By John Andreas — Feb 10, 2021

Create the Perfect Amazon Listing

When selling online, the most important skill to learn is how to craft the perfect Amazon listing. Think calling it a skill is an exaggeration? Not at all. Marketing and e-commerce SEO firms have spent years and hundreds of thousands of dollars learning how to craft the perfect Amazon sales pitch in the form of a product listing. Product listings are the front cover of your product, the first thing any customer comes into contact-and people absolutely judge books based on their covers. All this said, it is possible for every individual with some basic tech know-how can make perfect Amazon listings that capture attention and drive sales. The following is a look at how.

1. Start with Keyword Research

Amazon is the largest e-commerce marketplace, and as such, being bold and standing out from the crowd is important.Doing keyword research and strategically placing high-value keywords (keywords customers are most apt to search) in your headings and general description along with strategic keywords is arguably the best method for getting customer attention.

Keywords are so important because Amazon uses its own social algorithm known as A9 that is specifically coded to help customers find exactly the product they want quickly and effectively. Part of how A9 does this is by listing and ranking products that best reflect the keyword the customer uses.

When creating a new listing for one of your products, it can be incredibly hard to rank high on general-use keywords like "disinfectant spray" or "dog collar" because of the heavy competition. There are some who believe new products get a bit of Amazon boost when they are first listed, but that quickly fades as you're forced to compete with older products and products by more well-known brands that are well-ranked by the A9 system.

The trick to beating this is thus by choosing both the obvious generic keywords and more specialized ones that relate specifically to your product or to what you think your customers will search for when looking for your product. For example, if you sell disinfectant spray, then consider what else makes your cleaning product different from others and include that in your headings and product descriptions. For example, if you sell green products, then highlight that with longer keyphrases like "100% all-natural disinfectant spray".

As you choose keywords and start drafting your Amazon listing, keep the following things in mind:

Use as many relevant keywords as you can without overtly keyword stuffing. In other words, seed your listing with combo phrases and long-tail keywords that will draw attention and increase your visibility, ultimately increasing your sales and rank.
Be strategic about your most relevant keywords. Place your most relevant keywords in your product title, in the first two bullet points, and within the first 100 words of your listing's description.
Create a spreadsheet and update often. Use a spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets or Excel to note which keywords you use and when you submit the listing. In a month, revisit that spreadsheet and your search rankings. Consider keywords customers have left in your reviews and/or look at competitors' products and adjust your own keywords to see how, if at all, they improve your ranking.
Search for synonyms. Not sure what keywords relate to your product? Use Google's thesaurus to check for synonyms. You might even ask a friend what words they would use when searching online for a product like yours.
Use a keyword tool and focus on long tail keywords. A keyword tool like this one will better help you analyze your considered keywords and help in generating relevant long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are important because while they generate less search engine traffic, they will generally have a higher conversion value as they are more specific and exact to what the buyer is searching for.

2. Craft an Informative Product Title

Your product's title will be the first thing a customer will see in the search results and it, along with the main product photograph, will be what determines whether the customer clicks on your product to learn more, or chooses to scroll past to the next item on the results page. So, it's incredibly important not to be coy and instead be assertive, crafting your product tile in an informative and compelling way.

An informative product title is a title that encapsulates everything about your product in the allocated space -- and every seller should use all of the allocated space, maximizing the full character count Amazon offers within the title's text box. Make sure your highest-value keyword along with the name of your brand and the title of the product itself lead in the title. After this, add relevant information like color, unit quality (ie 12-pack), and size. If you still have space, add in secondary keywords following the more relevant information.

3. Make Your Listing Visually Appealing

They say a picture is worth a thousand words but, in truth, it's worth even more when in the world of e-commerce. After all, new customers are apt to have never heard of your product and maybe never have experienced what your product can do. They have little to no idea what to expect and the best way to ensure that they can trust you are selling them what the words in the listing description is by pairing those words with detailed, professional photos.

Yes, professional. Unless you are an ace with photography and digital editing, consider hiring a local professional to snap clear shots of your product. Every product listing should aim to fill the nine image slots allowed in Amazon's listing page.

Brand owners should also consider look at incorporating photos as part of Amazon's Enhanced Brand Content (EBC). EBC is similar to a magazine advertisement that allows the seller to incorporate photographs with text descriptions (including keywords that will be included in the A9 algorithms) in a more formal, and visually-appealing layout.

When staging for your own photography or preparing for a professional photographer, you'll want to look through the following list of types of shots to ensure you get the specific type of pictures Amazon buyers are typically looking for. If you're unable to use photographs for any of the following shots, use 3D modeling.

High-resolution shots that allow potential buyers to zoom in and really get an idea of what they're buying.
Have the main shot taken of the product against a plain white background.
Consider also having secondary shots that indicate measurement and side-views with the same white background.
Include lifestyle photos in which people use your product as it was intended.
Have pictures of the product within packaging and outside of it.
If your product has to be assembled, such as a tent, consider also including a short video of it being assembled -- either in part or in whole.

