This Issue's TLDR...

• 3 cheap(ish) traffic hacks that still work in 2024
• A new fraud type out of China just dropped
• How to calculate the CVR of any ASIN on Amazon

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Traffic versus Conversion.

The debate we all *love* to have.

Normal people argue about sports teams.

Marketers and Amazon nerds argue about traffic and conversion.

It's the cross we bear, I guess.

We're not going to get into that debate today though.

You all probably know where I stand ("It depends").

Rather, I simply want to share 3 of the "Traffic Hacks" that I've been using for myself, and my brand clients (with great effect!).

➡️ For Improved SEO...Enrich your Amazon images with metadata

• WHAT: Did you know that Google indexes your Amazon images? This means that, if you have keywords on the back-end of your images, Google will index them and your PDPs will benefit (You'll see the importance of this later in the newsletter).
• HOW: I'm not talking about alt-text here. You're going to need to use Adobe Photoshop, or a free open-source tool like GIMP, to edit the metadata of your images and add relevant keywords for your product.

➡️ For Off-Amazon Traffic...Leverage affiliate marketing platforms

• WHAT: Seems like affiliate marketing platforms are popping up everywhere these days. I know of, and use, 5 of them. Oh, and don't let anyone convince you that one platform is categorically better than the others. As always: "It depends." The main factors that will impact your performance on any of these platforms are product-affiliate fit (It shouldn't surprise you that a food publication isn't going to want to promote your baby shoes brand) and the commission rates that you offer.
• HOW: Like I said, there are a lot of options here. Levanta is the platform that people in this space are quick to promote ("Whose Bread I Eat, His Song I Sing"), but don't sleep on Archer Affiliates, Content Connections, and Perch+. Also...none of these are mutually exclusive. Use them all!

➡️ For Off-Amazon Traffic...Buy cheap or expired domains + 301 redirect

• WHAT: This one is a little meaty, but briefly:
  • Expired domains are those that were previously owned but are no longer active. These domains often have existing domain authority (a measure of trustworthiness and ranking potential) and backlinks.
  • A 301 redirect is a code that permanently redirects one URL to another. When set up, it tells search engines that the original URL has permanently moved to the new URL. Sort of like telling the USPS that you've changed mailing addresses.
  • The primary benefit of doing this is you transfer the acquired domain's authority and backlinks. You're basically stealing SEO.
• HOW: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to find expired domains with high domain authority and a strong backlink profile. Purchase the domain through a domain registrar or auction site. Set up a 301 redirect to point the expired domain to your primary website. (Just ask ChatGPT to walk you through this)

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How about a few BONUS hacks?

Check out my appearance on the Intentwise podcast earlier this year, in which I talk about:

➡️ Social media promo codes

➡️ Customer journey mapping

➡️ Buying media assets

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BEST from the Group Chats

This PSA is courtesy of my good friend, Ben Eklof:

Just another day in paradise for us Amazon sellers, amirite?!

BEST from LinkedIn

Back in the day, when an Amazon advertising expert would push upper-funnel activities on me, my response was always:

Mostly, it was an honest recognition of what my brand was and was not. (HINT: My brand is NOT Dude Wipes and doesn't have that kind of awareness and recognition)

But also, it was a measurement issue.

While I didn't think the deck was set for my upper-funnel activities to translated to branded search and lower-funnel actions, I had no way of knowing. Because I/we were living in a last-click attribution world.

That has changed now, with Amazon Marketing Cloud.

My old Amazon colleague, Joon Choi, elaborates:

BEST from X

Here's a fun fact:

Amazon is one of Google's largest advertisers.

"Duh, Jon. That's obvious."

OK, well, did you know that Amazon has invested tens of millions into building sophisticated adtech to optimize its Google Adwords budgets, bids, and placements?

It's all done through an internal tool called Hydra.

And it's crazy powerful.

When I was at Amazon, I saw first-hand how dialing up (or down) Hydra could influence overall Amazon.ca site traffic.

It affords Amazon a level of precision in forecasting site traffic that other companies can only dream of.

I mention all this because...

...Amazon tried launching Amazon Mexico back when I was there *without* using Hydra and, well...[cue dumpster fire].

modest proposal @modestproposal1 @stratechery One man's monopoly is another man's greatest business ever invented, but this is as clear as it gets: "I wanted to see if we could get traction in a country launch without using Google" Wilke later said "and it turned out the answer was no.. We weren't reaching enough customers" modest proposal @modestproposal1 More monopoly indicators h/t @stratechery 9:35 AM • Jul 8, 2021 9 Retweets 56 Likes Read 4 replies

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**

This is an awesome hack from my buddy, Isaac.

It's not always obvious, but you can get A LOT of insights about a product or brand based on Amazon first party data, simply by stitching together different Brand Analytics reports in Seller Central.

Despite that, ASIN level CVR is one of those metrics that was hard to stitch together from Amazon data.

The best you could sometimes do, is combine SQP Clicks+Purchases data with Click Share % and Purchase Share % in Top Search Terms to obtain CVR for the Top 3 ASINs for a given query. (Or use a third-party tool)

This is much better and broader than that.

Thanks Isaac!

Isaac Gross @IG_PPC INSANE AMAZON HACK! Here is a simple way to see the CVR of any product on Amazon—without any estimation from third-party tools, just with first-party data from Amazon! 🟠Enter any ASIN in the Product Opportunity Explorer. 🟠Click on the ASIN and look at "Product Metrics."… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1818354600665305183 1:34 PM • Jul 30, 2024 0 Retweets 8 Likes Read 3 replies

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