In the second episode of Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show, the guest speaker is Steven Pope, the founder of the Amazon Agency “My Amazon Guy,” tackling about the exciting topic “Cutting Edge Proven SEO Strategy”.
As the founder of My Amazon Guy, Steven brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table, sharing cutting-edge strategies that are vital for navigating the ever-evolving Amazon marketplace. Hosted by the dynamic Victor Dwyer, this episode is a treasure trove of actionable insights, enabling listeners to move beyond outdated theories and embrace SEO tactics that actually work. Steven delves into the intricacies of eCommerce SEO, emphasizing the importance of adapting strategies to different platforms and leveraging the potential of social media for effective Amazon listing promotion. Moreover, he sheds light on the significant role of email marketing in driving customer engagement and provides invaluable tips for maximizing ROI through Amazon paid advertising. Join the conversation and discover the keys to success in today’s eCommerce landscape.
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Key takeaways: / Short Summary:
The Importance of SEO in the Amazon Ecosystem
- Alt text, crawlable text, and supplemental descriptors are great SEO elements to use in the Amazon ecosystem.
- The q and a section, social posts, and external factors are also important considerations for SEO on Amazon.
- With a shift towards paid advertising, SEO is still important as focusing on click-through rate (CTR) can transcend any evolution in how Amazon operates.
- SEO is a sunk cost methodology, meaning any money put into it today will produce results for months or years to come.
- PPC and SEO complement each other, so it’s important not to shut off ads even if you’re organically ranked high.
- China is stepping up its game in creating product pages, but focusing on CTR and other SEO elements can still make a difference.
Overcoming Challenges for Sellers on Amazon in 2023
- American products are favored by consumers, but most are manufactured in China which could lead to unethical practices such as bribery.
- Chinese competitors may resort to non-SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly tactics to beat their rivals.
- Amazon sellers face pressure from Chinese competitors on the left and Amazon aggregators on the right, leaving them in a claustrophobic position.
- To survive and thrive, sellers need scalable and replicable strategies and a well-planned game plan to handle the competitive environment.
- Social media posts within Amazon are crucial and need more focus than those on Facebook or Instagram.
- TikTok has become increasingly more important for sellers due to displays of video ads on listings and search results.
- Main image optimization is essential to get a buyer to engage with a product on Amazon.
Tips from Experts on Amazon Business Marketing Strategies
- Creative Alternatives for Video Marketing on Amazon: In 2023, it is important to have a video that explains your product. Even if you are low on budget, you can use still images with some motion graphics to create an impactful video. Some examples include unboxing videos or the use of B-roll footage, which helps to add context and create a realistic setting for the product. User-generated content works well on Amazon, and it is always better to have some video than none at all.
- Email Marketing for Amazon Store Customers: Sellers can promote to people who follow their Amazon store by editing their brand store and asking them to subscribe to their email list. Other strategies include product inserts that offer coupons or discounts for following the brand on social media, although email-based marketing is less effective. Nevertheless, it is valuable to build email lists, targeting hyper-competitive niches, such as supplements, for product launch promotions.
- Paid Advertising Strategies to Drive Conversions on Amazon: To drive conversions and maximize ROI on Amazon, it is crucial to focus on all four blocks, including PPC, SEO, design, and catalog management. These blocks work together, and businesses should not focus on just one area. PPC ads can deliver great results, particularly if using precise targeting and relevant keywords. The goal is to gain more organic visibility and traffic over time by being more strategic and employing data-driven tactics.
The Importance of Click-Through Rates (CTR) in SEO
- CTR used to be around 7%, but now it’s the second most important SEO factor at 17%.
- Review counts have been nerfed, and CTR is more vital now than ever before.
- PPC sales have been nerfed and rebuffed, and there are too many ads in search results.
- Offsite sales still have ranking juice in Google, accounting for more sales than PPC.
- Main image and title are essential for CTR, and it is okay to be repetitive in titles.
- Keyword match and density matter for CTR.
Importance of Exact Match and Crawlable Texts for SEO
- Using exact match phrases in bullet points is still important for indexing and ranking in SEO.
- Crawlable text refers to the readability of text by SEO bots. Texts inside photos do not help with indexing.
- Enhanced brand content and brand stories are great opportunities to add crawlable text to product listings.
- Brand stories offer horizontal space while enhanced brand content offers vertical space, helping to keep customers on the product page.
