Few people realize the warp speed by which our technology and shopping behaviors are changing. We don’t call our cell phones “smart phones” anymore because we assume they are. No longer do we need an iPod to listen to our music during our workout at the gym because our phones do that for us. We may drive to the store to buy household items or workout gloves, but it’s easier to just buy online. Another thing many people aren’t aware of is just how much Amazon has reached into our daily lives.
For years we assumed that Google was the authority when it came to searching for things online. Recently we flaws and biases have become apparent. Because we “trust” Amazon as a retailer, we should not assume that the options presented to us are the most relevant or the best products. On a daily basis, millions of merchants (like GymPaws) try to answer the question how to optimize Amazon listings so that they can master the direct to customer production stream. It does not matter if you are buying GymPaws Workout Gloves or a toilet plunger, a savvy consumer should learn what to look for.
How To Optimize Amazon Listings – GymPaws Workout Gloves Case Study
Amazon likes to “rank their products. Some of the sub categories include Best Selling, Most Wished For, Recent Releases and the list can go on and on. Using the exercise and fitness category, let’s assume you want to buy workout gloves. If you were to search Google for GymPaws of course you would find our gym gloves website. If you were to search Amazon however, you may find a bunch of products. The reason is not that surprising. Amazon makes money off of every dollar you spend. Their fees range from 15 percent to 30 percent of every dollar.
It’s not far reaching then to consider that Amazon will show you those products on which they make the most profit. A lot of people search for GymPaws workout gloves off of Amazon and therefore they have a high traffic volume. Other merchants may choose to capitalize on this visibility by trying to include the brand name in their own product listings descriptions. This is the single biggest error a novice seller can make.
What Is Amazon Brand Registry
Your trademarked brand name can be included in the Amazon Brand Registry. You brand is legitimized by Amazon once they have verified your information with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Because of these checks and balances, it is against Amazon’s policies to use another brand name as a keyword. A new seller or someone looking how to optimize Amazon listings, my be tempted to use a known brand name to gain traffic to their own. This actually works against the seller or merchant who is not verified.
To apply for Amazon Brand Registry, your Seller Account must be linked to that of the manufacturer of the product you are registering a brand for. You do this by verifying an official email address among other verification. You will also be asked to provide the physical address of the brand owner as well as a government issued identification as well as your trademark registration paperwork.
How To Optimize Amazon Listings Without Best Seller Ranking or Reviews
If you are a relatively new seller on Amazon you must first make sure that you have a Professional Seller account. Once that is verified there are a couple of ways to proceed. Again using Workout Gloves as an example, here are some ideas.
Gather information from your Google Analytics and Facebook Business manager accounts. Provided they are set up properly on your website, this is a font of information. These keywords can be used to optimize your listing on Amazon.
Begin running some Sponsored Advertising Campaigns. Set a maximum daily budget you are comfortable spending. Choose the “Automatic” keyword bidding option. This allows Amazon’s algorithms to test where your products might find a customer most easily. After a week or two, you can then download this advertising data in “Search Term Reports.” The search terms found in your report will help you to optimize your Amazon listings.