Amazon Trends Analysis Checklist

"81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying. The overwhelming majority of retail consumers start their journey with online research." - GE Capital Retail Bank, 18 Statistics Retail Marketers Need to Know for 2019.

In other words, 81% of consumers tell the internet what they want to buy before committing to buying it. Meaning that with the right tools you can anticipate which products are in demand before the sale has been lost to a competitor. 

The best way to explain what trending products are is to look at some examples. Here’s a list of Shopify's top five trending products for 2020:

1. Pet bed
2. One size fits all sofa and couch covers
3. Minimalist jewelry
4. Beard straightener
5. Shapewear

Bear in mind that when it comes to profiting from trending products, competition is high. It is no longer as simple as jumping on the bandwagon of whichever product is trending and expecting to be successful.

This Amazon Trends Analysis Checklist will guide you in using tools, such as Google Trends and Ahrefs, to find upcoming trends before the market becomes saturated with the product.

Learn how to capitalize on fast-moving industry trends and bump sales for your eCommerce site with this Amazon Trends Analysis Checklist.

Before you get started here is some information about us: 

Process Street is super-powered checklists. It’s the easiest way to manage recurring tasks, procedures, and workflows. You can create a checklist template and run individual checklists for each member of your team; check tasks off as you work through them; set deadlines; add approvals; assign tasks; and track each team member's progress.

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Let's get started on your Amazon Trends Analysis. 

Use the form field below to note down basic information.

You can use the 'Assign Members' dropdown to assign this checklist to someone within your Process Street organization. If you plan to run this checklist yourself then either leave it blank or assign it to yourself. 

Pro-Tip: One of the easiest and fastest ways to profit from a trending item is to produce a secondary product relevant to the main item. This is often seen with new tech gadgets are released: suddenly a swarm of new compatible accessory items also appear on the marketplace.

The first step in this process is to see what your competitors are selling and what their customers are buying. 

Make a list of the popular product stores targeting a similar audience to yours.

Save this list: use it every month as part of this checklist to keep tabs on releases of new products from the popular stores. Include links to the websites/ e-commerce stores and upload/link the document to this checklist for safe-keeping. 

Check if any new stores can be added to the popular stores list
Establish how easy it would be to source the product
Confirm what the profit margin would be for each product

If you have already completed this checklist then you should have a list of popular stores within your industry. Check-in with these stores and note down 5 trending products or accessories to products. Consider the sub-checklist below when doing your research. 

Check Amazon to find the best selling products within your industry. 

Make a list of the best selling products sold by stores that are targeting a similar audience to yours. 

Click this link to go to the Amazon Best Sellers homepage.

Use the form field below to note down the Best Selling products within your industry.

Research and list industry blogs and/or newsletters that cover trending and upcoming products. 

Save this list: use it every month as part of this checklist to keep tabs on releases of new products from the popular stores. Be sure to include links to the blogs/newsletters and upload/link the document to this checklist for safe-keeping. 

Pro-Tip: Subscribe to these blogs and newsletters to ensure you get regular updates. 

If you have already completed this checklist then you should have subscribed to relevant blogs and newsletters. Check-in and read up on any product updates.

Note down 5 trending products or accessories to products from the blogs/newsletters.

Research relevant YouTube channels and influencers within your industry that cover trending and upcoming products. 

Save this list: use it every month as part of this checklist to keep tabs on releases of new products. Be sure to include links to the independent YouTube channels and upload/link the document to this checklist for safe-keeping. 

Pro-Tip: Subscribe to the channels to ensure you stay up to date with what is trending.

Check YouTube channels for trending products, record any products featured regularly. 

If you have already completed this checklist then you should have already subscribed to relevant YouTube channels. Check the channels for trending products and record any popular products.  

Note down 5 trending products or accessories from YouTube channels.

Use suppliers as a source of information for what is being heavily sold and promoted.

Make a list of suppliers and email addresses. Save this list: use it every month as part of this checklist to monitor product trends. Be sure to include links to the suppliers and upload/link the document to this checklist for safe-keeping. 

Create an email draft to send out to suppliers asking them to report on any trends they may be witnessing. 

Use the form fields below to note down any feedback received from your suppliers in response to this month's email. 

Note the specific product trends (if any).

Google Trends

Google Trends analyzes Google’s billions of search results across the globe. It tells users how often a keyword was searched within Google at any time.

