Amazon Best Sellers Rank: What You Need to Know
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that there’s an Amazon Best Sellers Rank (BSR) in your product listings. You’ll find this in the product description, and it’s a good indicator of how well the item is selling. Contrary to what most people think, you don’t need to sell thousands of products to obtain a Best Sellers Rank. All you need is a single sale, and you can get a ranking to appear in your product description.
But what exactly does this ranking mean? And why should you even care about it in the first place? In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about the Amazon Best Sellers Rank so that you can get a better understanding of how it works.
What is the Amazon Best Sellers Rank?
Simply put, the Amazon Best Sellers Rank is a number that indicates how well your product is selling in a specific category. The lower the number, the more sales the product has. For example, a product ranked #5 in the Sports and Outdoors category will have higher sales than one listed at #100 or above.
It’s a pretty straightforward ranking system that every Amazon seller should closely monitor to ensure their products reach their sales potential. There are instances where a product will have more than one BSR, especially if the seller lists it in multiple categories. One thing to note is that there’s no fixed BSR as the ranking fluctuates depending on the product’s sales.
So, why should you even care about this particular number? For one, you can analyze your sales numbers and see how well you stack up against your competition. Two, you can identify which products have high sales potential and which ones don’t. By carefully analyzing the BSR of your listings, you can make the necessary adjustments to ensure consistent revenue.
How does Amazon calculate the product rankings?
Amazon has yet to reveal its Best Sellers Rank criteria, but we know they base it on recent and historical sales. Other factors that can influence the overall numbers are:
- Promotions and price alterations
- Performance against similar products
- Units sold per hour
The rankings are subject to change without prior notice. For example, if your product sells 20 units and your competitor manages to sell 50, their Best Sellers Rank will be lower than yours. Of course, it takes a combination of two or more of these factors to see a significant change in the product rankings, so it’s worth monitoring your sales numbers if you want to maintain a lower rank.
One thing that Amazon has built into its algorithm is the product’s potential success. Whenever Amazon thinks that a new product will have massive sales, it’ll lower the listing’s BSR than an older product with more sales. By doing this, Amazon puts more recent and innovative products at the front line since they believe those listings cater to the wants/needs of the consumers better than older products.
Is it possible to track your Amazon Best Sellers Rank?
Yes, there are a couple of tools available to track your Amazon Best Sellers Rank. Tools like Junglescout, AMZ Insight, Datahawk, and Algopix provide in-depth information on the level of competition, the demand for the product, how your product is performing, and more. Product ranking tools are useful for leveraging the Amazon Best Sellers Rank to help you generate more sales from your listings.
Some of you may be wondering what’s a good ranking to target? Well, your goals may differ depending on the category of your products. For example, a BSR of #1,000 in the Electronics category is good compared to a #1,000 ranking in the Tools and Home Improvement category since the latter has slow-moving inventory.
With millions of products available on Amazon, a realistic ranking would be anywhere from #10,000 and below. For some, these numbers can generate an average of 5-10 sales a day, and if you can achieve a lower ranking than these numbers, then great! If not, you need to analyze the numbers and figure out how to put your products in the best position to succeed.
Is the Amazon Best Sellers Rank related to your organic rank?
Not directly. Even if you achieve a low BSR, that doesn’t mean your listings are well-optimized for organic search. You have to nail down your keyword research so that they appear competitively on the search engine results page (SERPS). While a Best Sellers Rank will tell you about a product’s sales potential, it won’t let you know how well you’re ranking for specific keywords.
To achieve a high organic ranking on Amazon, you need to optimize your product listings. By that, we mean using relevant keywords in your product description, bullet points, title, and more. You can also use Amazon listing optimization tools to refine your listings and make sure they appear with relevant search terms.
But while your Amazon Best Sellers Rank and organic ranking are different, they are somewhat tied to each other. A well-optimized listing enhances product visibility and ensures your products reach the right audience. The result is your products end up selling more, and you get to achieve a lower BSR.
It’s rare for a product to rank low in BSR and have terrible organic rankings, so you need to ensure these two components work harmoniously together. We suggest prioritizing your organic rank before analyzing your BSR numbers. That way, you can maintain an advantage over your competitors before considering your Amazon Best Sellers Rank.
How to use the Amazon Best Sellers Rank to your advantage
As we’ve mentioned previously, your BSR ranking is a good indicator of your product’s selling potential. Now, how can you use the Amazon Best Sellers rank to generate consistent revenue and maintain healthy profit margins? There are three ways to achieve this:
1. Identify which products to sell
One of the biggest challenges Amazon sellers face when starting an e-commerce business is figuring out the right products to sell. You want to make sure that the products you choose are profitable enough to sustain your business, and one way to determine this is by analyzing your Best Sellers Rank.
The last thing you want is to create a listing for a product with little to no demand. So, make sure to use product ranking tools to help identify which items to sell and which ones to drop.
2. Keep an eye on your competitors
It’s not just your Amazon Best Sellers Rank that you should keep an eye on, but your competitors as well. Please look at other sellers and see how well their products perform. If their BSR is higher than yours, you need to make adjustments like optimizing your listing, doing extensive keyword research, and writing compelling copy to boost your sales rankings.
To get a good feel of which products sell the most on Amazon, click on the ‘Best Sellers List,’ All of the top products will appear. Do note that some products will achieve lower rankings during seasonal promotions, thus boosting their position for some time.
Also, you want to compare your listings to your competitors and see what makes their products sell better. Do they use clearer, higher-quality images than you? Or do they incorporate well-made videos into their listings? Take notes and improve your listings to bump up your BSR numbers.
3. Be competitive with your pricing
Amazon is a competitive marketplace, and often customers will lean more towards a product that they think offers the most value. You want to set your prices competitively in a way that you maintain healthy profits while still undercutting your competitors. What you want to do is look at your competition whose BSR is higher than you and look for ways to gain a price advantage over their products.
Once you make the price adjustments, make sure to track your Amazon Best Sellers Rank. If you see a noticeable change in your rankings, you’ve successfully set a competitive price for your products! Of course, product pricing isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it thing as the Amazon landscape is constantly changing. Keep monitoring your BSR numbers and adjust your prices accordingly.
In summary
There’s more to the Amazon Best Sellers Rank than just an indicator of product sales. When you analyze the numbers carefully, you’ll gain valuable information that you can use to your advantage. If you want to generate consistent revenue and maximize the sales potential of your products, then you should keep track of your BSR values.
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