Overview

In today’s competitive Amazon marketplace, achieving prominent organic ranking is more crucial than ever – and it’s especially true as we head into 2025. High ad costs and fierce competition mean Amazon agency professionals must find smarter ways to boost product visibility without breaking the bank on PPC.

“We have a Prime Day every day [in Q4]. The spikes you see during Prime Day are now every day,” notes Marcel Marculescu, co-founder of Intellirank,

underscoring how peak-season traffic amplifies both opportunities and challenges. The good news? By mastering Amazon’s organic ranking strategies – from savvy keyword research to leveraging new in-platform social features – agencies can help brands increase Amazon product visibility and sales in a sustainable, cost-efficient way. This thought-leadership guide distills key insights from an episode of Marketplace Masters webinar with Marcel Marculescu into clear best practices that any Amazon agency can action. We’ll explore how Amazon’s search algorithm works in 2025, practical steps to improve Amazon's organic ranking, and how to tap free tools like Amazon Posts (and the now-evolving Inspire program) to drive organic traffic. Let’s dive into the playbook for ranking success without solely depending on paid ads.

The Importance of Organic Ranking (and Why It’s Top of Mind in 2025)

For Amazon sellers and the agencies that support them, organic ranking refers to where a product appears in search results without paid advertising. In an Amazon search results page, shoppers see a mix of “sponsored” results (paid ads) and organic results. Earning a top organic spot for relevant keywords is incredibly valuable – it’s essentially free visibility and traffic. “Organic ranking means that you're there and you're not paying to be displayed there. So this is the cheapest way to get traffic to your listing,” explains Marculescu. Every click you get from an organic placement costs you $0, whereas PPC clicks might cost $1 or $5+ each, depending on the keyword’s competitiveness. Higher organic rankings, therefore translate to better profit margins and scalability.

Why is organic ranking a particularly hot topic for Q4 2024 and 2025? During the holiday season (and major events like Prime Day), Amazon experiences traffic surges – Marcel likens it to having “a Prime Day every day” in Q4. More shoppers mean more potential sales, but also more competition for attention. If you rely solely on ads, you’ll find costs skyrocketing during these peak periods. Organic visibility is the counterbalance that lets your product be seen by thousands of shoppers without an equivalent spike in ad spend. Moreover, Amazon’s continued growth (and Walmart’s rising challenge) means that agencies must be adept in both paid and organic Amazon SEO strategies to deliver results. Agencies that can navigate Amazon’s algorithm and consistently land clients’ products on page one organically provide a huge competitive advantage.

Finally, Amazon’s algorithm has been evolving (often dubbed the A10 algorithm in 2025 discussions). While paid ads secure immediate visibility, organic rank is a longer-term indicator of a product’s relevance and sales momentum. Notably, organic ranking isn’t just about keyword stuffing or luck – it’s about performance. Amazon’s search algorithm heavily rewards products that convert well and generate revenue for Amazon. In other words, if your product listing consistently sells strongly for a given search query, Amazon learns that customers like your product for that query and will rank you higher. Conversely, if your listing has poor conversion or bad reviews, it can hurt organic rank. Thus, focusing on organic rank forces you to optimise every aspect of your product offering – from keywords to images to pricing – making you a better seller overall. It’s a virtuous cycle: better organic rank → more visibility → more sales → even higher rank.

How Amazon’s Search Algorithm Rewards Sales (Not Just Keywords)

To effectively influence Amazon's organic rank, it helps to understand what Amazon’s A9/A10 algorithm values in 2025. Amazon is, at its core, a commerce platform driven by revenue and customer satisfaction. That means the products that make Amazon the most money, and keep customers happiest, tend to rise to the top of organic results. Marculescu emphasises a key point: Amazon ranks products on a keyword by the sales generated, not merely the number of units sold. For example: If Seller A sells a $20 yoga mat and Seller B sells a $60 yoga mat, Seller B can outrank Seller A on the keyword “non-slip yoga mat” with only one sale (earning $60 in revenue) versus Seller A’s three sales (3 x $20 = $60). All else equal, Amazon sees both as $60 in sales for that search term and may rank them similarly. In short, revenue trumps pure sales volume when it comes to ranking power.