Simply put, we can use Google Trends to see what people are searching for and what they are interested in. We can also predict upcoming trends by analyzing past reoccurring trends such as Christmas Lights. 

The following tasks will use the product data collected from the previous tasks for analysis in comparison with Google Trends. 

The data below has been pulled in from task 4, the 'popular stores' task.

Copy and paste the product data below into Google Trends and follow the sub-checklist below to guide your research. 

After performing your research record the top products and note down any stand out findings in the form fields below. 

Search the products listed below and any keywords relating to the products in Google Trends.

{{form.Popular_products_from_stores}}

The data below has been pulled in from task 5, 'ascertain Amazon bestselling products'.

Copy and paste the product data below into Google Trends and follow the sub-checklist below to guide your research. 

After performing your research record the top products and note down any stand out findings in the form fields below.

Search the products listed below and any keywords relating to the products in Google Trends.

{{form.Amazon:_best_selling_products.}}

The data below has been pulled in from task 5, the 'blogs and newsletters' task.

Copy and paste the product data below into Google Trends and follow the sub-checklist below to guide your research. 

After performing your research record the top products and note down any stand out findings in the form fields below. 

Search the products listed below and any keywords relating to the products in Google Trends.

{{form.Blogs_and_newsletters_product_updates}}

The data below has been pulled in from task 6, the 'Youtube channels' task.

Copy and paste the product data below into Google Trends and follow the sub-checklist below to guide your research. 

After performing your research record the top products and note down any stand out findings in the form fields below. 

Search the products listed below and any keywords relating to the products in Google Trends.

{{form.YouTube_trending_products}}

The data below has been pulled in from task 8, the 'suppliers responses' task.

Copy and paste the product data below into Google Trends and follow the sub-checklist below to guide your research. 

After performing your research record the top products and note down any stand out findings in the form fields below. 

Search the products listed below and any keywords relating to the products in Google Trends.

{{form.Suppliers:_list_of_trending_products}}

Use the form fields below to note down any generic results from your research. 

Consider and seasonal trends that may be approaching; demographic insights; and interesting queries. 

The following tasks will help you source relevant hashtags that people in your niche are actually looking for. 

Pro-Tip: Use relevant hashtags in your social media posts so that people who are searching for keywords relating to your product, brand, or industry can find you.

Go onto your social media accounts (primarily Twitter and Instagram) and scan through influencer posts to see which hashtags they’re using.

Make a note of the hashtags used by influencers in the form fields below. 

For Instagram: if you don’t already follow influencers type in a generic keyword related to your niche in the search bar.

For example, if you are running an online boutique you could search #onlineboutique or #boutiquetrends

Under Tags, click on a hashtag to reveal the most popular posts that use that hashtag. 

Scroll through posts and record the other hashtags those influencers use.

Use a tool like Ritetag (there is a free trial) to find trending hashtags. 

1. Go to their Hashtag Search page and see a full list of the most popular and trending hashtags currently in use. 
2. For more info on a particular hashtag click on View Stats to see hourly statistics, usage graphs, and so on.

Another great tool for this is Hashtagify.me with this tool you can search for trending hashtags in your niche.

1. Type in a particular hashtag, and find out how popular it is – in general, recently, in the past month and in the past week.
2. Use the tool to find other relating hashtags.

Use tagboard to show hashtags that are trending across ALL platforms and use it to filter out the best hashtags.

Many tools make it difficult to find out which hashtags are popular on individual platforms. And other tools are good for solely finding hashtags on a particular platform.

Use the form fields below to record which of the trending hashtags you've identified in the previous tasks are trending across all platforms.

Use Hashtags.org for a detailed analysis of the filtered hashtags.

Note: The ability to find related hashtags is limited to paid members. They do provide some related hashtags, but to see the full list you will need to upgrade your account.

Use the sub-checklist below to guide your research, once you have completed an action tick the box. 

Record any standout data in the form field below and upload/link your research document. 

Ahrefs is one of the most popular keyword research tools out there when it comes to content and SEO. It also just so happens to be the tool we will be using to show off the value of Keywords when finding trends.

Ahrefs is powered by big data, which is its main differentiator from its rivals. When used in the right way it is also a brilliant tool for assessing product trends within your industry. 

