We’re excited to cover a new feature that recently became available to brands on both Vendor and Seller Central. Earlier this month, an A/B testing feature was released for main images in product libraries. This is great news for brands in all categories that place value on their creative optimizations. Here we explain what we know so far, how we leverage testing for our clients, and more. Continue reading for strategic insight and additional creative updates.
Since this was released, we've noticed similarities and differences to other testing options on the channel. First, the experiment time frames are the same for titles, A+ features, and now main images. When testing your main images, experiments will run between eight and 10 weeks. And, a new element to testing, is a hypothesis field. Brands can input their own hypothesis or choose from pre-populated suggestions. As of now, this field doesn't have a direct impact on the experiment. However, it's a great way to keep your testing focused.
For now, image testing is reserved for the main image. With this, there are a number of regulations to keep in mind and creative freedom can be rather limited. But, there are plenty of ways to test depending on the product and its category.
To start, we've listed a few general suggestions below:
When creating tests for our clothing and accessory clients, we include color swatches in the main image. This way, customers can see from the search results page the different color options they have for this product. Then, for grocery clients, testing different ways to present packaging has been interesting. For example, showcasing multipacks and unique angles of the products.
As Amazon becomes increasingly competitive, it's crucial brands put their best foot forward. This includes doing so through their creative efforts. High-quality images are no longer enough to stand out among the thousands of options shoppers have on the channel. With A/B testing, brands can ensure they're using the best performing main images, making an impression, and enticing shoppers to consider their product. Not to mention, as Amazon becomes stricter about the Cambridge template, testing new main images can be a workaround. For example, if your product comes in a 10-pack, rather than using icons and call-outs, you can position or photoshop packaging to show the pack size.
In addition to A/B testing for main images, there is another recent image-related update to be aware of on Amazon. This is especially important to your brand's mobile presence. On mobile or desktop, Amazon allows 15 images per gallery. However, only seven images display on mobile. Because of this, we suggest placing a heavier focus on prioritizing product images. Be sure images that are important to the purchase experience are placed within the first seven slots. Then, save nice-to-have images, for slots eight through 15. And, if you're using video, it will most often be displayed in the seventh image slot. More recently, in some categories, we have seen Amazon testing video in the second slot. Keep this in mind when prioritizing your images. If you're using video, mobile will then only display six images.
As we continue using the A/B testing for main images on Amazon, we look forward to the results it drives for our clients. In the future, we hope to see this type of testing roll out into additional images within the product library. If and when this happens, we'll share our findings on the MPS website.
If you could use the support of a strategic partner, schedule a free consultation. And, as an official Amazon Advertising partner, we’re here to answer any questions about your efforts. Finally, should you be interested in learning more about our clients’ results, explore advertising-related case studies on our website.