“Amazon is in this game for the money… The most powerful signal you can send to Amazon [for ranking] is selling on that specific keyword.”
– Marcel Marculescu, CEO of Intellirank

Of course, many factors feed into the algorithm – relevance, click-through-rate, conversion rate, customer reviews, etc. – but the end result Amazon wants is to show the product most likely to get purchased. High conversion rates and strong sales velocity on a keyword are signals of relevance. This is why simply driving external traffic or random views won’t boost rank unless those views turn into sales. It’s also why PPC advertising can indirectly improve organic ranking: if your ads lead to more purchases for a keyword, your organic rank for that keyword can improve over time due to the increased sales momentum. (Some agencies strategically use Sponsored Products campaigns to jump-start sales on important keywords, essentially “paying for rank”, which then becomes self-sustaining organically.)

Another implication of Amazon’s money-first algorithm: product price and average order value matter. Expensive products don’t need as many units sold to generate the same revenue as cheaper products. So, a tactic for some sellers is to offer bundles or variations that have higher prices, which can help generate more revenue per order and potentially strengthen ranking (provided customers still convert at that price). However, be cautious – pricing must still be competitive to convert well.

Customer satisfaction signals also play a role. Good reviews and low return rates help; a sudden rash of 1-star reviews can cause your sales – and thus rank – to slip, as Amazon’s algorithm may throttle exposure of a product with quality issues. The takeaway for agencies is that organic SEO on Amazon can’t be gamed with keywords alone. You must optimise the full customer experience: a compelling product listing, competitive pricing, a high-quality product that earns positive reviews, and customer engagement. All these factors feed Amazon’s data-driven algorithm that determines who ranks on page one.

Keyword Research: Laying the Groundwork for Ranking Success

Any organic ranking strategy starts with robust keyword research. Identifying and targeting the right search terms is fundamental to both organic SEO and effective PPC. Marcel Marculescu outlines a smart, structured approach to keyword research that Amazon agencies should adopt:

• Core Relevant Keywords – “Bullseye” Terms: Begin with all the keywords that are directly relevant to the product. These are typically the product’s name and close variations, plus any defining features. For example, if your product is a cork yoga mat, your core list will include “yoga mat”, “cork yoga mat”, “non-slip yoga mat”, and other terms that precisely describe your product’s main use and material. These are the terms you absolutely must index and rank for, as they represent the most qualified traffic. Make sure these appear in your title, bullet points, or description naturally. You’ll also monitor these terms closely in a rank tracker (tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, etc., offer keyword rank tracking – ensure to track your placement for all core terms).
  
  
• Expanded (Broadly Relevant) Keywords: Next, identify related search terms that broaden the ways customers might discover your product. Think of this as adjacent keywords or complementary product terms. In our yoga mat example, this could include searches like “yoga accessories”, “workout mat”, or even broader fitness terms if relevant. These keywords might not explicitly name your product, but are used by your target audience and can lead them to it. They often capture shoppers who have a need but not a specific product in mind. Include these in your backend search terms or sprinkled in descriptive copy if appropriate. They’re great to target with PPC at lower bids, and if they convert, your organic rank can start improving for these wider terms too. Competitor analysis helps here – see what terms similar products rank for or what Amazon auto-suggests when you type your core keywords (the dropdown suggestions can reveal long-tails and related queries).
  
  
• Seasonal and Contextual Keywords: Finally, don’t miss out on seasonal opportunities and context-specific keywords. Many products can be positioned as gifts or for occasions, especially during Q4. For example, “yoga gift for instructors”, “fitness Christmas gift”, or “New Year workout gear” might be relevant during holidays. Marcel pointed out that in the holiday season, “right now, everything should be giftable” – so if your product can be a gift, include keywords like “gift for [target user]”. Likewise, think of events (e.g., “Yoga mat for travel” if summer travel season, or keywords around Mother’s Day, etc., if applicable). These terms might not be relevant year-round, but optimising and bidding on them during the right time can capture surges in traffic. Keep an eye on trending searches each season and be ready to rotate these keywords in and out of your strategy.

Marcel sums it up well: “Having your keyword research done properly is the first element of marketing because everything in marketing is handled by keywords.”

A thorough keyword list – segmented into primary, secondary, and seasonal terms – will guide your Amazon listing optimisation, your content creation, and your advertising. It ensures you cover all angles in connecting with potential customers. As an agency, you should document this in a spreadsheet or tool, and continually update it based on real search term reports and market trends. Remember to focus on buyer intent: prioritise keywords that indicate a readiness to buy (e.g., “buy yoga mat online” or specific product specs) over very broad informational terms.

