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Quick Insights Into Inventory Management for Amazon

Are you an Amazon seller? If yes, these are some of the most popular marketing factors that you probably gave importance to in order to ensure the growth and success of your business – Amazon Rankings – Product listing Optimization – Ad Campaigns.   Every Amazon Seller wants their products to be ranked on the top of the Amazon search results page to increase the product’s visibility and boost sales. While many factors do help achieve this higher rank, inventory management is one of the more important factors that play a crucial role in the success of your business. Effective implementation of inventory management helps rank your products at the top of all other search results and helps raise your revenue. What is Inventory Management and Why is It Important for Amazon Sellers? Inventory management is all about monitoring the product’s weight, size, quantity, and supply, and keeping track of the stocked goods from time to time based on the demand. It’s not just stocking and tracking the goods but building an efficient strategy focused on customer satisfaction and optimum level of inventory that helps in the growth of your business. Maintain the optimum level of inventory – Save the Costs Ensure that your inventory is not too high or too low. Too high an inventory may result in dead or spoiled stock and unnecessary costs on the rent of occupied space. Too low an inventory may result in late delivery to the customer which may lead to bad reviews affecting your sales. Inventory Management – Customer Satisfaction Today, customer expectations are soaring. You can build the trust of customers with the timely delivery of your products. Amazon users have become accustomed to a one or two-day delivery and to meet their expectations, you need to make sure that the products are ready for shipment and reach the customers on time. Timely deliveries also lead to positive feedback and increased ratings of sellers, boosting sales in the bargain.  Advantages of Inventory Management Improves Amazon Search Rank Increase Customer Satisfaction Boost sales Saves money How Inventory Management impacts Amazon’s Search Rank? Amazon’s algorithm relies on several factors to rank a product listing on the search results page. Two important factors related to inventory management that affect Amazon’s Search Rank are: Product Availability Typically, if your products are out of stock for a long time, they do not show up in the Amazon Search Results. Users do not wait for your products if they are out of stock. They just go to other players in the market, unless of course, your product is exceptionally unique and better.  Similarly, if your products are frequently found out of stock, your listing likely gets knocked down in the Amazon rankings, even when your products are available. Positive customer experience is necessary to avoid losing sales, your product’s organic ranking, and your Ads visibility. Reviews and Ratings Every review on your product, whether positive or negative, counts in a product’s ranking. Product availability has a direct impact on reviews and rankings. Continuous feedback on a product from customers is vital for an Amazon seller, as it boosts search results. Moreover, fresh reviews that specify the benefits of the products attract more customers and increase conversion rates.  No inventory implies no new product reviews from the buyers which in turn implies no sales, thus directly affecting the product’s visibility in the Amazon search results. How to effectively manage Inventory? Effective inventory management is the key to ensuring the smooth running of your business. Keeping track of stock is no easy task. You need to be mindful of inventory management, as it can make or break your business. Here are 6 tips for effective inventory management Plan and Prioritize Prioritize your inventory based on the demand for the products. This helps you understand what products need to be ordered or manufactured more frequently to fulfil customers’ needs and wants.  Analytics can help you plan your business and inventory more efficiently. You can plan for seasonal sales fluctuations, forecast the demand for products, identify trends, monitor costs, estimate profits, and concentrate on shipments and products that require immediate attention. Avoid Dead and Spoiled Stock Deadstock is the inventory that doesn’t get sold and has been stored in the warehouse for an extended period. Spoiled stock is the stock that may have reached the expiry date or defective products that do not meet the intended specifications of the customers. A huge quantity of either dead or spoiled stock harms your business in more ways than one. Invades valuable warehouse space which could have been used to store high-demand and revenue-generating products. Drop in the sales of a product. Unnecessary wastage of money on storage and maintenance of products that are not profitable anymore. Therefore, maintaining a steady level of inventory on Amazon is a crucial piece of a business’s profitability. Keep an eye on your inventory turnover rate Inventory turnover is the number of products you sell in a given period. How fast the inventory sold is the Inventory Turnover rate. A high inventory turnover rate indicates strong sales which suggests you promptly replenish the products of high demand and keep track of the stock. Inventory turnover rate is important to estimate the amount of stock you need to order so as to maintain optimum stock levels. Use Inventory Management Software It’s a common fact that most Amazon sellers to date, use documents or spreadsheets to keep track of their inventory. Though this could work for small businesses with small inventories, it is time-consuming with a high margin of error and inefficient in the long run. Inventory management software automates different aspects of inventory management with more accuracy and efficiency. It allows you to manage shipments and returns and interact with customers easier than ever. It also helps keep track of inventory levels in real-time so you can map trends to determine required inventory levels for your products over different periods, which is key to making sound purchasing decisions. Make

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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – The Metrics Every Amazon Seller Should Know

