Amazon Listing Optimization in 2024: Proven Strategies to Boost Sales

Amazon listing optimization is key for sellers who want their products to shine in a sea of competition.

With millions of listings on the platform, simply having a good product isn’t enough—you need to strategically fine-tune your listing to boost visibility, clicks, and conversions.

In this guide, you’ll discover expert strategies and actionable tips to make your product listing stand out, attract more buyers, and drive sales.

Let’s get started.

Why Amazon Listing Optimization Matters

With over 350 million products currently available on Amazon setting yourself apart from the crowd is incredibly important. This is where Amazon Listing Optimization comes into play.

Amazon Listing Optimization is the process of improving different parts of your product listing—like the title, bullet points, description, images, and backend search terms—to boost its visibility, click-through rate, and conversion rate.

Listing optimization can be the difference between a product ending up on page 27 of Amazon’s search results and making two sales a month, to being listed on page 1 and making dozens of sales a day.

Quality listings are important because they impact your product’s visibility, click-through rate, and conversion rate. While we will dive into each of these topics further in this article let’s start with understanding visibility. To do this we need to begin by getting a grasp on keywords and keyword research.

Keyword Research for Amazon Listings

While this is not an article on keyword research it is important to have a basic understanding of keywords before optimizing your listing.

Keywords are the search terms that potential customers can type into Amazon to find a product. Things like “dandruff shampoo”, “large dog bed”, and “vanilla protein powder” are all keywords. Before you start optimizing your listing it is a good idea to create a list of the most relevant, high-volume keywords for your product.

Keyword research is a deep subject and we will not be going into it today but tools like Helium 10’s Cerebro, ZonGuru’s Keywords on Fire, or JungleScouts Keyword Scout are a great start. For more information on any of these tools please see our article on the best Amazon keyword tools.

It is important to remember that not all keywords are created equal and you will not have room to include every single keyword in your listing. Choose keywords based on their relevance to your product along with their search volume. A keyword might sound like it fits your product perfectly but if it only gets 10 searches a month you probably don’t need to include it in your title or bullets.

While you can do keyword research at any time we recommend coming up with a “master keyword list” before working on the rest of your Amazon listing optimization.

Crafting an Effective Amazon Product Title

One of the most important parts of your listing is the product title. Not only is it the first thing customers will read when they see your product in the search results it’s also the most important part of SEO for your listing.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It involves improving content to rank higher in search results. For Amazon, SEO means optimizing product listings to show up when shoppers search for relevant keywords. If you’re selling a dog water bottle, for example, you want your product to show up if someone types in “dog water bottle”, “dog water dispenser”, “water bottle for pets”, etc. This is where your keywords come in.

When creating your product title it is important to include your most relevant, highest-performing keywords. Try to include your best keyword near the beginning of your title and then work your way down the list.

However, keep in mind that your product title should still be readable. Avoid keyword stuffing and make sure customers can understand what your product is based on the title. Try and include commas or dashes where needed to make it more legible.

Another tip for creating an optimized product title is to include your brand name. In most cases, this is going to be at the very beginning of your title or the very end. Most sellers choose the beginning, however, if you are more interested in traffic than building brand recognition feel free to move it to the end of your title.

Additional Product Title Tips

• Make sure to include the product size and quantity where applicable
• Use as many of the 200 characters maximum as you can
• Start with your brand name
• Include your best keyword after the brand name, then your second, third, etc
• Make it readable (include commas or dashes where applicable
• Avoid overlapping keywords
• Point out important product features

Optimizing Product Images for Amazon Listings

Another critical piece of Amazon listing optimization is your product images. A recent study shows that nearly 28% of all Amazon customers purchase within 3 minutes of searching for a product. This means that most customers are not reading bullet points or product descriptions. Instead, they are basing their entire buying decision on listing images.

For this section, we will break it down to your main image and additional images since both have very different roles to play. If you’re interested in a more in-depth guide on product images please click here.

