seller
- What changed
- An algorithmic badge for highly rated, well priced, ready to ship products
- When
- Introduced in 2015; Updated October 2026
- Who it affects
- Shoppers on Amazon and the sellers whose products are badged
- What to do
- Improve ratings, price, stock and delivery speed for your main keywords
Key takeaways
- Amazon's Choice marks highly rated, well priced products ready to ship, for a specific search term.
- It is algorithmic: sellers cannot apply or pay for it, and it can change as data changes.
- Stock, delivery speed, price, ratings and keyword relevance are the levers sellers control.
| Amazon's Choice | Best Seller | |
|---|---|---|
| Tied to a search term | ||
| Based on category sales | ||
| Weighs ratings and price | ||
| Weighs fast availability | ||
| Can be bought | ||
| Changes over time |
Both are algorithmic; neither is a quality test
What does Amazon's Choice mean for shoppers?
Amazon describes Amazon's Choice as a way to highlight highly rated, well priced products available to ship immediately. The badge appears on search results and product pages, usually with the search phrase it applies to, such as Amazon's Choice for wireless earbuds. It is a shortcut for shoppers who want a safe pick without comparing dozens of listings.
The badge is not a quality test or a lab review. It reflects how a product performs on Amazon's own data: customer ratings, pricing, availability and delivery. Shoppers should still read reviews and check details, especially for products where fit or compatibility matters.
Is Amazon's Choice the same as Best Seller?
No. The Best Seller badge goes to the product with the most sales in a category over a period of time. Amazon's Choice is tied to a search term and weighs a broader mix of signals, so a product can be Amazon's Choice for a keyword without being the top seller in its category, and the reverse is also true. Our guide to Amazon Best Seller Rank explains how sales rank works.
How does a product get Amazon's Choice?
Amazon has not published exact criteria, and sellers cannot apply for or pay for the badge. Industry analysis consistently points to the same group of signals. None of these is a confirmed threshold, so treat them as factors to improve rather than a checklist that guarantees the badge.
- Strong average rating and steady review flow
- Competitive price compared with similar products
- In stock and ready to ship quickly, often with Prime delivery
- Relevance to the specific search term
- Steady sales for that search term
- Low return rate and few customer complaints
Why Amazon's Choice is keyword specific
The badge is awarded per search phrase, not per product. A water bottle might be Amazon's Choice for insulated water bottle 32 oz and not for water bottle. Analysts have even found cases where the badge went to a product that looked only loosely related to the keyword, which shows the system weighs behavior and performance, not only listing text.
This matters for sellers. Instead of chasing the badge on a broad head term, look for the long tail phrases where your product is the best answer, and make sure your title, Item Highlights and backend search terms cover those phrases. Our guide to Amazon long tail keywords shows how to find them.
Amazon's Choice and voice shopping
Amazon's Choice was introduced in 2015 and is closely linked to voice shopping. When a customer asks Alexa to buy a product, analysts report that Alexa suggests a past purchase first, then the Amazon's Choice product for that phrase, then the top search result. With Alexa for Shopping now answering questions across the Amazon app, being the clear best answer for a query matters more than it used to.
How sellers can improve their chances, step by step
You cannot request the badge, but you can make your product the most obvious choice for a search term. Work on the signals in this order, because stock and delivery problems cancel out everything else.
- Pick five to ten specific search terms where your product fits best
- Keep inventory in stock and use FBA or Seller Fulfilled Prime for fast delivery
- Price competitively against the top results for each term
- Fix the listing issues that cause returns and low ratings
- Grow reviews through Amazon Vine and the Request a Review button
- Support the terms with Sponsored Products exact match campaigns
- Track which terms show the badge on your listing each week
Badge candidate check
- In stock with fast delivery
- Price competitive for the term
- Strong, steady rating
- Low return rate
- Keyword in title or Item Highlights
- Exact match ads on the term
Can you lose Amazon's Choice?
Yes. The badge is recalculated as data changes. Running out of stock, slower delivery, a price increase, a drop in rating or a spike in returns can move the badge to another product. Sellers often notice the loss in conversion first, so watch session and conversion data for your badged terms and investigate quickly if they fall.
Stock outs are the most common cause, which is one more reason to plan inventory carefully, as covered in our guide to Amazon stockouts and rank.
Does Amazon's Choice increase sales?
Amazon does not publish data on the badge's effect, and third party estimates vary widely, so be cautious with any precise figure. The logic is simple: the badge adds trust at the moment of choice, and voice shoppers may see only the badged product. Treat it as a result of strong listing and offer fundamentals rather than a goal of its own.
PPC Spider's Amazon SEO services team works on the signals behind the badge: keyword relevance, conversion, reviews and stock. SpiderOS monitors stock and search terms daily so a badged product does not lose it to a preventable stock out. Start with a free Amazon audit.
Sources
- Helium 10: What is Amazon's Choice and how to get it (helium10.com/blog/what-is-amazons-choice/)
- SellerSprite: What does Amazon's Choice mean, guide for sellers (sellersprite.com/en/blog/what-does-amazons-choice-mean)
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