Elite Automation®

By: Nick Varterian | September 10, 2022

Nearly 300 million people buy products from 1.9 million small and medium-sized businesses on Amazon. With a #5 ranking on the 2020 American Customer Satisfaction Index, Amazon continues to set the standard for customer service.

While there are millions of items on Amazon, it’s important to note that not all make it to the top of the Best Sellers Rank. So, what is the Best Sellers Rank? How can you increase your product’s Ranking?

In this article, we explain how improving your product’s BSR can be beneficial for online selling and what specifically the Amazon best seller rank signifies. Keep reading to understand the difference between organic and BSR ranking.

What Is Best Sellers Rank on Amazon

What Is Best Sellers Rank on Amazon?


The Best Sellers Rank, or BSR, is Amazon’s way of categorizing products. It’s a metric that is updated hourly and reflects recent sales history.

Typically, every product that has even sold once will have a BSR rank. However, it will be much lower than products that sell well.

For instance, if product A has a ranking of #4000 and product B has a ranking of #50, it means that product B has sold 80 times more than product A. The lesser the number, the more hot-selling the product.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the BSR fluctuates constantly. So, the ranking will change if a product doesn’t sell or another product sells more than it.

Plus, the BSR doesn’t show the product’s sales compared to all items on Amazon. Instead, there’s a BSR for each product category.

However, many products sell in more than one category. So, they may have different BSRs in each category. For example, a basket may have a #500 BSR in Kitchen & Dining but a #5000 BSR in the Home & Garden section.

How Does Amazon Calculate Best Sellers Rank?


Amazon hasn’t specified how they calculate the BSR. However, based on our observations and research, we’ve identified a few factors that seem to be involved in this calculation.

  • Current sales
  • Previous sales
  • Sales and promotions
  • Competitive products
  • Pricing
  • Product Categories

Since BSR is updated every hour, current sales are likely the most critical factor. It’s because recent sales are a good indicator of a product’s popularity.

Also, Amazon seems to give more weight to products with a consistent sales history. So, if product A has sold 10 units in the last hour but 100 units in the previous week, it’s likely to have a higher ranking than product B.

How Does Organic Ranking Differ From Best Sellers Rank?


Many Amazon FBA sellers are confused about the difference between organic Ranking and BSR. Here’s a quick explanation to help you understand the difference.

Organic Ranking is the position of your product on the search results page when a customer types in a relevant keyword.

For example, if you sell baskets and someone types “baskets” into the Amazon search bar, your goal is to be on the first page of results and as close to the top as possible.

Organic Ranking is determined by Amazon’s A9 algorithm, which takes into account things like product titles, reviews, pricing, and seller history.

BSR, on the other hand, is a product’s Ranking relative to other products in the same category. To increase your product’s BSR, you must sell more units than other products in the same category.

Remember that a product with a good organic ranking will not automatically have a better BSR. The same is true for products with a good BSR. You need to optimize your product listings and drive sales to have a good ranking in both.

How to Improve Amazon Best Sellers Rank For Your Products?


Amazon FBA sellers must outsell other products in the same category to improve their BSR. Here are some strategies you can use to increase your product e-commerce sales.

Price Your Product Competitively


It shouldn’t come as a surprise that people want to save money when they shop online. So, if your product is priced higher than similar products, you’re likely to lose sales.

On the other hand, if your product is priced too low, people may think it’s of poor quality. They may also be suspicious of your shipping and returns policy.

Therefore, you need to find the right balance between price and quality. Take a look at your competitor’s prices and make sure yours is comparable.

You can also use Amazon’s automated pricing tool, Amazon Repricer, to help you price your products competitively. The tool uses data from Amazon to help you stay ahead of the competition.

Optimize the Product Copy


Your listing’s copy is an essential factor in Amazon’s algorithm. So, you need to ensure it’s optimized for search engines and customers.

Your title should be clear and concise. It should also include relevant keywords. For example, if you’re selling baskets, your title could be “Wicker Baskets – Set of 3 – Natural.”

Your product description should be well-written and free of grammar and spelling errors. In addition, it should be keyword-rich. Therefore, make sure to include relevant keywords in your bullet points and listing title as well.

Use High-Quality Images


Since customers can’t touch or feel your product, they rely on your images to get an idea of what it looks like. Thus, it’s essential to use high-quality, professional photos.

In addition to using high-quality images, you should also use as many as possible. A good rule of thumb is to use at least six images per product.

You can also include infographics and videos to give customers a better idea of your product.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank

Final Words


E-commerce selling can be tedious, especially if you’re unfamiliar with concepts like Best Sellers Ranking and organic Ranking. Plus, Amazon’s algorithm changes periodically, so you need to stay on your toes to keep up.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of navigating all these concepts but still want a source of passive income, Elite Automation is just the solution for you.

We manage your Amazon FBA businesses, giving you the peace of mind to sit back and relax while your automated e-commerce store earns your profit. So get in touch today to hand over your online selling responsibilities to us.

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Nick Varterian
Nick Varterian
Nick Varterian, Co-Founder of Elite Automation, is among the infrequent number of eCommerce entrepreneurs who have sizable experience in software development. By his mid-20’s, Nick started his first eCommerce company, where he was able to develop software that helped the company reach 7-figure earnings a year in less than 2 years.