The table below identifies the key SEO metrics to consider when using Ahrefs to find trends. For a detailed explanation of these metrics read this article by Tim Soulo.

If you would like to check out alternatives to Ahrefs check out Moz.

Copy and paste the trending product and hashtag keywords from the text box below into an Excel spreadsheet or Google sheet. 

The data below features the information you inputted into in the previous tasks (popular stores, amazon best sellers, industry blogs, youtube channels, suppliers, filtered hashtags).

Use the blank template provided here or create your own document and use the image below and the sub-checklist for guidance on what to include.

*the keywords will be the products, accessories, and hashtags you entered in the previous task.

Popular Stores

{{form.List_popular_stores}} {{form.Popular_products_from_stores}}{{form.Popular_stores:_record_stand_out_results}}{{form.Popular_stores:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Popular_stores:_top_product_#2}}

Amazon Best Sellers

{{form.Amazon:_best_selling_products.}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_record_stand_out_results}}

Blogs and Newsletters 

{{form.List_blogs_and_newsletters:}}{{form.Blogs_and_newsletters_product_updates}}{{form.Blogs/newsletter:_top_product_#1_2}}{{form.Blogs/newsletter:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Blogs/newsletters:_record_stand_out_results}}

Youtube

{{form.List_YouTube_Channels}}{{form.YouTube_trending_products}}{{form.YouTube_channels:_top_product_#1}}{{form.YouTube_channels:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Youtube_channels:_record_stand_out_results}}

Suppliers

{{form.Note_down_suppliers}}{{form.Feedback_from_suppliers}}{{form.Suppliers:_list_of_trending_products}}{{form.Suppliers:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Suppliers:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Suppliers:_record_stand_out_results}}

Hashtags

{{form.Hashtags_used_by_influencers}}{{form.Hashtags_trending_across_all_platforms}}{{form.Hashtags:_record_stand_out_results}}

Ahrefs is a leading keyword research tool, and their Keywords Explorer is a great way to dig for related keywords that aren't simply exact phrase matches. The Keywords explorer is a great way to find popular products and accessories that relate to the initial keywords (or products) that you search for.

Input your initial keyword(s) into the Keyword Explorer and assess the results.

After researching, make sure to add all relevant discoveries to your Excel/Google. 

If any new product ideas arise as an outcome to this research then note them down in the form field below. 

Search for keywords that have high or rapidly increasing volumes.

High volume keywords indicate the immediate language that people are currently using to try and satisfy their needs. 

Keywords and exact keyword phrases with high search volumes tell us a few things. Namely, that there is currently a high demand for something about this keyword - whether that's a consumer demand for a product or a more general demand for information on a topic. 

Use the form field below to note down keywords with high volume.

Remember to keep in mind the intent of search and consider how can the keyword be translatable into a product trend.  You should consider your needs and business goals, as well as the resources you have available for SEO.

Volume is not the only vital thing to consider when analyzing trends in Ahrefs.

Checking the number of clicks a keyword gets is equally as important as it helps to distinguish between informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent. 

Basically, there's a lot to consider. The table below identifies the key SEO metrics to consider when using Ahrefs. For a detailed explanation of these metrics read this article by Tim Soulo.

Note down the high click keywords that show commercial or transactional intent. 

Pro Tip: These keywords provide direct insight into what customers are searching for when intending to complete a purchase. 

Determine if the keyword (or product) is worth targeting.

A big part of deciding if a keyword is worth targeting is looking who is already ranking for that term. 

If popular and authoritative sites or brands are ranking for your keyword/ product then it is best to reassess whether it is worth running with that trend.

To judge how difficult it would be to rank for a keyword use the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.

You will see your top picks from the previous two tasks in the text box below.

Filter these keywords judging on their keyword difficulty and then note down the remaining keywords in the form field below.

Filter keywords 

{{form.High_volume_keywords}}

{{form.High_click_keywords}}

{{form.Commercial_and_transactional_keywords}}

One web page can rank for thousands of extremely tightly related keywords, so it makes sense to filter down these pages to the highest-ranking ones.

By looking at what competitor pages are ranking highly for certain keywords, you can effectively reverse-engineer this ranking indicator to find new related keywords.

Ahrefs Site Explorer once again proves its worth us with a powerful tool to access this information.

