As Amazon continues to make a bigger splash in the advertising game, brands are learning how to navigate the waters in order to maximize conversions and ultimately maximize their investments. There are many tactics a brand can take to drive more traffic to their products on Amazon such as Amazon Advertising through Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Brand Stores are to name a few. But for now, let’s take a step back and talk about the first thing a brand needs to do before investing in advertising on Amazon.
A brand should start by optimizing the pages that house the product information so they’re ready for all of the traffic they’ll be receiving and are optimized towards conversion. Amazon calls this being Retail Ready.
This information is going to be covered by Denny Smolinski in his class at CosmoProf North American called: “Navigating Amazon: Control Your Own Brand’s Destiny“
What Does Retail Ready Mean?
There are three main concepts to focus on to get product detail pages (PDPs) retail ready.
Content
Providing the customer with descriptive product information helps to improve their experience and lessens the barrier to sale. Focus on the below sections to ensure PDPs are optimized for the right keywords and are following Amazon best practices.
Product Titles
- Include the brand, product line, material/key feature, product type, color, size, packaging/quantity
- Explain what the product is, not what the product does
- Place the most valuable keywords starting right next to the brand name
Bullets
- Use no more than 5 bullets and 200 characters per bullet
- Be specific and avoid using multiple sentences per bullet
- Include keywords!
- For less complex products, start with a capital letter and write in fragments with no ending punctuation
- All numbers should be numerals and measurements spelled out (quart, inch, or feet)
Product Descriptions
- Showcase what the product is, how it’s used, and its major features/benefits
- Be succinct and informative but don’t forget things like size, style, model, or assembly instructions
- Keyword optimize copy for search relevance
Images
- Include up to 9 images and make sure images look good when zoomed in (typically 1000px x 1000px)
- Make sure they are high resolution and on a plain white background
- Show product packaging along with product size/scale
Reviews and Ratings
Potential customers want validation from other people so they have trust and confidence in your product. However, it’s not enough to just have a lot of reviews (a good average is 15); they also need to be positive. When choosing which products to advertise on, those with 3.5 stars or higher should be top of the list. This threshold may change during holidays, and a rating of 4 or higher will help products stand out during those special times.
Item Status
Make sure products are in-stock and don’t have any negative profitability flags (i.e. “add-on” item). Having enough inventory is key as brands shouldn’t spend money on driving traffic to products that a customer can’t buy in the first place. When an item is considered an add-on, it’s typically because it has a low price point (under $10) and it needs to be bundled with others to hit the $25 minimum in order to be shipped. This can be a hindrance and poor experience for customers.
A brand can have the right account structure, keyword strategy, and ad placements to bring customers to their PDPs, but if the customer experience is flawed when they get there, a brand risks losing the sale. By taking the first step in getting retail ready, it is not only helping campaigns perform better, but also allowing a brand to more efficiently spend their Amazon marketing dollars.
If you’d like to learn how we can help get you Amazon retail ready, contact us today.
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