4 proven ways to drive external traffic to your Amazon listings (+ why it matters)

Most Amazon sellers focus exclusively on what happens inside the platform—optimizing keywords, running PPC campaigns, and tweaking product images. That’s smart, but it’s also incomplete.

External traffic has become one of the most powerful ways to boost your Amazon rankings and sales. Amazon’s search algorithm now actively rewards listings that attract visitors from Google, social media, and other off-platform sources. More importantly, external traffic helps you build something Amazon can never take away: your own customer list.

The sellers who master external traffic don’t just get more sales. They get better organic rankings, lower advertising costs, and protection against Amazon’s constant policy changes. Here’s how to make it happen.

Why advertise off of Amazon anyway?

Amazon’s A10 algorithm changed everything about how products get discovered on the platform. Gone are the days when keyword optimization alone could get you to the top of search results. Today, Amazon actively tracks and rewards listings that generate sales from external sources.

Think about it from Amazon’s perspective. When someone clicks from Google or Facebook to your Amazon listing and buys your product, Amazon gets a sale they didn’t have to pay to acquire. That’s pure profit for them, which is why external traffic sends such strong positive signals to their algorithm.

The numbers tell the whole story:

• External traffic can improve your organic ranking even if those visitors don’t buy immediately
• Amazon’s Brand Referral Bonus gives you up to 10% cash back on sales from external sources
• Sellers who drive external traffic report 20-40% improvements in their organic keyword rankings

Beyond the algorithm benefits, external traffic breaks your dependence on Amazon’s ecosystem. Every sale that comes from your email list, social media, or Google Ads is a customer relationship that you own. Amazon controls everything about their platform, but they can’t control your email subscribers or social media followers.

The Brand Referral Bonus makes external advertising even more attractive. Amazon essentially pays you back up to 10% of your advertising costs when you successfully drive external traffic to your listings. This bonus can turn break-even ad campaigns into profitable ones.

1. Perfect your SEO game ON Amazon first

External traffic campaigns fail spectacularly when they send visitors to poorly optimized listings. No amount of Facebook ads or influencer partnerships can save a listing with weak titles, confusing bullet points, or low-quality images.

Start with your listing fundamentals before spending a dollar on external advertising. Your title should include relevant keywords while staying under 80 characters for mobile readability. Bullet points need to highlight key features and benefits clearly. High-resolution images showing the product in use are non-negotiable.

A+ Content becomes even more critical for external traffic because these visitors don’t know your brand yet. They need comparison charts, lifestyle visuals, and clear explanations of why your product solves their problem. Think of A+ Content as your silent salesperson for every visitor who arrives from Google or social media.

Amazon Attribution is your secret weapon for tracking which external sources actually convert. This free tool generates unique tracking links that show you exactly how many clicks, add-to-carts, and purchases come from each external campaign. Without Attribution links, you’re flying blind.

2. Choose the right traffic sources for your products

Not all traffic sources work for every product. The key is matching your external traffic strategy to your customers’ behavior and your product’s natural discovery patterns.

Google Ads work best for products that people actively search for. If customers type “wireless headphones” or “yoga mats” into Google, you can intercept that high-intent traffic and redirect it to your Amazon listing. These visitors are already shopping, which means they convert at much higher rates than cold social media traffic.

Social media advertising shines for products that people discover rather than search for. Beauty products, home décor, and lifestyle accessories perform exceptionally well on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. These platforms excel at showing people products they didn’t know they needed.

Influencer partnerships through Amazon’s Influencer Program offer the best of both worlds: credibility and conversion tracking. Influencers provide authentic product demonstrations while Amazon Attribution links track exactly which partnerships drive sales. Focus on micro-influencers with engaged audiences rather than mega-influencers with millions of passive followers.

Pinterest deserves special attention for visually-driven products. Home goods, fashion, and hobby-related items can generate massive traffic from Pinterest pins that link directly to your Amazon listings. The platform’s users actively look for products to buy, making them ideal external traffic candidates.

Content marketing builds the most sustainable external traffic over time. Blog posts, YouTube videos, and educational content that rank in Google search results can drive consistent traffic for months or years. This approach requires patience, but it creates compound growth that paid advertising can’t match.

3. Build an email list and remarket

Email marketing remains the highest-converting external traffic source for Amazon sellers. The challenge is collecting email addresses without violating Amazon’s terms of service, which prohibit collecting customer information directly from the platform.

Landing pages solve this problem elegantly. Create a simple page that offers a discount code or valuable content in exchange for an email address, then redirect visitors to your Amazon listing with an Amazon Attribution link. Tools like LandingCube provide pre-built templates designed specifically for Amazon sellers.

Your landing page formula should be simple:

• Clear headline explaining the benefit
• Small incentive (10% discount code)
• Email capture form
• Direct link to your Amazon listing with Attribution tracking

Discount codes serve a dual purpose in this strategy. They incentivize email signups while providing trackable conversion data through Amazon’s promotional tools. You can see exactly which external traffic sources generate the most valuable subscribers.

Remarketing campaigns turn one-time visitors into repeat customers. Use Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics to track visitors to your landing page, then show them targeted ads featuring your Amazon products. These warm audiences convert at much higher rates than cold traffic because they’ve already expressed interest in your product category.

4. Avoid these common external traffic mistakes

The biggest mistake Amazon sellers make with external traffic is sending cold visitors directly to their listings. Someone who clicks a Facebook ad and lands on Amazon has no relationship with your brand and no reason to trust your product over cheaper alternatives.

Warm up your traffic first. Use landing pages to collect email addresses, provide valuable information, or offer exclusive discounts before sending people to Amazon. This extra step dramatically improves conversion rates and builds your owned audience simultaneously.

Amazon Attribution tracking isn’t optional—it’s essential. Without proper tracking, you can’t tell which external campaigns are profitable and which are burning money. Set up Attribution links for every external traffic source, from Google Ads to influencer partnerships to email campaigns.

Influencer partnerships fail when you prioritize follower count over audience alignment. A beauty influencer with 10,000 engaged followers will drive more sales for your skincare product than a general lifestyle influencer with 100,000 disengaged followers. Match the influencer’s audience to your ideal customer profile.

Never launch external traffic campaigns without optimizing your Amazon listing first. Poor listings waste expensive external traffic and hurt your organic rankings. Complete your listing optimization, gather some reviews, and stabilize your conversion rate before spending money on external advertising.

Time to turn visitors into customers

External traffic transforms Amazon’s selling from a rental business into an owned business. Instead of depending entirely on Amazon’s algorithm and advertising costs, you build direct relationships with customers who can buy from you again and again.

The sellers who combine optimized Amazon listings with strategic external traffic create compound growth that their competitors can’t match. Higher external traffic improves organic rankings, which reduces advertising costs, which increases profits that can be reinvested into more external traffic.

However, external traffic is just one piece of a complete Amazon strategy. You’ll also need tools to handle the operational complexity that comes with growth—more orders, more customer questions, and more reviews to manage.

Ready to have sustainable Amazon growth? Try Seller 365 free for up to 14 days and get the complete toolkit for managing your growing Amazon business.