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SPECIAL NOTE: The Billion Dollar Seller Summit just wrapped up (look for a full report next week) and the BDSS Level Up event starts today in Kauai, Hawaii.

I’m busy with the event prohibiting me from writing a fresh newsletter. So today will be Part 2 of the “Best of” BDSN featuring the most popular stories of the past year.

Check out the recap of Day 1 featuring the Paradise Scramble on Sunday:

🇮🇸 BDSS 11 is April 2-7, 2025 in ICELAND

The next in-person event, BDSS 11, will be in Iceland April 2 - 7, 2025, followed by BDSS Level Up at the Retreat at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland April 7-10.

You can score an early-bird discount if you reserve now (only 50 early bird discount tickets are available). Click here for details.

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🧮  FREE PPC PLACEMENT BID CALCULATOR

Originally published on February 19, 2024 in BDSN

When you refer 5 or more people to this newsletter, you get an invite to join the private BDSN Whatsapp group (use your unique referral link).

There are hundreds of members in the group sharing tips, strategies and helping each other.

One recent share was by Jamshed. He created a Google Sheet that helps you do optimal placement bid calculations based on your PPC goals.

Normally these types of things are reserved for the private group, but he said it was OK if I share it with you here.

IMPORTANT: You will want to make a copy of the sheet to remove the view-only restriction to enter data, then change the currency fields to dollars, pounds or euros.

Access the Placement Bid Calculator here.

✍🏼 WRITE BETTER BULLET POINTS with CHATGPT

Originally featured in the March 21 edition of BDSN

John Aspinall says he has figured out how to get ChatGPT to write better bullet points that can 10X their sales impact and get you better SEO.

Click one of the photos below to see his exact process.

🕹️ RANKING as WE KNOW it WILL SOON be EXTINCT

Originally published in BDSN on January 22, 2024

In what could be a prelude to something similar to what Amazon may do, Google SGE, the Search Generative Experience, is testing a search carousel named "Here are some products to consider."

This carousel shows you products from different vendors that you can click on to engage with in Google Shopping.

As Khushal Bherwani posted on X - search for [crop tops] it will bring up this feature in the AI shopping snapshot:

94% of Google SGE links are different from organic search results

SEO as we know it will soon be dead

The AI-generated answers in Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) do not match any links from the top 10 Google organic search results 93.8% of the time a recent study found.

Once rolled out, Google SGE is expected to reduce organic traffic significantly to websites for many keywords because searchers will be able to get the answer directly in Google’s AI-generated answer.

This will affect the 25% of Amazon’s traffic that currently comes from Google.

But it’s not just Google testing changes. Walmart earlier this month made a rare appearance at CES to promote its new AI-powered shopping.

Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella introduced new AI innovations to benefit Walmart customers.

Using a combination of Walmart proprietary data and technology combined with large language models like the ones in Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, as well as retail-specific models built by Walmart, the new AI will serve up a curated list of personalized items a shopper is looking for.

Amazon is also testing a new generative AI tool to answer shopper’s questions.

The new feature in Amazon’s mobile app prompts users to ask questions about a specific item. It then returns an answer within a few seconds, primarily by summarizing information collected from product reviews and the listing itself.

Unlike OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Amazon’s new feature isn’t equipped to carry out a conversation, but it can respond to creative prompts. On a listing for a women’s vest, it could write a haiku about the product. It can also describe the item in the style of Yoda from Star Wars.

The next step is typing “good bike for a 5-mile commute with hills” into Amazon search and getting the best bicycles ranked by how well they fit the question.

Search is about to radically change on Amazon, and ranking as we know it is going the way of incentivized reviews soon.

The video below featuring Vanessa Hung and Amy Wees should be mandatory watching for every serious Amazon seller to prepare you for what is likely coming based on recent flat file changes.

Vanessa is an expert in Amazon flat files and problem-solving, and she recently notice some major changes in beta versions of Amazon’s new flat files that hint at the first steps to full AI search and listing analysis.

She believes Amazon is shifting from traditional keyword-focused SEO to an AI-driven contextual approach, signifying a major evolution in how products are presented and found.

As Amazon does testing, sellers are experiencing issues like changed titles, incorrect product colors and descriptions in their listings due to AI alterations in the backend.

Vanessa says change is part of a larger trend where Amazon's AI system is evolving to understand products in a more holistic, contextual manner. It's not just about keywords anymore; it's about how products fit into consumers' lives.

As a result, sellers will need to optimize their product images and descriptions to cater to this new AI-focused approach, ensuring that their products are contextually relevant and appealing rather than keyword stuffed.

Additionally, AI changes will have a profound impact on Amazon's search engine functionality for consumers, altering how products are displayed and recommended based on consumer behaviors.

1. Optimize for Context: Enhance your product listings by focusing on contextual relevance. Go beyond keywords; describe how your product fits into the consumer's lifestyle or use cases.

2. AI-Adaptive Imagery: Use images that tell a story about your product. For example, if selling a beach accessory, show it in a beach setting to help Amazon's AI understand and categorize it appropriately.

🚂 WHO’S ON BOARD with NORM and KEVIN?

💰HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED to SELL to MAKE X$?

Originally published in BDSN on April 29, 2024

Most folks selling on Amazon have no clue how much they need to sell in order make a minimum amount of personal income.

For example, let’s say you are considering going “all-in” on Amazon but you need to clear $75,000 per year in your pocket to take care of your bills and family from your e-commerce business.

With just 3 pieces of data, the good people over at Bookskeep and Profit First for E-commerce have a fill-in-the-blank spreadsheet you can use to estimate what you need to do in sales to meet your target income goal.

Download the free spreadsheet here.

Then take a look at Replay Online Banking, which was built with e-commerce sellers and a Profit-First mentality in mind (for example, you can have up to 20 individual checking accounts to bucket your money and up to 50 virtual or physical debit cards.)

🗜️ AMAZON using AI to F*CK with LISTINGS

Originally published in BDSN on January 11, 2024

In the November 20, 2023 edition of BDSN we wrote about Amazon using AI to re-write titles and listings right before BFCM ( original story here ).

The AI was making modifications, and then giving sellers notice of their suggestions and giving them a chance to review before making changes live.

Now Amazon waiting for permission has stopped. AI is making changes to listings at will and publishing them live without telling sellers, causing sales to plummet for most affected listings.

In some cases, the AI changes can even cause the listing to be non-compliant (such as adding medical keywords or claims), which results in another Amazon bot shutting down or suspending the listing.

But it gets worse. Because Amazon themselves made the changes, they have the highest authority contribution (i.e. God level) on the listing. Which means you as a seller cannot easily change it back.

Billion Dollar Dream 100 member Amy Wees of Amazing at Home says a seller she knows has had 10 of his 110 listings completely turned upside down by Amazon rewriting them using AI.

Amy says the way they have discovered to fix it, after some trial and error, is to open a case with Brand Support (you must be brand registered to reach them) and not with regular Seller Support.

Tell them AI has modified your listing without permission and you would like it changed back. But more specifically Amy says, you need to tell them you as the brand need to be shown as the “lead contributor” on the listing, making sure Amazon is no longer the lead contributor.

Also go ahead and let brand support know the title under 150 characters you want it to be changed to. You will likely get an email saying you need to delete the listing and re-upload it with a flat file after 24 hours to reset. This may not be necessary. If you follow the procedure above, Amazon should change it back.

OPT OUT: Luckily for all of us, Jason McClellan found a way to opt out of Amazon’s automatic AI rewriting program, as he demonstrates below.

Back at you on Monday with the last and part 3 of the Best of BDSN …