4 Ways to Improve Your Amazon Listing’s Best Seller Ranking

Simple tasks that will help you climb the Amazon ladder to higher profits.

Your Amazon Best Seller Ranking is a significant factor in determining where you appear in product searches which, of course, can have a serious impact on your bottom line. A high best seller ranking increases your visibility and puts your product in front of a wider range of potential customers and increases the likelihood that you will make a sale.

But here’s the thing, Amazon’s search algorithm can create a bit of a closed loop. A high volume of sales is one of the factors that determines the ranking. Sellers with a high ranking are more likely to appear on the first page of a search which increases the likelihood that people will buy from them, further improving their ranking, their search results, and conversion rate—then around and around we go.

If you’re not currently one of the sellers caught up in this beneficial cycle, there are several steps you can take to improve your listing’s best seller ranking and start earning more money. Sales and conversion rates are not the only factors considered for the best seller ranking. Amazon also bases this number on relevancy and customer satisfaction. If you are able to improve your listings and the customer experience, sales will follow close behind, and your seller ranking will start to climb. Here’s what you can do:

1. Write Good Content
When writing the description for your listing, do not forget about the customer. Yes, listing optimization is crucial but it must be done well. It cannot just be a jumble of keywords that make little to no sense. You want an optimized listing that will appear in a product search, but you also want to make a sale. Write for a conversion and not just a computer algorithm. The algorithm is not buying your product, people are.@Webgility guest blog by @SellersChoice: 4 Ways to Improve Your Amazon Listing’s Best Seller Ranking #Webgility Click To Tweet

When it comes to your title, it is important to include as many keywords as possible but do not just throw them in without thinking. Your listing’s title should include all the information a potential customer needs to understand exactly what your product is. It should include the name of the product, what it does, materials used, its size and color (if relevant), as well as potential benefits and uses. Put your primary keywords near the front of the title and be concise when describing benefits and features, you will go into more detail about those in your product description.

In writing your product description, keep potential buyers in mind at all times. Do not just list specs and features, engage the reader. What would you want to know about this product before you buy it? Try to answer any questions buyers may have before they have them. Be sure to indicate what makes your product special. If you are able to use A+ Plus Pages or Enhanced Brand Content, it’s wise to do so. These platforms provide the opportunity to create a more impressive product listing by giving you more space for your product description, the ability to change your layout, the capacity for more photos and the use of charts and graphs. It gives you the space to demonstrate why your product is the product. Remember, Amazon users are shoppers. They already want to buy the product, you just need to convince them to buy it from you.

2. Do Keyword Research
Keywords are important for improving your visibility on Amazon. Choosing relevant keywords is the easiest way to find yourself at, or near, the top of any search results. If you are having a hard time determining your keywords, try using Google Keyword Planner or other similar tools.

It is also useful to spend a little time checking out your competition. Search the keywords you are using and see what comes up. If products similar to yours appear in the results, you’re on the right track. Study these results. Look at top sellers in your category and niche and see what they’re doing. Do their listings contain keywords that yours is missing?

Consider using long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are search terms that contain more than one word. The average Amazon search is two words or less, but it has been found that long-tail keywords create a higher number of conversions. In all likelihood this is because the buyer knew exactly what it was they were looking for and entered that as a search term. Think about who your ideal customer is. Really narrow it down and try to get inside their head. What terms or phrases might they use to find your product?

3. Drive Outside Traffic to Your Listings
You do not have to rely on the Amazon search algorithm to do all the work, you can do some of the heavily lifting all on your own. One of the most effect ways to increase your conversions and improve your ranking is to get more traffic to your listing. Amazon does not want you sending users to a site outside of theirs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use outside sites to send them to Amazon. For example, social media is a fabulous way to direct people to your Amazon store—
run campaigns and post relevant material that links to your listing. Social media helps you to develop a relationship with your followers that’s difficult to do through an Amazon listing alone. Your social media followers have a better sense of your brand, who you are, and what you do. They are already primed for your product, so help them cross the finish line by sending them directly to it.

If you have your own website, and you should, you can use blog postings and email campaigns to promote your product and link to your listing. This is a great way to fully educate potential buyers on the benefits and uses of your product. It can help them see how it will fit into their lives and show them why they need it.

4. Engage With Customer Reviews
Amazon takes product reviews very seriously. In fact, they pride themselves on the honesty and integrity of the process. Amazon users know this and so they come to rely heavily on reviews as the social proof they need to make a decision about a purchase.

You cannot offer incentives in exchange for customer reviews, but you can encourage buyers to leave feedback if they’re happy with their purchase. When you ship your product, include a thank you note that reminds them to leave a review if they are satisfied. The more positive reviews you have, the more positive reviews you will get, and the more likely people are to trust your brand and purchase your product.

To keep customers happy, it’s important that you have a quality product that delivers on what is promised in the listing. And beyond that, you need to make sure that your shipping workflow is airtight. Customers expect their item to be delivered quickly without any major delays or hold ups. If you can do this, customers are more likely to leave a glowing review.

Sometimes negative reviews happen, and when they do, it’s important to address them. Respond both publicly and privately, if possible, to address the concerns and try to make things right. If you’re able to satisfy the reviewer’s complaint, they may amend their review to reflect your efforts.

Negative reviews are not always a bad thing. You obviously want to keep them to a minimum, but they do add legitimacy to your brand. No business, no matter how wonderful, has happy customers every single time. The real value lies in the way you address these reviews. By making a public post, you are showing potential buyers, and anyone reading the reviews, that you care about them. You care about their experience and you them to be happy with your product. This makes customers more inclined to buy from you and more inclined to leave a review detailing their own positive experience. This helps your ranking by increasing conversions and improving customer satisfaction.

Improving your best seller ranking takes a little bit of effort and focus, but it’s all worth it. By concentrating your efforts on the 4 points listed above, you can quickly improve your ranking and find yourself firmly planted on the first page of product searches and well on your way to being a dominant force in the market.

This guest post was written by Andrew Maff, Director of Marketing and Operations for Seller’s Choice, a full-service digital marketing agency for e-commerce sellers. Seller’s Choice provides uniquely personalized marketing and managed services for digital marketplace sellers, ecommerce merchants, and brand builders worldwide. Learn more.