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How to Massively Grow Your Amazon Business in 8 Steps Increase your conversion rate by 20 percent with these simple tips.

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This article was written by Matt Clark, co-founder and chairman of Amazing.com and co-creator of Amazing Selling Machine, who is an Advisor in The Oracles.

So you've launched your Amazon business and are ready to grow your sales. How do you stand out among the millions of other sellers? Focus on two factors: traffic, or the number of people who visit your page, and conversion rate, meaning the percentage of them who purchase your product.

It's a common misconception, but more traffic doesn't necessarily mean more profit. You must be able to convert that traffic into sales — which starts by optimizing your product page. Here are eight steps to creating the perfect page.

1. Analyze your data.

First, you need a benchmark. You can find your conversion rate, which Amazon calls the "Unit Sessions Percentage," in your Seller Central business reports.

A good conversion rate varies by product and price, but aim for at least 10%. When your page is optimized, that can jump to 30 percent.

If you don't have at least 30 visitors per day or you already have a solid conversion rate, focus on getting more traffic instead by increasing your Amazon Sponsored Ad budget.

2. Research the competition.

Order your competitors' products, compare them to yours, and analyze their reviews, especially those with one or five stars. If your competitors distribute customer emails, read those as well.

Then update your listing to differentiate your product. Pay attention to the wants and needs consumers talk about in reviews, and demonstrate how your product meets them. Proactively address the questions they ask on your competitors' pages. You can indirectly call out your competitors' weaknesses as well; just don't name them.

3. Update your keywords.

Keywords are perhaps the most important element of your page. It doesn't matter what you optimize on your page if prospective customers can't find it.

Your goal is to use the same keywords your customers are searching on Amazon. If you sell bicycle pumps, you also want to appear when they search for specific phrases like "automatic bicycle pump" and "bicycle pump seal." But you only want relevant traffic, so adding hundreds of keywords won't help.

Study your Amazon advertising analytics to see which keywords send you the most traffic. Then modify your title, bullet points, product description, and advertising accordingly. The back-end search terms also help your searchability; so if there are any keywords you aren't using on the product page, add them there.

4. Attract and convert customers with your photos.

The biggest drawback to buying online is that you can't touch and feel the product. Your images must make up for this and are the most important factor when it comes to conversions.

Send your product to a professional photographer. Research other product photos to understand what you're looking for, and share this with your photographer. Ask for square images that are large and high quality.

The main image is the first thing customers see and should only show the product — no badges or text. The other images can demonstrate different angles or components, instructions, functions, benefits, and accessories. Images of people using the product are very effective. Find a graphic designer to create them or use a photo enhancement service to add your product to a stock photo.

You must use a white background for the main image but can use any color for the others. Crop out extra space around the product so it stands out.

5. Stop traffic with your title.

Your title should grab customers' attention and include your keywords, with the most important keyword toward the beginning. Use as many as you can reasonably fit, but write for real people first. This goes for your entire product page: keep it natural.

Include the brand and product names, features, and benefits, with dashes in between. It's important to distinguish between features and benefits. For example, "bike pump with gauge" describes a feature, while "helps inflate your tires to the correct pressure" describes a benefit.

Remember to follow Amazon's product page style guide and product page rules, such as the 200-character limit for titles. Use a thesaurus to find shorter words if needed.

6. Differentiate and sell with bullet points.

Your bullet points tell customers why they should buy your product. Take advantage of all five bullets and remember to use your keywords.

The first bullet should include your big differentiator. The second and third highlight features expressed as benefits — "bike pump gauge inflates your tires to the correct pressure," for example. In the fourth bullet, demonstrate how your product solves a problem. Finally, include a manufacturer's guarantee that removes the risk for the consumer and tells them that you will deliver on your promises. The product page for Laurel + Holland's anti-aging moisturizer is a great example that checks all these boxes.

7. Confirm your product is the right choice.

By the time a consumer gets to your product description, they are looking for confirmation that they're making the right choice. A good description reassures them.

Start by presenting the problem your product solves and how. Reiterate the features, benefits, and guarantee, then ask for the sale.

Write in clear, conversational, and professional English. Avoid blocks of text with no formatting, which are difficult to read. Use as much of the character limit as you need, but don't add text just to fill space.

8. Test and price for profit.

Try variations of these page elements to see what impacts conversions, testing one section at a time. Pricing is the easiest element to split-test.

As a rule, choose a starting price between your competitors' prices. For example, if their products cost $34.99, $29.99, and $19.99, price yours at $27.99. Your price should be at least 10 percent above your "break-even" point, which includes the cost of the product, shipping, and Amazon fees.

To test your price, increase it by $1 each week until sales start to drop, then revert back to the most recent price. Remember to adjust the manufacturer's suggested retail price in your settings, which should be roughly 1.5 times higher than your price.

Keep in mind that a lower price doesn't guarantee more sales or profit. When you're selling a premium product, you can set a price at the higher end of the market. While you might have fewer sales, a higher profit margin often makes up for that. With a higher conversion rate and profit margins, you have a winning combination.

Join Matt at SellerCon June 21-23, 2019, to learn more about optimizing your Amazon business.

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