Decoding Amazon A9 Algorithm For Improved Product Ranking And SEO

E-commerce is gradually morphing into the primary source for customers to buy their products/services. And while the digital marketplace hosts several top-dogs such as E-bay, Shopify, Flipkart, and more, Amazon outshines them all.

Currently, Amazon is the hottest e-commerce platform in the world. Statista reveals that the e-commerce giant boasted a monthly traffic average of a whopping 3.68 billion visitors in 2020 alone. Now that’s a massive number and a major reason why the platform has a solid competitive base. Fortunately, sellers can break through this cluster of competitors by crafting an Amazon SEO strategy that goes well with the Amazon A9 algorithm.

Whether you’re an ambitious newbie looking to penetrate the Amazon marketplace or an experienced veteran with quite some experience, this blog will help you decode and leverage the Amazon A9 algorithm effectively.

Amazon A9 Algorithm At A Glance

A9 is the search algorithm Amazon uses to determine the ranking of product listings on the platform’s SERPs. It shares similarities with traditional search engines like Google in the sense it considers ‘keywords’ as a crucial factor. But in its entirety, Amazon’s product ranking algorithm is quite different than most others.

Amazon is a product-based search engine. Meaning, the Amazon A9 algorithm does not take into account informational or navigational search intent. Rather, it heavily focuses on sales as a deciding factor. For instance: A customer on Amazon would not be searching for the history of or directions to a washing machine. Their intent is to buy an excellent washing machine.

Being a business entity itself, Amazon’s central goal is to promote highly convertible product listings that are going to sell well and increase the company’s profit margins. Moreover, Amazon values customer experience tremendously; its sole purpose is to match the buyers with the exact product they’re looking for and with utmost ease.

In this sense, the Amazon A9 algorithm is built around two core aspects: (A) Performance of the product listing and (B) Relevance of the product listing. In simple words, product listings that flaunt strong sales performance history and use appropriate keywords to match the users’ queries will be ranked higher on Amazon’s search algorithm.

For an Amazon seller, understanding the nuances and factors of Amazon’s ranking algorithm is key to devising an effective Amazon SEO strategy. Therefore, you must optimize your product listings by keeping the following performance-related and relevance-related factors in your mind.

Relevance-Related Factors For Amazon A9

When a customer types in a search query in Amazon’s search bar, he/she expects results that exactly match their requirements. In this regard, the A9 algorithm puts significant stress on the keyword aspect of a product listing. At the same time, Amazon sellers must remember to optimize the listing content to make it consumer-friendly rather than stuffing it with a bunch of keywords. Because if the buyers aren’t contented, the Amazon search algorithm isn’t interested.

1. Focus On Product Title and Brand Name

Your product title must be no longer than 60 characters and always include the utmost relevant keywords for your products. And while your brand name should be included in the title, make sure it also appears right next to it and links to your brand’s additional products. Furthermore, the product title should clearly state the name of the item being sold and its features such as color, size, and quantity (if included).

Ultimately, Amazon’s ranking algorithm will refer to the words used in your title to determine the listing’s rank. So be sure to keep it concise as well as keyword-rich.

2. Consumer-Centric Bullet Points and Description

Amazon offers limited space to its sellers to include 5 bullet points highlighting the product’s most important features. You want to use this space very smartly i.e. to communicate your product's USPs to the viewers and telling them why it’s better than the rest. And since Amazon A9 indexes these points, you must also incorporate relevant keywords in them.

Additionally, your product description game must be equally strong. Besides being informational, it must use compelling language and value-added information to convert the leads into confirmed sales. The ultimate goal here is to make your listing stand out from your rivals. So don’t shy away from strategically inserting valuable keywords in the description. But be sure to keep them conversational and natural-sounding. 

3. Backend Keywords Are Valuable

Backend keywords are basically ‘hidden keywords’ that aren’t visible to the customers but are extremely important for listing optimization. Amazon limits the length of such search terms to 250 bytes. You can leverage this section by adding keywords that did not make it to title, description, or bullet points, certain long-tail search terms, and even product abbreviations. Additionally, you may also include synonyms, spelling variations, alternate names, etc.

Performance-Related Factors For Amazon A9

Most of the performance-related factors are outside the purview of Amazon sellers. Nonetheless, they must be thoroughly aware of these components to formulate an effective Amazon SEO strategy.

1. Successful Sales Performance History

As mentioned earlier, Amazon A9 heavily relies on your sales performance history and conversion rates to rank your listings. This, in turn, generates a positive feedback loop. Consider this: Amazon’s ranking algorithm is impressed by your product’s excellent sales track. So it pushes it on top of the search results. This increases your listing’s visibility which has a direct positive influence on your sales and rankings and so on.

If you’re a beginner who is just starting out on Amazon, consider leveraging the Amazon PPC campaigns, providing lucrative offers, and keeping the price highly competitive to boost sales.

2. Competitive Pricing Strategy

Even with other dynamic factors at play, customers majorly base their purchasing decisions around the price of the product. This is why having a competitive pricing strategy in place forms an integral part of your Amazon SEO strategy. The best way to get going is by conducting an extensive competitor analysis. Look around and find out the price levels at which your competitors, both on and off Amazon, are selling similar products.

Alternatively, you can choose from a variety of repricing tools and software to ensure the optimal price limits for your listings. 

3. Adequate Inventory & Order Fulfilment Management

Amazon has a strong distaste for customer inconveniences. So if you find your inventory to be out of stock due to poor management, Amazon A9 will not think twice before giving it a thumb of disapproval. Make sure to constantly monitor and regulate your stock to keep the buyers contented. You can even resort to using inventory management tools for enhanced performance.

Additionally, order fulfilment is a crucial component that can make or break your seller score and impact your Amazon SEO performance. The best alternative here is to go for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Not only will FBA streamline your fulfilment process but it will also offer a bunch of benefits such as Prime two-day shipping, storage space, and much more.

4. Quality Images Rake in Sales

The Amazon A9 algorithm does not concern itself with product images directly. But they play a critical role in improving your listing’s click-through rate (CTR) and sales metrics.

Amazon allows a seller to showcase 7-9 product images to the buyers. You must ensure to use as much of the space as possible and meet Amazon’s product image requirements. Use these pictures to display your product from various angles and highlight its functionalities via lifestyle images.

5. Customer Reviews to Establish Authenticity

Reviews and ratings reflect your brand’s social authority. While it may not be a direct performance-related factor, customer reviews have a significant impact on your sales. And since Amazon prioritizes customer service, listings with 4 or 5 stars are likely to gain the attention of its ranking algorithm. 

However, it is equally important to deal with the negative reviews in a timely and responsible fashion. You need to convince the buyers that you value their time and the quality of experience they had with your product.

In A Nutshell

The Amazon A9 algorithm is strongly inclined towards those product listings that demonstrate solid performance and relevance ratings. It carefully analyzes various components such as product title, price, availably and sales velocity to determine the rank of a listing on the SERPs. And now that the competition on the platform is higher than ever, an A9-friendly Amazon SEO strategy is the need of the hour for every Amazon seller.

Certainly, coping with the dynamic nature of an E-commerce market like Amazon is not an easy job. But with YourSeller as your Amazon marketing partner, you will find an extensive team of Amazon SEO experts at your disposal, ready to take your listings up the product ranking ladder.