Are you successful as an Amazon Seller? Did your sales rise? Have you accomplished your objectives and goals? These are questions you might face that make you question yourself. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help answer all these questions. What are KPIs? Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the quantifiable measures that help you track and assess the performance progress of your business. Simply put, they are just like a progress report that helps you identify the pressure points of your business and gives useful insights to analyze best practices and effective strategies to foster your business growth. KPIs provide an actionable plan to achieve your overall business objectives and goals like driving customer traffic to your Amazon product listing page, improving the ranking of your products, and boosting your sales. Why Should You Track the Performance of Your Business? Imagine you have put a lot of effort to establish your store on Amazon and spent a lot on PPC campaigns to market your products. If you are unable to accomplish your targets, what’s the use of putting in a lot of time, effort, and money? You might face a situation when all things are going well, but you end up losing the game. For example, you may be happy with a greater number of shoppers visiting your Amazon product listing page, but if they don’t buy your product, all your efforts are in vain. Tracking essential KPIs helps you analyze the progress of your business strategies in every aspect like customer service, sales, ratings, reviews, repeat purchase rate, shopping cart abandonment rate, and conversion rate. This can help you decide on the right path to take to accomplish your targets and goals. What Makes an Effective KPI? There are many KPIs that help Amazon sellers improve productivity and lower process costs. But it takes time and effort to identify the essential KPIs for your store, gather data, and review the results. With appropriate metrics in place, you can recognize the root cause of the challenges you might face.  Here are the four characteristics that help you choose the right KPI:     Simple and easy to understand     Accurate     Access to real-time results     Actionable 5 Simple and Essential KPIs to Track Your Amazon Store’s Progress Monitoring the progress of an e-commerce store is essential for the growth and success of Amazon sellers. But it is also important that you identify the right KPIs that measure your business growth. Here are five simple and essential KPIs that help Amazon sellers measure the progress of their business, evaluate what strategy works and what doesn’t, and constantly refine, and develop their marketing approach. Product Ratings and Reviews Have you ever bought a Mac or an iPhone without viewing its ratings and reviews? You wouldn’t. Every shopper before purchasing a product inquires about the quality of the product because customers trust each other more than they trust brands. In today’s digital world, as 80% of shoppers opt to purchase online, it’s quite common for an Amazon shopper to compare the ratings and reviews of a product before purchasing it. This makes product ratings and reviews, the most important KPI for Amazon sellers to build the brand and increase sales. Regular auditing of your product’s ratings and reviews helps you to know what your potential customers are thinking about your product’s quality, what are their needs and other valuable information, which you could use to focus on increasing customer satisfaction. Generally, products with no reviews give shoppers a perception that they are the first to buy a product and may not show much interest to purchase. Also, terrible reviews and fewer ratings badly impact your product’s organic rankings and ultimately affect your sales. Total Pageviews Pageviews are the number of visits to your Amazon Product listing page. The total number of page visits gives the Amazon algorithm an idea about the popularity and demand of your product among shoppers. It is a simple and effective metric that demonstrates how efficient your current organic and paid marketing campaigns are to lead customers to your Amazon product detail page. A higher number of page visits means more traffic to your product listing page on Amazon which indicates good SEO practices. In general, more clicks to view your listing means more conversions. More conversions directly translate to higher search and product rankings. More visits but limited conversions to sales probably indicate a problem with your product listing that needs to be focused on. Conversion Rate Not all visitors to your product listing page buy your product. They may click on your Ad to view your product or just add it to the shopping cart.  The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that buy your products in a specific period. It measures the effectiveness of your business strategy in converting a potential visitor to a buying customer.  Monitoring the conversion rate in every stage of the marketing and selling process allows you to:  Understand how your sales funnel is performing  Identify multiple pressure points  Evaluate which marketing strategies are giving the greatest return on investment (ROI). Many tools like Google Analytics help you to know the conversion rate of your website. Amazon has tools, especially for PPC, which you can use to get your conversion rate report.  The end goal of any marketing strategy is to increase revenue. Conversion rate is one of the important metrics you cannot lose sight of to achieve the estimated revenue. Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Many visitors add your products to the shopping cart but exit the shopping cart without completing the purchase. This might be due to reasons such as unexpected shipping costs, not being able to find a coupon code, and the non-availability of express shipping. The shopping cart abandonment rate is when a prospective customer begins a check-out process for an online order but drops out of the process before the transaction is completed. It can be calculated by dividing the total number of completed

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Can Amazon Super URLs Still Boost Seller Ranking?

