Amazon and Rankings

As we all know Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, iTunes, and other online retailers are CMS (Content Management System) based sites. What some might not realize is that they are also similar to search engines, especially when it comes to their algorithms.

For example, when you go to Google and put in keywords or a question, the results will vary based on what you queried. If you took the same words and rearranged them, you would find that the search results have changed. The same thing goes with Amazon and other book retailers, the words you use make an impact on the results you get.

Why are some better?

Recently a conversation of why certain genres does better than others was asked. A lot does depend on the current market, but it also depends on the quantity of products offered. If you have a book in a genre that only has a 3^rd of the same as a different genre, the results are going to be more refined and provide less competition.

Paid Advertising

There is also paid advertising that happens on Amazon as well. These paid advertisements will have specific focus groups that you might have found yourself in as well. Also, if you notice when you search something on Google such as a particular book or genre, similar results appear on Amazon and even social networks like Facebook. That is because of the cookies that are in your browser cache. These cookies provide websites information about what you are interested in, where you are located and even your buying habits.

Variables

So back to why you may have or may not have ranked higher on Amazon or another book retailer, as you can tell there are many reasons why this may happen. Some of them beyond your control and other areas where you need to take a closer look at what you are putting out on the web.

• Marketing and SEO play a major role in what is generated when you visit online retailers. Of course, you also have the items that Amazon and other sites are pushing from the company itself.
• To improve your listing, take a look at what you have on your Amazon book page, your website, and do a random search on Google. Look at the meta content and determine if you are still using the right ones and where improvements need to be made.
• Knowing and understanding your target market will help you to determine what needs changed and how.

Do not rely on the various systems to take care of it, publishing a book whether traditional or self-published requires work beyond the last line of the book.