How to Improve Sales in Amazon and Grow Your Business

Chilat Doina

September 24, 2025

If you want to boost your sales on Amazon, you need to get four things right. It's not about mastering one area; it's about getting listing optimization, strategic advertising, smart pricing, and customer trust to work together. When these pieces click, they create a powerful engine that drives more traffic, better conversions, and real, sustainable growth.

Your Framework for Amazon Sales Growth

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Jumping onto Amazon can feel like trying to navigate a sprawling city without a map. Millions of sellers are all fighting for the same eyeballs, and just having a great product is nowhere near enough. You need a solid strategy—a framework that guides every single decision you make.

This guide is that framework. We're going to move past simple tips and dive into the core components that build real, lasting sales momentum. Forget about throwing random tactics at the wall; we’re focused on a system where each part makes the others stronger.

The Four Pillars of Amazon Success

I like to think of an Amazon business as a machine with four interconnected gears. For that machine to run powerfully and smoothly, every gear needs to be perfectly tuned and synced up.

These are the four pillars:

  • Product Listing Optimization: This is all about making your product pages so compelling and easy to find that shoppers can't resist hitting "Add to Cart."
  • Targeted Advertising: You need to get your products in front of the right shoppers at the exact moment they’re ready to pull out their wallets.
  • Intelligent Pricing: The goal here is to win sales and the Buy Box without gutting your profit margins. It's a delicate balance.
  • Customer Trust and Reviews: This is how you build unstoppable momentum through social proof and fantastic customer service.

When these four pillars are aligned, they create a flywheel effect. Better listings improve your ad conversions, which boosts your sales velocity. Higher sales velocity helps you win the Buy Box and get more reviews, which in turn lifts your organic rankings. It all feeds itself.

To put the competition into perspective, Amazon is a massive global marketplace with over 9.7 million sellers registered worldwide. And about 2.5 million of them are actively competing for sales at any given time.

A key service that top sellers swear by is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). In fact, over 82% of active sellers use it to handle their logistics and get that coveted Prime badge—two things directly tied to better sales. For more on the scale of Amazon's seller landscape, check out the data on ForceGet.com.

To help you visualize how these pillars work together, here’s a quick breakdown of the core strategies you'll need to implement.

Core Strategies to Boost Amazon Sales

This table summarizes the essential strategies we'll be covering and shows how they directly impact your sales performance.

Strategy PillarPrimary GoalKey Action
Listing OptimizationIncrease organic traffic and conversion ratesConduct thorough keyword research and create compelling, benefit-driven copy and high-quality images.
Strategic AdvertisingDrive targeted traffic and increase product visibilityRun and optimize Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns based on performance data.
Winning PricingSecure the Buy Box and maximize profitabilityUse dynamic pricing tools and competitor analysis to set competitive yet profitable price points.
Customer TrustBuild social proof and encourage repeat businessProactively manage customer reviews, answer questions promptly, and provide excellent post-purchase support.

As you can see, each pillar has a distinct goal but relies on the others to be truly effective. Getting this framework right is non-negotiable if you're serious about growth.

To keep track of your progress, you'll need to know your numbers. You can learn more about how to do that in our guide on how to analyze sales data.

Mastering Amazon SEO to Attract More Buyers

If shoppers can’t find your product, they can’t buy it. It's really that simple. To win on Amazon, you have to understand and work with its A9 search algorithm, turning it from a confusing black box into your most effective salesperson.

Many sellers fall into the trap of thinking Amazon SEO is just about stuffing as many keywords as possible into a listing. But if you want to actually move the needle on your sales, you need a much smarter approach. And it all starts with deep, strategic keyword research.

Uncovering What Your Customers Actually Search For

The bedrock of any solid Amazon SEO strategy is effective keyword research best practices. You have to get inside your customer's head. What exact words and phrases are they typing into that search bar when they’re looking for a product like yours?

