Recently, I was in a pitch with a potential new Amazon client where we reviewed their paid and product detail pages. Among our recommendations, we discovered that the brand was not taking full advantage of the 130+ characters available for product titles.

The client was engaged and asked some insightful questions, leading to a discussion that revealed an interesting challenge.

Myself: "There's a significant opportunity to expand your product titles to include more features, which can help your product rank for those features."

Prospective Client: "That's interesting because our vendor manager advised us to write clean titles that fit on a mobile screen. They said that's the new priority."

Myself: "Have I missed an update?"

I was genuinely surprised. The vendor manager's advice made sense, considering the importance of concise titles for mobile users. However, in the realm of Amazon, vendor managers are typically generalists focused on relationships, logistics, and profitability, rather than SEO specialists. This discrepancy raised an important question about the best approach for product titles.

I always aim to provide the best advice to clients and teams. So, am I out of touch with current practices? Is this the new standard for product titles? To find out, I decided to research the latest Amazon product title best practices.

Before diving into what constitutes an effective product title, let's explore the possibilities and our current understanding of Amazon product titles.

Amazon Product Titles

Amazon product titles can be up to 200 characters long. Traditional advice often encourages brands and professionals to use as many characters as possible. Sometimes, this involves "keyword stuffing" to improve rankings for various searches.

For example, a typical product title might start with the brand name, followed by the product type, size, use cases, color, and quantity.

This is how the product title appears in desktop search results.

eCommerce

This is how it looks on mobile.

eCommerce

Much of the title gets cut off on both desktop and mobile views. Considering the vendor manager's advice, they might argue that this affects readability, and on the surface, it seems reasonable.

Therefore, focusing on readability might be the better approach. Perhaps they are suggesting a style similar to this brand's approach?

eCommerce eCommerce

In this example, the brand sticks to the essentials: brand name, towel type, size, and color. There are no detailed benefits listed, but it provides the key information clearly and reads well.

Brief vs Long: Which Follows Amazon Product Title Best Practices?

Amazon doesn't offer a definitive stance on the ideal product title length. While they allow up to 200 characters and aim for a good shopping experience, they don't explicitly outline best practices. Instead, finding the optimal approach involves testing and hypothesis.

Are You Using Google Ads?

Try Our FREE Ads Grader!

Stop wasting money and unlock the hidden potential of your advertising.

  • Discover the power of intentional advertising.
  • Reach your ideal target audience.
  • Maximize ad spend efficiency.

Personally, I believe both examples are effective. The first, more detailed example is designed for algorithms to identify use cases, while the second, shorter one is crafted for consumers to quickly grasp the information. However, based on my extensive experience of over 20 years in writing engaging ad copy, I think consumers tend to scan more than they read.

Why is this the case? Most customers focus on images, prices, and ratings rather than reading through complete sentences. They might then click for more detailed information. This perspective is drawn from instinct and experience, but it's crucial to test these assumptions with data.

How do we validate these hypotheses? With data!

What Ranking Data Tells Us About Amazon Titles

Let’s compare the Ephsumus Turkish towel with a longer product description to the Cacala towel with a shorter description. Despite having different price points, both products feature similar imagery and review ratings.

One major difference is that the Ephsumus towel provides detailed use cases, highlighting its lightweight nature and suitability for various settings like the gym or beach, along with its quick-drying feature. In contrast, the Cacala towel’s description is more concise.

A popular tool for analyzing rankings and keyword density is Helium10, which I highly recommend. Helium10 often emphasizes the importance of keyword density in product titles. Reviewing these two products, the data supports this claim.

In the table below, you can see the top keywords relevant to these products based on search volume. The title density indicates how many products in search results contain those keywords.

For example, the term "gym towels" is referenced in the Ephsumus product description, though not as a combined phrase. The longer title for this product ranks significantly higher, as does the term "Turkish beach towel." Additionally, "quick dry" is also included in the Ephsumus title.

eCommerce

This looks like there is a clear winner…the longer title!

Correlation Does Not Equal Causation

Before jumping to conclusions about cracking the code for Amazon titles, it's important to take a step back.

Amazon, like many data-driven platforms, often presents complexities that aren't immediately clear. Although the data might seem straightforward, it's possible that the title isn't the sole factor influencing rankings. For example, back-end keywords could play a significant role. Additionally, the longer-description product is priced at half the cost, which could also be affecting the results.

Is there an alternative approach to analyzing this? One effective method could be conducting A-B tests with different product titles to see how variations impact performance.

Experiments with Amazon

Using the Experiments function in Amazon Vendor/Seller Central allows you to test different product titles on your own listings.

Amazon will conduct these experiments by evaluating conversion rates and click-through rates. When the results reach statistical significance, Amazon will recommend the most effective product title.

However, it’s not always that straightforward. For instance, a recent set of experiments conducted by goamify tested three different titles, with two out of three showing that shorter titles performed better, while the third showed better results with a longer title.

So, who should we believe? The vendor manager who provided initial advice or the majority of listings that align with different results? Until Amazon provides clear answers, we can rely on a combination of gut instinct, personal experience, and the available data. Here are some tips:

  • Amazon allows up to 200 characters for a reason—make use of them.
  • Include relevant keywords for both use cases and high search volumes, but ensure the title remains readable for potential customers. Avoid keyword stuffing that lacks context.
  • Test different approaches extensively. Factors such as product category, competition, and other variables suggest there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution.
  • Seek multiple opinions. In a large organization like Amazon, it's unlikely that one person has all the answers.

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

When I posed this question in a popular LinkedIn group for Amazon sellers, I received a range of insightful opinions and passionate responses. Some valuable points were raised, and we want to know what you think. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.