If you’re not finding success with Amazon PPC or your sales and conversion rate are suffering, then keep reading. In this article, I’m sharing the Top Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes I see Amazon sellers making. Plus, I’ll reveal some proven strategies you can use to optimize like a 7-figure seller.
Here I’m going to cover some of the biggest mistakes I see sellers making with their Amazon business. When I consult with Amazon sellers, I analyze their listings to see what they’re doing wrong. Unfortunately, so many of them are making the same mistakes. Here’s a list of these mistakes to avoid if you want higher conversion rates and consistent sales.
Quick Introduction
Real quick, if you don’t know me, my name is Ian Smith with Evolve Media Agency. We’re an Amazon marketing agency that helps sellers increase their conversion rates, rank higher, get reviews, and boost PPC. We also provide sellers with their Amazon customer data like names, mailing addresses, emails, and phone numbers, and we help sellers bring in new customers through Amazon marketing strategies. So if you need help scaling your Amazon business, book a free consulting call with me.
So now let’s go over the Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes I see sellers make with their listings…
Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes & Proven Optimization Strategies
One big Amazon listing mistake I see is sellers are not spending enough time and money bolstering up their listings. They want to put a lot of money into PPC and take the easy route. But launching some PPC ads and driving traffic to a listing that is not converting well is a huge mistake. It lacks realistic, high-quality images, it lacks video content, it lacks having Customer Questions and Answers. It lacks A+ or Enhanced Brand Content and being brand registered.
Stop Dumping Money Into Amazon PPC Ads When Your Listing Has A Conversion Problem.
Sellers first need to address their listing quality and listing performance. To help, I’ll be covering all the different Amazon listing don’ts that need to be addressed before running PPC.
How to Evaluate and Improve Your Listing Before Spending Money on PPC Campaigns
Ask yourself, are there multiple 1-star reviews in the Top Reviews section of your listing? If you have 1-star reviews there, what you need to do is click the ‘Helpful’ button on your 5-star reviews. Get people to vote them up by clicking ‘Helpful’ too. This is going to bring your five-star reviews (and 4-star reviews) up to the top of that Top Review section.
What this is going to do is push those 1-star reviews down lower. You cannot increase your sales with a whole bunch of 1-star reviews. These reviews are being seen first and get all the visibility.
Unfortunately, you need to manipulate your reviews a little bit to push your better reviews to the top. The goal is to make sure they’re seen first and your 1-star reviews never seen.
Where Is Your Video Content? The #1 Top Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes Amazon Sellers Make.
The next issue is I see a lot of Amazon sellers not investing money into getting videos created.
Amazon is investing a lot of money into more and more video placements on its platform. It has the Sponsored Video Ads, Videos in the product photos carousel, and they have the Video Slider now. Now Amazon allows videos to be posted as an answer in the Customer Question and Answers section. Also, Amazon Live rolled out recently which is a whole video streaming platform. That means Amazon cares about videos, so Amazon sellers should care as well.
As an Amazon seller, you need to invest in a lot of different types of video content. You can make Review-style videos, Before and After videos, Product Demonstration Videos, Unboxing videos, and Testimonial videos. When you have multiple review videos or testimonial videos, you can edit them into a compilation or one single video. Those are very powerful. Then you also just have your regular Features and Benefits Sales-style video.
Create FAQ Videos Yourself Or Hire An Expert
You can get these videos created for you if you prefer not to take on the work yourself. My team and I would love to help you with this. We have tons of experience and we’ve created many videos for a large number of Amazon sellers. Just go to EvolveMediaAgency.com to look more into our services and book a call with me.
When you hire video creators to make videos for you, they’re going to help your products stand out. These videos will increase conversions over buying from your competition.
Specifically, if you don’t post your videos in your Video Slider, then your competitors’ videos will show up instead. Shoppers looking at your listing will see your competitor’s video on your listing and likely buy from them.
You really need to be on the first page of that Video Slider. Work on filling that up with your own videos. This way, you push your competition to the second page or completely off the slider.
How Sellers Can Win More Sales & Rank Higher By Posting FAQ Videos in Customer Q&As
Another top listing mistake I see Amazon sellers make is they’re not investing in getting an FAQ video created and posted as an answer in the Customer Q&A section.
