Join Analytic Index at Excellence in Ecommerce Live: Walmart Edition in Bentonville, Arkansas

Keeping up, let alone thriving on the constantly-changing Walmart marketplace is more difficult than ever!

Analytic Index is excited to be hosting a special event, Excellence in Ecommerce Live | Walmart Edition, designed to educate brands and agencies about cutting-edge data and technology that drives traffic, conversion, and profitability at scale via pure-play ecommerce and omnichannel retail.

Join us for a free afternoon of Walmart-specific expertise, learning, and networking with brands, agencies, and technology platforms.

The Walmart Edition features experts across retail media, content, digital shelf, automation tech, and performance measurement that will address Walmart-specific best practices combined with broader ecommerce topics.

This is a free event for brands and agencies! 

Walmart Connect is Expanding Search Offerings

In an effort for Walmart to give its advertisers more access, visibility, and control over Search Campaigns, they have brought on three new partners – Stackline, Tinuiti, and Harvest Group. The new additions to their existing partner ecosystem will add additional capabilities for sellers to partner with Walmart more effectively.

Walmart Advertiser Enablement

Since the recent inception of Walmart Connect, Walmart has been driving innovative ways to bring sellers additional value. They have done this in a number of ways but primarily with key partnerships that help expand their technical expertise. They have followed suit with the latest arrangement with partners to expand and improve their search campaigns.

In collaboration with Stackline, Tinuiti, and Harvest Group, Walmart will be creating new offerings that will enable their advertisers to more easily manage budgets, consolidate media purchases, and perform reporting. Perhaps the most interesting news is that they will allow advertisers unprecedented access to the Walmart customer base, much deeper quality insights, and inventory data for Walmart Sponsored Product pickup and delivery (OPD).

Building on Past Accomplishments

“There’s incredible momentum in our business, and we’re already seeing tremendous business impact for our advertisers,” said Lex Josephs, Vice President, Ad Sales and AdTech Partnerships for Walmart Connect. “Earlier this year, we announced a new vision and name for our business and a strategic startup acquisition. We also rolled out innovative in-store and digital offerings. The expansion of our Walmart Advertising Partners program is our latest exciting move to create measurable value for all our advertisers.”

The new innovations come after several years of progressive improvements in Walmart’s digital advertising through their Advertising Partner Program, Self-Service Sponsored Product interface, and Performance Reporting Dashboards. These changes had a big impact on their growth which included a 56 percent increase in search inquiries, 185 per growth of Walmart Sponsored Products, and 10X YoY growth in the number of active advertisers using Walmart Advertising Partners.

Walmart has made it very clear they won’t settle for second best when it comes to e-commerce. While these improvements will help brand manufacturers improve performance on Walmart, third-party analytics solutions like Analytic Index will still be there to fill in the gaps and provide additional value.

Why Keyword Research is Critical for Walmart Sellers

If you want to sell on Walmart, then you’re going to want to optimize your product listings. This will help your products stand out and appear in the first part of results pages when consumers are looking for your product.

And the one way to optimize your listings is through proper keyword research.

But what is keyword research in the world of Walmart eCommerce, and why is it so important? This article will tackle what you need to know, so read on!

The Benefits of Keyword Research for Walmart Sellers

If you don’t know it yet, Walmart’s eCommerce platform actually has its own search engine, known as Polaris. This is what extensively crawls product listings, matching these listings with the keywords consumers search for.

With Walmart SEO’s algorithm continuing to evolve, it’s high-time that you begin taking advantage of its benefits by conducting keyword research. Why, exactly? Here are a couple of reasons keyword research is critical for Walmart sellers:

1. This is Where It All Begins

Where do you begin with search engine optimization (SEO)? You do so with keyword research. This has always been the first step in SEO, and it’s no different when optimizing for your product listings on Walmart.

It isn’t just about using keywords most related to your product, but to also consider the most recommended words and phrases used according to your products, filters, among other factors important to consumers. With the right keyword research tools, you won’t miss any keyword that could have been placed on your listing.

The best part is: With all the keyword tools and resources available to learn about keyword research, it’s actually not as tedious of a task as you think!

2. Increased Visibility

When conducting keyword research, you receive the most effective and searchable words and phrases related to your product. You can add these keywords across your listing (make sure you avoid keyword stuffing, though!), so Walmart’s web crawlers will detect its use.

Thus, your product listing will pop up when people search for the keywords you used. If you combine keyword research with other effective ways to optimize your listings, the higher the chances it shows on the top results organically.

This results in better visibility for your product listings, with more interested consumers checking what you have to offer, over competitors who ranked lower. Remember, there are millions of visitors on Walmart.com, and with at least a few hundred searching for your specific product, you can garner more sales when using the right search-friendly keywords.

How to Sell Products on Walmart.com

Are you planning to sell on Walmart.com? This is an invitation-only platform that has an approval process before you can begin setting up your account and posting product listings!

While it might seem intimidating figuring out the requirements and step-by-step procedure, it’s not as complicated as you’d think, and worth the effort. Check out these tips on how to become a Walmart.com seller.

How to Become a Walmart.com Seller

Walmart wants to make sure that their digital platform only offers reputable and verified sellers with low-priced products. This is in line with their goal to provide better online shopping experiences.

To get started, here are what you need to know about becoming a Walmart.com seller:

What are the Requirements?

