This is a guest post from our partners at Awesome Dynamics.
Once upon a time, dressing up your storefront and posting billboards was what business owners did to draw in customers. The world has changed quite a bit since then, and adapting to the new structure of sales can be quite an adjustment.
Listing products on Amazon is an essential step for success for many business owners. Amazon enables owners to promote their products on a greater scale, monitor progress, and gain feedback from customers all over the country.
While a great deal of information is available regarding how to get set up, it can be daunting to determine what steps are best for you and your business. Every business is unique, however nearly everyone can benefit from the visibility Amazon offers. With a strong listing, it is easier than ever to tell your story authentically while reaching a wider audience.
1. The Value of a Solid Title
Getting started can be an intimidating prospect, so it’s wise to break everything down into simple, manageable steps. It’s best practice to start from the ground up.
Optimizing your product title can increase the visibility of your brand and improve sales by helping customers find your product through relevant searches.
Start by creating product titles that truly capture the product you’re selling. While clearly describing what the product is and does, also include high-ranking keywords within the title. This assists the customer in quickly identifying if your product is what they need. Additionally, keywords tell Amazon’s algorithm exactly what your product is. This helps Amazon search to better connect potential buyers with your products.
Amazon allows up to 200 characters for most categories, and our team of Amazon experts recommend you use as much of that space as possible, including your top keywords to increase the value of your title.
The ideal product title will include the company name, followed by the most relevant keywords, the item’s brand name, what the item does, and the quantity and size (if applicable).
2. Make Your Content Scannable
To get the most bang for your buck, create titles, bullet points, and descriptions that are easily scannable and clearly depict the product’s purpose. Many buyers won’t be reading your full listing but they will skim it.
Be sure to include all the important information a buyer needs to know in your bullets. This includes sizing, compatibility with other products, functions, and exclusions. Your bullet points should highlight the key features of your products and entice customers to learn more. Place your product’s most important feature in the first bullet and highlight any key points by using all caps.
3. Focus on Visuals
High quality images, video, and infographics that combine imagery with relevant text are an excellent way to attract attention and sustain the buyer’s interest. With visual content, the more the merrier – make sure your visuals look professional and your products are highlighted in each one.
Amazon recommends you use high-resolution photos, with at least 1,000 pixels in height and width.
Visuals are a great way for potential customers to build trust in your brand, and develop confidence in purchasing from your company. While it may be expensive or time-consuming to develop quality visual content, it will draw in a much wider range of customers, with a payoff that can’t be beat.
Don’t forget, potential customers are shopping from their computer or phone. They can’t pick up your product to examine it – visuals fill that void.
4. Follow the Rules
The images that perform the best follow Amazon’s guidelines to a T. The main product image must show the product on a pure, white background, and use at least 1,000 DPI (dots per inch). The product must also fill at least 85% of the image. Maintaining good resolution assures clear visibility when the customer zooms in. Amazon will reject your images if:
- They include promotional text (on sale!, etc.)
- If they are blurry or pixelated
- If they contain anything sexually suggestive
- If they use any of Amazon’s logos and trademarks
- Or, if the images contain badges like “Amazon’s choice”, “Best Seller”, etc.
It’s best to stick with images that can add value to the shoppers’ experience. Include images that show scale or compatibility, as well as images that further describe the product or show it in a lifestyle setting (being used).
5. Describe in Detail
Your description should fully describe the product, highlighting the benefits of the purchase to the user. This is a great section to integrate a larger volume of keywords, upping the ante of your listing, and drawing prospective customers in.
Make sure your descriptions are clear and concise, fleshing out the main points of your bullets with relevant descriptors and any additional information you may want to include. Review spelling, grammar, and HTML formatting to make sure your brand appears professional and your copy is easy to read.
6. Customer Service First
One of the greatest benefits of listing your products on Amazon is unlimited access to customer feedback. The smartest thing you can do with that feedback is to use it to improve and enhance your selling strategy.
Be sure to pay attention to email alerts that you have a new user-submitted question and respond as quickly as possible. Oftentimes, potential buyers reach out when they are in the middle of the sales funnel and close to making a purchase. Quick response times give your brand credibility and assures the customer that they will continue to receive exceptional service.
7. Turn It Around
Addressing poor customer reviews immediately gives you a chance to win your customer back and turn a negative situation around. You can click the “Comment” link underneath the review and provide a helpful response, show sympathy, and offer a compromise or solution.
Many times negative situations can yield positive results by simply showing buyers you are invested in their interests and willing and able to help. Paying for positive reviews or having friends create fake ratings is a quick way to lose your reseller privileges. While it may be tempting, keep in mind that proving your integrity and playing by the rules is far more profitable in the end.
To gain great reviews, consider your customer feedback when creating and updating your catalog of products. Fix defects and address your customer’s pain points. It’s useful to scan competitors’ product pages and identify drawbacks of their products in order to improve your own. Selling a great product, being honest and reputable, and providing an excellent buying experience is the fast track to success.
On the Path to Success
Once your listing has a strong title, great visuals, and happy customers leaving positive reviews, you have officially cracked Amazon’s code. While the formula for success is forever changing, the skeleton of it all remains the same. Follow it, and you’ll be on your way to becoming one of Amazon’s top-ranking sellers before you know it!
Awesome Dynamic is a full service ecommerce consulting agency helping sellers navigate selling on Amazon and Walmart.