This is a relatively new strategy that very few sellers, if any, are doing. Investing in getting videos created will help you stand out tremendously from your competitors. Chances are they’re not going to have these types of videos on their listing to further sell shoppers on their products and convince them to purchase.
My team and I specialize in creating and filming these types of FAQ videos but truthfully anyone can do it. You just answer three quick questions on camera showing off your product, highlighting the features and benefits to insert more powerful selling points. Then you post the video as an answer to the specific question you’re answering in the Q&As section. If you need help with this or you want to hire someone to do it for you, go to EvolveMediaAgency.com to book a call with me.
More Mistakes Amazon Sellers Are Making In Their Listing: Customer Questions & Answers
Another big mistake Amazon sellers make regarding their Customer Questions and Answers is they’re not even leveraging it for keyword ranking. The truth is, Amazon crawls the copy in every Customer Q&As section and it looks for keywords to help them understand your product so they can rank it properly. That means if you have a lot of questions and answers using keywords that describe your product, then you’re going to rank higher for those keywords.
Plus, by building out this section and utilizing the space Amazon gives you, you’ll be able to address the biggest concerns that shoppers have so you can get them off the fence and convert them into your customers, thereby increasing the conversion rate of your listing.
No Reviews? Make Up For It With Q&As.
By answering your Customer Q&As and adding new questions and answers yourself, you’re building the social proof for your product. This gives other shoppers the impression that you sell a lot of this product. They’re going to assume that you’re a legitimate and credible brand that’s a leader in your space because you have a ton of questions and answers. Plus, shoppers love to watch videos and they’re going to get much more information about your product because you’re going to highlight the benefits of your product in that video.
Don’t miss the chance to outrank and outsell your competition. By filling out your Customer Q&A section completely, you’re going to set your brand and product apart from other sellers. Especially if you don’t have a lot of reviews, take advantage of this Q&A section to overcome shoppers’ objections. Use these videos and Q&As to show how much better your product is than your competitors.
Investing In External Traffic Sources Is Key To Winning On Amazon
Another top listing mistake I see Amazon sellers make is they are not investing in driving external traffic. Google Ads, for example, gives sellers a huge opportunity to increase qualified traffic to their listings or even to a “bridge” sales page.
If you choose to drive external traffic straight to your listing, you need to use a platform like Pixelfy.me. You can use promo code SAVE10 to save 10% on your Pixelfy membership every single month.
Pixelfy.me is a very affordable software that you can use if you’re sending any kind of external traffic directly to your Amazon listing page or to a bridge page. The links you can create using Pixelfy are going to help you rank significantly higher. These links are special URLs or deep links that automatically open your listing in the Amazon app whenever it is clicked. That means if shoppers are on mobile, they will actually be linked straight into the Amazon app where they are already logged in—instead of some random browser that they’re not even signed in on.
Always Use Amazon Links That Open The Amazon App For Shoppers – This Top Amazon Seller Listing Mistake Is Overlooked All The Time.
When shoppers can shop directly in the Amazon app, the chances of them buying your product are a lot higher because it’s so much easier for them to shop. They don’t have to remember their login when you use an app link, because they’re always logged in on their app!
Also when you’re spending that money on external traffic, you want to get as much keyword targeting and keyword attribution as you can. And you can do that using Pixelfy.me links.
Add An Amazon Coupon – Because Everyone Loves A Deal! My Favorite Top Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes Amazon Sellers Make That’s So Easy To Fix.
Another top listing mistake I see Amazon sellers make? Not having a coupon on their listing. Everyone loves a discount and knowing that they’re getting the same high-quality product for less, right? Well, Coupons on Amazon give you more visibility and distinction from other products in the search results.
When people are looking through 20 different options of the same or similar product, the one with the coupon is going to appeal to them over those without coupons or additional savings. Personally, I love getting a deal and I love clipping those Amazon coupons. Like me, many shoppers are also more inclined to buy from listings that have a little coupon box.
