Last Updated on Jul 30, 2022 by James W
Amazon can be a very complex platform involving many fine tunable elements, and success on the platform is determined predominantly by how effectively a business can manage these elements. Whether you are a seller or vendor on Amazon, it is vital that you have an Amazon strategy with a solid foundation to build from.
Below are the four main pillars that should make up your strategy’s foundation.
1. Using Amazon’s marketing tools
Amazon’s organic rankings can be volatile due to the way that Amazon’s algorithm calculates sales rank. If organic activity is your only focus then this can mean businesses’ listings can suffer from variable rankings, which can mean poorer performance some months, leading to a decrease in revenue.
One way to quickly build and support your organic rankings is to invest in Amazon’s advertising options. While advertising on Amazon will also bring in more sales and increase your brand’s and product’s visibility to a new audience, it also can help your organic efforts too.
When using Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) though you should always be reviewing performance of ads and spend, to ensure you remain competitive.
2. Ensuring images are well optimised
As Amazon are consumer first they are always making sure the customer journey is a helpful and easy one. This benefits sellers on the Marketplace as it means they are provided with a lot of scope to include high-quality images and video within their A+ content.
A picture is worth 1000 words and for ecommerce that is very true. Without having the ability to hold or see the product in real life, consumers are relying on images to show what they will be handing money over for. If these images are poor or fail to correctly represent the product, this could lead to an influx in returns and negative reviews- affecting your buy boy eligibility and rankings.
This is why image optimisation should be a key part of seller’s and vendor’s strategy on Amazon. Make sure you utilise all the space you can for images as not only will this give consumers all the information they need to make their purchase but Amazon actually rewards listings with a complete set of images. Just be sure to read and follow Amazon’s image guidelines.
3. Regularly review product listing content
Although we have established that organic activity alone isn’t enough to experience optimum success, it is still very important for conversions and ranking too.
Before you set up a new product listing you should have conducted keyword research for your products and analysed competitor listings to make sure your listing ticking optimisation and informational boxes. Look at other listings and see what consumers are asking in the Q&A section and see if you can address these questions in your bullet points.
This is why regularly reviewing your product listing content is a must in your Amazon strategy. Not only will new keywords start gaining search volume over time, meaning the current copy will need to be updated, but the more people purchase yours and similar products the more information there may be to review to potentially add to the listings.
4. Define your account management process
Lastly, due to the amount of plates that need to be spun while selling on Amazon, along with the new features being introduced all the time and the regular updates, it is recommended that sellers and vendors have a developed process for managing your Amazon account.
This can either be through the appointment of a specific person/team depending on the size of your operation or through hiring an external specialist agency who are experts in Amazon, both Vendor Central and Seller Central.
Having someone on hand to handle account management will allow for key metrics to be monitored and reports properly reviewed. This can unveil insights which can help set you apart from the competition.
