In today’s era of ‘fake news’, no website is safe, even e-commerce giant Amazon. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, the dark underworld of fake consumer reviews, click farms, and counterfeiters was exposed, leaving many Amazon sellers wondering how to protect a credible brand in the increasingly volatile Amazon marketplace – and if remaining credible is even possible.
While the types of abuse discussed in the article ranged from fake seller accounts to suspicious listings, the following crimes stood out:
For most online sellers, the Amazon marketplace is the easiest way to efficiently reach new consumers and increase brand awareness. While larger brands have the power of name recognition and numerous resources to combat these fraudulent attackers, small and midsize brands have to take preventative measures to ensure credibility, integrity, and consumer excellence in the face of this growing risk.
Here are a few proactive, hands-on ways to protect your brand in today’s ‘Fake Amazon’ world:
According to the Wall Street Journal, there are more than 550 million products sold on the Amazon marketplace. In order to make your products stand out, your product listings must be meticulously optimized, with content designed specifically to boost search engine rankings. As the Amazon team continues to crack down on fraudulent listings and hackers and remove them from the platform, credible sellers have to work even harder to attract buyers and win the buy box.
To overcome fraudulent competition on a large-scale, your team can look to large-scale advertising opportunities to attract more consumers. Make sure your ads are relevant and follow all Amazon guidelines, and ensure your keywords are targeted to your specific products and consumer audience.
As more consumers become savvy to bot reviews and rankings on Amazon, they’re turning to more middle-of-the-road ratings to truly judge a product’s quality. While billions of people shop on Amazon, a fraction of those people leave reviews, and, thanks to fake reviews and click farms, the quality of these reviews can leave something to be desired. You can make sure your customers are leaving 5-star, reference-worthy reviews by delivering amazing customer support. Make sure your shipping and returns process is seamless for customers, and have the team in place to respond to customer requests quickly.
If your team is working with multiple third party sellers to represent your products on Amazon, your products could be at-risk. As a brand, you don’t have any insight into how random sellers are marketing or advertising your products, and some of these partners may be working with under-the-radar companies like the ones called out by The Wall Street Journal. In the Amazon algorithm, a combination of seller ratings, consumer feedback, and pricing all impact your brand's reputation. Without a clear view into how your third-party sellers are marketing your products and the tactics they’re using on the back-end to help boost sales, there isn’t any way to truly know if there is anything fraudulent going on. And, although unfortunate, if anything illegal or suspicious is connected to your products via a third-party seller relationship, consumers won’t blame the seller – they’ll associate your brand name to the issue.
This is why working with a single, respected third-party seller is so important. Instead of worrying about products falling trap to fraudulent selling tactics your team can rest assured your products will be handled with complete above-board legality. With a single seller like SupplyKick on your side, any instances of fake reviews, tampered ads, or co-opted listings are immediately identified and taken care of.
If you’re ready to secure your brand integrity and confidently maximize sales on Amazon, it’s time to talk to SupplyKick. Get started today!