Put yourself in their shoes. Brainstorm the core terms for your product. For example, if you sell a yoga mat, your starting point might be "yoga mat," "exercise mat," or "non-slip mat."

This is where tools like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout become invaluable. They show you the real search volume behind these terms, revealing which keywords have serious traffic and which might be too competitive to tackle right away.

Key Takeaway: Don’t just guess. Use data-driven tools to find a healthy mix of high-volume "short-tail" keywords (like "yoga mat") and highly specific "long-tail" keywords (like "extra thick TPE yoga mat for hot yoga"). Long-tail keywords usually have less traffic, but their conversion rates are often much higher because the shopper's intent is crystal clear.

The Amazon marketplace is fierce, but the rewards are massive. Since 2000, independent sellers have pulled in cumulative sales of roughly $2.5 trillion. Interestingly, the number of active sellers recently dropped from 2.4 million to about 1.9 million—a 21% decline. This tells us that only the most competitive, well-optimized sellers are thriving, which really hammers home the need for advanced strategies to claim your piece of the pie.

Strategically Placing Keywords for Maximum Impact

Once you’ve got your list of high-value keywords, you need to know exactly where to put them. Amazon's A9 algorithm gives more weight to keywords placed in certain fields over others.

  • Product Title: This is your most valuable SEO real estate, hands down. Your primary, most important keywords absolutely must go here. But make it readable and compelling, not just a jumble of terms. A title like "Eco-Friendly Pro Grip Yoga Mat, 6mm Thick Non-Slip TPE for Men and Women" is leagues better than "Yoga Mat Exercise Mat Fitness Mat."

  • Bullet Points (Key Product Features): This is the perfect place to weave in your secondary keywords. Each bullet point should shout about a key benefit while naturally including relevant search terms. Talk about the materials, dimensions, and what makes your product special.

  • Backend Search Terms: This hidden field in Seller Central is your secret weapon. Use it for all the keywords you couldn't fit into your title or bullets. This includes common misspellings, synonyms, and even Spanish-language equivalents if they're relevant to your audience.

Here’s a look at the backend keyword field in Seller Central. You can add terms here that customers won't see, but Amazon's algorithm will still index them.

This section helps boost your listing's discoverability without making your customer-facing content look cluttered or spammy.

For a much deeper dive into crafting every single part of your product page, check out our complete guide on Amazon listing optimisation.

Beyond Keywords: Images and Video as SEO Tools

SEO on Amazon isn't just about text. High-quality images and video are critical conversion tools that have a direct impact on your search ranking.

Why? Because the A9 algorithm’s main goal is to show customers the products they're most likely to buy. A listing with a high conversion rate—meaning more visitors become buyers—is seen as more relevant. Amazon rewards that relevance with a higher organic rank. It’s a beautiful cycle.

Here's how great visuals boost your conversions:

  1. High-Resolution Images: Show your product from every possible angle. Use lifestyle shots to help shoppers imagine themselves using it. Infographics are also fantastic for quickly communicating key features that might get buried in text.

  2. Product Video: A short, engaging video can be your most powerful sales asset. It can demonstrate your product in action, walk through the setup, or highlight its quality in a way that static images just can't match. This builds trust and answers questions before a shopper even thinks to ask, smoothing the path to purchase.

Ultimately, mastering Amazon SEO means creating a complete, customer-focused listing. It's the combination of smart keyword research, compelling copy, and powerful visuals that not only attracts buyers but convinces them to click "Add to Cart." This cycle of discovery and conversion is the engine that drives sustainable growth on the platform.

Driving Sales with Smart Amazon Advertising

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Let’s be real. A perfectly optimized listing is your foundation, but paid advertising is the rocket fuel. If you think you can succeed on Amazon today without some kind of ad spend, you're setting yourself up for a painful lesson. The marketplace is just too crowded.

This isn’t about outspending your competitors; it’s about outsmarting them. Advertising is how you blast a new product onto the scene, defend your turf from aggressive newcomers, and snag sales that would have otherwise gone to someone else. It's time to spend smarter, not just more.

