How to Get an Amazon’s Choice Badge
January 27, 2021
“Which one do I buy?”
This question plagues every customer who visits the Amazon marketplace to do some product research. From a simple search query, you’re suddenly hit with pages and pages of recommendations.
Deciding which one is the best bang for your buck is like scrolling through Netflix. To make it easier for you, the retail giant recommends products with the Amazon’s Choice badge to make your purchase easier.
FBA sellers can leverage the Amazon’s Choice badge to increase their sales and grow their business. It’s differentiated from the Bestseller badge that’s awarded based on a SKU’s volume of sales and gives you a chance to create an established brand, standing toe-to-toe with household brand names in the same subcategories that your FBA store sells in. First, let’s see what an Amazon’s Choice badge looks like and explore why FBA sellers benefit from their products receiving one.
What is the Amazon’s Choice Badge?
You’d be forgiven if you’ve never noticed what an Amazon’s Choice badge looks like since product listing pages are often flooded with a multitude of symbols and icons that don’t seem relevant to you as a customer.
The badge is a blue strip with “Amazon’s Choice” in white and orange text that can be found on a product listing page, underneath the average rating. The label is a coveted achievement for Amazon sellers because it shows that their product has been personally recommended by Amazon!
It’s like winning an Oscar based on merit over the number of sales. Typically, e-commerce marketplaces will recommend the best-selling products when customers start their product search. Instead of relying on a popularity contest, though, the Amazon’s Choice label is different. The purpose of the badge is to recommend different products to customers who have never visited a category on the Amazon marketplace before.
Image 1: Bestsellers and Amazon’s Choice products are shown immediately after sponsored products.
After sponsored ads, products with the Amazon’s Choice badge are the first products shown in search results as seen in the above image. It’s a powerful trust indicator that can potentially increase sales for FBA sellers.
So, how does a seller receive this label on their products? Let’s explore the different ways to get the Amazon’s Choice badge.
How to Get an Amazon’s Choice Badge
It’s unclear how Amazon’s algorithm chooses which products receive the Amazon’s Choice badge.
Image 2: What an Amazon Choice badge looks like in a product listing.
As you can see from the above Garmin watch listing, there are a lot of metrics on display indicating that it’s a pretty good product.
Sellers and analysts have found that earning the Amazon’s Choice badge is a combination of product listing optimization, brand strength, and customer satisfaction. Of course, sales also matter but are not the most important factor.
Perfect Your Keywords
Perhaps the most important metric for the badge is also the most abstract. Amazon’s Choice used to rely solely on keyword searches. Since Amazon amended their description on how to earn the badge in vague terms, sellers who’ve received the label agree that products with the most relevant keywords are more likely to earn the Amazon’s Choice label.
Focus on specific keywords that increase the chances of customers finding your products. Sellers should be aware that search terms with similar meanings could lead to different pages of results and Amazon recommending different items. CNET discovered that how a customer searches can also affect whether your product is given the Amazon’s Choice badge.
To increase the chance of your products appearing for a search query, consider ranking for long-tail keywords. Ideally, aim to rank for keywords that are related to a problem your product can help solve.
However, avoid keyword stuffing in the listing, as Amazon can penalize you for it and lower your product’s visibility.
There is additional flexibility to include additional keywords on the backend in your Amazon Seller Central account. Understanding how to optimize your storefront and product listings for Amazon SEO can increase your chances of earning the Amazon’s Choice badge.
Fully Optimize Your Listing Page
Besides including the most suitable keywords in your product listings, how you present the information can improve the click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate from search to purchase.
While making sure your product listing descriptions are clear, take care that you’re complying with Amazon’s guidelines. For example, the listing’s title should be relevant and accurately reflect what the product is.
You have some degree of freedom in how you write the copy as long as you adhere to these requirements. Some sellers have found success in focusing on the order of how they present the information, such as inserting the brand name first followed by the product name.
Take full advantage of using bullet points in the product description to convey its benefits. On top of explaining how the product will help the customer in a nutshell, the bullet points are also important for organic searches on Amazon since they are indexed.
