When Amazon was founded in 1995, it was simply a platform for selling online books but it sold a lot of books in the first year and became a popular marketplace for purchasing books. After the successful launch, it started to expand and added more categories. Today, it sells almost every kind of stuff. Whether you are looking for a pair of socks or laptops and LED TVs, everything is available on this marketplace. It has now become a huge company and in 2019 it generated a revenue of $87.4 billion.
Did you know half of the things that are available on Amazon are sold by third-party sellers? That is right! It is not only a platform for purchasing stuff rather it also gives people the opportunity to run an online business and earn a great income from their home. Undoubtedly, it is among the most favorite marketplaces of shoppers as well as merchants. So much so, this platform is now the source of primary income of many merchants from all over the world.
Running an online business on this platform is now considered as one of the most reliable ways to earn money mainly because it offers you several options such as you can purchase goods manufactured by other brands in bulk and offer them on Amazon at a different price to earn profit or you can take an already existing item, carry out some modifications and sell them as your own private label goods.
Furthermore, you can also purchase goods in bulk from different stores when they are on sale and sell them on Amazon at a different price that can earn you profits. Calculates your product profit with FBA Calc known as IO Scout FBA Calculator. Not to mention, there are several other ways as well for making money through this platform such as Amazon affiliate.
Here, one might think why are people using this platform for selling goods when they can offer them on their own by creating their own website. They sure can but the thing is that selling on this platform has many benefits that you won’t get when you operate on your own.
To begin with, it is a huge platform that is trusted by millions so it gives you access to a massive audience. Moreover, it offers you FBA, a fulfillment program , which lets you give all the responsibility of storing, packing, shipping and customer care of your goods to Amazon which means you don’t have to deal with any of it.
Since many people are now joining this marketplace as merchants the competition here is now quite high and there is no room for mistakes. For example, if you didn’t do proper research before launching the item, you might end up with the item that is not desired by the shopper. This will result in them not purchasing your goods which means you have to pick the right item with high demand and that is just one aspect of the process of selling successfully on this platform.
From picking the best goods to sell and calculating the costs to perfectly optimizing listings and adjusting your selling price regularly, there are a lot of steps involved in this process. However, with the right tools and strategies, one can surely earn a handsome amount through it.
Since achieving success on this platform has now become very difficult, it is important that you utilize all the tools and programs available for the purpose of helping you sell more effectively. One such program is the brand registry amazon offered by Amazon itself.
If you are a merchant selling something on Amazon, this article will surely help you decide whether you register your brand or not.
What is Amazon Brand Registry Program?
It is a program for sellers, more specifically brand owners, offered by Amazon through which not only can they protect their trademark registered on Amazon but they get access to some powerful tools as well that can help them become a successful seller.
Furthermore, you also get more freedom in terms of listing your goods because more often than not the listings get distorted and you need to edit them. All in all, anyone who registers with this program has more control over how they operate on Amazon.
This program has been in effect for many years but it was only in 2017 that Amazon developed a new version of this program with more efficient tools and features such as Project Zero program and Transparency.
This new program, commonly known as amazon brand registry 2.0 among sellers, is what helps the merchants in removing counterfeit items which means sellers can remove the fake copies of their goods from the platform. Furthermore, it also gives brands the chance to enhance the listings of their items sold by other merchants.
Who can Use this Program?
It doesn’t matter whether you are a popular or small brand anyone can apply to the program. The enrollment is done through Seller Central and it is a very simple process. However, since the launch of the new version, it requires you to have a trademark which is officially registered to apply.
Now, who actually is a brand owner? It is those merchants that have a trademark which is registered. This raises another question, how to get this registered trademark?
You are first required to have a unique name and logo, by unique we mean that the name is not trademarked by any other brand. To figure this out, you can conduct research on the USPTO website which has a database consisting of all the registered ones.
To proceed further, you have to select a particular class fo the trademark. You can think of it as a category of trademark and you should choose the one that perfectly fits with the type of items you are selling or planning to sell. The price of registering the trademark varies from category to category. However, there is no amazon brand registry cost.
