Key Takeaways
- A+ Content continues the sale. It sits below the bullet points and should carry the same story as your images: problem, solution, proof, then the objection that stops the purchase.
- Amazon reports real lift. Amazon says basic A+ Content can raise sales by up to 8% on average and Premium A+ Content by up to 20%, but only when the modules actually answer buying questions.
- Design for the phone first. Most Amazon shoppers browse on mobile, so text baked into images has to be readable without zooming, and the first module has to earn the scroll.
- Brand owners control it, not resellers. A+ Content is tied to the brand through Amazon Brand Registry, so a manufacturer's A+ shows on the listing no matter who holds the Buy Box.
- Test it. Manage Your Experiments lets brand owners A/B test two A+ versions on the same ASIN instead of guessing.
Amazon A+ Content is the rich media section below the bullet points on an Amazon product page, open to brand owners enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry. A+ Content that converts does one job: it answers the questions a shopper still has after the images and bullets. Lead with the main benefit, prove it, remove the top objection, then show the rest of your lineup.
What is Amazon A+ Content?
A+ Content (formerly called Enhanced Brand Content, or EBC) replaces the plain text product description with designed modules: images with text, comparison charts, feature grids and a Brand Story carousel. Sellers build it in Seller Central under the A+ Content Manager. Vendors who sell to Amazon wholesale (first party, or 1P) build it in Vendor Central. Either way, the brand has to be the registered owner.
Think of the page as a system. Your title and main image win the click. Your secondary images and bullets answer the first questions. A+ Content builds belief and trust for the shopper who is close but not convinced. Your main images sell the product. Your A+ Content sells the brand behind it.
Who can use it:
- Brand owners enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry selling through Seller Central (third party, or 3P).
- Vendors selling to Amazon through Vendor Central.
- Brands in certain Amazon programs such as Amazon Launchpad.
Books, music, video and DVD listings do not qualify.
Does A+ Content actually increase sales?
Yes, when it is built to sell rather than decorate. Amazon states that basic A+ Content can increase sales by up to 8% on average, and that Premium A+ Content can increase sales by up to 20%. Those are Amazon's own figures, and they are averages. We have seen A+ that moved nothing because it was a brochure, and plain looking A+ that performed well because it answered every objection.
The lift comes from a few places:
- Higher conversion. Shoppers who are 80% sure get the remaining reasons to buy.
- Fewer returns. Sizing charts, compatibility notes and comparison charts help people pick the right product the first time.
- Better ad efficiency. Every Amazon PPC click lands on a page that converts better, which lowers your Advertising Cost of Sales (ACoS, ad spend divided by ad sales).
- Cross selling. Comparison charts and the Brand Story carousel keep shoppers inside your catalog instead of clicking a competitor.
On search: Amazon has not clearly documented that A+ text feeds its keyword ranking, and conversion rate does. Google crawls the page, and Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, reads listing content to answer shopper questions. Write A+ in the plain language shoppers use, and fill in the image keywords (alt text) on every image with a clear description. Keyword stuffing does not help anyone.
What makes A+ Content convert?
The difference between generic and good A+ Content is simple. Generic A+ is a brand talking about itself: a logo, "our story", a grid of features with no point of view. Good A+ continues the sale your images started, with more room to breathe. Here is the test we use: strip the brand name off the modules. Would a shopper still know why to buy this product over the five others in their tabs?
Know who is buying
We still see baby product A+ that talks to the baby. The baby is not buying. Talk to the parent, the gift giver, the facilities manager, whoever pays. Your reviews tell you who that is and what words they use. Mine your own reviews and your competitors' reviews for the problem people were solving and the reason they kept the product. That language is your copy.
Lead with benefits, not features
A feature is what the product has. A benefit is what it means for the buyer. "5000mAh battery" is a feature. "Three full days without charging" is a benefit. "Premium materials" says nothing. "Aircraft aluminum that will not bend, crack or rust" gives the shopper a reason to believe.
Build trust below the fold
On a Startup Hustle episode about conversion, Karl Weische put it well: "Most brands are missing the aspect of building trust. You want to show happy customers, reviews, press, authority people vouching for your product." Certifications, awards, "made in" details and real customer photos all belong here, within Amazon's rules on claims.
