Introduction

Carol is a driven entrepreneur who co-founded her business in 1989 with her mother. The product was created out of necessity to help her ailing mother. Drawing on their kitchen experience, they developed a unique recipe and began selling their products on Amazon. 

Statement of the Problem 

Carol is heavily involved in the business and its development, but as it grew and expanded its range of products, she found herself struggling to keep up with inventory management and increasingly complex PPC ads.  As her profit dwindled and her inventory issues began to mount, she knew she was running out of time. 

Feeling the severity of the issue and seeing competition arrive into her home markets, she reached out to Daniel at Into Profits. Daniel, Shane & Kurtney carried out an immediate free-audit of the account. Finding the issues in PPC, but also finding improvements to make to Conversion. They presented their findings… 

Solution

PPC is cutting a tree down with an axe, swing by swing. You’ve got to know the direction you want the tree to fall (Visibility) and sharpen the axe (Conversion) for maximum efficiency (Profit). We knew we were able to help Carol so the pitch became more of a reveal of what we found in our audit than a sales call. She was onboard.

With Carol agreeing to partner with Into Profits to lead and implement best practices in her Amazon Advertising. Here are some of takeaways:

Visibility (Ads + Organic)

We like to rate previous performance on a scale of A, B and C so that the prospect knows where we see the most opportunity. If we see an account with a rating of ‘A’ for all areas this is not an account we can have a massive impact on - we’d simply congratulate their current advertisers and send them on their way.

Waste [C]

After uncovering a lot of waste and non-performing targets in our initial audit our first action of business was to optimize existing campaigns, use negatives and remove those non-performing campaigns and targets. This took approximately 2 weeks before we started seeing results. Our spend dropped from $12,000 in June to $5,000 in July with ACoS reduction from 42% down to 30%.

Expansion [A]

In our search for expansionary advertising we ran our Uniques process and found 8 areas of expansion where we could launch further targeted advertising. This was not a major amount however so we felt the previous advertising team for this account had done a good job here. 

We also expanded their ad types, such as Sponsored Brands to increase brand awareness and SDA to engage and re-engage audiences who previously viewed or purchased the product. SDA was newer then and we were beginning to understand why it was effective for replenishable goods. It still is.

Structure [C]

This was a major area of concern as the current setup focused a lot on phrase, broad and auto campaigns. These are campaigns we’d consider doing if you haven’t time and effort to really scale your advertising efforts. With that in mind we set up our Tiered System to isolate those top, middle and low performers - each with their own specific targets. Our Analysis tool (which is available free on our YouTube) collated all top terms with laser focus.

Not only is this for performance reasons however it is extremely effective in the monitoring of results over time. If you are running all discovery (phrase, broad, auto) you can’t easily manage transitions in seasonality, see competition and make effective decisions to drive results long term. There are some subtle but extremely effective actions we made too which I won’t reveal to enhance data reading. I can’t reveal all our secrets!

Ads Performance Before (4 months data)

Conversion (+SEO)

Title → SEO, CTR, CVR 

The previous title Carol had was lacking a few relevant keywords and benefits. With our own strategy, we used the brand name first, followed by relevant keywords and benefits in the product title. Customers identified the product as a trusted brand with the brand name appearing first. Relevant keywords and benefits were also included to ensure the product was easily discoverable in search results and that customers understood its value.

Main Image + Listing Images → CTR & CVR

At first, the main image they had was not high-quality. The listing images were missing key information and benefits as well. There was no cohesive layout design and lifestyle photos.

We focused on enhancing the photos that showcase the product, as well as lifestyle images that help to illustrate the benefits and uses of the product. Additionally, we made sure to include information on the product benefits and ingredients, which helped customers to make an informed decision and increased their trust in the product. 

Bullet Copy Description → CVR

The bullet copy before was text-heavy, making it difficult for customers to easily digest information. It also did not contain many relevant keywords that were important for indexing. 

We developed short, direct, and engaging bullet copy descriptions that showcased the product's relevant keywords, unique selling points and benefits, while also adding a creative edge to engage customers. We also highlighted its strong brand credibility by featuring its years in the industry. As a result of these changes, the brand's products started to stand out among competitors.

A+ Content → CVR 

Once Carol was brand registered, we started creating the photos for the A+ Content.

After a series of experiments on Amazon, we now have our own winning design layout to increase conversion. Our strategy involved adding lifestyle photos with people who represent the target audience, the brand logo, and a catchy tagline, creating an emotional connection with customers and encouraging them to explore the content. We also highlighted the product's benefits, uses, and cross-selling opportunities with other product selections.

Brand Story  → CVR 

For the brand story, we highlighted the company's founding, the passion behind the brand, and the personal connection the brand has with its customers. We added pictures of the owners to make the story more personal and engaging, as well as the product selections. 

Amazon Store  → CVR 

We utilized the Amazon storefront page to further strengthen the brand presence. This is also a great opportunity for cross-selling because customers can easily see the entire product selection. We also added a specific page for the best-selling products and story behind the brand.

Backend Search Terms  → SEO  

Despite the crucial role that backend search terms play in Amazon's search algorithm and keyword indexing, some business owners still neglect their importance and fail to optimize them effectively.

Therefore, we utilized a powerful STR analysis tool to identify the highest performing keywords and incorporated them into the backend search terms for optimal search visibility. 

Results

PPC - C

Okay, you’ve heard the problem and the action taken. Now for the juicy parts, results.

Before:

In just a span of weeks: 

1. TACOS/ACoTS reduced by 70% - with it averaging 24% before and optimized down to 9%.
2. Organic sales jumped by 23% - from 47% in June to 70% in July 
3. Sales came down 10%  - from turning off non-performing markets. 
4. Profit increased by a whopping 78% for the month of July 2022. An increase from $9,000 to $17,000. 

Now unfortunately, while profit soared - the stock issues were not quite solved by then with SKUs selling out. This happened in September & October. It can’t all be rosy right? We know we know, usually a case study should be embellished for prospects. Well… we believe in full transparency - no-nonsense as this is the best way to help you achieve your long term goals.

CONVERSION - C

Before:

When it came to listing optimization: 

1. Conversion increased by 20% - from 18% prior to 24% after. 24% meaning we converted 1 in 4 customers that clicked our ads. Before this was 1 in 5. 
2. Ad Savings of $30,000+ Per Year - This means over the course of an entire year for the same amount of sales we would save 20% in Ad Spend. 

Overall, we used a story for cohesive branding across all the major elements of the product listing. We focused on using the top-performing keywords for SEO ranking while maintaining a good flow of content. As a result of this effort, the brand began to build trust and credibility with its customers, leading to increased sales and customer loyalty.

This approach led to a marked improvement in the conversion rate for the product, ultimately resulting in a substantial increase in sales for the business.

Conclusion

Carol's unique products and our own PPC + Conversion + SEO strategy have led to massive increase in profit, despite occasional out-of-stock situations. She is on track to increase her profit by $88,500 this year.  Now that she is solving her stock situation with the freed up time we are excited for what the next 12 months holds.

Working with Into Profits helped her save 70% of her time in her Amazon business, which is invaluable for Carol. She knows she has a partner in Into Profits that can scale with her so she can focus on adding more and more products growing her business.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this case study. If you’d like to know whether or not you can get a similar performance increase in your business — click here to apply for your free audit today!