Amazon FBA Case Study: Listing Creation & Optimization

On our last episode of Project X we went deep into keyword research for listing optimization. This is where we did competitor research and even dove into the minds of customers to find all the keywords our listings need.

(If you missed it, click HERE.)

In this episode we’ll go over:

• How to filter our keyword list
• What to prioritize
• What to put into the listing
• Other optimization features
• Listing terms of service

The Method

Using Helium 10 tools, now it’s time to organize all of the keywords and information we gathered in the last episode and craft an optimized listing from it.

For this episode. we’ll focus on the wooden egg trays.

The How…

The first step is taking all of the keywords we gathered and sorting them using Helium 10’s Frankenstein. The tool helps us to separate keywords, take out repeat words, and otherwise organize all the data.

We managed to collect over 1000 words with around 400 or 500 phrases.

By using Frankenstein to remove “duplicate” keywords, we manage to reduce the total keyword count from over 1000 to just over 100. We’ll also remove common words like “the.”

The reason for this is because we need the words separated in order to use Helium 10’s Scribbles tool to organize them to create our listing.

From here we take our original highly relevant keywords we added to Helium 10’s Scribbles and then add all of these new individual words.

Now, inside of Scribbles, we have a few key phrases and several individual words that include Spanish words, misspellings, and many more words that we’ve identified as potentially relevant in some way.

When we click “Apply” the tool separates all unique words and phrases to keep count of how many times they’ve been used in the listing builder.

The words and phrases are color-coded to depict search volume; green being the least searched to red which is the most searched. Each time the keyword or phrase is applied to the listing builder it will be crossed out and counted.

A note about keyword phrases and relevance…

As mentioned in the last episode, one method to sending strong relevance signals to Amazon for a key phrase is to keep the phrase intact.

Given that the title is the most important aspect of the listing with regard to SEO, we want to try and use the most relevant, most intact key phrases in the limited character space of the title as we can.

To expand on this idea, for the egg tray title we start with the phrase “Wooden Egg Holder For Refrigerator.” This, in and of itself, is a relevant phrase, but within it are other mostly intact phrases, such as:

• Wooden egg holder
• Egg holder
• Egg holder for refrigerator

We build on the title from here.

An important thing to keep in mind about the title is that, just because it is the most important part of the listing doesn’t mean it has to have all necessary keywords in it. You do not want to keyword stuff and make the title not appealing to readers.

A note about the canonical URL…

The canonical URL is created automatically by Amazon and contains five random keywords from your title (and will change if you change your title). This URL is important for ranking on web search engines such as Google and Bing.

While the keywords found in the URL appear to be chosen at random by Amazon, often if you structure your title in such a way that there are five primary keywords present before a dash “-” then those keywords should comprise the bulk of the canonical URL. Take a look at our egg tray listing URL as an example.

To continue building our listing, we want to remain within Amazon’s TOS, so we also want to add our brand name to the title as well. We also want to get a feel for the “niche theme” meaning, what structure do most of the listings in this niche follow?

Are most titles long or short?

Are most of them including the size or other specific information?

After we have an idea of how long our title should be and what pertinent information it should include, we’ll work on adding that information to a message that also uses compelling language (somewhat salesy).

We’ll use the same process (reference our keyword and key phrase list, look at competitors and note niche themes) to craft the bullet points and description as well.

Remember, the first line of the description and the first bullet point are super important to drive the biggest benefit or hit on the most powerful desire. This is because bullet points show up close to the top of the screen on desktop and the description shows up higher on the page on mobile.

For the egg trays we’ve determined that most people will purchase this for the look (aesthetics) rather than a special function. This will drive the direction of our first bullet and the beginning of the description.

Other areas we need to complete are the back end search terms and subject matter terms. These are also very important due to the fact that, with regard to Amazon’s algorithm, the search terms and subject matter fields are the most important for SEO right next to the title.

This means, against conventional wisdom, sometimes it is necessary (and good) to repeat keywords between these fields. If you have a relevant phrase, for instance, in your title but are still not indexing for it, you may need to repeat it in the search terms.

Just remember not to keyword stuff in any field. Amazon prefers natural language patterns as those are the most likely to be searched by users.

A quick note on Amazon listing Terms of Service…

(For the entire TOS on search terms, click HERE)

Do not use competitor brand names in your search terms or subject matter fields.

This is against terms, but also can trigger listing suppression.

Other things that can trigger listing suppression are:

• Forbidden keywords (like “best” or profanity or drug-related terms)
• Special characters
• Main image not with white background

(For a detailed overview of creating a listing, check out Freedom Ticket HERE)

After writing all of our listing text, the next step will be to wait for inventory before inputting images. This is to keep our listing inactive until it has inventory (so we can take advantage of the “honeymoon period”).

A quick note on 3PL (third party logistics) services…

Sending large quantities of product to yourself can be difficult, time-consuming, labor-intensive and challenging overall. One way you can cut down your involvement is to use a third party logistics company, or 3PL.

We decided to contract 3PL Kreassive to handle our logistics. We had our goods shipped from China to them, after which they proceeded to break down all of the cartons and remove our product boxes, apply our FNSKU (Amazon Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit) stickers, and then prepare them for Amazon partnered carrier pick up.

(For 3PL services from Kreassive, click HERE)

Our Results

Here’s the title we came up with for the egg trays.

“Gui’s Chicken Coop Egg Tray – Rustic Wooden Egg Holder For 18 Eggs Usable in Kitchen Refrigerator, or Countertop for Display or Storage – Easy to Clean”

And here is the rest.

Bullets…

Description…

And there is our optimized listing text.

On the next episode we’ll talk about the last component of an optimized listing; imagery.

Until then, we have a question for you.

Which would you rather, have your inventory shipped directly to Amazon, or use a 3PL?