How to make your products more visible and increase sales
You can take various steps to make your products more visible and increase your sales.
Remember that successful merchants take the time to:
- Understand the categories in which they are selling. This includes exploring the breadth and depth of selection in each category and considering where their items would fit in the category's structure.
- Check out the competition. They identify the number of competitors, their size, selection, pricing, and promotions in order to plan compelling and competitive offers.
- Compare their price position with similar items already selling on the site.
- Study the best-selling items in relevant categories and mimic common characteristics. For example, do customers appear to be buying based on price or brand? Do the best-selling products ship for free or reduced rates?
Maximizing Your Exposure in the Search Index
Price, availability, selection, and sales history all influence the location of your product in the search results. Also, Amazon.co.uk continuously shuffles the search results to more evenly promote products. This means that better selling products tend to be towards the beginning of the list, so as your sales increase, you can expect your products to appear more frequently towards the beginning of the search results.
Search terms (keywords) are the primary method customers use to locate products on Amazon.co.uk. Good search terms go a long way towards increased product visibility and sales. Most products can support up to 250 characters of keywords. Think like your customers and use the terms that are popular on your own site or product line.
Note: When determining search terms for your products, you must comply with all applicable laws and are prohibited from infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties which can include the trade marks or brands of third parties. You therefore may only list the trade mark or brand of the actual product in your search terms.
Here are some tips for optimizing your search terms:
Use detailed product names - Each individual word in the Product Name is searchable by itself. Having detailed product names helps ensure that your product appears in the search results. For example, suppose your product name is "Allison's Gourmet Organic Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies - One Dozen." Because this product name is very detailed, this product already has a good selection of search terms even before you add the additional terms. Add as much information to your product name as you can that comprises the following:
- Brand and product description (for example, a mahogany table or Godiva chocolates)
- Product line (for example, Windsor Collection or Saxony)
- Material or key ingredient (for example, 300-threadcount cotton, milk chocolate, or oak)
- Colour (for example, walnut or red)
- Size and quantity
Use terms once - Because the words of the product name are already searchable, do not use search terms that are words also contained in the title. For example, the complete list of automatic search terms for Allison's Cookies is Allison, gourmet, organic, chocolate, chip, pecan, cookie, one & dozen. Good search terms for Allison's Cookies, therefore, might be "natural," "baked," and "dessert."
Use single words - Single words work better as search terms than phrases. If you use phrases, then customers must type each entry exactly as you entered it. For example, if you enter "natural baked dessert" as search terms for Allison's Cookies, then that is what customers must type. If they type "natural" or "dessert," your products won't appear in the search results. However, by listing these terms separately, you allow for more combinations, such as natural, natural dessert, baked desserts and baked natural. If you aren't getting the sales you expect, continue to experiment with your search terms until you find you have the best combination of product title and search terms for your products.
Using Product Details
After a customer finds your product through searching and/or browsing, present them a compelling offer on the product detail page. An effective product detail page entices customers to buy your products by means of the following features.
- Eye-catching product titles
- Inspiring product images
- A compelling price
- Clear and concise bullet points
- Imaginative product descriptions
Inspiring Product Images
Effective product images stimulate a customer's imagination and inspire them to buy your product. In addition to providing quality product images, provide as many different images as possible. Many product categories allow for the inclusion of swatch images and alternate images.
Note: Before uploading a product image, please review the
Image Requirements topic.
Compelling Price
Research the competition as you develop a compelling price point. Do not forget to take shipping costs into account as well.
Clear and Concise Bullet Points
Testing shows that well-crafted bullet points increase sales. Customers rely on them to understand key product features as they highlight important or distinguishing facts about your product.
Use the following guidelines as you craft your bullet points:
- Highlight the five key features you want customers to consider, such as dimensions, age appropriateness, ideal conditions for the product, skill level, contents, country of origin, and so on.
- Maintain a consistent order. If your first bullet point is country of origin, keep that same order for all your products.
- Reiterate important information from the title and description.
- Do not include promotional and pricing information.
The bulleted list below follows these guidelines in describing a set of rain gear:
- 100% waterproof
- 100% breathable
- Available in khaki, yellow, or green
- Money-back satisfaction guarantee
Imaginative Product Descriptions
As you describe your product, you might want to include some key features listed in your bullet points. Well-written product descriptions help the customer imagine the experience of owning or handling your product. Incorporating information about the feel, usage and benefits of your product can fire the customer's imagination. This is as close as you can come to creating an in-store experience.
Avoid overly simplistic descriptions such as these:
Example #1: A rugged microphone for sound professionals.
Example #2: Washable canvas pants with faux suede trim on the back.
Provide enticing descriptions such as these:
Example #1: The Shure Beta 58A is a high-output dynamic vocal microphone designed for professional sound reinforcement and project studio recording. The superb performance of this microphone is not affected by rough handling, because of rugged construction, proven shock mount system, and hardened steel mesh grille help protect it from damage.
Example #2: Cut for active wear, these pure cotton canvas pants might be the most durable and comfortable trousers you'll ever wear. Washable faux suede trim on back pockets and D-ring add durability and extended wear. Available in brown, green, khaki, or stone. Washable. Imported.