Before you begin the application process, you’ll need to make sure you pass the requirements. This is to prepare everything beforehand, so you have better chances of approval. These are the requirements you need to pass:

• Own a warehouse based in the United States, where you can ship orders and receive returns
• Have a business bank account and US Tax ID
• GTIN code or UPC for every SKU
• Business experience for at least a year, with excellent customer service and performance, of course, in any US-based marketplace
• Dedicated customer service
• Competitive pricing
• Assorted products within Walmart’s category offerings
• Fast and reliable fulfillments

The Application Process

Once you have all your requirements ready, the next step is to apply for Walmart Marketplace. You can do so with these steps:

• Visit the official website of the Walmart Marketplace
• Click on the ‘Apply’ button, which is located on the website’s top right corner
• You’ll be redirected to the Application page, which shows a registration form
• Fill in all the necessary details that all the tabs prompt. The entire application process will take 15 minutes to finish
• When you complete the form, click on ‘Apply Now’

How Long Does It Take?

Once you have submitted your application, it’s time to wait! The team at Walmart will review all applications thoroughly, taking around two weeks. One of the company’s Business Development Managers will contact you to assist during the verification process.

If you haven’t received an email or were contacted by staff after two weeks, you may follow-up. However, it may be more likely that you were rejected and will receive notification of it. You may reapply after a certain amount of time, and after fulfilling all requirements Walmart has.

Once approved, you’ll sign the Retailer Agreement and begin onboarding. After signing, you’ll receive an email containing the ‘Invitation to Sign-Up’ link, along with the next steps below it.

Then that’s the time you can set up your Seller account, providing details such as:

• Creating your account
• Registering your company
• Providing your tax information (W-9)
• Providing your payment and shipment information

After this, you’ll be completing your Partner Profile, providing data such as your:

• Company Information
• Privacy and return policies
• Information regarding fulfillment and customer service
• Tax information

Then, it’s time to add your products and edit your listings for posting! The entire process from completing Walmart’s requirements to posting your product listings can take up to four weeks.

Extra Tips

Besides what was mentioned above, here are extra tips to know about becoming a Walmart.com seller:

• If you don’t have the funds for your own warehouse or cannot run one on your own yet, you can send your products to outsourced fulfillment partners, such as Deliverr.
• It’s best to have a unique product assortment, so conduct product research and learn more about consumer demand, predicting future demand, and analyzing competition to know what sells and makes a profit
• Before applying for Walmart.com, try having experience in other eCommerce platforms first, such as Amazon, Shopify, and eBay. Get experience and make sure you maintain excellent performance across your online stores, which increases your chances of approval
• Do research about prices and profit margins on products you plan to offer on Walmart.com. Since you need to have competitive pricing, have an excellent pricing strategy, and plan ahead with a budget for new products and additional fees
• Prepare your fulfillment options ahead, focusing on quick and reliable services. You can also opt to use Walmart’s 2-Day delivery services, which benefits customers and Walmart. You will need to qualify for this after approval of your account, though

How to Optimize Your Walmart.com Product Listings

Walmart Marketplace is an eCommerce platform for professional sellers, with over 110 million unique visitors monthly. This invitation-only community gives sellers the opportunity for better visibility of their products, selling even more without the costly membership fees.

If you’re already part of the Walmart community and registered for your Seller Profile, the next thing to do is to take care of your product listings. And just like websites and other eCommerce platforms like Amazon or eBay, Walmart has its own algorithm operating as its internal search engine. Think of it as an SEO for product listings, to ensure that consumers find what they want and need without wasting time or effort.

Because of this, it’s crucial to optimize your product listings to have a positive impact on Walmart’s SEO. By doing so, your product listings can rise up to the top of search results organically, with relevant searchers taking notice.

Where can you get started in optimizing your Walmart.com product listings? Read on!

How to Optimize Walmart.com Product Listings

The Walmart algorithm will follow the similar conversion-focused principles that ‘regular’ SEO from major search engines like Google use. With an optimized product listing comes more viewers and potential consumers. And with more viewers come more buyers, which can help increase those sales!

To optimize your product listing, here are the things to focus on:

Your Product Name

The product name needs to be between 50-75 characters long, unique to your listing on Walmart. This means no copying the same product name on your website or other eCommerce platforms.

It’s also recommended to include defining features people would search for, such as the color or material. The product name needs to not only be appealing, but readable to customers for them to click on it.

High-Quality Media

People wouldn’t want to click on a product listing without any photos or videos of it. They want to know what the product looks like and how it can be used. 

The images you will use on your product listing should showcase the item well, being in a well-lit background. It should be professionally shot, well-lit, and only showing accessories included with the item.

To optimize your images, make sure that the primary product image is in front view in front of a smooth white background. Include 2-3 more background images that include multiple angles of your product/s.

Highlight the Key Features

These are also known as highlights in Walmart, which allow you to sell your products through emphasizing important and specific details enticingly. This is shorter compared to the product description, easier to digest and seen near the product title and images.

Make sure that you include features shoppers would want, including 3-10 key benefits and features of the product in bullet form. Use appropriate keywords and place the most important features at the top, using specific details. Like the title, never copy the product description from other platforms and websites. 

Use the Right Keywords

Your product description is the long-form explanation of what you’re selling, which is at least 150 words long. This is where you need to incorporate relevant keywords and phrases, making it more likely to appear in search results.

These descriptions are used to entice interested in the product and want to learn even more about it. Stay unique here and use expertise, including facts and tips that are helpful as it is descriptive.

Also, make sure that you include the product and brand name, along with the right keywords when conveying its benefits and features. Don’t stuff keywords for the sake of reaching the top results, though! It should be read naturally with the clear and conversational tone, making it more attractive to shoppers.

How Much Is It?

Walmart’s aim is to provide the most affordable prices to their customers, which is why price is a crucial factor when it comes to being on top of results pages. Conduct price research, comparing product prices with other competitors on Walmart, including buy box winners and sellers outside Walmart.

Your product should be at the lowest price possible so shoppers know they can’t find your products at a lower price anywhere else.