How To Master Amazon Sales Rank (And Improve Sales)
Updated on September 7, 2023
Succeeding on Amazon can be a seemingly complex task. When you add in the language and concepts of the platform, everything from SKUs to PPC, there are enough acronyms to make you dizzy.
One of the most important acronyms is BSR (best sellers rank), also known as Amazon Sales Rank. It’s a metric Amazon sellers live and die by since it can have a massive impact on the perception of a product’s value and popularity on Amazon.
Understanding BSR is an important step in setting yourself up for a strong Amazon business. Whether you are trying to launch new products or optimize your product listings to move them to the top of the search results, we’ll go over the building blocks of mastering Amazon Sales Rank.
What is Amazon Sales Rank?
Amazon Sales Rank is the quick messaging around “who’s who” on Amazon. It’s like a grade that indicates how well a product is selling within its category or sub-category. More often than not, a product may rank better in its specific category than in a generalized category (for example, a product might rank best in hiking boots versus a general shoe category).
The specificity of the rankings helps people find exactly what they are looking for. If a product is ranked with a low number, let’s say #1 or #2 in the category, that means it is a best-selling product. The BSR can range up to over a million, showing shoppers how popular (or unpopular) a product is. The higher the number, the lower the sales.
A product can have multiple BSRs depending on the categories it’s been tagged in. A product may appear under “outdoor furniture” and have a ranking of 2500 yet receive a higher ranking in another category like “pet supplies.” This is why the category is key for BSR.
In certain categories with fierce competition, it’s difficult to get to the top of the category. When you are first starting out, it might seem impossible, but trying to appear at the top of the category should be the gold standard because it can greatly improve sales. The way to do this is to understand your category and sub-category (or as some people call it, niche) and strategize the best ways to get to the top.
How is BSR calculated?
Amazon SEO is a bit of a black box. No one really understands Amazon’s inner workings, including its algorithm. Amazon doesn’t reveal the algorithm that selects the Amazon best seller so we’re all making our best educated guesses as to what makes it tick.
Just to keep tensions and mystery high, your Amazon sales ranking can fluctuate wildly as it updates hour by hour. This is relevant for those teetering near the top rank in the category, and it can cause an emotional rollercoaster if you’re not careful.
BSR is widely understood to be an indicator of sales health. While these are only educated guesses, here are the top criteria that impact BSR:
- Sales (current and historical sales)
- Product competition (similar products)
- Change in price (taking into account any promotions or sales)
Ultimately, you need consistent sales to climb onto the best sellers list. This will help your sales history—your track record—which builds a picture of your sales performance for Amazon. With these metrics in place, Amazon has more to build off of and can more accurately predict your amazon sales rank.
6 Tips to Increase Your BSR
Beyond using BSR to inform your product research, here are some of the top ways to get BSR to work to your advantage.
Use FBA
It’s believed that using Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA), Amazon’s in-house product fulfillment and logistics center can help your BSR because your Amazon products have a higher likelihood of smooth fulfillment and can qualify for Amazon Prime shipping.
Competitive pricing
Customers always want the best price for their products, so it’s important to use competitive pricing when trying to win the buy box, the part of the page containing the “Add to Cart” button.
Staying on top of product pricing is easier than ever thanks to repricing software, which can be used to beat the competition. Consider playing with the prices (within reason), and take advantage of Prime delivery to help boost sales.
Get To The Point
Your product listings need serious optimization if you want to get to the top of the keyword rankings.
Ensure that your product descriptions have been edited for accuracy and position your product in its best light. Focus on the benefits of your product in bullet points so the descriptions are concise and catchy.
Gather Positive Reviews
Great reviews are the most valuable commodity in the ecommerce world. Securing product reviews should be a top priority, as they signal trust to consumers and lead to increased sales.
Not every customer leaves a review, so no matter how well your product is selling you’ll need to put a bit of extra work into sourcing reviews. There are many different ways to get Amazon reviews. One way is to reach out to customers through the Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging Service.
Utilize Amazon A+ Content
Amazon may further reward Amazon listings that use their native tools to fully customize and design product pages. Amazon A+ content is a powerful tool for establishing visual branding materials and making your products cohesive behind a brand name.
Make your visuals and videos clear, professional, and eye-catching as well as complementary to the listing copy. Your visuals should help customers envision themselves using the product and help ensure the product sells.
In addition, it is crucial to differentiate the images if you’re competing against hundreds of products that are similar to what you are selling.
Improve Product Sales
Your number of sales directly impacts your BSR, so it’s important to create the most sales opportunities possible.
To start moving toward the top of the product category, introduce cross-selling opportunities between listings or offer discounted bundles. Seasonality can impact BSR, so pricing products according to the season and offering special discounts can help boost sales.
To get the word out about pricing changes, use paid ads to increase exposure. Or, you can use off-Amazon sources, like other Amazon Associates sites listing similar products, to list your product and drive traffic to listings.
Taking Advantage of Amazon Best Sellers Rank
Don’t leave your success on Amazon just to your BSR. Yes, BSR increases your product’s visibility, and making sales is a core part of building a successful business, but there is always room to do more.
Building a real brand means you are building something for the future. You can leverage the Amazon Flywheel to build a better brand, which in turn becomes a tangible asset. When you’ve grown your brand into an online business asset, that means you’ve got a chance to turn your business into a profitable exit. That’s why it helps to think beyond the hour-by-hour numbers of BSR and plan for a future that could turn into six or seven figures of upfront cash from a sale.
If you’re interested in cashing out on your Amazon FBA business, you can get started here. To see what kinds of exits other Amazon businesses are securing, make sure to check out our marketplace.
