Amazon-Best-Sellers-Rank

Amazon Best Sellers Rank 101:  Definition, Tips and Improvement

As an Amazon seller, your world is all about sales – finding them, making them…..and measuring them.

What is Amazon Best Sellers Rank?

Amazon measures sales of any given product with a Best Seller Rank. Although, historically, the term Best Seller has been associated with blockbuster novels, on Amazon it is applicable to any and all items.

Look up any product on Amazon, scroll down to the Product Details section and you’ll see the words “Amazon Bestseller Rank.”

Updated hourly, this figure tells users where the product stands in comparison to similar products and takes into account not just recent sales but also historical sales data.

The top Amazon rank is #1 which means that that particular product has sold more, in that territory, than any other comparative product.

Although reaching #1 is an ambition for many, it’s often an unrealistic one due to the thousands of products on Amazon within any given category.

The world of Amazon Best Seller Ranking is complex and one that takes a little getting to grips with – for example, although the ranking is, for the most part, based on recent and historic sales, that’s not quite the whole story.

Amazon also uses predictive features which make reasonable assumptions about a new product’s performance.

This means that a brand new product, such as a new novel by Stephen King, may have a higher ranking than a similar product which has more accumulated sales.

10 Things You Need To Know About Amazon BSR Calculation

Although understanding Amazon Best Seller Ranking can take some getting used to, it’s worth it, in the long run, to understand what it means – and where your product stands.

We’ve put together our top tips for navigating this tricky area of understanding selling on Amazon.

  • New listings placed on Amazon will generally receive their first Best Selling Rank within three hours of a sale being confirmed and payment being received.  For most products, this will tend to be a low ranking which will usually increase dependent on sales.
  • BSR is calculated by comparing the sales of a product to other similar or identical products – this is why it is important to make sure that a product is listed within the correct category.
  • Amazon Best Seller Ranking is calculated and updated by Amazon’s system every hour for every product.  You can see this for yourself by looking at a product’s BSR and then refreshing the page an hour or so later.
  • Amazon uses a form of predictive BSR for products which can be reasonably expected to sell large quantities such as the DVD of a massively successful blockbuster film or a novel by a bestselling author and so, these items will display a higher BSR from the moment of listing.
  • Amazon’s BSR calculations are based on recent and historic sales but with an emphasis on recent sales.
  • Products with similar Amazon BSRs may have radically different sales figures due to a number of factors such as historical sales, predictive BSR, and how many competitive products are out there.
  • Amazon Best Seller Ranking is calculated by order and by unit – this means that one order for 1000 units is classed as one order and will have the same BSR impact as an order for just one unit of the same product.
  • The sales + BSR equation is known as the ‘conversion rate’ and you will see this term used in many Amazon documents.
  • Some products listed on Amazon are not subject to BSR such as grocery items and items with unspecific or vague keywords.  In these cases, sales will show in the parent ASIN instead.
  • BSR is fluid and constantly changing.  Due to the massive number of products on Amazon which are all selling at different rates, the BSR of a product can fluctuate by thousands within a short space of time.

The above is an indication of how Amazon Best Seller Ranking is calculated and, the different factors involved.

When first listing a product on Amazon you may find yourself a little disappointed with its performance in terms of BSR and, later in this article, we’ll share a few tips to help you to improve this.

How Important is Amazon Best Sellers Rank?

For an Amazon seller, getting to know your way around Amazon Bestseller Ranking is vital in helping you to choose which products to buy and sell.

The Amazon Best Seller Rank is an indication of how well that product sells – and how well it will sell for you!

For your own sales on Amazon, BSR is also important – many people don’t have the time or inclination to sift through a lot of product reviews and so choose, instead, to use the BSR as a measure of the product’s popularity/effectiveness.

Although there are those who see BSR as no more than a vanity thing, it can have a very real effect on the sales of your product.

There are a large number of factors which directly and indirectly affect a product’s BSR including complete sales history, recent sales figures, pricing and repricing, and, of course marketing – the more you spend on advertising your product, the more you are likely to sell.

3 Tools to Improve Your Amazon Best Sellers Rank

Some unscrupulous Amazon sellers attempt to improve their product’s BSR by hijacking or ‘piggybacking’ other products.

Although not prohibited by Amazon, the practice is thought to be dishonest and is generally discouraged.

There are, however, a number of ways in which you can improve the BSR for a product using one of the following tools.

1. Informed

Informed.co is a handy tool which allows users to automate the pricing of a product on Amazon.

Using actionable insights and algorithms, New York City based Informed.co compares prices on Amazon, eBay and Walmart and adjusts the price of your product accordingly, meaning that your product is always priced competitively.

Informed.co offers three different packages for Amazon sellers to suit every level of seller.  The Basic Package at $100 per month, offers continuous repricing of up to 250 product listings, Amazon and eBay marketplaces and strategies and support.

At $150 per month, the Premium Package provides repricing for up to 5000 product listings and, the Enterprise Package at $200 per month allows up to 10,000 product listings and unlimited marketplaces, including Walmart.  Informed.co offers a free trial on the Basic Package.

2. AMZFinder

AMZFinder

The ever-popular AMZFinder is all about the reviews.  Amazon product reviews are very much a factor in the product’s BSR and, therefore, it’s a success.

A product review tells prospective customers what to expect from the product – and whether or not to buy it.  Having said that, getting and keeping positive product reviews is one of the most important aspects of Amazon selling.

Occasionally a product will receive an unfair negative review which the buyer has posted without first trying to solve the issue with the seller.

AMZFinder, from the mighty AMZ family, is an Amazon seller tool that monitors and matches reviews as well as enabling sellers to contact buyers directly in order to request the removal of negative reviews for a product.

Although AMZFinder is unable to actually delete a bad review, it gives users access to the latest review updates and quick reply to comments in order to open up communication between seller and buyer.

AMZFinder is available in six plan options beginning with $49.00 a month which covers the feedback request system and reviews monitor system. You can check the detailed info of AMZFinder from HERE.

3. AMZDiscover

AMZDiscover get reviewer information

Another ‘AMZing’ tool for Amazon sellers is AMZDiscover and, like AMZFinder, it’s all about the reviews – or more accurately, the reviewers!

AMZDiscover allows Amazon sellers to gain reviews for their products by collecting reviewers from similar ones.

This clever little search engine allows you to find reviewers by products and, gives access to all important contact information.

In a four-step process, Amazon sellers can collect Amazon listings, add listings to the search engine, choose and purchase contacts and then add them to a database.

Once you have your database, you can then go about contacting these reviewers by email (not all reviewers supply an email address but, many do).

AMZDiscover’s pricing works by the purchase of ‘coins’ and offers three different packages – the Start Package for an incredibly reasonable $9 which offers a set of 90 reviewer details, the Most Popular Package with 560 reviewer details and, the Business Pro package at $99 with 1250 reviewer details.

Final

Understanding the Amazon Best Seller Ranking of your product, and how to improve it, is something which should become an integrated part of any Amazon seller’s business.

The sheer number of products sold on Amazon means that sellers need to grab any advantage that they can in order to increase sales and beat the competition.