Amazon has opened the door for many people to make money selling something online. While not everyone turns a profit, the opportunity is there for anyone to try their hand at the craft. But as more people enter the online marketplace, sellers must lay their best cards on the table in order to walk away a winner.

The key to selling on Amazon is to make sure that your product is easily found. You could make the most amazing goods in the world, but if no one sees your product, no one buys your product.

To improve your discoverability, make sure that Amazon’s A9 search engine algorithm can find your products.  To do this successfully, you should understand more about how Amazon’s search algorithms work.  The engine is still new and subject to constant change as it tests what makes shoppers buy more frequently. Sellers must be agile as well, making ongoing alterations to get found and turn lookers into buyers.

Amazon’s A9 algorithm is similar, relatively speaking, to Google’s search algorithm in terms of them both having the goal of ranking results by quality. As an Amazon seller, you can think about search rankings from the point of view of a shopper. Most buyers will type their query into the search bar instead of filtering through the categories section. Keywords are matched against the search terms that sellers have entered.

You can further optimize your product on Amazon by creating a detailed product description page that accurately presents all the product information your customers would want to know.  Sellers must develop product titles and descriptions with the necessary product field optimizations to get their products to stand out and rank higher than the competitors’. (Note that Amazon has now implemented a 200-character limit on its product titles.)  The number of views for a product detail page significantly increases with the addition of search terms, as long as they are relevant and compelling.  While keywords are important components of your product title, sellers must avoid keyword stuffing.

Your product’s ranking in Amazon’s search results will also be determined by its availability, price, selection, and sales history. Products that sell more are typically ranked higher by Amazon.

Make optimization a key part of your Amazon brand management strategies.  In this crowded marketplace, optimization is one of the most important ways to distinguish yourself.