Do not paste your website into Amazon
Direct to consumer (DTC) content is written for someone you brought to your own site. On Amazon the shopper has six products open side by side. As Karl said, "On DTC you are bringing someone in, convincing them to like you. On Amazon, you are convincing them you are better than everyone else." Your A+ has to differentiate, not just describe.
Keep the listing in lockstep
Images, bullets and A+ are one coordinated story, not three separate assets. If the emotional hook is image two, bullet one carries the same hook and the A+ goes deeper on it. When a shopper reads three different pitches on one page, trust drops.
Which A+ Content modules should you use, and in what order?
Amazon offers more than a dozen standard layouts. You do not need all of them. This five module sequence works for most products because it follows how a shopper decides.
- Hero banner (image with text overlay). One full width lifestyle image and one sentence: the outcome the product delivers. On mobile only the first one or two modules show before the shopper scrolls, so this one has to earn the scroll.
- Problem and solution. Show the problem your buyer has, then how the product solves it. Before and after images work well here.
- Key differentiators (three or four image grid). Three or four reasons this product wins, each with its own image and a short headline. Benefits, not specs.
- Proof and objections. Certifications, awards, real customer photos, and answers to the top questions: sizing, compatibility, ingredients, care.
- Comparison chart. Your other products side by side, so the shopper picks the right one inside your brand.
| Module | Job on the page | What to put in it |
|---|---|---|
| Image with text overlay | Win the scroll and set the tone | Lifestyle image, one outcome led headline |
| Single image and sidebar, or before and after | Make the problem and solution concrete | The pain point, then the product solving it |
| Three or four image and text | Prove the product is better | Three or four benefits, each with a real product photo |
| Image and text, or technical specs | Remove the last objections | Sizing, compatibility, certifications, customer photos |
| Comparison chart | Keep the shopper in your catalog | Three to five of your own products, showing real differences |
| Brand Story carousel | Introduce the brand and link other products | Founder or mission, then product and Brand Store links |
Comparison chart rules
Comparison charts are one of the strongest modules and one of the most wasted. Brands list rows that are identical across every product. Show the differences that decide the purchase: size, capacity, use case, who each one is for. Amazon only allows comparisons with products from your own brand.
Do not skip the Brand Story
The Brand Story is a separate carousel that appears above the A+ modules. It can link to other ASINs and to your Amazon Brand Store. It is free cross selling space and brands forget it all the time. You also need it on every ASIN to qualify for Premium A+.
What design rules make A+ Content work on mobile?
- Readable on a phone. Amazon's preview defaults to desktop. Switch to mobile and check every module. If you have to zoom to read the text in an image, it is too small.
- Short copy. Two or three sentences per module at most. Nobody reads paragraphs below the fold.
- Real photography. Stock photos of a smiling family in a field look like every other listing and shoppers tune them out. Show your actual product used by real people in real settings. See our guide to Amazon product photography.
- Full resolution. Standard modules display up to 970 pixels wide. Use every pixel. Blurry images read as a cheap product.
- One visual identity. The same colors, fonts and tone across every module and across your catalog.
- Add, do not repeat. A+ should add information the bullets do not already cover.
- A purpose for every module. If you cannot say in one sentence what a shopper should conclude from a module, cut it. The T-Shirt Guy Problem walks through that test.
What are the Amazon A+ Content rules that get content rejected?
Amazon reviews every submission, and approval usually takes up to seven days. These are the rejections we see most:
- Satisfaction or guarantee claims, such as "100% satisfaction guaranteed".
- Superlatives and ranking claims, such as "#1 rated", "best selling" or "best product ever".
- Comparing or naming competitor products. Comparison charts may only include your own brand's products.
- Pricing, promotions, "free shipping" or other shipping details.
- Phone numbers, email addresses, website URLs or QR codes.
- Health or medical claims, plus certification and environmental claims without supporting detail.
- Copy or images duplicated from another brand's listing.
Supplement, food and beauty brands need extra care. If a claim would need substantiation on your packaging, it needs it in your A+ too.
Not sure your A+ Content is doing its job? Book a free 30 minute strategy call with Andrew Morgans and the Marknology team. We will look at your top listings with you and show where the page is losing buyers. Book your strategy call.
Basic A+ vs Premium A+ Content: what is the difference?
