The Amazon marketplace can be very lucrative, but it's also very crowded, and it can be difficult to stand out as a seller. If you want to rise to the top, you need to do everything you can to boost the visibility and appeal of your listings.
In this article, we'll go over several ways that you can promote your listings without buying ads. Sometimes promoting your listings feels like a catch-22: you need sales so that you can buy ads, but you need ads so you can get sales. These tips are great if you're just starting out on Amazon and don't yet have a budget for advertising. They'll help get your listings in front of customers so you can begin improving your conversions without having to pay for ads.
These tips will cover both internal and external promotion. Internal promotion includes things you can do within the Amazon ecosystem to improve the visibility of your listings, such as improving the optimization of your listings to rank higher and winning the Buy Box for your listings. External promotion is about driving traffic from outside Amazon to your listings in the Amazon marketplace and includes things like social media promotions and backlinks.
SEO Optimization
Search engine optimization is essential for getting your listings seen by shoppers. Amazon's own search engine as well as external search engines will rank your listings better if you ensure that you're using accurate and popular keywords in your product descriptions.
One tool that can help you optimize your listings is Google Keyword Planner. It's a free google tool that will show you the monthly search volume of different keywords in Google searches.
Scope is a similar tool that's designed specifically for Amazon and will show you additional relevant information about your listings.
Using your keywords throughout your product description, as well as in the actual product title, will help your listings rank better both in Amazon searches and Google searches, which will in turn get your listings seen by more people. Using the right keywords will improve your conversion rate because people will find exactly what they're looking for.
Use Social Media to Share Listings
People are spending a lot of time on social media these days, so take advantage of that by sharing your listings through your brand accounts. The best Amazon marketing strategy uses all the platforms you have available to get your products seen by potential customers.
Of course, with social media, it's important to keep in mind that users don't just want to see ads. The best way to utilize social media is to tell a story with your posts. You should seek to add value to your followers' feeds, giving them a reason to click through to your Amazon product listings.
Partner with Social Media Influencers
A great way to gain reach with your products is by partnering with influencers on social media platforms like Instagram. No matter your sector, you can likely find people to help you promote your brand in exchange for free products and promotions to offer their audience.
If you're not already following relevant accounts on Instagram and Twitter, get started there, by finding popular accounts who have an interest in your product area and engaging with them. Build lists of key personalities that could make great partners and reach out to them with your
pitch. It's a great way to spread awareness of your brand and products and make a name for yourself among the people most likely to want to buy your products.
Maintain Good Amazon Ratings
Your Amazon ratings are very important for both your search engine rankings and your customer appeal. Maintaining good ratings will keep your products ranking well and people browsing Amazon search results are more likely to click on a listing that has a good star rating from a large number of customers. Reviews are one of the most important aspects of online shopping since customers can't examine a product in person.
Maintain Good Shipping Practices
Another important way to make sure that your products have a strong showing on Amazon is to maintain good shipping performance. It may seem like a separate issue, but it's actually tied to the visibility of your listings. Here are some tips for ensuring that your shipping performance is strong.
Pay attention to your metrics: take advantage of all the tools available to you in Amazon Seller Central. You can monitor your on-time delivery rate and valid tracking rate, among other statistics, to make sure that your shipping is effective and your customers are satisfied.
Use Fulfillment By Amazon: the FBA program is great because not only does it give you access to Amazon Prime members who look for FBA products, it also takes much of the order fulfillment process off your plate, freeing up your time to work on other aspects of your business. Additionally, since Amazon is responsible for shipping, they'll deal with any customer issues and those won't affect your star ratings.
Maintain a Good Seller Rating
If you want to win the all-important Buy Box for your listings and keep a high ranking in Amazon search results, the importance of your overall seller rating can't be overstated. Your seller rating can really benefit you by giving you access to Amazon's best seller programs, or it can hurt you, since Amazon punishes low-ranking sellers by reducing their visibility in the marketplace. Amazon wants to keep customers happy by making sure they find the products they're looking for and have a good customer experience.