6 Amazon Strategies that are No Longer Enough

2017 was the dawn of a new era for Amazon Sellers. The playing field now looks dramatically different than it did in, the much simpler, 2016. As we start into the new year, it’s important to understand that if you haven’t kept up you’re not a step behind—you’re a mile behind.

To recap, 2017 featured a host of big changes for brands and private label sellers. Amazon rolled out their character limit adjustments, ad space changes, two-step verification standards, sales tax regulations, new EBC opportunities, headline search ads for Seller Central users, coupons, new international marketplaces, drastic algorithm changes, and some major brand registry updates; just to name a few. The interconnectivity of the platform requires a holistic, detail-oriented approach. If you miss one step, you’re likely missing more since the tactical-web connects elsewhere.

To be clear, this list, “of strategies that are no longer enough,” is not a list of extinct seller practices. It’s a list of previous methods that strategically provided a quick boost—and that no longer have the same immediate influence.

1.    Sponsored Ads—Since PPC provides sales that Amazon deems organic, paying for sales was an important practice throughout last year. As the competition increases, so does the CPC. As the CPC rises, so does the ACoS. This year sellers need to search for other advertising opportunities to find success. Things like Google ads, Facebook or Instagram ads, influencer marketing, and Headline Search Ads are all things that sellers should heavily consider to increase their Amazon traffic.

2.    Content Uploading—The rules and functionality of content (description, bullet points, and title) have changed several times over the last few years. As Amazon has moved this information below the fold on mobile, and placed EBC above it, it’s much less a factor in conversion and more of a factor in search-ability. Having as many important keywords in the frontend, while having sentences that flow smoothly, is crucial as the backend character limits have changed.

3.    Listing Completeness—A semi ambiguous term that we use for filling out all relevant fields in the backend of a listing. Utilizing this area to index important pieces of information such as the MPN is critical. Since the indexing of the backend keywords is different now that it was through the majority of last year, any index-able field can’t be missed.

4.    Reviews—The strategy for reviews is constantly evolving. Casually gathering reviews is no longer an acceptable practice. Since Amazon has a decaying algorithm for reviews, the only way to succeed is to gather reviews constantly and consistently. Email automation, social ads, product inserts, and Amazon’s Early Reviewer Program are the keys to customer reviews and feedback in 2018.

5.    FBA Inventory—Prime or die. With the saturation of almost every category, fulfilling orders by Merchant is no longer acceptable. For sellers who have no other option, Prime Fulfilled Shipping needs to be utilized. Inventory planning, projecting, and supply chain evaluation are not something to be taken lightly.

6.    Photography—The high volume of mobile and app-based purchases mean that many customers are making their decision based on the available images they can scroll through. This is no longer a place to feature 7 studio images with a white background. This is now a place to tell a story. Conversion is dependent on the ability to give the customers everything they need to know visually.

Today, much like before, Amazon’s unique platform is a problem solver’s playground. The problems to be solved are bizarre and increasingly dynamic, but far from the problems of 2016 (e.g. Amazon’s review policy changes). Due to the ambiguity of the e-commerce giant, sellers are both encouraged to exercise their creativity, and discouraged to think outside the box due to long list of cryptic rules to abide by.

Success in 2018 is going to be largely dependent on off-site marketing strategies. Although there are rumblings about Amazon’s Ad Network, there will forever be a need to utilize proven marketing techniques to drive traffic directly to Amazon. A holistic approach to e-Commerce is a must as we start into the new year.

Written by Kyle Tarter, Co-Founder and Director of Fulfillment for www.nozani.com. Email any questions or thoughts to him at [email protected].