A Battle of the Badges: Unlocking Amazon’s Choice and Amazon Best Seller Secrets

There’s a lot of talk among Amazon marketplace sellers about the comparative value of Amazon Choice and Amazon Best Seller badges. 

This post takes a close look at what they mean, and considers which of the two you should focus your attention on. 

To get started:

What is the Amazon Choice Badge?

Amazon’s Choice is a badge given to products that Amazon believes to be the best of the best. Amazon’s algorithm evaluates various factors, including customer service ratings, sales data, and product popularity. They also consider reviews from Amazon customers that occasionally require sellers to log into their seller central account to address issues raised by the shoppers. 

The Amazon Choice badge can be a valuable indicator of a product’s quality and help customers make informed purchasing decisions. However, it is essential to remember that the badge is awarded algorithmically, not manually by experts. Also, Amazon’s Choice tends to be based on search terms rather than category rankings.

Ultimately, this label indicates that a seller offers competitively priced, high-quality products with Amazon FBA fulfillment for quick delivery. 

The Amazon’s Choice label appears in the upper-left corner of the product’s feature image and on the Amazon marketplace search results page.

What Factors Determine Amazon’s Choice?

The exact formula for Amazon’s Choice remains undisclosed, but the following factors are known to play a significant role:

• High click-through rate and conversion rate for relevant search terms
• Instant availability through Amazon FBA or Prime
• High review rating (at least 4 stars)
• Low return rate (product quality-related)
• A seller badge, such as Best Seller in the relevant category

Why Amazon’s Choice Matters?

While Amazon’s Choice may not be the ultimate decision factor for buyers, it carries significant weight. For one, it acts as an endorsement from Amazon, which builds consumer trust. Additionally, products with the Amazon Choice badge often gain better visibility in Amazon sales, increasing conversion rates.

What is the Amazon Best Seller Badge?

Amazon introduced the #1 Best Seller badge as a way to highlight top-selling products. Represented by an orange ribbon icon in the top-left corner of product pages, this badge signifies the highest sales rank in a given category.

Originally, the Best Seller badge was awarded to only one seller per category. Now, Amazon features the top 100 best sellers in each category. However, in smaller subcategories, there may be fewer than 100 products with this designation due to limited competition.

What Factors Determine Best Seller Rank?

Amazon’s A9 algorithm determines the Best Seller Rank (BSR) based on:

• Sales velocity (number of units sold within a timeframe)
• Total sales history within a category or subcategory
• Performance in Amazon FBA fulfillment for better shipping speeds
• Competitive inventory management and account management services

More competitive categories, such as electronics, toys, and clothing, make it harder to achieve and maintain the Best Seller badge.

Why the Best Seller Badge Matters

The Best Seller badge is a direct reflection of a product’s performance in Amazon sales. If you want to identify high-demand products, the BSR can help you choose winning products. Conversely, it can also help sellers avoid categories where competition is too intense.

Amazon Choice vs Best Seller: Which Should You Trust?

Both badges offer value, but they serve different purposes:

• Amazon’s Choice: Awarded based on search terms, product quality, and fulfillment speed.
• Amazon Best Seller: Given to the top-selling product in a category based purely on sales volume.

If you want Amazon seller central to recognize your product as high quality, focus on earning Amazon’s Choice. However, if sales dominance is your goal, aiming for the Best Seller badge is the way to go.

Although it might seem like a simple choice, quality versus volume, there is a significant percentage of shoppers that feel that sales volume says what quality rankings and reviews don’t.

How to Get Amazon’s Choice Badge for Your Products

1. Optimize your product listings

The first step to getting the Amazon’s Choice badge is to optimize your product listings. This means including high-quality product photos, an engaging product description, and keyword-rich titles and bullet points. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that your product is priced competitively and has positive customer reviews.

2.  Win the Buy Box

The second step to getting the Amazon’s Choice badge is to win the Buy Box. The Buy Box is the box on a product listing page where customers can add a product to their shopping cart. Winning the Buy Box means that your product will be featured in this box, which can significantly increase your sales. To win the Buy Box, you’ll need to have a competitive price and offer Prime shipping.

If you’d like to win the buy box AND maximize profit, Eva’s Amazon Pricing Tool is here for you. By combining superhuman machine learning and human expertise, Eva makes the most profitable yet competitive pricing decision for you in any given situation!

3. Increase your sales velocity

Another factor that Amazon takes into account when awarding the Choice badge is sales velocity, which is the number of units sold over a while. In order to increase your sales velocity, you’ll need to run promotions and ads for your products. Additionally, you can try to get your products featured on popular blogs and websites.

