Listing Optimization
Product marketing on marketplaces can be done a variety of different ways. But bad listings cause marketing costs to go through the roof. On the flip side, excellent listings can decrease marketing costs, increase organic sales, and ensure consistent and customer-focused branding. On Amazon, there are two main types of listing optimization:
Basic Optimization
Brands without a registered trademark or those who aren't registered with Brand Registry can create excellent listings through creative images, strategic titles, bullet points, and descriptions, and other backend keywords or data.
Brand Registry Optimization
Having a Brand Registered brand on Amazon (Requires an active trademark) allows you to add little features, such as Enhanced Brand Content or Videos, to a listing that gives it an extra edge over your competition.
Good product listings are a balance of Art and Science. The Art piece is crafting vibrant images and creative copy the taps into the emotion of the consumer to make a purchase. Science is incorporation of keywords, color theory, and other data points into a listing to ensure it gets indexed in more search results.
Brand Registry requires an active Trademark (not pending) with USPTO or an internationally recognized trademark organization. It is always best to secure a trademark in the marketplaces you want to have your product represented on, but you only need one registration to gain access to all of Brand Registry’s “bonus features”.
Brand Registry allows brands to add additional listing content, such as Enhanced Brand Content, to listings. From Videos to more Images, these features can greatly increase conversion rates and consumer awareness of your brand. Additional features, such as storefronts or QVC-Style live stream video content, allows brands to establish significant branding on Amazon to build more brand awareness. Lastly, on the back end, more analytics and brand management features become available that help brands analyze their customer base, protect their brand through counterfeit protection programs, and monitor listings for feedback from their customers through reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a brand has an existing trademark, signing up for Brand Registry is free. There are certain paid features and paid promotional opportunities that are optional, however, gaining access to many of the benefits are free. Registering for a trademark can range in cost depending on the attorney or lawyer used to register (if any).
Working with other sellers, we have come to discover even some of the best listings have minor flaws. Are you monitoring reviews? Are your listings optimized for mobile users? Have you implemented strategies to get your Amazon listing indexed in Google Search? Have you completed A/B testing on your images, title, or other listing attributes to get real data on whether or not your customers prefer that image or title?
In our research, something as changing the main image based on customer preference can increase conversion rates more than 2% in some cases. This may seem like a minuscule percentage, but if your conversion rate is 4%, you have just increased sales by 50%!
There are 3 options:
- Find an Attorney or Lawyer who specializes in Trademark Law that can help verify your trademark and file it with your governing agency.
- File the trademark yourself on websites like USPTO.
- [Recommended] File through Amazon’s IP Accelerator Program, which is similar to #1, but allows you to register your brand before the trademark application is approved. This can greatly speed up the process due to trademark applications taking 6 months or more in some cases.