Another feature to pay attention to is images. You can upload up to nine images in which the product must be against a white background. Similarly to the best practices for listing titles, make sure all of the images are informative and relevant to the product.
High Customer Rating
A high customer rating is a sign of authenticity and reflects its value as a solution to a problem. While your product might not be the best-seller in its subcategory, gathering positive reviews with high ratings increases the likelihood of being recommended as an Amazon’s Choice product.
While there’s no guarantee of earning a high customer rating after a purchase, you can improve your chances by providing excellent customer service. Use the Amazon Buyer-Seller messaging service to manage expectations by communicating what the timeline of a delivery will be.
If an order was fulfilled seamlessly but no feedback was given, consider requesting feedback through the messaging service. A satisfied customer who had a great experience with your store is more likely to leave feedback when asked compared to someone who found the service to be substandard.
Healthy Inventory Levels
Managing inventory levels for an FBA store can make or break your brand’s reputation. Customers are much more likely to buy a competing product if their original choice is shown to be out of stock.
Staying on top of how much inventory you have and ensuring you have enough stock to fulfill customers’ orders avoids out-of-stock situations so you don’t lose customers. If you’ve run out of available stock to fulfill orders but more inventory is on the way, you can still offer backorders so you don’t lose sales.
Maintaining health inventory levels help you forecast inventory levels and avoid long-term storage fees in FBA warehouses if you have stock older than six months.
Having enough stock to fulfill orders is especially crucial during peak seasons. To keep up with anticipated demand, consider diversifying your suppliers so you have more choice in sourcing.
Make Sure You’re Prime-Eligible
Previously, hovering over the Amazon’s Choice badge showed a description that stated, “products need to be available to ship immediately and will arrive within two days of ordering.”
While this description has now been removed, sellers have realized that having Prime eligibility directly correlates with a product receiving an Amazon’s Choice badge. The good news is that if you’re an FBA seller, you’re automatically eligible for Amazon Prime and can take advantage of next-day delivery.
Competitive Pricing
Amazon’s Choice products need to be “well-priced products.”
This vague definition leaves many sellers scratching their heads. But naturally, online retailers are in a constant battle to win a customer’s business through pricing.
To improve your brand’s positioning through competitive pricing, use repricing software to make sure your products aren’t too far from the market standard.
Low Return Rate
The return rate level is calculated and compared by Amazon to other products in the same subcategory.
Setting a high level of quality control for your entire product range will keep your return rate low over time. To avoid a rising return rate, secure samples from a manufacturer before ordering from them for the first time.
If there are any issues with products in the future due to unexpected issues with production, you can offer exchanges or provide customer service for troubleshooting where appropriate.
Can You Request an Amazon’s Choice Badge for Your Product?
The simple answer is no. As far as we know, Amazon sellers can’t enroll in a program or a waiting list to be considered for Amazon’s Choice label. There used to be instructions that indicated selection criteria and how you can increase your chances of gaining the Amazon’s Choice badge for your products.
Currently, the general consensus is that the badge allocation depends on an algorithm that likely takes several factors into account. Despite the unclear qualifying conditions to earn the badge, it’s highly recommended to dedicate time and resources to improve your listing as described above in pursuit of your products one day being awarded Amazon’s Choice.
The Origins of the Amazon’s Choice Badge
The Amazon’s Choice label was first launched in 2015 to improve the functionality of Amazon’s smart speaker Echo with its virtual voice recognition AI assistant, Alexa. Customers could order products using a very simple set of commands.
Since there was a huge volume of products to sift through, the Amazon’s Choice badge was designed to streamline the process of ordering through Alexa. If you asked Alexa to buy an item and you didn’t have a purchase history for items in that subcategory, it would suggest an Amazon’s Choice item in its recommendations. Now, Amazon’s Choice is used to filter recommended items for people browsing a category or subcategory for the first time on desktop or mobile as well.
The Latest News on the Amazon’s Choice Badge
Amazon has kept relatively quiet on how the badge is awarded. For a short while, there were concrete recommendations that Amazon itself provided on how to earn an Amazon Choice badge.