As an Amazon seller, achieving a best-seller rank often feels like a mystery. Most sellers credit Amazon’s A9 algorithm, but there’s much more behind the scenes that influences ranking. Super URLs, once a hot tool in the seller’s toolbox, have become a controversial subject. Are they still effective, or are they a risky shortcut to avoid?  In this post, we’ll dive deep into Amazon Super URLs, their role in product ranking, and the evolving debate on whether they are still a viable strategy.  What Are Amazon Super URLs?  An Amazon Super URL is a customized link that sellers generate by searching for a product using a specific keyword, clicking on the product, and then copying the URL from the browser’s address bar. These URLs often include the search term and additional parameters that make it appear as though a customer found the product organically.  For years, sellers have used Super URLs to “trick” Amazon into boosting their product’s ranking for specific keywords, aiming to improve visibility and sales. But, as Amazon’s algorithms evolve, is this tactic still effective?  Do Super URLs Still Work in 2024?  The short answer: Super URLs can work, but with significant risks.  We scoured the web and from Reddit sellers with years of experience to Amazon specialists, opinions are divided. Some sellers report short-term success in keyword ranking using Super URLs, while others warn that Amazon has wised up to the tactic. There’s growing concern that using Super URLs might lead to keyword suppression or even account suspension due to manipulation of search rankings.  One Reddit seller shared a case where their product ranking skyrocketed from #14 to #3 after using a Super URL, only to plummet later due to changes in Amazon’s algorithm. The key takeaway? Super URLs may offer short-term gains, but they come with increasing risks.  Amazon’s algorithms have evolved, and they now focus on factors like sales velocity, customer reviews, and organic interactions. Manipulating the system can trigger penalties, and in some cases, accounts have been banned for search manipulation.    Why Super URLs Are Losing Their Charm  The debate over Super URLs has intensified as Amazon has tightened its grip on ranking tactics that attempt to game the system. A few years ago, sellers could rely on Super URLs to improve keyword rankings effortlessly. Today, the A9 algorithm is more sophisticated, and relying solely on Super URLs might hurt your product listing in the long run.   Amazon now tracks search patterns closely. According to some Amazon experts, Super URLs no longer generate the same results because Amazon can detect when a link is created artificially to boost rankings. Sellers who continue to use them may face penalties, including losing keyword rankings or having reviews flagged as manipulated.  Risks of Using Amazon Super URLs  Ranking Penalties: Many sellers report short-lived boosts in keyword rankings followed by a drop in visibility. This is because Amazon can now detect manipulated links, and penalizes products that rely on them.  Account Suspension: Amazon explicitly forbids any attempts to manipulate their metrics. If detected, using Super URLs can result in account suspension or product delisting, which could severely impact your business.  Review Removal: Super URLs may also be linked to Amazon’s review removal system. If Amazon suspects that a Super URL is being used to generate biased reviews, it may automatically remove those reviews. This is particularly concerning for sellers who rely on positive feedback to drive sales.  Ineffective Long-Term: While some sellers report short-term gains, Super URLs are not a sustainable strategy. As one Reddit user put it: “Super URLs work until they don’t, and then your ranking plummets.” Amazon’s algorithm favors organic search and customer interactions over manipulated links.  Should You Use Amazon Super URLs?  Given the risks, sellers need to ask themselves: Is the short-term ranking boost worth the potential long-term consequences?  Many experienced sellers now avoid Super URLs in favor of white-hat techniques that align with Amazon’s guidelines. These include:  Optimizing product listings with relevant, high-quality keywords.  Driving external traffic from platforms like Google Ads, social media, and influencer partnerships.  Using Amazon PPC to build a steady, organic sales velocity.  Driving external traffic, especially through Google Ads, has been particularly effective in boosting rankings without resorting to potentially dangerous shortcuts like Super URLs. According to recent Reddit discussions, sellers who drive organic search traffic using external sources are more likely to see sustainable ranking improvements.  Alternatives to Amazon Super URLs  Amazon Associate Links: These are safe, Amazon-approved links that don’t include keyword tags or time stamps, making them a great alternative to Super URLs. Plus, you can earn a commission through the Amazon Associates program.  Search Find Buy (SFB): While SFB has also faced scrutiny, it’s still a more organic approach compared to Super URLs. Be cautious with this method, as Amazon is increasingly cracking down on manipulation tactics.   Google Ads and Social Media: Instead of manipulating Amazon’s algorithm, focus on driving high-quality traffic to your product page. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram allow you to target specific audiences and keywords without the risk of penalties.  Influencer Marketing: Building partnerships with influencers who can drive traffic to your Amazon listing is a proven way to generate authentic sales. This also helps build credibility with your audience.  Best Practices for Amazon Sellers  Focus on Organic Growth: Build a strong foundation by optimizing your product listings, encouraging customer reviews, and ensuring your product images and descriptions are top-notch. Amazon rewards consistent, organic sales growth.  Leverage External Traffic: Use platforms like Google, Instagram, Pinterest, and even YouTube to drive potential buyers to your listings. This not only increases your sales but also signals to Amazon that your product is gaining attention from multiple sources. Maintain a Healthy Sales Velocity: Instead of relying on short-term hacks like Super URLs, invest in long-term strategies that keep your sales momentum going. This includes running timely PPC campaigns, offering limited-time rebates, and optimizing your pricing strategy.   Where can you create Super URLs?  Use these sites and URLs at your

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European Fulfilment Network For Amazon Sellers

