Amazon's titles can't be used like that anymore! Recently, Amazon has made new rule adjustments for product titles, such as product names cannot exceed 200 characters (including spaces), cannot use special characters, and cannot have duplicate words.
If the above-mentioned misuse occurs and does not meet the requirements of the new policy, Amazon will provide modification suggestions, and the seller needs to complete the modification according to the new requirements within 14 days. The consequences of not making timely modifications have not been clearly stated in Amazon's official announcement.
The title is an important component of a listing, and perhaps due to the previous requirements being too lenient, sellers often use overly lengthy or complex product titles, resulting in a poor consumer experience. Some sellers believe that Amazon operators need to pay timely attention to the adjustments, especially the modification suggestions provided by the platform, otherwise they may be demoted. At the same time, some sellers have pointed out that if many product titles are suggested by the platform among existing products, it will take a lot of time and effort to modify the titles.
Amazon stated that it has found that some product names have become increasingly long and sometimes contain redundant words or characters, which Amazon believes will lower buyers' shopping confidence. The new policy on titles helps ensure that product names are clear, concise, and consistent. The new policy mainly includes the following points:
For most product categories, the product name cannot exceed 200 characters (including spaces).
2. Special characters are not allowed!, $,?, _ {,}, ^, ¬, and |, unless these characters are part of the brand name.
3. There should be no duplicate words in the product name. Prepositions, articles, and conjunctions are excluded.
It is understood that the new requirements will come into effect on January 21, 2025. If the seller's product name does not meet the above requirements, Amazon recommends that the seller update it in a timely manner. Starting from January 21st, all product name changes must comply with the updated policy, and sellers can view and fix any non compliant product names in the "Manage All Inventory" section.
In addition, Amazon will provide brand owners with suggestions for adjusting product names that do not meet the requirements when viewing product information updates. The brand owner has 14 days to take action based on the recommendations. These suggestions will be gradually introduced. During this process, the seller's product will remain on sale and the product name can still be edited, provided that the changes comply with the new policy requirements.
The product title is a very important part of the product list and is the key to attracting buyers to click and understand the product features. Generally speaking, when optimizing titles, sellers will control the length between 80-160 characters. The new policy clearly requires a minimum of 200 characters, which can actually meet the operational needs of sellers.
However, the release of the new policy on titles has sparked discussions and doubts from many sellers, who believe that this policy has shortcomings. For sellers with a large number of products, the new title policy will increase their operational pressure.
Most sellers have thousands of product information! Now we have to worry about sorting out a large amount of product information in just 14 days, otherwise they will be suppressed or incorrectly changed. This should only apply to product information that has not been listed. I have tried to update some product information, but they have been locked and cannot be edited. In fact, it can be stipulated that there should not be more than 3 repeated words, because variants usually repeat one word because it will be added to the end of the new subheading, "said a seller.
Another seller pointed out that according to the new regulations, do all old product names need to be changed? Can the Amazon system ensure link stability while receiving link change operations?
Secondly, with such a large number of simultaneous title modifications, can Amazon's system ensure the stability of links while receiving link change operations. What are the consequences if the system is overloaded and the server crashes? Who will bear the loss? Just like when the Consumer Law required sellers to verify store information, it took several months of adjustments for Amazon's system to stabilize, but sellers were delayed in their time and effort due to verification issues.
The third is about the words that cannot be repeated in the product name, and the definition can be more detailed. At present, prepositions, articles, and conjunctions are excluded, but some sellers believe that this definition is too broad. What if the brand name is something like "Magic Mirror" or "One Plus One", or many other names with repeated words?
Furthermore, if the seller does not see this announcement in a timely manner or fails to complete the modification of all titles within 14 days, will the link be suspended from sale or the store be downgraded? At present, the announcement does not specify the possible impact or punishment measures.
Amazon has not yet provided a response to the issues and controversies that sellers are concerned about. Due to the new policy on titles not yet being implemented, Amazon's detailed new regulations on titles are not yet clear. It is recommended that sellers pay attention to the backend dynamics in the near future.
In fact, it is understood that Amazon made a major adjustment to the listing requirements in 2024, when new requirements were put forward for product highlights, such as restrictions on special characters, emojis, and certain phrases (such as refund related guarantees). Special characters, such as ™、®、 €,...,+, ≠, 0, medium, £, ￥ ©、 Any emoticons such as ±,~, and â cannot be used. In product descriptions, phrases such as eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, antimicrobial, antibacterial, bamboo based, bamboo based, soy based, and soy based are all prohibited.
Moreover, in addition to the existing review process, Amazon stated that it will also use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help sellers optimize the quality of product information. Amazon has placed the responsibility of detecting product descriptions on AI tools. It is currently unknown whether Amazon will use AI tools to help sellers optimize titles in the later stage of the new title policy.