Acquiring the Amazon’s Choice or Best Seller badge is a dream come true for many Amazon sellers. These two badges are associated with best-sellers and products that are highly rated or have high conversion rates.
So, do you know what exactly Amazon’s #1 Best Seller badge signifies? Can you trust products with Amazon’s Choice badges? And, how exactly are these two badges different from each other?
In this guide, we’ll give you all these answers, plus some best practices to help you acquire the Amazon’s Choice or Best Seller badges.
Let’s jump right in!
What Is Amazon’s Choice?
Amazon’s Choice is an algorithm that assigns badges to products with a high number of sales, competitive pricing, are highly rated, and are available to ship immediately. These badges are reserved for products that best match the search term or targeted keyword.
Additionally, Amazon Choice products typically have the majority of the sales from that chosen keyword (over 50%). If there’s no sales majority for a specific search term, there won’t be an Amazon’s Choice badge on any product.
When you hear the term “Amazon’s Choice”, it sounds as if these products are recommended by Amazon personally. However, that’s a common misconception and definitely not the case.
What Is the Amazon’s Choice Badge?
The Amazon’s Choice badge is a sign that appears on the top-left corner of Amazon product listings of items that best match the given keyword or have the best conversion rates and ratings. This badge is practically determined by your SEO game.
To improve the chances of getting the Amazon’s Choice badge, you should optimize your listing and include the targeted keyword strategically throughout.
What Is Amazon’s Best Seller?
Amazon’s Best Seller Rank uses Amazon’s A9 algorithm to assign a BSR or Best Seller Rank number to products based on their sales in different product categories. The lower the number, the better the sales.
This ranking system goes from #1 to 1 million. The BSR number is always current since it’s updated hourly.
So, the product with the #1 Best Seller badge has the highest number of sales in that product category.
What Is the Amazon’s Best Seller Badge?
Products with a BSR of a maximum of 100 are awarded the Amazon Best Seller badge. Unlike Amazon’s Choice badges that are tied to a keyword, Amazon’s Best Seller badges are tied to a product category.
Logically, the product with a BSR rank of #1 is the best seller in its category. Products that belong to more than one category can have a different BSR in each category, depending on the sales of the competitors in that category.
Additionally, your SEO efforts matter a lot for Amazon’s Choice Badge, while the number of sales is all that matters for a better BSR rank and badge.
Amazon Choice vs. Best Seller: Location of Appearance
The Best Seller badge is displayed on the top left corner of the product photo in the search results, as well as under the title and star rating on the product page.
The Amazon’s Choice badge pops up on products tied to a search term that you enter. This badge is also displayed on the top left corner in the search results and under the title and rating on the product page.
However, if there isn’t a listing with an absolute sales majority for a certain keyword, there won’t be any products with an Amazon’s Choice badge for that keyword.
Amazon Choice vs. Best Seller: Benefits to Sellers
Both the Amazon’s Choice and the Best Seller badge bring many benefits to those lucky few sellers that manage to acquire them, starting from increased sales to more authority in their niche. Let’s take a look at all of them.
Amazon’s Choice Benefits
The Amazon’s Choice badge comes with many advantages for the lucky sellers. Here are some more significant ones:
Increased Visibility
Product listings with an Amazon’s Choice badge pop up higher among the search results and are more highlighted, making them stick out.
As a result, you should experience increased visibility and more traffic.
Sales Boost
Naturally, with a boost in traffic comes a boost in sales. When you finally receive the Amazon’s Choice badge, don’t forget to account for an inventory increase.
A (False) Sense of Security
As mentioned earlier, buying an Amazon’s Choice product gives buyers a sense of security since they believe the product is recommended by Amazon. Plus, it makes them feel like a part of a group since these products usually have a high number of sales.
Amazon’s Best Seller Benefits
Displaying Amazon’s #1 Best Seller badge is proof of a successful product with a high number of sales. Here are the benefits of this badge for sellers:
Increased Sales
Needless to say, products that display a #1 Best Seller badge are highly rated and they stand out visibly, so sellers can expect a quick increase in their number of sales.
Maintaining a good inventory turnover ratio is crucial here. The right levels of stock will help you avoid out-of-stock problems.
