What are the ranking factors on Amazon?
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 7:06 am
When it comes to classifying items sold on this eCommerce platform, Amazon's aforementioned A9 algorithm takes into account two types of factors:
Relevance factors
Performance factors
The former refer to the basic data that describes the products listed on Amazon and that you can directly influence as a merchant. This is why increasing the relevance of your product presentation is also a key task of SEO restaurants email database on Amazon. In this sense, and as it could not be otherwise, the title, bullet points and keywords that you store in the Amazon backend are essential elements. Likewise, the description of the products is also relevant for the ranking . The basic units necessary for the optimization of these factors are the keywords, traditional elements in the field of search engine optimization.
Once the Amazon algorithm has filtered out all items whose product data is appropriately matched to the user's search queries, the performance factors come into play second . The algorithm assesses how well the selected products have performed to date, with user feedback playing a very important role. Among other things, the A9 takes into account both click and conversion rates as well as customer satisfaction . In this respect, you can influence the performance ranking, for example, by only positioning your products for suitable search terms . The ranking is primarily the result of both the overall sales success on the platform and customer satisfaction.
Amazon SEO optimization: key steps to achieve top rankings
If you are already experienced in the field of traditional search engine optimization, you will be able to identify many familiar elements in the information below on the specific mechanisms for providing Amazon with SEO. Despite the common characteristics, there are also some points of disagreement between the search engines of both Amazon and Google and between the respective optimization techniques. Thus, as far as SEO on Amazon is concerned, for example, the power of the links has no impact on the ranking . Although external links can have some influence on sales, link building does not have a value for optimization on Amazon comparable to that it has for off-page SEO on Google. Another difference is the composition of the most common user requests , that is, the way in which users use each search engine. While Google is able to interpret and respond to complex questions, on Amazon the search is oriented towards short and precise queries related to products, which usually almost always entails a clear intention to buy.
Step 1: Product and competitor analysis
The first step in Amazon SEO optimization is, as we know from other marketing measures, to carry out a thorough analysis of your products and the market in question . The better you know and can describe your product, the better your chances of standing out in a keyword search. Getting a clear picture of the items and their distinctive features not only allows you to determine which are the main keywords , but can also provide you with valuable input for creating and formulating the bullet points for the subsequent care of the products.
Note
Create detailed and creative product descriptions without straying too far from the true characteristics of the products. Incomplete or false descriptions resulting from hasty or unrealistic product ratings lead to dissatisfied Amazon users and a worsening of rankings in the long run.
Once you have compiled the most important features and advantages of your products and have compiled a short list of the most important keywords, you should now turn your attention to your competitors . Find out which offers are ranking best for the selected search terms and their sellers. This will help you to more accurately determine your chances of success, find synonyms for the keywords and gather ideas for the design of your product pages . Furthermore, an analysis of prices and delivery terms can significantly influence your Amazon sales strategy.
Step 2: Keyword Research
In Amazon SEO, conducting thorough keyword research is just as important as in traditional search engine optimization. While Google provides its own tool for obtaining search volumes with the Keyword Planner , Amazon does not have a similar feature.
Searching with Google Keyword Planner
Fortunately, this Google tool can also be used to search for keywords for eCommerce . In this sense, it is necessary to highlight the difference already raised in user behavior in order to achieve significant results.
In the search results for keywords with the Planner, you should avoid terms that, despite being important for Google, have no relevance for Amazon optimization and ranking. This is especially true for transactional and informational keywords , as shown in the following example.
For example, if you enter the term “household appliances”, the tool can offer, among others, the following search suggestions with their respective search volume:
A user using the Amazon search engine will not have access to previous queries and, as they are using a shopping platform, they already know that they cannot explicitly formulate their purchase intention . If they want to obtain information about stores or problems with their own appliances, they will not, of course, go to Amazon. For SEO on Amazon, these terms are irrelevant even if they may have a high search volume on other search engines.
Researching with Amazon Keyword Tools
Amazon's growing importance for e-commerce has not gone unnoticed by SEO tool providers. There are now a number of services on the market that are specifically designed for Amazon searches . MerchantWords , for example, has a database with over 170 million international keywords (for German, English, Italian, Spanish and French) that can be used for keyword research on Amazon for a small monthly fee. In addition to an estimated value for monthly search volume , this tool offers many keyword suggestions for the most visited product categories.
