In the past, I have already published several blog posts on the topic of Amazon listing optimization including Amazon Listing Optimization, Amazon SEO and the article Optimizing Amazon listings for mobile devices. In today's post, I'll introduce you to ways in which you can optimize your Amazon listing for Google search. As we all know, Amazon is the primary search engine when it comes to product-specific search queries. In fact, 56 % of online shoppers start their buying process on Amazon these days. But Google is also still one of the primary places to go when it comes to searching for products.
There are numerous articles that shed light on conventional search engine optimization, but none that include the special features of Amazon listings. Here you can find out what measures you can take to ensure that your Amazon listing is displayed as high up as possible in Google searches.
First things first: Secure the indexing
Before we start optimizing the listing, we need to make sure that the product detail page of this listing is also indexed by Google. To check this, we copy the URL of the product listing without the keyword parameters and paste the URL into the Google search bar with the addition "site:".
See the following example:
URL without keyword parameters: www.amazon.de/HOLZRICHTER-Berlin-Visitenkartenetui-Handgefertigtes-Visitenkarten/dp/B01N25POX4
URL input at Google:
site:www.amazon.de/HOLZRICHTER-Berlin-Visitenkartenetui-Handgefertigtes-Visitenkarten/dp/B01N25POX4
If a result is displayed, this is proof that Google has already indexed the product detail page.
Important!
If you want to optimize an Amazon listing that contains variants, you must enter the parent ASIN instead of the child ASIN in the URL. This is because Google only indexes the parent URL.
If you come to the conclusion that the product detail page is not yet indexed, you should ensure that external pages link to the product detail page (backlinks). These should not be affiliate links, nor should the links contain UTM parameters. By placing backlinks on a page that is included in the Google index, we encourage the Google crawler to call up the product detail page.
Google Keyword Density vs. Amazon Keyword Density
The frequency of a keyword (keyword density) on a page has become less important for Google optimization in recent years. Nevertheless, the natural repetition of keywords on the page (headline, title, alt attributes) has a direct influence on the organic position in the search results pages. However, using keywords too frequently can lead to the respective subpage disappearing from the Google index. As a rule, the keyword density should not exceed a value of 3.5 %.
When optimizing for Amazon search, however, keyword density has no direct influence on the organic ranking. If the product listing contains the keyword in question at least once, it is considered a relevant result for Amazon and is therefore included in the keyword-specific index. The increased use of a keyword therefore does not lead to an improvement in the ranking.
Keyword research:
There are not only differences in search volume between Google and Amazon, but also in the type of searches carried out. Amazon is mainly used for product-specific searches, whereas Google also carries out information-based searches (questions etc.).
In search engine optimization, we distinguish between
Transaction-oriented search queries (especially on Amazon)
Information-oriented search queries (especially on Google)
Navigation-oriented search queries (especially on Google)
The different search behavior on Amazon and Google forces us to carry out keyword research for the most frequent search queries on Google in addition to keyword research for search behavior on Amazon.
Let's take a look at the different auto-suggests (suggested completions) from Amazon and Google for the search query "black cumin seed oil".
Google Auto-Suggests:
Amazon Auto Suggests:
As we can see, the 10 most popular searches on Amazon for "black seed oil" include the word "dog" three times.
Another interesting difference are the search queries "black cumin oil effect", "black cumin oil skin" and "black cumin oil allergy", which are made with Google. These searches are the previously mentioned information-oriented queries. People are obviously looking for more detailed information before possibly making a purchase decision.
We also see in the Google results that other online stores such as DM and Rossmann are also actively searched for. These search queries are navigation-oriented searches that are usually ignored in search engine optimization.
To ensure that a product listing is also optimized for Google searches, prior Google-specific keyword research is essential. The W questions, which can be determined using the following tool, should not be neglected under any circumstances.
Product title / H1
The Amazon product title is both the page title and the H1 heading. For both Amazon and Google, the product title plays a decisive role in determining organic placement. In some cases, the optimization principles here are different. The guidelines for how a product title should be structured on Amazon are meticulously prescribed by Amazon.
For Google optimization, the main keywords should be placed as close to the beginning of the title as possible.
Product description / Enhanced Brand Content
The product description as well as the EBC content of products on Amazon play a subordinate role for Amazon SEO, as keywords in this placement are only indexed irregularly. For Google optimization, however, both the product description and the EBC content are of the utmost importance. A missing or non-optimized product description means that the product cannot be found optimally on Google.
The product description and EBC content are ideally suited for the placement of long-tail keywords as well as the placement of "W-questions", e.g,
"What does black cumin oil do for dogs?". This ensures that as many search queries as possible are covered by the keyword research, despite the limited text content.
Rich snippets / product reviews
Rich snippets are extended information about the standardized meta data (meta description & page title) that is displayed in the search results pages on Google. The star ratings, which are displayed above the meta description, are particularly important for online retail.
The integration of rich snippets leads to an increase in the click rate of the respective search result. This leads to an increase in traffic figures even without improving the organic ranking.
The star rating of Amazon listings reflects the average customer rating of a product on Amazon. For this reason, the maintenance and optimization of customer ratings is not only highly relevant with regard to Amazon itself, but also for Google optimization.
Backlinks
Backlinks continue to play a crucial role in Google search engine optimization in 2019. Although Amazon's domain authority is currently 94 and Amazon does not actually need to acquire backlinks, the systematic creation of backlinks to the indexed product URL can further improve the Google ranking. In addition to improving the Google ranking through backlink acquisition, the increase in traffic and sales achieved in this way can also boost the Amazon ranking.
Internal links
Internal linking is a search engine optimization measure that is often neglected, but this does not mean that building internal links does not improve the ranking. Internal links are also a measure that should be implemented for the Google optimization of product listings.
Internal links to Amazon can be created by using product comparison tables in the A+ Content be created.
The ASINs of the products can be entered in the product comparison tables, which then lead to a link to the respective product.
Another way of using internal links on Amazon is to link the products from the brand store you have created.
Note: Both the EBC and the Brand Store are only available to brand owners.
Conclusion - Optimize Amazon listing for Google search
Unfortunately, as Amazon sellers, we only have limited options for customizing information on the product page. For example, we cannot name image files or add our own ALT attributes. It is also not possible to create unique meta descriptions. However, this should not prevent Amazon sellers from optimizing their own products for Google search. However, before starting the optimization, a separate Google keyword research should be carried out to adapt the content to the search intention.
