Lots of people search right on Amazon itself, so why do I need to be concerned about outside traffic? This is a common question among Amazon sellers, and one that you may have wondered about at least once in your selling career.
The quick answer is, because you can.
As a seller on such a competitive marketplace as Amazon, you need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Every available tweak counts, no matter how small it light look at first. You can’t expect to grow and remain competitive is you choose to turn your nose up at any of them. Especially when it comes to driving traffic to your store, you need to grab hold of every chance that presents itself to capture an audience and show them your goods.
Here are a few more specific reasons why you should value outside traffic:
1. Outside traffic to Amazon pages boosts your product rank on the Amazon search results.
So, yeah, lots of online shoppers go straight to Amazon to search for the products that they are lookingto buy. How do you currently place organically on the search results pages for your main keywords? If you can direct outside traffic to your product page and increase conversions and sales volumes – even if visitors end up buying from someone else through your link – your organic ranking on Amazon will rise.
Everyone knows that high placement on search results pages means an exponentially larger chance of being the chosen one. Shoppers don’t want to waste their time looking at each and every listing. They are still going to compare prices and details and all that. But, if they don’t have a favorite store, they are going to pick the top results on the list. They trust the rankings. Top placement means top listings, and they want the best.
It’s wise to drive traffic first to a landing page, rather than straight to an Amazon listing. Why? Outside traffic is less likely to convert than traffic internal to Amazon. So by sending traffic straight to Amazon, you’ll get a boost in traffic, but conversion rates will likely drop. Which hurts rankings. By using the landing page, you filter out traffic. So those who do end up reaching the listing are more likely to convert- so you get an extra boost in rankings due to increased conversion rate.
You can also use landing pages to collect emails and track visitor behavior (by installing the Facebook Pixel and/or Google Analytics). When a customer buys from you on Amazon, that is Amazon’s customer not yours. But by collecting emails and behavior data before someone reaches Amazon, you collect valuable assets to use for marketing.
Additionally, if you use an Amazon specific landing page, like LandingCube, you can automate the otherwise tedious process of sending out single-use coupon codes.
2. Amazon should be your top sales channel.
Amazon is the world’s best online marketplace. It has the widest visibility and the largest range of options for consumers. It also has the biggest conversion rate of any online marketplace in the world. You want to be on Amazon to have the best chance of selling well. Sure, your unique products might fit best on eBay or Etsy. But hey, did you know that you can use Fulfilment by Amazon to get those orders packed and shipped?
Amazon is the place to be right now. Every other channel and gimmick – Social media, email marketing, coupons – is there to support your Amazon listings. You can even use Amazon’s own ad copy about ratings, free shipping, and the like to make your campaign content exceptionally eye-catching. At the very least, you can tackle multiple competitors at once with your efforts to drive outside traffic from places like Facebook and Google.
That said, the top reason why you would want to advertise your products outside of this #1 online marketplace in the first place is really to drive outside traffic to your listings. Having a presence on any other channel serves as secondary sources, after all, and the real value comes when everything points to Amazon, your destination hub. It creates a positive feedback loop that serves to push you higher and higher up the ranks within the marketplace.
3. Amazon loves outside traffic
Amazon has not tried to stop sellers from pointing people on Google, Facebook, and other large pools. Outside traffic is also one of Amazon’s major goals since it brings shoppers and their dollars to the marketplace. One sure way to win on Amazon is to align yourself with their goals, since they are likely to reward sellers who help them become bigger and better. We are not trying to create a monster here, mind you, but helping Amazon helps you to sell more and grow, just like they are.
How to Drive Outside Traffic to Amazon
Here are to top things to take advantage of to drive outside traffic to Amazon:
FBA
More than half of Amazon’s customers are Prime members, and they pay for the privilege so they can get fast and free shipping. Use FBA to be eligible for Amazon Prime so you can capture this other half of the Amazon market.
PPC with Exact Match Targeting
PPC is almost a necessity with the tough competition out there. It can be expensive, but you can also use it wisely to make the expense well worth it. Even though it might sound good to have your campaigns visible for a wide range of keywords, you want to use specific targeting so you can spot which terms exactly are working for you. In the long run, this will save you a lot and allow you to increase the efficiency of your campaigns.
Social Media
Everyone is on socials these days, and you need to meet customers where they are. Take advantage of this collected pool of consumers to locate and target your ideal customer. Then, send them to where they can get their hands on what you’ve got them interested in.
Giveaways and Reviews
Find out who has the greatest amount of influence in the online world who would be interested in talking about your product. Give these guys – the Instagram, YouTube and blogging giants – samples to test out and review. And give them your link back to your listing to use in any posts or videos they make about your product.
Coupons
Coupons are a great way to get instant attention when reaching your hand into untested waters. They give any outreach campaign a sugar coating that can work wonders to bring in new customers, who will bring in new traffic sources whether they decide to finally use the coupon or not. If they are not interested in it, they still probably know someone else who might be, and are likely to end up sharing it through their personal channels. This equates to more outside traffic for your listing.
Final Thoughts
Are you worried about simultaneously diverting outside traffic away from your own website? This is going to be an unavoidable reality if you focus on driving traffic to Amazon. But you shouldn’t worry too much about it. You want to give your brand’s website a good boost and a fighting chance, of course. But aren’t sales your main objective? Look at it this way – The Amazon website wins out over every other website in the entire world when it comes to conversions. Your best bet to make the most sales is, therefore, your Amazon pages. Your website is a secondary source. Take advantage of Amazon’s prestige to drive your sales up as your drive outside traffic to your Amazon listings.
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