Your One Stop Guide to Selling on Amazon – The Dos and Don’ts You Need to Know

Do you know that there are around 2.3 million active sellers on Amazon as of last year? However, only around 1% of them are classified as top sellers. These top sellers earn at least $1 million annually, while only 10% of the rest of the platform reach $100,000 in annual sales.

What you need to know about selling on Amazon 

Competition lurks everywhere, but especially on an online platform like Amazon. Every seller is looking to gain that competitive edge and is thinking of different ways to reach more customers and generate more sales.

As an Amazon business owner, joining the top performing sellers is surely one of your largest goals. If you’re at a loss as to how to be a part of this select group, don’t worry because we’ve got the tools for you. 

As you read along, you’ll get an idea of what to do and what not to do for your Amazon business. But before delving into the article, make sure to follow these sales tips on Amazon and discover digital marketing to help you succeed before you start selling on the platform.

Selling on Amazon Tip #1: Your main photo is for your product 

One main thing you should know when selling on Amazon is to use images that depict your products accurately. It’s mandatory to show the product you’re selling, but go the extra mile and make sure that your pictures are well shot. Remember the saying “what you see is what you get” when taking photos of your products.

Refrain from taking confusing photos. Don’t add elements that are irrelevant to the item, and make your product the focal point in every picture.

Do include the items that are in the package you’re sending out. The images you upload will help your customers decide on whether or not they should place that order, and your job as a seller is to convince them.

Do make sure that you shoot your products on a white background and that you upload high resolution images. Using pixelated images is always a huge red flag to customers, and will have everyone wondering just how reputable your brand is.

When taking your shots, keep these words in mind: appealing, eye-catching, and simple.

Don’t create irrelevant product titles

Always remember that the goal is for people browsing on Amazon to click on your listings. Therefore, your product titles should accurately reflect what you are selling. Aside from the image, product titles are there to catch your customers’ eyes. Irrelevant titles are bypassed more often than not.

Based on this Amazon SEO guide, make sure you follow these rules:

• Refrain from using promotional phrases that may cause misconceptions (e.g. 50% off, best-seller, free shipping)
• The title length must be less than 80 characters
• Make sure to use abbreviations for measurements (e.g. in., cm, kg, lbs.)
• Use the standard system of measurement based on the country you are selling in
• Refrain from using all caps
• Avoid jamming too many keywords into the title

Remember that overloading your product titles and descriptions with a lot of keywords will negatively affect your listings. The Amazon algorithm does not only focus on keywords but other aspects of your listings as well, such as images and reviews.

Do request product reviews

In order to improve your Amazon ranking, it’s recommended to ask customers to write reviews about their experiences with your products.

Product reviews affect how your product listings appear on search results. It’s a factor that the Amazon A10 product ranking algorithm considers. However (and this is a big one) refrain from asking for only positive reviews as that is against Amazon’s policy. Moreover, don’t give your customers rewards or incentives just to get 5-star reviews, or you can risk being banned from the site.

Request reviews without crossing the line

The best way to do this is to use the “Request a Review” button on the Order Details page. To access it, follow these steps:

1. Open your Seller Central account
2. Click on Manage Orders page
3. Choose a specific order from the list and get redirected to Order Details
4. Look for the Request a Review button on the upper right side of the page

Amazon will then send the customer an email that looks a little like this:

Your opinion matters!

XXX Company requests you to share your experience with your recent order with other Amazon shoppers. Please take a moment to review your recent Amazon purchase.

Don’t create multiple accounts

Getting your account suspended on Amazon is one of the toughest things to get out of.

Thousands of seller profiles were suspended by Amazon during the last quarter of 2020. Their violation? Multiple account creation. The details are vague on just how many sellers were affected, but according to a source from the eCommerce Organization Seller Union, around 1,500 sellers were found to be operating multiple accounts.

With all the suspensions going on, you may wonder why other sellers create multiple accounts. Some are “black hat” sellers who use seedy tactics to try and get ahead of the competition, while others keep multiple accounts as backups in case of suspensions. 

No matter what your reasoning is, never underestimate Amazon. They will find your violations sooner or later and ban you permanently from the platform.

Do secure your account

As every seller knows, keeping an eye on competitors is an extremely important strategy. Some sellers may even hire an SEO consultant to get ahead of the game. 

Aside from recruiting professional help and applying effective strategies to boost business, some of your competition utilize black hat techniques that can affect you directly.

 A few black hat techniques on Amazon:

• Spammy reviews on product listings
• Bogus infringement claims
• Hijacking product listings
• Selling counterfeit products

In order to secure your account, make sure you register on Amazon Brand Registry. This is a program that helps sellers protect their accounts from counterfeiting and hijacking. Plus, it gives sellers access to search tools, proactive reports, and brand representation. 

Don’t neglect your account health

Being aware that Amazon account optimization can provide huge benefits to your brand. Your Account Health page shows different performance goals you’ll need to accomplish as a seller. It contains key performance indicators or KPIs that guide you on what to do to improve your store as a whole.

Below are what you’ll see on the page: 

• Order Defect Rate
• Valid Tracking Rate
• Late Shipment Rate

Of course, you want the lowest numbers possible on these particular metrics. To achieve them, always inspect your items before packing and shipping them out and remember to update your customers in case of delays on their orders.

Don’t forget that keeping these numbers low helps prevent account suspension. Create the habit of checking your Account Health page once a day, and make sure that your account adheres to the rules and regulations implemented by Amazon.

Now what?

As you aspire to grow your Amazon business, you’ll read about various strategies on how to start selling on Amazon. These basic dos and don’ts will help you on your journey.

Ensure that you always follow the rules and regulations implemented by Amazon, and remember to keep an open line of communication with your customers. The bottom line is to do whatever you can as a seller to provide exceptional service. 

Follow these tips, and sooner or later you’ll see your business flourish!

Start selling on Amazon today!

Jayce is the managing director of Seller Interactive, an Amazon marketing agency dedicated towards helping brands grow on Amazon. His content marketing expertise has led him to work with brands such as Toyota and GoDaddy, producing content that reached over 20M views in a month. He is on a journey to help D2C brands scale their business on Amazon.

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