Walmart Listing Optimization: Grow Sales in 10 Steps
Selling products on the Walmart Marketplace means translating in-store shelves into online listings with key features, relevant attributes, and persuasive descriptions.
Maximize your discoverability on one of the world’s largest eCommerce platforms with Walmart listing optimization. Ensure each product has a quality listing by including all factors from our ten-step guide.
Table of Contents
- The List: 10 Steps to Optimizing Your Walmart Listings
- 1. Know Your Niche and Research Your Competition
- 2. List Your Best Products on the Walmart Marketplace
- 3. Fill in All Product Information and Attributes
- 4. Offer Two-Day Delivery
- 5. Show Product Reviews
- 6. Add Your Products to Walmart Campaigns
- 7. Use Promotional Pricing
- 8. Ensure Price Consistency
- 9. Deliver Prompt Customer Service
- 10. Adhere to Walmart Policies
- What Is a Walmart Listing Quality Score?
- FAQ
- Summary
The List: 10 Steps to Optimizing Your Walmart Listings
Item visibility is crucial for increasing sales. Our list covers the main factors and policies Walmart uses to rank listings on its catalog and search algorithm. These include tips and advice for writing quality descriptions and titles, adding appropriate attributes, and creating effective promotions, pricing, and shipping options.
These steps will help you increase sales, have an advantage over your competitors, and develop successful product advertising.
How does Walmart measure listing quality?
Walmart determines listing quality optimization through a series of metrics known as the optimization triangle, rating products based on their content, offer, and performance:
- Content. Listing title, description, keywords, product category, and relevant attributes.
- Offer. Product pricing, shipping times and costs, and rate of in-stock availability.
- Performance. Customer reviews, response times, policy adherence, and order defect rates.
Walmart sets and tracks these metrics to determine each item’s and seller’s discoverability, creating a unique listing score based on overall quality. View your Listing Quality score by navigating to the Growth Opportunities page on your Seller Center account dashboard.
Let’s begin.
1. Know Your Niche and Research Your Competition
Knowing your niche helps tailor listings for a specific market segment. Make your brand and listings more distinct by analyzing your target audience and researching competitor’s stores.
You should already be familiar with the market you’re tapping into – it’s best to match a niche with your experience, interests, and brand identity. This will help you find and research your target audience and pick the best communication strategies.
Tips for conducting target audience research:
- Find trends and topics. Track community outlets via social media and industry news. Research related trends and keywords using tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, and Semrush. Doing so will help define your customer’s search behavior and interests.
- Gather customer feedback. Analyze customer needs and wants by observing online content or discussions and directly interacting with your Walmart audience.
- Define a buyer persona. Create a general profile of your ideal customer, including target demographics, buying habits, purchasing power, location, language, and interests.
It takes time to develop a quality listing, but you don’t need to rely solely on guesswork. Walmart platform competitors are useful for determining a catalog’s key features. Research competitors and identify market gaps by checking their:
- Listing page structures.
- Product filters and categories.
- Pricing and shipping details.
- Industry keywords and attributes.
- Promotions and marketing efforts.
- Terms of service and store policies.
- Customer support integrations.
Set up listings that provide equivalent value to competitors, whether in pricing, product quality, or shopping experience. Use competitor research to identify what features other Walmart sellers lack and crucial elements that you can improve to attract more buyers.
2. List Your Best Products on the Walmart Marketplace
Listing all your products at once can make your store more visible in the initial stages, but it’s not a good long-term strategy. During your first item setup, attract the right customers by prioritizing high-performing listings and showcasing only the best product variant options.
Note
Consider limiting product variants to four or five per catalog listing. This will help reduce oversaturation in Walmart Marketplace search results.
Focus on quality over quantity.
Before publishing on Walmart, start with a few single listings to understand product editing requirements. Once you have a sure footing, begin working in batches, publishing products in bulk while finalizing the next group of new items.
Working in batches helps to plan ahead for upcoming events, for example, Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s, and Mother’s Day. This way, you can update an entire seasonal catalog seamlessly.
3. Fill in All Product Information and Attributes
The Walmart Product Detail Page defines four types of primary listing content – title, description, key features, and product photos. These are mandatory details required before publishing. Walmart determines the item’s performance against similar listings and related search results.
What are Walmart listing attributes?
Attributes are subcategories or tags that Walmart uses to match new products from your listings with existing ones in the Walmart catalog and associate them with the right category.
