Amazon Listing and Account Quality: A Guide for FBA and FBM Sellers

Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world, giving sellers a unique opportunity to reach millions of customers. Success on the platform, though, takes more than simply listing products for sale. Listing quality and the health of your seller account play a decisive role. Poorly prepared listings, errors in product data, or failing to follow Amazon's rules can lead to serious consequences, such as reduced listing visibility, losing the Buy Box, or even account suspension.

In this guide, we'll look at how to take care of your listing quality and account health so you can succeed as an Amazon seller. We'll explain key concepts such as Account Health Rating (AHR) and the A10 algorithm, walk through common product errors, and show you how to avoid them. If you want to improve your sales results and steer clear of problems on Amazon, this guide is for you.

Why listing quality matters on Amazon

Listing quality on Amazon is a key factor in a seller's success. The platform places enormous emphasis on delivering a positive shopping experience for customers - which, for sellers, means every listing has to meet high standards for presentation, data accuracy, and compliance with platform rules. A high-quality listing not only helps catch the attention of potential customers, but also increases your chances of winning the Buy Box - the key sales mechanism that decides which seller is featured on a product page.

Listing quality has a direct impact on Amazon's search algorithm, known as the A10 algorithm, which replaced the earlier A9 version. This algorithm favors listings that comply with the rules, contain complete and accurate data, and have a good sales and customer service history. Missing information, incorrect categories, or low-quality photos can lower a listing's position in search results, reducing its visibility and sales potential. Compared to the earlier A9 algorithm, it also places greater emphasis on consumer behavior, positive reviews, ratings, and time spent on the product page.

In addition, the A10 algorithm takes into account the seller's authority, factoring in their sales history, order fulfillment timeliness, and customer service quality. Sellers with a positive track record and high ratings have a better chance of improved visibility for their products.

Any inconsistencies in listings can lead to their visibility being suppressed (suppressed listings) or to policy violations, both of which negatively affect account health - Account Health. These issues can lead to restricted selling privileges, and in extreme cases, to account suspension.

High listing quality - covering accurate descriptions, professional photos, competitive prices, and positive customer reviews - is therefore essential for success on Amazon. Optimizing listings in line with the A10 algorithm's guidelines increases their visibility, attracts potential customers, and drives higher sales.

What is Amazon Account Health?

Account Health on Amazon is a set of metrics that assess the health of a seller's account, which Amazon monitors to ensure a high quality of customer service and compliance with platform guidelines. Keeping your account in good standing is essential for avoiding selling restrictions and ensuring better listing visibility.

Account Health Rating (AHR) is a system for evaluating the state of a seller's account on Amazon, designed to indicate the risk of account deactivation due to selling policy violations. AHR was designed to help sellers manage compliance with Amazon's policies while giving them a clear view of their account's health. The rating is visible on the Account Health page and covers every marketplace in which the seller operates worldwide.

The AHR system is based on a scoring scale from 0 to 1,000, with a starting score of 200 points for new sellers. This score changes depending on the number and severity of selling policy violations. The AHR score reflects account activity and compliance with Amazon's policies over the past 180 days. When violations are detected, a seller loses points, but can recover them by successfully resolving the issues or fulfilling a certain number of orders. A color-coded system makes it easy to assess account status:

• Green (Healthy, 200-1,000) means the account is healthy, with no issues;
• Yellow (At Risk, 100-199) signals a decline in account health and a call to improve product and sales quality;
• Red (Unhealthy, 99 or below) is the last warning to thoroughly audit and review the way you operate on Amazon. This level can result in immediate account deactivation.

A key element of AHR is how it classifies violations by severity. Amazon applies four levels of violations: critical, high, medium, and low. The points deducted for a violation depend on its impact on the customer experience and on whether the violation breaks the law. Additionally, the seller's scale of business is factored into the score, to ensure a fair evaluation regardless of business size.

To stay in the "Healthy" zone, sellers should avoid policy violations and respond quickly to any issues that arise. Resolving the most severe violations should be the priority. Regularly monitoring your account status on the Account Health page and staying compliant with Amazon's policies are the key actions that help you avoid problems and selling restrictions.

It's also worth remembering that Amazon can deactivate an account immediately regardless of its AHR score if it suspects fraudulent, illegal, or harmful behavior toward customers or other sellers. That's why compliance with the rules and proactive account management are essential for long-term success on the platform. AHR is an effective tool that lets sellers continuously monitor and improve their account health, minimizing the risk of deactivation while maintaining a high standard of customer service.