Optimising Listings to Convert Shoppers (The Hook, Images, and Copy)

Driving traffic through keywords is only half the battle – what shoppers see on the search page and product page determines if they click and buy. Amazon’s algorithm indirectly rewards listings that convert well (since they generate more sales). So, to boost organic rank, you must optimise the listing’s content and presentation. Agencies should instill best practices for Amazon listing optimisation:

• Compelling Main Image (“The Hook”): The main image is your first impression in search results. It needs to stand out among dozens of similar items. “Whenever you’re working on [the main image], you want people to click on it – it's the hook,” says Marculescu. Ensure the product is clear, fills 85%+ of the frame, has good lighting, and consider showing the product in use or with an accessory if allowed – anything to differentiate while complying with Amazon’s image guidelines. For example, if all competitors show a yoga mat rolled up, maybe your main image shows it unrolled in a yoga setting to catch the eye. Amazon now allows some lifestyle/main image flexibility in certain categories – test what gets higher click-through rates. High CTR in search can improve organic rank over time because it leads to more sales.
  
  
• Title and Bullet Points with Keywords: Incorporate your core keywords in the title naturally, front-loading the most important terms (Amazon gives more weight to phrases towards the beginning of the title). But avoid keyword stuffing that makes it unreadable. The title should still be appealing and clear to a human. Use bullet points to highlight key value propositions and include secondary keywords where relevant. For instance, a bullet like "Non-Slip Design – Our cork yoga mat features a unique grip texture that stays slip-free even in hot yoga sessions, giving you stability and confidence." – this uses the keyword “cork yoga mat” plus related terms (grip, slip-free, hot yoga) in a natural way while focusing on a benefit. Well-crafted copy can improve conversion and SEO simultaneously.
  
  
• A+ Content and Images: Brands with Amazon Brand Registry can use A+ Content (Enhanced Brand Content) to add rich images and text below the fold. While A+ content itself isn’t indexed for SEO in 2025, it significantly helps convert browsers into buyers by telling a richer brand story and addressing objections. Use it to showcase comparison charts, lifestyle images, and testimonials. Even without an A+, utilise all 7-9 image slots available. Show the product from all angles, in use, and include an infographic image highlighting features. Customers often scroll through images before reading anything – great images can answer their questions and push them to hit “Add to Cart.” Higher conversion from improved content means better sales velocity, which, as discussed, boosts organic ranking.
  
  
• Price and Reviews: While not “content” you write, price and reviews are absolutely part of optimisation. Monitor competitor pricing and ensure your price is attractive for the value – consider coupons or deals, especially in high-traffic periods to drive conversion. And always solicit authentic reviews via Amazon’s Request a Review or other compliant methods. A strong star rating (4+ stars) and a decent review count (relative to competitors) are crucial for convincing shoppers to choose your product. Products with significantly better reviews will naturally convert more and hence climb in ranking. If a product hits a bump (e.g., a bad review) and sales dip, take action: improve the product, address the feedback, etc. Amazon will give you a chance to rebound, but you need to maintain quality to sustain your rank.
  
  

Agencies should treat listing optimisation as an ongoing process – continual A/B testing of images (using Amazon’s Manage Your Experiments or external tools) and copy refinements can yield small conversion lifts that make a big difference over hundreds of shoppers. Marcel advises sellers to “always try to experiment… test things and get metrics about how your product is performing”. An agency can add value by running these tests and iterating, rather than a set-and-forget approach. In Amazon’s dynamic environment, the best-performing listings win the organic visibility.

Balancing Paid and Organic Strategies for Maximum Impact

It’s worth noting that organic and paid visibility work hand-in-hand. They are not mutually exclusive; in fact, the best outcome is to dominate a search result with both. “Can you imagine if you're there sponsored and also organic? This is a huge marketing advantage because you get more real estate,” Marculescu says. When a product appears as a sponsored ad at the top and also holds an organic spot just below, it doubles the exposure and builds trust (the customer sees you twice, reinforcing that your product must be relevant). This dual presence can significantly increase click-through and purchase likelihood.

“Try to balance your spend in order to be there [in search] and displayed. If you’re there in sponsored and also organic, you get more real estate on page one.”
– Marcel Marculescu

Agencies should thus craft an Amazon ads strategy that complements organic SEO. Use PPC to bolster new product launches or keywords where you’re just outside of page one organically. Over time, as organic rank improves, you might dial back ad bids to shift budget to other targets – or maintain both if ROI is positive. Another benefit: running ads on a keyword gives you data on its conversion rate for your product (via Advertising reports and Search Query Performance dashboards). If a keyword converts well on ads, that’s a clue to focus more on it organically (maybe it should be in your title or bullet points if not already). If it converts poorly, investigate if the keyword is truly relevant or if your listing needs optimisation for those searchers.

