Amazon’s search engine algorithm is continually being refined and evolved, and no one outside of Amazon can definitively provide the exact formula for how it works. However, it is known that the keywords in sellers’ product listings significantly influence their product’s ranking. This raises a question. How can merchants optimise Amazon SEO with alternative, third-party tools?
Generally, sellers want to research which keywords rank the highest for the products they sell. Otherwise, they run the risk of using keywords that a low number of customers use. This can limit how many people see their product.
A prime example is listing a men’s bathing suit as ‘shorts’ in the product title, which will likely hinder where sellers’ product shows up in Amazon’s search engine results page (SERP). Given that long tail search terms are more effective, sellers will likely need to incorporate these keywords into their listings to optimise for search.
This is a series of three articles, also read Understanding Amazon ranking factors and Amazon SEO Top 5 visibility tips.
Alternative Amazon SEO strategy
Sellers might also consider using the next-to-highest ranking keywords for their products as an alternative strategy.
Smaller merchants or even retailers or brands launching new products can face overwhelming competition for the top keywords. In these scenarios, optimising a listing for a ‘white blouse’ and expecting it to land at the top of Amazon’s SERP is unlikely. Sellers might end up ranking higher using a long tail keyword such as ‘white silk blouse.’
While merchants should research the most popular short and long tail keywords, they should not overlook three other valuable resources for keyword research:
- Product reviews.
- Seller’ competitor product listings.
- The top sellers within the specific, more niche subcategories that sellers’ products will fall in.
By analysing these sources of content, merchants can find relevant, popular keywords that customers use — and that their competitors have already exploited — and populate their listings from there.
Amazon SEO optimisation via third-party tools
According to new The Amazon SEO Playbook report by Feedvisor, there are many third-party Amazon keyword tools for conducting research, some of which are free and some of which are not. The following are a few different types of tools which analyse keywords in a slightly different way:
Reverse ASIN lookup
Frequently used for competitor research, this tool allows sellers to search for any (Amazon standard identification number) ASIN and see which keywords are ranking for those products.
Keyword index checker
This tool allows merchants to see which of their front-end keyword search terms are indexing with Amazon and which are not. If keywords do not index, sellers’ product will not show up for that search term. With an automated tool of this nature, merchants will save time optimising keywords for their product listing.
Keyword aggregator
This tool will provide all of the optimal keywords for sellers’ product. First, sellers need to enter a keyword that can serve as a basis for their product, also known as a ‘seed word.’ Then, the tool will present all the other high-ranking keywords related to it.
Amazon’s search engine is designed to help people find and buy products. For this reason, sellers should add in the highest ranking keywords to the fields that matter most for promoting their products. Those are their product title, description, bullet points, and backend keywords.