If you’ve heard about the European fulfilment network for Amazon sellers, then you’re probably aware of Amazon’s global program and FBA services. Becoming a global seller on Amazon is not an easy task and this undertaking comes with its own set of problems. Selling your product in an international market can be intimidating, however, with the help of Amazon FBA and Amazon Global services, this process has become a tad bit simpler. If you’re planning on selling your products offshore, there are three basic types you can consider. European Fulfillment Network (EFN) With European Fulfillment Network (EFN), you ship your products to Amazon’s fulfilment centre, which will then be held in one country. Once an order is placed by a customer, the items will be picked, packed, and shipped by Amazon. You pay only local fulfilment fees on domestic orders. With Amazon’s EFN Network, you can sell on Amazon’s other European marketplaces with cross-border fees. Pan-European FBA With Pan-European FBA, you ship your products to Amazon’s fulfilment centre in your home marketplace. The order fulfilment process is done by Amazon. Amazon distributes your products throughout Europe based on anticipated demand without any cross-border fees. You can also save up to 52% in fulfilment fees. Multi-Country Inventory (MCI) With Multi-Country Inventory (MCI), you can choose which countries you want to ship and store your products. You have to pay local fulfilment fees for sale in the marketplaces you store products. With Multi-Country Inventory (MCI), you can sell on other marketplaces too with cross-border fees. European Fulfillment Network Typically, sellers can choose between FBA & FBM while deciding on the kind of carrier they want to choose for boarding their products offshore. EFN is part of the Amazon FBA program that dictates Amazon cares for the transport and delivery of your packages using one of its local warehouses. If you have a European marketplace seller account that’s registered under FBA, you can store your inventory in Amazon’s warehouses (also known as fulfilment centres), across Europe, and manage orders coming in from your European marketplace using the same local inventory pool. The reason why EFN is beneficial is that it keeps your stock stored in a single space, also known as the local pool, in a single fulfilment centre so that you gain maximum control and flexibility for marketing your goods. Now if you’re planning on selling your goods in a certain country in Europe, EFN allows storage of inventory in multiple fulfilment centres in one country to complete your local and trans-border orders. There are precisely only seven countries that allow the storage of goods within their fulfilment centres. United Kingdom Germany Spain France Italy Poland Czech Republic Pay Cross Border EFN fees When you sell your products to customers of other marketplaces via the European Fulfillment Network (EFN), you have to pay a cross-border fee for each order shipped. Let’s say for example you want a 600g Standard Parcel (non-media item) product across all five European marketplaces and ship your inventory to UK fulfilment centres. The cross-border EFN fee would be €4.39 for orders placed on amazon.de, amazon.fr, and amazon. it, and amazon.es. Standard Parcel 600g Fulfilment Fees Sale on amazon.de Sale on amazon.fr Sale on amazon. it Sale on amazon.es Fulfilment fee for EFN (fulfilling amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon. it, amazon.es orders from UK inventory pool) €4.39 €4.39 €4.39 €4.39 There is no need to separately register for Amazon EFN because you automatically get this service under the FBA program but it’s important to choose your marketplace. Whichever European marketplace you select enables you to use EFN for all marketplaces as your listings are uploaded with the same SKU. What’s the benefit you ask? Single VAT number that eliminates financial stress for a chunk of your inventory. EFN gives you the flexibility of enlisting your products on all European marketplaces under a single VAT number and you also become applicable for Prime status. The storage fees are higher and it’s apt for a small business, however, if you’re thinking large scale, there are better options under FBA for selling your goods in the international market. But just like the EFN has its benefits, it comes with a set of disadvantages. EU) 2019/1020 Regulation needs most non-EU businesses to have an authorized representative located in the EU. You can read more about this here, a full guide on having an Authorized Representative by  Instrktiv. FBA European fulfilment network functions under Amazon, which means you don’t need to worry about setting up your inventory at the warehouse or supervising third-party logistics. However, the downfall is that you will need to pay cross-border fees applicable from the home country to other shipping countries, which can weigh down on your expenditure. Conclusion While EFN provides fast shipping in Europe, it might take three more days for the shipment to get delivered if your product is to be delivered outside the home country. You must also have a VAT registered number in your home marketplace to be applicable for EFN. Though this option offers Prime delivery, fast shipment works when you’re delivering your product within your home. However, EFN is an excellent option to consider since FBA fees are much lower as compared to using third-party logistics services. There is a lot of work and there isn’t a whole lot of time. At BIE, we have experienced and highly skilled Amazon Human Resources who can enhance your brand presence, improve Q1 sales in 2020, and give you analytical feedback of your conversions. Want to know more about our services? Just contact us for immediate assistance! Request a free consult this instant to avail of our consultation or subscribe to our mailing list to get instant updates for Amazon seller/ vendor central-based tasks. If you need professional help with your Amazon store management, contact us. BIE is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based agency providing human resources to manage all things Amazon. BOOK A FREE CONSULTING CALL

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Optimize Your Product Listing For Christmas Sales

