#56 Marketing Mastery Mini Course: Principle 3: optimize!

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Problem #3:  Low Conversions

Result: Wasted Ad dollars, lower sales, lower profits.

Solution: OPTIMIZE!

To find your conversion rate for each product on Amazon, there are two sources of info:

1. Overall Conversion data:
   1. Go to “reports” on top menu
   2. Click on  “Business Reports”
   3. On left find “By ASIN”
   4. . Click “Detail Page Sales and Traffic”.
2. For Amazon ads conversion data:
   1. click on “Reports”,
   2. from drop-down menu click “Advertising Reports”,
   3. at the top middle, click on “Search Term Report”.
   4. If needed, click Request Report button
   5. Under “Check Report Status & Download” if needed on the right click “Refresh” button
   6. on the right, click on “download” button next to latest report
   7. Open report as a spreadsheet
   8. Search for “Conversion percentage” .

Analysing Amazon ads data is a big topic in its own right. If it’s overwhelming you, just start with the global conversion data.

1. PHOTOS
   1. Main product shot is CRUCIAL!
      1. try to differentiate from competition main shots
   2. use the first 7 shots (including the main) for most important things as last 2 are hidden unless shoppers click on them
   3. Have at least 2, maybe 3 shots with a model using the product, preferably in a logical sequence, or if it is is not totally obvious how to use a product.
   4. If you have more than one product, have the 7th shot show a composite picture of your other products, preferably with the ASIN code under each and a little text telling shoppers to put the code in the search bar
   5. Use the last two shots for little product details
   6. Many sellers also put text on their images, effective mini bullet points. It may be against ToS – but it seems to help. Your choice how far you want to push it!
2. KEYWORDS
   1. For Amazon’s algorithm
      1. This matches customer searches to keywords in your listing
      2. Use Amazon Ads data if you have it: which keywords give best ACoS? Best sales in absolute volume? 
      3. If just starting out, use AMZTracker or other to examine the competition.
      4. Also keep an eye on competitive listings
   2. For Humans:
      1. Make sure the relevant keywords are woven into the copy
      2. Try to focus on those words that convert well if you have data
      3. If no data yet,
   3. Three places to optimize:
      1. Title (obey Amazon’s rules eg 80 character limit
      2. Bullet points – bear in mind features into benefits
      3. The Keywords tab in Seller central>Manage inventory>[Product]>Edit
3. TITLE:
   1. Get most important keyword first
   2. Ideally get your product title in next
   3. Your brand is least important as most people have never heard of you!
   4. Check Amazon’s latest ToS – including length (may now be limited to 80 Characters)
   5. If you have data:
      1. you can match up best converting/least expensive/most sales keywords with your title. It may not be what you think.
      2. Your best converting keyword may not be the one that makes you most sales. Likewise it may not be cost effective ie profitable
      3. SO analyse your data carefully!
4. BULLET POINTS
   1. Turn Features into Benefits, e.g. This light has Xenon 214.B lenses – so the light is more focussed, brighter and more visible at night.
   2. Keep sentences short. Keep words short. Assume 8-10 year old reading level!
   3. Be clear! Always answer the “So what?” question.
5. DESCRIPTION
   1. Flesh out your bullet points
   2. Use simple HTML if possible: <b>bold</b> etc.
   3. Again features become benefits
   4. Don’t spend too much time on this because
      1. The Amazon algorithm doesn’t index it any more
      2. it appears below several offers from Amazon of your competitor’s products! It’s too late!

Product Example A

Sales Price  $15

Total Landed Cost $5

Amazon fees $5

Gross profit $5

Amazon ads costs

100 clicks @ $0.50 a click=$50 ad cost

Relationship between conversion rate and profit per unit

example A1 (sales price $15, gross profit $5)
At 20% conversion rate:

20 clicks out of 100 result in a sale.

Ad cost total=$50

20 sales @$5 gross profit=$100 gross profit

Profit after advertising (for 20 units)=$50

So profit after advertising per unit=$50/20=$2.50

Example A2 (sales price still $15, gross profit still $5)

At 10% conversion rate:

10 clicks out of 100 result in a sale.

Ad cost total SAME= STILL $50

10 sales @$5 gross profit=$50 gross profit

Profit after advertising (for 20 units)=ZERO!

So profit after advertising per unit= ZERO!

Relationship between price, conversion % and profit

In practice, conversion rate is strongly affected by price. The lower the price, the higher the conversion rate tends to be.  NB This is not always true if higher price gives a perception of a better quality product- test your prices!

compare with example A2 above.

Product example B1 

Sales Price  $14

Total Landed Cost $5

Amazon fees $5

Gross profit $4

Amazon ads costs per 100 clicks (average): $50

At 15% conversion rate: (Sales price $14 , gross profit $4)

15 sales @$4 gross profit=$65 gross profit

Overall Profit after ads costs=$65-50=$15

Profit per unit=$15 overall profit ÷15 units=$1
Although the price is $1 lower ($14 instead of $15), the profit is actually greater per unit ($1 a unit average over zero) and greater overall (15 units sold at $1 profit per time instead of 10 units sold at no profit)

Split testing

To find the price at which you optimise overall profit, you will need to do some form of split testing.

Simple/primitive method: You can just run the listing at one price for 7 days (or longer) then change the price and repeat. Then compare results. Without software, that’s the best you can do on Amazon.

All other things being equal, that will tell you what effect price has on conversion %, overall sales and overall profits.

However, all other things may not be equal e.g. if the demand for your main keywords happens to drop off that week due to say a national holiday, good weather, etc.

To get a more reliable result, you need to use split-testing software. In the USA, I’ve just started using Amzsplit= Splitly

Sadly it is not yet available for the UK, although they keep promising jam tomorrow! I’m exploring a UK equivalent – if it works, I’ll let you know in the Facebook group – don’t forget to join if you haven’t already!

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Watch Marketing Mastery Mini Course: Principle 3: Optimize!

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