The Amazon’s Choice Badge has a bit of a rocky history, including unfavorable press and even political scrutiny. However, the badge isn’t all bad.
Research shows the badge could increase traffic by 45%, ramp up conversion rates by 25%, and potentially double or even triple your Amazon sales.
First, you’ve got to meet Amazon’s criteria. These guidelines spell out Amazon’s priorities and offer practical insights for how to increase your rankings, product page views, and conversions. All of which can help you stand out in an increasingly noisy marketplace.
In this article, we’ll share tips to help you win the badge and boost your total Amazon ROI.
What Is Amazon’s Choice?
The Amazon’s Choice badge is designed to let customers know which product is the best match for their search. It appears as a distinctive deep teal banner with white and orange text in search results and on product listings pages.
Amazon’s Choice products are the most relevant search results for their particular keywords. They have high customer ratings, fast delivery times, low return rates, and meet other specific criteria as determined by Amazon.
Originally introduced in 2015 for Amazon Echo, Amazon’s Choice was created so voice search shoppers could easily choose a default option (for example, “Alexa, order snacks”) without listening to thousands of listings. The badge was later made available on desktop and mobile in June 2016.
Though Amazon hasn’t disclosed much about how the badge works, it appears to be assigned automatically, by an algorithm. Amazon’s Choice is awarded to one product per search term or keyword string, and there doesn’t seem to be any limit to the number of badges available.
This means that the Amazon’s Choice badge winner changes depending on the keywords you use. A search for “iphone charger fast” returns an entirely different Amazon’s Choice brand than a search for “iphone charger fastest.” Users have also noted that the badge may move to a different product when the screen is refreshed, while Redditors and other Sellers note that it can disappear without warning.
In the past, there was just one badge that read “Amazon’s Choice,” which could be applied to any product meeting the requirements. This badge still exists, but more recently the platform has added new categories, including “Amazon’s Choice: Overall Pick” and “Amazon’s Choice: Popular Brand Pick.”
Here’s how Amazon describes the two new categories:
- Amazon’s Choice: Popular Brand Pick – “This brand is popular with other customers and this product is highly rated, well-priced, and available to ship immediately.”
- Amazon’s Choice: Overall Pick – “This product is highly rated, well-priced, and available to ship immediately.”
Amazon’s Choice Badge vs. Best Seller Badge
According to Amazon, the Best Seller Badge appears on items that rank #1 in a category with 100 products or more. It’s awarded based on a score called Best Seller Rankings (BSR) which factors in data about both recent and all-time sales, with recent sales weighted more heavily.
In theory, the Best Seller Badge is assigned using a more transparent process compared to Amazon’s Choice Badge. That’s because it’s based on a product’s actual sales volume and popularity with Amazon customers.
In practice, this may not always be the case. Amazon itself says that BSR “doesn’t always indicate how well an item is selling in relation to similar items.” It’s also worth noting that, at the time of writing, multiple product searches turned up “Best Sellers” that were also sponsored listings.
One major difference is that sellers have to compete with others in their product category to win Best Seller. Amazon’s Choice Winners, however, may only need to compete against their own brand name.
For example, at the time of this writing, one 3 in 1 iphone charging station by the seller “GETPALS” holds the Amazon Choice Badge for the keyword string “Cell Phone Wireless Chargers by GETPALS.”
Can I Have Both a Best Seller Badge and an Amazon’s Choice Badge?
Yes. A seller can have both Amazon Best Seller and Amazon’s Choice labels on their products. Each badge serves a slightly different purpose and is awarded based on different criteria.
Because Amazon’s Choice badges are assigned based on search term, a single product may have multiple Amazon’s Choice badges, but only one Best Seller badge. Amazon’s Choice badges can theoretically be awarded to virtually infinite keyword combinations.
Hypothetically, a single seller and product could hold the Amazon’s Choice badge for both “iphone charger fast,” and “iphone charger faster,” and also hold a Best Seller rank and badge.
How To Get The Amazon’s Choice Badge
Scoring an Amazon’s Choice label is a smart goal for any seller.
Even if you don’t succeed in getting the badge, the tactics and strategies required also happen to be some of the best ways to succeed on the marketplace.
Here’s what it takes to develop the perfect product listing, increase your sales, and score the badge.
1. Focus on Relevant Keywords (Organic and Paid)
A 2020 MerchantWords deep dive found that an ASIN’s organic SERP position was the most heavily weighted factor in Amazon’s Choice badge determinations.
While Amazon’s algorithm may have changed somewhat since then, keyword and listing optimization is still vital for winning the badge.
To improve your odds, optimize your product listings — including your product title, bullet points, and product description — with specific keywords your target audience might use to find you. Consider different words or combinations to increase your potential search hits.
