With the holiday season around the corner, it’s time to do an audit of your product listings to make sure they will convert online shoppers into your newest customers. While auditing your product listings is something you should be doing on a regular basis, it is critical to do in advance of the November/December holiday shopping rush.
Why? The holiday season is likely your busiest and most lucrative time of year, so optimizing your listings with the holiday shopper in mind means they’ll rank high, convert well, and make you a lot of money. If you’re not sure where to start, keep reading for our guide on preparing your listings for the holiday season.
Standard Listing Components
Product Titles:
Your product title is arguably the most critical piece of your listing — after all, if it’s too long or doesn’t clearly and accurately describe your product, an Amazon shopper will likely pass over it in their search results. With that said, here are three must-have components to include in your titles:
- Brand Name: Chances are, someone is looking for a specific brand, so listing this first is key.
- Product Name: After you’ve identified the brand, tell your shoppers what the product is.
- Product Purpose: In 3 words, can you describe what your product does?
For example, if you sell phone cases, you should include the brand name (for example, OtterBox), the product name (for example, Waterproof Case), and the product purpose (for example, “for iPhone 7”).
It’s a best practice to keep your titles short and concise so that they’re clear, descriptive, and above all, easy to read. That said, it wouldn’t hurt to include a couple of keywords — especially if they’re holiday-specific (like “stocking stuffer”) or to further describe the product (for example, adding the color).
To help with readability, consider adding dashes to separate your descriptors. Using the iPhone example, the title could read, “OtterBox Waterproof Case for iPhone 7 — Color Blue — Great Stocking Stuffer”. If done right, these keywords will further describe your product and help it rank higher in search results.
Product Description:
Has any information about your product(s) changed since you last uploaded or edited the listing(s)? Now is the time to make sure it’s up to date.
And similar to adding holiday-specific keywords to your product titles, consider adding them to the description as well. In other words, if it would make a great stocking stuffer, if it comes in a box for easy gift-wrapping, if it’s a one-of-a-kind item for that person on your list who’s impossible to shop for, etc.
Product Images:
The more high-quality images you have, the better. Not only that, consider showing each product in a real-life situation, also known as “lifestyle images”. For example, if you’re selling a set of wine glasses, show images of the glasses as a set, one glass on its own, a glass filled with wine, and a glass sitting next to a wine bottle or in someone’s hand. Giving your shoppers an idea of not only what the product looks like but how it looks in real life will help them better visualize using — and gifting — it.
Extras
Mobile vs. Desktop View:
Amazon customers can shop on a desktop or via the Amazon mobile app, so your listings need to be optimized for either channel. While you can’t create two separate versions for each listing, you can cater to mobile shoppers by formatting your listings the right way. For example:
- Titles: Mobile shoppers have a smaller, more limited, view of your listing, so make sure the title is concise and the featured image is clear.
- Bullets: Format bulleted text with an ALL CAPS header that serves to summarize what the bullet is about. That way, if a customer is looking for a specific detail, they’ll more easily find it.
Shipping Guarantee for Last-Minute Shoppers:
If you’re not an FBA seller, you might want to consider signing up — at least for the holiday season. Not only will you outsource your order fulfillment and customer service, you’ll also benefit from an important listing message to help your listings convert: “Item will arrive in time for December 25” will appear on relevant listings in bold type for any shoppers looking for last-minute gifts.
If you don’t plan to use FBA but will offer a shipment guarantee before December 25, make this your first bullet and format as follows: “SHIPMENT GUARANTEE: If ordered before [Date], item will arrive before December 25”.
All in all, it goes without saying that your product listings should be accurate, clear, and descriptive this holiday season (as with all seasons). Make a point to audit each listing and update as necessary to increase your chances of converting viewers into customers. Just don’t forget to update each listing after the holidays to remove any mention of Christmas, Hanukkah, stockings, etc.
Need more Q4 Amazon seller tips? We’ve got a variety of holiday tips to help you maximize your sales this November and December — including how to get your listings to convert.
