What to Do When Amazon Prohibits Your Keywords - Episode 62
BOBSLED PROJECT MANAGER ARMIN ALISPAHIC IS BACK ON THE SHOW
DESCRIPTION
This week, we're running another interview with Armin Alispahic, one of the Project Managers here at Bobsled Marketing. Armin was on the show last week and we had a really interesting conversation about vendor and seller fee reimbursements.
But today Armin is back to discuss a rather sensitive subject. He is going to tell us what to do when Amazon prohibits some of the keywords in your product listing. These could be keywords related to products that have previously been banned by Amazon, or perhaps even words that could trigger hazardous material reviews. Amazon has an automated system in place that will remove these listings immediately. This could make it difficult to get and maintain traction on Amazon in certain categories. And it will always be difficult to prove to Amazon that a product you're selling, that falls into one of these categories, is actually safe.
This is a really interesting topic and it reveals quite a number of Amazon's other product and category sensitivities. Listen in to find out what Armin has to share with you today.
Armin joined Bobsled Marketing in July of 2016. About a month ago, he was promoted to a Project Manager position on the team. He started out as an Accounts Specialist, supporting the Project Managers in handling client accounts and everything related to operations and marketing on Amazon. This means that in the two-and-a-half years that Armin has been with Bobsled, he has gained a whole lot of knowledge and insights about Amazon.
“Whenever you use a restricted keyword, the listing will get taken down from Amazon immediately. Wherever you put it, in back-end, front-end, titles, bullet descriptions - anywhere, Amazon bots will scan it.”
— ARMIN ALISPAHIC
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Armin talks about his life in Zenica, the city in Bosnia where he was born and grew up.
Armin explains what options you have when Amazon prohibits your keywords.
How to know when it's is Amazon that is prohibiting the use of some of your key works.
What happens to your product page when a restricted keyword is discovered on it.
Amazon does not allow any vape or vape-related products.
We don't even know which keywords Amazon prohibits.
Checking the restricted products page for keywords that may be restricted on Amazon.
Some of the reasons why the keywords might be restricted.
Amazon will allow you to list a potentially hazardous product as an FBM (Fulfilled By Merchant) product.
The safety data sheets that you would need to provide Amazon with, in order to get a product listing converted to FBA.
How all of this affects vendors.
Using synonyms for words that could be associated with restricted products could offer a solution.
Why it may not be worth investing too much money in products in these categories if you're only selling on Amazon.