When Traffic and Conversions Collide: Interpreting Amazon Sales

Traffic and conversions are foundational measurements to observe when building your e-commerce or Amazon business. With a firm understanding of traffic, conversion can be the proverbial ace up your sleeve, so let’s dive in. 

Foundation: The Definitions

Until you understand what they mean, these concepts can seem abstract and inaccessible. 

• Traffic is essentially how many clicks your listing receives. Traffic can be a good indication of interest in your product and a fair measure of your performance and marketing and advertising effectiveness, but this isn’t always the case. This term can be further divided into the following categories:
• External traffic refers to shoppers who might search or see an ad for your product outside of Amazon.
• Internal traffic refers to shoppers who find your product by searching on Amazon.
  
  
• Conversions measure how many people are purchasing once they have visited and assessed your listing, i.e. how many clicks turn into buyers. 

How to Find Traffic and Conversions on Seller Central 

Performing regular Amazon conversion and traffic analysis is crucial. But, analyzing these metrics on Amazon can look a little different than general eCommerce. To look up your internal traffic data, open the “Detailed Page Sales & Traffic Report” under the “Report” tab on Seller Central, where you can set a specific date range to reveal details. However, as is often the case, Amazon works and words things in mysterious ways:  

• Amazon traffic data is referred to as “page views.”

• Amazon conversion rates are labeled “unit session percentage.”

How to Track Amazon Traffic and Conversions

Amazon now offers a tool called “Amazon Attribution.” This nifty feature allows you to track external data and interest from search engines and ads outside of Amazon. 

Traffic and Conversions at a Glance

Based on these surface definitions, it is easy to come away thinking, “Well, obviously conversions are the most important part.” 

Conversions = a purchase.

A purchase = celebration! 

This might be true, but there is more going on behind the scenes. Conversions don’t always equate to high revenue and traffic doesn’t always spark a purchase. Many make the critical mistake of prioritizing conversions over traffic, when traffic is actually the magical source of your conversions! 

Learn how to take both into account and strike that perfect balance.

Interpreting and Applying the Data 

Let's take some time to break down a few scenarios and assess what your traffic: conversion ratio reveals about your listing:

Traffic and conversion rates and ratios are incredibly valuable. Here are a couple of spins that may feel familiar (and frustrating):

Scenario 1: Traffic > Conversions

This scenario concerns the disconnect when traffic is high and conversion is poor.

Imagine you are selling teacups and you have 1,000 views a day. Starting out, that may seem positive, but you realize only 10 of those 1,000 clicks turned into a purchase. This is a 1% conversion rate. 

What might be clogging the funnel from traffic to conversions: 

• Your keywords aren’t relevant to your product. Improve the quality of your SEO to get traffic that converts.
• A clunky listing. You have a lot of keywords but haven't spent time crafting effective copy, so traffic stalls out before reaching its ultimate destination, the Amazon cart.
• If you keyword stuffed or failed to describe your product accurately, consumers may visit your listing only to find it wasn’t what they were searching for after all.

Scenario 2: Amazon Search Traffic and Conversions are Both Lacking

Clicks are sparse and revenue is dwindling. Need I say more? This is far from what you hope to see, and there are a variety of reasons why you might find yourself at this lonely crossroads:

• You aren’t using every element of your Amazon landing page to its full potential. Images, videos, descriptions, and A+ content all play a major role. Don’t underestimate their importance and be sure to make them attention-grabbing, relatable, and honest. 
• Reviews are bringing traffic to a halt.  
• You use minimal keywords.
• Your Amazon listing is sparse, or not enough care and attention have been given to certain key aspects.
• Nothing sets you apart from the slew of similar products.

Scenario 3: Conversion may appear high, but take a closer look.

If your conversion rate is 75%, but you’ve only had 4 views, there is more going on than meets the eye. Your conversion rate seems high, but ultimately only 3 people have purchased. Again, not ideal. Here’s a quick checklist of points that might need your attention:

• Make sure each element of your listing speaks to a certain area, including indexing, visual appeal, and how it makes the customer feel.
• Read through your reviews, and address buyer concerns.
• Check that you’re using a number of relevant keywords.

Quality over Quantity: Marketing is Marvelous

The most efficient way to improve the quality of your traffic and bulk-up conversion is with concentrated and intentional marketing. In other words, know your audience.

A strong understanding of your market audience will usher in quality traffic. Not only will traffic increase, but you’ll also attract the CORRECT traffic for your product, thereby avoiding fruitless clicks. 

When it comes down to it, the most effective interpretation of your traffic and conversion data is that both measurements are high-priority ingredients to selling on Amazon. 

They equally relay game-changing information about what is happening in the mind of the Amazon consumer. Consider both traffic and conversions to be road markers outlining the path to your dream buyer.

Discover How to Increase Amazon Traffic and Boost Conversions

There is so much to consider when listing and selling on Amazon! The Amazon conversion rate is at the top of most eCommerce platforms, so let us help you make the most of every opportunity! If you find that traffic and conversions aren’t computing, send us your listing for a free Amazon listing analysis! We can tell you where we see weak points that may impact your traffic and conversions negatively and help you get back on the road to success!