Tip 1: Come to the fore in the Amazon Buy Box
If you're not the only seller of a product, share the product page with multiple sellers. The Buy Box is the part of that page with the "Buy Now" or "Add to cart" buttons. As soon as you win the buy box, your product will be in the shopping cart by default when a buyer clicks on one of these buttons. Other sellers are shown as an option under the buy box.
On average, 90% of the turnover of a product is earned in the buy box. Winning the buy box should not be underestimated when you sell a product that other sellers also offer.
How do you get the upper hand in the Buy Box?
There are 3 factors that determine who 'gets' the buy box:
- Shipping options
In all cases, it is advisable to ship products from the country where the product is purchased. If the target group is located in the Netherlands, send the products from the Netherlands. It is also important that the product is shipped quickly (next day delivery) and free of charge. Full-filment by Amazon can help with this (we will come back to that later). - Reviews
The more reviews and the better the ratings, the higher the chance that you will get the upper hand in the buy box. A rating between 90-100% is what you are looking for. - Price
The lower the price (including shipping costs) compared to competition, the better.
Tip 2: Content, content, content
Content on Amazon is different from the content on your webshop or other sales platforms such as Bol.com
Be sure to tell the potential buyer everything about the product. The more relevant information, the better. Think, for example, of extensive product specifications with material, size, weight, etc.
Incorporate different variants and keywords in the product title and think carefully about your USPs. Process your USPs with long tail keywords in a list. Make sure that this comes across as 'natural' and that you do not do keyword stuffing.
Tip 3: Invest +10% of your sales in ads
Advertising is a must at Amazon and not just when launching new products.
The number of times a product has been sold is an important factor for Amazon. The more often your product is sold, the more relevant this product is according to Amazon. With advertisements you increase the sales numbers, which has a direct positive effect on the organic results.
If you also ensure that the ads have a positive ROI, you create a WIN-WIN situation.
A common rule of thumb is to invest 10% of your revenue in your advertising budget.
Tip 4: Provide 'Product Reviews'
The number of product reviews and the quality of these reviews determine to a large extent how high your product comes in the search results. Try to get at least a rating of +90%. Several studies have shown that a review score of 95% or 100% does not make much difference. The numbers then count heavier. A review score of less than 90% will be punished.
On average, only between 0.2% – 0.5% of customers give a product review. That means that on average between 500 and 200 orders are needed for 1 review. Try to improve this percentage by, for example, sending a card in the packaging, with the question whether the buyer wants to leave a review. Possibly with an extra incentive (extra long warranty, discount code, etc.).
Sending automated emails (a period of time after the order has been placed) is also an option. Tools with an Amazon link such as bqool and sagemailer are useful here.
Tip 5: Make sure you have a good product image
You want your product image to stand out from the competition. Make your product stand out, this increases the click-through rate (CTR). This is a 'signal' for Amazon that the product is more relevant than that of the competitor. Use square (1:1) product photos, they perform better in all cases.
Tip 6: Deliver a good customer experience
That customer experience is important for Amazon is evident from the mission statement:
Our mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company.
–Amazon
The customer is always number 1 at Amazon.
Is the customer not satisfied with the product? Then give the possibility to return it without costs. Answer all customer questions and comments within 24 hours. A positive customer experience is necessary to successfully sell on Amazon.nl
Tip 7: Use Full filment by Amazon
If you cannot guarantee that the buyer will have the package on the doormat within 24 hours, then it is better to outsource fulfillment to Amazon. If you let Amazon take care of the fulfillment, you have the option to use lightning deals and you can sell products under the Prime program.
The Prime logo is seen by many as a quality mark, your conversion rate will increase as a result. Prime visitors in Germany spend 85% more than the average user, prime users also prefer Prime products over non-Prime products.
Offer prime or go home
FACT: In other markets like the United States, about 70% of top Amazon sellers have the full filment outsourced by Amazon.
Tip 8: Use vouchers & Lightning deals
To make your product stand out in product overviews you can use coupon codes & lightning deals.
To use coupon codes you must offer the customer at least a 5% discount (at least €0.25).
Lightning deals can be used when launching a new product, the condition is that you give at least a 15% discount and have the fulfillment outsourced to Amazon.
Tip 9: Improve your storefront
The storefront is your webshop within Amazon. Here you will find the complete range, the best-selling products, an overview of your categories and the current promotions.
Make sure that the visitor gets a better brand experience at your storefront. Care
that the storefront is representative and informative. For example, by adding manuals to your products.
Amazon has announced in other countries that it will soon also allow video material in your storefront, reap the benefits of this!
Tip 10: Sign up for "Amazon A+ content"
Amazon A+ content is available to first-party sellers or; sellers representing a European registered trademark. With A+ content it is possible to place personalized content such as extensive product detail pages.
You may also advertise in places where "normal" advertisers have no option. Do you meet the conditions? Then sign up for the A+ content program.
