Competitor analysis on Amazon is an important tool for sellers on Amazon who want to be successful over the long term. With 2,000 new sellers every day, you certainly don’t want the competition to overtake or underprice you on the search results pages.
This is why competitive analysis on Amazon is so important. By knowing who your competitors are and what they are doing well, you can identify improvement opportunities for your own product and listing, create a higher presence on Amazon, and increase sales.
But what is a competitive analysis on Amazon? Where do you start? And how can you use them for your Amazon business?
Find the answers and more in this handy guide that will put you ahead of your competition on Amazon.
What is a competitive analysis on Amazon?
Competitive analysis on Amazon is about examining, measuring, and evaluating the performance of your competitors in order to adapt your own Amazon business strategy to it. By understanding what your competitors are doing well (and whatnot), you can adopt winning strategies, identify gaps in the market, and optimize your product page to increase conversions.
Why should you conduct a competitive analysis on Amazon?
If you want to gain the upper hand in Amazon search results pages, price optimization, customer conversion, and other business areas, it is important to keep a close eye on the competition. This allows you to better understand your competitors, what strategies they are using, and why they are successful.
By knowing the competition well, you can create quality listings that can potentially outperform your competitors. This could result in more visibility and higher profit for your Amazon business.
How to identify your competitors on amazon
The share of voice also plays an important role on Amazon. When someone searches for a keyword relevant to your brand on Amazon, you as a company want to know what percentage of the visible area you can occupy with your products. When looking at your share of voice on Amazon, you can also consider different levels, such as brand visibility or product visibility.
There are several ways you can find your Amazon competitors. To keep it as simple as possible, we have identified these two main steps:
- Broad keyword search
- Long Tail Keyword Search
Let’s look at the two steps in detail.
Step #1) Advanced search with a short-tail keyword
Start by typing a short keyword related to your product into the Amazon search bar. This keyword is usually a word or two long and will show you the strongest competitors in your niche market. Once you are in the search results, you should look at both the organic results and the sponsored ads that are being displayed. The sponsored ads give a good overview of who is successfully advertising, so you should take a look at those and the organic products.
For example, let’s say you sell earplugs. If you just search for that term – “earbuds” – Amazon can display a wide range of earbud-related products:
As you can see in this example, there are disposable ear tips, reusable, soft foam, hard foam, or silicone ear tips, “premium” ear tips, ear tips for concerts, ear tips for snoring noises, etc.
Based on the products that Amazon has ranked high, are there any features or descriptions that you can add to your Amazon listing to differentiate yourself from the competition?
Doing a search like this once a month can help you stay at the top of Amazon’s search results pages, identify new competitors in your niche, and ensure you’re using the best keywords in your product listing.
Step #2) Narrow your search with a long-tail keyword
Once you get a sense of who your general competitors are, you can use a long-tail search to narrow down the competition. With a long-tail search, Amazon is more likely to show competitors that sell a very similar product to yours, giving you a better idea of who your direct competitors are. To successfully complete this step, you need to find a long-tail keyword that effectively describes your product.
For example, let’s say you sell silicone ear tips that are moldable, reusable, and noise-cancelling. In this case, the long-tail keyword “reusable silicone noise-cancelling earbuds” would be much more effective than the short-tail keyword “earbuds”:
In the examples above, you can see that the bestseller in your niche market does not appear in the top 10 results when you use the broad keyword “earbuds”. However, it ranks #1 in organic results based on the more granular long-tail search.
This is a great example of how narrowing down your Amazon competition can help you find sellers more similar to your product. Jot down the top 20 sellers and document your products either in a spreadsheet or in your favorite research tool.
Carefully review each listing for features and characteristics to include on your Amazon product page, as well as keywords that your competitors may be targeting that you may have missed. So use strong competitive analysis on Amazon.
How to analyze your Amazon competitors using competitive analysis on Amazon
After scrutinizing the competition and gathering data, you can analyze what your competitors are doing well and where they are lacking. Here are some top Amazon competitor metrics to keep an eye on:
- Use of Keywords
- Product page elements (title, images, bullet points, etc.)
- pricing
- marketing strategy
1) Identify keywords that help your competitive analysis on Amazon to check why competitors rank higher on Amazon
Keywords are one of the most important components of Amazon SEO. If you want your products to show up when users search for specific terms, you need to effectively incorporate those terms into your titles and descriptions.
There are keyword tools on the market that can help you find out what terms your competitors are using to rank higher in Amazon’s SERPs. Depending on the tool, simply enter the ASIN of the competitor’s product and it will bring up a list of the keywords Amazon used to rank the product.
Alternatively, you can check your competitor’s product page and find out what keywords they are using. Once you’ve created a list or table, add the appropriate keywords to your product page titles, descriptions, and bullet points to improve your Amazon SEO ranking.
