No doubt for specialty food brands, navigating Amazon has its challenges.
But also there's much opportunity – if you use the right plan. Here's ours!

Start your Amazon new launch or existing storefront optimizing plans with the following four Pillars to help guide your journey.  You'll be on your way to sustained growth and maintain compliance with Amazon Terms of Service.

As a digital marketing agency, we've used this approach to drive over $150M in sales for dozens of specialty food clients. We've launched hundreds of products in Amazon's Grocery & Gourmet Food category. And we've optimized storefronts and product pages using this method. It works.  And it'll work for you.

11 Minute Read

Start By Assessing your Category &
Competitors Then Set SMART goals

How's your product category doing on Amazon?  Or how much are your direct competitors selling on Amazon monthly? What keywords do they use and which are converting?

This information may be eye opening - maybe even shocking!  But if you don't know where or how to get it, you're not alone. A tool we really like is Helium 10.  It will significantly help you with Amazon MARKETability research and planning. Game-changing really in its ability to give you insights to better compete.

If you're already selling, exactly how profitable are you? You've got a raft of fees to analyze in determining your margins and ROI. Now write down your short, mid, and long term goals. Make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

Pillar 1: MARKETability

Creating your Amazon plan

How are your products listed? Are they grouped into listings with flavors and sizes or are they split up? Optimize your base product with size and flavor variations rather than listing SKUs separately. It's called parentage. This parent-child product plan consolidates reviews and is better suited for your PPC ads.

Now determine your best price and case pack from Helium 10 competitor research. Consider an aggressively-priced variety pack to induce more flavor trial. Include shipping Fulfilled By Merchant (FBM) into your selling price and reflect it as free shipping. Make it the same as your Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) Prime price. Consider the fact that FBA Prime listings will carry more weight. And people trust Prime delivery.

Have a federally registered trademark?  Apply for Amazon Brand Registry. It’s free as a 3rd Party Seller. You can get it done within a week. Upon approval, you'll enjoy many brand building benefits such as: control over intellectual property violations, being able to create A+ Content & an Amazon Stores Page.   

Plus, Brand Registry gives you the ability to enroll into Amazon Vine for trusted reviews, run Sponsored Products & Sponsored Brands PPC Advertising, do Amazon Attribution and a host of other marketing benefits.

MARKETability action items:

• Use Helium 10 for competitor, product case pack, parentage, & pricing research.

• Organize your product listings in the right size, flavor variations, & case pack.

• Establish favorable pricing bundled with shipping or consider FBA.

• Get Brand Registered for excellent storefront brand-building benefits.

Pillar 2: DISCOVERability

Strengthening how Amazon shoppers find you.

Amazon is used 3X more than Google for product search. Better Amazon DISCOVERability means doing keyword research first. And then you'll optimize your product listings including titles, content, and back-end search terms around those relevant keywords.

Use SEO keywords with tools like SEM Rush. You'll find relevant keywords and phrases specific to your products. Amazon search is different from Google search. Put yourself in your shopper's shoes.  What keywords would connect your product to what people are searching for.  Is your product the most relevant?

Strong DISCOVERability uses Amazon’s search algorithm to your favor.  It’s at the heart of an optimized product listing. Focus on higher-volume but more-relevant keywords – ones of which you can compete.  Long-tail keywords are easier to bid on – most likely with fewer monthly searches but more relevant.

DISCOVERability action items:

• Optimize your Amazon Seller Information Page with logo, bio, & URL.

• Use SEM Rush for keyword & competitor keyword research.

• Implement keywords in your titles & product listing content.

• Upload your keywords in back-end search terms for each listing.

Pillar 3: BUYability

Optimizing your product page content for conversion

OK now Amazon shoppers have found you.  How is your brand presented? Is your written copy compelling and easy to read? The best way to connect with shoppers is to get them to engage with your brand, products, and company. Start by focusing on benefits.

Strong BUYability means benefit-driven content and a celebration of your brand story. Get to shoppers viscerally and through their tastebuds. Compel them to feel your passion and your mission. Exceptional content means higher page conversions – every time!

Start with simple compelling photos and infographics in the product thumbnails area. Add video on your product pages. Is your copy written and formatted well for your Product Titles, About The Product Bullets, and Product Descriptions. Enticing copy infused with HTML and researched SEO keywords from Pillar 2 will improve page conversion.

Improving BUYability isn't just for Amazon shoppers. Distributors, buyers, mom-and-pop retail stores will go to your product pages. The social proof Amazon offers with ratings and reviews can be a big driver for retailer store buyers deciding whether to take on your products.

BUYability action items:

• Use outstanding product & lifestyle photos plus video to tell your brand story.

• Use HTML & keywords for your text-based Product Description copy.

• Write in the 1st person & share how peoples & enjoy your product.

• Use A+ Content & build out your Amazon product pages & Stores page.

Pillar 4: RANKability

Your Amazon long-term strategy plan.

Download this RANKability infographic HERE!

And get into the long game with consistent effort, good available inventory, good sales velocity, and verified reviews. Show Amazon you're a committed seller.  Amazon determines your product’s rank based on direct and indirect factors. Know them.

Other RANKability factors include sales history, excellent seller feedback, buy box authority, pricing, shipment method, and availability. Sound complicated? It doesn't have to be.

Make sure every sales customer gets an e-mail sent from your Seller account asking for an honest product review.  How you ship your product matters too. Ship FBA if possible – every time.  

Next test lots of promos including discounts and coupons.  Launch you Amazon PPC Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display Advertising. Start with a small budget – say $500 per month. Get your automatic campaigns going to mine what Amazon sees are relevant keywords. Do this as soon as your product pages are optimized. Then begin manual campaigns to hone in on converting keywords.

If you're a new brand, consider Amazon Vine (Brand Registry required) to get honest, objective reviews.  Or do Amazon Launchpad which can provide you with marketing insights and a global infrastructure to showcase your emerging products.

Finally, what's your off-Amazon marketing support going to look like? Are you working with a NANO or MICRO Influencer to drive their audience to your Amazon store?

Launched a couple years ago, via Amazon Attribution program, Brand Registered sellers can do Amazon's Brand Referral Bonus Program. Amazon says that on average, brands can earn 10% from qualifying sales.

By sending external traffic, say from social media, via Amazon Attribution, you'll get a credit back on referral fees you'd incur as your products sell. It's 5% for products with a total sales price of $15.00 or less, and 10% for products with a total sales price greater than $15.00. This can help offset your marketing costs.

RANKability action items:

• Create FBA listings & get going on Amazon Prime.

• Implement Amazon promos & PPC ad campaigns.

• Promote your Amazon storefront via social media, email marketing.

• Run campaigns with NANO Food Influencers & use Brand Referral Bonus. 

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Summing it all up

With these 4 Pillars as your guide, you're ready to build a foundational sound growth strategy guaranteed to produce excellent results on Amazon. Finally, be patient, keep pivoting and learning, and keep an improvement mindset. You've got this!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Happy Amazon Selling,
Lou

Lou Nicolaides
lou@ludwigmarketingandsales.com(626) 703-4592