Understanding and Using Amazon Sales Rank Calculator
If you intend to sell on Amazon, the first step, of course, is to research the product and see how it performs on the platform.
Amazon, being a multi-million selling site, has tens of categories and subcategories that both new and seasoned sellers can invest in.
To help you choose your niche wisely, Amazon ranks its products based on how fast they move and their demand rate.
The ranking is what is popularly referred to as the Best Sellers Rank (BSR).
So, what is BSR and what does it mean to both Amazon and sellers?
This article outlines everything you need to know about Amazon Best Sellers Rank before investing in this huge global marketplace.
What Does Best Sellers Rank Mean on Amazon ?
Amazon Best Sellers Rank (BSR) is simply a number awarded to any product once it completes one sale on Amazon.
Amazon’s Best Sellers Rank Calculator
Also known as Sales Rank, the BSR score of a product is calculated automatically by the Amazon algorithm based on historical sales data compared to other products in the same category.
The ranking also updates hourly, which explains the distinction between recent and historical sales.
For instance, although the BSR is determined by all-time historical sales, recent sales are often considered when calculating the product’s Sales Rank. Therefore, a good BSR is an ultimate indicator of the product’s current performance on the platform.What is a Good Best Sellers Rank on Amazon?
A good best sellers rank on Amazon is the lowest number in relation to all others
In other words, the lower the number means products are performing better while higher ranks indicate poor performance.
Another thing to understand is that products can have more than one Best Seller Rank, especially those that sell in multiple categories.
For that reason, it is possible to get one product with a BSR of say 200 in the Kitchen and Dining category and 500 in the Electronics category.
The difference in Sales Ranks is primarily contributed by the individual Amazon best seller ranking system for every category.
How Is Amazon Best Sellers Rank Calculated?
Surprisingly, Amazon does not disclose how it assigns BSRs to its products. What is popularly known, though, is that the ranking is calculated automatically by the Amazon algorithm. It is also based on several factors, including:
- Current and historical sales data.
- Price changes are caused by product sales and promotions.
- Market competition from similar products.
Using the above factors, it is still possible to have a good sales rank even after the product records lower sales during the following calculation. That is because, even though BSR updates hourly, the ranking system still considers the historical sales data when determining the current BSR.
What Is Organic Ranking on Amazon?
Amazon organic ranking is where a product appears on the search engine result pages (SERP) for a particular keyword.
Luckily, the product’s organic ranking or position on the search result pages does not necessarily affect the BSR. That is because Amazon uses what it considers the most relevant products for a particular keyword when assigning organic ranking.
That means a good organic ranking may not reflect a good BSR since other factors such as historical sales, conversion rates, and price changes can affect the current BSR.
What Is the Difference Between Amazon Best Sellers Rank and Organic Ranking?
As stated above, the best sellers rank and organic ranking are two different aspects. That is because a good best sellers rank does not mean a product has a good organic ranking. Of course, the product’s organic ranking is determined by the keyword search results, while the best sellers rank is determined by the product’s sales data.
Where Can I Find the Amazon Best Sellers Rank for A Product?
You can easily find the product’s BSR by going to the Amazon.com product page and scrolling down to the Product Information section. If you see a product with a sales rank of, say 200, it means only 200 products sell more than that particular item in the same category.
What Is a Good Best Sellers Rank on Amazon?
With all confusion surrounding best sellers ranks and organic ranking, you might ask what is a good Amazon BSR? Generally, each category has its independent best sellers ranking system.
That means what is a good sales rank in one category might be a bad rank in the other category. For example, the #10 best seller rank might be good for a product in the Toys and Games category and bad for the same product in the Star Wars category. Therefore, based on this example, here is a summary of what a good Amazon BSR is:
- Top 10 BSR: Amazing. Most likely for a multi-million-dollar product with annual sales.
- Top 100 BSR: Great. Most likely for a million-dollar product with annual sales or close to it.
- Top 1000 BSR: Good. Most likely for a product that records hundreds of thousands of dollars from annual sales.
How Can I Use Amazon Best Sellers Rank to Estimate Sales?
Besides promoting bragging rights, the primary function of best sellers rank is to show how the products perform on Amazon. That means sellers can use the BSR score to estimate the sales of their products.
