What's inside?

1. 🔎 Why Listings Drop in Q2

2. ✅ The 7-Point Q2 Listing Audit

3. 📰 The News Capsule

4. 💗 Pink Vibes

🔎 Why Listings Drop in Q2

Hello Amazon Rockstars, 👋

Rankings dropped. Sessions are flat. Sales feel sticky.

And the first instinct? Blame the algorithm.

Sometimes that's fair. But most of the time — if you haven't touched your listings in 60+ days — the algorithm isn't the problem.

April is the quiet month. Q1 tailwinds are gone. Q4 momentum is ancient history. And listings that were 'good enough' in November are now just... average.

This week: a 7-point audit you can run in under an hour. Not theory. A checklist you actually use.

✅ The 7-Point Q2 Listing Audit

7 things to check before you blame the algorithm.

1️⃣ Are your keywords still the right keywords?

ABA and SQP data from November is not the same as ABA data today. Seasonal searches shift. Competitors enter and exit. The keywords you built your listing around may have drifted in relevance.

→ Open Search Query Performance — switch to Monthly view
→ Check if your top-ranked keywords still have strong click share
→ If a keyword's search volume dropped 30%+ since Q4, consider rotating it out
→ Use Product Opportunity Explorer to spot what's trending in your niche right now

2️⃣ Does your main image still win the scroll?

Search results change. New competitors launch. Seasonal imagery fades. Your main image may have been the best option in your category six months ago — and now it's just one of many.

→ Search your top keyword in incognito mode
→ Screenshot the first page
→ Honestly ask: would you click yours over the others?
→ If the answer is 'maybe' — that's a no

3️⃣ When did you last update your A+ content?

A+ content older than 6 months is almost always behind. New product photos, reformulated benefits, updated branding — these rarely make it back into A+. Yet A+ is often the last thing a buyer reads before deciding.

→ Check your A+ publish date in Brand Registry
→ Do the hero images still reflect how the product looks today?
→ Is the USP messaging still the reason people are actually buying it? (Check your recent reviews for clues)

4️⃣ What is your keyword-level CTR telling you?

We covered this in issue #15 — but it's worth repeating as an audit step. A low CTR on a keyword you rank for is a quiet emergency. You're showing up, but not getting clicked. That's a double loss: visibility without revenue.

→ SQP → pick your 3 most important keywords → calculate CTR manually (clicks ÷ impressions × 100)
→ Anything under 0.3% on a high-impression keyword needs attention
→ Possible fixes: coupon badge, new main image, title tweak, add keyword to image text

5️⃣ Are your backend search terms doing anything?

Set once, forgotten forever. Backend fields — search terms, subject matter, intended use — are often filled at launch and never touched again. Meanwhile, Rufus and Amazon's AI systems are reading these fields as part of how they classify and recommend your product.

→ Open your flat file for each ASIN
→ Check: are the 249 backend characters actually used — or half-empty?
→ Remove any keywords already in your title (they don't add value there)
→ Add long-tail variants, misspellings, and complementary use-case terms

6️⃣ Is your review velocity healthy?

Amazon's algorithm tracks review recency, not just count. A product with 200 reviews that got its last one in January looks different to the algorithm than one with 80 reviews that got 5 last week.

→ Check your last 10 reviews — when did they arrive?
→ If there's a gap of 3+ weeks, activate your 'Request a Review' button on every eligible order
→ If negative reviews spiked in a specific period, cross-reference with any listing changes you made — the two are often connected

7️⃣ Are you priced to convert — or just priced?

Price affects ranking. Not directly — but Amazon measures conversion rate per keyword, and if your conversion dropped because a competitor launched at 15% lower, the algorithm notices. You don't need to race to the bottom. But you need to know where you stand.

→ Check your category's average price for your top keyword (Product Opportunity Explorer → Niche → Average Price)
→ If you're more than 20% above average with no clear premium signal in your listing — that's the problem
→ If price isn't the issue, check your bullet points: are the benefits strong enough to justify the price gap?

📰 The News Capsule

Amazon Adds a 3.5% Surcharge. Here's What It Actually Costs You.

Starting April 17, 2026, Amazon is applying a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge across FBA in the US and Canada, and Remote Fulfillment with FBA to Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

Buy with Prime and MCF follow on May 2.

$0.17 per unit doesn't sound catastrophic. But if you're moving 500 units a month, that's $85. If you're moving 5,000, that's $850 — every month, automatically.

This is the second cost hit in two weeks. Last issue: Amazon takes ad spend from your proceeds before you see them. This week: fulfillment fees go up.

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💗 Pink Vibes

The Only Audit That Actually Matters

You just read a 7-point checklist for your listings.

Here's a shorter one — for everything else.

Once a quarter, ask yourself three questions:

💭 What am I doing that stopped working — but I haven't stopped doing yet?
💭 What's one thing I've been meaning to try — but keep pushing back?
💭 Who do I need to thank, and haven't?

Businesses drift the same way listings do. Slowly, quietly, until one day the numbers just feel off.

The fix is the same too. A short, honest audit. No consultants needed.

Spring is a good time for both. 🌱

That’s it for today…until next time, Keep Thriving!

Alina