- Having at least 500 words of crawlable text in enhanced brand content helps with indexing and product positioning.
Tips for optimizing product images on search pages
- Adding the keyword to the main image is the fastest way to help consumers understand the product.
- Showing the packaging, the product in use, and relevant context, such as size or accessories, helps create a connection and improve the click-through rate (CTR).
- Remember that CTR is the most important factor when generating traffic in 2023.
Techniques and Phases in SEO Conversations
- One technique is adding Spanish text to an image’s alt text in enhanced print content to index Spanish keywords within 48 hours.
- SEO will exist in the next one or two years and shares four SEO phases – research, indexing, incremental indexing, strike zone keywords, and incremental gains on market share.
- ICAP Marketing Funnel, where SEO focuses on impressions, clicks, add-to-carts, and purchases.
The Importance of Product Images in eCommerce
- The main objective in eCommerce is to get consumers to the listing. This is essential for both PPC and SEO as it can increase traffic and improve conversion rates.
- The main product image should show the full product and be easily interpretable in under three seconds.
- Including the product name or type on the main image can greatly improve its effectiveness.
- Consumers read product images before reading text and tend to scan for specific features or information.
- Brand is not always important in e-commerce and can be outweighed by other product factors.
- Before and after examples of how improving product images can increase conversion rates can be found at amazon.com/hack.
Importance of Main Image in Amazon Listings
- Consumers are likely to make assumptions about a product based on the image shown on the listing before even reading the description.
- The color and appearance of the product can influence purchase decisions, like bright yellow journals.
- The characters and content are visible in the image can also attract buyers, like a journal with a clear age demographic.
- Clear labeling on the packaging and main image can help consumers understand the product’s purpose, like a “massage gun” label on a product.
- The click-through rate for an Amazon listing is crucial, and improving the main image to attract buyers can lead to higher conversion rates and more purchases.
The Importance of Image Optimization for Product Listings
- A product’s click-through rate (CTR) can affect its ranking and indexing on search engines in 2023.
- An image with a lower CTR market share percentage than its impression percentage can reduce traffic to a product listing.
- Improving the image quality and focusing on the click-through rate can result in increased CTR and sales.
- The aspect ratio and resolution of the image can also affect CTR.
- By tripling the CTR, both sales and indexing of the product tripled.
- Image optimization is crucial for SEO success and more effective than keyword stuffing.
Importance of Using Relevant Keywords in Main Images for Sales Success
- Adding relevant keywords to the main image helps to attract more customers searching for that particular product.
- By adding the phrase “mom box” to the main image of a Mother’s Day gift box, the interest for people searching for this gift drastically increased.
- Including the phrase “Forever Rose” in the main image of a rose product intuitively tells the customer that the product will last long.
- By adding the words “Sage Smudge kit” in a prominent place on the packaging, customers could immediately understand the product’s usage.
- Putting the top converting search term in the main image ranks higher on Amazon searches, leading to increased impressions, clicks, add-to-cart, and purchases.
- Using the search clear performance report, Amazon sellers can identify high-performing keywords and integrate them in their product images to attract more customers.
Maximizing Search Term Fields for Amazon Listings
- Byte count affects search term field on Amazon listings; 250 characters equate to 250 bytes rather than characters. There is a 20% space to fill after 250 characters, which counts as a byte.
- Unused character space can be filled under the search term field. This space offers enormous potential, such as misspellings, Spanish and other terms to increase exposure.
- Don’t repeat words in the search term field as they are permutating and work with every word, making unique and significant phrases.
- Having exact matches in the title is crucial for a better front-facing attribute, and it doesn’t permutate like the search term field.
Importance of Exact Match Keywords in Amazon Listing Titles
- Searching for key phrases related to a product can help determine the exact match keyword that triggers the phrase in the title.
- The more an exact match keyword appears in the title, the higher the listing ranks.
- Longer-tail phrases like “full metal travel massage gun” do not have many exact match results, but including them in the title can still help with conversion rates.
- Including the top three most important keywords for the listing in the title can also improve SEO.
- The A10 algorithm does not exist, but ensuring the inclusion of important keywords and optimizing for conversions through titles can improve overall visibility.
Ways to tune in:
- Apple Podcast
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Google Podcast
- Buzzsprout
Links:
- LinkedIn – Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-pope/
- Branded – Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-amazon-guy/
“Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Show” is sponsored by BellaVix. To learn more, head over to https://sellingongiants.com/
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