There’s a lot of buzz around Amazon marketing lately, and with good reason. Marketing is a powerful tool for driving traffic back to your listings, but your marketing campaigns will only perform as well as the content of your listing. If a shopper clicks an ad and lands in a listing that lacks information or compelling images, they’re unlikely to convert.
An optimized Amazon listing is the foundation of your success on Amazon, so it’s of the utmost importance that you take full advantage of this space. With that in mind, here’s how we, a top Amazon retailer for the past 12 years, optimize our listings.
Product Title
The product title is one of the most valuable parts of your Amazon product listing. In addition to the photo and price, it is one of the first thing potential customers see on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The title has a huge impact on the search performance. Putting top performing keywords strings into the title can help the item move up the SERP quicker.
Below are the best practices for product titles on Amazon listings along with an example:
Character Maximum: 200 characters
Character Suggestion: 80–120 characters
Structure Suggestion: Brand, Product Line, Material/Key Feature, Product Type, Color, Size, Package/Quantity
Example: JumpOff Jo Rocksteady Balance Stepping Stones for Kids, Promotes Balance & Coordination, Set of 6 Balance Blocks, Low Set
Key Product Features
Key product features are commonly seen as the bullet point sentences near the top of Amazon listings. They are one of the first things consumers see when clicking into a product listing. With five bullets, you have five chances to call out key product features.
One popular strategy used across the Amazon marketplace is called “two-tiered bullets.” A majority of consumers gravitate towards bullet point content displayed in this way. The two-tiered method is the practice of beginning each bullet in all caps, then continuing in normal sentence case. The idea is that the consumer can catch a quick fact about the product in all caps part of the bullet point, even when they’re skimming. If it catches their eye, then they can read the rest of the bullet for more details.
When populating the SERP, Amazon only takes into consideration up to the 500-character mark of the listings bullet points. Due to this, it is very important to get your target keywords into the first 500 characters of your combined key product features.
Below are the best practices for the key product features on Amazon listings along with an example:
Character Maximum: 500 characters per bullet
Character Suggestion: 100–150 characters
Structure Suggestion: QUICK CALL OUT — Followed by a more detailed explanation providing another opportunity for more keywords
Example: BUILT FOR STANDARD U.S. CRIB MATTRESS — Measuring 28 inches by 52 inches, the crib sheet’s fitted sides ensure a smooth, snug, and secure fit.
Media Gallery
One of the biggest downsides to shopping online is being unable to physically see and hold a product. This is why it is so vital to have high-quality images and even videos within the media gallery on product listings. When you optimize this gallery, it can visually answer questions consumers may have about your product.
Per Amazon guidelines, the main image must be the product on a true white background. No additional text, badges, or other products can be included. Additional images can have some of these things, so long as they comply with Amazon guidelines. It is also best to upload images that are at least 1,000 pixels on one side, as this will enable Amazon’s zoom feature.
There are two main types of photos best for Amazon listings: studio and lifestyle. Studio photos include the product on a pure white background from different viewpoints. These are a great opportunity to show close-up details of your product or overlay text to explain certain features of the product. Lifestyle photos show the product in use in a realistic life setting. They help consumers visualize using the product in their daily life. Start with 2–3 studio photos and then complete the gallery with lifestyle images.
Learn more about creating visually exciting listings in our post, Why Photography & Video Matter on Amazon.
The last thing you can add to the media gallery (if you are enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry) is product videos. The product video occupies the last tile visible in the media gallery and typically has a “Play” button icon to indicate there is a video. Keep these videos to less than two minutes long so consumers can quickly consume the video and move on to make their purchasing decision. If it’s a longer video, they might not spare the time to watch it.
Below are the best practices for the media gallery on Amazon listings along with an example:
Image Suggestions: 1:1 aspect ratio, JPEG format, and at least 1,000 pixels on one side
Media Gallery Order Suggestion: 2–3 studio images followed by lifestyle images
Example:
Product Description
The product description is an opportunity to get into the heavy details of a product or simply expand upon content already mentioned in the title or key product features. It also provides an opportunity to share your brand’s story and values. Plus, it helps build some brand awareness.
It’s worth noting that the product description area is replaced by A+ Content submitted through Seller Central, so it may not always be visible. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include a quality description though, Amazon indexes the product description instead of the visible A+ Content.
Amazon permits up to 2,000 characters in the product description area, 4x the amount allowed in key product features section. That’s a lot of text, and, if not formatted properly, it can come across as a large, intimidating paragraph that consumers will not take the time to read. To alleviate this issue, many Amazon sellers utilize Custom HTML to code in paragraphs, line breaks, bolded headlines, bullets, and more. The Amazon system does not expressly permit the use of HTML, but many sellers have successfully used it. Just know that it isn’t always accepted, and Amazon may remove the HTML without notifying you.
Below are the best practices for the product description on Amazon listings along with an example:
Character Maximum: 2,000 characters
Character Suggestion (non-HTML): 500–1,000 characters
Standard Description Example:
HTML Description Example:
A+ Detail Page
The A+ Detail Page is accessible through the Brand Registry program and provides brand owners the opportunity to share more information about their products through additional content and images. A+ Detail Pages are strictly a conversion tool, providing additional real estate for a branded product description full of additional details, specifications, and imagery.
Amazon claims A+ content can improve conversion rate by up to 5% but can get closer to 15%, depending on the current state of product listings. This A+ content will replace the existing standard description in an Amazon listing.
These A+ pages are incredibly customizable, so you will see a variety of best practices across different brands, but one thing that holds true is the value of the comparison chart module. This module enables you to directly link to other product listings. In other words, it provides an opportunity to show consumers that you have other products available or show them other products that would better fit their needs.
Below are the best practices for the A+ detail page on Amazon listings along with an example:
Featured Products Max: 6 products
Comparison Metrics Max: 10 metrics
Example:
Looking to Learn More?
Now that you’ve learned how to create fully-optimized Amazon listings, it’s time to market them! To learn more about the Amazon landscape, strategies, and so much more, download our free whitepaper, The State of Amazon Marketing.
