Your Amazon product title can be up to 200 characters. Since keywords are important for getting more traffic (and therefore more sales), many sellers attempt to fit whatever information they can in the listing title. This is understandable, considering it’s generally believed that keywords are weighted more heavily in the title. However, this tactic can backfire, as using the 200 characters to stuff in keywords can hurt readability. Just look at the example below.

It’s a headache to read, right? While we tend to think concise, clean titles could benefit listings, keywords are still super important. In fact, the product title is probably the most important place in the listing for keywords. So, we don’t want to swing the pendulum too far without knowing if shorter titles will work. Business is on the line, and we must test ideas and optimize based on data. With this in mind, the Amify Content team set out to discover: Can a shorter title that’s more human-friendly be more effective? In coordination with MobyFox, an Amify partner and leading watch band seller on Amazon, we ran A/B tests to get the answer.

About A/B Tests on Amazon

Amazon rolled out Experiments in 2019, enabling brands to run A/B tests. Now, you can A/B test three types of content on your listings:

• Product Title
• Main Image
• A+ Content

When you do an A/B test, you create two versions of your title, main image, or A+ Content. Variation A is the original content and variation B is the test content. When viewing your listing, customers either see variation A or variation B of what you’re testing. By testing different titles, images, and A+ Content, you can gain valuable insights. The results can tell you what works best for customers and you can optimize your content to boost higher conversion rates and drive more sales. Note: Not all ASINs are eligible for Experiments. Typically, only high-selling items are. To check if your products are eligible for A/B testing, click ‘Manage Experiments’ under the Brands tab in Seller Central. If you do not see ‘Manage Experiments’, then your brand’s products aren’t yet eligible for A/B testing on Amazon.

If your brand has eligible products, you can begin testing by clicking ‘Create a New Experiment’ on the right side of the next page.

From there, you click on what type of content you want to A/B test. After clicking, you’ll see a list of available products to test.

Our A/B Testing Description

For our experiment, we decided to test 3 MobyFox product titles on Amazon. Our goal was to determine how title length impacts traffic, conversion rates and total sales.MobyFox has secured licenses from some of the world’s best-known franchises, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and DC Comics. For our Amazon product title length experiment, we tested 3 different watch bands over 4 weeks to capture a large, diverse customer base. This provided greater confidence in the results.

A/B Test Subjects

For each test, we had a control title and a test title. The test title kept the keyword ‘Apple Watch’ but removed licensing and size details.

Listing #1 – Rebel Classic Watch Band

Control Title (A):Star Wars – Rebel Classic Smartwatch Band – Officially Licensed, Compatible with Apple Watch (not Included) – Fits 38mm, 40mm, 42mm and 44mmTest Title (B):Star Wars – Rebel Classic Smartwatch Band – Compatible with Apple Watch

Listing #2 – The Flash Tactical Watch Band

Control Title (A):DC Comics – The Flash Tactical Smartwatch Band – Officially Licensed, Compatible with Apple Watch (not included) – Fits 38mm, 40mm, 42mm and 44mmTest Title (B):DC Comics – The Flash Tactical Smartwatch Band – Compatible with Apple Watch

Listing #3 – Hogwarts Gold Watch Band

Control Title (A):Harry Potter – Hogwarts Gold Smartwatch Band – Officially Licensed, Compatible with Apple Watch (not Included) – Fits 38mm, 40mm, 42mm and 44mmTest Title (B):Harry Potter – Hogwarts Gold Smartwatch Band – Compatible with Apple Watch

Our Hypothesis

To determine best practices for Amazon listing title length, we had a few questions to address. For each, we had our own hypothesis. Here’s what we aimed to discover and what we thought we would find:

• Does shortening title length lead to more traffic and conversions?*

*We think shorter, cleaner titles could reduce noise and encourage higher click-through and conversion rates, but want to test against longer titles.

• Does the benefit of more keywords and details in longer titles outweigh the drawbacks of such potentially clunky titles?*

*Since shorter titles may mean fewer keywords, there is potential to negatively impact overall traffic. However, for ASINs already ranking for key search terms, a shorter title could be more effective if it boosts conversion rates enough.

• What’s the best practice for title length on Amazon?*

*Does less equal more? Are long, descriptive titles best? Or is it a case-by-case basis? We think shorter titles are more effective.

Goals of the Amazon Product Title Length Experiment

1. Compare short, concise titles against longer, descriptive titles.
2. Determine if short or long titles perform better (or if it varies across listings).
3. Take what we discover and optimize listings as needed.
4. Apply our learnings going forward to improve conversion rates and sales for our clients!

Experiment Results

Product Title Length Test #1  

For the Star Wars Rebel Classic Smartwatch Band, the longer title won. As you see below, there is a 73% probability that Version A, the longer title, is better.

Product Title Length Test #2

For the Flash Tactical Smartwatch Band, the shorter title won. As you see below, there is a 66% probability that Version B, the shorter title, is better.

Product Title Length Test #3

For the Hogwarts Gold Smartwatch Band, the shorter title won. As you see below, there is a 51% probability that Version B, the shorter title, is better.

Conclusion: Learnings & Considerations

Our hypothesis was that shorter titles would generate higher conversion rates. Shorter titles won on 2 of the 3 listings. The longer title won for the Star Wars watch band listing. So, we didn’t get a definitive answer. We can’t say for certain that shorter product titles are better than longer product titles on Amazon. Still, the test provided some key takeaways for content enhancement on Amazon:

• More testing is necessary to determine whether shorter titles or longer titles perform better. While shorter titles did do better overall in our test, it wasn’t by a margin wide enough to reach a definitive conclusion or implement it as a best practice in Amazon copywriting.
• What works varies from listing to listing. After all, customers differ, even within the same category.

Success on Amazon depends on customized optimization for each listing.

Going Forward

Even without a definitive conclusion, the experiment has tremendous value. What holds true on one listing may not hold true on another listing. Customization and optimization go hand in hand. If we can do A/B tests on a listing, the best strategy is to test and optimize for that individual listing. Additionally, title length does have a significant impact on sales. Every brand can and should be testing eligible ASINs. For top-selling products, the right title could easily generate $20K+ more per year. Optimize across a brand’s entire catalog, and the impact is huge.Going forward, we’ll test in other categories to see if we can reach a more definitive conclusion on the best product title length on Amazon. We’ll also continue to take advantage of Amazon-based and third-party tools to optimize our work for our partners. Want to see how A/B testing could enhance your content and drive more sales? Wish to learn more about optimizing Amazon listings? Contact us and we’ll discuss how you can unlock your full potential on Amazon.

Talk with Us