Understanding the Main Amazon Ad Types

Amazon has a whole suite of ad options, but for most sellers, mastering the core three is where the magic happens. Each one serves a different purpose, and knowing when to pull which lever is key to a profitable strategy.

  • Sponsored Products: These are the ads you see everywhere—right in the search results and sprinkled on competitor product pages. They’re targeted by keywords and products, making them incredibly potent for grabbing shoppers who are ready to buy. Think of these as your frontline soldiers, driving direct sales day in and day out.

  • Sponsored Brands: You'll see these at the very top of the search results, usually as a banner with your logo, a custom headline, and a few of your products. They are fantastic for building brand awareness and funneling traffic to your Amazon Storefront, letting you tell a much bigger story.

  • Sponsored Display: This is your retargeting powerhouse. These ads let you follow shoppers who checked out your product but didn't buy. They can pop up on and off Amazon, giving potential customers that gentle nudge to come back and finish the purchase.

When you're launching a new product, you'll want to lean heavily on Sponsored Products to get that crucial initial sales velocity. For a more established brand, blending all three creates a powerful, full-funnel machine that drives sales while building long-term brand equity.

Setting Up Your First Sponsored Products Campaign

Since this is where most sellers should start, let's walk through setting up a Sponsored Products campaign. The goal here is simple: get your product in front of the right eyeballs without incinerating your budget on day one.

You’ll have to choose between an automatic and a manual campaign. My advice? Start with both, always.

An automatic campaign lets Amazon’s algorithm do the initial legwork. It will show your ad for search terms and products it thinks are relevant. This is an unbelievably valuable research tool for uncovering high-converting keywords you never would have thought of yourself.

At the same time, create a manual campaign using the core keywords you found during your listing optimization. This gives you granular control over your bids right from the start.

Pro Tip: Let your automatic campaign run for about two weeks, then pull the search term report. Find the exact customer phrases that actually led to sales and move them over to your manual campaign as exact match keywords. This "keyword harvesting" process is the absolute foundation for lowering your Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS).

You also need to get comfortable with keyword match types to control your spend:

  • Broad Match: Reaches the widest audience but can result in some irrelevant, costly clicks.
  • Phrase Match: A solid middle ground. Your ad shows when a search includes your exact phrase, plus other words.
  • Exact Match: The most precise. Your ad only shows for that exact keyword, which usually means the highest conversion rates.

By constantly refining your campaigns and shifting your budget toward proven, exact-match keywords, you systematically make your ads more profitable. For a deeper dive into building a full-blown plan, check out our guide on creating a winning Amazon advertising strategy.

Optimizing for Profitability, Not Just Clicks

Anyone can get clicks. The real game is getting profitable sales. Your north star metric here is Advertising Cost of Sale (ACOS). It’s a simple calculation: ad spend divided by ad revenue. The lower your ACOS, the more profitable your ads are.

To crush your ACOS, you need to live in your campaign reports. Look for keywords that are getting tons of clicks but zero sales. These are budget vampires. Add them to your negative keywords list immediately to stop the bleeding.

On the flip side, find the keywords with a low ACOS that are driving a lot of sales. These are your champions. You’ll want to gradually increase the bids on these to get even more visibility and capture more of that profitable traffic. This constant cycle of analysis and adjustment is what separates the pros from the amateurs in Amazon PPC.

And don't forget about peak sales events. For instance, Amazon Prime Day pulled in a massive $14.2 billion in global sales, an 11.8% jump from the year before. With Amazon's ad revenue soaring to nearly $45 billion—a 20% year-over-year increase—investing strategically during these high-traffic periods can lead to explosive sales growth.

Ultimately, a sharp advertising strategy isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a non-negotiable part of scaling on Amazon. It gives new products the launchpad they need and keeps established ones top-of-mind in a marketplace that gets more competitive by the day.