Premium A+ Content gives you larger, full width modules, video, interactive hotspots, carousels and a Q&A module. Amazon has not charged a fee for it to date. Access depends on eligibility shown in the A+ Content Manager. Amazon's published criteria have included having a Brand Story on every ASIN in your catalog and a minimum number of approved A+ projects in the past 12 months, so check your own account for the current rule.
| Feature | Basic A+ Content | Premium A+ Content |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets it | Any brand owner in Brand Registry | Brand owners who meet Amazon's eligibility criteria |
| Cost | Free | Free to date |
| Module size | Standard width | Larger, full width modules |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Interactive hotspots, carousels, Q&A | No | Yes |
| Amazon's stated sales lift | Up to 8% on average | Up to 20% |
Is Premium worth it? If you qualify, usually yes, because video and the Q&A module let you answer objections that images cannot. If you do not qualify yet, do not wait. Well built basic A+ beats lazy Premium A+ every time, and the skills carry over. If you use video, make it good. A shaky phone clip with no sound is worse than no video.
How should manufacturers and CPG brands approach A+ Content?
If you are a manufacturer or a retail first consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand, A+ Content matters for a reason most guides skip: control. A+ is tied to the brand owner through Brand Registry, not to whoever is selling. If distributors or resellers hold the Buy Box on your ASINs, your A+ still shows. It is one of the few parts of the page you control even when you are not the seller.
- Claim your catalog first. Enroll in Brand Registry and make sure you, not a reseller, are the contributor of record for your content.
- Do not reuse retail packaging copy. Shelf packaging is written for a store aisle. Amazon shoppers are comparing six options on a phone.
- Use comparison charts for big catalogs. Manufacturers with many sizes, pack counts or models lose sales when shoppers buy the wrong variant. A clear chart fixes that and cuts returns.
- Build templates, not one offs. A shared design system for the catalog, with copy tailored to each product family, keeps a large catalog consistent without starting from zero every time.
For how A+ works for 1P vendors and 3P sellers, see Seller Central vs Vendor Central.
How do you build and test A+ Content step by step?
- Research the buyer. Read your reviews and your competitors' reviews, customer service questions and the Search Query Performance data in Amazon Brand Analytics. List the reasons people buy and the objections that stop them.
- Study the category. Look at the top listings for your main keyword. If everyone leads with specs, lead with outcomes. If everyone uses stock photos, use real ones. Find the white space.
- Write the message hierarchy. One primary benefit, three or four supporting benefits, proof points, and the objections to answer. This becomes the module plan.
- Design mobile first. Every module has a job, every headline is benefit led, and every image has alt text.
- Submit and check. Review the mobile preview, submit through the A+ Content Manager, and fix any rejection reasons quickly.
- Test. Use Manage Your Experiments to A/B test a new version against the current one on ASINs with enough traffic. Test one big idea at a time: a new hero module, a different lead benefit, a new module order.
A+ is not set and forget. Revisit it when reviews reveal a new objection, when you launch a new variant, or when a competitor changes the conversation. Our Amazon content creation hub and the Amazon listing optimization playbook cover how A+ fits into the rest of the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Amazon A+ Content free?
Yes. Basic A+ Content is free for brand owners in Amazon Brand Registry and for vendors in Vendor Central. Premium A+ Content has also been free to date for brands that meet Amazon's eligibility criteria. Your real cost is the photography, design and copywriting.
How long does A+ Content take to get approved?
Amazon says review can take up to seven days. Many submissions clear faster, and some take longer when Amazon asks for changes. You can see the status of each submission in the A+ Content Manager.
Does A+ Content help Amazon SEO?
Its biggest effect on ranking is indirect: better A+ raises conversion rate, and conversion rate is a strong ranking signal. Google crawls the page and Amazon's Rufus assistant reads listing content, so write in plain shopper language and fill in image alt text. Do not stuff keywords into it.
Can I use the same A+ Content on every product?
You can apply one A+ project to many ASINs, and that works for true variants such as colors or sizes. Different products usually have different reasons to buy, so tailor the copy at least by product family. Use a shared design template to keep the brand consistent.
Can I edit A+ Content after it is published?
Yes. You can edit and resubmit at any time, and the new version replaces the old one once Amazon approves it. If you have enough traffic, run changes through Manage Your Experiments so you know whether they helped.
What is the difference between A+ Content and the Brand Story?
A+ Content is the module section that replaces the product description. The Brand Story is a separate carousel that appears above it, introduces the brand and links to other products and your Brand Store. Use both, and put the Brand Story on every ASIN.