If you aren’t an Amazon Seller, chances are you know someone who is. Did you know that half of all items sold on Amazon.com come from millions of small and medium-sized businesses?
This is just one of the many incredible statistics cited in Amazon’s 2018 small business impact report. The report claims that since Amazon invited businesses to sell on the site in 2000, more than 900,000 jobs have been created through small and medium-sized businesses selling on the platform.
More than a million U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses are currently selling on Amazon. Being an Amazon Seller provides businesses with a long list of benefits. Businesses can reach a customer base of millions, utilize the Fulfillment by Amazon service to pack and ship their products, and further drive sales with the help of Amazon ads.
However, Amazon Sellers know better than to assume the site will take care of their business for them. Now that the holiday season is over and we’re in the midst of Quarter One, what can Amazon Sellers do to succeed in Q1 and beyond?
Here are three tips to help you get the most out of your Amazon Seller experience.
1. Take Advantage Of Amazon’s Keyword-Targeted Ads
Tara Darnley is the Co-Founder of Darlyng & Co., a lifestyle baby brand for children. Darnley also sells her products on Amazon, and utilizes a series of strategies to keep her brand growing on the platform.
One of her biggest strategies as a seller is running Amazon Pay Per Click Ads. If you are unfamiliar with how they work, Amazon ads are keyword-targeted. These ads are designed to appear in high-visibility placements where customers can see them. When a customer clicks on the ad, the seller gets paid, and it increases the reach of the business.
Darnley is aware that the competition to be seen on Amazon is increasingly key to a seller’s success. With the help of these keyword-targeted ads, Darnley says it’s easier for sellers to run competitive advertising and gain new customers.
(Learn more about pay-per-click ads here.)
2. Embed Relevant Keywords In Product Pages
This advice comes from Kent Lewis, President and Founder of digital marketing agency Anvil. Lewis has specialized in eCommerce SEO and PPC since 2000. He doesn’t think keywords should be limited to ads. He believes keywords should be embedded in an Amazon Seller’s product pages.
“Amazon’s ranking algorithm is similar to Google in that it does not appreciate keyword-stuffing, irrelevant keyword usage, or poorly-crafted copy.” Lewis says, “This negatively impacts the user experience.”
It also makes it difficult for Amazon Seller pages to rank above the competition. If you want your product pages to rank, Lewis advises incorporating relevant keywords in key fields. These include the brand name, product listing title, and product description.
The one caveat is that Amazon Sellers must contend with a keyword character limit. Currently, this is 250 and does not include spaces or punctuation. The keyword character limit is also applicable to the total content in generic keyword fields with a maximum of five attributes.
It’s still worth doing the extra legwork, according to Lewis who notes there is an added bonus for high-ranking Amazon Sellers. Top organic rankings through the platform gain added visibility through Alexa’s voice search.
3. Make Sure The Products Offered Generate Positive Reviews
Theo Lee is the CEO and Co-Founder of KPOP Foods, a Korean food brand that started selling nationwide in 2017. KPOP Foods started selling through the company website in September 2017 and entered Amazon in October 2017. KPOP Sauce, the brand’s first product, became the site’s number one selling chili sauce for three consecutive months.
Look at the reviews that accompany KPOP Sauce. Currently, there are 131 customer reviews averaging at 4.5 out of 5 stars. 75% of reviews have awarded the sauce with a 5 star review.
It’s becoming a natural marketing practice, on and off Amazon, to ask customers for reviews. Businesses encourage customers to visit sites like Yelp, their social media accounts, or Amazon Storefronts to leave behind reviews to increase site ranking.
The greatest issue, of course, is that there will be negative reviews. Some businesses send their employees or friends to masquerade as customers and write positive reviews. Some Sellers do this in the hopes that those positive reviews will push down or cancel out the poor reviews.
However, this approach doesn’t work on Amazon.
“If you want to have any success on Amazon, you must have a good product that will generate positive reviews and good customer feedback.” Lee says.
Amazon’s customers generally look at reviews before making a purchase. Transparent and authentic reviews tip the likelihood of a purchase in your favor than negative or middle of the road reviews.
Amazon Sellers with excellent reviews are also rewarded for it. Lee says that if your product has generated strong reviews, with an average of 4 stars, the seller will receive an Amazon’s Choice tag.
While Amazon has declined to say precisely how they award Amazon’s Choice tags, Amazon Sellers that receive them on their products should pat themselves on the back for a job well done. This tag lends even more credibility to their product and is a fantastic feather to have in your Q1 cap.