Winning the Buy Box with Strategic Pricing

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Pricing on Amazon feels like a constant tug-of-war. Price too high, and you're invisible. Go too low, and you're practically giving your products away, tanking your profit margin in the process. The sellers who consistently win this game understand it’s a delicate dance, using strategic pricing not just to move units, but to dominate the all-important Buy Box.

Let’s bust a myth right now: the lowest price doesn't always win. Sure, price is a massive factor, but Amazon's algorithm is far more sophisticated than that. Its ultimate goal is to give the shopper the absolute best experience, which goes way beyond just the cheapest option. Your job is to find that sweet spot that keeps both the algorithm and your bank account happy.

What Really Influences the Buy Box

The Buy Box—now officially the "Featured Offer"—is where the magic happens. Over 80% of all Amazon sales go through it, making it the most valuable piece of digital real estate on the entire platform. To win it, you have to prove to Amazon that your offer provides the best all-around value.

It's not just about one thing, but a combination of key factors:

  • Landed Price: This is the total cost to the customer, shipping included. A competitive landed price is your ticket to the game.
  • Fulfillment Method: Using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a massive advantage. Amazon trusts its own logistics network, and that Prime badge is a powerful conversion driver.
  • Shipping Time: Speed wins. The faster you can get an order into a customer's hands, the better. FBA sellers usually nail this with two-day Prime shipping.
  • Seller Metrics: Your overall account health is critical. Things like your Order Defect Rate, Cancellation Rate, and Late Shipment Rate all play a role. A pristine track record signals to Amazon that you're a reliable partner.

Key Takeaway: Amazon's algorithm rewards reliability and a stellar customer experience. While a competitive price gets your foot in the door, it's your fulfillment speed and seller performance that help you win consistently. They're looking at your whole operation.

Analyzing Competitors to Find Your Sweet Spot

You can't price in a vacuum. A core part of any strategy for how to improve sales in amazon is knowing exactly what your competition is up to. Start by identifying your top 3-5 direct competitors for a given product.

Don't just glance at their current price. Track it. Use a simple spreadsheet or a third-party tool to see how it changes over time. Are their prices stable, or are they fluctuating constantly? This can tell you if they're pricing manually or using an automated repricer.

Also, pay close attention to their fulfillment method and seller feedback score. If a competitor has a slightly lower price but is shipping FBM with a mediocre rating, you can often snag the Buy Box with a higher price simply because you offer the power of FBA Prime.

Using Promotions to Create Urgency

A static price can only do so much. Promotions are your secret weapon for creating sales velocity, which in turn boosts your organic ranking and gets the algorithm to notice you.

Here are a couple of powerful options you can deploy:

  1. Coupons: Those little orange tags are like magnets for a shopper's eyes. Offering even a small discount, like 5% or 10% off, can seriously improve your click-through rate right from the search results page.
  2. Lightning Deals: These are short-term, high-visibility promos featured on Amazon's popular "Today's Deals" page. They create a powerful sense of urgency and are fantastic for driving a massive sales spike, especially during events like Prime Day or Black Friday.

The timing of these promotions is everything. Running a well-placed coupon in the weeks leading up to a major shopping holiday builds momentum, making your product far more visible when the floodgates of traffic finally burst open.

The Role of Dynamic Repricing Tools

If you have more than a handful of SKUs, manually adjusting prices to stay in the game is a full-time job you don't have time for. This is exactly where automated repricing tools come in.

This kind of software monitors your competitors' prices in real-time and automatically adjusts yours based on rules you create. For instance, you could set a rule to always be $0.01 below the lowest FBA competitor, but never go below your absolute minimum profitable price. This lets you compete 24/7 without ever having to sacrifice your margins. It's a game-changer for winning the Buy Box more often and keeping your sales humming around the clock.

