How Difficult is it to Outrank Amazon? 4 Strategies to Beat Them Out

One of the most infuriating aspects of e-commerce is facing competition against huge brands – Amazon being one of the top. These giant companies offer one-stop retail stores and consistently dominate search engine results page (SERPs), making it seem virtually impossible for small- and medium-sized retailers to contend. To put it simply, it is nerve-wracking to even try to compete with sites such as Amazon.

Any small- or medium-sized business that actually succeeds in outranking Amazon could expect a tremendous boost in sales and reputation. This is why despite the knowledge that they’ll be challenging an established giant in the industry, a lot of retailers still embark on this journey to topple Amazon. Below delves into ways to battle the retail giant and outrank it in the SERPs.

1. Compose a long-tail keyword tactic

If your plan to outrank Amazon involves focusing on short, general terms describing your products or services such as “men’s shoes” then your strategy needs an overhaul. With the sheer number of sites competing to rank for these common keywords, your page will undoubtedly get outranked by bigger and more authoritative sites. The mere size of their operations alone would ensure that they come out on top, and that’s not even considering the big pockets that match. However, this advantage for them could also work for you.

Giant retailers or sites generally no longer bother with specific long-tail keywords. This is why the use of long-tail keywords could work well for smaller brands because the competition in this arena is less cutthroat. To fully take advantage of this strategy, you must strive to be as specific as possible. In fact, some marketers even use complete sentences as their keywords.

To use our previous examples, we can expand “men’s shoes” to “red Nike men’s running shoes”. In implementing this strategy, you can easily rank higher and can even land on the first page of the results because your keywords are longer and more specific.

An effective method to create a long-tail keyword strategy is incorporating it in a high-quality and relevant original content. This is because longer terms can be used more naturally within these kinds of posts. Consequently, Google will be able to detect the longer keywords and rank you for them.

2. Be the master of quality user experience

Google puts a premium on quality user experience, making your visitors’ engagement rates as one of the ranking factors in SERPs. This is why you must deliver spectacular results in this department. Focus on making sure that every user who visits your page would want to stick around and even return to your site. Check on factors like page speed and invest in making your site as mobile-friendly as possible and as comprehensive as possible to avoid high bounce and exit rates. Look into creating relevant content to keep your visitors interested on your page. Every nook and corner of your site must offer something useful.

For example, utilize your category and sub-category options to impart relevant information to potential leads. Check if it would be helpful to create comprehensive guides, infographics, or even instruction brochures to provide a better understanding of your products or services to your visitors. Don’t skimp on these resources as they can turn into powerful tools that could push your site higher in the SERPs. The more useful your content is, the more engaged and interested your visitors become. In turn, this will translate into better ranking from Google.

3. Stop the use of stock product descriptions on your site

Here’s the deal: stock manufacturer product descriptions won’t give you any boost in SEO rankings. Generally, brands like Amazon no longer have the time to rewrite each product description included in all their items. With thousands – if not millions – of products included in their inventory, it would not be practical (or even reasonable) for them to invest in this strategy. After all, they are already ranking on top of these items, so why would they bother?

You, on the other hand, should incorporate this into your ranking efforts. Rewriting your stock product descriptions into engaging and distinct copied could go a long way for your SEO. Instead of simply copying and pasting the paragraphs on your site, think of ways to better present your products or services. As mentioned earlier, strive to provide more comprehensive and relevant information to your users. Below is a great example:

Source: GreenandBlacks.co.uk

For example, you can add a link to your original guides or case studies in your product descriptions. That could entice your visitors to stay longer and check out the rest of your site. Whichever strategy you think of, remember that your goal is to set yourself apart from the rest of sites selling or offering basically the same thing.

4. Capitalize on developing your brand

This is already a tried and tested move – so popular in fact that we can see the results right in front of us: the seemingly unbeatable ranking of Amazon. The most obvious advantage of huge brands is their name recognition. Customers typically go directly to the brands they trust and recognize. This is why it’s crucial that you invest in developing your brand as well.

Ultimately, your goal should be to become a widely recognized, highly regarded, and trusted brand in your specific niche. This is the key to having a sustainable presence and dominance in the SERPs. Try to have a distinct voice and personality to distinguish you from the competition. Consider publishing fresh content on relevant topics to your clients as well. Be as helpful and useful to your target customers as possible. That way, your brand could gradually evolve into the go-to site for all their needs. It sounds obvious, but it’s important to remember that this is not a strategy out of the question.

The Takeaway

Competing with brands like Amazon is a daunting task. They have an almost limitless budget, unsurpassable number of relevant links and pages, and entire teams dedicated to solely amp up their rankings. However beating out Amazon can be done, it just takes a more strategic approach.