While Google is the go-to search engine, Amazon is more popular when it comes to initial product searches. A 2017 study conducted by Survata showed that 49 percent of customers’ first product searches are made on Amazon.   

Users said they are drawn to Amazon first because of its intuitive navigation, product variety, product prices, and shipping capabilities.

 

Understanding the A9 Algorithm

Amazon has its own algorithm, and it’s critical to get familiar with it. The algorithm is known as A9, and Amazon Search leaders explain that it is hard at work even before customers type in search queries. It analyzes shoppers actions, ranging from past purchases right down to the way their mouse hovers on the page. Amazon also analyzes the text descriptions of every product in their catalog. When the customer enters their search, A9 is ready to make a smart match between product and seller. 

While Google’s algorithms are dedicated to accurately addressing users’ queries, A9 is focused on figuring out what products customers are most likely to buy. In many ways, Amazon’s algorithm is less complicated than Google’s. This is because Google has to take into account a lot of things that Amazon doesn’t, including social media buzz, backlinks, domain authority, and more.

 

What Affects A9’s Rankings

A9 is influenced by the following factors:

  •          Customer retention. A9 looks at how well you do at keeping your customers coming back for more by examining your seller reviews and Order Defect Rate.
  •         Conversions. Amazon rewards sellers that can seal the deal. Customer feedback, the quality of your product photos, and your prices all figure into the way A9 perceives your success with conversions. 
  •          Relevancy. A9 wants to know that you can provide what customers are looking for. To rate your relevancy, A9 looks at your product titles and descriptions. 

 

Now that you know a little more about A9, here are a few ways to win the algorithm over. 

  1. Get more product reviews. Create a structure for soliciting customer reviews. Be sure to respond to any negative feedback quickly. 
  2. Answer questions. Products with more Q&As tend to do better than other products.
  3. Add high-quality images. Make sure that your photos are 1000×1000 pixels or bigger so that they can facilitate Amazon’s “hover-to-zoom” feature. It’s generally better to have one large, high-quality image than a multitude of smaller, medium-quality images.
  4. Price competitively. Price matters a lot so make sure that you are meeting or beating the competition. 
  5. Title your product effectively. Google frowns on keyword stuffing, but it’s still the name of the game on Amazon. Try to get as many keywords into your 80-word title as possible. 
  6. Create thorough product listings. Amazon could penalize you if you have incomplete product listings. Complete every field in the listing setup page. 

 

Remember that Google and Amazon are two different animals, and they both deserve our attention. However, for online selling, you’ll fall behind if you fail to influence Amazon’s A9 algorithm. 

For more information about selling more online, attend Prosper Show’s annual Amazon sellers event. 


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