Amazon SEO – A Full Guide with 40+ Expert Tips

Amazon SEO Strategy

Below are 40 tips on the best SEO for ranking well on Amazon. Let’s kick it off with a few general directives:

1. Every product on Amazon has an allocated amount of space for relevant keywords. That space is typically between 4000-5000 characters of total optimization. Don’t go light on the number of keywords that are utilized. Amazon is a search engine and the only way to show up on the search page (for free) is by ranking for relevant search terms. SEO Action item: Max out the space for keywords as much as possible.
2. Build a keyword universe not by guessing what terms your product should rank for, but by using all of the Amazon SEO tools available to you. Example Amazon SEO tools: Brand Analytics (this lives in Amazon Seller Central), Search Query Performance Dashboard (also in Amazon Seller Central), Product Opportunity Explorer and 3rd Party SEO Tooling (myHorizons, Helium10, Jungle Scout, etc). SEO Action Item: The best way to do SEO on Amazon is by leveraging the tools & data that are available. Don’t take guesses.
3. Don’t copy a competitor’s listing or keyword. They could be doing a bad job even if they are selling a lot! Use multiple competitors to aggregate relevant keywords across the niche and use those selectively to build out your listing. SEO Action Item: Review competitors on and off of Amazon to see what words they are using to sell products.
4. Fill out every tab in the edit product section as robustly as possible. Even things not mentioned below. Every field is added there for a reason, and if it’s relevant to your listing, filling it out can only help with discoverability. SEO Action Item: Increase product discoverability on Amazon by filling out all of the relevant, requested fields on the back-end of the listing.

Keyword Research Tools

Title – How to Optimize Your Product Title for SEO on Amazon (7 Tips)

1. Check for maximum character count (usually 200 but can be as low as 50 for professional beauty).
2. Start with the brand name. 
3. Maximize the first 80 characters for mobile readiness. (E.g. if size is a very important factor in click-through and purchasing don’t hide it at the end of the title).
4. Your most important (relevant and high search volume) keywords should be at the start of the title.
5. If there is a word in the title that doesn’t have SEO juice, ask yourself again if it’s necessary in the title. 
6. Don’t keyword stuff! Keywords are vitally important but they should still maintain a measure of readability. Satisfy the consumer and the algorithm.
7. Check your category attributes. In some instances, the sizing or pack quantity shows below the title automatically. If that’s the case there is no need to add it to the title.

Check out our post on optimizing your Amazon product title.

How to Optimize Back end Search Terms for SEO on Amazon (7 Tips)

1. It is not necessary to repeat keywords in this field. Try and reserve this space for unique terms. Use this space for important keywords that may not make sense on the product front-end. 
2. Make use of translations of the main terms in other languages. Spanish particularly.
3. Use 250 bytes total. Note the use of ‘bytes’ and not characters. Some characters use multiple bytes so be aware of the distinction between the two. Going over the limit will cause a lack of indexing of the entire section!
4. Use synonyms, spelling variations (no need for common misspellings), topic or niche keywords, and abbreviations
5. Put words in the most logical order.  A customer is more likely to search for “big stuffed teddy bears” than for “teddy stuffed bears.”
6. Formatting is important. Don’t use commas or punctuation marks
7. Don’t include brands or ASINS. 

How to write bullet points on Amazon for SEO – (6 Tips for Product Features)

1. Use max 250 characters per bullet
2. Keep below 1000 characters total. The total indexed characters for all of the bullets is 1000 characters. Anything over 1000 characters will not be indexed.
3. Did you review where the bullets show up for the category you are working in? The placement varies in mobile by category. Sometimes it shows up near the top and sometimes way at the bottom. Review and write accordingly.
4. Features tell- benefits sell! Use benefits, as benefits are the results and outcomes of the customer getting and/or using the product. Features are the facts and the details of the product.
5. Weave important, high-volume keywords into the listing, but use the bullets more for selling the product, for adding emotion and reiterating the main selling points
6. Did you call out what sets your product apart from the competition?

