn’t make for a good customer experience. Amazon wants it to be easy for people to browse product listings and collect information before making a purchase. If Amazon wants that, you should too.
Recap: Executing a successful Amazon SEO Strategy requires Amazon FBA Business to Master many Trades
As this article outlines, nailing your Amazon SEO is by no means a straightforward task! You have to juggle many activities, such as keyword research, copy writing and even creative to optimize all aspects of your listings!
While many of us may excel in one area (i.e. maybe you are great with data analytics), few are a “jack of all trades” and are good at everything. No to blow our own horns here, but this is where we come in handy and can help you race to to top faster! We have tons of experience optimizing all aspects of Amazon SEO and follow a highly methodological process for picking keywords that you can actually rank for in top positions. Please get in touch with us to discuss your specific Amazon SEO optimization needs!
FAQ: Amazon SEO Strategy
What is Amazon SEO Strategy?
Amazon SEO strategy summarizes the process of optimizing Amazon product listings to rank higher in Amazon search results. This includes improving titles, descriptions, backend keywords, and images to increase visibility and sales.
Why is Amazon SEO important for sellers?
It helps customers find your products, leading to better visibility, more traffic, and higher sales. Optimized listings align with Amazon’s focus on conversions.
How does Amazon’s A9 algorithm work?
The A9 algorithm ranks products based on relevance, performance, and customer satisfaction. It considers keywords, sales velocity, customer reviews, and CTR.
What are backend keywords, and how should I use them?
Backend keywords are hidden terms that improve discoverability. Use synonyms, alternate spellings, and related terms, avoiding duplicates or restricted words.
How do I choose the right keywords for Amazon SEO?
Use tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout to find high-volume and niche keywords. Balance popular terms with long-tail keywords and analyze competitors.
Does A+ Content impact Amazon SEO?
A+ Content indirectly boosts SEO by increasing conversions and customer engagement, which Amazon’s algorithm favors.
How can I optimize my product images for Amazon SEO?
Use high-resolution images with keyword-rich file names. Include multiple angles, lifestyle shots, and infographics to improve CTR and conversions.
What role do customer reviews play in Amazon SEO?
Reviews build trust, boost conversions, and positively impact rankings. High ratings and review counts improve visibility.
How often should I update my Amazon listings?
Update listings quarterly or when metrics like CTR, conversions, or market trends show a need for changes.
Can external traffic help improve Amazon rankings?
Yes, external traffic increases sales velocity, positively impacting rankings. Use Amazon Attribution to track performance.
What’s the difference between organic ranking and paid ads on Amazon?
Organic ranking depends on SEO and conversions, while paid ads (PPC) provide immediate visibility but require ongoing investment. Both work best together.
What are some common mistakes in Amazon SEO?
Mistakes include keyword stuffing, ignoring backend keywords, low-quality images, and not tracking or updating listings regularly.
How do I measure the success of my Amazon SEO efforts?
Monitor metrics like keyword rankings, CTR, conversions, and reviews using tools like Helium 10 or Seller Central reports.
