Last updated on January 9th, 2023 at 11:58 am
Authors Note: I’ve done this presentation at numerous Amazon FBA conferences and online summits and its by far the best received and has landed me some big deals with 8 figure brands. I’m excited to share it with you 🙂
– Danny Carlson, CEO, Kenji ROI
Looking for Amazon listings that convert? Check our pricing for product photography, A+ Content, video, listing writing here.
Optimizing products for Amazon SEO algorithms isn’t enough alone. In fact, the algorithm heavily favors optimizing for conversion and click through rates which require a heavy focus on human optimization!
So how then do we strike the balance between getting the right keywords, putting the right info in the right place, and creating desire to induce shoppers to buy?
That’s where the Triple Optimized Amazon Listing methodology comes into play so you can master the game of listing optimization on Amazon.
What is a Triple Optimized Amazon Listing?
A methodology by Danny Carlson & used by Kenji ROI to maximize click through and conversion rates on Amazon product listings in a reliable & repeatable way.
They’re the 3 essential pieces that must be executed to perfection for a dangerously effective Amazon listing.
- Keyword Optimization
- Key Info Communication
- Persuasive Desire Optimization
When we have all 3 of them together, 1+1+1 = 5, creating an exponential effect. Many brands on Amazon are focusing on only 2 out of these 3 with little regard for the third, so understanding these concepts can have massive effects on the effectiveness of your Amazon listing optimization.
Key #1: Amazon Keyword Optimization
I’ve created a much more comprehensive guide on keyword optimization so I’ll just cover the most important points about Amazon SEO.
For a much more in depth guide, check out Advanced Amazon Keyword Research [2020 Updated].
Or you can check out our Amazon SEO Service here.
Amazon Listing Title Structure
The title is the most important place for keywords, as every keyword in the title receives “ranking juice” for every sale, no matter which keyword that sale came from. No other text field on Amazon has this power.
It’s also the most important place for descriptive info that can increase Click Through Rate (the % of people who view your product of search results that click), so we must strike a good balance between keyword optimization and info optimization in our product titles.
Here’s the structure I use that includes our top 3 Amazon search phrases while also optimizing for the human element of key info shoppers need to see in order to click.
Amazon Title Template
[MAIN SEARCH PHRASE IN EXACT MATCH] – [MOST IMPORTANT DESCRIBING INFO] – [2ND MAIN PHRASE] – [MAIN BENEFIT] – [3RD MAIN PHRASE]
Most categories will have a 200 character limit for the title, and in order to fill this out as much as possible you need to spend some time combing it over to make it super, super readable. Otherwise your click through rate will suffer!
If your product is in a category with a shorter title character limit you will be forced to keep it to just 1 main keyword phrase + most important descriptive info.
The title is SUPER important for Amazon listing optimization so spend the time to really make it shine.
Amazon Subject Matter Keywords
I’ve written a full blog post about Amazon Subject Matter Fields here, but I will cover the basics.
Many Amazon sellers simply fill this with the default single word options Amazon gives you, but they are actually powerful fields to fill with your main keywords!
According to some tests, the 5 x 50 character subject matter fields have had a higher rate of indexing than the description, or bullet points, leaving potentially only the title & search terms (back end keywords) as places that are more important.
The way we fill out the search term fields is by placing as many of our main search phrases as possible there in exact match. Be sure to make long tail phrases so you can get the most bang for you buck from the limited 250 characters of space!
Place Your Top 5 Search Phrases Across at Least 3 Text Fields
Identify which keywords to target is just half the battle, we also must place them in the right places to have the highest chance of indexing and most weight for keyword ranking.
My rule of thumb to get the best chance of indexing while not overly keyword stuffing is to choose the top 5 keyword phrases, then ensure those exact phrases are repeated in at least 3 fields across the listing.
As shown in the image above, I use a simple word document with the entire listing already written inside it, then press ctrl + F to search for that phrase. I then modify the listing text so that phrase is in 3 listing fields without messing up the grammar or language, just tweaking what’s there already.
