The Ultimate ZonGuru Guide to Finding and Validating Your Amazon Product Research!

Are you committed to launching a successful Amazon business but don’t quite know where to start?

We understand that the Amazon marketplace may appear overwhelming, leaving many new sellers lost in a sea of information. That’s why we created the following ZonGuru step-by-step launch guide to cut through the data and give sellers a clear pathway towards their first profitable product! ‍

Step 1: Download and save the files

First, we will need to send you the goods; the product tracker sheet, the checklist, and the full length tutorial video. Visit this link and provide an email address and instantly get access.

This worksheet will become a ‘must have’ in your Amazon toolbox, allowing you to store all of your product ideas in one location and see how they perform against key performance metrics. It is also the perfect document to share with your mastermind to let them know you’re serious about creating a successful Amazon business. Together you can make smart, data-driven decisions about which products are likely to be successful.

The worksheet contains three tabs:

• Before you start
• Opportunity identifier
• Checklist
  

You’ll notice that as you start to complete the worksheet, the cells will automatically change colour. The different colours indicate how well a product matches against key performance markers:

• Green indicates the product meets the desired performance marker.
• Orange indicates the product falls outside the desired performance marker, but not significantly. It may require some review or explanation. 
• Red indicates the product falls significantly outside the desired performance marker and may indicate that there is a better product out there. 
  

Please note: orange and red don’t immediately indicate a poor product; however, it is certainly worth reviewing. For example: just because a product’s average reviews are high doesn’t necessarily disqualify it as too competitive if, for example, the star ratings on those reviews are relatively low. Make sure you’re looking at all the data as a whole before pulling the trigger - or pulling the plug - on a product. 

If at any stage you’re not sure what a title means, simply hover over the heading within the worksheet and a description will appear (as shown below).

Step 2: Watch the ‘Product Research Tracker Sheet Tutorial’

Before going any further, we recommend watching this tutorial video to see an example of how the Product Research Checklist works in tandem with ZonGuru’s tool suite. 

This visual walkthrough shows you how easy it is to identify product opportunities and effectively examine Amazon marketplace data without becoming overwhelmed.

Step 3: Run a Niche Finder session

Now you’re ready to start generating ideas! Open Niche Finder under the Product Research banner in ZonGuru. Niche Finder leverages the ZonGuru database using filters that only show products that fit your business vision. There is no need to spend hours delving into the depths of Amazon to find a potential niche. Let ZonGuru do the grunt work and deliver product opportunities on a silver platter.

Learn more about the Niche Finder and its features.

Easy Mode is recommended to begin with in order to get the creative juices flowing. Easy Mode lets ZonGuru take the wheel and select product filters that fit within your preferred business model. Simply select the business model that suits your circumstances and click search. 

• Easy Starter - First time sellers with smaller budgets looking for a low risk category with milder returns. 
  

• Business Builder - Sellers looking to grow their business with a long term vision and higher up-front investment. 
  

• Big Hitter - Experienced sellers with large investment capital looking for high return potential. 
  

Within Easy Mode, have the option to refine your search results either by category or by specific keywords. Whilst certainly not essential, it can be useful in finding a niche you are personally interested in. 

Once you’ve become familiar with Easy Mode, you may want to switch to Advanced Mode. Advanced Mode delivers highly targeted content based upon your filter settings. This is where the real power of Niche Finder resides. It allows you to instantly scan copious amounts of data, returning only those that meet your business objectives. 

Within Advanced Mode, data can be filtered by metrics such as average search volume, average reviews, estimated launch budget and many more. To assist with your filters, we suggest reviewing the ‘Before You Start’ tab within the ZonGuru Product Research Checklist. This contains a handy list of what types of products to look for and what to avoid. A true time saver!

Step 4: Add Keywords to the Product Research Checklist

As you experiment with Niche Finder, you may find it useful to add these products to your favourites list. This is done by selecting the ‘...’ icon and then clicking on the star. Your favourites can be accessed at any time from the top right tab. 

Once you’ve reviewed your favourites and identified a product of interest, enter the main keyword/(s) into the ‘Opportunity Identifier’ tab at column A in the ZonGuru Product Research Checklist.

Want to discover more tips and tricks inside Niche Finder? Watch this walkthrough video with Darren, our Head of Customer Success.

Step 5: Run a Niche Rater session to isolate key validation figures

Now it’s time to validate your product ideas using the Niche Rater tool in the Chrome Extension. 

Niche Rater is one of our favourite tools! It provides a snapshot of the profitability, competition, budget and demand of the niche you’re interested in. It captures the latest and greatest data on your competition, along with key metrics you need to know. 

• Buyer Demand - Based upon monthly exact search volume and monthly sales volume for the organic listings for the keyword shown. As a guide, an average score would indicate monthly searches in the range of 4,000-6,000 and monthly units sold between 300-500 units. 
  

• Competition Opportunity - Based upon the ZonGuru Listing Strength Indicator and the number of strong versus weak competitors appearing on the page. Listing strength examines items such as reviews, titles, images, bullets, EBC, etc. The weaker the competition, the higher the rating will be as there is more opportunity to beat the competition!
  

