If you ask any Amazon seller what makes a product listing into a best selling item, not many will be able to give you a satisfying answer. Now most sellers will ideally credit Amazon’s product ranking algorithm but what you don’t know is that there’s a whole system at play behind the algorithm’s success. A product’s ranking is influenced by a range of units – we call them organic factors that maintain a product’s visibility and ranking in the Amazon marketplace.

Amazon Super URLS! – what’s the influence and is it still a usable method to improve product ranking?

But first,

Sellers have been using a ton of strategies to maneuver Amazon’s A9 algorithm, and here’s what you need to know – Don’t OVERKILL your product listing with practices that can lead to immediate suspension. We’re talking about reviews that you obtain from buyer accounts with little to no history. If you think that buying ads through Amazon’s promos will help improve rankings, you’ve got it all wrong. In fact Amazon PPC is a method you employ to test the waters. Here’s the gist for all Amazon sellers out there who’re still in the midst of playing with their listings – Intimate a stable sales velocity that involves timely practices (super URLs + rebates + SFB + add2carts + reviews [on full priced purchases] + diverse traffic) to ensure a growing sales history that improves your ranking overtime.

What is Amazon Super URL?

Good question for any Amazon seller out there who’s still keeping his listing intact despite the many changes A9 algorithm has been undergoing since 2014. Initially it was very easy to rank your product but off late, some practices are no longer substantial so we’re thinking what works, and what doesn’t. Do super URLs have a good effect on those search bots crawling all over Amazon’s backend or do we just stick to a simple organic marketing funnel? Now as you all know, Amazon URL is an alpha-numerical link, which if you click on, will take you to a different page altogether. Ideally Amazon Super URL takes potential buyers to your Amazon page from an external source. The external source will primarily be social media channels – also the best means to get diverse traffic OR an affiliate marketing site which has proven to be a great method in the past for boosting click through rates NOT sales.

Many sellers believe that a super URL can help your product to rank high especially for valuable keywords but there’s still many questions in terms of how effective these can be, and if the A9 algorithm has identified this practice as a glitch already. Well, here’s the truth – Amazon super URLs still work but you need to be very careful as to how, and when you wish to implement these. There’s also that annoying factor wherein its necessary to update content with new super URLs but then sellers get lazy and this is where your listing no longer proves to be effective. Pay per click campaigns are also ideal external sources however we again ask sellers to be diverse in their methods, strategic in their objectives and time each campaign in such a manner that you actually obtain some organic traffic for all your listings.

Understanding Amazon Super URL

Keep note that you cannot entirely rely on super URLs to get a high search ranking or sales conversion because the A9 algorithm now focuses primarily on relevance. If you’re working with an experienced Amazon virtual assistance agency that understand Amazon A9 algorithm, they’ll tell you that a large percentage of buyers on Amazon don’t actually end up purchasing a product through keyword search but in fact the more a buyer engages with your listing, the higher chance you have for a successful sale. Your product might show up owing to a keyword’s high search volume but based on buyer psychology, your product needs to showcase more to actually hold on to an engaged audience. This means that while its necessary to optimize your product listing with the right keywords, its even more important to generate sporadic sales velocity, get relevant reviews and have your listing regularly show up in add2cart. Don’t confuse this with Amazon wish list since that no longer holds importance in the A9 algorithm.

How Does it Work?

Coming back to super URLs, it makes Amazon think your product page was found through a normal organic search rather than a customer clicking on the link directly. It’s like serving your product on a silver platter to customers while Amazon thinks the buyer found it after browsing repeatedly on Amazon. But even if you’re tampering with the click through rate, it still doesn’t guarantee a sale. In fact, if you’re using super URLs extensively your product’s ranking will most likely come down. Your organic listing gets a portion of the traffic but that doesn’t mean it’ll result in a lot of sales, so what’s the use of Amazon super URLs?

What’s the MAIN purpose of using Amazon super URLs?

A super URL might take away Amazon’s control and hand it over to a seller, but remember this tactic won’t relay benefits for too long. Its better to use super URLs as a KPI or guiding factor to understand which products on your store attract buyers, and which products don’t. So, don’t tamper with Amazon’s click path, instead understand the click path of each product on your store. For e.g. if product AB is only getting 20% of traffic as compared to another product (in this instance you’ve generated super URLs for both products), then you can focus your in-house advertising more to such listings that aren’t getting enough traffic. External advertising can then prove to be a method applied to test which products gather more visibility, and which need more attention for stable sales velocity.

Another purpose Amazon super URLs serve is by telling Amazon which keywords rank high, so in this case best seller ranking becomes dependent on keywords of your choice. But you need to be very careful because the real factors that actually affect sales will not change. Manipulating super URLs for your benefit can often trigger alarm bells on Amazon’s A9 algorithm so its important you use super URLs only for a specific objective, in a speculated period for e.g. pre-holiday season campaigns on social media channels that help you to point out which products are already on the popularity list with a higher chance of sale, and which products still need more attention.

Discounts and rebates are still popular assets for Amazon A9 algorithm, but to understand which products you need to focus on, something like a super URL acts an indicator giving you enough data to work on every product listing in a specific manner. Offering a rebate during Black Friday usually packs in buyers, convincing them enough to at least “add the product in their carts”. Its how one marketing element affects the other – also known as the ripple effect while you’re trying to improve your product ranking on Amazon. If you understand Amazon, you’ll notice that its first priority is to improve a buyer’s experience hence it recommends products under “frequently bought with”, “customers also considered” etc.

How To Use Keywords in Amazon Super URLs?

Undoubtedly Amazon super URLs are useful for lead generation, especially when you have a generous number of buyers clicking your link thereby making Amazon think your product grabs a high search volume for that particular keyword. This can improve your SERPs but only for a limited period. To keep things more organic, a safe way of using super URLs is by using specific keywords that are long tail keywords and not singular terms. It is not possible for a single product to obtain massive traffic within a specific time frame for a keyword that’s already serving a high search volume. In such a case, using long tail keywords that have very low search volume is a safer bet to avoid sudden comparison especially when there’s nothing wrong about getting diverse traffic (social media) onto your page.

At Fab On Go, we offer Amazon irtual assistance for all your needs if you’re wondering how to generate a healthy sales velocity. While we can offer more insight on Amazon super URLs, there’s always some change that the A9 algorithm issues. Stay tuned for constant updates, if you’re eager to learn more about selling on Amazon efficiently. You can contact us directly or subscribe to our mailing list.

If you need any professional help for your Amazon store management, get in touch with us at amz@fabongo.com.
Fabongo is a Vancouver, British Columbia based agency providing human resources to manage all things Amazon marketplace.

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