Now, hovering your cursor over the badge only shows the following text: “Amazon’s Choice recommends highly rated and well-priced products.”
In 2018, the text also included a mention of Amazon Prime: “Amazon’s Choice recommends highly rated, well-priced products available to ship immediately.”
No further information or news has been provided by Amazon concerning the badge, but it looks like it’s here to stay as a measure of quality.
How Is it Different from Other Badges?
FBA sellers can also earn the Bestseller badge for their products. As the name indicates, the Bestseller Badge is given to products with the highest sales in its subcategories compared to other products. Some sellers suggest that it’s slightly easier to game the system to receive this badge if you choose the right niche.
As mentioned earlier, receiving the Amazon’s Choice badge is considered a more difficult achievement since the badge is more dependent on keywords and brand strength than on sales volume alone.
The Benefits of the Amazon’s Choice Badge
According to Oberlo, over 54% of product searches start on the Amazon marketplace. A customer is more likely to purchase a product shown immediately in their search for convenience.
Getting the Amazon’s Choice badge can also increase sales if your products’ popularity and sales volume coincide with certain seasons and festivities. The label helps your product appear first in suggestions for Amazon’s Gifts For Everyone.
Receiving the recommendation also increases the chances of winning the Buy Box (which is also another mystery!).
Ultimately, the badge is a stamp of approval from the marketplace that instills trust in consumers. The label is intended to narrow the customer’s choice and make it easier for them to buy the best product they are looking for.
And as Amazon’s Choice was originally created to make purchases through smart speakers easier, the smart speaker trend continues to grow. According to eMarketer, over 26% of internet users in the US use smart speakers, and more are expected to have one in their house in the coming years.
The biggest benefit of smart speakers is convenience. Customers can potentially manage most functions in the house through voice control. Amazon’s Choice products save potential customers time from long-winded searches and can be bought in a matter of minutes after a simple question like “Alexa, buy a yoga mat.”
Receiving the badge makes it easier for customers to buy quality products with confidence. So, what does Amazon’s Choice mean if you’re selling an Amazon FBA business or intend to buy one?
The Amazon’s Choice Badge Provides Brand Equity
If you’re thinking about selling your FBA store, having an Amazon’s Choice badge on any of your products can improve your business’s valuation. While sales performance is one metric we take into consideration during the valuation process, brand reputability also plays a part in calculating the listing price.
A product with an Amazon’s Choice badge indicates that it’s recognized as a high-performing product in its subcategory. It’s even better if your best-selling SKU receives the label, but this can be hard to achieve in a short period of time.
Attempting to increase your products’ chances of getting the Amazon’s Choice badge is recommended. Even if none of them receive the label, your FBA store will still benefit overall from well-optimized product listings and improved operations.
For Buyers: Deciding on Your Strategy
If you’re looking to buy an Amazon FBA business, the importance of an Amazon’s Choice badge depends on your goals.
If you’re looking for a hands-off, turnkey business, a listing where the top-selling SKUs have the Amazon’s Choice label could be a great acquisition opportunity since the badge indicates that inventory levels are stable, return rates are low, and customers are happy with the product.
This type of acquisition strategy is more relevant if you match the Newbie Norm or Lifestyle Larry buyer personas.
If you’re more like a Flipper Fred, then the badge doesn’t matter as much since you’re probably looking for distressed assets to fix and flip.
Either way, consider that it’s much easier to buy an Amazon FBA business than to start one from scratch.
The Power of Recommendation
Being part of Amazon’s Choice products is a great achievement no matter what niche an FBA business is in.
If you’re a seller, it’s a worthwhile badge to unlock and is available for any product. Getting the Amazon’s Choice label can give smaller brands equal footing with larger brands, and we recommended that all FBA sellers try to follow the guidelines outlined in this article to receive the badge.
You’ll be recognized for your product’s quality and your brand’s reputation instead of merely how many sales you’ve made.
Earning the Bestseller badge can be your next goal after you’ve retained the Amazon’s Choice badge.
