Many people believe Google’s main competition is other search engines like Bing or Yahoo!. So naturally, many small business owners believe they’ll have their bases covered as long as their website appears in those search result pages.

While true for the most part, those same business owners may be dropping the ball if they overlook what Google executives see as their biggest competitor — Amazon!

Though you may think of Amazon as just a shopping web-site, it recently surpassed Google as the leading web-site for product searches, with nearly 90% of Amazon’s product views coming from Amazon’s own search engines — not links from advertisements, business web-sites, Google, or other search engines. It’s easy to see why, too. With the press of a button, the average consumer can see what kind of products are available, what the average prices may be, and, most importantly, read reviews from other consumers before they commit to ordering.

Amazon’s search engines do all of the filtering and make comparisons for them, which for many people, is faster than clicking through pages of Google results.

This is not to suggest that you should quit focusing your attention on Google. But if you are thinking of adding Amazon as a marketing tool for your business, consider this:

• It is much easier to draw attention to your business through Amazon. Once you list your products with photos and detailed descriptions, Amazon delivers your product and web information directly to interested customers without you having to worry about complicated indexing and search engine optimization procedures.
• Amazon listings rank high in Google and other search engine results. Because of Amazon’s ad placements with other search engines, your product can still show up as a top result when someone searches for similar products and services.
• Thanks to its popular review section, Amazon provides a platform for easily selling your products and services directly to consumers and creates a space for you to grow your business through word-of-mouth advertising.
• Amazon has a history of selling books, computers, clothing, and other things that can be shipped to your home. They also have a platform for selling professional services like computer repair and tech support, house cleaning and handyman/home improvement services, and a variety of yard and outdoor maintenance services.
• Amazon provides a lot of great services, but they are not free. The fees they charge vary based on which Amazon sales plan you choose to use.

We pride ourselves on giving small business owners such as yourselves an edge over the competition, and hopefully, this blog was proof of that. For more than 25 years, Blue Troop Web, Print and Video has been dedicated not only to helping business owners add more oomph to their marketing toolbox but also grow in ways they never thought possible.