Amazon Product Listing Optimisation Guide

Amazon is not eBay with different branding. The conventions differ, the tolerance for mistakes is lower, and the consequence of a policy breach is losing the ability to sell rather than a ranking dip.

Catalogue data first

Before the listing copy: category, browse nodes and attributes determine where the product can appear at all.

Wrong category means invisible to the buyers filtering within the right one. Incomplete attributes means excluded from refinements.

This is also where bulk uploads cause the most damage — a malformed flat file can alter a catalogue quickly and quietly, and unwinding it is slow.

Titles

Amazon publishes style guidelines per category and they are worth following literally. The general shape:

Brand + Model + Product Type + Key Feature + Size/Colour/Quantity

• Follow the category's character limit
• Capitalise as the guideline specifies
• No promotional language — "Best", "Sale", "Free Shipping" breach the guidelines
• No decorative symbols

Amazon suppresses or rewrites listings that breach title guidelines, which is a worse outcome than a slightly weaker title.

Bullet points

Five, and they carry most of the conversion weight.

• Lead each with the benefit, then the specification that supports it
• Cover what buyers filter and compare on
• Include compatibility and sizing — the two biggest return causes
• Keep them scannable; most buyers read bullets and skip the description

Description and A+ content

The description matters less than the bullets. With Brand Registry, A+ content replaces it and performs better — comparison tables and images do more than paragraphs.

Backend search terms

The most misunderstood field.

• Do not repeat words already in the title or bullets. Amazon indexes those already; repeating wastes the limited space.
• No competitor brand names. Against policy.
• No subjective claims.
• Synonyms, alternative spellings, and terms that would look wrong in a title but that people genuinely type.
• No commas needed; spaces are sufficient.

Images

• Main image on pure white, product filling most of the frame, per Amazon's requirements
• Additional images: in use, scale reference, detail, what is included
• Infographic images carrying key specifications, since many buyers never read text

What not to do

• Review manipulation or incentivised reviews
• Keyword stuffing in backend terms
• Claiming compatibility you have not verified
• Anything described online as a "trick"

Amazon suspensions are slow to appeal and sometimes not reversible. The risk-adjusted value of any shortcut is negative.

Supporting an Amazon seller account covers the operational side, and the Amazon seller service covers doing it properly.