Building Trust Through Reviews and Service

On Amazon, trust is the name of the game, and reviews are how you keep score. Shoppers can’t pick up your product, feel its weight, or see the quality for themselves. Instead, they rely on the experiences of others to click that "Add to Cart" button. A solid base of positive reviews is one of the most powerful assets you can build.

But this isn’t about just chasing five-star ratings. It's about building a system that ethically encourages feedback while creating a customer experience so good that glowing reviews just happen. This approach not only builds crucial social proof but also cultivates a loyal following.

Generating Reviews the Right Way

Let’s be clear: Amazon does not mess around with its review policies. One wrong move, and you could be looking at a suspended account. The old days of offering discounts for reviews are long gone. The good news? Amazon gives us legitimate, built-in ways to ask for feedback.

Your go-to tool is the "Request a Review" button you'll find in the order details inside Seller Central. Clicking this sends a standardized, totally compliant email to the buyer asking for both a product review and seller feedback. It works, but it’s a manual grind, especially if you’re shipping a high volume of orders.

This is where automation becomes your best friend. Approved third-party services like Jungle Scout or Helium 10 can automatically hit that "Request a Review" button for every single eligible order. You never miss a chance to ask for feedback, and you do it without ever bending Amazon's rules.

My Take: Consistency is what moves the needle here. Automating the request ensures every customer gets a chance to share their thoughts. A systematic approach will always outperform manually picking and choosing which orders to follow up on.

Jumpstarting Credibility with Amazon Vine

Launching a new product with zero reviews feels like shouting into an empty room. How do you get that critical first bit of traction? Amazon created the Vine program for this exact scenario.

Vine is an invitation-only program where Amazon sends your product—for free—to a handpicked group of their most trusted reviewers, known as "Vine Voices." These are folks with a track record of writing honest, detailed, and helpful reviews.

Here’s the simple breakdown:

  • You enroll your product: You provide up to 30 units to the program.
  • Vine Voices claim it: These top reviewers can request your product to test out.
  • Reviews start rolling in: They use the product and leave an honest review, which gets a special "Vine Voice" badge that adds a layer of credibility.

Vine is hands-down one of the best ways to get your first handful of in-depth reviews, giving new shoppers the confidence they need to take a chance on your product.

Deciding on how to gather these crucial first reviews can be a challenge. Below is a quick comparison of the most common methods to help you decide which path is right for your product.

Comparing Amazon Review Generation Methods

MethodBest ForEffort LevelPolicy Compliance
Request a Review ButtonAll sellers, especially those with lower order volumeHigh (if manual)100% Compliant
Third-Party AutomationSellers with moderate to high order volumeLow (set it and forget it)100% Compliant
Amazon Vine ProgramNew product launches needing initial reviewsMedium (enrollment setup)100% Compliant
Product InsertsBuilding brand connection and encouraging feedbackMedium (design and logistics)Compliant (if no incentive is offered)

As you can see, there are several fully compliant avenues to build your review count. The key is to find a consistent, sustainable process that works for your business model.

This image shows how a product's price stacks up against competitors, a critical piece of information shoppers weigh alongside reviews.

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Understanding where you sit on price is just as important as your review score. If you're priced too high without the social proof to back it up, your conversion rate will suffer.

Turning Negative Feedback into a Positive

No matter how perfect your product is, a negative review is going to happen. It's inevitable. That one-star rating can feel like a personal attack, but your response is what truly matters. I've learned to see bad reviews not as a disaster, but as an opportunity.

Remember, your reply is public. Future customers will see how you handle criticism, and a thoughtful, professional response can be more convincing than a dozen five-star reviews. It shows you're a real human who cares and stands by their product.

Here’s a simple framework I always use:

  • Acknowledge and Apologize: Start by thanking them for the feedback. Apologize that their experience wasn’t what it should have been.
  • Don't Make Excuses: Never get defensive. Empathize with their frustration and own the problem, even if it wasn't directly your fault.
  • Offer a Real Solution: Publicly offer to make things right—a refund, a replacement, or direct help. Then, give them a clear, private way to contact you to resolve it.

