Staying Relevant: Better Understanding the Walmart Algorithm

Advertising on Walmart is no easy feat. Relying heavily on the concept of “relevancy” in its calculations, the Walmart advertising algorithm can make it tricky for advertisers to compete and appear on their site. The algorithm also acts entirely differently to other marketplaces such as Amazon, and should be treated differently as a result.

What is relevancy?

This refers to how well a product or advertisement listing suits the needs and behaviours of a potential customer. For Walmart specifically, this includes concepts such as:

Product Matching: matching suitable products with a shopper relative to their specific search, past purchases and / or general browsing behaviour.

Ad Targeting: showing ads that are relevant to the shoppers overall profile, such as location, history and demographics.

Personalisation: using personal data to personalise the shoppers experience.

Search Relevancy: products that relate closer to the shoppers search terms and the shoppers behaviour will rank higher on the search results page.

Relevancy to the Algorithm: the Walmart algorithm also uses machine learning and data to improve their relevancy assessments to understand shopping patterns and what products should better serve customers.

Why is relevancy key for Walmart?

Relevant ads improve the shopping experience by showing consumers products that will best suit and serve their needs based on their history and interests. When ads are relevant to these users, they are more likely to click on the ads and purchase the product. Higher relevancy supports higher conversion rates for both advertisers and Walmart, and encourages improved retention of customers over time. This concept can also help advertisers better spend their ad budget in a more effective manner thanks to Walmart’s approach on real customer insights. 

Organic rank and relevancy are the most important concepts for advertisers to take into account when advertising on Walmart. Building relevancy to boost organic rank and serve the right customers is key, but this is easier said than done. 

What can I do to support my relevancy on Walmart?

It all comes back to your Product Detail Page (PDP) and your content on Walmart. Your reviews, ratings and listing scores will majorly impact how and when you serve on shopper searches. Walmart will not serve your product on a keyword, regardless of bid, unless your relevancy and rank is good. 

Tip #1 -  Aiming for listing scores above 70% on Walmart is key in being retail ready on this marketplace. These can be found in your Seller Account under the Growth Opportunities Dashboard. 

Tip #2 - Ensure you have good quality, clear images supporting your PDPs. Aim for a minimum of 4 images, but an optimal amount of 7. 

Tip #3 - Draft a product description that is properly formatted and has clear and detailed breakdowns of the products description and features. Include paragraphs and bullet points with your key terms in your description, and high performing, high volume keywords in your title. However, be careful not to simply copy over your listings from Amazon to Walmart. They need to be more suitably tailored to this marketplace rather than “copy and pasted”.

Tip #4 - Where possible, regularly check competitor pricing to ensure your own product’s pricing stays competitive. Walmart’s algorithm can often favour products that offer shoppers good value, providing the best user experience possible.

Tip #5 - Encourage positive reviews and ratings on your products to boost visibility and credibility on Walmart. Responding to any negative feedback promptly can enhance your reputation as well. 

Tip #6 - Use Walmarts tools to target specific customer segments based on behaviour, demographics and interests. There are a multitude of advertising types available such as Sponsored Products, Brands and Display to support your reach on the marketplace. Once your PDPs are set up to buy into the relevancy aspect of the algorithm, your advertising strategy can then better support your success. 

Want to know more about how to succeed on Walmart? Get in touch with us at zeal@zealagency.co.uk or at www.zealagency.co.uk.