Whether you are a vendor or brand-registered seller on Amazon, enhanced content – also called A+ – gives you the possibility to create more engaging and comprehensive product listings.
According to the platform, Amazon A+ Content can boost your sales with up to 10% on average, all through the help of multimedia content that adds a new dimension to an otherwise dull product page.
A+ Content can also help you educate your future customers about your product and brand.
In this article, we cover all you need to know about enhanced content, including pros and cons, optimization, and frequent rejection reasons.
What is Amazon A+ content?
Amazon A+ Content is enhanced content that includes pictures, videos, and a nice layout; three factors that can help boost your sales with about 3-10% on average, at least according to Amazon.
Not all sellers have the possibility to polish their product page with enhanced content. Indeed, this feature is reserved for brand-registered sellers and vendors.
Each category can access a different type of A+ Content. Vendors can use the enhanced marketing content (EMC) feature in their Seller Central account, whereas brand-registered sellers have the option to create enhanced brand content (EBC).
Enhanced Marketing Content
A feature reserved to a small elite of vendors, the EMC content can help you strengthen your listing with images, charts, videos, and even additional copy.
There are two types of EMC content, basic A+, which is free to use by all vendors, and Premium A+, an invite-only program designed exclusively for the biggest players on Amazon.
The main difference between the two is the number of modules you can choose from (12 A+ vs. 16 Premium A+), and the number of modules allowed per page, which is 5 for the A+ pages, and 7 for the Premium A+.
In each case, you can choose to build the content yourself, either in-house or with the help of a professional agency, or ask Amazon to choose the design, layout, and build the page for you.
Enhanced Brand Content
Designed for sellers registered in Amazon’s brand registry, EBC allows you to enhance the basic description and dull product listing.
Private label sellers won’t have the same customization options vendors have.
In fact, you will be able to choose from 5 custom templates, or you’ll be able to create your own template, using up to seven modules per page. These must include your logo, a header image, product description, as well as product features.
Currently, you won’t have to pay anything to create enhanced content, but this doesn’t mean that creating it is free.
Whether you plan to use your in-house copywriters and photographers or hire a firm, you will have to account for the content production costs.
With this in mind, is it really worth it to create an A+ page? Have a look at its main advantages and drawbacks.
The Advantages of Amazon A+ Content
A+ content comes with a wealth of advantages, including:
- Increased brand awareness. A+ content gives you the possibility to expand the context and add a story to your product. You’ll have a chance to talk about your brand, product choice, and how you created it.
- Boost conversions and sales. Background and context can determine your visitor to transform into a customer. Enhanced content helps buyers make a decision, and in most cases, it helps to increase sales by up to 10%.
- A better understanding of the product. By providing detailed descriptions and realistic expectations of products, your customers will unlikely to give you a bad review or return the product, which ultimately can increase your seller rank and the ability to win the Buy Box.
- Enhances your competitiveness. More product details, a more comprehensive description, and background about your history and brand will make you look more competitive than other sellers.
- Indexed by Amazon. What this means is that shoppers can use the search bar in a Google-similar fashion to find your product, as shown in the image below. In our example, a shopper looking for a Nintendo Switch searches the words “Double-injected rubber grips” to find a product that contains these words in the description. The item will show up in the searching result even it doesn’t contain the words in its title or keywords part.
The Disadvantages of Amazon A+ Content
While both vendors and brand-registered sellers can benefit from using A+ content, each category may also face a few drawbacks.
- It is only available for a small elite of merchants invited by Amazon to join the Amazon Vendor Central program.
- While the A+ content is free, the Premium version can cost you as much as $500-$1500 per listing, sometimes even more.
- If you decide to invest, you have no guarantees that your enhanced listing will work or that it will bring you the expected results.
- It is only available for brand-registered Amazon sellers. If you didn’t join Amazon’s brand registry or are not selling private label products, you won’t be able to create A+ content.
- The choice of modules is quite limited. You will get five basic templates or the possibility to create your own, though.
- Enhanced brand content is not indexed by Amazon. Buyers are not able to search for your items by any words describing in the product page.
- Enhanced brand content is subject to Amazon’s control and approval. Listings are often rejected, which means delays in publishing your listing.
How to Make the Most of Enhanced Content
Anyone who can create Amazon A+ content can create such content for every item they sell.
However, even if the platform doesn’t charge you anything for the content, you will still have to pay someone to create it.
Building an A+ strategy, therefore, is essential if you don’t want to spend more than you’re earning. You should create A+ content for the following kinds of products you sell to achieve the best results:
- High-value Goods. These are your top-selling products, the ones that bring you the most profit. If they are already bestsellers in your own classification, A+ content can enhance sales even more.
- Promotional Goods. Whether it’s Black Friday, Christmas, or you want to run a promotion, make sure you create A+ content for those items.
- Complex or new Goods. If your product is new, technologically advanced, or too complicated for consumers to understand immediately, A+ content can give them all the necessary explanations.
