November 4th, 2021
If you want to increase your sales on Amazon, then you need to go beyond the standard advertising strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC).
That’s where conversion rate optimization (CRO) comes into play. While traditional SEO and PPC strategies drive sales and help your Amazon business grow, these two methods are more effective when used in tandem with conversion rate optimization (CRO).
When you implement CRO, you make it easier for keywords, copy, videos, and photos to be highly discoverable for your intended audience, which in turn can contribute to a higher sales rate.
With this guide, you will be able to navigate through the process of using CRO to help your Amazon business by building a revenue-driving product listing that will help Amazon customers find your product(s) more easily. Let’s get started!
How Does CRO Work?
If you have ever heard of split testing (also known as A/B testing, where you have an “A” version and a “B” version that tests against one another), then you are already ahead of the game.
Amazon CRO uses the split testing method to compare two versions of a product listing. By testing two versions of the same listing, your goal is to see which one outperforms the other.
Generally, you are looking for which listing results in the highest order rate. In most cases, starting out with only one differing element such as the product title or product description is a great way to dip your toe into the split testing world.
The benefit of testing one change at a time is that you make sure you get accurate results to help identify actionable takeaways more easily. If you change too many details on a listing and run a split test, then you might not be able to identify exactly which portion of the listing is outperforming the other. Effective Amazon strategies aren’t about making your best guess, but pinpointing accurate action points.
Effective Amazon strategies aren’t about making your best guess, but pinpointing accurate action points.
When in Doubt, Start Small and Work Your Way Up
Are you ready to start testing? There are two ways to determine which product(s) you should use to start testing.
- Choose a product from your catalog that is struggling to gain traction on Amazon. Keep in mind that the results might trickle in and you may have to wait a full three weeks for any actionable items.
- Pick a popular product from your catalog that regularly gets a lot of traffic. That way you will most likely see results pour in quickly. It all depends on what the goal is.
To start with your first A/B test, we recommend picking just one element to focus on.
For example, start with two sets of totally different images for your first A/B test to see which set gets a better response among Amazon customers. If y
ou don’t currently have any lifestyle photos or infographics on your listing, then this is a great opportunity to test those out.
If changing images sounds a little too intimidating for your first test, you can simply tweak the title of a listing to be shorter and more concise. Perhaps your current title is overrun with lots of words, which may be the cause for losing the customers interest.
We also recommend checking out what your competitors are doing on their listings. That may spark some ideas of things that you could change. Remember, don’t get intimidated to try something new and creative – after all, you can always revert back to the previous listing title or images with just a click of a button!
Ideas to Try with Product Images:
- Change the order of your current listing images
- Upload lifestyle photos or action shots
- Include helpful infographics
- Test different product angles
- Add your product packaging from all sides
Ideas to Try with Product Features:
- Make every feature focused on the customer experience instead of your company
- Add product features that highlight your product’s competitive advantage and how it can solve common customer pain points
- Try different lengths for product features
- Highlight quality or security guarantees
Ideas to Try with Product Descriptions:
- When writing the new description, focus on how potential customers will use the product versus simply focusing on what the product is
- Use strategically placed headings to break up the different features to make the description easier to read
- Add adjectives related to the senses that would evoke an in-person shopping experience
- Call out product features in the product description
- Experiment with different keywords, placement, or targeting
Which Elements Are Eligible for Testing:
The elements listed tend to have the biggest impact on your listing’s performance simply because Amazon customers look at these elements the most. Don’t be afraid to get creative and test other elements as well - you never know what the results might be. Typically, it takes around three weeks to get the results from CRO.
- Product titles
- Product descriptions
- Product main image
- Product features
- Product price
- And more
Using Amazon CRO to Diagnose Listing Performance Issues
After you have conducted your first A/B test on one of your products, you might be asking how often you should use CRO to test the same listing. Generally, we recommend using CRO testing around once a year to see if there are any ways that your listing can improve. However, if you notice a drastic downturn in performance that isn’t due to an inventory issue or other internal cause, then you may want to use CRO to help better optimize your listing.
Another case where utilizing CRO can be beneficial is when you notice a significant increase in traffic to your listing or listings, but your conversion rate remains below the 5% mark.
The frequency with which you have to check your results is highly dependent on the product you’ve chosen to test and how much traffic it receives. The more traffic, the more information you will have to analyze.
You can check your results every day or once a week. Regardless of which approach you decide to take, having a proactive approach in place to carefully track and monitor your CRO tests will help you implement actionable takeaways quickly and help give your product listings the boost that they need.
Are you wheels spinning of all the ways you can run a simple CRO test to gain traction on Amazon? It’s exciting to aim to do better and convert more shoppers. Our team can help you optimize your listing and build your brand on Amazon. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more.