However, the ranking is likely to change frequently or monthly; hence, sellers also need to check the product’s historical sales data before listing it.
How Can I Improve My Amazon BSR?
Every seller desires to list a highly-demanded product and make profits. Thus, for you to record a good BSR (lower ranking), you need to make more sales and outsell your competitors. Maintaining the same BSR as your competitors will not improve your ranking. Instead, it is likely to increase your ranking, which is recorded as poor BSR. Therefore, to generate more Amazon sales, you can use the following tricks:
- Optimize your product titles and include keywords that speak more about your product’s size, color, shape, brand, and other vital information.
- Set a competitive price wisely to win more buyers. You can use repricing software to avoid going out of the market price range.
- Optimize your bullet points to include key features and benefits of the product in the main description. Keep the information concise to attract more readers.
- Use different high-quality product images that stand out from your competitors. You can also take pictures of the products from different angles to help your buyers know how the product looks in real life. Moreover, you can use videos on your listing to improve customer experience.
3 Ways Sellers Can Use Amazon Best Sellers Rank Information
1. Easy Product Research for Newbies
Using the BSR information is the easiest way to know if the product is in demand when planning to sell it on Amazon. Sellers who want to list lucrative products can start by researching the products and their conversion rates on Amazon. They can get this vital information only by looking at the product’s BSR.
2. Competitor Research for Experienced Sellers
Business is all about competition, and the secret to overcoming competition is to know what your competitors are doing. Experienced Amazon sellers can, therefore, monitor their competitors’ selling practices by looking at competitors’ products’ BSRs and comparing them to their similar products.3. Estimate Sales Using Amazon Best Sellers Rank
As stated earlier, the primary use of BSR information is to estimate product sales by checking historical sales data. This helps sellers to pick products likely to generate more sales based on their low BSR.
Recap Summary of Amazon Best Sellers Rank
Amazon Best Sellers Rank (BSR) is a ranking system provided by Amazon that reflects the sales of a product within a specific category or subcategory. It is a relative indicator of popularity or demand for a product compared to others in the same category. A lower BSR indicates higher sales, with a BSR of #1 being the best-selling product in its category.
How Amazon Best Sellers Rank Works:
Calculation:
Amazon calculates BSR based on the number of recent sales of a product, but it also considers historical sales data. It is updated hourly, although it might not always reflect real-time sales.
Categories:
Each product can have a BSR in its main category and may also have a rank in subcategories. For example, a book can have a BSR in the overall “Books” category and another rank in a subcategory like “Science Fiction.”
Variability:
BSR can be quite volatile, especially in categories with high competition or frequent new entries. A single sale can significantly impact the rank of a product, especially in less competitive categories.
Uses of BSR:
Market Research:
Sellers and authors use BSR to gauge the demand for products in specific categories and to identify potential opportunities for new products.
Sales Estimation:
While Amazon does not disclose the exact relationship between BSR and sales volume, some third-party tools and services attempt to estimate sales based on BSR.
Product Comparison:
Customers may use BSR to compare the popularity of different products within a category.
Limitations of Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
Not Absolute:
BSR is a relative measure, meaning a product with a lower BSR in one category is not necessarily selling better than a product with a higher BSR in another category.
Not a Sales Indicator:
BSR does not directly indicate the number of units sold, and it can be influenced by sudden spikes in sales.
Fluctuations:
The rank can fluctuate significantly due to changes in consumer buying behavior, seasonality, or the entry of new competitive products.
How to Find BSR:
You can find the BSR of a product in the “Product Details” or “Product Information” section of its Amazon listing page. It is usually listed towards the bottom of the section.Amazon Best Sellers Rank is a valuable tool for to assess the relative sales popularity of products within their categories.
Concluding Notes on Amazon Best Sellers Rank List
Amazon Best Sellers Rank is an ultimate indicator of how the product is selling on Amazon. As a seller, the ranking can help you boost sales and attract more buyers than your competitors.
Unfortunately, this ranking is dependent on other metrics, and improving it is not as easy as most people think.
For instance, Amazon’s BSR calculation is based on both current and historical sales. And the best way to maintain a good rank is to understand how the ranking algorithm works.
Hence, with the above information, you can easily improve your product’s BSR and experience higher conversation rates.