- Brand signature Goods. Are you producing something that’s unique to your brand? Make an A+ listing for it to highlight the product’s true value.
- High return or poor review Goods. Lastly, build A+ content for those items that have a high return rate or bad reviews due to the lack of adequate product information.
Once you’ve planned your strategy, create at least two pages for each product; you will have to run an AB test with different copy variants and module arrangements to see which one performs better.
Amazon A+ Page Services
Running a business is different from writing copy or arranging listing modules. If you’re not an experienced copywriter, the chances to create winning A+ content are minimal.
Luckily, there are many online services and agencies that specialize in helping Amazon sellers boost their income through content.
Here is a list of the most popular:
1. CPC Strategy
CPC Strategy is an online agency offering marketing and brand enhancement services to Amazon sellers and not only.
Their services include the creation of both EBC and EMC, from content direction and strategy creation to design and implementation.
However, you will have to produce the content yourself.
Price: Contact for a quote
2. AMZ One Step
If you’d rather opt for an all-around service, so you can sit back and relax while someone else creating your Amazon A+ content listing, AMZ One Step could be a great choice.
All you have to do is buy a package, ship your product, then review the listing and ask for a revision if necessary.
The service includes a professional design developed to convert.
Price: $595
Amazon EBC Service is another online agency specialized in making your Amazon profile shine.
Standing out thanks to their competitive prices, Amazon EBC Service offers image editing and content creation, alongside fast completion of work.
You can opt to create your content based on an Amazon template or have a custom design created from scratch, depending on your budget.
Price: from $50
4. One Box Hub
From creating your template to writing a touching brand story and engaging product description, image creation, and content uploading, One Box Hub has got you covered whether it’s EBC or A+ content.
Prices vary depending on how many products you have.
Price: from $49.99
Seller’s Choice is another online service specialized in the production of enhanced content.
To achieve this, the agency utilizes impactful imagery, researched content, infographics, and call-outs created to determine your visitors to click Buy Now.
Price: Contact for a quote
6. AMAZOWL
While Amazowl won’t create your A+ content, they provide consulting services to sellers who decide to build in-house content.
If you feel like you need help – or a quote – use the online form to get in touch.
Price: Contact for a quote
Amazon A+ Content Restrictions
Why my application of A+ content has been rejected? Perhaps the most frequent question asked by those who try to get their enhanced listing approved.
Typically, Amazon processes all listing requests in up to 7 business days, and it can either approve or reject your content. It is rare to get the listing approved immediately, especially if you decided to create it yourself.
Most Common Rejection Reasons
If your application has been rejected, you should check the following reasons to solve the issue:
- Lack of your brand’s logo. It is a required element for the A+ Content.
- Poor quality images. All pictures used for A+ listings must be high resolution.
- Duplicate pictures. Your customers don’t want to see the same angle of your product twice. Bring a new perspective.
- Details on pictures that look like Amazon’s logo. Use your own logo only, and make sure it doesn’t look like Amazon’s.
- You included company contact information in your listing. While this is a common mistake, it is forbidden to share company information or contact details in your listing.
- Your A+ content includes the popular ‘satisfaction guarantee’ or ‘money back’ baits.
- Your listing includes links that lead to other pages on or outside Amazon.
- Your listing includes potentially offensive content. When writing your content, remember that you can have potential shoppers from different backgrounds and walks of life, so keep it neutral.
- The content is excessively propagandistic. Your product might be the most awesome on the market, but that’s just your opinion. Keep your content informative and let clients praise the product’s qualities through reviews.
- Your content includes positive customer reviews. Shoppers on Amazon will read the reviews themselves, and the platform will penalize you for including them in your listing, by rejecting it.
What Should I Do if My Application Got Rejected?
If your listing was rejected, the first step is to check it and make sure it has a decent score. If the score is too low, rewrite the entire content.
Next, check the SKU or ASIN of the product and make sure it is registered under your brand.
Many sellers forget to check this detail before submitting an A+ Content listing, which leads to automatic rejection.
Once you ensured that your listing and products are okay, open a case with Amazon and ask for a specific solution. You will receive feedback and advice on potential ways to solve the issue.
Conclusion
Amazon A+ Content, in its two forms for brand-registered sellers and vendors, is a powerful tool to use to build customer trust, drive conversions and sales, and ultimately enhance your customer retention.
While you could create the content yourself, paying for professional services is often a wiser decision.
You’ll minimize the chances of having the listing rejected and will maximize your chances to boost your income through targeted content created to engage and convert.
Whatever path you choose, if you have the possibility to create enhanced content, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity of building your brand identity on Amazon.
You may also like:
Amazon Enhanced Brand Content 101
Amazon Product Listing Services Complete Guide
Best Amazon Listing Optimization Guide for Sellers
Comprehensive Guide to Amazon SEO: Optimize Amazon Listings
