What is Rank & Bank?

Amazon is Rank and Bank is our tried and true system to ensuring that your product ranks #1 on Amazon. You can gain access to Rank and Bank when you participate in our Amazon FBA Academy. 

Why It’s Important to Rank Well

It’s easy to create a listing on Amazon - it’s not easy to get it on the first page. Landing there, however, is critical to your success. A recent Feedvisor study revealed that about half of all Amazon shoppers will only peruse the first 1-2 pages of listings, and most shoppers will end up buying something on the first page.

If you don’t ensure that your product is in plain sight, it simply will not get the traction it needs to produce significant profits for your business. The Feedvisor study also revealed that over half of shoppers always buy the first product listed in the search - which shows just how important it is to understand the science of getting to that #1 placement. While this isn’t always easy to do, it isn’t as complicated as you might assume. 

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How Does Amazon Rank Listings?

The tricky thing about rankings is that you cannot produce a #1 listing by simply creating killer copy, branding, and SEO. While an optimized listing definitely helps, other factors such as conversion rate and customer service also affect your ranking. The trick is to combine all related factors to get a killer post.

Here are a few questions you need to answer about your listing:

Is this product relevant?

This is where quality market research comes in. Most sellers fail before they even begin by skimping out on the first and most critical step - researching which product to sell. If you haven’t chosen a relevant market, there’s no way you’re going to be able to find success on Amazon. You need a relevant product, and you must do the work to create a relevant posting with optimized copy, professional branding, and quality photos. 

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Is our product selling?

Getting those first sales is the hardest part. To make sure you get on the map, offering rebates or coupons can help customers to choose your product right off the bat. Once you get these initial sales, Amazon will move your listing up and put you in front of more customers.

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How can we increase our conversion rate?

A high conversion rate is the key to ranking on Amazon. The more of your customers who stop by your page and actually hit “buy,” the more Amazon will want to highlight your product. After all, when you succeed, they succeed. This ultimately comes down to how reliable your branding is (customers tend to trust professional listings over poorly translated posts or posts lacking in details) and how many reviews you have. 

These three categories are the most important when it comes to top ranking on Amazon. Relevancy, sales, and conversion rate drive the Amazon algorithm - so mastering them is key.

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Getting a Best Seller Listing

Amazon ascribes a “Best Sellers Rank” (BSR) to nearly every product listed on it’s site, assuming they have achieved at least one sale. 

This number compares how a given item has sold in comparison to all other listings in the same category. It does not compare a listing to all products on the site. Your listing could be found in multiple categories, which means that it is possible to have more than one BSR number. The goal, of course, is to get the lowest BSR possible. The #1 BSR item in a given category is the item performing most successfully there.

Knowing and tracking your BSR can help you understand what you are doing right, and what you are doing wrong. It can help you adjust your sales tactics and marketing strategies according to how your current model is affecting the BSR. 

It’s important to understand that there are millions of products on Amazon in every category - so even a relatively high number in the hundreds or thousands does not mean that you are failing. Of course, the goal is to get that number down, but don’t be discouraged when it’s higher than you anticipated. You’re competing against millions.

The BSR is updated hourly and is determined by sales volume, promotions, and the performance of competing products. Not surprising - but the key to attaining a low BSR is to have an optimized listing, work the system by offering coupons and changing up your pricing, and selling as much of your product as possible (as consistently as possible).

Example: This dog leash set is one of the first items to appear with the search “dog leash.” You can actually see the BSR on the listing. This item has managed to attain #5 in the “standard dog leashes” category and #831 in the “pet supplies category.” 

It has also managed to get the “Amazon’s Choice” stamp of approval. Since customers can actually see the BSR, not only is this metric essential for your own knowledge, but it becomes a tool with which you can gain more customers. It builds trust and tells future customers that they are in good company by purchasing your product. If your number is too high - they may be inclined to click on the category and find whichever product is #1 instead.

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Understanding the Rank and Bank System

I’m sure most of this is making sense - but you’re probably still wondering how you take this information practically and make a top-ranked listing that will land on the first page. This is where our Rank and Bank system comes into play. We’ve worked long and hard to discover the secrets behind Amazon’s algorithms and put together a formula for success that we apply to all of our future listings. 

So what do you need to master this system? Here are the basics.

Optimized Product Listings

The first step is mastering the initial listing. This requires an understanding of SEO, market research, and hard work. 