Writing an Amazon Product Description with SEO in Mind – (5 Tips)

1. Does your product have A+ content? If yes, the description field will most likely be hidden from visibility on the PDP. Confirm this before proceeding. If the product is new, check the subcategory it will be going into to see what the PDP looks like with and without A+ Content.
2. The product description typically allows for 2000 characters, keep your content below that amount, but strive for getting as close to that 2000 character amount as possible.
3. The first 200 characters of your description are crucial. Mobile generally truncates anything past 200 characters. Additionally, when Google pulls in product descriptions it typically pulls the featured snippet on Google results from the description section of the PDP. Keep this section for your most important keywords and product benefits.
4. If your product doesn’t have A+ Content, use this section to reiterate what was mentioned in the bullets but use the allocated space to add less important, but relevant keywords.
5. No HTML! HTML was previously allowed by Amazon, but that rule has been changed. Don’t add HTML and if your listing already has HTML, remove it to ensure proper indexing.

Using the Subject Matter Field on Amazon for SEO (3 Tips)

1. Check to see if your listing has this field. Not all products do. The amount of space per product can vary as well. Some products have only 1 field with 50 characters, some have the option to add more – up to 5 fields with 50 characters each.
2. Amazon characterizes Subject Matter Field as “What is the product about?” Therefore, when choosing keywords, you need to consider their relevance to your product.
3. Try and use descriptive phrases in your listing. If you are selling a coffee mug it would be appropriate to add a phrase like ‘ceramic coffee mug’. But don’t go too descriptive, as you can often lose search volume by doing so.

SEO for A+ Content on Amazon (4 tips)

1. A+ Content overrides the description section on the PDP. What this means is that if you have A+ Content, your description will not show. Conversely, if you don’t have A+ Content your description will show. 
2. Most A+ Content does not index! This is not a place for strategically adding keywords to help with indexing or to add high-volume search targets. However, the A+ Image Alt tags do index. See below.
3. Every image on A+ Content has an option to add alt tags. Alt tags are used in SEO to describe what the picture or image is. Use this section to do that AND to add relevant, high-volume search terms. 
4. Every alt tag has room for up to 100 characters, utilize the full amount of space.

Choosing the Right Product Category on Amazon for SEO (3 Tips)

1. If a product is in the wrong root category, it can limit visibility via categorical breadcrumbs. Be sure to check that the item type keyword is correct. That can generally be found in the vital info section of the product edit listing page. 

2. If you see additional subcategories listed on the product page, most likely this is due to Amazon categorizing the product there to help with additional discoverability. If you see no category listed, see the next step. 

3. If the product has no BSR or no category listed when looking at the PDP then it is important to be sure it is added to help with discoverability (An alternative way to see if a product has a missing subcategory is by using the Amazon Pricing & SEO Tool – Keepa) Step 1: Try and edit the item type keyword to add it again. If that doesn’t work Step 2: Create a case with seller support.

Product Attributes on Amazon & SEO

1. Have you added all of the relevant product attributes? Product attributes like size, color, weight, etc. are important for filtering. Without these attributes, discoverability can be limited and even indexing can be disabled in certain subcategories. For example, if your product is in Baby but doesn’t list an appropriate age it may be excluded from searches within that subcategory.

Additional factors for good Amazon SEO visibility (3 important considerations)

Inventory: Inventory in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. If your offering is low in stock, it’s more likely that it won’t show in all available customer locations affecting search visibility for a select portion of your audience. Maintaining stock above the minimum can help with SEO. Check out our posts on forecasting inventory for Amazon and improving your IPI score.

Price: Price is probably one of the most important considerations when it comes to customer conversion and ultimately, Amazon’s organic ranking. A non-competitive price can lead to poor SEO results even when all of the above is done correctly. 

Reviews: Social proof can make or break a listing. A poorly reviewed product eventually gets buried organically if conversion rates suffer. Check out our strategies for improving product reviews on Amazon.

Get Assistance Running Your Amazon Business

If you want assistance running your Amazon business, or are curious about how to reach your full potential selling on Amazon, see if you qualify for a free audit from Envision Horizons. 

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Also, consider subscribing to a software solution such as myHorizons. Easily stay up to date on your brand’s performance across sales and advertising, and get automated brand management suggestions from our new machine learning tool.

Sign up for your free trial using the code 1MONTHTRIAL during check out.

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