Using the same competitors as in the task above, search a competitor's URL in Site Explorer to get a list of keywords like this:

Look for more keywords in your less-than-specific niches, and keep in mind everything from the previous two tasks (keyword difficulty, volume, clicks, and how they all fit into your business plan).

Follow the instructions in this sub-checklist and mark each item off as you go:

LSI keywords are words and phrases that Google sees as semantically-related to a topic—at least according to many in the SEO community. If you're talking about cars, then LSI keywords might be automobile, engine, road, tires, vehicle, and automatic transmission.

You can use LSIGraph for generating semantically related keywords. Add the top five to your keyword database and mark the tasks in the sub-checklist below as complete.

Note the optimized LSI keywords in the form field below.

Round up the top keywords and record them in the form fields below.

Don't forget to consider the LSI keywords.

Consider all of the following as you make a decision:

Finally, let's review all of your research from this Amazon Trends checklist.

Use the information in this section to inform your final decision concerning which trending product (or keywords relating to a product) to run with. 

Below is a summary of your findings from each of the tasks within this checklist.

Your Amazon Trends Report

{{form.Your_full_name}}

{{form.Today's_date}}

Popular Stores

{{form.List_popular_stores}} {{form.Popular_products_from_stores}}{{form.Popular_stores:_record_stand_out_results}}{{form.Popular_stores:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Popular_stores:_top_product_#2}}

Amazon Best Sellers

{{form.Amazon:_best_selling_products.}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Amazon_best_sellers:_record_stand_out_results}}

Blogs and Newsletters 

{{form.List_blogs_and_newsletters:}}{{form.Blogs_and_newsletters_product_updates}}{{form.Blogs/newsletter:_top_product_#1_2}}{{form.Blogs/newsletter:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Blogs/newsletters:_record_stand_out_results}}

Youtube

{{form.List_YouTube_Channels}}{{form.YouTube_trending_products}}{{form.YouTube_channels:_top_product_#1}}{{form.YouTube_channels:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Youtube_channels:_record_stand_out_results}}

Suppliers

{{form.Note_down_suppliers}}{{form.Feedback_from_suppliers}}{{form.Suppliers:_list_of_trending_products}}{{form.Suppliers:_top_product_#1}}{{form.Suppliers:_top_product_#2}}{{form.Suppliers:_record_stand_out_results}}

Hashtags

{{form.Hashtags_used_by_influencers}}{{form.Hashtags_trending_across_all_platforms}}{{form.Hashtags:_record_stand_out_results}}

Google Trends

{{form.Google_Trends:_record_generic_results}}

Keyword Research

{{form.Keyword_explorer:_new_product_ideas}} {{form.High_volume_keywords}}{{form.High_click_keywords}}{{form.Filtered_keywords}}{{form.Determine_optimized_LSI_keywords}}

{{form.Head_keyword}}

{{form.Keyword_#2}}

{{form.Keyword_#3}}

{{form.Keyword_#4}}

You can Automate the production of a PDF from this Amazon Trends Analysis checklist using Zapier.

You can easily create a PDF from a Process Street checklist with Zapier. You could even automatically send that PDF straight to your inbox by adding an optional part to the integration if you wish. 

To find out more about Process Street and Zapier integrations click this link.

If you do not wish to automate this process then Copy and Paste the data from the checklist in the text box above into a document. 

Once you have finalized your final report document link/ upload it here. 

Sources

Pilar Newman - How to Find Trends and Create Trending Products to Sell on Amazon 

Process Street - Ecommerce Strategy: 21 Best Books of 2019 to Help You Get Started

Webretailer - Amazon Seller Tools & Services

Amazon - What is Fulfilment by Amazon?

Jungle Scout - How to Sell FBA

Ankitha Nagaraj - Top 10 Better Ways to do Amazon Product Research Like A Pro!

QMT - How To Use Google Trends For Amazon Product Selection?

Nicole Martins Ferreira - How to Use Google Trends: 10 Mind-Blowing Tricks for Entrepreneurs

Kim Garst - How To Find Great Hashtags To Market Your Business 

Frederick Lawrence - Using Ahrefs Tool For Marketing And For Finding New Trends 

MINUTTI - How to Use Ahrefs for Content & SEO: Beginner's Guide 

Shopify - 12 Trending Products to Sell in 2020 (And Ideas for How to Market Them)

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