There are many text fields within a listing, and even more that contribute to the metadata. You must ensure that all fields (title, description, bullet points, etc.) are search engine optimized and relevant to current trends online. This is hard to do on your own without access to professional software and research tools.

Quality Branding

The modern customer connects more with brands than they do with products. This means that if you can convince a customer that your brand is reliable, they will be more likely to purchase your product - even if it has fewer reviews, or is slightly more expensive. Creating a seamless branding experience is part of creating a highly successful product on Amazon.

Not only does quality branding give you a boost in the customers’ eyes, it also has a lot of practical perks with Amazon (once you get registered).

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White Background Images

These professional images allow customers to view your product without hindrance, and make your product stick out on the search webpage. The less that customers have to weed through busy backgrounds or complicated display images, the better.

Notice how all of the top listings for this search (women’s shoes) feature an HD photo over a white background. 

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Lifestyle Photos

Lifestyle photos give your customers confidence in your product as they see it being used as advertised. You want to avoid cheesy, stock image-type photography and obtain pictures of your product candidly in use. 

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Example: This is Amazon’s Choice for the search “dog ramp.” Notice the lifestyle photos feature the product in use exactly as intended. They are professional, but not stock quality.

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Crisp, Clear Infographics

These graphics add incredible value to an Amazon listing. They allow you to make use of the photo section to inform your customer. Knowing how to highlight just the right amount of information to inspire your customer to visit the details section for more is an art, and it’s necessary for creating a ranking listing.

Example: This product is Amazon’s Choice for the search “digital watch with timer.” Notice how they have a well-designed, informational graphic within the photo reel.

Professional Account Management

The quality of your listing means nothing if your account is not managed well. Maintaining the proper level of inventory, running successful PPC ad campaigns, and adjusting your pricing are all necessary to ensure the success of your company and each individual listing.

Reliable Customer Service

This is crucial. You are bound to disappoint a customer at some point, and when you do - you need great customer service. Every customer needs to walk away from their encounter with your brand with a good taste in their mouth. That means going above and beyond to meet their needs, accommodate them, and make sure they receive a new product or refund when their expectations have not been met.

Real Reviews

Amazon is getting better at determining which product reviews are fake (purchased) and which are real. You need to create a positive relationship with your customers and encourage them to leave product reviews naturally - not by bribery or by purchasing them. Doing so will help you to gain trust with future customers and get your listing ranked higher.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Honestly, succeeding at Amazon sales is possible for anyone. So why do so many fail?

Most people fail for lack of structure. They go in blindly, not understanding all the parts that need to be functioning well in order to produce quality results. In an effort to save money, they do it all themselves and refuse to accept help from those who have already achieved success in the past.

It can be difficult to invest in training and guidance when you’re just starting out...I get it. You’re in this business to make money, not spend it. When it comes to creating something from scratch, however, you’re doomed to failure if you don’t learn from other people’s mistakes. 

Our Rank and Bank system is the result of years of experience creating top listed items on Amazon, and it’s available to those who take the plunge to learn with us through our FBA training program. Don’t go it alone. Get the training you need and work us out of a job by taking everything you learn and putting it into practice (seriously - we want you to learn so much from us that eventually, you don’t need us. That’s our job!).

Competing With the Best

It’s not unrealistic to aspire to success on Amazon as a third-party seller. The majority (as of Q2 in 2021 - 56%!) of sales on the site are actually generated by sellers just like you. Small businesses. Entrepreneurs. Third-party sellers who figured out how to hack the system and get a quality, ranking item to sell big.

It’s not easy to get there - but it’s also not complicated. This is why I’m so passionate about getting people to sign up for our FBA Academy! It truly is possible for anyone who is dedicated, hard-working, and willing to learn to become the next 6 figure Amazon seller. Rank and Bank are just part of making that happen (arguably, one of the most important parts to making that happen). 

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, schedule a 30-minute consult call with one of our team members. We can answer some of your questions and figure out if you’d be a good fit for the FBA Academy!

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Conclusion

Top ranking on Amazon is crucial to gaining success on Amazon. Luckily, we have mastered the science behind creating (and maintaining) a top-ranked listing. We’ve compiled all this information into our nifty “Rank and Bank” system, which you can take advantage of in our Amazon FBA Academy course, created to help you find success as an Amazon seller. For now, you can work on improving the areas listed in the article above, and watch your product move up in the search results!

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