🎲 THAT’S HOW YOU CHANGE THE GAME

Helium 10.

It's not just software.

It's a game-changer. 🎯

Manny Coats and Guillermo Puyol built it from scratch.

It began as two guys on a podcast called "AM/PM" navigating the Amazon wilderness in 2015 as they documented Manny’s venture into FBA.

Seller software tools? Back in 2016, there were very few. So Manny and Gui built their own based on what they needed, starting with Scribbles.

I was there the day Manny hit $1 million in sales while at Sellercon 2016 in Austin. He made most of it selling aromatic diffusers and wine socks.

In 2015, they launched a companion Facebook group, FBA High Rollers. A mix of rookies and pros, all learning the Amazon game.

I jumped in. I saw things people were posting that were just flat wrong, but getting parroted as gospel truth. Really bad marketing advice. I couldn't resist setting the record straight.

Manny noticed. "Come on my podcast," he said.

At first, I told him no. I was launching five brands at the time. But with a little convincing, he was able to get me to come on in March 2016.

I just said it like it is, and it became one of the most downloaded episodes ever.

That led to more than 160,000 students passing through my Freedom Ticket course in conjunction with Helium 10, me speaking at 100+ events worldwide, and full circle with me now hosting the AM/PM podcast where it all began.

And most recently, this newsletter that started August 14, 2023.

That's how you make an impact and help others.

That's how you change the game.

💰 BILLION DOLLAR STRATEGIES
 → what you need to know to make moolah

BUSTING GURU & BLOG MYTHS: REAL AI-AMAZON STORY

In episode 499 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley Sutton interviews Kevin Dolan, a principal architect at Helium 10's AI labs (started in 2020), about how Amazon's search algorithm works.

His job is to separate the AI hype from what it can really do. Kevin has extensively researched over 100 Amazon science papers to gain insights into the A9 algorithm.

He says you really have to be careful with all the industry blogs and what is being written and taught about how AI and Amazon work together. A lot of them are flat wrong, outdated or misinterpreted from scientific papers that are not even things Amazon is seriously working on. A lot of marketers use it for hype and speculation.

Most Amazon tools claiming to have AI optimization built in don’t really tailor to how Amazon search really works.

Academic research in search is a decade ahead of what happens in e-commerce. Some of Amazon’s scientific research is also just meant to spark innovation.

Amazon Search Phases:

1. Understanding the Search Query:

   • The initial phase involves comprehending the user's search query or keywords.

2. Matching to Products in Catalog:

   • Once the query is understood, Amazon matches it to products in its extensive catalog.

3. Ranking the Matching Products:

   • The ranking phase is where Amazon applies its algorithm to determine the order in which products are displayed.

   • This phase involves a complex algorithm that balances various goals:

     • Showing the most relevant products to the user.

     • Ensuring diversity in product listings.

     • Providing visibility to new products, giving them a chance to be seen by users.

Amazon works under a modular system with learning to rank systems. They don’t always show the product the customer is most likely to buy in the first ranking position. They use a series of signals to try to deliver the best results. The signals are defined by a lot of different engineers at Amazon, including data scientists and behavioral signal specialists.

The cold-start problem (often called the ‘honeymoon period.’) for new products is one of Amazon’s major focus points when it comes to ranking right now. They recognize they have not solved it. Products with deep history tend to show above products without deep history, even if the new one is far superior but has no prior behaviors. 

Bandit optimization is something they use, as well as details about the listing to predict behavioral actions and mix new products with old to see what happens and update the estimates and ranking algorithm.

Kevin discusses how AI and machine learning play a role in things like correcting misspellings and query intent matching. He shares an example of how searching for "noodle camera" brings back endoscope cameras, demonstrating Amazon's use of semantic search to understand meaning and intent rather than just literal keyword matching.

Kevin predicts that semantic search will become more prevalent in the next few years as the techniques get faster, allowing Amazon to return more relevant results.

Instead of sellers trying to play keyword games, Kevin advises focusing on accurately and compellingly describing your products rather than keyword stuffing as semantic search dominates over lexical search. 

As Amazon moves more into semantic search, they will rely less on literal keyword matches and more on deep understanding of listing content. Sellers should optimize for intent-focused, high relevance keywords rather than just volume.

Key Takeaways:

• Amazon search happens in 3 phases: query understanding, matching to products, and ranking results. Ranking is where a lot of the "secret sauce happens.

• AI and machine learning are used for things like query intent matching and correcting misspellings.

• Example of "noodle camera" search proves Amazon uses some level of semantic search to understand meaning and intent.

• Semantic search will likely become more prevalent in the next few years as the techniques improve.

• For sellers, focus on accurately describing products rather than keyword stuffing. Optimize for high relevance over volume.

• Move to semantic search will likely improve experience for buyers, sellers, and Amazon overall.

 🔥 MASTERMIND LEVEL BONUS TIP:

On last week’s Elite Seller Society mastermind call, Leo Sgovio spoke in detail about ranking on Amazon with Semantic SEO.

Leo has won the top speaker award at BDSS and has twice been the winner of the Smartest Marketer contest at Howard Thai’s high-level $15,000 mastermind events.

He recommend you find ASINs similar to yours that rank for the greatest number of keywords and optimize your listing based on their structure.

He also shared a tip for how to use ChatGPT to optimize your listing to increase semantic relevance in the A9.

He graciously allowed me to share it here with you:

You are an NLP expert, and you need to analyze the semantic relevance of the keyword list below.

