Amazon is continuing to expand its success as the fastest growing shopping channel. With 51.4% of the UK shoppers purchasing from Amazon in the last month, its importance to millions of sellers is clear. Consumers don’t just buy from Amazon they also use its vast product search engine to check prices, discover new products and start product searches.

Check prices: 90% of consumers use Amazon to price check products

Discover new products: 72% visit Amazon for product ideas

Start product searches: 56% of consumers visit Amazon before any other site

To maximise conversion rates a wide variety of marketing tactics can be deployed to optimise product pages and attract buyers through Amazon advertising. Here are a few top tips to managing your Amazon channel more effectively.

1. Get your basics listed before investing in AA.

With over 12 million products, you need to get your basics right before you investing in Amazon advertising. Your product title, description, imagery all needs to be on point, otherwise you’ll be wasting money on lower conversion rates.

Visitors to the Amazon site are already primed to buy, they go there in a shopper mindset, even if they are only researching products or comparing prices. With your audience already primed your listing needs to capture these potential buyers.

Product title

As a first introduction, despite what we’ve been taught all these years less is not more in this circumstance. Consider the purchaser and what the words they will be searching for; you need to grab them with product information and keywords.

Include your brand name, product name and key features (size, colour, quantity).

Product description

If a shopper makes it as far as your product description they are close to deciding to buy your product. So here they are looking to learn more about your product – look to list the details that sets you apart from your competitors. Your bullet points are searchable terms so ensure you have everything covered.

Product images

Good images are key to whether a shopper decides to explore your product page and ultimately whether they buy your product. Use as many high quality images as you have to show off your product.

Amazon requires your main image to be on a plain white background, and all image should be at least 1,000px x 1,000px as shoppers are given the ability to zoom in on each image. If you upload any format lower than 300x300 it will not be used and a third party’s default image may continue to feature.

2. If your supply chain has a kink, your search rankings are affected.

You may believe you’re shipping when Amazon ask but have you checked the out of stock rate on Vendor Central? Amazon will lower your search ranking if your products have availability issues or delivery delays.

3. Take control of your brand by registering your trademarks.

As your business grows and your reputation, if you haven’t trademarked your products there is nothing to stop someone else registering it or cashing in on your success. Or even selling substandard products using your name and damaging your reputation.

4. A+ content is free, take advantage.

Have you ever heard of a retailer giving you free reign on their website to list a product how you want? That is what A+ is.

Amazon A+ Enhanced Marketing Content elevates your listings by offering shoppers a more in-depth look at your product through additional images and text, boosting your brand awareness, customer trust and giving you higher rankings on the Amazon SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Amazon claims that A+ content helps increase the overall sales of a product by 3 to 10% on average.

5. Great so you have a Vendor account, what’s your contingency if that goes down?

It has long been a talked about myth in Amazon circles that those Vendors not investing into Amazon Vendor Services (prices start at £25k per annum) will be booted off the system.

If this was to happen overnight, how would your sales be affected? Do you have a plan B? If not time to look into the hybrid model.

6. So your product is low value and you can’t make the financials work, one word for you – bundle.

Bundling on Amazon not only increase’s the product value, but is also a way to create unique product options which boost sales and profits as you are the only seller offering this listing to your customers. As the only seller of the product bundle you will win the buy box on the right of the screen.

Bundling is not the same as multipacks – Amazon doesn’t like multipacks (selling multiples of the same product). Amazons definition of a product bundle in the Bundle Guidelines: ‘bundles must consist of products that, when packaged together, enhance or ease the overall customer experience.’

Bundles are a set of complimentary products such as; a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouth wash, or headlice treatment and a nit comb. These would make a solid bundle as a buyer is likely to need to buy each of these anyway.

7. Sponsored products are a must.

Sponsored products help more shoppers discover and buy your products, its an easy way to promote your listings, appearing where shoppers will see them in the search results. They showcase your products, helping drive sales and boost product visibility.

The sponsored advertising appears in every customers search results. You place bids on keywords or products and if your advert is relevant and your bid wins your advert will be displayed to shoppers. These keyword targeted adverts can bring new shoppers to your product and boost your sales.

Sources:

CNBC article, More shoppers are starting their online search on Amazon.
Kenshoo research, Amazon: The Big eCommerce marketing opportunity for Brands.