4. Establish Off-Amazon Marketing Campaigns

This strategy is similar to the best seller strategy. Still, one important difference: the link to your product that you include in the promotion must be from the listing you get after searching for the targeted keyword.

Unlike best seller badges, it is a good idea to keep setting up small promo codes for Amazon’s Choice regularly. Because there is no hourly updating here, you must remain at the top of the organic ranking for some time.

5. Incorporate the Desired Keywords into Your PPC Campaign.

The goal here is to generate as many sales from your keyword as possible, so why not optimize your PPC accordingly?

Fortunately, Amazon treats all sales equally, whether sponsored or organic, so PPC is the best option here. Make use of insights from Amazon seller central to identify high-performing search terms.

Everyone who buys your product through its PPC ad contributes the same amount as someone who searches for your targeted keywords and then buys your product from the results.

Keeping Amazon’s Choice status is nearly the same as keeping best seller status (but with less certainty). You should stock up on units and supplement your campaigns with keyword-optimized PPC.

Can Sellers Manipulate Amazon’s Choice Badge?

Sellers cannot directly manipulate Amazon’s Choice because it’s controlled by Amazon’s algorithm. However, by taking advantage of account management services, upgrading the customer experience, and boosting sales velocity will naturally increase your chances of earning the badge.

Amazon constantly updates its ranking system to prevent seller manipulation. While sellers can boost their BSR, long-term success requires consistent performance in Amazon sales.

How Can an Amazon Account Management Agency Help?

An experienced Amazon account management agency can offer specialized services that directly impact your ability to earn and maintain both the Amazon’s Choice and Best Seller badges. By handling everything from daily operations to long-term strategy, an agency can streamline your path to higher visibility and increased conversions. 

Here’s how:

Optimized Listings for Key Search Terms

Keyword Research & Integration: The best Amazon Agencies identify high-performing keywords and integrate them seamlessly into your titles, bullet points, and product descriptions. This ensures maximum visibility for relevant searches—a critical factor for securing Amazon’s Choice.

Fully Optimized Listings & Amazon Stores: Professional optimization of text, images, and A+ content helps boost conversion rates, ultimately improving your sales velocity for a higher Best Seller Rank.

Strategic PPC and Advertising Campaigns

Data-Driven Targeting: Expert account managers design campaigns that focus on profitable, high-volume keywords, increasing your click-through and conversion rates.

Ongoing Optimization: Selling on Amazon is a moving target. Constant monitoring and adjustments help maintain peak performance, driving sales growth that supports both Amazon’s Choice eligibility and Best Seller status.

Inventory Management Matters! 

Preventing Stockouts: The best Amazon Agencies use advanced forecasting tools and sales analytics to ensure your product remains consistently available, a key decider of Amazon’s Choice.

Expert FBA Coordination: Proper coordination with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) guarantees fast shipping, boosting your appeal to Prime shoppers and enhancing your chance to earn badges.

Reputation and Customer Service Follow Up

Review Management: Proactive strategies for building positive customer feedback and resolving negative reviews help maintain high star ratings—crucial for Amazon’s Choice.

Customer Support: Quick issue resolution and excellent service contribute to lower return rates, signaling high product quality and seller reliability.

Growth Strategies to Scale Your Amazon Business

Competition Analysis: By staying current on market trends and competitor tactics, top Amazon agencies help your products stand out in crowded categories, paving the way to a Best Seller badge.

Long-Term Success Metrics: Beyond immediate badge acquisition, account managers align strategies with your broader business goals. That helps keep Amazon Seller Central happy, and goes a long way towards ensuring sustainable growth.

How Can Eva Help Your Brand to Sell on Amazon?

Eva combines superhuman artificial intelligence technology with top human eCommerce expertise to create an all-in-one platform for Amazon brands to meet all your needs, from pricing and Amazon advertising to 3PL logistics and returns management.

By deeply integrating pricing and supply chain management, Eva’s revolutionary platform ensures that you have maximized sales and profit without ever going out of stock or overstocked.

You are always welcome to give Eva a try with a 15-day Free Trial — the results speak for themselves!

Conclusion 

So, Amazon Choice vs Best Seller—which is better? The answer depends on your business objectives. If you want a highly rated, well-positioned product, aim for Amazon’s Choice. If you want a proven best-seller, go for the Best Seller Rank.

No matter which badge you pursue, working with a professional Amazon account management agency like Eva will help you optimize your Amazon seller central strategy and achieve sustainable Amazon sales success.

Regardless of which badge you choose, make sure to get a Free Consultation from Eva to help increase your chances of success on Amazon!