Selling on Amazon is not just a battle between which product has the best quality. The eCommerce platform is governed by algorithm rules that can be satisfied by optimizing your store and ads with keywords. If you want to make it ahead of the competition, you’ll have to take the keyword research and search engine optimization of your store seriously.
This article will discuss five tips you can do to optimize your campaigns. Having ads that have the right keywords will ensure that your sponsored products or display will appear to your target audience. SEO ensures that your efforts in campaign brainstorming fulfill their function by getting clicks and sales from your target buyers.
Table of Contents
Tip #1: Do manual and software-assisted keyword research
There are two basic ways for you to begin your keyword research: manual search and software-assisted search.
Manual search: For manual searches, you must type the product you are selling in the Amazon search box and see what keyword suggestions appear. The keywords suggested by the platform are the commonly searched keywords by customers related to your product.
For instance, if you are selling shoe inserts, type in “shoe inserts”. You will see suggestions like shoe inserts for men, shoe inserts for women, shoe inserts for flat feet, shoe inserts for shoes that are too big, shoe insert for height, and more.
Software-driven search: if you want keywords with data, you can use free or paid keyword research tools found online. The information you will get often include the following:
- Keyword list
- Keyword relevancy score
- Search volume
- Search trend
- Impression rate
- Clicks-per-search
- Cost-per-click
- Categories
- Sales
You will get thousands of keyword suggestions. However, read any guide on Amazon suspension and you’ll know that keyword stuffing is a no no. You cannot include all these keywords. The data you get will allow you to decide the best keywords to include.
Tip #2: Enact a competitor analysis through reverse ASIN
Another way to get an idea of the best keywords to include in your store is through your top competitors. Check the search results for the listings ranking on the first page that have a competitive number of reviews. Do a reverse ASIN to see what keywords the stores are using. A reverse ASIN can be done instantly using the same software you use in searching relevant keywords for your store.
Some strategies you can take after knowing your competitors’ keywords are:
- Use the exact keywords so that you can ride on the popularity of the searches.
- Find the blindspot. Check what your competitors are missing, and incorporate these keywords to your store to be ahead of the competition.
In building business success, knowing what your competitors are doing can keep you on par or even ahead of the game.
Tip #3: Find relevant keywords in other languages
The most significant perk you will have when selling on Amazon is audience reach. Amazon has a presence in 13 countries, and with shipping advancements one can buy products from the site anywhere in the world. You’ll need to search for terms in a different language, especially if your target audience is in another country.
You might be thinking how you can include these keywords in your ads and campaigns when not everybody can understand them. The strategy is to gather all these foreign language keywords and put them in the backend keywords of your store and ads.
Aside from other languages, keywords that are misspelled and abbreviated can also be included in the backend. This practice is a popular strategy for store optimization which you should also be doing.
Tip #4: Use a combination of auto and manual campaigns
Amazon has several ad types, but when you launch your campaigns, you will need to decide whether to go for manual, auto, or a combination of both campaigns.
The manual campaign allows you to pick specific keywords either on broad match, phrase match, or an exact match.
Broad match: As the name suggests, your ads will appear to a broad range of searches. Your campaign will appear to searches related to the search even if the words do not precisely match.
Phrase match: This campaign makes your ads appear when the keyword you bid for is used by customers in the beginning, end, or middle part of their search terms. It is more targeted than a broad match.
Exact match: This choice is the most limiting. Your ads will only appear when the exact keyword (word-per-word, letter-per-letter) is used by customers.
The auto-campaign, on the other hand, delegates the task of keyword picking to Amazon. The algorithm will make your ads appear to searches they think you would get the best impression from.
Here’s a tip: use both campaign types. An auto-campaign will help you start as you will understand the keywords your products appear with. You can then include these keyword results in your manual campaign.
Tip #5: Understand the power of long-tail keywords
Acquire long-tail keywords from the software you use for keyword research. However, you know your product and customers better than the algorithm and any machine. Think of what particular and detailed questions your customers will ask to lead them to your store.
Let’s go back to the shoe insert product. Is your product meant to assist individuals with foot problems? Then you can use keywords like the following: shoe inserts for plantar fasciitis women, shoe inserts for plantar fasciitis men, shoe inserts for plantar fasciitis for heel pain, and so on.
Experts suggest that these individuals with specific searches have the highest chance of purchasing because they know exactly what they are looking for. Although there may be fewer searches with long-tail keywords, you are exchanging fewer searches for quality ones that bring you sales.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of ways to promote your business. You can market your blog, promote your store in and out of Amazon, explore affiliate marketing, and so much more. In all of these promotion strategies, always put optimization at the top of your priority list. Optimize successfully, and you will ensure that your visually pleasing, mind-blowing, and provoking ads will be seen by the customers they were made for.
Author’s Bio
Jayce is the managing director of Seller Interactive, an Amazon advertising agency committed to building brands on Amazon. His content marketing expertise has led him to work with brands such as Toyota and GoDaddy, producing content that has reached over 20M views in a month. He is ready to assist D2C brands by offering services in Amazon suspension to PPC management.
