What are the key optimizations brands can make to build a thriving and profitable business on Amazon? Laura Meyer, CEO of Amazon Agency Partner Envision Horizons, has personally conducted over 350 audits since founding the company. We’re condensing thousands of consulting hours to bring you- The top 10 things brands get wrong on Amazon….
1. Little or no attention to SEO
2. No focus on profitability by ASIN
3. Not tracking LTV Metrics
4. Treating Amazon Creative as One & Done
5. No inventory management strategy
6. Not thinking about the long term when it comes to advertising
7. Not understanding the Amazon competition
8. Not optimizing for mobile first
9. Little brand demand and external traffic
10. Sparse resources for the Amazon channel in general
#1 Little to No Focus on Amazon SEO
Advertising slots have taken over the first page results on Amazon, but we notice far too many brands neglecting SEO best practices.
In one case study, with proper SEO changes, we increased indexed terms for 10 different client products by 34% in just 5 weeks! The long-term gains were substantially higher.
#2 No Focus on Profitability by ASIN
Understanding profitability by ASIN allows for a more informed advertising budget by product.
This also allows for better merchandising and knowledge of what products have longevity. There are some products that will never be profitable on Amazon.
It’s extremely difficult to improve overall brand profitability if you don’t know your profit by ASIN.
#3 Not Tracking Customer Journey Metrics
Amazon customer journey metrics are hard to calculate, which is why it often gets ignored. Using our platform (myHorizons— An Amazon Seller Software) we track:
New to Brand Customer vs Returning Customer count
CAC (cost of customer acquisition)
AOV
Repurchase Rate (at the brand and ASIN level)
Average Repurchase Interval
#4 Treating Amazon Creative As One and Done
Amazon’s own data confirms that regularly refreshed product content and store pages improve sales.
Similar to a social media strategy, you need to keep your brand pages fresh and educational to remain “best in class” for your category.
#5 No Inventory Management Strategy
Nothing else matters if you are out of stock on your top sellers.
Multi-channel brands should demand plan for Amazon in order to reduce out of stock rates.
*Generally, an IPI score below 500 can indicate inventory management issues.
#6 Spending on Advertising for the Short Term and Not the Long Term.
Many brands over-invest in auto, category, and product targeting instead of having a keyword strategy that will drive immediate sales but also improve SEO ranking.
DSP is an underutilized tool for increasing customer retention and cross-catalog selling. As an Amazon advertising agency partner, Envision Horizons offers DSP access to our clients with no minium spend.
#7 Not Studying Your Amazon Competition
Your competition on Amazon can often be very different than who you view as your competitor off Amazon.
Know the market size of the categories you sell in and benchmark your market share against your Amazon competition. Identify what they do to win that you do not.
#8 Not Optimizing for Mobile
Recent stats indicate that 75% of online shoppers start product search on mobile first.
Always check that your images look good on desktop and mobile devices.
No one reads bullet points on mobile, so don’t get too hung up on the copy. Your images are for selling the customer, the copy is for the algorithm.
#9 Not Building Brand Demand and Driving Amazon Traffic
Building brand demand on and off of Amazon’s platform is key to improving BSR and organic rank.
Brands can drive traffic to Amazon from:
- Social
- Affiliate Marketing
- Other Paid Media
- Email & SMS List
- Influencer Partnerships
- PR activations
#10 Viewing Amazon as a Part-Time Job for an Internal Team Member
A large brand wouldn’t have a single person managing their DTC, so why is it so common that Amazon often gets assigned to someone as an add-on to their core responsibilities?
Amazon takes a village!
Our recommendation: don’t launch until you’re ready to commit!
Interested in a Growth Plan from an Amazon Agency Partner?
Reach Out: Email us at resources@envisionhorizons.com to see if you qualify for a complimentary growth plan, or fill out our website form to apply.
myHorizons: Get set up with our Amazon reporting tool myHorizons, where we consolidate 80+ Amazon reports to get a snapshot of your brand’s performance.
Consult Call: Join a call with our team to review how your brand measures up in your category, opportunities for growth, and our recommended plan of action.