Another tool that may be of interest is Sonar , which can be used free of charge as part of the online analysis platform Marketplace Analytics. This web application provides the search volume for the desired keywords along with numerous suggestions. For this purpose, a rating scale is produced , where 1 is the lowest and 5 indicates a very high search volume. The underlying database, which is updated continuously, is a comprehensive keyword storage tool.
Searching using Amazon's “autocomplete” feature
Amazon's search engine, like Google's, has an "auto-complete" function. Thus, with each query entered into the search bar, it offers automatic suggestions that complete the search term . This function also offers related search terms and presents the most important product categories for the keyword entered.
Not only are arbitrary entries useful for finding valuable keywords for your own SEO strategy, but they are also the easiest way to determine the suitability of keywords in your temporary list. This way, you can reduce the risk of going for a keyword with a high search volume but for which the user is searching for something completely different.
Structuring and prioritizing Amazon keywords
A good keyword set is not only characterised by the fact that it contains all relevant search terms. You should also strive to make the list as clear and simple as possible during the search process. Especially with complex Amazon SEO campaigns, it is difficult to extract the full potential of the search results, which is why it is common practice to group keywords on the same topic into a cluster . This means that the keyword set is divided into several groups according to the category of “generic”, “longtail”, “seasonal” or “competition” to make it easier to obtain an overview.
The last step before creating your product page is to rank your search terms. To do this, use the search volume values from the tools mentioned above, taking into account data from product and competitor analysis , to create a ranking for success. Also include the conclusions drawn from query auto-completion.
Step 3: Optimizing Your Product Keywords on Amazon
After all this preliminary research work, the next step is to put the acquired knowledge into practice. To do this, the list of keywords compiled must be placed in such a way that they are useful for achieving the best possible positioning in Amazon search results . The most important elements in this regard are, as already mentioned above, the platform backend, product descriptions, title and bullet points.
Title (main keywords)
Product titles are an essential criterion for both ranking and users. In addition to the product image itself, this element is the first thing potential customers see. Thus, how well or poorly formulated a title is can in many cases be decisive for whether or not these customers click on a search result. In addition to the formal requirements and the data included in the following list, when formulating them it is always advisable to take into account that they are readable . The characteristics that we present to you below pose some of the advantages that must be taken into account in order to achieve a prominent position in Amazon search results:
Relevance factors
Performance factors
The former refer to the basic data that describes the products listed on Amazon and that you can directly influence as a merchant. This is why increasing the relevance of your product presentation is also a key task of SEO restaurants email database on Amazon. In this sense, and as it could not be otherwise, the title, bullet points and keywords that you store in the Amazon backend are essential elements. Likewise, the description of the products is also relevant for the ranking . The basic units necessary for the optimization of these factors are the keywords, traditional elements in the field of search engine optimization.
Once the Amazon algorithm has filtered out all items whose product data is appropriately matched to the user's search queries, the performance factors come into play second . The algorithm assesses how well the selected products have performed to date, with user feedback playing a very important role. Among other things, the A9 takes into account both click and conversion rates as well as customer satisfaction . In this respect, you can influence the performance ranking, for example, by only positioning your products for suitable search terms . The ranking is primarily the result of both the overall sales success on the platform and customer satisfaction.
Amazon SEO optimization: key steps to achieve top rankings
If you are already experienced in the field of traditional search engine optimization, you will be able to identify many familiar elements in the information below on the specific mechanisms for providing Amazon with SEO. Despite the common characteristics, there are also some points of disagreement between the search engines of both Amazon and Google and between the respective optimization techniques. Thus, as far as SEO on Amazon is concerned, for example, the power of the links has no impact on the ranking . Although external links can have some influence on sales, link building does not have a value for optimization on Amazon comparable to that it has for off-page SEO on Google. Another difference is the composition of the most common user requests , that is, the way in which users use each search engine. While Google is able to interpret and respond to complex questions, on Amazon the search is oriented towards short and precise queries related to products, which usually almost always entails a clear intention to buy.
Step 1: Product and competitor analysis
The first step in Amazon SEO optimization is, as we know from other marketing measures, to carry out a thorough analysis of your products and the market in question . The better you know and can describe your product, the better your chances of standing out in a keyword search. Getting a clear picture of the items and their distinctive features not only allows you to determine which are the main keywords , but can also provide you with valuable input for creating and formulating the bullet points for the subsequent care of the products.
