Starting January 1, 2015, Amazon Europe sites (including Germany, UK, France, Spain, and Italy) made Vendor Central modules available to vendors. Approximately 85% of our clients currently sell on at least one Amazon Europe site, and about 50% percent sell on more than one.
If you’re already selling on Amazon Europe sites, this is a great opportunity to update your Amazon product pages and add A+ content.
And if you aren’t yet, but plan to in the near future, let this be a strong nudge to get your budget and strategy in order. You’ll need to be set up on each country’s Amazon site and budget for content creation and translation.
Modules, Say What?
Not familiar with the Vendor Central modules yet? Amazon offers 12 modules that can be combined any way you want, up to 5 per page. Each one has a different layout. While those individual layouts are fixed, the design options of the modules are significantly better than the previous Vendor Central templates.
It’s clear Amazon is angling for mobile compatibility with this design. Considering that the company is also currently replacing old hard-coded pages or templated product descriptions with JavaScript, making use of the modules is highly recommended. (If you use Vendor Central, that is.)
With the option of modules on Amazon Europe sites as well as in the US, design is greatly simplified. No need for hard-coding 5 or 6 variations of each product description; once you find a module combo you like, you can use the same layout everywhere.
Plan for Translation
Of course, design is only part of the picture when it comes to selling in Europe. You’ll also need to plan and budget for translation. Incorporating translation and localization in content creation has 3 main advantages:
- Workflow efficiency
- Cost saving
- Messaging control
In an ideal world, our clients would plan for product descriptions on all their sites, in every country, at once. A multichannel strategy strengthens your brand and is cost efficient. And successful translation involves prepping English-language content by eliminating unusual constructions; inconsistencies; unessential text that would increase costs; and metaphors, acronyms, and cultural references that may confuse translators.
However, in the real world, we realize that most companies don’t have the resources (time, money, or otherwise) to do everything at once. We still make translation simpler by prepping existing content and working with translators who localize content as well as translating it.
What Next?
If you’re set up to sell on Amazon Europe sites, take advantage of the modules and get A+ content up. If you’re not but want to be, use our worksheet (coming next week) to find your way there.
Want content26 to help you get your A+ content on Amazon Europe sites? Email us.