The secret to adding Coupons to your listings is to inflate your price just a little bit, so you can drop it back down using a coupon. You’ll be at the same price point and margins either way, but your sales and conversion rate will be higher. More often than not, shoppers will choose your product over your competition who does not have a coupon.
Why Every Amazon Seller Needs To Be Brand Registered
This Amazon seller listing mistake is a big one. If you’re an Amazon seller and you haven’t gone through the process of getting brand registered, you need to do that right now.
When you get a brand registered with, a process that could take up to 4-6 weeks, it unlocks the ability to have a lot more content on your Amazon listings like A+ Content or Enhanced Brand Content, additional video placements, and an Amazon Store.
Build Your Amazon Store, Like Yesterday…
Having a storefront on Amazon means shoppers can quickly and easily see and shop your entire product line and it really makes your brand look more legitimate and trustworthy.
Also when you’re brand registered, you can place a video in your Product Image Carousel which really helps with boosting conversions on your listing—if it’s a good video!
Great video content helps convert more customers because it shows all the benefits of the product, includes social proof to support your claims and sets expectations with shoppers by showing them what’s included, how it works, etc.
When you use your Amazon listing to its fullest potential using keyword-rich copy, high-converting lifestyle photography, infographics, and videos, you’re able to reduce your return rate because you set expectations properly to avoid having buyer’s remorse.
When shoppers see a video, they get a much clearer picture and a better understanding of your product including the quality, the size, and scale of it, the materials, etc.
This is the last Amazon seller mistake that I’m going to be covering in this article and it’s detrimental to any Amazon business: Having the WORST product photos.
Are Your Amazon Product Photos Worse Than You Think?
Sure, Amazon wants your main product image to have a white background, but that doesn’t mean every photo should be on a white background. You need lifestyle photos of your product being used by a happy customer who fits your ideal demographic. Every secondary image needs to have text that calls out and highlights your products’ biggest selling points.
You should also NEVER photoshop your product into stock photography with the completely wrong scale. You need to set up a real photoshoot with your real product, and you can even do it yourself. Show the product in someone’s hands, take some real-life pictures. If you’re selling a kitchen gadget, show the product on a kitchen counter. If it’s a skincare product, use a clean bathroom to photograph it in.
What Does AirBnB Have To Do With AMZ?
If you want a higher-end space to photograph your product in, get a hotel for a night or book an Airbnb. They’re usually staged nicely and look ‘Pinterest-y’ which will give you a nice backdrop for your product.
Then for those secondary images, you can add text and selling points as infographic-style images. Doing this will help shoppers understand what they’re looking at and how your products’ features translate into real benefits for them.
Every Section Of Your Listing Needs To Sell On Its Own
Also, in case a shopper only sees your infographics and photos, or they only read your Bullet Points. You want to make sure every section of your listing is powerful enough to sell on its own. Each section should address all customer concerns, all product benefits, and some social proof to quickly convey every value point of your product so they have no concerns about buying right away.
This Amazon Listing Was Straight Up Lying And It Was Obvious! This Is The Biggest Listing Mistake I See Amazon Sellers Make.
Of all the Amazon seller listing mistakes Amazon sellers make, this is by far the biggest and most shocking. Plus, it’s so obvious to shoppers!
Just the other day I talked to an Amazon seller who sells those Outerspace projectors and they were basically using images from the manufacturer, which their competition was also using! When I looked at those images it was way overselling the product, overpromising results, and literally lying to shoppers. There was no way a little device like that could illuminate a room that much! What this over-exaggeration does is sets the customers’ expectations way high so when they find out it isn’t accurate, they’re going to leave a bad review and a terrible rating.
Do Better At Setting Customer Expectations Accurately And You’ll Be Rewarded.
Don’t make these huge Amazon seller listing mistakes. Always do your best to set customer expectations about your product as accurately as possible. Show and describe an accurate representation of the product you’re selling and chances are you’re going to get better reviews, fewer returns, and fewer negative reviews.
Are you making these Amazon Seller Listing Mistakes? I hope not, and I hope that information was helpful. Thanks for taking the time to read about the top mistakes I see Amazon sellers making that are killing their Amazon business and giving their competition an edge in the marketplace.