More Visibility
Another benefit that comes with the Best Seller badge is increased visibility. Your product will show up in front of all the others in the search results.
This way of highlighting the best-selling products allows for even more exposure and traffic, resulting, once again, in increased sales.
A (Real) Sense of Security
The Amazon Best Seller badge has clear criteria – the highest number of sales in your product category ranks you #1. So, these are always highly rated products with great conversion rates.
And, there’s always a good reason why the majority of buyers are buying (and keep buying) the product.
Amazon Choice vs. Best Seller: Badge Criteria
Let’s take a look at what exactly you have to offer to qualify for each of these badges.
Amazon’s Choice Badge Criteria
Although the exact details of obtaining an Amazon’s Choice badge are still blurry, we know some of the criteria:
- Competitive pricing
- Tied to a keyword or search term
- Available to ship immediately
- Prime-eligible
- Lower return rate
- Uses Amazon FBA
- Good product ratings and reviews
So, try to tick as many of these boxes as possible, and you’ll improve your chances of getting an Amazon’s Choice badge.
Best Seller Badge Criteria
Here are some boxes you need to tick to qualify for a better BSR number:
- High conversion rates
- A high number of sales in a specific product category
- Positive ratings and customer reviews
- Prime-eligible shipping
- High-quality product images
- A boost in marketing and advertising to increase sales
Here, the criteria for getting a badge are much more straightforward – it’s all about the number of sales and the sales velocity.
Amazon’s Choice vs. Best Seller: Which Badge to Choose?
The Best Seller algorithm is far more specific and well-explained than Amazon’s Choice program. Best-sellers are typically well-rated products that customers genuinely buy and are satisfied with.
The Best Seller Rank or qualification depends solely on the number of sales in a specific product category.
The Amazon’s Choice badge, on the other hand, seems to be related to keywords. So, a product might have the badge for the keyword “home storage box” but not for the term “plastic storage box”.
Considering this, we’d say that having a high BSR, especially the #1 Best Seller badge is much better than the Amazon’s Choice badge.
However, both badges increase sales and conversions for sellers and bring many benefits, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t aim to get both.
Note: They can’t be displayed at the same time.
How to Get the Amazon’s Choice Badge?
If you’re wondering how is Amazon’s Choice product selected, Amazon does not explicitly disclose how this badge is awarded, but we know that it has a lot to do with:
- Having a competitive pricing
- Good product ratings
- Products being available for immediate shipping
With this in mind, let’s see what actions to take to boost our chances of getting the Amazon’s Choice badge:
Step 1: Optimize Your Listing
Since the Amazon’s Choice badge is tied to keyword searches, we recommend starting the process by optimizing your product listing and using SEO best practices. In short, that means including the right keywords strategically throughout your listing.
To do this, first, you’ll have to do keyword research. You can use Amazon or Google’s search results to find high-volume targeted keyword opportunities you can try to rank for.
If you want to simplify your Amazon product research, you can use an Amazon keyword research tool such as JungleScout, AMZScout, Helium 10, etc.
Try to rank one product listing for one main keyword (you can also include supporting keywords throughout). The main keyword should be included in all the main parts of your listing such as the title, bullet points, and the product description.
Step 2: Optimize Your Amazon PPC Ads
Similar to bidding on keywords for Google search ads, you can do the same with Amazon PPC ads. So, as soon as someone enters the search term you bid on, your result will come up front and they will click on it first.
This artificial or paid “keyword fit” is the same as an organic search to Amazon’s algorithms. So, as soon as a buyer clicks on the search result, it increases your chances of getting the Amazon’s Choice badge for that keyword.
Step 3: Keep Up Your Reviews and Ratings
Naturally, your reviews and product rating also play a role in getting Amazon’s Choice badges.
However, not all buyers are inclined to leave a review, even if they liked your product. Unfortunately, people are more likely to criticize than praise, so they would rather leave a bad review for a product they dislike than a good one.
So, you’ll have to be proactive and start nudging buyers in the right direction – leaving you that 5-star rating and a good review.
Here are some ideas to help you with that:
- Use Amazon’s “Request a Review” button (you can find it in your Seller Central account);
- Personalize the default email Amazon sends out asking for a review;
- Simplify the process of leaving a review as much as possible;
- Follow up with review reminders periodically.
