Do You Need A Website If You’re Selling On Amazon?
May 3, 2024
There are many different ways to sell your products these days, mainly thanks to how far technology has come over the years. We’re now at a point where people can buy pretty much whatever they want whenever they want, and as consumers, that’s exciting and convenient, but as business owners, that represents a massive opportunity to grow your organisation and make good profits.
One option that’s open to you is to sell your products through Amazon, and that can be an ideal option for a lot of people. After all, Amazon has a huge reach and has customers all over the world – it’s often the first eCommerce site people think of and go to if they need something because they know they’ll be able to find whatever they want and get it delivered quickly – next day in many cases, or even same day in some areas. What could be better?
So you might find that setting up an Amazon selling platform works for you, but there is still a question to ask yourself: do you need a website if you’re selling on Amazon? Let’s take a look at the things you should think about before coming to a final decision.
Key Takeaways on Having a Website When You’re Selling on Amazon
- Massive Reach: Amazon's established platform gives you access to millions of potential customers worldwide without the need for extensive marketing efforts.
- Trust Factor: Amazon's reputation for reliability and security can instil trust in customers, potentially leading to higher conversion rates compared to a standalone website.
- Fulfilment Services: Amazon offers fulfilment services, streamlining storage, packaging, and shipping processes for sellers.
- SEO Benefits: Leveraging Amazon's search algorithm combined with SEO techniques can improve product visibility and sales performance.
- Increased Visibility: Having both an Amazon presence and a website expands your chances of being found by customers through multiple channels, including Google searches.
- Diversified Revenue Streams: Relying solely on Amazon leaves your business vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances, while having a website diversifies your sales channels and mitigates risks.
- Better Customer Relationships: A personal website allows for more personalised interactions with customers, fostering stronger relationships and potentially increasing customer loyalty.
- Independence: Owning your own website gives you greater control over your brand and business, reducing dependence on a third-party platform like Amazon.
- Long-Term Viability: Investing in a website ensures your business's longevity and adaptability, safeguarding against changes in the marketplace or disruptions to third-party platforms.
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START NOWWhy Amazon Could Be Enough
There are pros and cons to sticking just with Amazon and not setting up your own website, but the positives are quite compelling, so keep reading to find out what some of them are.
The first thing to be aware of is Amazon’s massive reach, which we mentioned above. Over the decades, the site has already put in the hard work when it comes to marketing and growth, which means you don’t have to do the same (at least not on the same scale, marketing is still important, and using dedicated Amazon marketing services is an ideal option – it can save you time and money and ensure you get ahead of the competition).
On top of that, Amazon is a site that people inherently trust, and that’s not necessarily going to be the same for your own personal website. Amazon is so well-known and so ingrained into the eCommerce landscape that people use it without even thinking about safety and security or whether or not they’ll get their orders; they just know it’s all taken care of. If you set up an Amazon selling platform, you can benefit from that trust and you won’t have to start from scratch like you would if you had your own website and had to persuade people that you were a good choice.
Plus, there are additional elements that Amazon offers to help its sellers that you won’t get if you go it alone – they have fulfilment services, where sellers can outsource storage, packaging, and shipping, which means the entire process is much quicker and smoother and customers will be happier. You can also use Amazon’s own search algorithm combined with SEO to ensure that your products are seen and your particular corner of Amazon is visible, which is sure to help massively when it comes to your sales.
Why You Might Need A Website
With everything we’ve said above, you might not think that you really need your own website if you’re selling on Amazon, and for some sellers, that’s the right choice. However, there’s nothing to stop you from having a website and using Amazon (there are guidelines in place, including the fact that you can’t promote your website on your Amazon platform, so you will need to bear that in mind). In fact, it can be a good idea to have both – you’ll have a great safety net and potentially make more money. Let’s take a look at why.
When you have your own website as well as (not instead of) an Amazon selling platform, you can boost your chances of being seen. Remember that Amazon is a fantastic way to get in front of millions of people, but there’s a lot of competition, and if you’ve also got your own website, you have the possibility of being found in other ways as well. After all, not everyone wants to use Amazon, and they would prefer to use an independent business instead, for example, not to mention the fact that if you’ve got your own website, you stand more chance of being seen in a standard Google search. Of course, you will need to invest time and effort into maintaining the website, and you’ll have to use the right keywords and other SEO marketing tools, but it might be worth it if you can improve your sales.
When you have your own website, you’ll also be diversifying your sales and revenue streams, and that’s a sensible thing for a business owner to do. You’ll have heard the saying not to put all your eggs in one basket, but that’s precisely what you’ll be doing if you opt to sell only on Amazon and you don’t also have your own website. That might not seem like too much of an issue right now since Amazon is so big and popular, but who knows what the future might bring? Relying solely on Amazon means your business is vulnerable, and whatever happens to Amazon happens to you. What would happen if your account was suspended, even if it was a mistake? If you had a website, it would still be a blow, but it wouldn’t be quite the disaster it would be otherwise.
Finally, when you have your own website, you can have better customer relationships – it’s a lot more personal than Amazon is, and that can be a good thing for your business. People will feel more at ease buying from a smaller business, and if you can use that in your advertising and on social media, for example, and show there’s a person behind the website, that can be to your advantage, and it’s not necessarily something you can do if you only have Amazon to sell from. The stronger your relationships with your customers, the more you’ll sell and the bigger you can grow, so it’s certainly a consideration to bear in mind.