This proactive approach turns a public complaint into a live demonstration of great customer service. Ultimately, building a successful brand on Amazon goes beyond just reviews. It’s about the entire customer experience. When customers feel heard, they don’t just leave good reviews; they come back, and they tell their friends. That’s how you build something that lasts.

Your Top Amazon Sales Questions, Answered

Even with the best strategy, selling on Amazon throws curveballs. You're going to have questions, and getting straight answers is the only way to make smart moves that actually grow your business. Let's tackle some of the most common things sellers ask when they're trying to figure out how to improve sales in amazon.

We'll cut through the noise and get right to what you need to know, from realistic timelines to the metrics that truly matter.

How Long Does It Really Take to See Sales Improve?

This is the big one, isn't it? The honest answer is: it depends. There's no magic switch.

If your listing is already in good shape and you're just firing up a new, highly targeted PPC campaign, you could genuinely see a bump in sales within a week. The ads start pushing traffic, and if the listing converts, you'll see it.

But if you're doing a complete overhaul—rewriting everything, deep-diving into SEO, and building from the ground up—you need to be more patient. It can easily take 30 to 90 days for Amazon's A9 algorithm to fully digest your changes and for your organic rank to start its slow, steady climb. Consistency is your best friend here.

What Are the Most Important Metrics to Watch?

It’s way too easy to get buried in data inside Seller Central. To keep your sanity and focus on what drives the needle, lock in on these three KPIs. They give you a real-time health check on your sales growth.

  • Conversion Rate (aka Unit Session Percentage): This is gold. It's the percentage of people who land on your page and actually buy. A strong conversion rate is a massive signal to Amazon that your product is a winner, which in turn helps boost your organic rank.
  • Total ACOS (TACoS): Don't just look at your ad spend. TACoS measures your total ad cost against your total sales—both from ads and organic. This gives you the real story of whether your advertising is actually lifting your entire business or just propping it up.
  • Buy Box Percentage: This shows you how often you own the "Featured Offer." Since over 80% of all sales happen right there, winning and holding the Buy Box is non-negotiable. If this number is low, you're bleeding sales.

Forget the vanity metrics. If you nail these three, you'll have an accurate, actionable picture of your performance. They tell you if shoppers are finding you, if they're buying, and if you're closing the deal.

How Can I Capitalize on Big Sales Events Like Prime Day?

Events like Prime Day are a massive shot of adrenaline for your business. It's not just about the one-day sales spike; it's a huge opportunity for long-term rank improvement. During a recent Prime Day, shoppers bought over 300 million items globally, with U.S. sales hitting a staggering $24.1 billion over a four-day window.

You can't just show up and hope for the best. To catch this wave of traffic, you need a game plan. Start prepping at least a month out. Make sure your inventory is rock-solid to avoid stocking out, build specific Amazon Advertising campaigns with juiced-up budgets, and get compelling promotions like Lightning Deals locked in for the event. You can find more stats on Prime Day's incredible impact at eDesk.com.

Is It Better to Focus on PPC or SEO?

This is a classic question, but it's the wrong way to think about it. The top sellers know that PPC and SEO aren't an either/or—they work together.

Think of it this way: SEO is your long-game. It’s the foundation for sustainable, free traffic. PPC, on the other hand, is your gas pedal for instant visibility and, just as importantly, for gathering crucial data.

When you're starting out, you'll lean heavily on PPC to force that initial traffic and get the first sales rolling in. Those sales then help your product start climbing the organic ranks. As your organic rank gets stronger, you can ease off the PPC pedal for that keyword and redirect your budget to the next opportunity. It’s a flywheel—each one powers the other.


At Million Dollar Sellers, we're all about using data-driven strategies and tapping into a powerful network of peers to crush these challenges and scale smarter. If you're ready to join a community of elite entrepreneurs shaping the future of e-commerce, we should talk. Learn more about Million Dollar Sellers.

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