One of the key ingredients to a successful business is having a sound marketing strategy. We can even argue that, in the online world, marketing is everything. Amazon knows this full well, which is why their marketing strategies are precise, even to the smallest of details.

Among the many ways they try to catch a buyer’s attention is through badges, namely, the Amazon Best Seller badge and the Amazon’s Choice badge. What exactly are these badges? Are they good for your products? How can you get them?

In this short blog, we will discuss with you the things you need to know about the Amazon Best Seller badge and the Amazon’s Choice badge. By the end, we will be giving you some quick tips on how you can go about obtaining them for your products. 

What is the Amazon Best Seller Badge?

An Amazon Best Seller badge is a label given to product listings that are best sellers in their respective categories at any given hour.

Amazon describes it like so: “Our most popular products are based on sales. Updated hourly.”

Given this, how Amazon bestows this label is simple and straightforward: the product with the highest number of sales in a certain category or subcategory within a certain time frame shall gain the privilege of having that badge displayed on their product listing when appearing on an Amazon search result. 

Note that, as stated by Amazon, what they consider popular based on sales is updated by the hour. This means that any new information obtained by Amazon within this hourly time frame is taken into consideration when determining which products get to be labeled as the “best seller”. This makes it so that the “best seller” tag can move around between products under the same category or subcategory, should the sales fluctuate or change within that hour or timeframe.

Worth mentioning, too, is that Amazon also takes into consideration a product’s historical sales. This is likely to avoid unusual spikes or unrealistic changes in the best seller rankings, should the algorithm be strictly limited to hourly data. 

What is the Amazon’s Choice Badge?

An Amazon’s Choice badge is a label given to product listings which Amazon believes to be the best match for a keyword search.

This badge appears like so:

But how does Amazon know which product is the best for any given search? No one really knows for certain. Since it was first introduced in 2015, many have tried to narrow it down, but none have yet to find the real answer. What we do know is that the label is based on an algorithm that is made to take in information and, like the Best Seller badge, apply it automatically to a product listing

But what does the algorithm take note of? Amazon, themselves, keeps it vague, but if you hover over the label, it shows this information: “Amazon’s Choice highlights highly rated, well-priced products available to ship immediately.”

From this, many groups and sellers have come to conclude that availability, ratings, competitive pricing, and return rates play an important role in the algorithm’s functions.

Availability deserves special mention here since it does have very noticeable effects on how the label is bestowed to a product listing. For instance, doing a search for dinner plates that are to be delivered in one city or country may show an Amazon’s Choice badge on a different product compared to when a different city or country is picked. This means that the algorithm considers the product that is nearest and readily available to the location of your choosing. 

Amazon Best Seller Versus Amazon’s Choice

We just went through both and, as you can see, the basis for the labels is different.

A Best Seller badge is based purely on sales. A product having it means that it sold more compared to other products under the same category or subcategory.

An Amazon’s Choice badge, on the other hand, is based on a very special algorithm that is driven mostly by keywords.

Is one better over the other? In terms of purely sales, is it better for you to have a Best Seller badge or an Amazon’s Choice Badge?

Firstly, getting both badges for your product is very much possible. Unfortunately, Amazon does not have a feature where it can appear on a product listing concurrently. 

As explained, an Amazon’s Choice badge is primarily keyword-based. As such, it can happen that a certain keyword will show your product listing as having an Amazon’s Choice badge, but a different string of keywords may now show it as having a Best Seller badge.

So, which is best? An ideal position for your product would be for it to have both, as these two labels can influence buyers differently and having both can increase your conversion rates greatly.

But if you were to ask us for our opinion, we would say that, first and foremost, striving for both should be your ultimate goal. Also, in our view, this isn’t exactly an “either/or” situation. Let us explain.

An Amazon’s Choice badge is a good way to help with sales in that it helps a buyer decide. A typical Amazon search can show millions of results. To a buyer, this can create a sort of crisis where he or she is put into a mildly stressful situation over deciding which of these similar-looking products should he or she go for.

An Amazon’s Choice label works to ease that stress away by helping the buyer narrow down his or her choices or options. As an Amazon seller, having your product included in that narrowed down list can surely increase your chances of converting.

An Amazon Best Seller badge, however, is clearly a better reflection of your product’s overall quality. A Best Seller badge means high sales. If sales are high, then that means the product is good and that there is high customer satisfaction. Simply said, having a Best Seller badge means that your product is working as intended, that is, it is fulfilling consumer’s needs.

Both badges clearly have its merits and one does not necessarily operate to cancel out the other. On the contrary, they’re quite complementary to each other. 

For one, with proper optimization, you can get the Amazon’s Choice badge. Getting this badge can drive up sales which can help you with the rankings and, hopefully, get the Best Seller badge.

If we were to focus on the negatives, we can say that the Best Seller badge changes by the hour. Coupons or promotions can also mean the difference between getting that badge and maintaining it. Since there’s no badge for “Best Seller Two Hours Ago”, then you really can’t base your entire business strategy goals on getting that badge alone. 

For the Choice badge, note that this badge is simply you making proper optimizations. If your products and service are inherently bad, it will eventually show. 

This is why, for best results, go for both. That should be your only goal. 

Do These Help with Conversions?

The quick answer is a clear and resounding, “Yes, most definitely!”

