Listing optimization is not about filling every field with keywords. It is about giving Amazon complete, accurate data and giving shoppers the answers they need to buy. Work through this checklist one product at a time.
1. Research before you write
- List the 20 to 50 search terms shoppers really use for this product. Brand Analytics, your ad search term reports and Amazon's own search suggestions are good sources.
- Read the reviews of your product and of the top three competitors. Note the questions and complaints that keep coming up.
- Decide which three or four facts will make someone choose your product over the others.
2. Title
- Start with the brand and what the product is, in plain words a shopper would use.
- Add the details that decide a purchase: size, quantity, material, model or compatibility.
- Stay within 200 characters, including spaces, unless your category sets a lower limit.
- Do not repeat the same word more than twice, and avoid characters such as !, $, ?, { and } unless they are part of the brand name.
- Leave out promotional phrases like "best seller" or "free shipping".
- Check how the title reads on a phone, where only the first part is visible.
3. Bullet points
- Use all five bullets. Each one covers one topic.
- Lead each bullet with the benefit, then back it with a fact: "Fits small kitchens: 22 cm wide and folds flat for drawer storage."
- Answer the questions you found in the reviews.
- Include important search terms naturally, without lists of keywords.
4. Backend search terms
- Use the search terms field for words that do not fit naturally on the page: synonyms, other spellings and other languages your shoppers use.
- Stay under 249 bytes in the US store. Over the limit, Amazon may ignore the field.
- Separate words with spaces. Commas are not needed.
- Do not repeat words already in the title, and do not include competitor brands, ASINs or temporary claims like "new" or "on sale".
5. Product attributes
- Fill in every attribute that applies, such as material, color, size, item form and intended use.
- Attributes feed Amazon's filters. A product without a color value will not appear when a shopper filters by color.
- Make sure attributes, title and bullets agree with each other. Contradictions confuse both shoppers and Amazon's systems.
6. Images
- Main image: product only, on a pure white background, filling about 85% of the frame.
- At least 1,000 pixels on the longest side so shoppers can zoom. Larger is better.
- Use the other image slots for size, use, details, what is in the box and a comparison.
- Add a short video if you have one. It often answers questions faster than text.
- Check every image on a phone. Text that is too small to read there does not help.
7. A+ Content
- If you are in Brand Registry, add A+ Content. See our Brand Registry guide if you are not yet enrolled.
- Use a comparison chart to steer shoppers to the right product in your range.
- Write descriptive alt text for every A+ image.
8. Offer and price
- Check that the price is competitive with similar products, not just with your own history.
- Make sure the product is in stock and eligible for Prime if you use FBA.
- If other sellers offer the same product, check who holds the Buy Box.
9. After publishing
- Wait a day, then check that your main search terms are indexed. Our article on indexing versus ranking explains how.
- Look for suppressed listings or missing information in Seller Central.
- Compare conversion rate and sessions for two to four weeks before and after the change.
- If you are in Brand Registry, use Manage Your Experiments to A/B test the main image or title.
Where to start
Do not rewrite your whole catalog at once. Start with the products that bring the most sales or have the most traffic and the weakest conversion. Then work down the list. If you would rather hand this over, see our product listing service.