Optimizing Your Main Product Image

Your main image is the very first thing that potential customers will see when your product shows up in their search results. For this reason, it is the number one factor in determining your product’s click-through rate.

While each product image is important, your main image is crucial to your product’s success. It is a good rule of thumb to spend 80% of your time working on your main image and the remaining 20% on the rest of your images combined.

A huge tip for your main image is to try and include your best keyword on the packaging of your product. If a customer is searching for a specific keyword and they find a product with that keyword directly on the packaging they are very likely to click on that result. This can lead to a huge increase in click-through rate.

Main Image Tips

• Try to include your main keyword on the packaging of your product and include the packaging in the background of your image
• Have your product take up as much space as possible
• Show potential customers what they can achieve using your product
• Always split-test your main image using either Amazon Experiments (if you’re a brand) or a third-party service like PickFu
• Keep Amazon’s list of product image requirements in mind

Optimizing Your Additional Product Images

When it comes to Amazon listing optimization for your images it is important to remember that many customers won’t read your bullet points or product description at all. Instead, they will get all of their buying information directly from your product images.

In other words, your product images should be able to sell your product all by themselves. Instead of having images showing every possible angle of your product you should use your images to showcase features and benefits.

Keep in mind that each image should focus on one main topic. Don’t try to show how your product is both eco-friendly and easy-to-use in one image, split it into two images that clearly show both benefits to the customer.

These images should also include text to help clarify the benefit or feature you’re showing off. Don’t make the consumer guess. Use your images to show and tell why your product is unique or what problem it solves.

Additional Product Image Tips

• Each image should focus on one major benefit of your product
• Start with your most important benefit, followed by your second, third, etc
• Combine text with your images for the best results
• Use images that show your product in a natural setting (not a photo studio or plain background)
• Make sure to use all of the image spaces available
• Read Amazon’s product image guidelines to avoid any possible issues with your account

Writing High-Converting Bullet Points

Your product bullet points are another important part of Amazon listing optimization. This is the section of your listing where you can continue selling customers on your product while boosting your SEO with additional keywords.

Your bullets should start by listing a benefit your product provides followed by the features that create that benefit. If you’re unsure about the difference between features and benefits I recommend this great article by Hubspot. But a summary is that features explain exactly what your product does while benefits describe how those features benefit the consumer.

For example, if you were selling a mattress a feature would be “advanced memory foam technology” while the benefit would be “relaxing, peaceful sleep all night long.”

While writing your bullet points try to incorporate as many of your important keywords as possible. This will further optimize your Amazon listing by improving your SEO and making it more likely that your product will appear in relevant search results.

Here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when writing your bullet points.

• Your first bullet point should be about your best feature/benefit combination followed by the second, third, etc
• Try to use between 200-250 characters per bullet
• Begin each bullet with the key benefit in all capitals to quickly draw the customer’s attention
• Include as many relevant keywords as possible without keyword stuffing
• Good bullet points will improve your Amazon SEO and conversion rate. They are very important for Amazon listing optimization

Creating a Persuasive Product Description

If you are signed up for Amazon’s Brand Registry feel free to skip this section as you will have the A+ Content section instead of the product description. For everyone else, the product description is the text section on your listing located below the bullets. While not as important as your images or bullets it is still useful for optimizing your Amazon listing.

Amazon currently has a 2000 character limit for your product description and once again we recommend using as much of this space as possible. Much like your bullet points this is another section to include as many relevant keywords as possible while also reiterating the main features and benefits of your product.

This is a great opportunity to go into more detail on each feature from your bullet points as you have more room to work with.

Even though many shoppers may not read your description it is still important for Amazon listing optimization as it helps boost your SEO.

Utilizing A+ Content to Improve Conversions

If you’re a part of Amazon’s Brand Registry, the product description will be replaced by the A+ Content section. As stated earlier, this replaces the standard product description with a multipurpose section that includes text, images, and potentially video.

In total, there are 14 different modules you can choose from with Amazon allowing you to include up to five on your page.

