Adding a product listing to Amazon’s marketplace without regard for Amazon SEO is not enough. Making sure that the A9 algorithm picks up and promotes your products is essential to having successful product listings. While Amazon does not exactly detail how its algorithm works, there is a clear goal in mind: 

The A9 algorithm promotes products that customers actually buy.

In this article, we’ll look into what the A9 algorithm is, which factors influence it, and how to better optimize your listings to rank higher on Amazon’s search results.

What Is Amazon A9 Algorithm?

Before we can get into details about how Amazon’s A9 Algorithm works, we need to understand what it is. This algorithm is what powers Amazon’s search engine — it is essentially the foundation for “Amazon SEO.”

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and details the process of enhancing the positioning of your post. 

While it may sound strange to use the term “SEO” for a marketplace like Amazon, the A9 Algorithm is quite similar to any other SEO algorithm. There is, of course, one major difference between Amazon’s algorithm and Google’s. 

Where SEO algorithms for search engines focus on promoting the most relevant web pages, Amazon’s algorithm emphasizes the conversion rate of product listings. In other words, it focuses on promoting products that sell. 

What Influences the A9 Algorithm?

The factors that influence the algorithm for Amazon include:

Keyword Relevance

Relevant keywords help Amazon’s A9 Algorithm to know what your product is as well as what it does. The more relevant your keywords are, the more likely your product is to show up in search results looking for your product or similar products.

To find out if a keyword is relevant to your product, you can try searching the term in Amazon’s search bar and see if products like yours show up.

Conversion Rate

While many factors go into the algorithm as a whole, it strongly favors products that produce higher conversion rates.

As an e-commerce website, this emphasis on conversion rates makes sense. If your product isn’t selling, it won’t appear high in the search results.

Sales Velocity

The algorithm will promote products that are being consistently searched for and purchased. This means the more products you sell, the higher those products will rank on Amazon’s search results.

Sales Rank

This is a number that Amazon assigns to all Amazon listings as soon as they have had a sale. For Amazon, this use of the “Amazon Best Sellers Rank” (BSR) is to compare how well products are selling in their categories and sub-categories. 

The algorithm will promote products that rank higher as customers are more likely to trust a higher-ranking product.

Reviews

A lot of people read reviews before purchasing to determine if the product is actually how it appears online. The algorithm is more likely to promote products with more reviews because people are more likely to buy the product.

Fulfillment Method

The A9 algorithm will often rank products that are “Fulfilled by Amazon” (FBA) higher than those that ship independently. This is because these FBA products are eligible for Amazon’s signature 1-2 day Prime shipping option — a big draw for many customers. 

How Can You Optimize Your Product Listings for the A9 Algorithm?

There’s more to the A9 algorithm than simple optimization of your Amazon product listings. Here are some other key factors:

Product Titles 

You want one main keyword phrase at the beginning of the title and you do not want to repeat words. After your keyword phrase, add additional descriptors, such as size, color, or model.

Bullet Points

This is where you can put any additional information or details that you aren’t able to show in your title or images. These details help customers understand your product and make informed decisions before purchasing.

Images 

All images on your listing should be high-quality, clear, and crisp. Make sure that your product photos do not include too much white space. A lot of white space will lead to a very unclear thumbnail image of your product. Other images to include could be instructional photos or photos that detail your product.

Product Description 

This is where you get to describe to your customers how your product is going to help them.

For example, what will be in the package if a customer purchases the product? Is there a warranty? Is there else they would need to purchase separately to use your product?

Backend Keywords 

These keywords are not seen by customers, they are exclusively for the A9 algorithm. These keywords are essential to making sure that the A9 algorithm will see your listing.

Need Help Optimizing and Managing Your Amazon Listings?

With all these things to keep in mind to keep your Amazon listings ranking well, it can be extremely overwhelming to manage it all on your own. But you don’t have to do it alone! Anata is here to help!

If you want help managing your account, optimizing your listings, and much more, reach out to us today!

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