Deconstructing Amazon A+ and Enhanced Brand Content

Amazon offers two primary types of enhanced content to help brands create more engaging and comprehensive product detail pages: A+ enhanced marketing content (EMC) for vendors, and enhanced brand content (EBC) for brand-registered sellers.

According to Amazon, this content can increase conversions by up to 10%, making it an important tool for brands looking to dominate the digital shelf.

In this post, we’ll break down each type of content, giving you everything you need to know to get started with A+ EMC or EBC.

What is Amazon A+ content?

Amazon A+ enhanced marketing content (also called “A+ detail pages”) is the advanced product content option available for brands who are part of Amazon’s invite-only Vendor Central program.

A+ enhanced marketing content (EMC) helps first-party vendors strengthen their product detail pages with additional copy, images, videos, and charts. This content appears under the “From the manufacturer” heading on product pages:

There are two types of A+ detail pages: Basic (shown above), which allows for five modules, and Premium (or A++), which allows for seven.

Basic A+ Content

As of January 1, 2018, “Basic A+ content” is now free and unlimited for all Vendor Central users:

There are two options for creating a Basic A+ detail page in Vendor Central: you can build it yourself, or you can have Amazon build it for you.

To start, navigate to the Merchandising tab of your dashboard, and select A+ Detail Pages.

Self-service Modules

With the self-service option, you build your layout by choosing from 12 different modules (10 standard and 2 advanced). There is a maximum of five modules allowed per page.

The process for creating a page is as follows:

1. Choose your ASINs and create a project.*
2. Drag and drop the modules to build your own unique layout.
3. Add your content.
4. Review and add to cart.
5. Place your order.

*You can attach the same A+ content to multiple ASINs. This allows you to easily distribute your enhanced marketing content across multiple product detail pages in one easy step.

Previously, Amazon charged a flat fee for each module used. Now, however, Vendor Central users receive an immediate discount equal to the total cost of the chosen modules.

Once you submit your order, it will be listed under A+ Submission History on the main A+ Detail Pages page. It can take up to seven days for Amazon to review and publish your EMC after submission, though from our experience the turnaround time is usually closer to 24-48 hours.

Amazon Builds for You

If you have Amazon build your A+ EMC for you, you’ll simply enter the ASINs and upload a .ZIP file that contains the content you want included. Amazon will choose the design and layout and build the page for you.

Premium A+ Content

Premium A+ content is a new invite-only program that’s designed for Amazon’s biggest and most strategic vendors.

Compared to Basic A+ content, Premium A+ offers video, larger images, more comprehensive comparison charts, interactive displays, and more.

There are 16 different Premium modules to choose from, and a maximum of seven modules are allowed per page (two more than Basic A+ allows).

Premium modules include:

• Slider galleries
• Integrated HD videos
• Video loops
• Hotspots (allow users to hover over or click on images to reveal product details)
• Testimonials
• FAQs
• Interactive comparison charts

Unless you have a Premium A+ agreement with Amazon, you won’t see these modules available to you in Vendor Central.

Vendor Express A+ Content

One of the main drawbacks of Amazon’s Vendor Express program is that, unlike Vendor Central, it does not include regular access to A+ enhanced marketing content.

Since September of 2015, however, Amazon has been running a “limited-time” offer for Vendor Express users that gives them up to five free A+ EMC pages. This offer is only for qualifying products that aren’t already part of Amazon’s catalog.

The A+ EMC options available for Vendor Express users are more limited than those available for Vendor Central members. Advanced modules, such as comparison charts, are unavailable, and only four modules in total can be used per page.

Additionally, there is no self-service option, so brands must submit their content using a Word or Excel template and wait for Amazon to build the page for them.

What is Amazon-enhanced brand content (EBC)?

Amazon enhanced brand content (EBC) is the advanced product content option available for third-party sellers who use Seller Central to sell their products directly to consumers.

To be eligible for EBC, you must have a professional Seller account and be enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry. (Emerging brand owners who are part of certain managed selling programs, such as Launchpad and Amazon Exclusives, may also have access to EBC.)

Enhanced brand content allows sellers to enhance their basic product descriptions with images and additional text. This content appears under the “Product description” heading on product pages:

For EBC, there are a total of five modular templates to choose from, as well as a custom template option. Template modules include the brand logo, header image, product description, and product features. Sellers can now choose up to seven modules per page, which is two more than the Basic A+ EMC for Vendor Central currently allows.

The process of creating EBC is relatively simple:

1. Navigate to the Advertising tab of your dashboard and select Enhanced Brand Content.
2. Choose a template.
3. Add your content to the modules.
4. Submit for review.

According to Amazon Seller Support, it can take up to seven days for Amazon to review and publish your EBC after submission. You’re allowed to have 20 pending submissions at one time.

Enhanced brand content is currently in a promotional free period, so there is no charge to sellers for using it. However, it’s possible that Amazon will begin charging a fee for EBC in the near future.

Quick Reference Chart

Understanding the differences between the various types of Amazon-enhanced content can be confusing. Here’s a quick reference chart for easy comparison:

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basic differences between A+ enhanced marketing content and enhanced brand content, it’s time to start taking the necessary steps to incorporate this content into your Amazon product detail pages:

1. Talk to your Amazon rep to fully understand your brand’s enhanced content options.
2. Document your goals and KPIs.
3. Establish a budget and expected ROI.
4. Determine which ASINs you need enhanced content for.
5. Design your layouts.
6. Create your enhanced creatives and copy.
7. Publish content.
8. Measure results and optimize regularly.

Need help optimizing your Amazon product detail pages for maximum performance? Flywheel is here to help.

By combining the industry’s largest database of consumer search insights with proprietary performance monitoring tools and on-demand content optimization services, we enable brands to respond to market changes and execute product page updates with unrivaled speed and scale.

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