While Google
asks “What results most accurately answer the searcher’s query?” Amazon asks “What product is the searcher most likely to buy?”
Remembering this will help search
professionals optimize content in Amazon much more easily, Lorna Franklin, senior digital marketing specialist at Walks, explains in a blog post she wrote while working as an SEO specialist at
Wolfgang Digital.
The detailed post compares and contrasts Amazon’s and Google’s algorithms. Amazon’s A9 algorithm is designed to sell products through the marketplace.
Google’s algorithm is designed to help people find information.
Sales velocity is the “secret” ingredient behind Amazon’s A9 algorithm, Franklin writes. She defines it
as the “speed and volume” at which products sell on Amazon’s marketplace.
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Amazon’s rankings are tied to driving revenue through sales velocity. Google’s rankings
are based on optimization websites to drive click-through in search engine results.
Working to increase conversion rates on Amazon is the key to higher organic rankings. Amazon conversion
rates have a direct impact on where products rank. These tell Amazon’s algorithm which products are most likely to sell once they hit the first page, she explains.
Price, which is only
one factor in ranking high, has a major impact on where products rank in search results on Amazon because its algorithm is designed to predict which products are most likely to convert.
Product listings must be treated as product pages on a website, always optimizing the content. Titles must remain user-friendly — including the most important keywords at the front — and provide
just enough information to entice clicks.
Marketers should analyze trending questions in similar products and use bulletted points in the copy to answer them because more than half of shoppers
say they read the full description of a product when considering a purchase — and test the images, which can power the listing.
Franklin also explains that “A9 still relies heavily on
keyword matching to determine the relevance of a product to searcher’s query, which is why this is a core pillar of Amazon SEO.”
And all this may be important when it comes to
ranking. Franklin’s post points to customer reviews as “one of the most important Amazon ranking factors. In fact reviews help to drive
conversion rates and keyword relevance, specifically for long-tail terms.”