Updates, optimizations and changes also happen on the Amazon platform. Here we regularly report the latest Amazon news.
Amazon News
Amazon is an enormous sales market for online retailers. This makes it all the more important not to get lost in the abundance of offers. How operators of an Amazon shop can increase their visibility on the platform is what we report in the Amazon News section of our magazine.
Amazon optimizes its ranking algorithm - what retailers should keep in mind
In our blog we have already dealt with the ranking factors on Amazon. Because on this marketplace too, retailers should optimize their data in order to be prominently displayed in the search results.
Now quite a bit has apparently changed in the ranking algorithm. According to Marketplace Analytics, three fundamental changes are being made to the keyword settings, which retailers should absolutely take into account as soon as the new features are available to them. We summarize them here briefly and concisely.
The most important changes at a glance
- The space for keywords is being expanded
Instead of five fields with room for 50 characters, there are now 1000 characters available per field. In total, that's 5000 characters that can be filled with keywords. - Relevance of keywords
The relevance of the keywords in the individual keyword fields has shifted. Although the product title still has the highest relevance, in second place now come the general keywords (Seller Central search terms). These are followed by the attributes (bullet points) and, in last place, the product description, which continues to play a special role as a secondary keyword field. Important keywords should therefore accordingly be entered in the first two fields. - Character count of product titles limited
The product titles are being limited in their character count. Although this change is still in the testing phase for Germany, it can be assumed that the character count will be restricted, as in the USA, to a maximum of 150 to 200 characters
Conclusion:
Amazon retailers can now really go all out when it comes to keywords. However, extensive and conscientious keyword research is still of great importance, since the search terms gain or lose relevance depending on the field.
Furthermore, an optimized product title that focuses on the most important information about the product is crucial.
It is best to leave the editing and overhaul of your Amazon products in professional hands. For example, in ours.
Optimizing ranking factors on Amazon
published on 11/06/2015
For most online retailers, it has by now become a matter of course to offer their products not only in their own online shop but also on the shipping giant Amazon. The advantages are clear:
- Via their own Amazon shop, retailers reach more potential customers. Around a third of all prospective buyers conduct their product search directly on Amazon instead of first on Google.
- Via an Amazon shop, your own products can also be offered to an international circle of buyers.
- Amazon enjoys a high level of trust among customers from the outset. Every seller can benefit from this.
But sales on Amazon don't happen as if by magic. Online retailers also have to follow various factors here so that their products are found in the Amazon search.
As always, these are soft factors that cannot fundamentally be set in stone. Nevertheless, they should be adjusted and optimized for a good ranking.
- Product title
The product title perhaps has the highest relevance for the ranking. It should definitely be designed so that it contains all the information a buyer might search for. Therefore, in addition to the main keyword, it is important to incorporate some secondary keywords. Extensive and conscientious keyword research is thus a must. Of course, the brand name and some product details should also be included. Nevertheless: the title must make sense, because it is clicked on by people, not by search engines. The specified character count of the title should definitely be fully used and filled with meaningful information. - Product image
On Amazon, what applies everywhere else also applies: the eye buys too. Online retailers should definitely offer their customers more than one product image to view. This appears reputable and the customer can get an exact picture of the product. Of course, the images should be of sufficient quality, also so that the popular zoom function works. For this, the product image must have a minimum resolution of 1280 pixels on the long side. - Product description
On the sales page, retailers should get the maximum out of the bullet point list (features) and the product description. In the list located next to the product image, you have the opportunity to place keywords and relevant article information that were not used in the article title. In the product description, however, keywords make little sense, since the search algorithm does not take them into account for the ranking at this point. Here, though, you have space to shine with a great text that captivates the customer, informs them sufficiently and encourages them to buy. This text should, like article descriptions in general, be attractively structured, for example through subheadings, paragraphs, highlighted passages and bullet point lists. - Product price
Of course, the price is a decisive factor in most purchasing decisions. In many cases, a product with a low price ranks higher, even though a competitor may have been on the market longer or has more customer reviews. Pricing policy is a sensitive topic and should not be carelessly overlooked. - Service
Many customers expect excellent service from Amazon sellers from the outset. This includes fast delivery, professional packaging and uncomplicated and free returns. Free shipping has also almost become the norm. - Customer reviews
Up to a certain number, which varies depending on the category, the number of customer reviews counts as a ranking factor. After that, an average rating becomes more important for the ranking.
With a few adjustments, the Amazon ranking can certainly be positively influenced. Incidentally, sales themselves also lead to a better ranking. That means: sales improve the ranking, the ranking improves the sales. So optimizing the products in the Amazon shop pays off in two respects.
Amazon knits itself a marketplace for handmade goods
published on 10/09/2015
Do-it-yourself platforms like Etsy and DaWanda could soon use their own offered products, such as wool sweaters and knitted socks, themselves. The two marketplaces had better bundle up, because with „Handmade at Amazon“ the sales giant from Seattle is entering the D.I.Y. sector. There had already been whispering in the scene about this step since the spring, which has now at least been carried out on the Amazon.com platform.
To start with, the products can be found in seven categories (jewelry, decoration, arts and crafts, paper goods and party supplies, kitchen and dining, furniture, covers and blankets). If you take a liking to the products, you can also learn quite a bit about the artist who created them on the respective article pages. The sellers are introduced with a photo and a small symbol shows which country they come from.
More reach for do-it-yourselfers
This gives the otherwise so sober marketplace the personal touch that customers of handmade products probably expect. In total, 80,000 products from 5,000 retailers in 60 countries are to be offered. The sellers, incidentally, pay no listing fees to Amazon. Nevertheless, Amazon does let itself be paid well for its new service. A hefty 12% of the sales price goes to the sales giant. Competitor Etsy charges its artists 20 cents per listed item and 3.5% of the sales price.
Etsy has now been successfully active in the D.I.Y. business for ten years and has some experience in this sector. But „Handmade at Amazon“ naturally trumps with the enormous reach of the giant. Perhaps it is precisely this combination of the two platforms that can bring artists the orders and sales they need. When and whether „Handmade at Amazon“ will also be available in the online retailer's other channels is not known.
Fraudsters hijack Amazon shops with fake offers
published on 09/28/2015
Online retailers who use Amazon as a sales channel should absolutely check their shops. As has now become known, criminals are smuggling their fake products into the shops of reputable providers.
In doing so, the fraudsters already prompt potential buyers in the condition description of the product to send an email to an address given there. If the user goes along with this, they receive a reply email in which the supposed seller demands their name and address. With the help of this data, a forged Amazon order confirmation is then sent with a request for an advance payment transfer of the purchase amount.
In this way, the fraudsters also bypass the customer's protection by Amazon, since the payment is not made through the Amazon system.
Recognizing fake offers in the Amazon shop
So how can such fake offers be recognized? Anyone who switches on their common sense when shopping online can easily recognize the indicators of fake offers. For example, incredibly low prices, especially in comparison with other retailers, are a sign of a dubious offer. Also, if the offered product doesn't fit at all with the rest of the shop's range, one should become suspicious. In addition, honest providers always use the Amazon system, because that way the seller is secured too.
How exactly the fraudsters manage to hijack the foreign shops is not sufficiently known. According to information from the consumer advice center of North Rhine-Westphalia, sales seminars offered to Amazon retailers are the basis for the machinations. In doing so, the crooks apparently misuse the names of the retailers. These should inform themselves about these cases in the videos and tutorials from Amazon.
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