To file the application, professional lawyer must be hired that deals with trademark stuff. Keep in mind that it can take up to one year to get registered.
Why Should You Apply For this Program?
The one-line answer is that it brings you numerous benefits that can help you operate more effectively and generate more sales. Below we have mentioned its best benefits .
- Protect Your Goods
- Better Content for you Brand
- Videos And Storefronts
- More Freedom to Sell A Brand
- Effective PPC Terms
- Protect Your Goods
It is natural that when you have a trademark that is registered you can't compromise on anyone using your brand or goods in any way. Goods counterfeit is one of the major issues that many merchants that have their own brand on this marketplace face these days.
These issues are now increasing day by day because of such a competitive environment. This is why it necessary to register in this program because it helps you protect your goods and whenever you find anyone selling fake imitations of your goods you can report them and get them removed. Moreover, this program lets you to be the single owner of the buy box as you are the only authorized owner.
With this program, you also get an internal team that assists you in resolving any issues of your listings such as inaccurate details of your goods, listing that are using your trademarked words, listings that are blocked, etc. with the help of the team, you can also report item’s page loading issues as well as any problems with your seller central account. Furthermore, the team also helps you in escalating claims that you submitted. For further protection of goods, another program named Transparency program can be utilized.
- Better Content for you Brand
Most of the people don’t know that listings of Amazon don’t mean only the title and description section of the item rather it consists of a total of 6 elements and all of these elements are vital to enhancing performance and boosting sales. This means you focus on each and every one of them. If you optimize your listings perfectly through these elements, the chances of your success increase significantly. This program aids you in doing that as it offers more freedom over the way you manage your listings including title, images, and description, etc.
With this program, you get to create better content for your listing through the EBC tool. Hence, it allows you to present your brand to the shoppers in a more effective manner by allowing you to add extra images and text in your listings.Â
Now, if you don’t know how important the content of listing is, let us explain that first. When the listings are rightly optimized they help you get a better ranking in the results of different search queries of the purchasers which means they help you generate more sales. The text content of listing is usually optimized through relevant keywords.
Basically, Amazon uses an algorithm named A9 for ranking the goods in search results. Besides the total amount of sales, this algorithm takes into account the keywords that you have used in the title, description and features section of the listings and gives a higher rank to those items that have the most relevant and appropriate keywords. Here, relevant and appropriate ones mean those words that are mostly used by shoppers while they search for a particular item. This algorithm efficiently scans the entire marketplace with the blink of an eye and shows accurate results quickly.
When sellers insert the perfect phrases or keywords in listings, what they are actually doing is ensuring that their goods land in the search results of the related queries.
Images of the item are also factored in by the algorithm while ranking the goods. They also help you win the trust of the shoppers because they can not see your item physically so when you show them your item through images they can get the idea of what your product actually looks like.
You can understand the importance of image from the fact that shoppers generally hesitate to buy the goods that don't have any image in their listing. Images of the item can either leave a very strong or negative impression on the purchasers, that is why they are very important for success.
When you upload images in your listing make sure to use high pixel and clear images and it is even better if you use the zoom option provided by Amazon. When you are not enrolled in the program you have a limit to upload a total of 9 images per product while those who are enrolled in the program can add more images.
Always try to upload the image with at least 1280 pixels or 2560 pixels or more that is even better.
Don’t take the pictures from the same angles rather each image should reflect different valuable features of the item. The images of the items play a vital role in its search ranking as A9 algorithm factors in the images as well.
With this program, you can not only add additional images but you are also provided with templates through which you can choose from different layouts and upload images easily to improve your listings. You must write quality content so that you are able to convince people through it. Not to mention, you must write it according to the requirements of EBC because they will first review it and then approve or reject it.
- Videos And Storefronts
Another huge benefit of this program in terms of better content is that it lets you add a video of your item in your listing. As we mentioned above how images help you get the trust of shoppers in your goods, imagine what would a video do? It will definitely help you boost your conversions. Having a video of your item on the page means you can clearly show your buyers how your item works.
