A GUIDE TO OPTIMIZING PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR A HIGH-PERFORMING AMAZON STOREFRONT INCLUDING AN AMAZON A+ CONTENT BREAKDOWN AND PHOTO GUIDELINES
A crisp, attractive photo can be the deciding factor for a shopper scrolling through Amazon’s product search page. Product photography is a component of e-commerce marketing where brands take pictures of their products with the intent of using them to drive sales. When searching for a product, there are millions of competing listings — product photos being the only differentiating visual factor. Amazon brands can easily one-up their competition by optimizing product photography across storefronts and product pages.
Product Photography Crash Course
The key to a stellar Amazon product listing is professional product photography. Product photos draw shoppers in and tell them precisely what the product is, motivating them to buy. Shoppers will have difficulty deciphering a product’s quality without good lighting, a crisp white background, and professional equipment. Thus, scrolling right past.
Adequate lighting can come from expensive lightboxes or even a large window. Regardless, it should be bright enough to illuminate the product but not too oversaturated that it leaves a white cast.
A cyclorama, or cyc wall, can create a crisp, seamless background for cohesive product photos. This feature is usually a white-walled installation with curved edges and seamless corners.
Filming equipment can consist of cameras, tripods, or any item that may assist in getting a good shot. Although professional digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras are popular among Amazon brands, beginners can shoot incredible footage with smartphones.
Shooting and editing product photos can be overwhelming. Amazon brands will find hiring a creative studio with its own cyc wall and production services a worthwhile investment. POLA Studio allows for experimentation without losing quality or uniformity.
Using Product Photography to Optimize Product and Storefront Pages
Once an Amazon brand has impeccable product photography, it’s time to put it to good use. Product photos enable shoppers to view the product from various angles or different colors and can persuade them to click on one search result over another.
According to Amazon, “Effective product images stimulate a customer’s imagination and inspire them to make a purchase.”
While shoppers go to Amazon’s search page first to find a product, they visit storefronts to discover the brand and its offerings. Product photography significantly affects how shoppers interact with storefront pages. Amazon brands can add pages with different layouts to their storefront to create an engaging and informative experience for shoppers.
Amazon storefront layouts include:
- A product grid that displays products only
- A marquee that displays products, imagery, descriptions, and customer quotes
- A showcase for a broad selection of products, information, and visual content
Product and storefront pages with compelling, high-quality product photography can help boost rankings on Amazon’s search engine results page (SERP). Since most shoppers also use Google to find products, brands must remember that high-ranking product pages equal more sales.
Amazon A+ Content Breakdown
The limited space on most Amazon brands’ product and storefront pages isn’t enough to convince shoppers to buy. Through Amazon Brand Registry, businesses can utilize Amazon A+ Content to display more photos and dynamic content on product and storefront pages. Amazon A+ Content modules consist of over a hundred image and product field combinations, allowing brands to find the optimal fit.
Amazon A+ Content has been proven to incite brand recognition and customer trust. According to Amazon, a product’s conversion rate can increase by 5.6 percent when sellers use and optimize Amazon A+ Content.
Amazon Product Photo Guidelines Explained
For any product photography strategy to be beneficial, brands must comply with Amazon’s terms of service. Guidelines differ for each photo placement — brands should be familiar with all of them to remain in adherence.
General Image Guidelines
All images must be at least 500 by 500 pixels. Brands can increase the size to 1,000 by 1,000 pixels for higher quality. All product images must have a basic white background. Any product featured should fill at least 85 percent of the photo.
Main Photo Guidelines
The main photo is the first image appearing on a product listing, making it the first impression shoppers will have. Main photos must follow the general image guidelines and also adhere to the following main photo rules from Amazon:
- Illustrations, graphics, placeholders, or mockups are not allowed
- Product photos can not include accessories or props not sold with the product
- Text, logos, borders, or watermarks are not allowed
- The image can not display various views of the product
- The entire product must be shown in the main image
- Packaging should not be pictured
- All multi-pack apparel items must be photographed flat
- Mannequins should not be used in main photos
- Women’s and men’s clothing should be shown on a human model
- Children’s and baby clothing must be photographed flat
- Shoes should be photographed singularly, facing left at a 45-degree angle
Amazon A+ Content Photo Guidelines
Amazon A+ Content works hand-in-hand with keywords and phrases to boost a product listing’s ranking on Amazon’s SERP. Brands enlisted in Amazon Brand Registry can utilize the Amazon A+ Content to add dynamic professional product photography, videography, and graphics to product and storefront pages. Content can include banner images, product features, and text.
Amazon’s A9 algorithm favors product listings with Amazon A+ Content that complies with established guidelines and terms of service. The following policies will help brands optimize their product pages for a high ranking on Amazon’s SERP:
- Image resolution should be at least 72 DPI but remain under two MB
- Animated images are not allowed
- Files must be JPEG, BMP, or PNG
- Images should be RGB, not CYMK
- All graphic text must be large enough to read on mobile devices
- All images must load properly in Amazon’s preview function
Call in an Amazon A+ Content and Product Photography Agency
POLA Studio pushes beyond the limits and challenges conventional approaches to bring out the eminence in every brand. Our team focuses on all aspects and angles to deliver clients branded content that tells a captivating story. Discover what it means to defy the ordinary with POLA Studio. For more information, contact us at (polamarketing.com/contact/).