Think of the A+ content section as an opportunity to convince customers who are still unsure about your product. These customers have seen your product images and bullet points but need more convincing. For this reason, it is important to include new content not present in the earlier parts of your listing.

If there were benefits you didn’t have room for when making your images or bullets make sure to include them in your A+ content section.

A key tip for sellers with multiple products is to always include a comparison chart. A comparison chart at the bottom of your listing gives potential customers another opportunity to buy from you. If the product they clicked on didn’t fit their needs maybe you carry a variation that works better for them.

A comparison chart is a great way to make sales from customers who would otherwise have moved on to a different seller.

Here are some additional A+ Content tips to optimize your Amazon listing:

• You need to sign up for Amazon’s Brand Registry to unlock A+ Content for your listings
• Include new content (images, features, benefits) not included in the rest of your listing
• If you sell multiple products include a comparison chart
• Use this section as an FAQ and to overcome potential objections
• Using interlocking images to tell a cohesive story is a great idea
• Consider unlocking Premium A+ content for a significant sales boost

Premium A+ Content

As you may have guessed Premium A+ Content is a more robust version of standard A+ content. Instead of allowing 5 modules on a product page Premium A+ content allows sellers to have 7. It also includes choices of additional modules not included with standard A+ Content.

Additional benefits of Premium A+ Content are wider image sizes (1464px vs 970px) as well as video and a navigation carousel. All in all, it is a significant upgrade to the standard A+ content available to all brand-registered users.

To unlock A+ Premium Content for your brand you must:

• You must have published an A+ Brand Story for all of your products
• You have submitted (and approved) five A+ content projects in the last 12 months

Amazon has said that currently, you can access Premium A+ content for free but this may change in the future. For more info on Premium A+ Content please click here.

Using Backend Search Terms Effectively

While not visible to the customer backend search terms are another important step for Amazon listing optimization.

Backend search terms refer to keywords and search terms that are relevant to your product but do not appear on your product page. Perhaps your keyword tool created a list of 100 relevant keywords but you were not able to fit them all into your bullet points and description. This is where backend keywords come in.

Backend keywords allow Amazon’s algorithm to index all the keywords associated with your product while allowing customers to experience a readable product page.

The backend keywords section is accessible after clicking “Manage Inventory” on your Seller Central Account. Next, click “edit” on the listing of your choice and then select the “Keywords” tab. Under this tab you will find a section titled “Generic Keywords” This is what you’re looking for.

Unfortunately, the backend keyword section has a limit of 250 bytes, so it is important to use your space efficiently. Here are a few ways to optimize your Amazon listing using backend keywords.

• Try to include common synonyms or short forms for your product name
• Include common misspellings of your product name or best keywords
• If you are selling in the US try to include Spanish versions of your best keywords
• Avoid using commas
• Avoid using any trademark terms or brand names
• If you need help tools like Helium 10’s Frankenstein are a great help

Leveraging Customer Reviews and Ratings

For most consumers, customer reviews are the number one factor when it comes to making a purchase online. Deciding between similar listings nearly always comes down to who has the most, high-quality reviews for their product.

While Amazon is very strict regarding how you get reviews for your product there are a few tips that can improve your chances of getting consistent positive reviews.

The number one way to organically increase your customer reviews is to underpromise and over-deliver. Including a bonus gift that your customer doesn’t expect is a great way to inspire customers to take the time to leave you a review. Digital products are great for this purpose as you can make them once and use them indefinitely. Other options will depend on your specific product but even something as simple as a handwritten card can show customers that you care.

If you are launching a new product we strongly recommend signing up for Amazon’s Vine program. Vine allows sellers to send up to 30 units of a product out to consumers to get early reviews. A big benefit of the Vine program is that Amazon selects users who have a history of giving in-depth, helpful reviews.

For sellers, this means you can potentially launch your product with up to 30 high-quality reviews, many of which may include images. This naturally boosts conversion rates and customer trust for any new product.

Finally don’t forget about Amazon’s Request a Review feature.

