Writing for the Amazon Algorithm: The Most Effective Amazon Listing Strategy

Why Is Optimized Content So Important?

Brand owners and retailers alike know that in order to be successful in the commerce world, you must be active on online marketplaces. Now more than ever, consumers are choosing convenience over buying in person from brick and mortar locations. eMarketer forecasts that consumer spend on ecommerce sites will increase by 18% during 2020, while spend in brick and mortars will decrease 14%.

Instant gratification is perhaps the greatest perk of buying in-person, but marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart are replicating that factor by offering same-day delivery and even 2-hour delivery in some areas. With consumer spending patterns shifting to online marketplaces at an increased rate, it’s never been more important for brand owners to curate a strong presence on Amazon, Walmart.com, and other growing platforms.

But having a presence alone isn’t enough; sellers must ensure that product detail pages are not only created correctly, but also fully optimized to stand out in the oversaturated world of ecommerce. Any seller can quickly throw together a product listing, but unless you already have an exceptionally loyal audience, that won’t be enough.

Download our Complete Guide to Creating Optimized Amazon Listings.

The Amazon Algorithm: Finding the Happy Middle

Many people use search engines every day of their life, whether they realize it or not. Google is obviously the most popular in the industry, and it boasts one of the most sophisticated algorithms to this day. The algorithm uses keyword strings within website content to determine page rankings and placement on their search engine results page (SERP).

Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and all other ecommerce websites have their own search engines powered by unique algorithms, and brand owners need to take these into consideration when creating product detail pages. Sellers must optimize these pages to strike the perfect balance of discoverability for search engines and buyability for shoppers, but walking that tightrope is a difficult endeavor.

Discoverability: Optimize for the Amazon Algorithm

When we talk about discoverability, this is almost always directly referencing the algorithm being able to “read” the content on detail pages, which it uses to determine relevant keywords and place listings high on the SERP for those keyword searches. There are numerous ways to optimize your product listings for the algorithm, but the number one thing you need to do is understand the rules of the platform you are working on. If you violate any structural or compliance guidelines, your listing could immediately be removed from the SERP.

Keyword stuffing is another common optimization strategy for websites and marketplaces alike. Even an untrained eye can easily recognize this tactic: a series of keywords clumped together in a paragraph or listed in an unnatural way. Keyword stuffing is an outdated tactic used to manipulate a page’s rankings in search results by including a plethora of keywords.

Because it doesn’t guarantee helpful or relevant content, many search engine algorithms have begun penalizing pages for this tactic, so that now, keyword stuffing can actually damage the performance and ranking of your page or listing. It’s also crucial to consider how keyword stuffing affects your potential customer’s experience when they read this content, which directly ties into the buyability portion of optimization strategies.

Buyability: Optimize for the Consumer

After consumers discover your product, their next action is opening and skimming the product detail page. If the listing content hasn’t been optimized for the end consumer, then the chances of a conversion are slim. The content should be easy to read and the listing should include high-resolution images, both of which build trust and confidence with the potential customer.

Referring back to the keyword stuffing strategy, if a consumer can’t easily read the content on a detail page because it’s a nonsensical line of keywords, they’ll have a poor user experience and are far more likely to bounce from the listing. The copy must be compelling, containing practical information while highlighting tangle and intangible benefits.

Learn more in our blog post, Survey Results: Most Important Listing Features for Amazon Shoppers.

The Best Amazon Listing Strategy

When it comes to optimizing your listing, you can’t focus on just discoverability for the Amazon algorithm or just buyability for the end consumer. Content creators’ ultimate goal is to find that happy medium of optimization for both the given marketplace’s algorithm as well as the end consumer. If you focus on one more than the other, then you risk either not getting any traffic to your listing or, if you do get traffic to your listing, they may not convert.

By working to achieve a balance of both of these aspects, your marketing copy will bring more traffic to your listings and improve your overall conversion rate.

This blog post is just scratching the tip of the iceberg. Download our in-depth whitepaper to learn even more about creating Amazon listings. Download our Complete Guide to Creating Optimized Amazon Listings.