4. Bullet Point Your Product's Feature

Readers love bullet points. Bullet points neatly separate statements into easily viewable and digestible soundbites. Every product, no matter how simple or how complex, should have between three to five solid bullet point features. Check our own bullet point list for key tips on how to craft that perfect Amazon listing for your product:

Always start with your best feature. Bullet points aren't paragraphs, you aren't trying to hide the best takeaways in the body or at the punchy end. No, with product listings, you want to capture their attention and then keep giving by listing the best feature first, second-best next, and so-on.
Answer big questions. Do customers ask the same questions about your product over and over again? Find a way to take the answers to frequently asked questions and reframe them as feature bullet points.
Explain the solution. To that point, always explain how your product solves the customer's problem -- and every good product should solve at least one type of problem.

In addition to this primary bullet point list of features, your listing should also include basic information about your product toward the end of your product listing. This secondary information is also best written out in a bullet point format and should include information like the following:

Include ingredients or material information. This is particularly important if it's relevant to your product or niche industry, such as listing the basic ingredients of an all-natural dish detergent.
Include any warranties or guarantees. If you don't have any your brand is willing to offer, then play up the guarantees Amazon offers.
Answer concerns. Include the answers to any frequently asked questions you weren't able to cover in the main bullet point list as well as any concerns a buyer might have.

Remember that the most important thing here is to keep bullet points simple. Bullet points should not be used to fully describe your product and all of the fantastic things it does. They should instead be bite-sized highlights that the customer can easily scan to find the information that's relevant to their inquiries.

As you create your bullet points, note that they are not the first thing viewed by those shopping on a mobile device. Instead, the description is the first thing that pops up and so depending upon your product and your market, you might adjust your bullet points so that your description leads into them.

If you're still not sure how to write your bullet points, check your competitors and the product listings of others in your industry. This will best help inform you how to formulate your bullet points.

Finally, remember that your pictures capture the eye, the bullet points set the hook, and then you really get the lead with the following key listing item:

5. Craft a Compelling Product Description

This is the meat of your product listing, the place where you really win the viewer over. Most viewers who land on your Amazon page will have a short attention span and quicky scan the page, so if they're ready to start reading the product description, it's important to make it memorable for them.

In going with memorable and hard-hitting, one good way to approach this task is to think of it like writing a short story. Start with the problem, explain the solution, end with something memorable. But this isn't the only strategy and different marketing experts and savvy sellers will have their own opinions on what makes for a compelling description. As such, this is another part of your Amazon listing that you should consider revisiting a month or two down the line according to the feedback you get from customers via reviews and questions.

Whether you choose to take a more factual or creative writing style on your product description, consider incorporating the following advice and strategies to make that description more compelling:

Use the full 300 words allocated by Amazon for the product description.
Keep your sentences short and run it through Hemmingwayapp.com to ensure it ranks at middle-grade reading levels (ideal for the general consumer).
Use conversational language and avoid any industry jargon unless your product is geared only for well-versed consumers within your niche industry.
Emphasize how your product specifically can solve a customer's problem or otherwise bring value to their life or work.
Always end on a call to action.
Don't forget to include those high-value keywords but avoid keyword stuffing.
Don't use this space for testimonials or quotes.
Don't include any information that is not directly related to your product and how it can solve the consumer's needs.

As you draft and come up with your final product description, keep in mind that 90% of people won't fully read the listing. This is particularly true if you are selling lower priced items (such as items priced under $500). So keep things simple but engaging -- more than your bullet points but less than a how-to. If you feel like you have more information, put it on your website. Note that Amazon is very strict about not allowing any links from its website to your business website, but savvy customers who really want more information than listed will typically either search in the questions (which you can then personally answer for them and future customers). You can also include more detailed content in the EBC Content.

6. Confirm Your Product Listing is Mobile & Tablet Device-Friendly

Now that you have most of the content-heavy stuff done, the next phase is to confirm that your whole product listing is mobile-friendly. According to every search engine report and third-party research results, more people shop on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms using their smartphone or similar mobile device than on a traditional desktop computer or laptop. So, it's incredibly important that your product listing looks equally good on a smartphone as it does on a traditional web browser.

What mobile-friendly means is that the product listing page you have is easy to navigate on any device that isn't a personal computer or laptop. On a mobile-friendly website, the viewer doesn't have to constantly zoom in or pinch in order to read information or get a good idea of a picture. Instead, the content should easily scale to size. Amazon does most of the background work on their website necessary to ensure all listings are generally mobile-friendly, but some of the work to make a listing truly mobile-friendly must be done by the seller when crafting the listing.

Enhanced Brand Content has a lot of ancillary benefits but perhaps its biggest benefit is that it displays exceptionally well across all mobile devices and offers its sellers a secret weapon. When a customer types in a general search or browses Amazon products on their mobile device, they will see the first 200 characters of the product description (which is why we noted before to lead with a heavy hook) and will need to click that description to see more. However, when a seller incorporates Enhanced Brand Content, the customer will actually see the full title, graphics, and description without having to click to commit.

Now, Go Out and Sell!

Amazon and Google are constantly changing their algorithms and how they rank products. To stay competitive, you should follow their lead and constantly monitor your click through rates and use Split test tools to test for yourself the effectiveness of various titles and content. Dont' stop tweaking until you get the best conversion rates and sales you think possible.

Keep in mind is that all of Amazon's, Google's, and others' changes are for the benefit of the consumer, ensuring they have access to the quality products they are searching for. So the best thing you can do is to accurately market your product in a compelling way and you'll reap the rewards. Have a good product and use the above strategies and you're good to go!