If you plan on optimising your Amazon product listing for Christmas to get massive sales, we’ve got tips that will come in handy. It is tough to compete with top sellers during the Q4 season but that doesn’t mean you should lose out on business. In fact, the more you update and research, the easier it will be for your store to get noticed. A lot of Amazon sellers look for quick hacks when it comes to boosting visibility, but you can’t rely on black hat tricks. In fact, to ensure your account doesn’t undergo suspension, stick to Amazon’s guidelines, especially during the holiday season or during high sales periods.  Here’s how you can quickly optimize your product listing for Christmas sales if you want to be a profitable merchant this holiday season: Understand the Christmas Cheer! Know your clientele, more so during Christmas, because that is when they’re going to hit the shop button most. Irrespective of what category your product comes under, check out what your competition is selling, in terms of discount coupons, freebies, and add-ons. Do a study of their past customers, and maybe you’ll find something new to add to your listing. When you know your clients are on the lookout for Christmas presents, that is the time to act. Throw in a discount, give them free shipping, add promotional content on your web stores, and advertise using Amazon PPC. Does this sound familiar? Of course, it does. The trick though, is in the presentation, the text content, and how you use your keywords. Go to your seller central account, open each listing, and make sure you add keywords in the search terms that should have the word “Christmas”, as a part of the long tail keywords. This is known as targeting clientele who are specifically looking for Christmas gifts. Stock Your Inventory You’ve heard this before and we’re winging it again – stock up on inventory and keep extra stock of your highest-selling products. Christmas sales have a lot to do with understanding where you’ve hit your sales the most and which products have yet to sell out fast. If your inventory list has an “x” number of products that always have a high order volume, stack up, nice and good. If your inventory list has a “y” number of products that have yet to sell out, make sure you have enough. And most importantly, highlight those products in your ad campaigns. Cold Pipeline Needs Heating Up! We’re talking about products that rarely make it to your customers. Imagine someone looking for Christmas toys for their kids. If your store comes under this category – the toy category – then it’s important you recreate the content for such listings from scratch. Don’t upset the algorithm for those listings that already have good visibility. We’re talking about a cold pipeline here, and it’s your job to identify these products and redo the listing from scratch with a new set of keywords. Get a Festive Makeover If you’re familiar with A+ content, you know what we’re talking about. You don’t need a black hat trick to tip the scales in your favour for any of your listings. It’s all about delivering fresh content, doing quick research for the latest keywords, checking on what gets indexed and what doesn’t, and creating great informative copy. It’s perfectly alright if you don’t have EBC. Your Christmas makeover can also be in the form of redoing your brand profile on Amazon’s marketplace, with new banners perhaps. This can include adding fresh lifestyle images to your listing with a Christmas theme to them. Deliver something innovative that keeps with the holiday spirit and showcases its great functionality. Mobile Friendly Content 80% of e-commerce sales take place online via mobile phones. Don’t expect your customers to order using laptops if they are browsing on phones. Keep an eye on who checks your website, social media channels, and store pages. Your sale begins with a customer browsing around for a product and it converts into a sale once they find the perfect product. That is something which happens with great reviews, FAQs, and images, to visually give an idea about the product to the customer. You can download mobile-friendly templates for your landing page, and create ad copies that are simple to read and have enough CTA buttons. Don’t Forget Those Testimonials This is the time you need to highlight customer reviews and testimonials. Whether it’s in the form of an Amazon PPC ad copy or a Facebook campaign that includes your product listing’s link, it’s all about generating leads. There are many people who buy products after they’re done browsing social media channels. It is your job to grab a customer’s trust by creating ad copies that come from different angles. It could be a testimonials copy or it could be content that offers a discount coupon. It could be informative and lead the customer onto your page’s blog or it could be a lightning deal on Amazon. Find Your Magical Keywords Just like children find their magic and inspiration from adorable Santa Claus stories, you need to find your magical keywords. Only when your products start showing up is when you’ll start seeing higher sales. To get a customer, think like one. Here’s how you start. 1. If you’re a customer who wants to buy a product, you obviously know nothing about keywords. You will type in just about anything that describes what you want. And if it’s for Christmas, that word is going to be a part of the search. Let’s say you’re looking for Christmas lights, but you want a certain kind and type. You don’t know what it’s called and you go for common words like “Christmas light”, “Christmas lighting”, or “lighting accessories for Christmas”. 2. Once your customer finds something that he/ she wants, they click on that product. Don’t assume it’s a buy. Everyone surfs more and decides later. If your customer has a brand in

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Avoid Scams While Hiring Amazon Human Resources Online

