Some people may say that the Amazon Super URL is dead, but others still claim it is helping give their rankings a boost. It’s hard to say for sure whether or not using Amazon Super URLs as a tactic to boost rankings is still working, and for that matter, if it’s against Amazon’s Terms of Services or not. But before we jump into all of that, let’s take a look at what an Amazon Super URL is and how Amazon Sellers have used them to try and rank higher for keywords.
What is an Amazon Super URL?
Amazon Super URLs are links used to help drive external traffic to Amazon product listings that include specific keywords the seller wants to increase rankings for. Let’s look at an example:
This is the URL: https://www.amazon.com/Nostalgia-KPM508-Vintage-2-5-Ounce-Popcorn/dp/B0001V48KG/ref=sr_1_7?crid=4EZGYIH133EW&keywords=popcorn+machine&qid=1555338511&s=gateway&sprefix=pop%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-7
An Amazon Super URL has a lot of gibberish in it, but all of that gibberish is what makes it ‘super.’ In this example, I searched for ‘popcorn machine’ and clicked on a listing I liked.
The parts that are most important to note are ‘&keywords=popcorn+machine’ and ‘&sr=8-7’ which show the keywords used to find the product and the position the listing was in for that search. Another thing to note is the ‘&qid=1555338511’ which indicates the UNIX Epoch time that the search happened. This is the exact number of seconds since January 1, 1970.
Ok, so now that we better understand some of that gibberish, what does it REALLY mean and why does it matter to Amazon Sellers?
Most importantly, it helps Amazon’s A9 algorithm’s ranking process because if lots of customers are buying your product after searching a certain keyword, then the rankings for the product go up for that specific keyword.
When Should You Use an Amazon Super URL?
Amazon Super URLs can help when you are driving external traffic to Amazon from other sources likes social media ads, PPC campaigns on Google or Bing, email marketing campaigns, blog posts, or links on your own site.
Any kind of external traffic being driven to your products on Amazon is going to be extremely beneficial to you, so if you can also help boost your rankings for keywords with Super URLs, even better!
There is a big BUT here though. Using a static Amazon Super URL (like the one I included above) won’t help you if you just copy and paste it into every campaign because it has the same timestamp and identifying information. So once one customer uses that link and purchases the product, any other sales through that link will be marked as duplicates and the ranking system will omit them.
There are services that will generate Amazon Super URLs dynamically. The link used in the campaign will direct traffic to the generator and then the generator will create a unique link with a timestamp and desired keyword before sending them to the product listing. This helps the algorithm identify each visitor as a new search and increases the algorithm’s perceived search volume for the product listing.
One thing to note is that these links won’t help increase sales, which is the most important factor for ranking on Amazon. It can actually hurt your search rankings if you start driving a lot of traffic through a Super URL that doesn’t convert into sales. So, if a search term is not getting purchases for a product, then the listing will stop showing up in results for that search term because Amazon’s search engine’s goal is to optimize results that get customers to make purchases.
This means you should only be using Super URLs for traffic that you are positive will convert into sales. One tactic to try in conjunction with using an Amazon Super URL in campaigns is to also offer a promo code that gives the customer a discount. This will increase the likelihood that people clicking the link will make a purchase.
But Should You Be Using Amazon Super URLs?
There is no specific mention about the use of Amazon Super URLs, but they do make mention of manipulating the Amazon search engine in their Terms of Service.
It specifically states, “Activities that could be perceived as attempting to manipulate Amazon’s search results or sales rankings.”
It is up for interpretation whether or not using Amazon Super URLs is considered a violation of the Terms of Service. This makes using them a gray area. Amazon may be able to tell if a link has been manufactured, and this is especially true for less-sophisticated Amazon Super URL generators. It could potentially put you in hot water with Amazon, but that’s only IF Amazon decided to examine the keyword, timestamp, and search rankings.
Some sellers report that using Super URLs is no longer working to help boost search rankings. Since Amazon doesn’t release the details of search rankings to the public, there’s no surefire way to know if they are truly no longer working.
There are plenty of other creative ways to optimize your search rankings on Amazon, so even though using Amazon Super URLs may be beneficial, if you choose not to use them and go another route, you’re probably not going to be missing out.
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