Remember, no keyword stuffing. You want to be sure this vital information on your listing is still readable, not gibberish.
2. Maintain High Ratings and Reviews
It’s no surprise that products with higher customer ratings are more likely to be awarded the Amazon’s Choice badge.
Along with SERP rankings, customer reviews seem to weigh quite heavily in the Amazon’s Choice algorithm.
While star rating matters somewhat, the number of customer reviews on a listing seems to make more of a difference. So much so, in fact, that some sellers intentionally exploit the system by pressuring customers to leave product reviews in exchange for free gifts and more.
To get better reviews the right way, try:
- Using Amazon features like the “Request a Review Button” or Amazon Vine
- Responding to customer reviews asap to let buyers know you take their feedback seriously
- Placing inserts in your packaging gently requesting reviews without offering incentives
- Sending a follow-up email after a customer receives a product
- Posting on social media to remind loyal followers to review products they’ve already purchased
- Keeping an eye on your return rate and reaching out to customers to find out what went wrong
- Providing exceptional customer service and asking for a review at the end of every positive customer support call
- Continuing to make quality products your customers love and incorporating their feedback into future launches
3. Ensure Prime Eligibility
To improve your chances of earning the Amazon’s Choice badge, make sure you’re participating in Amazon Prime.
Amazon tends to treat Prime-eligible products preferentially because they offer an enhanced customer experience consistent with its brand image. According to CNET, being eligible for Amazon Prime shipping is a requirement for the badge.
Prime eligibility can also help you meet the requirement that Amazon’s Choice products be “delivered faster” and “available to ship immediately.”
The easiest way to qualify for Prime is to use Amazon FBA for order fulfillment. But you can also enroll in Seller Fulfilled Prime to become a Prime seller while fulfilling your own orders or using a 3PL.
To enroll in Seller Fulfilled Prime, you must have a domestic US address set up as your default shipping address. You also need an Amazon Professional selling account.
Here are Amazon’s latest Prime eligibility requirements:
- Self-fulfilled at least 100 orders/packages
- Order cancellation rate lower than 2.5%
- Valid tracking rate higher than 95%
- Late shipment rate lower than 4%
To remain in the program, you must complete a 30-day trial period, in which you maintain an on-time delivery rate of at least 93.5%, along with around a dozen other requirements.
4. Keep Products in Stock
A crucial component of winning the Amazon’s Choice Badge is keeping a close eye on your inventory levels. Frequent stockouts can disqualify a product from earning the badge, since Amazon’s algorithm prioritizes product availability, fast shipping, and availability for immediate shipping.
To keep products in stock (and avoid additional Amazon fees), be sure to stay compliant with the Amazon Minimum Inventory Level. The Minimum Inventory Level is a metric Amazon calculates based on your historical days of supply to determine how much inventory you need to keep on-hand. It uses the formula:
Historical Days of Supply = Average Daily Inventory Units on Hand ÷ Average Daily Shipped Units
Try using a dedicated inventory planning platform to help ensure you have enough product in stock to meet the requirements, without overspending on Amazon storage.
Note that earning the badge can cause an overnight sales boost, leading to unexpected stockouts. If this happens, and you won’t be able to replenish inventory in time, consider raising your prices and lowering your PPC budget to slow your sales pace.
5. Optimize for Competitive Pricing
Though pricing isn’t listed as a factor in the Amazon’s Choice FAQ, the guidelines for Popular Brand Pick and Overall Pick specifically mention well-priced products.
Competitive pricing can also help you win the Buy Box and improve your Amazon SEO rankings. And remember, those rankings are likely one of the most important factors in earning the Amazon’s Choice badge.
To optimize pricing, you can enroll in Amazon’s price automation tool through Amazon Seller Central. The tool allows you to choose from a number of pre-set pricing rules, or create your own customized pricing strategy. You choose only the SKUs you want to enroll, and can apply different rules to each. From there, Amazon automatically adjusts your pricing to stay competitive with other sellers.
You can also try AI-powered and third-party automated pricing tools, such as:
- Informed
- Feedvisor
- Aura
- Seller Snap
- ChannelMAX
- BQool
- Flashpricer
These tools typically offer additional features, allow for more complex rule-setting, and give you access to advanced analytics.
Snag the Badge and Win More Sales on Amazon
With around two million third-party sellers on the platform and counting, standing out on Amazon is harder than ever. But that doesn’t mean your brand can’t get noticed.
No matter which marketplaces you use to expand and grow your business, with the right strategy and right partners, you can stay on top.
To learn how other brands keep their best sellers in stock, ace Amazon’s requirements, and more, check out our e-commerce success stories.