Whether you are new to Amazon seller central or a top seller, you might have hired an Amazon expert for complete store management. In this article, we’ve mentioned a few things that you need to consider and also things that a VA need to ensure to prevent scams. We’re sure that amazon human resources from around the world can easily be scammed into finishing a project and not getting their due amounts paid (discussed in a later blog). Just like how companies contract employees and take their identity proof into consideration, we would suggest signing such a contract with your VA, before you take any new hires. Let’s get into detail as to how as a virtual employee, you can avoid fraudulent acts while hiring amazon human resources online. Things To Consider Check Online Profile Thoroughly: Always be aware of the fact that many scam artists make fake accounts or profiles on writing boards, social media platforms, and other such venues. Make sure you check whether the profile has a genuine profile image and this includes studying the account history in terms of the number of posts, photograph list, address, name, website, and timeline feed. Also, remember that if the profile is newly created and there are no real friends then chances are that it is a scammers profile. Keep in mind that scammers post repeated or copied content on their news feeds and on different groups. Our recommendation is to stay away from such profiles in general. Authentication is Necessary: You need to ask for ID proof just like any other company would while hiring. Ensure you take into account your VA’s personal identity details. Before you sign a contract, ask for their government ID proof such as a passport, national ID, or driving license. Make sure the details on the government ID proof match the Facebook profile. Client Testimonials: Before you hire a VA, ensure you take into account client testimonials. Check their portfolio. Also, ask for their LinkedIn profile, as many professional amazon human resources nowadays have a profile on this media site. Make sure you take recommendations from previous clients or referrals before hiring anyone. Keep a Record of Work Hours: While hiring amazon human resources online, keep in mind the number of hours due as some freelance agents work faster than others. Whether you’re paying on an hourly basis or per project, we oblige you to use a content monitoring tool like Hubstaff to time-track work or you can take screenshots off Skype while keeping your VA on the payroll. Maintain Electronic Footprint: While hiring a VA from Facebook, ensure you maintain an electronic footprint through emails and messages. Ask for their email ID and start the conversation via mail or Skype. All your terms & conditions should be sent via email, as also the requirements for the project. If you are hiring the VA on an hourly basis, then PayPal invoicing must be included. Take Sample Test (PAID): The most important part of this hiring process is that you must test the skills of the VA you are hiring online. The VA should have all the basic and advanced skills that he/ she will need to complete your work efficiently and fulfil all the requirements. We suggest you give them a paid test assignment to know their skills. Most scammers are unskilled and unprofessional, so testing is necessary. Be Clear & Concise with Project: Before you hire a VA, you should have a clear idea about your requirements. Ensure you mention everything in the job description. You should not reach a stage where you have to hand-hold the VA. Having clear goals will save more time for you and the VA. Ensure your project details are recorded via electronic contract or some form of agreement. What About Amazon Human Resources Getting Scammed? We have also noticed that many amazon human resources get scammed after completing a specific project. To avoid scams, make sure you research the employer before applying. Beware of fake profiles as we have mentioned before. Sometimes you will find job posts for amazon human resources crafted extremely unclear and without any brand or company information. Always remember that you have the right to ask for information about the company of your employer. If a job post doesn’t have any employer details such as the name of the employer or company details, you should not go any further. In some cases, the employer may create a fictional persona, or pretend to be a third person between you and the employer. Like a lawyer, consultant, or agency. In such cases, make sure you check the employer profile carefully and ask for government ID proof. As you and the employer both are in different places, it’s always better to do a video call and record it. In addition, once you’ve submitted your application and you get hired instantly, you should proceed with caution. Most scammers accept anyone after a short interview and without any assignment. Conclusion The entire process of hiring an amazon human resources takes time. An employer will look for the right person and always for the long term so that they don’t have to hire someone anytime soon. A genuine and determined employer will look for someone who is productive, highly skilled, and most importantly, someone who will be there with the company for a while. These are the signs of a legitimate job post that you should look for if you are an amazon human resource. If you are a contractor looking to hire offsite freelancing agents, your first job is to filter out spam profiles. If you need professional help with your Amazon store management, do contact us. BIE is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based agency providing human resources to manage all things Amazon. BOOK A FREE CONSULTING CALL

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Identify Restricted Keywords in Amazon To Optimize Product Listing