Given the list below, perform a semantic analysis and produce a list of keywords that are semantically relevant to my product while following these rules:

- exclude irrelevant or branded keywords;
- exclude keywords with no commercial intent;
- exclude generic or informational keywords that are less likely to result in a purchase;
- order the list by semantic relevance displaying the most relevant ones on top; 
- remove non-English keywords;

Keyword List: “keyword 1” “keyword 2” etc.

Now everybody say, “Thank-you so much Leo.”

Regularly reading the Billion Dollar Sellers Newsletter is like getting a free $25,000 per year mastermind.

🔮 YOU GOTTA SEE THIS 

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF YOUR FUTURE SELF

Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished.

Dan Gilbert speaks about a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time.

Hint: that's not the case. Check this short video out from his Ted Talk:

🛠️ FEATURED TOOLS and RESOURCES
 → all the kool kids use these

🧰 TOOLS CHINESE SELLERS USE on TIKTOK

Just like you have Helium 10, Jungle Scout, Data Dive, etc. for selling on Amazon and Walmart, there are tools that do similar things for TikTok sellers and creators.

Chen Yue, the head of Global Digital Marketing for Ecommerce Laboratorios Phergal, says there are four main tools Chinese TikTok sellers use.

The tools are not limited to the Chinese market.

1. EchoTik: Founded by a former Xiaomi employee, EchoTik provides data for product selection on TikTok. It offers analytics for TikTok E-commerce, livestreaming monitoring, a fee calculator similar to Amazon FBA, optimization modules, and a browser extension.

2. TikBuddy: TikBuddy is integrated with TikTok data and primarily targets the U.S. market. It focuses on providing data related to creators and influencers, offering industry insights and analytics. Users can create influencer lists and manage campaigns.

3. PipiaAds: PipiaAds helps you discover competitor ads and the best viral TikTok products. It offers features such as a bank of advertising materials, competitor analysis for Facebook & TIkTok ads, and landing page monitoring. It's geared towards paid media campaigns.

4. FastMoss: FastMoss collaborates with over 300,000 clients and agencies. It provides a comprehensive suite of services, including live shopping, product search and analysis, competitor search, paid media, and video creation.
   

🗣️ COMMUNITY SHOUT-OUTS
 → Tidbits from readers who share the newsletter

💃 HABLA ESPAÑOL?

English is the most widely spoken language in the world, but there are a lot of readers of this newsletter where English is not your first language.

Here are the top 5 spoken languages on earth:

1. English 372.9 native speakers, 1.45 billion total speakers

2. Mandarin 929 million native, 1.1 billion total

3. Hindi 343.9 million native, 602 million total

4. Spanish 475 million native, 548 million total

5. French 80 million native, 280 million total

If you speak Spanish, I recommend you check out Victor Garcîa Barco’s newsletter. He’s a marketplace, Amazon ads and AI specialist as well as a product hacker master instructor. He is also the former CEO of Takana and Marquise & Loren, both of which were acquired.

A new issue comes out every week in Spanish, and he’s been at it for a couple years already. He covers Amazon, TikTok and other marketplaces in detail.

Recent issues include topics like “Destaney Wishon: Fundamentos y psicología de la publicidad” and “Probablemente la noticia más importante del año.”

Want to be featured in this section? Use your referral link in this email to refer at least 10 active subscribers, then email me to get your event, course, webinar or tool “Shouted-Out” free to 6,000+ subscribers.

🧳 TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE 
→ here’s looking at you kid

My “why” has led me to visit 94 countries and all 7 continents. I create my life and work around my why. Not my why around my business.

I hope to inspire you in your journey of business and life with photos, a short video I filmed, and a brief description of my time there.

Jon Derkits summarized it best on a recent podcast: “Work is the side hustle to my life.”

Enchanting Dia de los Muertos
and treasures of Mesoamerica

The fusion of ancient Indian traditions and Spanish-influenced Roman Catholic customs results in unique celebrations in Mexico, with one of the most popular being Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

The festival, which coincides with the Halloween season in the United States, contrasts with Halloween's eerie themes. Instead, it resembles an American or Canadian Thanksgiving, with deceased loved ones symbolically joining the dinner table.

Dia de los Muertos reflects Mexican beliefs in the cyclical nature of life and death, viewing death as an extension of life rather than an end. The holiday's customs, such as home altars and cemetery vigils, aim to guide the departed souls back home.

Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, is a prime location to experience this unique holiday. Festivities begin in late October, marked by candy skulls, Catrina skeletons, and marigold decorations.

Brass bands parade through cobblestone streets, followed by locals dressed in "dead" attire. Children in fantasy costumes can be seen during the day, and artists create intricate sand drawings.

The main Days of the Dead are November 1 (All Saints Day) for children and November 2 (All Souls Day) for adults.

Families gather at cemeteries on the eve of All Saints Day to decorate graves, share stories, and enjoy a feast with their deceased relatives. November 2 sees the return of the souls, marked by firecrackers and offerings, followed by neighborhood gatherings with comedy skits and celebrations.

Beyond Oaxaca, exploring Mexico City and its Mesoamerican museums and the ancient pyramidal structures of Teotihuacan is also a must see.

✌🏼 Been a blast hanging with you today.

Don’t forget to refer a couple friends to unlock the secret VIP Tips section!

Holler at you again on Monday!

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is:
adding a video boosts sales by 9.7%