What is BSR? A Guide for Amazon Sellers
Almost every item on Amazon holds a BSR number. You’ve heard the term before, but what is BSR, exactly? And what is considered a good BSR on Amazon?
BSR stands for Best Seller Rank, and it’s a benchmark that many brands keep an eye on. It’s a benchmark that rates the best-selling products on Amazon.
Now, here’s the rub: it’s not entirely clear what Best Seller Rank is. Amazon is quite secretive about this metric. What we know comes from seasoned sellers and our own experience.
Today, we share what Best Seller Rank means, and how to keep track of this benchmark.
Let’s dive right in.
What is BSR?
Amazon defines BSR as an hourly calculation of product rank based on sales. BSR considers both recent and historical sales data for every item sold in the marketplace.
This means that Amazon awards products with a Best Seller Rank when they are ordered more times within a certain period.
Both brands and users can see the Amazon sales rank in the information section of any product listing.
Amazon updates the BSR list every hour for the top-selling 10,000 products within each category. Updates are done daily for the following 10,000-100,000 best sellers, and monthly for products ranking lower than 100,000.
The marketplace states that BSR is an overall indicator of a product’s sales performance. However, it’s not always an indication of how well a product is selling within its own category.
To solve this issue, Amazon creates subcategories that reflect best-selling ranks with more accuracy. So, there’s no “overall” BSR for each product. Rather, one item may hold multiple Best Seller Ranks.
For example, a gaming keyboard can hold one BSR in the “Video Games” category, but it will also feature another BSR in the “PC Gaming keyboards” subcategory.
How Amazon BSR Works
Amazon rewards products with a Best Seller Rank when they are ordered more times within a certain period. These are a few metrics that factor in a product’s BSR:
- Historical and current product sales
- Pricing changes and promotions
- An item’s competitive rate
The marketplace calculates a product’s Best Seller Rank by comparing it to other offers within the same category. A high sales rank rank means that a particular product sold more units than its counterparts. On the other hand, BSR can also drop if sales stagnate, almost within a single hour.
And as we said, Best Seller Rank focuses on recent and historical sales. It gives less importance to cumulative sales. Thus, BSR does not always offer a clear perspective of how well a product really sells.
Amazon BSR also favors product categories, rather than subcategories. It’s the primary category that holds the most weight when calculating BSR.
Sellers should also consider that updates for the top 10,000 products change constantly. This also means that Amazon BSR can change on a dime.
Besides, the BSR algorithm also analyzes factors that predict future sales. This means that BSR fluctuations don’t immediately reflect actual changes in sales.
It’s also important to remember that Best Seller Rank is not a universal metric. A product sold on Amazon US won’t hold the same BSR as in the Amazon UK store. Even though it’s the same product, both offers may have a very different Best Seller Rank.
Is Amazon Best Seller Rank Important?
The A9 algorithm will interpret an offer with a high BSR as an upward trend. Once this happens, Amazon will optimize the product’s search rank.
A good Best Seller Rank will give your listing priority in Amazon searches. It will also get a better placement in the “customers also bought” section, and get a place in the coveted Best Seller list.
A typical Amazon search delivers products from the top results of a general category. But what if the product is actually found within a subcategory? A more specific search might offer different results.
Product visibility depends on where customers look for offers, which can vary between users. Therefore, the Best Seller Rank doesn’t actually improve visibility that much. This is because it’s a rapidly changing benchmark, which sellers can’t really control.
Amazon BSR vs Organic Ranking
It’s important not to confuse BSR with organic ranking. The latter refers to how a product ranks on Amazon search, based on a specific keyword.
Organic ranking defines where your products appear on Amazon’s SERP. The marketplace compares a product’s relevance for a particular term. It then assigns a place for the listing on Amazon search.
In contrast, the Best Seller Rank only estimates sales frequency. Thus, organic ranking holds no relevance when it comes to BSR.
How can I Improve My Amazon Sales Rank?
The Best Seller Rank translates into a visibility boost, and we all know that better visibility means more sales.
That said, you should consider BSR as a reward for your hard work. The goal should be to turn your products into best-selling items, regardless of their Amazon sales rank.
To do so, you need to improve your Amazon selling game in a number of ways. For example:
- The right product launch strategy can help you gain the initial sales that you need to achieve success on Amazon.
- Optimize your product listings and collect positive customer reviews. While reviews don’t factor into BSR, they do play an important role in visibility.
- Use backend keywords to reach new audiences. This is also ideal to find new niche customers that may show an interest in your products.
- Invest in a tailored marketing strategy that targets repeat customers, or delights individual leads, on and off Amazon.
Final Thoughts
So what is BSR, in the end? It’s just the icing on the cake. Think of it as a trophy you get for being a great Amazon seller.
Brands should stop wasting resources looking at their products’ Best Seller Ranks. It’s better to focus on showcasing quality items at competitive prices.
Those are the things you can control, and that will improve your Amazon sales rank in the first place – not the other way around.
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