The Amazon A10 algorithm has subtly, yet significantly, changed how sellers achieve and sustain high rankings, making it imperative to understand how it behaves and impacts sales performance.

Many long-time sellers, even those running highly optimized listings, have noticed shifts in ranking stability, click-through rates, and, in some cases, revenue.

For sellers looking to sharpen their approach, let’s go into actionable strategies tailored to the demands of this recent algorithm shift.

Boosting Your Organic Reach: Prioritizing Engagement over Sales Velocity

Unlike the previous Amazon A9 algorithm, which primarily rewarded listings based on sales velocity, the A10 algorithm factors in a wider variety of engagement metrics.

Sales volume is no longer enough; Amazon is looking at how customers interact with your listing—scrolling behavior, time spent on the page, even add-to-cart actions and purchases from repeat buyers.

One way to make sure your listing captures these engagement signals is by refining your product details to attract more engaged, qualified clicks.

For example, fine-tuning your title to include long-tail keywords or unique selling points can drive up click-throughs from genuinely interested buyers, which is exactly what A10 values.

Split-test different versions of your title and bullet points to see what holds customer attention, especially focusing on the terms that resonate most with your niche.

Enhanced Brand Content (EBC) is another effective way to keep customers on your page longer and increase the likelihood of them adding your product to their cart.

External Traffic is Now a Major Player

Amazon A10 places a substantial emphasis on external traffic, unlike its predecessor.

The logic here is clear: Amazon wants sellers to bring in outside customers, reducing dependency on Amazon’s own traffic sources and effectively broadening the marketplace’s reach.

This shift creates a powerful opportunity for sellers willing to strategically target external channels.

To leverage this, start building targeted campaigns across platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, and Instagram.

For many sellers, the challenge lies in effectively setting up these campaigns to drive warm traffic that will convert on Amazon.

One practical approach is to develop retargeting campaigns specifically aimed at past customers and lookalike audiences.

These groups are more likely to convert and therefore send a strong quality signal to Amazon’s algorithm.

Additionally, utilizing influencers or brand affiliates can create a steady flow of external, qualified traffic that converts well, which feeds directly into A10’s favor.

If you want to track the effect of your external traffic on Amazon sales without having to guess at the outcomes, Amazon Attribution is an essential tool.

With this, you’ll get precise data on which campaigns and keywords drive sales, which will help you fine-tune your budget and efforts toward channels that provide the highest ROI for rankings.

Perfecting Your Keyword Strategy to Meet A10’s Standards

Keywords have always been central, but A10’s shift means that your approach needs to be even more refined.

Rather than stuffing high-traffic keywords into your listing, the focus should be on search relevance and conversion rate.

A10 prioritizes listings that convert well for the search terms used, not necessarily the ones with the highest search volumes.

Start by narrowing down your keywords to those that align with purchase intent. Long-tail keywords or those directly indicating the product’s primary uses are increasingly relevant.

To find these terms, pull data from Amazon’s Brand Analytics and compare it against your organic and PPC keyword reports to identify which keywords already drive a high conversion rate.

Once identified, center these terms in strategic parts of your listing: the title, first bullet, and backend search terms.

Further, use an organic-to-PPC test to gauge the actual purchase intent of a keyword.

Run a small, targeted PPC campaign with specific keywords, monitor the conversion rate, and then integrate the best-performing ones into your organic content.

This dual strategy optimizes your organic content with keywords that have proven to work, sending a stronger signal to the A10 algorithm about your listing’s relevance.

Customer Satisfaction Signals: Reviews and Beyond

Customer reviews continue to be a key factor, but Amazon now appears to be assessing overall customer satisfaction more holistically.

It’s no longer just the sheer number of reviews, but factors like review frequency, recent reviews, and quality of feedback that impact how the algorithm ranks listings.

Furthermore, A10 evaluates signals such as returns, refunds, and customer service interactions, all of which indicate how customers perceive a product.

To maintain a positive feedback loop, actively manage your post-purchase experience. Implement automated follow-up emails or text messages that encourage satisfied buyers to leave a review.

Avoid pushing all customers equally; instead, focus these requests on customers who are most likely to leave a high-quality review.

High-quality feedback (with more detailed comments) typically has more weight in Amazon’s ranking algorithm.

If you’re selling products prone to questions, consider preemptively answering common questions directly on your listing.

This proactive approach not only reduces the likelihood of returns but signals to Amazon that your product meets expectations.

Competitor Monitoring and Ranking Maintenance

The A10 algorithm makes it harder to rely on high rankings from temporary boosts; listings that stay at the top typically have high and steady customer engagement.

To keep your product from slipping, closely monitor your competitors’ strategies—especially those who may have overtaken your spot. Identify their keywords, PPC tactics, and even their engagement strategies.

One useful tactic here is to regularly analyze your organic ranking trends.

Use a keyword tracking tool that can alert you if you start slipping on critical keywords, allowing you to address issues before your listing loses too much ground.

For instance, if you notice a competitor is suddenly outpacing you, investigate whether their listing has new reviews, different keywords, or has launched a PPC campaign to increase visibility.

You might also consider refreshing your listing every 3–6 months based on keyword and trend shifts to keep your content relevant to both buyers and the A10 algorithm.

Adjust your product images or bullet points to appeal to seasonal trends or recent product enhancements—anything that could keep your listing fresh and aligned with current buyer interests.