Make sure you have attributes for every product before completing the listing requirements. This will help provide more detailed descriptions for product visibility and categorization, making it easier to attract customers. For example, these are some potential Walmart Attributes:
- Gender
- Size group
- Age group
- Colors
- Fabric
- Pattern
- Sleeve length
- Neck style
- Product origin
- Language
When editing any particular item, update the attributes manually on the Listing Details page. Or use Walmart’s Bulk Attribute Editor by clicking from the Listing Quality section in the Seller Center.
You may also update attributes by uploading a maintenance spec sheet in your Seller Center. If you want to save time editing, maximize the item setup process with Walmart’s Item Spec.
Consider these components when creating a quality listing:
Product title.
Create distinct listing titles that clearly describe the items. Include your brand name and product type. If applicable, include sizing, color, or style. Keep titles search-engine optimized for all devices by limiting the length to 50-75 characters.
Note
Product names should not include special characters, extensive capitalization, personal information, and marketing phrases such as top-selling or limited-time offer.
Description.
Before writing a description, list common phrases and relevant keywords that match your audience’s intent and search behavior. Related keywords may include synonyms, key features, and organically written phrases customers use to search for this product online.
Write descriptions in simple language for the intended reader without chaining too many keywords to avoid style or grammar mistakes. Outline production features and use cases with a clear structure, including at least one paragraph with a minimum of 150 words.
Key features.
Optimized listings will always feature a bullet-point list of key benefits and characteristics of the product. Choose three to ten key features, starting with the most important, and list them with a short phrase or keyword to make details readily accessible. Keep them to a maximum of 80 characters each.
Product photos.
Upload high-resolution images with a consistent style, whether you’re using themed model photos, lifestyle images, or a clear studio background. Ensure your products stand out by offering interactive media, such as 360-spin images, videos, and below-the-fold content.
Note
Your listing’s product imagery must adhere to Walmart’s image guidelines and requirements. Product depictions can’t violate the platform’s Prohibited Products Policy.
“Before using Printify, the most common issue I faced was uploading products to Walmart. This process was not optimized and consumed a lot of my time.”
Ta Ngoc Canh
4. Offer Two-Day Delivery
The Walmart Seller Center offers a Two-Day Delivery program for eligible stores. This option sets a fixed shipping rate for your listings, which can help increase visibility and reduce cart abandonment rates. Customers are more likely to buy a product knowing it’ll arrive quickly.
Walmart promotes free shipping, which means that the cost of delivery must be covered in the product price. Decide whether your store’s niche aligns with buyers who prefer premium offers at a higher price or if your business targets more price-conscious customers.
Confirm your store’s eligibility for Two-Day Delivery by reviewing your Fulfillment Insights metrics in the Seller Center’s Shipping Settings section.
Make sure your metrics adhere to Walmart’s strict delivery performance criteria and wait for approval within 48 hours:
- On-time shipping: >95%
- On-time delivery: >95%
- Valid tracking rate: >95%
- Cancellation rate: <1.5%
Note
Before applying for Two-Day Delivery, Walmart stores must be older than 90 days, have a generous returns policy, and have delivered at least 100 orders in the last 30 days.
You may also connect Two-Day Delivery with a third-party solution provider. For example, with Printify’s Express Delivery for Walmart, eligible fulfillment centers may offer Two-Day Delivery without your store adhering to Walmart’s delivery performance criteria.
5. Show Product Reviews
Reviews can influence buyers by showing that a listing is active and popular. Customers who have subscribed and opted in for a Walmart purchase email are automatically sent review requests after buying a product.
Even if you have ratings somewhere else, you can transfer them from other content sources using Walmart’s service providers. These include Review Syndicate, Yotpo, and Bazaarvoice.
Increase your chances of generating reviews when selling by creating your own purchase email opt-in or adding inserts in packaging to request product ratings from previous customers.
You may also choose to enroll in Walmart’s Review Accelerator program, which incentivizes previous and repeat buyers to leave feedback. This option encourages more reviews by offering rewards towards a customer’s next Walmart purchase.
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6. Add Your Products to Walmart Campaigns
Your Walmart product listing might need extra reach before becoming a bestseller. High-performing sellers may qualify for Walmart Campaigns. If you’re eligible, consider applying to increase your product visibility without having to pay a cost-per-click fee.
To sell items faster, learn more about Walmart Campaigns, paid ad listings, and sponsored advertising options in the Growth Opportunities section through your Walmart Seller Center.
7. Use Promotional Pricing
Slash listing costs with promotional pricing to make your products more competitive for the holiday season and attractive to price-conscious consumers. To qualify for a price strikethrough, an item listing price must be at least 10% lower than the standard cost.