If reading this is starting to give you chills, making it feel like deactivation or sanctions hang over every Amazon seller like the sword of Damocles - stay calm. Amazon's systems and algorithms are constantly watching over the quality of your listings and your account, and you'll be duly informed (usually by email) of any issues that come up, along with advice and the actions you need to take. You can also always reach out to Amazon's help center - Seller Support.

The main metrics affecting Account Health on Amazon

The health of your Amazon seller account is also affected by activities related to order fulfillment itself - in other words, your interactions with buyers. As you probably know, as a seller you're not directly visible to the buyer on this platform - they primarily see the product, then the brand (via Amazon Brand Registry), and the supplier last (depending also on how the order is fulfilled - FBA or FBM). To maintain a high standard across all the products and services offered on Amazon, the platform enforces metrics that every seller must stick to:

• Order Defect Rate (ODR): Covers negative customer feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims, and credit card chargebacks. ODR should not exceed 1% over the past 60 days.
  
• Late Dispatch Rate: The percentage of orders shipped after the promised time. It should not exceed 4% over the past 30 days.
  
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate: The percentage of orders canceled by the seller before shipping. It should not exceed 2.5% over the past 7 days.
  
• Valid Tracking Rate: The percentage of orders with a correctly entered tracking number. It should be at least 95% over the past 30 days.
  
• Invoice Defect Rate: The percentage of orders with correctly issued invoices. It should be at least 95% over the past 30 days.

Keeping an eye on these metrics is essential for maintaining a high standard of customer service and avoiding potential sanctions from Amazon, such as restricted selling privileges or account suspension. Regularly monitoring and optimizing these parameters will help keep your account in good standing.

Where can I check my Amazon account's health? The Account Health Dashboard

Amazon provides a management panel called the Account Health Dashboard, where sellers can monitor their results in real time. If your metrics fall below the required thresholds, Amazon may send you a warning or impose sanctions, including account suspension. You'll also find a breakdown there of any issues related to your products' compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Take care of your Amazon account's health! 10 tips for better Account Health

Maintaining good Account Health on Amazon requires regularly monitoring metrics, following selling policies, and responding quickly to potential issues. Here are the key steps that will help you maintain good results and minimize the risk of account suspension:

1. Follow Amazon's rules

Familiarize yourself thoroughly with Amazon's selling rules and its policies on products, customer service, and regulatory compliance. Avoid actions that could violate platform regulations, such as selling prohibited products, counterfeits, or items that don't match their description.

2. Monitor your Account Health metrics

Regularly check the Account Health Dashboard to track metrics such as:

• Order Defect Rate (ODR): Keep your order defect rate below 1%.
• Late Dispatch Rate: Ship on time so your late dispatch rate doesn't exceed 4%.
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate: If you have to cancel orders more often than 2.5% within 7 days, it signals a problem with the products you're offering - their prices, photos, data, or the connection to your inventory management tools may be incorrect.
• Valid Tracking Rate: Add correct tracking numbers for at least 95% of orders.
• Invoice Defect Rate: Issue correct invoices to avoid exceeding a 5% defect rate.

3. Avoid policy violations and fix them quickly

If violation reports show up on your Account Health page for your products or your selling process:

• Identify the problem: Go into the violation details to understand what caused it.
• Take corrective action: Remove the violation, fix the errors, or update your selling procedures.
• Contact Amazon: If you have doubts or disagree with the assessment, file an appeal through Seller Central.

4. Respond to customer inquiries

Make sure you respond to customer messages promptly - Amazon requires a response within 24 hours. Smooth communication with customers increases satisfaction and reduces the risk of negative reviews.

5. Take care of product and description quality

Sell products that match their descriptions, avoid incorrect information on listing pages, and deliver products in perfect condition. This will help prevent complaints, returns, and negative reviews.

6. Fulfill orders on time

Ensure accuracy in order fulfillment. Make sure products are shipped on time, with correct tracking numbers, and that you meet the delivery deadlines you've stated.

7. Train your sales team

If you work with a team, make sure they're trained on Amazon's rules. Everyone on the team understanding the platform's requirements minimizes the risk of mistakes.

8. Use Amazon's tools

Use the Account Health Dashboard to get alerts about potential issues. Also check the inbox linked to your seller account - Amazon always informs you about issues related to your products and any actions it takes (such as removing a product from sale).

9. Respond to policy changes

Amazon regularly updates its rules and requirements. Keep an eye on Amazon's communications and adjust your practices to stay compliant with new regulations.

10. Minimize returns and complaints

Ensure high product and service quality to reduce the number of complaints and returns. Satisfied customers report problems less often, which has a positive effect on your Account Health metrics.

Does Account Health affect my listing rankings on Amazon?

Account Health doesn't just help you avoid sanctions such as reduced listing visibility or account deactivation - it also builds customer trust and strengthens a seller's position on the platform. Regularly monitoring metrics and staying compliant with the rules is the foundation of long-term success on Amazon.

Yes, Account Health can indirectly affect your listing rankings on Amazon. It can also affect your Amazon Ads campaigns. Although Amazon doesn't disclose the details of its product ranking algorithms, there are several reasons why a seller's Account Health matters for better listing visibility.

Amazon favors sellers who follow the platform's rules - and since account status reflects compliance with platform policies, customer service quality, and the ability to meet buyer expectations, Account Health indirectly affects listing visibility. Sellers with good account status (in the "Healthy" zone) also have a better chance of winning the Buy Box and participating in programs such as Amazon Prime. Poor account quality can lead Amazon to impose sanctions on your account - including reduced visibility of your listing in search results.

Amazon product errors - types and how to fix them

A range of product-related errors can occur on Amazon, and they can negatively affect listing visibility, catalog quality, and sales results. It's worth noting that the process can differ somewhat depending on the nature of your sales - whether you offer your own private-label products as a manufacturer, or sell products from other brands. Here are the main types of errors:

Suppressed Listings

Listings can be suppressed if they don't meet Amazon's requirements for content or photo quality. Suppressed listings aren't available for sale on Amazon and don't show up for buyers on the platform - but they aren't deleted. The most common causes are:

• Missing data: Listings are missing key information, such as brand, category, sizes, or GTIN codes (e.g. UPC, EAN).
• No photos: A product must include at least one photo showing it (the main image).
• Low-quality photos: Photos don't meet requirements such as a white background, minimum resolution, or properly showing the product (e.g. not showing the whole product).
• Improper titles: Titles are too short, too long, poorly formatted, or contain prohibited characters.
• Missing detailed descriptions: Product descriptions are insufficient, hard to read, have formatting issues, or don't comply with Amazon's rules.
• Incomplete technical data: Listings are missing required attributes, such as material, weight, or features.

What should I do when Amazon suppresses my listing?

Check the details of the problem under "Suppressed Listings" in Seller Central. You can fix the vast majority of these issues simply by filling in the data Amazon is asking for.

Keep in mind that the information you add may sometimes be rejected or only partially processed - in that case, it's worth reviewing the accuracy of that information and contacting Seller Support to resolve the issue.

Policy Violations

Amazon requires compliance with rules on product quality, regulatory compliance, and legality. Policy violations can lead to a listing being suspended, or even the whole account. Common violations include:

• Selling prohibited products: Products banned on Amazon, such as counterfeit goods, recalled items, dangerous products, or items that break the law.
• Intellectual property issues: Infringing copyrights, trademarks, or patents.
• False claims: Product descriptions containing false information, such as unsubstantiated health or technology claims.
• Regulatory non-compliance: Products that don't meet legal requirements in a given country (e.g. lacking CE certification in the EU or compliance with FDA regulations in the US).

How do you resolve policy violations on Amazon?

First, identify the cause of the violation in the Account Health Dashboard. Amazon's algorithms aren't perfect, so your listing may sometimes be incorrectly flagged as requiring some specific legal information, proof, or document. The best approach is to explain the situation to Amazon Seller Support and then follow their instructions.

Pricing Errors

Amazon monitors listing prices to ensure compliance with fair competition rules and to prevent price manipulation. Pricing errors can include:

• A sudden price change: This error can be triggered when you significantly raise or lower a product's price.
• Minimum Price: The product's price is lower than the set minimum price, which can cause the listing to be automatically suppressed.
• Maximum Price: The product's price is too high relative to average market prices, leading to reduced listing visibility.
• Dynamic price changes: Incorrect pricing rule settings can lead to unintended price changes, such as a price dropping to near zero.
• Lack of price competitiveness: Listings priced too high compared to the competition may be skipped in search results or in the Buy Box.

How do you fix pricing errors on Amazon?

• Regularly monitor your pricing settings in Seller Central.
• Set pricing rules to avoid extreme price swings.

Listing Errors

These errors involve listing data that can prevent a product from displaying correctly to customers. Examples include:

• Errors in the product description: Inconsistencies between the description and the actual product, or a lack of clear, detailed information.
• Incorrect category: The product is placed in the wrong category, affecting search visibility.
• Errors in attributes: Missing required attributes, such as dimensions, weight, color, or material.
• Improper keywords: Using prohibited keywords, which can lead to the listing being removed.
• Issues with identification numbers (GTIN): Incorrect or missing GTIN, UPC, or EAN codes.

How do you deal with listing errors?

Update your listings, making sure the data matches reality and Amazon's requirements. If needed, use the "Fix Listings" tool in Seller Central, or go into the listing editor and correct the data in the tabs marked with an exclamation point.

How do you fix ASIN errors on Amazon?

ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) is a unique identifier assigned to every product, helping Amazon organize listings and link products offered by different sellers. If you want to sell a particular product - say, a branded toothbrush - the item you list on Amazon (which can be categorized and sorted using your own SKU) gets compared against existing listings and matched to a product already in the ASIN catalog. If you list a product that hasn't previously existed on Amazon, a new ASIN is created. Other sellers can then match that ASIN to their own item and compete for it - because, crucially, an ASIN isn't owned by any one seller! Only sellers registered with Amazon Brand Registry, whose brand has been recognized and approved by Amazon, can get exclusive rights to the ASINs of products under the brands they own.

An ASIN conflict on Amazon occurs when there's a mismatch between a seller's listing and an existing ASIN. These issues are especially common with products already present on the platform, but described differently from the seller's own listing.

ASIN conflicts can arise in several situations:

• when a seller matches their listing to an existing ASIN, but product details such as color, size, or material don't match the description tied to that ASIN.
• when a seller creates a new ASIN for a product that already exists in the system.
• when Amazon makes changes to an existing ASIN's data, causing a mismatch with the seller's listing.

These issues can also stem from incorrect GTIN (UPC/EAN) numbers or errors in the product description.

ASIN conflicts can have serious consequences. Amazon may temporarily suppress a seller's listings or flag them as violating platform policies, which negatively affects account health (Account Health). On top of that, products caught in a conflict lose visibility in search results, which translates into a drop in sales. In extreme cases, conflicts can confuse customers, leading to returns and negative reviews. Above all, though, it's very frustrating for the seller themselves - they're unable to assign the correct, often accurate data to the product they're selling, which often results in pulling products from sale out of fear of hurting their Amazon account quality.

To resolve ASIN conflicts, you first need to identify the problem by checking the "Manage Inventory" or "Account Health Dashboard" tabs in Seller Central. It's important to make sure the product details - title, description, photos, and GTIN codes - match the existing ASIN.

If the problem stems from a system error or an incorrect data change made by Amazon, the seller should contact Amazon Seller Support, describing the issue and attaching any necessary information. If needed, you can also correct the listing details or report the incorrect ASIN for review.

ASIN conflicts are a very frustrating type of error with potentially serious consequences, and to make matters worse, resolving them can sometimes take weeks. Here again, you can partly blame Amazon's algorithm - it has a tendency to mix up data, especially when many sellers are adding corrections to a particular ASIN. Often, though, these are simply mistakes that come from entering incorrect data, or entering it in the wrong field.

Summary

Amazon is a dynamic platform where listing quality and account health are crucial to every seller's success. Regularly monitoring metrics, following Amazon's rules, and quickly resolving issues are the foundations of effective sales management. Remember that even small mistakes can negatively affect your listing visibility and sales results.

Take action today. Review and optimize your listings, respond to policy changes, and train your team to make the most of what Amazon has to offer. Make sure your account stays healthy - in the "Healthy" zone - not just for better sales results, but also to build a lasting reputation with customers.

Good luck growing your business on Amazon! If you're looking for support, or you're struggling with issues related to your account, products, or sales, book a free consultation and tell us about your situation. We'll advise you on the right strategy for fixing your account and help you understand the mechanisms that shape sales on the platform. Get in touch with us by filling out the form below.