Product listing is a crucial part of the Amazon store. It does not just help you rank better on search pages but plays an active role in converting your leads into sales. Unawareness or ignorance of essential product listing points will result in less traffic, and loss of sales, and some mistakes might even lead to penalties and bans. Knowing the nit and grit of Amazon product listing creation will help succeed as a seller on the platform. This article will give you insights into Amazon product listing mistakes. Learning these can help you create efficient product listings that will grow your sales.
Amazon is a huge platform catering to millions of consumers and sellers. Success on Amazon depends on your ability to efficiently represent your products to the consumers while streamlining other activities related to store management.
Out of many things, product listing plays a crucial role in an Amazon store’s success. If you don’t realize its significance or ignore the best practices for creating listings, that may lead to low leads and poor sales. Therefore, you need a strategy; and I can help!
Here are some major Amazon listing creation mistakes that negatively impact growth.
Major Product Listing Mistakes that Sellers Make on Amazon
Amazon sellers often ignore the crucial technicalities of the product listing. They only pay attention to the listing once their search result ranking or incoming traffic starts declining. To take proactive action and avoid such outcomes, here are a few mistakes you should be wary of when creating listings on Amazon.
Wrong Keyword Selection
Amazon uses the A9 algorithm to generate relevant search results for every user query. It connects your product to consumers through the associated keywords. Many sellers use inappropriate keywords or overstuff them in titles and descriptions. Many sellers undervalue the use of keywords and don’t use them enough. For instance, using only ‘shoes’ for a product that can easily qualify as ‘formal shoes’.
Inaccurate or Incomplete Product Information
Sellers should include every important product detail in Amazon listing creation. Missing or inaccurate information can lead to unsatisfied customers and result in increased bounce rates and decreased leads. Sellers often ignore details or copy the manufacturer’s documents in the product listings. In such cases, you miss providing key information to a consumer. However, when doing that, do not include false misleading information or inaccurate claims. Try to put in complete information that will facilitate customers to make an informed choice.
Poor Product Images
Amazon has a set of guidelines for the main product image. But, above all, the image should be attractive and portray the product in focus. Many sellers try to upload incompatible main images and face issues (reasonably so). As per Amazon’s guidelines, product images should have a plain white background, have definite length, height, and resolution, and should not contain any illustrations. Editing every product image to match those rules might get complex (which is why many sellers use Amazon photo editing services). But however you go about it, photos are an important tool to influence buyers, so make sure they are attractive, informative, and in line with the rules of Amazon.
Paid Reviews
Along with the authenticity of feedback, Amazon is strict about how you source reviews. Sellers should not annoy consumers with review requests, and similarly, they should not manipulate feedback, like providing freebies in exchange for positive reviews. Inauthentic reviews or misleading, false feedback can also get sellers penalized. Therefore, you must look for ways to generate authentic reviews and send polite requests for feedback.
Outdated Inventory
Inventory mismanagement and failure to update product listing stock can lead to strict action from Amazon. The platform can suspend or even ban you from selling, especially if you have oversold an item and cannot fulfill those orders on time. Although, mostly, this mistake happens unintentionally. Amidst managing multiple things at once, a vendor may lose track of running stock and fail to update the product listing as ‘out of stock’. But if you practice this on purpose, the best route is to stop. Make sure to include updated data during Amazon listing creation. Also, keep monitoring the stock status and updating it on the listing.
Making False Claims
Some sellers in the health, fitness or cosmetic category may go overboard trying to instigate customers. Claims like ‘hundred percent cure’ or ‘guaranteed effect’ may invite penalization from Amazon. To claim the treatment or cure for a condition, your product should meet FDA standards. False claims do not just get you penalized by Amazon, but it results in loss of brand image and buyer’s trust. It is one of the errors that can damage your growth forever. Thereby, it is advised to use words wisely in product listings with factual information.
Ignoring Seller Metrics
Though it cannot be considered a product listing mistake, it is crucial for any listing’s success. Sellers should check various metrics that signify account health and its errors. It denotes factors like order cancellations, refund processing, delivery service, customer redressal, support, etc. If your store is weak in any of these departments, it will lower seller ratings.
Amazon has emerged as a powerful platform due to its ability to maintain quality and standards, concluding with a satisfactory shopping experience. It has a set of guidelines and regulations that you need to understand. Once you know the rules, begin with sketching product listings on that line and follow similar standards in other services, imparting a satisfied buying experience to consumers. In case of any difficulty in understanding these regulations, you can talk to seller support staff or even hire Amazon listing services.
How Mistakes Affect Your Amazon Store’s Growth
Once you know the mistakes, it is equally important to understand their effect on your Amazon store’s growth. It will help you get acquainted with the Amazon store’s mechanism. Here is how these mistakes impact you:
Inaccurate Brand Image
Good brand image is important to build a loyal consumer base for your brand. It constitutes mainly the repeating customers, who are happy with your service and wish to buy again. In this scenario, product listing mistakes can be a huge setback. They are a serious threat to the initial momentum that you can gain through repeat customers. Amazon product listing services can do the job of product listing rectification, as well as dealing with disjointed or 3P sellers. They can help you win the buy-box and gain growth momentum.
Low Search Rank
Poor listing quality and mistakes will affect your searchability. If customers cannot find you, they cannot visit the store, and your sales drop. It should be your priority to get the product listing in the top five search results, as they are the ones who grab major traffic.
Low Conversion Rates
Product listing mistakes mean low conversion. You need to keep improving the leads and conversion to grow your store. As already discussed, product listing mistakes can lead to serious consequences like penalization from Amazon, loss of search rank, and customers losing trust in your brand. All this ends in shrinking conversions. Therefore, efficient and focused product listing is crucial for your store’s growth.
Conclusion
Amazon store management, and especially product listing creation, is a complex job. You need to invest time and effort before it reflects in the results. As a seller, you must analyze your consumers and reciprocate their needs through product listings. You can train yourself or your team to do this or hire Amazon listing services to improve your product listing quality and save time and investment.
Hope this helps!
Author Bio – Mike Wilsonn is a content strategist. He is associated with a reputed Suntec India, IT Outsourcing and Amazon SEO Company with global operations. He has over 5 years of experience in this domain and has designed content for technology, travel, digital publishing, and data management. In his free time, Mike likes to try his writing skills on any up and coming subject that has engaged his interest.
