Amazon Choice first appeared with the release of Amazon's Echo Dot. As the voice assistant's popularity grew more and more shoppers began to perform voice searches on the Amazon marketplace. However shoppers could only be presented with one search result at a time.
The Amazon Choice badge was designed to match these voice search shoppers with the most relevant products. But over the past few years it's become much more than that.
Amazon Choice is a label given to product listings that best match a specific keyword. It was designed to provide highly relevant reliable search results to shoppers using voice assistants. It reduces the need to browse or filter search results which is difficult on voice-based devices.
Today the Amazon Choice badge is also available on both mobile and desktop. In search results and on category pages the black badge appears in the top left hand corner of a product's featured image.
For each search term only one product can be awarded the badge. As well as matching the keyword this listing must be positively reviewed and have received more than half of all the sales resulting from that keyword. If no product has a majority of sales no badge will be awarded.
Listings with the Amazon Choice badge also have to be competitively priced and available to ship immediately.
The Amazon Choice badge shouldn't be confused with the Best Seller badge. Although they both indicate that a product is high quality and popular these badges are awarded using different criteria.
The Amazon Choice badge is all about promoting listings that best match a particular keyword while the Best Seller badge is given to products that sell the most units per hour within their product category.
Simply put Amazon Choice recipients are determined by SEO long-term sales and some quality checks. Whereas the Best Seller badge is assigned based on trending sales volumes.
The Amazon Choice badge may be small but it comes with a lot of big benefits. It can increase trust and visibility; it also showcases a product's popularity. But the biggest benefit of all is the boost in traffic and conversions that it provides.
One study found that listings with an Amazon Choice badge receive 17% more traffic while another case study suggests it increases conversions by 25%.
On desktop and mobile the badge reassures shoppers that they are purchasing a quality product. On voice-assisted devices it streamlines the path to purchase. Voice shoppers are more likely to convert simply because it's convenient.
As more households buy smart speakers voice searches are growing rapidly. Right now two-thirds of US households own one and Amazon Echo accounts for more than half of them. This means the impact of having an Amazon Choice badge will grow too.
With all the above benefits in mind you're probably wondering how you can get an Amazon Choice badge.
While there were some shortcuts available in the past Amazon has since eliminated them. Now you simply need to focus on creating great listings and maximizing your sales.
Here's how you can increase your chances of obtaining the badge:
The most important factor in earning the Amazon Choice badge is a listing's conversions. And the best way to increase Amazon sales is by optimizing your product pages.
It's essential to include tons of informative details attractive photos and a concise layout. Be sure to highlight key features use bullet points where appropriate and provide answers to all potential shopper queries. You can also use a Where to Buy tool to figure out which competitors are stealing shoppers and how you make your listings even better.
If you're a member of the Amazon Brand Registry make sure you take advantage of its exclusive A+ content too.
To improve your chances of landing an Amazon Choice badge you should do some keyword research and tailor your listings accordingly. Ideally you want to optimize your text and images with keywords that are both popular and extremely relevant.
By targeting long-tail keywords your listing is more likely to rank highly convert customers and win the badge.
When choosing which listing should receive the Choice badge Amazon looks at the performance of both organic listings and paid campaigns.
This means that poor performing ads could hurt your chances of obtaining the Amazon Choice badge. So be sure to incorporate your keyword research into campaigns and address any ads that have a low conversion rate.
Even if your content is perfect you won't earn the Amazon Choice badge if you don't have enough positive reviews.
To increase the amount of feedback your listings receive use Amazon's 'Request a Review' button put a call out to social media followers and add requests to your packages. Just be sure your messages comply with Amazon's strict rules.
It's also a good idea to use a Digital Shelf software tool to keep track of your ratings and reviews. You can even set alerts that will enable you to react immediately when a listing receives negative feedback.
Because shoppers put so much trust in the Amazon Choice badge it's important that these listings are priced competitively. That's why this is one of the algorithm's many criteria.
Once again a Digital Shelf tool will help you monitor pricing levels on Amazon Moments and maintain competitive prices across all your listings.
Sellers that use Fulfillment by Amazon tend to enjoy greater visibility and more conversions.
They also gain access to Amazon's in-house customer service which can increase customer satisfaction and superfast Prime shipping which can increase sales too.
So if you're not using FBA already you should consider signing up.
The Amazon Choice badge can be tricky to obtain. But luckily there are lots of other ways to stand out on the platform. Here are just three of them:
Brand owners on Amazon have access to extra tools which they can use to improve their visibility.
Amazon Analytics for example offers insights that can optimize ad targeting. While A+ Content and Amazon Storefronts can significantly improve your presence and really make your listings stand out. This should increase both organic and paid conversions.
Amazon offers sellers a selection of reporting tools that can help them stand apart from the crowd.
There's the Amazon Marketing Cloud which allows marketers to combine their in-house data with Amazon's to create custom reports. While Amazon Attribution can also be used to track your brand's off-Amazon marketing methods.
By using both of these tools marketers can optimize their campaigns.
Amazon offers a range of advertising options that can be used to promote product listings both on and off the marketplace.
Sponsored product ads which account for around 73% of ad spend on the platform appear prominently in Amazon's search results product pages and category pages. Its eye-catching brand ads can also showcase your logo and a selection of products. This will instantly help your listings stand out.
While following the above tips offers no guarantee that your listings will earn the lucrative Amazon Choice badge you should try them anyway. Because even if you don't receive the badge you'll benefit from the other perks that come with optimizing your Amazon listings. Think greater visibility traffic and sales. You may even earn a Best Seller badge.
