What are the Amazon ranking algorithms?

Amazon uses the A9 and A10 ranking algorithms to determine what products are shown in the results pages, which is done using a number of signals that help decide what products should be ranked. These results can significantly impact a seller’s visibility clicks and sales.

The most recent version of the algorithm is A10, however, A9 is still in use but will be phased out.

The A10 Ranking algorithm is the newest version of the Amazon Search Engine. It includes signals like front-end and back-end keywords, customer reviews, sales velocity, seller authority, conversion rates and click-through rates to rank and display products.

Fun fact: Amazon updates its rankings hourly, but it can take up to 24-48 hours to show!

What is the Amazon A10 Algorithm?

The Amazon A10 algorithm is the latest version, which uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processes to determine who lands on the result pages. The A10 algorithm assigns relevancy scores to products based on factors like product descriptions, search and off-site data that include source traffic and sales, social media mentions to determine relevancy.

The biggest upgrade in the Amazon A10 algorithm is the greater focus on the customer and giving an enhanced customer experience through personalised results, better data intelligence, and delivering more accurate results.

Key Factors that Influence Amazon A10 Ranking

Front-end and back-end keywords

Keywords remain important in the A10 ranks, as front-end keywords give sellers a chance to align with popular search terms. The back-end keywords are placed into meta tags and give extra information picked up by the algorithm.

Customer reviews

One thing many sellers don’t realise is your customer reviews count towards your ranking on the platform. If a product has a good amount of positive reviews it signals that this is a trustworthy item and seller, so will want to rank you higher as it’s better for the Amazon customers.

Click-through rate

Click-through rates (CTR) are the frequency of clicking on the products by the buyers. It is only considered the ratio of customers visiting your products to the total number of impressions generated. For this reason, the products need both a meaningful title and a high-quality main image, more on that below!

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate is how many listing visitors finish a purchase – higher rates tell the algorithm that the product and its listing are appealing to customers, so you are more likely to be shown on the results page!

Sales velocity

Amazon uses sales velocity – which is the rate in which your products sell – to determine how much demand for an item. And, you guessed it, this is a pretty strong signal if your product is selling like hotcakes that they should feature this higher in the results.

Organic Sales and Sales History

Amazon takes a look at your total sales to determine where your product ranks in search. Products that have consistent sales tend to rank higher on Amazon than in the search results. Recommended products frequently bought products make up the internal sales.

One of the strongest signals influencing the Amazon algorithm is the number of organic sales – which makes sense. It’s considered an organic sale if a user searches for a product and they purchase your product from a search page.

Seller Authority

This deals with seller metrics that are under Amazon’s control like the Buy Box feature and listings. Signals such as a seller’s feedback rating, the time you’ve been on Amazon, and return handling are counted amongst important seller metrics that are counted on by Amazon.

Also having a wide range of products in your inventory can help with your Seller Authority, it signals to Amazon that you are able to fill the needs of many customers.

What is Amazon A9 Algorithm?

It’s still worth mentioning A10’s predecessor as it’s still running and gives an insight into what Amazon deemed important metrics to transfer into the upgraded algorithm.

The A9 relied heavily on internal data to assign relevancy scores like sales history and conversion rates as well as using keyword relevancy and reviews which are included in the signals affecting the A10 algorithm.

How to Optimise Your Listings for Amazon A10 Algorithm

So, how can you optimize your listings for the Amazon A10 algorithm? Here’s a checklist for you.

Conduct keyword research

Don’t go in blind – do your research! You want to make sure the relevant keywords are used in your ads, on your listings and in the back end of the platform to welcome the most relevant customers to your products.

Write clear and concise product titles and descriptions

Strong listing text is something that surprisingly a lot of people abandon. The text within your listing is key to ranking highly in the Amazon algorithm. Have a read of our tips on how to optimize your listing to nail this part.

Use high-quality product images

A good quality set of listing images matters. Amazon has strict rules surrounding uploading images including size, clarity and the amount. The main image must be of the product on its own on a plain white background, and the rest should be a mixture of product, brand and lifestyle images.

A good rule of thumb is to make everything as clear and high-quality as possible so the buyer journey is easier for the shopper.

Encourage customers to leave reviews

We recommend that as part of your Amazon marketing strategy, encourage customers to leave reviews on your product listing. Amazon wants to direct buyers to products they think most relevantly match their searches, and a product that has a lot of customer reviews signals a trustworthy seller and product, therefore more likely to rank high.

Take advantage of EBC and A+ content

Alongside the listing copy, brands should be leveraging the power of Enhanced Content and A+ Content. This allows brands to tell their story through a mix of images and text to enhance the product listing. It allows users to modify the description fields of products so that rather than just a description, brands get to paint a bigger picture.

Offer competitive prices

Try to stay competitive with your pricing. Don’t engage in tactics like 75% off on products that 1. Look suspicious and 2. Lose your profits. Adopt a good pricing rule that presents the most competitive and attractive pricing at that time.

Power up your offsite strategy

The more you can raise brand awareness off Amazon the likelihood of your sales increasing, so a multi-channel strategy is needed. Amazon takes into consideration social media interactions, so having a social media strategy that directs traffic to Amazon product pages will help your SEO.

Having strong domain authority on Google via SEO and advertising that sends traffic to your Amazon listings also boosts your rankings.

Stay up-to-date on the latest Amazon algorithm changes

Just like Google changes its algorithm every chance it gets (so it seems) it pays to keep an eye on algorithm updates on Amazon. Sign up for Amazon news updates or follow your favourite Amazon Agency (cough us cough cough) who will actively be sharing top tips and highlight algorithm changes so you can always be prepared.

Our thoughts

The algorithm seems like an elusive entity that everyone wants to beat. But really when you learn how it works, it’s fairly easy to adopt some effective tactics to help you climb the rankings.

What the new Amazon A10 ranking algorithm shows is that your off-site strategy is really important, sending traffic to your Amazon listings from Google and social media. Maintaining a good Seller Authority and Sales history signals that adopting long-term strategies that improve your overall health of product listings and overall sales is not only good business practice but also helps your search rank on Amazon.

Need our help?

Need to understand the Amazon algorithm in more depth and how these tactics look in real life? Our team of Amazon experts can do just that! Give us a call or send us a message to start your Amazon journey today.

Who are we?

This Is Unicorn is a full-service agency supporting brands on Amazon. We work as an official Amazon partner and offer services ranging from SEO optimisation, to auditing Amazon PPC campaigns, and everything in between.