There’s no denying that badges or labels, in some form or another, work to influence consumer decision-making. Whether we like it or not, badges or labels over a product listing do stand out. It also gives us this sense of confidence or assurance that, perhaps, this product is better than all the rest (even though that may not necessarily be the case).

A Best Seller label, for instance, shows that people are buying this product, therefore, it must be good! On the other hand, an Amazon’s Choice label signifies a more authoritative command. Amazon is telling you that, because of several factors unique to you, this product is the best choice for you, therefore, they are recommending it as their “choice” for you to choose, so to speak.

We’ve also discussed how these badges can help eliminate the stresses of choice, as well as show your product’s true overall quality.

Though there are issues about these labels, the fact remains that the average buyer would look to trust product listings with these badges more than those without; hence, better conversions for you as a seller selling such products. 

How To Get an Amazon Best Seller Badge

Getting an Amazon Best Seller badge is straightforward, but not easy. Remember that this label is based mostly on sales. The higher the product’s sales are compared to others in its category or subcategory, the more chances it can obtain that sweet Best Seller label.

Here are three tips on how to increase your sales and improve your odds on having your product listing gain a Best Seller badge.

1. Optimize Your Product Node or Category

If you recall, a Best Seller badge is based on the total number of product sales as against other products under the same category or subcategory. If you intend to have your product increase its chances of getting a Best Seller badge, one way to do it is to specifically categorize your product in such a way that there is lesser competition for it in that category or subcategory.

Obviously, the more general the category, the greater the competition will be. So, try to make your product listing category to be as niche as it possibly can. 

2. Opt for Amazon FBA

Letting Amazon help you through its Amazon FBA service not only guarantees you some peace of mind, but it also guarantees your buyers fast, safe, and reliable deliveries every time.

The net effect of this is that it leaves your buyers satisfied, which then may lead to better ratings or reviews, and, consequently, increased sales. 

3. Offer Promotions 

Promotions, such as discounted prices, sales, or other marketing strategies are a good way to drum up sales. Try to develop a strategy that would ensure a balance between profitability and increased sales.

A good start would be lowering your prices for a certain period. Since the Best Seller badge algorithm is updated by the hour, you could time your promotions to an hourly one, too.

But do make sure to do your research, first, before deciding on what marketing strategy you wish to follow. Sacrificing your profit for the sake of generating sales in the pursuit of that Best Seller badge may end up doing you more harm than good in the long run. 

How To Get an Amazon’s Choice Badge

Unlike the Amazon Best Seller badge, the Amazon’s Choice badge seems complicated, but is easier to control and manipulate directly to get it. 

Like we said, there is a special algorithm to it and all you need to do is to conform to that algorithm.

That being said, here are three tips on how to better your chances at getting that Amazon’s Choice badge. 

1. Ensure Your Product’s Availability

We brushed on this one earlier, but this is worth some more emphasis due to its importance.

The algorithm would only recommend a product that is available to the buyer performing a search. One good way to ensure availability is by availing Amazon’s FBA service. This way, you are confident that your buyers can receive your products quickly and safely. 

2. Minimize Your Return Rates

One of the keys to Amazon’s success is its ability to keep its customers satisfied. As an Amazon seller, your customers are also technically their customers. And as the platform in which buyers seek out products to fulfill their needs, Amazon would only want to promote products that are good in quality.

A high return rate for your products means that customers are either not satisfied with their purchase or that they were misled into purchasing it, believing it was a different product or, otherwise, was a product that they thought had a certain feature, but didn’t.

Regardless of the cause or reason, if your products are being returned, then Amazon would not dare promote it by giving it its highly coveted Amazon’s Choice badge.

To avoid this, make sure that your product listings are well-written, sincere, and honest. Also make sure that these qualities are physically reflected in the product itself. 

3. Tailor Your Product to Specific Keywords

At the end of the day, the Amazon’s Choice badge is based on keywords. Searching for “cat leashes” would yield very different results from product listings containing Amazon’s Choice badges than, say, “cat accessories”.

In simpler terms, like the Best Seller badge, tailoring your product listing to abide by certain keywords can make it easier for your product listing to be marked with an Amazon’s Choice badge. So, when listing your product, make sure to have it optimized as much as you can.

Note that these are just some of the many tips you can do to obtain these two badges. Surely, other strategies exist (some questionable ones, even). Whichever you choose, always remember to follow Amazon’s Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct. The last thing you would want is to find yourself stripped of your seller privileges.  

Some Closing Thoughts

Getting an Amazon Best Seller badge and an Amazon’s Choice badge is not easy, but there is a science to achieving it. We have covered some of those here, but, admittedly, that’s just the tip of the Amazon iceberg. There is more to learn.

Here at Zonguru, we provide Amazon sellers with the knowledge and tools that can help them compete and perform better in the marketplace. We’ll teach you more than just how to get these badges. Straight from our very own CEO, Jon Tilley, we will provide you with techniques on how to optimize your listings, as well as other PPC strategies. Get started today and check out what Jon has to say here.

If you are still confused or if you want some more intricate details to help you, check out Reliable Education; an Amazon FBA course provider that teaches people how to become effective business persons.

Reliable Education’s core philosophy goes beyond selling and money. Their goal is to help people achieve a greater purpose beyond those material things. Reach out to them to learn more about how you can become a better Amazon seller beyond a Best Seller badge and an Amazon’s Choice badge!