This feature is available under Orders > Manage Orders > Shipped tab > Order number > Request a review. Available once per order it sends an automated email to your customer requesting a product and seller review. It’s an easy way to boost your review numbers with just the click of a button

Addition Amazon Listing Optimization Ideas

While we’ve already covered the major strategies for Amazon listing optimization, there are more factors that can make a difference. In this section, we’ll briefly discuss additional ways to improve your listing. Each of these elements can further impact your listing’s visibility and sales potential, so don’t overlook them!

Pricing Strategies

The topic of properly pricing your products on Amazon is incredibly in-depth and will not be covered here today. However, it is important to acknowledge that setting a competitive price for your product is crucial when it comes to Amazon Listing Optimization.

Pricing has a huge impact on not only your conversion rate but your CTR (click-through rate) as well. For a complete look at pricing, I recommend you check out Jungle Scouts article here.

Inventory Levels

Inventory management is one of the most important skills on Amazon and listing optimization is no exception.

As soon as you run out of stock your product visibility will drop. Your position in search results will fall and the number of customers that click on your product will also decline. Another downside is that your bestseller position will also drop.

Whether you’re worried about winning the buy box, focused on your listing optimization, or just looking to improve your account health managing your inventory levels is a crucial skill as an Amazon seller.

Include User Generated Content (UGC)

User Generated Content or UGC refers to content created by influencers or users of your product. If you’ve ever watched an “unboxing video” you’ve seen UGC.

In general UGC content tends to come across as more authentic than traditional product videos. It also has the benefit of building more trust with the consumer. A 2023 study shows that over 65% of consumers are more likely to trust influencer content compared to content directly from the brand itself.

Amazon sellers can upload UGC directly to their product page or use it in Amazon video ads for their products.

While we won’t be going into the details of UGC in this article I encourage you to read Smart Scouts article on the topic for a more detailed look.

Sales, Coupons, Subscribe & Save

Subscribe and Save, coupons, and discounts (either flat rate, percentage-based, or multi-tiered) can all work to increase your conversion rate and CTR.

Besides simply lowering your price these sales mechanisms also add a badge to your product listing in search results. These “Save 15%” or “Save $2.00 with coupon” badges can help draw attention to your listing and encourage customers to click.

In many cases, a product selling for $20.99 with a $1.00 off coupon will have a higher CTR and conversion rate than the same product selling for $19.99. It’s important to test different offers with your product and find the one that works best for you.

Also, it’s important to remember that just because you include a coupon with your product not everyone will use it. Typically only around 30% of customers that make a purchase use the included coupon. This means that the profit margin for coupon-based discounts is often much higher than you would expect.

Amazon’s Choice & Bestseller Badges

Both Amazon’s Choice and Bestseller badges have been shown to increase conversion rates as well as CTRs for the products that include them.

Amazon’s Choice badges are given out to the highest converting products for specific keywords and lead to mild increases in conversion rate as well as organic rank in search.

The Bestseller badge on the other hand is awarded to the bestseller in the sub-sub-category that the product is listed in. This badge tends to have a greater impact on both conversion rates and organic search rank.

Depending on your product and the category it’s in these badges may or may not be attainable for you. While they can provide a nice boost to traffic and sales many of the other topics in this article are more easily attainable and will have a greater impact on your Amazon listing optimization.

Conclusion:

While there are a lot of aspects to Amazon listing optimization try to start with the major pieces first and work your way down the list. Your main image and title should be your number one priority followed by your additional images and bullet points.

Once you’ve nailed down those topics start focusing on improving your A+ content, brand story, and possibly incorporating some UGC into your listing. The important thing is to keep moving forward. Eventually, you’ll have a completely optimized listing with a great CTR and conversion rate.

One final piece of advice is to always be testing. The world of e-commerce is not an exact science. Try testing different main images, price points, bullet points, coupons, etc. If you have access to Amazon Experiments it’s a great tool for this purpose.

Overall I hope you found this article informative and helpful and good luck with your Amazon Listing Optimization.