2) Check your competitor’s product pages on Amazon
Take a look at your competitor’s product titles, images, reviews, and the rest of their listing points and compare them to your Amazon product page. Are there any elements you can add or customize to make your site stand out? Do your competitors have clear, meaningful descriptions and well-crafted bullet points?
Title
Designing the perfect product title serves a dual purpose: it informs customers what your product has to offer and it helps Amazon’s A9 algorithm to determine its relevance.
To optimize your title, analyze the keywords your biggest competitors are using and consider whether you should integrate or refine them. Are there unique product features or USPs that you can include to stand out from the crowd? Is there anything you can add or remove from the title to help it rank better in the SERPs?
For example, if you sell single-use earplugs that are individually wrapped (for customers who are particularly sensitive to hygiene!), you should mention that in the title. Keep that in mind when revising your titles, but be careful not to overdo it. Instead, try to make them clear, concise, and informative.
Pictures
Captivating images can be the key to success on Amazon, as customers rely on them to judge the desirability of a product they can’t touch before purchasing.
In order to outshine your competitors, it is important to invest in quality images and infographics for your product. Take a look at the images of your top competitors in the SERPs. Are they doing something special that you might want to emulate? Do their images and videos look more inviting or aesthetically pleasing than yours?
Because Amazon customers can’t touch the product, it’s important to have a variety of images that show what the product looks like, how you use it, and the benefits. a Very important point in competitive analysis on Amazon.
Bullet point
Your product description should be short and concise, as buyers usually only have a few seconds to read it. Focus on the most important features of your product and describe them in the form of bullet points.
Consider starting each bullet point with capital letters and briefly naming each unique selling proposition, then briefly explaining why each feature can help solve the buyer’s problems.
Ratings and Comments
“Social validation” like reviews and comments are essential for any product page. What customers say about your competitors can shed light on their purchasing behavior. You can then use this information to refine your offer. Are there any common complaints that Amazon buyers have about the product? How can you improve your offering to address these issues and provide a better customer experience?
In the example below, a shopper found that the ear tips didn’t fit well in the ear and increased the pulse noise:
If your product was designed with this need in mind, you should mention it in the bullet points or in the product description. Alternatively, you can add a video showing how well the earbuds fit in the ear.
3) Keep an eye on competitor prices
The price war on Amazon is fierce and can determine your success on the platform. While you can’t directly control competitive analysis on Amazon pricing, you can keep an eye on it and adjust your prices accordingly. This is important because when customers come across two similar products with similar reviews, they will most likely choose the cheaper option.
Of course, you can’t always match competitor prices and still make a profit. If your product is of better quality, the pricing should reflect that. However, you should determine the long-term viability of your product through pricing. When the competition on Amazon keeps undercutting your prices, you need to find a way to optimize your costs and stay competitive.
4) Look at how your competitors are marketing their products
No successful business lives in a bubble, and Amazon sellers are no exception. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep an eye on the competition’s marketing tactics. Are your competitors using Amazon PPC ads? Do you have an Instagram account? Do they run influencer campaigns? Do they have a newsletter, website, or other type of presence outside of Amazon?
Analyze your competitors’ marketing campaigns and see how you can mimic what works without neglecting your own brand. If you’re starting from scratch, analyzing Amazon’s competitors can help you gain a better understanding of how to reach the audiences your competitors are already targeting.
How to do competitive analysis on Amazon for your ads
So far we’ve discussed competitive analysis on Amazon as a way to optimize your products and product listings and develop a strong marketing strategy. But competitor analysis on Amazon can also be used to develop a powerful “attack plan”: namely, Amazon PPC ads targeting your competitors’ ASINs.
With the so-called Product Attribute Targeting (PAT) or simply Product Targeting, you can place your product ads on the product pages of your competitors.
These ad placements can help increase your item’s visibility and direct Amazon shoppers to your product page, especially if your product is more tailored to the customer’s needs.
When you create such a campaign, your items may appear in the Related Products Carousel or in the 4 Stars and Up section:
It may also appear in the sponsored ads under the product description or under the buy box of your competitor.
It’s almost like standing in front of a vending machine: you might have a specific item in mind, but as you scroll through the other options, you might be tempted to switch and try something else instead.
Conclusion
Analyzing their competitor on Amazon is very important for sellers to optimize their product offerings, keep up with the ever-changing market dynamics on Amazon, and stay ahead of the competition.
More importantly, use your competitive analysis on Amazon to drive effective product campaigns. This way you can outperform your competitors by driving more visitors to your own product page and increasing the conversion rate. Visit our services page or contact us to get any service. You can find more information like this here.
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