[ BDSN ] Why keywords, not AI, are still king on Amazon (for now)

💰 IS RUFUS DISTRACTING YOU FROM FUNDAMENTALS?

With all the buzz around Amazon's Rufus AI assistant and the Cosmo algorithm, it's easy to get caught up in the latest shiny object syndrome. But here's the reality that many sellers are missing: keywords are still king as of today.

While everyone's frantically trying to optimize for AI, the sellers who are actually winning are the ones who understand a fundamental truth: you can't build a house without a solid foundation.

Why Keywords Still Drive Instant Results

Despite all the AI advancements, adding relevant keywords to your listings still provides immediate ranking benefits. When you include the right keywords, you get indexed instantly. When you don't, you're waiting weeks or even months for Amazon's algorithm to figure out what your product is actually about.

Think about it logically: if your winter coat doesn't include the word "winter" in the listing, why would you wait for Cosmo to eventually connect the dots? You're essentially choosing to miss out on sales from an important keyword for weeks, hoping the algorithm will eventually catch up.

The smart play? Include those relevant keywords from day one and capture those sales immediately.

Balance Is Everything

Here's where most sellers go wrong: they swing too far in one direction:

The Keyword Stuffers: These sellers do excellent research using tools like Helium 10, Brand Analytics, and Search Query Performance. They identify all the right keywords but then just throw them into their listings without considering buyer emotions, product usage, or conversion optimization.

The Conversion Optimizers: On the flip side, these sellers create beautiful images and compelling copy that converts well, but they miss half the important keywords, making their products unsearchable for key terms.

The winning approach combines both strategies. You need to optimize for the algorithm to get discovered AND optimize for the customer to convert once they find you.

How Rufus Is Actually Evolving

While the foundation remains crucial, Rufus is becoming more sophisticated and worth your attention, but as a layer on top of your solid keyword foundation, not a replacement for it says Andrew Bell, a leading Rufus and Cosmo expert.

Transparent Reasoning Workflow

Amazon has started showing Rufus's thinking process in real-time, giving customers visibility into how it works:

• Thinking → interpreting the customer's query

• Searching the web → pulling from external sources beyond Amazon

• Gathering products → fetching marketplace data aligned to its analysis

• Thinking (again) → refining and re-ranking results

• Checking → validating before showing final results

This transparency is training shoppers to trust the process, not just the answer, which changes how they interact with AI-driven product discovery.

Multi-Source Discovery Changes Everything

Here's the game-changer: Rufus doesn't just search Amazon anymore. When it shows "Searching the web," it's pulling information from across the internet to inform its recommendations.

What this means for sellers: Your brand visibility can't just exist on Amazon. You need to ensure your products, reviews, and brand authority are strong across the open web. Rufus might be finding information about your products from review sites, your own website, social media, and other external sources to inform its recommendations.

The Smart Seller's Strategy

Don't get distracted by every AI update. Instead, focus on this balanced approach:

1. Build the Foundation First

• Conduct thorough keyword research

• Include relevant keywords in titles, bullets, and backend search terms

• Ensure you're indexed for terms customers actually search for

2. Layer on Customer Optimization

• Understand how customers actually use your product (read those reviews!)

• Include emotional triggers and use cases in your copy

• Create listings that convert browsers into buyers

3. Prepare for AI and Multi-Source Discovery

• Build your brand presence beyond Amazon

• Ensure consistent messaging across your website and social media

• Create content that Rufus can find and validate when researching your products

While Rufus and Cosmo represent exciting developments in e-commerce AI, they shouldn't fundamentally change your core optimization strategy. Keywords still provide instant indexing and ranking benefits. Customer-focused optimization still drives conversions.

The sellers who win are those who master both traditional optimization AND prepare for AI-driven discovery, not those who abandon proven strategies for unproven AI tactics.

Remember: AI is getting smarter, but it's building on the same foundation that's always worked. Make sure your foundation is rock-solid before you start worrying about the layers on top.

If you need help building a rock-solid foundation with AI optimization layered on top join the DragonFish waitlist, a new service from Kevin King and Norm Farrar.

Your biggest Amazon competitor just learned 3 new strategies yesterday.

You didn't.

While you're stuck watching another "guru" webinar or summit from someone who hasn't sold a product since 2019, your competition is inside Kevin King's private Billion Dollar Sellers Club war room getting the exact playbook that generated $457 million in sales last quarter. 

STEAL THEIR UNFAIR ADVANTAGE for $9

Here's what happened within days after John Balcazar (8-fig seller) joined:
“The first two presentations alone 100x'd my investment."

 Andrew Ackroyd posted: "The BDSC content is pure gold."

What they're getting that you're not:

→ Direct access to Kevin's brain (monthly mastermind calls where you ask anything)
→ 3 expert roundtables monthly (the brightest minds spilling their latest wins - join now to watch the replays)
→ Step-by-step guest strategies (you can implement same day)
→ Kevin's AI Oracle (trained on his entire e-com brain and content - podcasts, events, strategies, and more)
→ Private community with BDSS Dream 100 members sharing live tactics

P.S. - While you're deciding, your competitor just implemented strategy #4 from Janelle's talk last week.

GO INSIDE WHERE THE TOP SELLERS GET AN EDGE

🕹️ 12 AMAZON FEATURES EVERY BRAND SHOULD BE USING

Dream 100 member Mansour Norouzi chats with Michael from Ad Badger about 12 free Amazon features your brand should be using.

From Brand stories and profiles, to B2B pricing and marketing, the pair discuss a wide range of free options to help elevate your brand. 

🚀 HOW to TRANSFORM any PHOTO with SIMPLE TEXT

• Go to Higgsfield and sign up.