Note
Create detailed and creative product descriptions without straying too far from the true characteristics of the products. Incomplete or false descriptions resulting from hasty or unrealistic product ratings lead to dissatisfied Amazon users and a worsening of rankings in the long run.
Once you have compiled the most important features and advantages of your products and have compiled a short list of the most important keywords, you should now turn your attention to your competitors . Find out which offers are ranking best for the selected search terms and their sellers. This will help you to more accurately determine your chances of success, find synonyms for the keywords and gather ideas for the design of your product pages . Furthermore, an analysis of prices and delivery terms can significantly influence your Amazon sales strategy.
Step 2: Keyword Research
In Amazon SEO, conducting thorough keyword research is just as important as in traditional search engine optimization. While Google provides its own tool for obtaining search volumes with the Keyword Planner , Amazon does not have a similar feature.
Searching with Google Keyword Planner
Fortunately, this Google tool can also be used to search for keywords for eCommerce . In this sense, it is necessary to highlight the difference already raised in user behavior in order to achieve significant results.
In the search results for keywords with the Planner, you should avoid terms that, despite being important for Google, have no relevance for Amazon optimization and ranking. This is especially true for transactional and informational keywords , as shown in the following example.
For example, if you enter the term “household appliances”, the tool can offer, among others, the following search suggestions with their respective search volume:
A user using the Amazon search engine will not have access to previous queries and, as they are using a shopping platform, they already know that they cannot explicitly formulate their purchase intention . If they want to obtain information about stores or problems with their own appliances, they will not, of course, go to Amazon. For SEO on Amazon, these terms are irrelevant even if they may have a high search volume on other search engines.
Researching with Amazon Keyword Tools
Amazon's growing importance for e-commerce has not gone unnoticed by SEO tool providers. There are now a number of services on the market that are specifically designed for Amazon searches . MerchantWords , for example, has a database with over 170 million international keywords (for German, English, Italian, Spanish and French) that can be used for keyword research on Amazon for a small monthly fee. In addition to an estimated value for monthly search volume , this tool offers many keyword suggestions for the most visited product categories.
Another tool that may be of interest is Sonar , which can be used free of charge as part of the online analysis platform Marketplace Analytics. This web application provides the search volume for the desired keywords along with numerous suggestions. For this purpose, a rating scale is produced , where 1 is the lowest and 5 indicates a very high search volume. The underlying database, which is updated continuously, is a comprehensive keyword storage tool.
Searching using Amazon's “autocomplete” feature
Amazon's search engine, like Google's, has an "auto-complete" function. Thus, with each query entered into the search bar, it offers automatic suggestions that complete the search term . This function also offers related search terms and presents the most important product categories for the keyword entered.
Not only are arbitrary entries useful for finding valuable keywords for your own SEO strategy, but they are also the easiest way to determine the suitability of keywords in your temporary list. This way, you can reduce the risk of going for a keyword with a high search volume but for which the user is searching for something completely different.
Structuring and prioritizing Amazon keywords
A good keyword set is not only characterised by the fact that it contains all relevant search terms. You should also strive to make the list as clear and simple as possible during the search process. Especially with complex Amazon SEO campaigns, it is difficult to extract the full potential of the search results, which is why it is common practice to group keywords on the same topic into a cluster . This means that the keyword set is divided into several groups according to the category of “generic”, “longtail”, “seasonal” or “competition” to make it easier to obtain an overview.
The last step before creating your product page is to rank your search terms. To do this, use the search volume values from the tools mentioned above, taking into account data from product and competitor analysis , to create a ranking for success. Also include the conclusions drawn from query auto-completion.
Step 3: Optimizing Your Product Keywords on Amazon
After all this preliminary research work, the next step is to put the acquired knowledge into practice. To do this, the list of keywords compiled must be placed in such a way that they are useful for achieving the best possible positioning in Amazon search results . The most important elements in this regard are, as already mentioned above, the platform backend, product descriptions, title and bullet points.
Title (main keywords)
Product titles are an essential criterion for both ranking and users. In addition to the product image itself, this element is the first thing potential customers see. Thus, how well or poorly formulated a title is can in many cases be decisive for whether or not these customers click on a search result. In addition to the formal requirements and the data included in the following list, when formulating them it is always advisable to take into account that they are readable . The characteristics that we present to you below pose some of the advantages that must be taken into account in order to achieve a prominent position in Amazon search results: