Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm Part VI: Updates Fever!
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Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm Part IV – Is Amazon Ranking Broken?
Cate Baum examines the latest author outrage that Amazon is Broken.
Many blogs have been shouting about how Amazon has a loophole that means authors are scamming the system and stealing mountains of cash from the KDP Global Fund. Some authors are being strung up and called out. These shady goings-on must be examined! Welcome to the notorious Mythbusting, Part IV.
MYTH: Amazon’s Ranking is Broken.
Truth: Amazon Ranking is not ‘broken’, but there’s a front-facing issue with how ranking is displayed when switching from Free to Paid that is confusing people.
After reading about several authors that seem to […]
An Interview with Kayl Karadjian, Author of Dragonsoul
Fantasy author Kayl was subject to internet outrage because his book made it to #1 in all of Amazon using promotion methods flagged against Amazon Guidelines. Kayl’s book Dragonsoul received many fake one-star reviews from other angry authors calling him a “scammer.”
Kayl agreed to a ‘transparency interview’ with Cate Baum at SPR, with never-before-revealed analytics, and his conclusions on the pitfalls with choosing book promotion services.
So Kayl, why don’t we start with why you decided to write? What were your motivations?
I was, and still am, a huge nerd. I grew up reading fiction, particularly fantasy and sci-fi, […]
Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm Part III – Verified Customer Reviews and the New Amazon Guidelines
There are some home truths we need to examine that authors are not really grasping about the Amazon Algorithm since I started this series. So in this installment of “Mythbusting,” I’m going to get into what the algorithm’s new Machine Learning model and new Amazon Guidelines mean for Verified Customer Reviews.
MYTH 1 – By figuring out what keywords people search for you can get customers to find your book
TRUTH – Meh. Here we go again. My answer to this is “Are you a robot?” You would have to be Hal 9000 since the new algorithm came along. Let’s […]
Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm – Reviews and Ranking For Authors
How to get the best out of your reviews and sales to rank high on Amazon without the myths from former search expert and COO of SPR, Cate Baum.
Despite many educated guesses that seem to have passed into urban legend in self-publishing communities online, there are no secrets to the Amazon ranking system.
I have spent the last few months tracking down programmers, algorithm experts, and reading technical documentation about Amazon’s algorithm, and the documentation that is provided online by Amazon at Amazon Seller Central and KDP. What I didn’t do was talk to any authors or bloggers, because […]
Too Cheap to be Popular? – Amazon Algorithm Changes
If your self-published eBook is featured on Amazon, you are keenly aware that the only thing constant is change. For those grappling with last month’s ranking adjustments, one of the best explainers is offered at Indie Jane, where Jennifer Becton walks us through the confusion:
[…]One of the advantages indie authors have over our traditionally published counterparts is that we can choose to sell our ebooks very cheaply. Setting a price of $.99 has proven not only a great deal for readers, but writers still earn 35 percent of the list price, which is much more than what authors of