• Click ‘Canvas’ and select ‘NanoBanana’ as your model. 

• Upload your image, enter your prompt, and hit enter.

A Few Sample Use Cases:

1. Combine Photos: Upload multiple photos to combine elements and blend them together in the same scene.
   Prompt: [image 1] [image 2] Create an image where the [subject1] in the first image is doing [action] with the [subject2] in the second image.

2. Turn Images into Ads: Turn any image into a professional ad. 
   Prompt: [upload image] Create an ad for [brand name] with this image using ad copy [insert ad copy]

3. Remove Unwanted Objects: Eliminate distracting elements from any image. 
   Prompt: Remove the [object to remove] from this landscape photo

4. Create Professional Headshots: Turn any basic selfie or photo into polished professional headshots with proper lighting and backgrounds.
   Prompt: Convert this selfie into a professional headshot for LinkedIn.

🇨🇳 INSIDE CHINA’S AMAZON SELLER SCHOOLS

Feng Xiaoxiao, known as "Professor Xiaoxiao," was recently on the AM/PM Podcast where she revealed the untapped potential in cross-cultural collaboration between Chinese and American Amazon sellers.

As a leader supporting 4,000 Amazon sellers in Shenzhen and current NYU marketing student, Feng offers unique insights into overcoming the cultural barriers that limit success on both sides.

The Hidden Gap Holding Back Success

While Chinese sellers dominate supply chain efficiency and operations, many struggle with branding and understanding Western consumer behavior. This cultural disconnect leads to higher advertising costs and missed opportunities in the U.S. market.

Conversely, American sellers excel at innovation and branding but often lack the operational excellence that Chinese sellers have mastered.

Key Insights from the Episode:

• IP Evolution: Chinese sellers are increasingly prioritizing innovation and patent registration, moving beyond past infringement issues through education and adaptation to Amazon's strict policies

• Complementary Strengths: Americans lead in innovation and branding; Chinese sellers excel in product enhancement and cost reduction—creating natural collaboration opportunities

• Cultural Marketing Impact: Understanding cultural nuances and aesthetic preferences significantly affects conversion rates and brand appeal across different markets

• Data-Driven Targeting: Success requires using tools like Facebook data to identify unique market positions and target specific U.S. audiences effectively

The Collaboration Opportunity

The episode highlights how mutual learning between Chinese and American sellers could revolutionize Amazon success. By combining operational excellence with cultural understanding and branding expertise, sellers from both cultures can achieve sustainable growth in the competitive global e-commerce landscape.

The Returns Infrastructure
Behind Top 100 Amazon Sellers

Axiom Return Solutions offers full-stack returns management solutions for private label sellers, brands, agencies and accelerators.

Axiom Return Solutions empowers small, mid-market and large brands to streamline returns, maximize reclamation, and scale revenue recovery with end-to-end processing, custom SOPs, and portals.

Elite sellers rely on us to stay ahead.

Special offer: FREE PORTAL BUILDOUT if you mention Kevin King and the BDSN ($499 value- valid until 10/31/2025)

Schedule a call today

❌  HOW END of DE MINIMIS is RESHAPING E-COMMERCE

The landscape of international e-commerce changed dramatically IN AUGUST when President Trump eliminated the "de minimis" exemption that had allowed packages under $800 to enter the U.S. tariff-free.

The numbers tell the story of just how significant this change is. In 2024, over 1.36 billion de minimis shipments entered the United States: nearly 4 million packages per day. That's a massive jump from just 139 million shipments in 2015, highlighting how crucial this exemption had become to international e-commerce.

The exemption was first eliminated for goods from mainland China and Hong Kong in May 2025, and expanded to cover the rest of the world in August. Since the China restriction began, U.S. Customs has already collected $492 million in duties on shipments that would have previously entered tariff-free.

Here's where things get complicated for shoppers: the burden of calculating and paying tariffs has shifted to foreign postal services, and many simply aren't equipped to handle it. The result? Widespread suspension of postal shipments to the U.S.

Foreign post offices now must either develop the capability to assess duties and pay U.S. customs directly, or hire third parties to handle these tasks. Until they figure this out, many have stopped accepting packages bound for America entirely. This has effectively cut off one of the cheapest shipping methods that small international sellers relied on.

Express carriers like FedEx and UPS can still handle the tariff calculations and payments, but their premium pricing puts them out of reach for many small businesses and budget-conscious consumers.

While many international sellers struggled with the new rules, Temu has found a way to resume direct shipments from China. After suspending its fully managed shipping service in May, the company restarted operations in July with a comprehensive solution.

Temu now covers both logistics and customs clearance for its sellers, essentially absorbing the complexity and costs of the new tariff system. The company has also ramped up its U.S. advertising budget, signaling confidence in its ability to maintain market share despite the regulatory changes.

Price Increases Are Here to Stay: Tariffs ranging from 10% to 30%+ are now being passed on to consumers. Analysis shows that while Shein customers made 12% fewer purchases after the China restrictions began, they spent 23% more per transaction—clear evidence of price increases.

Reduced Selection: Many small international sellers, particularly those relying on postal networks, may simply exit the U.S. market rather than deal with the complexity and costs. Canadian yarn retailer Espace Tricot, for example, has already stopped shipping to the U.S.

While the stated goals include generating an estimated $10 billion annually in tariff revenue and supporting domestic businesses, the immediate impact on consumers is clear: higher prices and fewer options.

✌🏼 Have a great Labor Day holiday. See you again Thursday …

The answer to today’s STUMP BEZOS is
There are 10 million paid OpenAI accounts