Remember that certain placements (like Top of Search) are only via ads, so PPC ensures you’re capturing all possible eyeballs. But organic is the long game that keeps driving free sales after the initial investment. The ultimate goal is a sustainable rank where you don’t have to outbid competitors constantly. Especially for high-cost keywords, achieving organic page one saves a fortune in ad spend. It also protects you from sudden budget constraints – if your ad budget runs out, your organic listing can still be selling.

Tapping Into Amazon’s Free Visibility Programs: Posts (and the Fate of Inspire)

Beyond search results, Amazon has been expanding social and discovery features that sellers and agencies should leverage for free visibility. Marcel highlights Amazon Posts as a currently underutilised program that can generate extra traffic at no cost.

What are Amazon Posts? They are essentially a social media-style feed within the Amazon mobile app where brands can publish posts (images with captions, much like Instagram) that showcase their products. These posts appear on your product detail pages, on your brand page, and even on competitor listings or category feeds if shoppers engage with them. Importantly, Amazon Posts is available to Brand Registered sellers in the U.S. and is still in beta (meaning it’s free and not everyone uses it yet). By consistently publishing engaging content, brands can gain followers on Amazon and keep their products in front of potential buyers.

As Marcel advises, the key is building “healthy habits” of posting daily, looking at metrics, doing daily tweaks, measuring results….

Over time, this consistency can snowball into a sizable follower base and extra sales with zero ad spend.

Amazon also experimented with Amazon Inspire, a TikTok-like shoppable video feed on the Amazon app. When it launched in late 2022, Inspire’s aim was to keep customers scrolling through an endless feed of influencer videos and product images – and naturally, allow one-click purchasing of featured items. Content from Amazon Posts, customer reviews, and brand videos would get aggregated into Inspire, tailored to each user’s interests. It represented Amazon’s push into social commerce, directly competing with apps like TikTok and Instagram for user attention. For brands and agencies, the emergence of Inspire (during its beta phase) was a signal to produce authentic, engaging visual content. Casual videos, unboxing demos, and real-life usage shots – the kind of content that doesn’t feel like a polished ad – tend to perform well, as they build trust and “entertain” shoppers into discovery. “Authenticity is the key factor here,” says Marcel, urging brands to use real people and real-life context in their Amazon Posts and videos. The more your content feels like user-generated content, the more likely people will follow your brand and eventually purchase.

However, it’s worth noting an update: Amazon Inspire was discontinued in early 2025 as Amazon shifted focus to other initiatives. The Inspire feed did not gain the traction Amazon hoped, and the company decided to sunset it in favor of new AI-driven shopping tools (like their chatbot assistant, etc.). This goes to show that Amazon is constantly evolving its approach – today’s new feature might be gone tomorrow if it doesn’t deliver results. What does this mean for agencies? Primarily, it reinforces the importance of staying agile and taking advantage of beta programs while they last. Those who jumped on Inspire early still benefited from months of free exposure. And Amazon Posts, which remains active, continues to be a no-brainer for free organic reach. Even without Inspire, Amazon is likely to integrate social content elsewhere (perhaps Amazon Live or direct social media integrations). The content you create is never wasted – it can be repurposed on external social channels to drive external traffic (which can boost organic rank through sales).

In summary, Amazon Posts is the immediate opportunity to seize. Make a content calendar for your brand’s posts. Showcase product uses, share lifestyle images, highlight features or customer testimonials. Encourage shoppers to follow your brand on Amazon (for example, you can mention in your product inserts or Q&A, “Follow our brand on Amazon for updates and deals”). The more followers, the greater your Posts reach over time. And followers get notified of new posts and sometimes new product launches – a built-in remarketing channel! As an agency, providing content creation and Amazon Posts management can be a valuable service to clients who don’t have the bandwidth for it. It’s essentially free Amazon advertising. As Marcel enthuses, “Free visibility, free traffic… free sales, free money for you” if you put in the work to create and share content.

Proactive Monitoring: Rank Tracking and Competitor Analysis

To wrap up our strategy, we must emphasise the ongoing process of tracking and adjustment. Organic ranking is not a set-and-forget deal; it requires continuous monitoring and competitive intelligence. Here are some agency best practices for maintaining and improving rank over time:

• Use Rank Tracking Tools: Leverage tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, SellerApp, or other analytics platforms to monitor your product’s organic positions on all your target keywords. Set up alerts for when a keyword’s rank drops significantly or when you break into the top 10 for a new keyword. Regular rank tracking lets you correlate the impact of your actions – for instance, after listing optimisations or after a spike in sales from a promotion, did your organic ranks improve? It also flags problems (if you suddenly lose rank, perhaps due to an out-of-stock incident or a new competitor on the scene). MerchantSpring’s own platform likely offers multi-marketplace rank tracking features as well (as a reporting SaaS for agencies).
  
