In the past I have written several blog posts about Amazon Listing Optimization, including Amazon Listing Optimization, Amazon SEO or the post Amazon Listings Optimize for Mobile Devices. In today’s post, I will introduce you to ways to 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. For example, 56% of online shoppers nowadays start their buying process on Amazon. 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 traditional search engine optimization, but none that include the specifics of Amazon listings. Here you can learn about what you can do to ensure that your Amazon listing is displayed as high up in Google searches as possible.
First things first: Securing the indexing
Before we start to optimize the listing, we have 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 with the addition „site:“ into the Google search bar.
See the following example:
URL without keyword parameters: www.amazon.de/HOLZRICHTER-Berlin-Visitenkartenetui-Handgefertigtes-Visitenkarten/dp/B01N25POX4
URL entry at Google:
site:www.amazon.de/HOLZRICHTER-Berlin-Visitenkartenetui-Handgefertigtes-Visitenkarten/dp/B01N25POX4
When we receive a result, this is proof that Google has already indexed the product details page.
Important!
If you want to optimize an Amazon listing that contains variations, you have to enter the Parent ASIN in the URL instead of the Child ASIN. This is because Google only indexes the parent URL.
If you find that the product details page is not yet indexed, you should make sure that external pages link to the product details page (backlinks). These should not be affiliate links, nor should the links contain UTM parameters. By setting backlinks on a page that is included in the Google index, we get the Google Crawler to visit the product detail page.
Google keyword density vs. Amazon keyword density
The frequency of a keyword (keyword density) on a page has lost importance for Google optimization in the last few 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 result pages. However, too frequent use of keywords 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%.
In the case of optimization for Amazon search, however, the keyword density has no direct influence on the organic ranking. If the product listing contains the addressed keyword 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 between Google and Amazon in terms of search volume, but also in the type of searches performed. Amazon mainly carries out product-specific searches, while 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 behaviour on Amazon and Google forces us to do a keyword research for the search behaviour on Amazon as well as a keyword related research for the most frequent search queries on Google.
In this context, let’s take a look at the different auto-suggests (suggested completions) of Amazon and Google for the search query „black cumin oil“.
Google-Auto-Suggests:
As we can see, the 10 most popular searches on Amazon on the subject of „black cumin oil“ contain the addition „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 done with Google. These searches are the previously mentioned information-oriented queries. The people here are obviously looking for more detailed information before possibly making a purchase decision.
Furthermore, we can see in the Google results that other online shops such as DM and Rossmann are also actively searched for. These search queries are navigation-oriented searches, which usually go unnoticed by search engine optimization.
In order for a product listing to be optimized for Google searches, a previous Google-specific keyword search is indispensable. In no case should the W questions be neglected, which can be determined with the following tool.
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 critical role in determining organic placement. In some cases the optimization principles are different here. The guidelines for how to structure a product title at Amazon are meticulously prescribed by Amazon.
For Google optimization, the main keywords should be placed as close as possible to the beginning of the title.
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 high importance. A missing or not optimized product description leads to the fact that the product cannot be found optimally on Google.
Product description and EBC content are best suited for the placement of longtail keywords as well as the placement of „W questions“, e.g,
„What does black seed oil do for dogs?“. This ensures that, despite limited text content, as many search queries as possible that are determined in the keyword search are also covered.
Rich Snippets / Product Reviews
Rich snippets are extended information about the standardized meta-data (meta-description & page titles) that are displayed in the search results pages on Google. The star ratings displayed above the meta-description are particularly important for online commerce.
The integration of rich snippets increases the click rate of the respective search result. Thus, even without improving the organic ranking, an increase in traffic figures is achieved.
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 of the highest relevance not only with regard to Amazon itself, but also for Google optimization.
Backlinks
Even in 2019, backlinks will play a decisive role for search engine optimization on Google. Although Amazon’s domain authority is currently 94 and Amazon does not actually have to make backlink acquisitions, the systematic creation of backlinks to the indexed product URL can further improve Google’s ranking. In addition to improving Google’s ranking through backlink acquisition, the traffic and sales increase achieved in this way can also increase Amazon’s ranking.
Internal links
Internal linking is a measure in search engine optimization 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 Enhanced Brand Content (EBC).
The ASINs of the products can be entered in the product comparison tables, which then lead to a link to the respective product.
Another possibility for using internal links on Amazon is to link the products from the created Brand Store.
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 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 products for Google search. Before starting the optimization process, it is recommended to do a separate Google keyword research to adjust the content to the search intention.
