Tips for Creating Amazon Listings That Convert on Mobile Devices
It’s no secret that mobile devices have revolutionized the way we shop, with more and more consumers using their smartphones and tablets to make purchases as well as to research products online. And it’s no wonder why: App usage continues to grow, and both retailers and social media platforms continue to make buying easier via mobile devices.
For these reasons, market research company Insider Intelligence predicts that more than 43% of online shoppers will purchase via mobile device this year—and that mobile may even become the preferred channel for online shopping within the next five years.
As the largest online retailer in the world, Amazon is where brands often go to not only showcase their products for easy purchase and fast shipping, but tap into the growing segment of shoppers that buy via mobile device.
In order to make the platform work to its potential though, brands must do a little work themselves to optimize for mobile. This is a manual task mostly focused on small optimizations while taking into consideration the automatic resizing that Amazon does for mobile.
Unfortunately, Premium A+ is the only major placement of content on Amazon that allows sellers to design separate versions for mobile and desktop. Everywhere else, sellers just have to design for desktop display with mobile performance in mind.
In this blog post, we'll offer tips for how to optimize the five key aspects of your Amazon presence so your brand can better attract and convert mobile shoppers.
1 - LISTING TITLE
One of the most important elements of your Amazon product listing is the title, as it’s what both mobile and desktop users see first when browsing your products. Here is what to keep in mind for mobile:
Keep it concise: Mobile users have limited screen space, so make sure your title is short and sweet. Think 50 characters or less, as titles are cut at that length on mobile.
Prioritize the key differentiator: The earlier the most important feature of your product is mentioned in the title, the better. A good place is right after the product name (or as close to it as possible, as Ruffwear has done with “Reflective and Padded Harness” in the example on the right) so that it is visible in search and therefore can help with your conversion rate.
2 - IMAGES
Images are another critical element of your Amazon product listing, especially for mobile shoppers who may be more visual in their browsing habits.
While Amazon does beta test different layouts on mobile, product images typically appear twice: once at the top of the listing that a customer must swipe through when they first load the page, and a second time as a stack of images after scrolling down past the “Add to Cart” section.
It is worth noting that images normally appear before feature-point bullets too, so it is very important to get this content element right. Here are some tips for optimizing your product images:
Use high-quality images: By that I mean ones that load quickly, are easy to view on small screens, and are high enough resolution to allow for the shopper to zoom in on details by pinching the image.
Go big—but be concise—with text: If you’re going to include text anywhere on an image, make sure it’s in a font size that’s easy to read and that it’s short and to the point. No mobile shopper wants to have to work harder than necessary when considering a purchase.
Put thought into the order of your images: Only seven product images (or six if you have a video) can be displayed on mobile devices compared to nine on desktop, so make sure you prioritize your images to account for that limitation. Of course, the first image always has to be of the product only, on a white background.
3 - BRAND STORY
Your brand story is an important part of your overall marketing strategy and can help differentiate your brand from the competition. This piece of creative shows up as a carousel of images under the “From the brand” section on mobile, just above the Premium A+ content.
Many brands built out Brand Story content when it first became available on Amazon—but most failed to see the ways in which it needed small details adjusted for mobile. Here are some tips for optimizing your brand story on Amazon:
Include introductory copy on the background image: The format of this kind of content includes a long background image that extends below the carousel of titles that float above. If you don’t write introductory text on the far left of this image, on mobile it will look blank and like something is missing. Always check the mobile preview before publishing to ensure you got the margins right.
Incorporate a swipe cue: Adding some kind of visual indicator (such as an arrow) tells shoppers where they can find more info. On desktop, shoppers must click the right arrows, while on mobile they must swipe, so use your creative copywriters to come up with some wording that fits both situations, as Nutcase has done with the example on the right.
4 - PREMIUM A+ CONTENT
Premium A+ content is an elevated and expanded version of Basic A+ content below the fold on an Amazon listing. It fills the space on the detail page more fully, pushing content like advertising out of the way, and allows for seven instead of five modules for more customer engagement.
What’s more, Premium A+ content gives you the ability to create the best mobile experience, as it allows you to create separate images for the mobile view. This can be a valuable tool for brands looking to stand out from the competition. Here are some tips for making the most of these mobile-friendly content modules:
Utilize video: With three different layouts to choose from for video banners, utilize motion to capture attention on mobile. After all, video is a medium that shoppers are accustomed to seeing.
Diversify your layout through the use of carousels: These interactive, Premium A+ modules allow you to design more content that can be easily swiped through for in-depth product education or brand-wide call-outs.
Capitalize on made-for-mobile image ratio and copy size: With so much of the listing being a desktop image shrunk down to fit a mobile device screen (leaving shoppers to squint), don’t miss out on these unique mobile-friendly image banners that can be specifically designed in the proper mobile ratios with big, bold copy to fit the tiny screen.
Add another layer of interaction: Unlike the highly templatized and rigid Basic A+ comparison chart, the three diverse layout options in Premium allow for not only desktop flexibility and customer engagement, but another layer of mobile interaction such as drop-down menus of metrics that pull up all relevant products in a shopper-friendly way.
5 - BRAND STORE
Finally, your brand store on Amazon is an extension of your brand and can help mobile shoppers discover more of your products all in one place. (See the Enzymedica example on the right.)
While shoppers mostly get to your store through advertising that leads them there, some may click through the hyperlinks above all your titles to “Visit the [Brand Name] Store.”
Here are some tips for optimizing your brand store for mobile:
Keep menus to a minimum: It’s tempting to copy the structure of your brand website and include all your products on your store, but we’ve found through years working with more than 700 partner brands that that is not worth the effort on Amazon. Instead, we recommend that you greatly limit the number of subpages you include because most of them will fall into a “More” menu on mobile—and the farther down that menu you go, the less traffic you’ll get.
Focus your attention on the homepage: Since you’re taking our advice and keeping the expanse of your store minimal, focus all your merchandising attention on the homepage and ensure all the most important products are highlighted towards the top, where mobile shoppers are most likely to find it.
Preview your content in mobile mode before publishing: This way, you can troubleshoot any mobile-specific issues without the risk of shoppers ever seeing them.
Be mindful of overusing smaller split tiles: They can stack up in mobile and create the need to do a lot of scrolling.
conclusion
Optimizing your Amazon presence for mobile shoppers is essential for driving sales and staying competitive in today's marketplace. By following these small but powerful optimization tips, you can give your customers an engaging and easy-to-follow experience that will eliminate frustration or confusion on mobile and make them want to digitally shop with you with greater regularity.
Netrush has been helping brands reach more mobile shoppers through optimized content for almost two decades. Contact us to learn more about one of the most critical aspects of selling on Amazon.
ABOUT THE AUTHORKathleen Burckhardt leads content strategy for Netrush’s brand partners and manages the editorial and strategic direction of creative on its studio team. She is the company’s in-house expert on content opportunities and limitations on Amazon, and possesses international experience in ecommerce strategy and cross-cultural communication—making the Swiss-American-Canadian a key member of the Netrush family. Connect with Kathleen.