The power of the Amazon.com web site is the discoverability of products. When buyers can find what they want, that influences conversion from looking to buying.
The technology and philosophy behind that power is the use of the single Product Detail Page combined with strong search and browse capabilities.
hese are the two primary methods for finding products on the Amazon.com Web site and we encourage sellers to optimize their listings to take advantage of both. Utilizing the functionality for both search and browse are especially important for success in selling in the various non-media departments.
Search is the primary method buyers use to locate products. They search by entering words in the search box, either on the home page or on any other page on Amazon.com. These are typically words that they think of as related to the product they want to find. The Amazon system matches relevant products based on those words and returns a page of search results.
When listing your products for sale, well-chosen search terms can increase the visibility and potential for sales. The Amazon system already searches against the words in the title, brand/designer/manufacturer/manufacturer part number, and standard product ID (UPC, EAN, GTIN) so there is no need to repeat those. Instead, think of all the different words a buyer might use to find your product.
The system does not search bullets and descriptions, so those are often words to consider when creating search terms. If you sell pillow shams, for instance, you will include that in the title. It is relevant to use the word case or pillow case or pillowcase as a search term – you know what buyers want for your products!
ere are some tips for optimizing your search terms. Relevant is the key to the best buyer experience. The faster a buyer can find what they are looking for, the more likely they are to make a purchase, especially if it’s exactly what they wanted.
1. Utilize all the search terms you can for every product
2. Use detailed product names
3. Do not re-use words in the search term fields
4. Don't use quotation marks in search terms
5. Use only relevant search terms
There are also opportunities for disappointing. For example, if a buyer searches for a black backpack and you’ve included black in your search terms for the blue version, this is a poor experience when a blue backpack surfaces in their search. That isn’t what they were looking for. However, if you know that many people think of your blue version as aquamarine, but that’s not the true title, then aquamarine is a relevant search term.
6. Use legitimate alternate spellings and synonyms
Legitimate spelling differences are relevant too. Is the name of your product racket but it might be searched racquet? That’s a good search term. Or a synonym might help if your product is a pair of slacks but someone might search pants and/or chinos, for example.
7. When entering several words as a search term, put them in the most logical order
8. Minimize use of abbreviations
9. Do not use misspellings as search terms. Amazon.com's search engine compensates for common customer misspellings and also offers corrective suggestions
10. When entering several words as a search term entry, you don't need to use punctuation - our system ignores commas. Just make sure to put spaces between your words if you want them treated as separate terms.
These are typically words that they think of as related to the product they want to find. The Amazon system matches relevant products based on those words and returns a page of search results. There are more ideas about search terms in Seller Central Help at the topic Use Search & Browse.
If you aren't getting the sales you expect, keep experimenting with your product names and search terms. To determine what words will be useful for your product, do a search first on Amazon.com yourself. If you get a high number of matches, try other words to see if you can narrow the results.
rowse is another way buyers find products and narrow the results. Most people are fairly familiar with the mechanics of search. Where Amazon.com really adds value is in the browse structure presented to the buyer.
Thousands of merchants sell millions of products on Amazon.com. To help customers find products easily, we developed a detailed product hierarchy or browse-tree structure. Customers refine by category and subcategory links until they reach the most specific product type.
Amazon.com uses your Item Type Keywords to classify your products under the correct browse nodes. In order for your products to continue to appear when customers refine their category options, they must be classified correctly to the deepest level. For example: This means your pasta pots should be classified as pasta-pots and not just pots or not just as Kitchen. Or your sun dresses classified as sundresses and not just dresses or Apparel, and further classification can put those into more specific classifications for junior, kids, and women’s.
Each step along a customer's browse path is called a browse node. Amazon assigns your products to one or more browse nodes based on how you classify your products using the terms in the Item Classification Guides (ICGs). These are category-specific documents that provide you with the proper Item Type Keywords and attribute values for setting up your products. These values take advantage of the browse structure for categories on Amazon.com. See latest classification Guide.
You describe your products instead of assigning them to a particular browse node, you do not need to reclassify your products if the browse structure changes. This is an important difference between Amazon.com and other online marketplaces. The more accurate and thorough your classifications, the better Amazon.com can place your products in relevant browse nodes across the site.
Example:
For more information about this, check out the Home & Garden Category Style Guide. More of these to come for other categories soon! If you are looking for other ideas try any of these features described at Use Search & Browse, or for more tips go to the Increase Sales help topic in Seller Central.