  
• Analyse Competitor Moves: Keep a close eye on competitors in your category. If they launch a new product version, adjust prices, or accumulate a wave of reviews, it can affect the competitive landscape and thus your relative organic ranking. Competitor analysis tools can show what keywords they are ranking for that you might have missed. Moreover, see what content strategies top competitors use – do they all feature a certain lifestyle image that you don’t? Are their titles stuffed with a keyword that you left out? Don’t copy blindly, but learn from what’s working in your niche. “Always look at what your competitors are doing and try to get ideas from there,” Marculescu advises.
  
  
• Stock and Pricing Management: Organic sales can’t happen if you’re out of stock – dropping to zero stock is one of the worst things for rank, as your product will disappear from results and you’ll have to climb up again. Plan inventory especially for seasonal peaks to avoid stockouts. Similarly, monitor your pricing relative to competitors. If competitors all dropped their price, your conversions might fall, and so will rank – you may need to adjust to stay in the game (or justify a premium with A+ content and reviews). Amazon’s algorithm also directly suppresses overly high prices (through the Fair Pricing policy and the Buy Box logic), which can indirectly hit your sales and rank. So, healthy inventory and competitive pricing are foundational to maintaining your hard-won organic positions.
  
  
• Adapt to Algorithm Changes: Amazon SEO in 2025 isn’t static. Amazon might introduce new ranking factors or weight existing ones differently. For example, there’s talk in the seller community about Amazon’s A10 algorithm favouring external traffic and brand engagement more than the old A9 did. Keep abreast of Amazon announcements and reputable industry news. If Amazon gives more prominence to, say, customer engagement (following brands, Q&A, etc.), be ready to pivot your strategy to include those elements as ranking signals. Essentially, never stop learning – the agencies that thrive are those that stay ahead of Amazon trends and adjust quickly.
  
  

By implementing all the above practices – holistic keyword strategy, listing optimisation, balancing PPC with SEO, leveraging free Amazon programs, and diligent monitoring – Amazon agencies can consistently drive organic growth for their clients. The beauty of organic rank is that it builds on itself like a snowball; once you hit page one and satisfy customers, it becomes hard for others to knock you off easily. It’s a defensive moat for the brand. And for agencies, being the expert that can achieve that is a huge value proposition.

Conclusion: Own the Digital Shelf with Smart Organic Strategy

In the battle for the Amazon “digital shelf”, organic ranking is your ticket to sustainable success. It’s where data-driven strategy meets creative marketing – blending keyword science with compelling content and constant optimisation. As we’ve seen, focusing on organic rank forces you to do all the right things for a product: understand your customer’s search behaviour, deliver an excellent product and listing, and engage shoppers on and off Amazon. It’s hard work, but it pays dividends long after the initial investment, unlike ads which stop the moment you cut spend.

For Amazon agency professionals, mastering these organic strategies is a way to differentiate your services. You’re not just running ads or reporting metrics; you’re crafting an ecosystem where your client’s brand naturally rises to the top of Amazon searches. And when a client’s product is sitting in that coveted top slot, raking in sales day after day without huge ad bills, you’ve truly unlocked growth for them.

To stay ahead in 2025, keep experimenting and learning. Encourage your clients to embrace new Amazon features early (like Posts or any new beta that offers free exposure) – being an early adopter can yield outsized gains. Emphasise the long-term gains of SEO to clients who may be fixated on short-term ROAS. And always tie it back to the bottom line: better organic rank = more sales and profit for the brand.

If you found these insights valuable, consider taking the next step to deepen your expertise. Watch the full on-demand webinar with Marcel Marculescu for a deeper dive into influencing organic rank and practical examples from the field. You’ll get even more nuanced tips straight from an Amazon marketing veteran. And if you’re looking to level up your agency’s performance with smart analytics, schedule a demo with MerchantSpring to see how our platform can help you streamline reporting and uncover new growth opportunities for your e-commerce clients. As the Amazon landscape evolves, make sure you’re equipped with the right knowledge and tools – so your clients’ products don’t just survive on Amazon, but thrive.