Amazon finally rolled out its long-awaited A10 algorithm update last year to considerable seller excitement and trepidation. If you have been monitoring your sales metrics lately, chances are that you have realized that the rankings of your organic products change erratically. Some sellers' items are shooting up higher into the ranks, while others watch in agony as their once powerful listing drops onto page two, worse still. Well, I am an Amazon seller, and I have seen how these Amazon relevance algorithm updates are significant in selling and keeping our business afloat. So, through this blog, I will simplify what is new with the Amazon A10 algorithm, how it differs from its predecessor A9, and most importantly, what sellers can do to adjust to these updates.
Understanding Amazon's A10 Algorithm: What's New?
The A10 algorithm is a giant leap forward from A9, Amazon's previous ranking system. Whereas A9 was more concerned with sales velocity and keywords, A10 was more concerned with customer behavior and external traffic, as well as the entire shopping experience. In many ways, Amazon is forcing sellers to focus more on value for real than merely "gaming" the system.
A9 focused on sales velocity. The more you sell, the better ranking your product will have on Amazon. However, following the A10 update, it seems their priorities have also shifted. External traffic, customer retention, and dwell time - how long a visitor spends on your product page - now carry a greater role.
For example, the thing Amazon cares about most today from the traffic coming from third parties this might be social media or Google - is off-Amazon traffic towards listings. This means that those driving off-Amazon traffic to listings are preferred in the ranking system today. This makes perfect sense. Amazon wants to reward those sellers who are bringing new customers to the platform and increasing the overall reach of the marketplace.
Statistics reflect that 74% of product searches on Amazon occur directly on the website, while with A10, play is more on external traffic. Sellers with substantial external traffic have improved by up to 20%, while those that rely only on internal Amazon traffic have declined.
Factors Affecting Your Rankings in A10 Algorithm
With the A10 algorithm update, ranking variables have shifted. Today, though keyword-based factors are still vital, it considers many aspects that have evolved with time:
- External Traffic: You saw this above too. The Amazon A10 algorithm places significant emphasis on external sources of traffic. It will be through blogs, social media ads, or influencers, wherein you should drive some external traffic towards your product listing.
- Customer Retention: Repeat purchases and customer satisfaction are now more common, which depends on your ranking. Every time a customer comes back to shop again, you will receive a good ranking from Amazon as it has known the product.
- Dwell Time: The longer a customer stays on your product page, the better. This indicates that the product is relevant and informative for possible buyers on Amazon.
- Click-through rate and conversion rate: If your product is clicked but does not convert, it will impact your ranking. The A10 algorithm favours listings that convert well, so optimizing images, titles, and bullet points has never been more critical.
- Organic vs. Paid Traffic: While the A9 algorithm weighed heavily on paid advertisements (PPC campaigns), the A10 algorithm assigns more importance to organic traffic. Sellers relying entirely on Amazon PPC may have to reconsider their strategy. While PPC remains essential, Amazon rewards those who can generate sales through non-paid means.
How A10 Differs from A9: A Seller's Perspective
To better understand the A10 update, we can easily compare the two if we refer back to A9. The most visible difference between the two is that while the focus was on the sales velocity during A9, now that's shifted to its trend from customer engagement. According to Amazon A9 algorithm, all it had to do for a seller to get on the first page was launch a product, drive high sales through aggressive PPC campaigns, and voilà, you're good. That doesn't cut it with A10, though.
Amazon A9 algorithm favored products with high sales velocity- that is, if you had a product that only managed a spiky, short-term-only velocity, your product was likely to rank well. In A10s, however, there has been a shift towards long-term success metrics like customer loyalty and external traffic. If your product delivers consistent value, brings in repeat customers, and benefits from organic search traffic, it will perform better in the A10-driven marketplace.
For instance, a pre-rollout of an A10 case study from early 2024 reveals how a supplement brand reliant on PPC lost 12% ranking upon rollout. However, a competitor brand that focused on more community building within Instagram and drove continuous traffic from social media increased organic rankings by 15% without increasing its ad spend. Why? They were focusing on external traffic and customer retention.
Tactics to Optimize Your Amazon A10 Organic Rankings
So, what do you do? Fortunately for you, leveraging the power of the Amazon A10 algorithm is not as difficult as most would have you believe. Here are a few actionable steps that will optimize your organic rankings and keep you competitive:
- Drive Third-Party Traffic: There are enough things you can say about driving third-party traffic. Make sure you are driving in traffic from outside of Amazon. Leverage Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google Ads, for example, and drive potential customers to your listings on Amazon.
- Enhance Customer Experience: Improve the quality of your product listings through images, bullet points, and product descriptions. Ensure that the information provided is deep and useful; thus, your customers will stay on your page longer and likely convert.
- Build Customer Loyalty: Create the impression that they will return and purchase again by offering subscription options where those options apply, creating loyalty programs, or offering follow-up discounts using email marketing.
- Long-tail Keywords: While short, high-traffic keywords are valuable, A10 encourages relevance. Using long-tail keywords that closely coincide with customer search intent can drive in more qualified traffic and improve your dwell time.
- Spy on Your Competitors: Monitor your competitors' activities. If you notice they're driving traffic from outside of Amazon search ranking algorithm, consider what channels they're using and how you might replicate their success.
Common Errors Sellers Make with A10
The pitfall is sticking to previous ways simply because Amazon SEO algorithms changed. There are a few common errors you must steer clear of:
- Too Much Reliance on PPC: While your PPC campaigns are still important, they play a very different role in the Amazon A10 algorithm. So, simply balance paid efforts with other organic attempts.
- Overlooking Outer Site Traffic: If you are not building an off-site Amazon presence, now is the time. Overlooking outer site traffic may cost you serious long-term rankings.
- Overlooking Customer Feedback: Reviews and customer satisfaction matter more than ever. Make sure you actively encourage happy customers to leave reviews, or you're missing a critical piece of your ranking puzzle.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How is A10 Different from A9?
A10's strategy is to shift the focus from sales velocity to other factors like external traffic, customer retention, and dwell time; hence, it is getting tough to rank solely based on pure sales.
Is PPC still a major player for ranking under A10?
Yes, but it is less dominant than under A9. A10 loves organic traffic and customer engagement more than pure paid traffic.
How can you increase external traffic on your Amazon listings?
Drive outside traffic through social media platforms, influencer marketing, and blog content. You could also run Google Ads, which would direct customers to your Amazon product pages.
Key Takeaways
Wrapping it up on Amazon A10 Algorithm Update, the real deal is that sellers can never again rely solely on PPC and sales velocity. Sellers need to learn how to pivot the new customer-centric algorithm-the need to focus on external traffic, retention, and organic engagement.
Top three takeaways to remember:
- Focus on External Traffic: Amazon A10 algorithm favors sellers who can come in with off-platform traffic. Social media traffic, influencer marketing, etc., are very much essential these days
- Customer Retention: Increasing repeat customers and customer satisfaction are the most crucial things to work on now. One must strive for loyalty by offering quality services and products through strategic promotion.
- Diversify Beyond PPC: Although PPC is inevitable, organic growth has been the only thing sustaining long-term success. To generate organic traffic, leverage a combination of content marketing, social media engagement, and SEO strategies.
Have you noticed any ranking fluctuations since the A10 update? I look forward to reading your stories in the comments below. Let's keep the conversation going! Want to stay current on the latest strategies and insights in Amazon SEO and algorithms? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn!