How Does Amazon’s Search Algorithm Work? [Explained]

Are you running a business online? Do you also wonder why does not your product ranks at the top of the Amazon search? If so, you’re at the right place. You might not know or having difficulty in understanding that how does Amazon’s search algorithm work? But not anymore!

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Here, in this article, you will not only learn but even be able to work in harmony with Amazon’s search algorithm. You will see that your product’s ranking is getting better with proper understanding.

Let’s make one thing clear that the Amazon’s search algorithms’ sole goal is to show shoppers relevant products in one go. You need to know this because at its core the algorithm works same as the Google’s search algorithm. However, their consumer base is different and so the strategy.

Since the goal differs so do other factors like; the data which is obtained from search queries. Moreover, Amazon has self-contained data which it uses on daily basis and try to match them with their customer’s desire.

How does Amazon’s search algorithm work?

The responsibility of an algorithm is to present the best result of whatever is asked as a query. To do that the algorithm has a few parameters based on which it determines what to show and where to show.

Likewise, Amazon has an algorithm that is handled and executed by the company’s subsidiary known as A9. The subsidiary A9 handles the data of Amazon and determines the ranking of products in an index.

How do you get your Amazon ranking?

To get the rank on sale, first search the product on Amazon.com, locate your listing, scroll down to ‘Product Details’, get the information at ‘Amazon Best Seller’s Rank’.

Here, the rank belongs to the category where your product is listed.

What are the Amazon ranking parameters?

As mentioned above there are a few parameters that A9 takes in conscience to deliver the best results. In turn, it ranks your product on Amazon search. The parameters are:

• Keywords: Those specific words that define what your customer is looking for.
• Sales conversion: Data of your products that are being purchased online.
• Reviews: Feedback given by your customers.
• Performance History: A record of your sales.
• Delivery Time: Time is taken to deliver the product to the customer’s door.
• Price: Decides your rank according to the price of the product in the competitive e-market.

Working on these parameters you can get a better rank on the website. These are the determinants that Amazon’s algorithm uses and evaluate the rank on its list.

How to work with the parameters constructively?

You should not bombard the keyword section, neither should you lower down your rates unnecessarily. You might be thinking that more the keywords more the rank. But no! that never happens. Instead, you should learn to take maximum advantage of these parameters.

Optimize SEO for your products

Here, you need to think like a customer or the keywords your customer would use while looking for the product online.

This is one important thing that decides your rank. Amazon algorithm looks for the specific words as in keywords while showing results to the customers.

Putting these keywords in the right place can connect your product to the customers without any hassle. Since it is the tendency of the human brain that it approaches things that are most visible to them. This means, whatever product comes first has the highest possibility to get clicked.

How would you find the right keywords for you?

There are two methods to find the right keywords:

• The first and the most organic method is to find the keywords yourself. This will cost you nothing. Put yourself at the place of your customer and brainstorm the specific words relevant to your product. For instance, if you are a printer seller, you might search by brand’s name or model or the price.

• Whereas the second method is scientific under which tools are used. These tools search for the exact keywords considering the whole Amazon market and will give you results. The benefit of such tools is that they give you the exact keywords consumers search on Amazon.

For instance tools like MerchantWords and Viral Launch do the task for you. Apart from this, there are free tools available on the internet.

Now that you have found the keywords, you should add them to your product title and listing. Make sure it looks organic and informative sans spamming the keywords.

Page Building for your products

What page building does is that it convince the consumer to purchase the product from you. Thereby, you need to build the page in a way that looks genuine and informative to your customers.

To build a trustworthy page, you can:

• Add product details such as manufacturing date and place, features, etc.
• Add high-quality photos of your product.
• You can add a short video if it’s an electronic device or something like that.
• Return and refund policy.

All these tips can help you build a consumer-friendly page. It will also increase your sale conversion which in turn helps you get a better ranking on Amazon.

Besides keywords, the A9 algorithm looks for is the Sales Conversion rate. And it is doing this for two reasons:

• First, It shows the consumer’s trust in the product.
• Second, by listing with a high sales conversion rate Amazon makes more money. This pushes the article even more on the top of search results thus increases the overall sale of the product.

Reviews from customers

Just think of it what makes you to go on a particular shop or to buy a product from there? Yes, you guess it right, the reviews you receive from your friends, relatives, or colleagues.

Similarly, on a website, a customer relies mostly on reviews from other customers. It builds trust and satisfaction that the product will benefit them.

A9 algorithm process just like the consumers. More the genuine review more would be the ranking. Now, let’s understand this process.

A9 algorithm uses advanced machine learning for these sections. It considers other details like; when the review was posted, how recently and frequently reviews are posted; are the reviews from verified (genuine) buyers. These are some extra parameters; it takes into account just as your customers do.

Star rating is another parameter that helps the algorithm to know more about your product and hence to decide its ranking.

Note that it is not the number of reviews but the quality of it that matters. Even the company reveals that top-performers who are organically ranked have reviews that vary in quantity and are quality-based. The algorithm also investigates if the reviews are authentic or not. Amazon is way advance than the fake reviewers or clicks farms think. That’s what makes Amazon amazing.

Price and competitiveness

Smart consumers do know the value of the product they are going to buy. If you think dropping the price will fetch you, customers, then your guess may hit you hard. Why is that? Amazon also understands the tricks and so has criteria for every product it places on its website.

Amazon has over 15 million items listed and the algorithm does the task to analyze customers buying behavior. While the A9 algorithm performs the task of changing the price for products depending on their demand. It also takes care of the ‘out of the stock’ products and provides alternatives to the customers at the same time. Also, you can learn more about the pricing strategy on Amazon website.

Conclusion

We hope the article on how does Amazon’s search algorithm work will help you to boost your rank on Amazon. We have also written an article on why is Amazon called Amazon if you want to know more about Amazon.