Key Info Communication for High Click Through Rate
So many Amazon sellers get this wrong, and over optimize for keywords, or choose the wrong information to place in the most prominent areas of the listing.
This is different than sales copy and persuasion, but related… let me explain
What is Key Info Optimization?
Identifying the key information shoppers are scanning for, then prioritizing & placing it in strategic areas to maximize click through & conversion rates.
- Most shoppers are looking for specific product traits (size, BPA Free, for iPhone X, Pack of 20) & their brains have to scan & process a massive amount of info on any given search results page.
- Amazon is a comparison shopping engine. Attention that isn’t expertly gained & held will slip straight to competing product pages.
- It’s all about speed and ease of communication of the RIGHT key product info
Lets go into these concepts in more detail. It’s not always all about Amazon keyword ranking, this is optimizing for the human element!
Identify the Click Through Boosting Essential Product Traits
Choosing the right info to highlight is equally important to where. It’s a common mistake to waste valuable attention of a shopper showing off something that no one cares about.
A common example I see is “beautiful color box.” While a well designed product package can add perceived value in an image and boost the impression when a shopper receives it, it’s a total waste of space to mention it in the listing.
Or with plastic products, many sellers highlight “HUY87 Plastic” or some jargon literally no one knows. Unless it’s a food product or comes in contact with babies or skin, it’s more likely no ones gives a rat’s ass what type of plastic it’s made of.
If you determine it IS important to your customer, explain WHY your plastic is better with language such as BPA Free, shatter proof, or language that regular people will understand.
Identifying what customers care about is a long process of reading through dozens of reviews, customer questions on competitor listings, blogs, and not just relying on what you as the seller think matters.
The data is all out there, let the customers who are actually paying for these products tell you what’s important to them, then prioritize your key info based on that.
Overwhelming shoppers with a bunch of extra info about your product they don’t care about will confuse them or cause them to click to another competitor.
We have a very short window of opportunity to convince a shoppers’s scanning eyes to click on our product, then another short window to show them it’s the product for them so they click “add to cart.”
Placing Key Information to Boost Click Through Rates On Your Amazon Listing?
We need to think in terms of both the search results page (shown above), and the product detail page (shown below).
On the search results, the goal is to get the shopper to click on your listing as we have a very limited amount of space to convince them to do so!
The red highlighted areas are all a shopper’s fast scanning eyes are going to process, and if they don’t see what they need to see within a fraction of a second, you’ll be skipped over.
Since we don’t have as much control over the reviews and price, we need to optimize the crap out of the main image and first 75 characters of the title.
CRUCIAL: Main Image Key Info Optimization
This is the one single best thing you can do to increase your click through rate and will make everything you do work more effectively including ads & product launches!
- Show all accessories included + box in the background if you have one
- Typically, a 15 degree angle looks best and a direct top down view does not
- Take up the maximum amount of space possible. If your category has square thumbnail images, make yours 1:1 ratio. If it has vertical thumbnails, make it 2:1 ratio.
- Add a graphic reflection effect and have the background removed so it’s pure white
- Make the lighting amazing.
Amazon Title Key Info Optimization/ Keyword Balance
We went over our ideal title structure already in the section above, but I’ll add here that the second part of your title immediately following your main search phrase, should be the most important key information.
What exactly should be here?
It varies by product, but in general that’s specific product traits like size, BPA Free, for iPhone X, Pack of 20, etc.
Whatever is the most important information a scanning shopper would need to see in order to KNOW your product is exactly what they’re looking for is what should be here. The second snippet of your is the number one most important piece of real estate so should be reserved only for the most important info!.
Exactly Where to Place Key Info for Boosted Click Throughs
In the image above show the order of priority for other key information. The highest priority info should be in the highest priority spots, then other info in the lower priority spots.