When your product listing gets taken down without any warning, it means you have used restricted keywords in the Amazon product listing. This happens when Amazon does a random sweep when indexing your listings. This is frustrating because you have probably been selling this product for months, and all of a sudden, Amazon has imposed a ban on your product listing. If you are trying to get help from Amazon, the bad news is that they won’t help you out with this. For an Amazon seller, it’s difficult to identify restricted keywords and there is no list of Amazon’s restricted keywords. What Are Forbidden Keywords on Amazon? There is no list available that a seller can refer to for the restricted keywords as Amazon hasn’t published any list as of yet. But sellers can educate themselves by looking into Amazon’s list of restricted products. There are some items that the list includes which are strictly prohibited by Amazon such as drugs and drug paraphernalia. There are items which are not that obvious, such as cosmetics, skin, and hair care. Here is a detail that we should look into. Cosmetics are sold on Amazon all the time but still, it is a restricted keyword, Why is that? Amazon restricts the sale of cosmetics, to those who are new, and not selling under their own brand or selling with the manufacturer’s packaging. Also, Amazon allows it if there is no illegal drug or paraphernalia associated with the seller. Here’s something you should know First, let me share with you four basic rules that you need to follow to maintain Amazon’s guidelines. The maximum number of characters including spaces is 200, which the titles must have. Promotional phrases such as “free shipping”, and “100% quality guaranteed” must be excluded from the titles. Titles must not contain special characters, such as ~ ! * $? _ ~ { } # < > | * ; ^ ¬ ¦ Product-identifying information such as “hiking boots” or “umbrella” must be excluded from titles. If you search Google for what makes a good title, you will get more than 346 million results within 0.62 seconds. The problem is that there are a few differing opinions on Amazon listing optimization. Even new technology companies protect their strategies for listing optimization. For example, let’s look into the two different Amazon product listings from the brand company HP (Hewlett Packard). In the first listing, the title takes a little more of a minimalist approach. The brand hasn’t given that much information in its product title. After they publish a new listing on the same page, the title now has more, based on what Amazon is looking for in terms of an extensive description, so that ranking is high. Update Title on Seller Central There is a common problem faced by many sellers. When they update their titles in Seller Central, it shows up in the back end but the new version of the title doesn’t appear on the actual product page. If you haven’t received any error message, you would not know there is a problem, and even if you did, you would not know how to fix it. In fact, there are moments when you need to contact seller central support and have the title changed. But as an Amazon seller, it is important to identify if the actual issue is the presence of forbidden keywords. And this is where the question comes in. How are you going to find the forbidden keywords in your title? Here are the simple steps you have to follow to identify the keywords forbidden by Amazon: Go to Seller Central and open that product listing. Click on Product Page Issue, and from there, select FIX PRODUCT PAGE ISSUE Enter your ASIN and hit the search button. In this window, you will see why Amazon won’t accept your title. This is a great opportunity for you to make the necessary changes and update your title. If you want to succeed in your Amazon selling business, you have to understand that this is a moving target. Amazon sellers are continuously improving themselves with the fluctuations of Amazon’s wishes as well as the changes in the marketplace.

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What is Split Testing for Amazon Product Listing?

For an Amazon seller, split testing, also known as Amazon A/B Testing, is done to identify the successful variation of product content and pricing or the best-performing version. It is basically an experiment through which Amazon sellers test different variations of product names, featured photos, or product descriptions. If you want to make a profit, split testing is important, because it plays a huge role in optimizing a listing. You can observe what works and what doesn’t using customer feedback and sales performance. Why is Split Testing Important For Amazon Sellers? A/B testing doesn’t only mean that you can test two variations. As an Amazon seller, you can try different ranges of variables to find your perfect listing. Try to test as many times as possible from different approaches and figure out the problems you are facing and also the impact. Here’s a quick tip for you hardcore sellers on Amazon. You can experiment with several techniques after a thorough competitive analysis. This is the best time to optimize a product listing and figure out what works best for your listing’s ranking for a period of either a week or 15 days. If you are an Amazon seller who wants to make a massive profit at the end of the year and increase sales conversion, split testing is an obvious solution. It is one of the most creative ways to optimize your product listing for boosting sales performance. Fully optimized listings are an important factor that affects sales performance. There are many things that you have to consider while performing split testing, such as making sure your keywords are being indexed by Amazon, or using attractive thumbnail images to efficiently engage your customer base. If your products are easy to find on Amazon, your leads have a better conversion rate. That also means a higher sales rank. Split testing can only be successful if your pricing is ideal and this process allows you to optimize your pricing, which in turn helps to get a huge number of sales and allows you to make the most profit. To witness an increase in sales and to rank higher in searches, an increase in CTR and an increase in session (how long the visitor stays on a page) is vital. How To Run Split Testing? We’ve given you a basic idea about split testing. Now let’s do some work. We’ve mentioned that you have to do a lot of work, and there are various tests that need to be done. But what are those tests? Yes, you can automate the process, but what is the process? The answer is simple. You have to observe the activity of your customers by making changes to your listings. Make their journey easy and help them make an informed purchase decision. You need to guide them throughout their purchase journey. We’ve listed some tasks that need to be done for Split testing. Product Title Optimization Make sure your brand name comes first in the product title because there are many Amazon sellers who do this mistake while optimizing their listing. This is important because it can decide whether or not your product will show up in the search results. Every element in your product title requires split testing. You have to run two different listings at the same time to analyze the change. Optimize Your Pricing In terms of sales, this is one of the most important factors. To increase the number of sales, you have to first optimize the pricing of the product to increase your sales rank. Also, you have to run two listings, where one can be showcased with a sales price that can include a discount, while the other can be showcased with the normal price. It is understood that on Amazon, the more products you sell, the easier it is for your ASIN to achieve a higher sales ranking. Optimizing Bullet Points You have to put the keywords in bullet points strategically as you also have to make sure that you cover all the possible questions that the customers would have before making a purchase decision.  You also have to change various elements of the bullet points like the keywords, content, and product details to test different variations. For a fully-optimized product listing, you need to have the best combination of bullet points. Make sure you follow all these instructions to run successful split testing. Optimizing Product Description Consider the product description as a sales copy and you have to give the best pitch to convert the visitors into paying customers. Don’t forget to add a Call-to-Action at the end of your product description. Just like the bullet points, you can put the keywords working for you but make sure you guide the customer while they read the description. Optimizing Product Images Many customers don’t like to read a lot of text, so images are the only thing you have that can draw in more views. There are two images which are important. One is the featured image, which is the thumbnail, that the customer sees first, and the other one is the main image on the page. Your competitors are also doing the same thing that you are doing so make sure you stand out among your competitors. Obviously, the specifications will be the same but you can play with colors too. You have to understand color psychology to engage with customers. You can test different sets of color combinations on various products to see which one is working better. For instance, blue is the colour of trust. Design your product images with blue tones or elements to improve customer engagement. Is Split Testing Useful? At this point, you might think, why should I invest in split testing just for a bunch of experiments? You will understand Amazon’s algorithms so much better when you test different variations of a listing manually and observe the impact it has on your sales conversions. To find out the perfect listing, you have to try different