You can also create storefronts pretty easily and flawlessly through this program. These stores can have more than one page and every page consist of a footer and a header. When you use this program to create storefronts, Amazon also provides you templates that can help you create the content more quickly. However, it is not necessary to use the templates.
When you build it through a template, all you have to do is provide the required info and images, videos, etc. An important thing to do while building the store is to review it in mobile as well as desktop view. This will help you in ensuring that your content is readable and looks good on both devices. If you don’t feel like it is properly aligned, you can adjust the tile, etc.
Before publishing the store go over the content again to see if you misspelled anything or if there are any grammatical or punctuation errors. When you submit the content, it will first be reviewed and then approved if it meets the requirements.
- More Freedom to Sell A Brand
This program lets the brand control who can sell their goods. Usually, the below five types of merchants qualify for it:
- Owners of Private label brand
- Those who sell their own goods
- Merchants who make white label products
- Those who manufacture goods
- Distributors with the authority to own the content of the brand on Amazon
However, if you are selling goods that fall in “Sports /entertainment collectibles (both old and new items)” or “ Video, BMVD, DVD, Media, and Books” you won’t be eligible for it.
- Effective PPC Terms
The program helps with you every aspect of selling including Pay per Click (PPC) as it helps you find the items that are getting the maximum amount of clicks as well as the conversions. You can then analyze their strategies and modify yours accordingly to get the competitive edge.
How to Apply to Brand Registry
Eligibility Criteria
A merchant can apply for it for free but there are certain eligibility criteria that you must check before applying. The first and foremost requirement is that you must own a trademark that is registered. It is important to have one for every single country that one wishes to apply for. Moreover, it can be text or it can be an image with words or numbers.
Log in
After reading the criteria if you find yourself eligible for it, you can the being the process of signing in to the brand registry. If one already has a merchant account, he/she isn't required to create a separate one for this program as you can use that account to log in.
The benefit of using your merchant account is that through it you will be able to utilize the features of the program that are linked to the merchant services. Don’t worry, if you don’t yet have a seller account as you can make it easily for free before applying to the program.
Submit your Application
To complete your application, you will be asked to provide the credentials of the brand that has the trademark registered, make sure it is active. You will also be asked to mention the trademark number registered by the government as well as the categories of your item where you want to list your brand. Category can be any from those that available on Amazon such as automotive, jewelry, apparel and consumer electronics, etc. Lastly, you have to select the countries your goods are produced and sold in.
Final Thoughts
Amazon brand register is a great program for sellers that lets them operate more efficiently and effectively so that you can increase your sales, revenue, and income. If you have a registered trademark you can apply it for free, however, if you don’t, you first need to get a registered trademark which can take up to 1 year. Through this program, brands can not only protect their goods but they have a great chance to enhance their content of listings through efficient tools available only to those who are registered in the program.
Since Amazon is the largest platform with thousands of merchants, the competition on the platform is very high due to which product counterfeit has increased greatly. When you are enrolled in the program you can get any item removed that is the fake copy of your branded items. This way you will be the only one offering your goods. You also get a dedicated team from Amazon that helps you in resolving different issues.
Moreover, we all know how important quality content is for attracting shoppers and convincing them to buy the item. This program helps you in writing more enhanced content through the EBC tool. Hence, it gives you more freedom over the way you shape your listings. All in all, anyone who registers with this program has more freedom over how they operate on Amazon.
The program has been in effect for many years but from 2017 Amazon is offering a modified version of this program with more efficient tools and features such as Project Zero program and Transparency by Amazon service.
The program also lets you upload more images and videos to your listings which are very useful features because this type of media helps you gain the trust of your buyers by showing them how your item works and what it really offers. You can also create storefronts quite easily through this program. It gives you access to templates which allows you to build the store quickly.
Not only can you present your brand in a better way but you can also monitor it easily when you are enrolled in the program. It is definitely a great program.
FAQ
Is the brand registry on Amazon free?
Yes. The brand registry is totally free, however, it is better if you sign in with your seller account because it gives you access to the services of the program related to the sellers. You also need to have a trademark to get accepted in the program and if you don’t, you can apply for one but it is not free and the charges depend on the class of trademark you choose.Â