- First 3 Images: many shoppers do not even read the listing text, so it’s crucial to show the majority of information within the first 3 images. Can a shopper scroll through 3 images and know everything they would need in order to buy?
- First 200 Characters of Title (less on mobile)
- A+ Content Description (EBC). If not brand registered, use an HTML formatted description.
- First 70 Characters of Top 3 Bullet Points: Use ALL CAPS benefit driven headings at the start of each bullet point that sell readers on reading the rest of the bullet point. The more scan-able they are, the more people read them. Bullet points work better when kept at 170-200 characters, they are not effective for trying to index a large amount of keywords.
WARNING: Amazon Wants Shoppers to Click OFF Your Listing
In my example above, there are exactly 26 visible competitor products on a single Amazon listing. This means that if your product isn’t’ Key Info Optimized, it’s way too easy for shoppers to click to a listing that’s more likely to be.
This can also play to your favor, if you show up on competitor’s listings that aren’t very optimized, shoppers see your hyper optimized main image and first 75 characters of the title and BAM you just stole a click!
Persuasive Desire Optimization for High Conversion Rates
The third and final piece of a Triple Optimized Amazon Listing is all about persuasion and desire creation.
Persuasive Desire Optimization is using sales psychology to portray your product as the bridge from your customer’s undesirable current situation to an improved future situation.
Creating Sales Boosting Desire Within Amazon Shoppers
Writing sales copy is an art form, but there are many great proven frameworks we can use to write listings that take shoppers through a series of emotions that make them much more likely to buy.
Who doesn’t want a boosted conversion rate?
The most basic one is aggravate pain, present product as solution, illustrate a happy future without that pain.
By digging up the feeling of pain your customer is in, you get them in a state where they are much more motivated to do something about it. When you’re super hungry & tired, you are way more likely to buy that donut, right? Same concept here.
Then we present our product as the solution to this pain. We explain how your product eliminates the pain of whatever problem it solves.
Then we illustrate what this happy future looks like so shoppers can envision themselves being that person, pain gone, and enjoying their life more!
There are many more frameworks, but if you understand this basic concept you will be able to better understand why people buy, and can more effectively sell to them.
Enable Shoppers to Visualize Their Improved Situation Using Lifestyle Images
A picture is worth 1000 words, it’s really true! You can communicate such a large amount of information in one single picture. Size relative to other items, color, how something works, all without the need for text.
The best way to do this is with a lifestyle image of a model using your product. Lifestyle images should be “in the moment” and specifically showing 1 very specific benefit (key info optimization).
Don’t have the model just holding the product and posing!
Use a model that matches customer target demographic so shoppers can more easily relate to and see themselves in the model.
Tell a cohesive story throughout all images. There should be a consistent level of quality, lighting, graphic design style, etc.
More Amazon Sales Copy Resources
The art of sales in written form is called writing sales copy or copywriting.
I think it’s the single most valuable skill an entrepreneur can learn. It allows you to make more effective Amazon listings, Facebook Ads that perform better, email sequences, & sales pages with higher conversion rates.
It also forces to to get inside the mind of your customer on a much deeper level than most people ever get. It’s really all about psychology and positioning more so than writing skill.
Best Books on Copywriting
- Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz
- This Book Will Teach You to Write Better by Neville N. Medhora
TLDR: Triple Optimized Amazon Listing
To recap, the 3 pieces of a triple optimized Amazon listing are
- Keyword Optimization
- Key Info Communication
- Persuasive Desire Optimization
If you have all 3 of them, it will create an exponential effect, boosting click through rates and conversion rates.
It’s equally important to identify WHAT info to optimize as WHERE to place it to maximize clicks and conversions.
Lifestyle images and sales copywriting techniques are the 2 most powerful strategies to create desire inside your shoppers.
Listing optimization amazon FBA is the one underlying thing that will make everything perform better including Amazon Ads converting cheaper and product launches becoming more effective so it’s worth spending the time and possibly even working with an Amazon SEO Expert to help you.
