Diagnosing a Low-Performing Amazon Listing

A weak listing almost always traces back to one of four issues: visibility, competitiveness, clarity, or discoverability. Amazon gives sellers more data than ever, but most teams jump straight into rewrites and image swaps without checking the fundamentals. The result is wasted effort and no lift. If an ASIN is underperforming, run these checks in order – not all problems matter equally, and fixing the wrong thing first slows you down.

1. Is It Visible?

If shoppers aren’t reaching the page, nothing else matters. Start with traffic and technical health.

Check traffic first

Look at sessions in Business Reports and impressions in Search Query Performance. If both are low, the issue isn’t your copy, it’s findability. Improve visibility before touching content.

Check suppression and missing attributes

Open your Listing Quality Dashboard. Amazon flags missing required fields, invalid images, incorrect category data, and other issues that limit search and browse exposure. Suppressed or incomplete listings cannot perform, no matter how strong the copy is.

2. Is the Offer Competitive?

If you aren’t winning the Featured Offer (Buy Box), conversion will collapse even with perfect content.

Confirm Featured Offer eligibility

Check if you’re eligible for the Featured Offer. Price, shipping speed, offer quality, and availability all affect eligibility. If you’re blocked here, fix this before doing anything else.

Review Pricing Health

Pricing Health shows if your price is too high or inconsistent compared to the market. If Amazon labels the offer uncompetitive or risky, you lose visibility and Buy Box share. Adjust pricing or fulfillment settings to resolve the block.

3. Is the Page Clear?

If traffic is healthy and the offer is eligible, clarity becomes the next constraint. The goal is a page shoppers can understand in seconds, not minutes.

Fix the images

Your main image must follow Amazon rules: pure white background, clean product view, no text, no badges, no overlays. Add product video if possible. Shoppers decide in seconds, and weak visuals drag down conversion more than any other element.

Tighten the title and bullets

Stay within category limits—most max at 200 characters unless your category specifies otherwise. Titles should be simple, accurate, and match buyer search language. Bullets should clarify key features, not repeat the title. Add A+ Content, as it often lifts conversion by giving shoppers context that the bullets alone can’t provide.

4. Is It Discoverable by the Right Words?

After visibility, offer competitiveness, and clarity are addressed, then look at keywords.

Check backend search terms

Backend keywords must sit under 250 bytes. Keep them clean: no repeats, no punctuation, no banned phrases, no brand names you don’t own.

Use Search Query Performance to guide next steps

Search Query Performance shows your funnel by query: impressions → clicks → carts → purchases. Look for drop-offs. If you rank but no one clicks, you likely have a weak main image or poor title relevance. If shoppers click but don’t convert, the issue is clarity or offer competitiveness, not keywords.

Quick 10-Minute Triage Flow

If you need a fast diagnostic, work through these in order:

Fix any suppression or missing attributes.

A suppressed or incomplete listing will not win traffic.

Check Featured Offer and Pricing Health.

If price or shipping is blocking the offer, adjust it before touching the content.

Replace non-compliant images and tighten the title.

Clear visuals and accurate titles are the highest-impact content fixes.

Trim backend keywords under 250 bytes, then review SQP.

Make sure the system reads your search terms, then identify your next test from SQP.

Bottom Line

This framework keeps the work simple and protects you from chasing low-impact edits. Fix visibility, fix the offer, clean the page, and tune discoverability. Over time, these small, ordered steps create listings that stay healthy and convert consistently.