Building Content through Amazon Vendor Central

It’s not surprising to us that content creation via Amazon Vendor Central is one of our most popular blog topics. Understanding the retailer’s many content requirements has always been challenging, but our insight will help you navigate the system.

Building Product Pages with Amazon Modules

In 2014, Amazon made an update to its content management system, switching from the use of templates (aka Vendor Central 1.0) to modules (aka Vendor Central 2.0).

Though still full of quirks, Amazon modules have brought more mobile-friendly layout options to Amazon A+ pages. Behind the scenes, modules have made Amazon product page content easier to manage, making it easier to create a dynamic shopping experience.

Some things to note about modules:

1. More layout options. Amazon offers 10 standard modules and 2 advanced ones. The advanced options offer comparison charts (up to 6 columns and 10 rows), custom text in cells, and dynamic photo enlargement. A product description can use up to 5 modules in any combination.
2. Account for product variations. Amazon modules allow you to create nearly identical content for related products while still showing variations in things such as size, color, scent, etc.
3. Variable pricing. Prices for uploading an A+ page can cost anywhere between $100 and $600 depending on your current level of service.
4. Bugs and other issues. Many of Amazon modules’ current problems will be resolved over time. In the meantime, we’ve created recommended module combinations that work around some of these bugs, so talk to us if you’re unsure of the best approach.

“Bundling” Product Families

Amazon introduced “bundling” (aka Vendor Central 2.1) in 2015. With bundling, if you’re creating enhanced content for one product within a brand family or product line, you have to create the same content for all members of the family.

Bundling creates a consistent shopping experience, makes it easier to cross-sell items within a product family, and simplifies A+ content pricing. But, it also poses some content creation and communication challenges, which you can read about in our previous post on the bundling roll out.

Getting a handle on Amazon “bundling”:

1. Know Your Product Family. Understand how your product families are set up and what will be included in your product twisters. If you don’t know which products are going to be part of your product family, you’re not ready to create enhanced content.
2. Group Wisely. If you have 150 ASINs in your product family, you’re going to have to plan enhanced content for all of them, even if some of them are discontinued or out of date.
3. Budget for Content. Once again, if you have 150 ASINs in your product family, budget accordingly if you want A+ content.
4. Strategize. If you’re working with content26, talk to your account manager early in your project to plan out the best approach for all potential product twister combos.
5. Create Modular Content. Write and design your content in such a way that you can act quickly if the groupings change. We’re long-time advocates of intelligent contentand have been excited at the recent attention this content approach is receiving. This is one example of where an intelligent, modular approach to both content creation and design will really pay dividends.

“Boilerplating” for Smart Content

Content creation can get tricky with Amazon’s bundling approach, but if you have a product family with a specific brand story, creating a boilerplate for your content is a smart move. It will help you meet Amazon’s requirements and cross-sell your products efficiently.

With boilerplating, the content is focused on clear, consistent information that relates to the entire product family while emphasizing what makes each individual product unique.

For concrete examples of Amazon boilerplating in action, we recommend this JOHNSON’S baby example and this consumer electronics example from Belkin.

A+ Content Requirements
Amazon has content requirements on everything from product images to language. Stray from these guidelines and your page might get rejected. In short, before getting started with content creation, make sure to understand Amazon’s rules for:

1. Image format, size, and resolution
2. Video quality, format, resolution, and size
3. Text

While there’s a lot to know, our slideshow of Amazon’s A+ requirements will familiarize you with their guidelines.

Getting Help

In the early days of content26, we produced thousands of Amazon A+ product pages. Even as we’ve grown, we continue to stay on top of Amazon changes. Today, we continue to help our clients navigate requirements and create successful, SEO-optimized product pages.