If you’re looking for a hub of “Cards Against Humanity” or the newest in technology with “Echo Dot”, Amazon is the place to be. On a website that is constantly updating and has three times more search volume for products than Google, Amazon is a product’s dream for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Amazon Algorithm

Google has their own algorithm that helps SEO users reach their potential, and so does Amazon. Amazon’s search engine algorithm is called A9. Back in 2003, it started as a subsidiary with the sole purpose of placing the right products in front of the right user. This is why when you buy a pair of shoes; you will constantly see shoes on their website with “recommended purchases” for you.

A9 gives an official statement on how their product works below, but we’ve summed it up that they are all-knowing beings who understand what you want before you click it.

“Our work starts long before a customer types a query.  We've been analyzing data, observing past traffic patterns, and indexing the text describing every product in our catalog before the customer has even decided to search.  As soon as we see the first keystroke, we're ready with instant suggestions and a comprehensive set of search results.” –A9

Merchant Words

One great tool out there for companies is the website merchantwords.com. They’ve gone into Amazon the same way Google builds their own index and published search volume estimate for Amazon only. This can help a brand better understand what keywords they want to connect to their own products to ensure better search results.

Keyword Types

Another piece of marketing that is not new to everyone, but new to Amazon in late 2015, are the different phases of search keywords. Google AdWords uses this technology for their advertising as well. The three styles are broad, phrase, and exact. Broad will give you keywords that might include one or two of your actual keywords. Phrase will then include your keyword but turn it into a longer phrase. This is followed by exact keyword which means only when your specific keyword is searched will it be pulled up.

Keyword Inspector

A great tool for brands is the Keyword Inspector. This website has a Reverse ASIN Tool as is most popular tool that has helped 1,000s of Amazon Sellers find their keywords for their products. Just as Google AdWords has a keyword planner, Amazon has Keyword Inspector to help analyze and understand what keywords will help their users in selling their products.

Product Listings

When a brand is working on getting their product listed higher, Amazon takes a couple factors into account. First the conversion rate, is your product being bought as much as it is being seen? Next, they look into your images. Are you sharing high-quality images of your product that ensure a “zoomability” factor about your product? And finally price is a strong factor in the products listing. If the price of the product on Amazon is similar to the price of the product on other websites, the buyer is more likely to buy from Amazon.

Sponsored Products

In Amazon shopping, another marketing technique that many sellers use is Sponsored Products. This is the most powerful tool for driving visibility of a product as well as providing a high conversion rate. There are two targeting techniques that sellers have to decide between. First is the Automatic Targeting which is exactly as it sounds: Amazon decides from their A9 algorithm where your product should be placed and what consumers should see them. The other technique is Manual Targeting. For this process a seller must go in and manually set keyword options for the ad campaign and targeting your audience yourself .

Amazon has their algorithm set up in a way to best benefit their sellers. Without the sellers, they wouldn’t have an algorithm to worry about. We’re always here to help with any concerns you might have about Amazon SEO or any SEO questions.