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Amazon Seller Central vs Amazon Vendor Central – Basics

While studying Amazon seller central vs Amazon vendor central analytics, you’ll realize that the basic difference between the two is that on seller central, you sell your products directly to Amazon’s customers. On vendor central, you sell your products directly to Amazon and then they sell the products to their customers for you. As a seller central owner, you price, market, and sell your products directly to Amazon’s customers. Many Amazon sellers start their journey from seller central to list their products quickly and start selling immediately. Before boarding onto vendor central, make sure your products are well established. You can always go with both options because both seller central and vendor central have their unique benefits which will be discussed in detail. With Amazon Seller Central, sellers or brands use a web interface or panel to market and sell their products directly to Amazon’s customers. Those who have a seller account are also known as third-party sellers or marketplace sellers on Amazon. The major role of a marketplace seller is to handle orders they get from Amazon’s customers making it a more direct approach. There are two options you get as a market seller to fulfil the orders of the customers. Either you can handle the shipping, customer service, and returns for each individual order yourself, or Amazon gives you an option of fulfilling orders which is the “Fulfilled by Amazon” or “FBA” program. By enrolling your products into the FBA program, you allow Amazon to handle orders on your behalf. What is Amazon Vendor Central? The web interface used by manufacturers and distributors is Amazon Vendor Central. The term used for sellers selling via vendor central is first-party seller. As a first-party seller, you sell products in bulk to Amazon. You are a supplier here and Amazon will sell your products to their customers. What’s the key element to running a successful vendor-central supply chain? You never let the supplier or Amazon come in direct contact with each other. Pros of Amazon Seller Central Pricing Decision As a seller, you can decide the price at which you want to sell your products and also change them anytime as you have full control over pricing. You also get the advantage of staying in the competitive market by automatically matching your competitor’s pricing. Activity Analytics With Seller Central, you get access to a large number of consumer data without any cost. If you have a seller account, you can access the customer’s data and use it for other purposes. But make sure that you won’t use that data to outreach Amazon’s customers. You can, of course, use analytics to understand consumer behaviour. Private Label Branding This is one of the big advantages of seller central. As a retail partner or an unknown third-party seller of a manufacturer, you can’t list or sell a bundle of older versions of any product. Another parameter of this type of listing is less content and images. With Amazon’s brand registry program, this type of unauthorized listing can be controlled. Cons of Amazon Seller Central Higher Costs If you are a seller and you are selling low-priced items, \ shipping or fulfilment costs are a barrier in your Amazon selling business. If you have a professional seller account, you have to pay $39.99 per month as Amazon FBA fees, and for individual sellers, it ranges from 45 cents to $1.35 per unit. Lower Conversion As a third-party seller, the most crucial part of your Amazon selling business is to compete with “Ship from and Sold by Amazon.com” products. As a 3P seller, you have to offer your products via FBA or “Ship from and Sold by 3P sellers” and with this, you can’t outsell the products sold by Amazon. One more disadvantage is that if you are attempting to use Amazon’s Sponsored Products Ad Tool, your ads won’t appear because this is only for the seller in the buy box. Pros of Amazon Vendor Central Ease of Doing Business Through Vendor Central, you can focus on your Amazon selling business. If you see the business model from the Vendor Central perspective, the process is much easier than seller central. The role of a vendor is to fill purchase orders, bill those orders, and make sure that there is no penalty charge. But as a seller, you have to take care of the full process from sales to lost inventory and also taxation liabilities. Marketing Tools There are many tools that Amazon offers to its vendors like creating enhanced brand content via Amazon A+ Detail Pages. Another program you can take part in, Subscribe & Save (Amazon’s subscription service), is a promotional program offered by Amazon that boosts sales. You can also opt for Amazon Vine, which invites some of its most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post reviews about new and prior products to help their customers purchase products. Cons of Amazon Vendor Central Difficult to Launch New Products There are many guidelines you have to follow to complete your purchase orders through Vendor Central. You may get penalties if you break the rigid guidelines given by Amazon for vendor central. There are many penalties vendors are charged while selling products through vendor central. If you are a vendor and selling through vendor central, it will be difficult for you to launch new products as Amazon does not prefer products with no sales history. Amazon doesn’t get any commission when they buy products from you so it is hard to sell or launch new products through Vendor Central. Amazon is unsure about the sales performance of the product and if the product is right for the target market or not.

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