Mastering Amazon PPC with A10 in Mind

Amazon’s paid search ads also play a different role under A10.

While PPC used to be an easy route to boost rankings, the A10 algorithm now treats PPC results as one of many ranking factors, with a strong focus on campaign efficiency and relevance.

High-performing PPC campaigns help listings indirectly by improving engagement metrics (CTR, conversion rates) that impact organic rankings.

To optimize PPC for A10, move away from a broad targeting strategy and instead focus on campaigns that drive high-intent traffic.

Utilize Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Products, and Sponsored Display ads strategically to target only the keywords that have consistently driven high organic conversions.

Testing different ad placements and targeting options can also improve the relevancy score of your ad campaigns, leading to more impactful results under A10.

Another effective strategy is to run exact match and phrase match campaigns for keywords you know convert, especially those tied to high-margin products.

By focusing on keywords that have a strong likelihood of conversion, you’re signaling to Amazon that your ads (and by extension, your products) are relevant to customer needs.

Leveraging Brand Registry for Increased Visibility and Control

With A10, it’s increasingly difficult for unregistered brands to thrive on Amazon. Brand-registered sellers have access to features like Sponsored Brands, A+ Content, and Brand Analytics, which all play a crucial role in attracting customers and keeping them engaged.

If you’re not already utilizing Brand Analytics, this should be a top priority. Brand Analytics provides exclusive access to insights such as demographic data and search term reports, helping you understand buyer behavior on a granular level.

Using these insights, you can more accurately pinpoint which keywords, ad placements, and content formats drive the best results, allowing you to adjust your strategy in real-time to meet A10’s demands.

Finally, consider setting up a Brand Store if you haven’t done so already. Brand Stores enhance the shopping experience, providing customers with a direct, well-curated journey through your product range.

These stores drive more engaged traffic, which in turn sends strong, positive signals to the A10 algorithm about your brand’s overall quality.

Transitioning from Amazon A9 to A10

For sellers accustomed to the Amazon A9 algorithm, A10 introduces a series of shifts that can impact long-standing strategies.

A9 was highly focused on sales velocity, meaning that the more units a product sold in a short period, the better its ranking.

Sellers could essentially push for high visibility and organic ranking by generating sales, often through aggressive Amazon PPC campaigns, Lightning Deals, or discounts.

But with the Amazon A10 algorithm, Amazon’s approach to ranking is notably different, as A10 is built around engagement metrics and customer experience over sheer sales volume.

To make this shift work in your favor, it’s essential to recognize where your old A9 strategies may need to adapt. Here are the main distinctions that seasoned sellers should keep in mind:

Sales Velocity vs. Customer Intent and Engagement

While A9 rewarded listings for high sales velocity, Amazon A10 algorithm places emphasis on how relevant and engaging your listing is to users.

For example, A9 allowed sellers to rely heavily on high-frequency keywords and category-focused terms to capture broad traffic.

A10’s algorithm analyzes not only if the sale was made, but if the customer interacted with your page in a way that signals relevance and satisfaction—metrics that go beyond just raw sales numbers.

Less Reliance on Internal Amazon Traffic Sources

A9 heavily weighted internal Amazon traffic—those customers already browsing Amazon who landed on a product through a search result or a PPC ad.

With A10, Amazon is prioritizing listings that bring in high-quality external traffic.

This means that sellers who rely solely on Amazon PPC under A9 may find themselves outranked by competitors who drive targeted external traffic from social media, Google Ads, or affiliate sites.

External traffic often includes warmer leads who convert at higher rates, which Amazon A10 algorithm rewards by improving a listing’s organic ranking.

PPC Campaigns for A9 vs. A10

Under A9, sellers could use broad, high-traffic PPC keywords to drive visibility and increase sales volume, which directly boosted rankings.

However, Amazon A10 algorithm no longer ranks listings primarily based on PPC sales; instead, it measures ad relevance, conversion rates, and user engagement signals.

Campaigns need to be more targeted, favoring exact match and long-tail keywords that have a proven record of conversions.

This change helps prevent a waste of ad spend on low-intent clicks, optimizing both your budget and your ranking impact.

Quality Over Quantity in Customer Feedback

Under A9, accumulating a large volume of reviews was enough to establish credibility and help a listing maintain its ranking.

However, with Amazon A10 algorithm, Amazon considers the quality and recency of customer feedback more closely.

The algorithm now assesses review relevance, consistency in ratings, and satisfaction signals, like return rates and customer service interactions, more than simply the total number of reviews.

If you’re coming from an A9-focused strategy, consider emphasizing high-quality interactions with buyers and making incremental improvements to the customer experience that reduce the chance of negative feedback or returns.

Shifts in Organic Ranking Signals

The ranking signals that A9 relied on were relatively straightforward—sales velocity, keyword usage, and high PPC performance.

With Amazon A10 algorithm, Amazon takes into account a wider set of engagement factors that require a multi-channel approach.

For example, under Amazon A10 algorithm, if a listing receives high click-through and conversion rates from external sources, such as social media or influencer links, Amazon views the product as highly relevant, which improves organic rankings.

For sellers used to A9’s emphasis on internal metrics, adjusting to these Amazon A10 algorithm signals might involve experimenting with influencer marketing, social ads, or other off-Amazon traffic sources.

Running regular performance analyses to track click-through rates, conversion rates, and traffic sources allows sellers to make data-backed adjustments that align with A10’s signals, ensuring long-term stability in organic rankings.