For sellers on Amazon, achieving a high organic ranking in search results is critical for success. When customers search for a product on Amazon, they typically focus on the first page of results. Studies show that a large percentage of shoppers, often around 70%, never go past the first page. In fact, the first three results on the first page get the majority of the clicks. This is because most shoppers are ready to make a purchase when they search on Amazon. They enter a search term, browse the first page results, and often make a purchase from those initial listings. If a shopper doesn’t find what they’re looking for on the first page, they may refine their search query rather than going to subsequent pages. Therefore, if your product isn’t on that first page, you’re likely missing out on a significant portion of potential sales.
Visibility: Ranking on the first page puts your product in front of a large pool of potential buyers.
Sales: Increased visibility and CTR translate directly to higher sales and revenue.
The traditional approach to improving organic rank, especially when a product is new or not ranking well, often involves Amazon Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. The idea is that by running PPC campaigns, a seller can generate initial sales and traffic to a product listing. This increased sales volume was thought to signal to Amazon’s algorithm that the product is relevant and popular, thereby boosting its organic ranking over time8. This method can help a product gain visibility by appearing in search results, even if the product does not have a high organic ranking.
However, while PPC is still considered valuable for generating sales, it is not as effective for boosting organic rankings as it once was. The focus of Amazon’s algorithm has shifted over time. It has been suggested that the algorithm has evolved from prioritizing advertising to emphasizing product relevancy.
Recent studies and data analysis show that driving external traffic to Amazon product listings is significantly more effective than relying solely on PPC for improving organic rank. External traffic refers to clicks from sources outside of Amazon, such as social media, blogs, and search engines.
Amazon’s Algorithm Rewards External Traffic: Amazon’s algorithm appears to favor products that receive referral traffic from other sites. By bringing in traffic from external sources, you signal to Amazon that there is high demand for your product. This is because Amazon is in competition with other online retailers, like Walmart and Shopify, so they want to promote products that drive traffic to their marketplace.
Data-Backed Evidence: Multiple sources highlight the effectiveness of external traffic: One brand found that external traffic is three times more effective than PPC when it comes to affecting product rank. Other companies are finding the same thing; the algorithm cares a lot about off-site source sales. Amazon even created Amazon Attribution to track the performance of external marketing channels and offers a Brand Referral Bonus for sales resulting from off-Amazon traffic.
Why External Traffic Works:
Given the clear benefits of driving external traffic, it’s essential to explore effective strategies for doing so. While there are various platforms, Pinterest is a strong contender for driving traffic to your Amazon listing, and a tool like PinWheel can be especially helpful for this task.
Why Pinterest?
Pinterest is a visually-driven platform that allows users to discover products through images and links. It has a user base that often uses the platform for product research and purchase inspiration. It is a good source of external traffic that can help your product “leapfrog” rankings. It can also help you build a loyal following for your brand.
How PinWheel Can Help:
PinWheel is a platform that helps you drive external traffic from Pinterest to your Amazon listings. PinWheel helps you create a new profit stream from Pinterest, because you are growing your business without being in the competitive world of Amazon advertising. It can help you optimize for conversions by tracking and analyzing which clicks convert to sales. It enables you to refine your Pinterest traffic by targeting based on demographics, interests, and other factors. It can automate the process of sending traffic to your listing and optimizing for conversions. By leveraging PinWheel to drive targeted external traffic from Pinterest, you can increase the visibility of your product, improve its organic ranking, and ultimately drive more sales on Amazon.
In conclusion, while optimizing your Amazon listings and using PPC campaigns can be helpful, driving external traffic is a very powerful method for improving your product’s organic ranking, especially if you are not already ranking in the top 10 for your target keywords. By utilizing platforms like Pinterest and tools like PinWheel, you can tap into new traffic sources and grow your Amazon business.