Access and manage promotional pricing to boost your chance of being discovered. You can easily update items and prices with your Walmart Product Catalog page’s bulk pricing and promotion spec sheet.
On Walmart Marketplace, there are two types of promotional pricing on the item page:
- Reduced price. Marks price discounts for peak shopping periods or during holiday and merchandising events.
- Clearance flag. Shows a heavily discounted price when trying to clear out store inventory.
You can also use promo placements, which can prompt a potential customer to log in and add an item to their shopping cart or checkout for a discounted promotional price.
8. Ensure Price Consistency
Product prices must remain the same or lower than on your other sales channels. While it’s important to follow and react to new market rates and fluctuations when selling on multiple platforms, Walmart has a strict policy against listings with different off-site costs.
Walmart consistently compares your pricing by analyzing a lengthy list of other online marketplaces. This is to check you’re not overcharging and using the platform to artificially inflate prices against lesser operating margins. Inconsistent pricing will degrade search metrics.
9. Deliver Prompt Customer Service
At Walmart, customers are always number one.
Prompt and authentic service will equal a positive customer experience. Increase your listings’ visibility with a dedicated customer service strategy, generous returns policies, and a clear focus on wallet-friendly pricing.
Provide customers with a positive experience by:
- Increasing customer feedback. Communicate with shoppers, answer customer inquiries, and deliver post-purchase support to increase reviews and recommendations.
- Reducing item returns. Address customer concerns with clear policies and more detailed descriptions to prevent misunderstandings before purchasing.
- Developing store credibility. Refrain from cutting corners that could negatively impact the customer experience. Continuously keep standards high with prompt service and quality content.
- Ensure optimized listings. Make it easy for customers to find your products. Align with Walmart’s search algorithm and demonstrate your commitment to customers with promotional pricing offers.
10. Adhere to Walmart Policies
Be sure to familiarize yourself with Walmart Marketplace policies and guidelines. Failure to adhere to policies will limit your listing quality and visibility. Or Walmart could terminate your store and lock you out of your seller’s account.
Note
Pay close attention to intellectual property laws when developing new listings. Avoid uploading images or creating products that risk receiving a copyright infringement violation.
What Is a Walmart Listing Quality Score?
Walmart tracks and outlines each store’s listing quality. Top catalogs receive higher visibility, which can drastically improve sales and help products stand out in search results.
Walmart Marketplace listing quality is measured as a holistic score at the category or item level. The primary listing quality score factors are clear product information and attributes, fast shipping, high in-stock rate, and positive customer ratings and reviews.
Note
Listing quality standards can differ between categories, depending on the category metrics that matter most to potential customers.
Find your Listing Quality and Rewards dashboard in the Growth Opportunities section on the Seller Center page. Track your listing quality score, post-purchase quality issues, and determine your progress toward receiving a Pro Seller badge status.
The Item Details page is exceptionally useful for filtering and finding listings based on the quality of their score and those that might need improvements.
FAQ
How do I upload a listing to Walmart?
First, you must apply and receive access to a Walmart Seller Center account. Once accepted, finalize your profile and go to the Items and Inventory tab. Here, you can access the Add New Items page to create new listings and add product information.
Alternatively, you may choose to work with a third-party service provider. In that case, locate your partnered Walmart integration options to upload listings from a connected product catalog.
What are the requirements for Walmart images?
The Walmart eCommerce marketplace has detailed image requirements when uploading primary and secondary product photos and imagery. Pay close attention to accepted file formats, size, aspect ratio, image resolution, pixel dimensions, and file quality.
What is Walmart SEO?
Walmart search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of identifying and improving listing quality to match Walmart’s search algorithm metrics. This improves product visibility to potential customers and increases store growth.
SEO practices include writing clear product descriptions, adding related product attributes and tags, and incorporating popular keywords.
How can I optimize listings on Walmart?
There are multiple ways to optimize a Walmart product listing for better sales results. Start by identifying your market segment and catering the listing title and description to relevant audiences.
Optimize further by offering promotions, adding lower prices, and providing quality customer service. Remember to collect positive reviews for further optimization.
Summary
We’ve covered all the factors you must consider to ensure your Walmart listings’ are fully optimized. Create positive buyer experiences and increase your listing quality score by editing and optimizing product information, adding promotional deals, and providing top customer service.
Use this information to get the sales you deserve. Increase product value and brand authority with optimized listings to reach the top of user search results and become a Walmart Marketplace bestseller. Go from ten steps to hundreds of sales with Printify.
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Written by
Janis Lazda
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