Of course, don’t forget that great customer service throughout the entire buyer journey and a low return rate are also factors in your ratings and reviews.
Step 4: Use Amazon FBA for Fulfillment
Customers today love the unparalleled service of Amazon Prime. And, using FBA for order fulfillment makes your products eligible for Prime.
Additionally, Amazon FBA provides a smooth delivery experience that buyers today love. So, with FBA, your products will always be available for immediate delivery and match the criteria needed for an Amazon’s Choice badge.
Step 5: Competitive Prices
Amazon Choice products are always priced competitively. Of course, that doesn’t mean bringing down the price in a way that harms your eCommerce profit margins.
It simply means placing the right price for the value you provide compared to your competitors. So, if your product has superior quality or added features, don’t hesitate to increase the pricing, even if it’s more than the competition. The only thing you need to do is justify it in added value.
Step 6: Keep Adequate Stock Levels
Last but not least, you always want to keep the correct levels of stock and avoid out-of-stock scenarios. Amazon’s Choice products are always available on demand and ready to ship immediately. So, unfortunately, backorders might not work to your advantage here.
How to Get a Better Amazon Best Seller Rank Badge?
It’s simple, for a better BSR rank, you need to increase your number of sales. The BSR number for each product is calculated based on its:
- Historical sales data
- Recent sales data
So, sales volume and sales velocity play a big role in ranking higher.
Step 1: List Your Product in the Right Category
Let’s say you’re selling dry dog food. If you list your product in the category “pet supplies” there are a lot of competitors to worry about.
Instead, list your product in “pet food”, “dog food”, or better yet – “dry dog food”. The more specific, fitting, and targeted the category, the better your chances of having a better BSR.
Step 2: Discounts and Deals
Then, you could temporarily decrease your prices to gain traction and boost your sales. Just, ensure that these are only short-term bursts and discounts so that your profits don’t suffer too much damage.
By discounting your product for 15% or 20%, it gets eligible for the Amazon Lightning Deal promotion. These deals are available one per customer and only for a limited time. They can be great for boosting your sales numbers, especially since sales velocity seems to play a part in getting ranking higher on the BSR scale.
Step 3: Boost Your Marketing Efforts
Amazon’s BSR numbers are updated hourly. So, they can change quickly in each direction. Plus, sales velocity seems to also affect the BSR rank.
Logically, you want to step up your marketing game and invest in bringing more paid (and organic) traffic to your product listings. A great way to do that is Amazon PPC ads using the right targeted keyword.
FAQs about Amazon Choice vs. Best Seller
As always, let’s cover some of the most frequently asked questions on the subject of Amazon’s Choice vs. Best Seller badges.
Should You Trust Amazon’s Best Sellers?
Amazon’s Best Sellers are products that outperformed the competition and are preferred by customers. They’re chosen solely on their sales numbers, which mostly go hand-in-hand with high customer ratings.
So, in regards to buying a quality product and having a safe delivery experience, you can trust Amazon’s products with a good Best Seller Rank.
What Is the Amazon New Release Badge?
The Amazon #1 New Release badge is displayed on new products that perform extraordinarily well in terms of sales! This badge looks like an orange ribbon across the top left corner of a product page.
Can Only Major Brands Get Amazon Choice and Best Seller Badges?
No! All third-party sellers can acquire an Amazon’s Choice badge or a good BSR badge. Although being a major established brand might help in terms of traffic and sales, it’s not a decisive factor.
Can You Trust Amazon’s Choice?
The term “Amazon’s Choice” often implies that these are products recommended by Amazon itself, which is definitely not the case. These are simply the products that hold the majority of the sales for a specific search term and are reliable in terms of order fulfillment.
Wrapping Up
The biggest difference between Amazon’s Choice vs. Best Seller is that Amazon’s Choice badges are keyword-related while the Best Seller rank is category-related.
Additionally, it seems the #1 Best Seller badge is far more worthy for both sellers and buyers. Perhaps, that’s because of the more transparent criteria when compared to Amazon’s Choice.
To part with, we’d like to remind you that you can get a free quote from us if you need to source products from China to sell on Amazon!
We sincerely hope that this Amazon Choice vs. Best Seller comparison guide will help you acquire these badges and enjoy a tremendous boost in sales!
