A brand that sells on Amazon and on its own store needs two search plans, not one plan applied twice. This post sets out how the plan changes between the two, as a decision table, which one we would lead with in which situation, and the Amazon rules that decide what a plan can and cannot include.
Two engines with different jobs
Google is trying to answer a question well. Amazon is trying to complete a sale. Amazon does not publish its ranking factors, but the signals it is widely understood to weigh, such as relevance to the search, sales and conversion, follow from that job.
The practical result: Amazon search work is close to conversion work with a keyword layer on top, while search work for your own store is close to content and authority building with a conversion layer on top. Same acronym, close to the opposite order of priorities.
- When
- Most sales already come through Amazon
- The work
- Conversion work with a keyword layer on top
- When
- Both channels are established
- The work
- Shared research, separate execution and reporting
- When
- The product needs explaining, or you want repeat customers
- The work
- Content and authority with a conversion layer on top
How the plan changes, line by line
This is the table we plan from when a brand sells in both places. The last column is where an Amazon plan departs from a store plan.
| Part of the plan | Your own store | Amazon | What changes on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword research | Questions and comparisons across the buying journey | Product terms buyers type when ready to buy | Shared groundwork; Amazon’s own search-term report replaces most third-party tools |
| The page | Long product and category pages with structured data | The listing fields Amazon defines, and A+ content once brand-registered | Written within Amazon’s style rules and character limits; content is rebuilt, not copied |
| Technical health | Speed, crawling and indexing are yours to fix | Amazon owns the page | No technical work; the effort moves to the listing and the catalogue |
| Authority | Links and coverage earned over time | No direct equivalent | Effort goes to reviews and sales history instead |
| Reviews | A conversion signal on the page | Move both rank and conversion | Only Amazon’s own routes: Request a Review, and Vine where eligible |
| Stock and price | Your concern, not a search one | Out of stock or losing the Buy Box stops sales from the page | Watched weekly; ads held on products that cannot take the order |
| Paid | Separate from organic rank | Sales from ads are still sales of the product | Planned with the listing, reported against total sales |
| Measurement | Organic sessions, enquiries and revenue in your analytics | Amazon’s reports inside Seller Central | Ad cost against total sales (TACOS), not ad sales alone |
The Amazon rules that shape the plan
Three of Amazon’s own rules decide what an Amazon plan can include, and they are where generic advice goes wrong.
Reviews: Amazon removes sellers who game them. We use only what Amazon permits: the Request a Review button, Amazon Vine for eligible new products, and page and packaging fixes that remove the causes of bad reviews. Nothing is bought, swapped or rewarded, which rules out much of the “review velocity” advice in circulation.
Brand Registry: A+ content, a Brand Store, Sponsored Brands and the strongest brand-protection tools all require it, and it needs a registered or pending trademark. A plan written before enrolment has to start with listings and Sponsored Products.
Markets: each Amazon country is its own account, with its own search-term report and its own stock problem. A plan for two marketplaces is two plans.
Which to lead with
Most brands that sell in both places need both programmes eventually. The question is order, and our answer depends on the brand’s situation rather than on which channel is more familiar.
| Situation | Lead with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most sales already come through Amazon, and listings are weak | Amazon listings, then ads | Ads can only sell what the listing converts |
| Not yet brand-registered | Trademark and Brand Registry, with listing fixes meanwhile | Most of the Amazon toolset depends on it |
| The goal is repeat customers and an email list | Your own store | Amazon owns the customer on every Amazon sale |
| Your product needs explaining before people buy | Your own store’s content | Research happens on Google, not inside Amazon |
| Both channels are established | Two plans, one keyword base | Shared research, separate execution and reporting |
If a brand cannot tell which listings hold it back, we recommend a listing and ACOS audit first, which takes 1 to 2 weeks on our rate card. Our Amazon marketing service runs listings, reviews, protection, stock and ads as one plan; Amazon Ads is the narrower option when listings are already strong.
When this split is not worth making
Two separate programmes are not always the honest answer. Keep it simple when:
- Amazon is a small, incidental channel. A tidy listing and a working store plan are enough.
- The catalogue is a handful of products. One person can hold both plans if the reporting stays separate.
- Your own store has almost no traffic yet. Spend on the channel where buyers already are, and build the store’s content when there is budget to sustain it.
For how the own-store side of the plan works, our eCommerce SEO page covers category structure, product pages and structured data.
Written by
Shweta Agarwal
Chief Operating Officer, Vinove
Shweta runs the operating side of the group, holding delivery, process and accountability consistent across the group. Her focus is on the systems that let teams grow without losing the standard they started with.
LinkedIn →
