Gaining visibility on Amazon has gotten increasingly challenging over the years. For many manufacturers, Amazon represents a new competitive landscape that is constantly evolving. And with over 3 billion products listed on the site, visibility is harder to come by. At the same time, both B2B and B2C buyers are turning to Amazon now more than ever, with more than 60 percent of all product searches starting on the marketplace.
What does this mean for traditional manufacturers? It means that Amazon is both an opportunity and a threat. When B2B manufacturers analyze the competition in their product categories, they frequently find competitors that they’ve never even heard of doing considerable sales volumes. This new wave of competitors is optimized for Ecommerce and specifically for selling on Amazon. They understand how to identify profitable niches, position products, and generate compelling product descriptions and sales copy that are optimized for Amazon search. Many of these competitors are from Asia or other regions, steadily taking market share without traditional manufacturers even realizing it. This trend is happening across nearly every product category on Amazon.
Both B2B and B2C companies are starting to take notice, with more brands and manufacturers entering the Amazon marketplace. But with so many products available, the challenges of standing out, ranking in site search, and generating sales are more difficult than ever.
So how should your business evaluate the competitive landscape? And what should you do about it? Here are four steps that you can follow to gain a solid grasp on competition on Amazon.
1. Identify Your Most Important Keywords
Put yourself in your customer's shoes and make a list of the words they would use to search to find your types of products.
Once you have an initial list, you can use several tools to find their search volume and get other keyword ideas. There are three places to uncover these terms:
If you advertise on Google Ads, look at your top-performing keywords driving traffic and conversions.
Check your website analytics for top organic search terms as well. Examine the keywords people are searching for on your own website's internal search bar.
Use Google Trends to find trending keywords people search for related to your industry.
Make a list of 10-20 relevant keywords and keyphrases for your brand and products. These will serve as your guide for the next steps.
2. Analyze Your Amazon Search Results
Conduct searches for each of your target keywords on Amazon as if you were a prospective buyer. Focus on the top products/brands appearing on the first page for each keyword, as 70 percent of Amazon users never click past Page 1 results.
Make a spreadsheet listing each keyword, the top brands that are ranking for each term, the number of products listed, price points, etc. Note what the top-ranking products and brands are doing well, such as good descriptions, keyword optimization, a high number of reviews, 1P vs 3P selling models, use of resellers, etc. This competitive analysis will reveal how your brand and products stack up and help identify gaps.
3. Compare Your Products to the Competition
With your spreadsheet analysis complete, you can now see clearly how your products fit into the competitive landscape on Amazon. Ask yourself critical questions about your Amazon presence, including:
How does our Amazon search visibility and keyword positioning compare?
Are we price competitive?
For which keywords can we realistically rank in the top results?
How does our product content and optimization compare?
How many product reviews do our listings have compared to others?
Are we selling 1P, 3P, through resellers, or a mix?
These questions will reveal where you have gaps to fill relative to Amazon competitors in your space.
4. Create a Plan to Address Deficiencies
With a data-driven understanding of where your products stand versus your competitors', you can create a strategy to address problems. This includes executing best practices like:
Developing enhanced Amazon product content like A+ pages
Improve keyword optimization for both paid and organic
Expand reviews and leverage social proof
Adjust to your selling model on Amazon (1P, 3P, hybrid)
The Amazon opportunity is too big to ignore. But careful analysis and planning are required to understand the new competitive landscape.
It’s important to remember that closing gaps against entrenched competitors takes resources and commitment. But with the right partner guiding your Amazon strategy, B2B manufacturers can come out ahead.
Enceiba is here to help! Contact us for a FREE assessment of your Amazon opportunity.