• Investment Sweet Spot - Based on launch budget expectations. Ideally when launching a product you should budget for three months of inventory at page one’s average monthly sales volume. The recommended launch budget is a range between $10,000 - $15,000. The further away from the above range, the lower the competition score. However, if you have a higher propensity for risk you can always adjust this number to suit you. 
  

• Revenue Potential - Based upon the profit the listings are generating and an estimate of what sales volume you may be able to capture. Essentially, what potential exists to capture revenue and profit for the niche.
  

The above metrics are combined into an overall average Niche Score. As a guide, the below percentages indicate the potential strength of a category:

0% - 20%
Very Low

20% - 40%
Low

40% - 60%
Medium

60% - 80%
High

80% - 100%
Very High 

Now that you understand what each ZonGuru metric represents, it’s time to analyse the results for your chosen keywords. From your Niche Finder session (step 4) click on the command button located on the top right of your chosen keyword and select the puzzle icon to launch Niche Rater.

Alternatively, you may open Amazon.com, input the keyword identified at Step 4, and launch the Chrome Extension from the bottom right of your screen.

Enter the below data from Niche Rater against your keyword in the ‘Opportunity Identifier’ tab:

For more information on how to use Niche Rater, check out this tutorial video.

Step 6: Run a Keywords on Fire session

Amazon is driven by keywords. Essentially, keywords are how buyers find you. They are signposts to your product that allow you to be discovered by your ideal customer. Amazon wants to sell as many as possible, so their algorithm shows products they consider the most relevant and high converting. 

Keywords on Fire is a powerful product research tool which provides a list of keywords that drive product sales within your niche. Armed with this information, you can identify keyword opportunities to target and use in optimizing your listing. 

Keywords on Fire is located under ‘Listing Optimization’ inside ZonGuru:    

• Select ‘Add product by phrases’.
• Enter your main keywords identified in Step 4 and click ‘search’. 
• This window will populate with the top 25 sellers for that phrase. Select all related listings to your main keywords and click ‘+ Add products’. 
• Name the session and click ‘Run Keyword Analysis’.
  

ZonGuru does the heavy lifting and delivers a report containing everything you need to know about your keywords. Click on the eye icon to view the data and use the settings icon to filter results.

Enter the below data from the Keywords on Fire report against your product in the ‘Opportunity Identifier’ tab:

Step 7: Run a Love-Hate session

Love/Hate is the most seamless way to deliver a perfect product. Love/Hate instantly mines thousands of reviews to provide a concise list of features buyers love … and hate! Equipped with this valuable information, you can effectively differentiate your product to solve existing pain points and deliver value-driven features to your customers.  

Let’s open Love/Hate located under the Product Research banner in ZonGuru. To run a search for your chosen product:

• Click ‘Add products by phrases’.
• Enter your keywords into the search phrase box and click ‘search’.
• Select all the relevant listings and click ‘+ Add products’
• Name the session and click ‘+ Create session’
• Click on the triangle play icon to analyse the products
• Once the report is compiled, click on the eye icon to view results

This is where the ‘human element’ will feature heavily, and you may need to put your thinking cap on. What are you going to do differently? How will your product stand out and alleviate pain points buyers have experienced with competing products? Innovation should remain front and center at this stage - as well as considering product branding opportunities and visual differentiation.  

Enter the below data from the Love/Hate report against your product in the ‘Opportunity Identifier’ tab:

Want more information about how Love/Hate can help you create a superior product? Watch this clip from our 3-day long training series, Around the Track, where Darren and Josh show how Love/Hate helps avoid mistakes past sellers have made! 

Step 8: Is your product oversized?

It is important to consider expenses that may eat into your profitability. Oversized products incur higher storage fees and impact how much inventory you can send to Amazon. 

To check if your chosen product is classified as oversized, we recommend reviewing the product size help guide on Amazon’s website. 

Enter ‘S’ for standard or ‘O’ for oversize into the Opportunity Identifier tab at column N. ‍

Step 9: Logistics and Fees: Visualizing what’s going to be leftover 

It’s now time to get to know your numbers. Various factors can drastically change your product’s profitability, such as how a product is packaged and how/where it is shipped from your manufacturer.  

Some handy links for estimating key numbers are below:

World Freight Rates ‍

World Freight Rates Link

Freightos Link

Several variables affect freight such as shipping location, shipment size, speed, and shipping type. It is also worth contacting your freight forwarder to discuss any import duties and taxes that may apply to your product category. 

‍FBA Revenue Calculator 

FBA Calculator Link

Search by competitor ASIN or product phrase and select a similar competitor product. Enter variables into the ‘Amazon Fulfillment’ column and click ‘calculate’ to find the anticipated net profit in $ and %.

‍Step 10: Completing the Checklist 

For each of the products you have investigated, we recommend completing the ‘Checklist’ tab. Whilst some products appear amazing there may be hidden pitfalls to consider, such as seasonality or clear category dominance by one or two big sellers.

The checklist requires a simple yes/no answer which highlights any areas requiring additional investigation. 

Congratulations! If you have completed the above steps you’re well on your way to finding your next successful Amazon product! As with most things in life, the more you practice the skill of finding profitable products the better you will get. Start flexing your search muscles and enjoy the process! Now that you have the information you need to succeed make sure to download your free Product Research Checklist and Step-by-Step Guide!

If you have any questions or need more information on any of the above segments, please reach out to the ZonGuru support team.