Amazon ASIN - everything you need to know about it

Amazon ASIN and Reverse ASIN Lookup: What Is It and How Does It Work?

When you first get into selling on Amazon, you will encounter many acronyms. FBA, FBM, FNSKU, UPC, and… ASIN. In this article, we’ll dive more deeply into what an ASIN is, how it is used, and how to do a reverse ASIN search to spy on your competition!

What is an Amazon ASIN?

ASIN stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number.

The ASIN is a unique ten-digit alphanumerical identifier that Amazon assigns each of its and its partner’s products. Basically, it’s how Amazon identifies the millions of products in its database.

For example, the ASIN for the Jungle Creation’s Dog Pee Pads is B08Z5NYG12. Meanwhile, the ASIN for Jungle Stix is B017VXKVXE.

Note: For books on Amazon, the ASIN is the same as the book’s International Standard Identification Number (ISBN).

How can I find a product’s ASIN on Amazon?

There are two ways to find a product’s ASIN.

First, the easiest way to find the ASIN is simply scrolling down the page and reading under the product details.

Then, if you’ve got a keen eye, you might notice that Amazon puts the ASIN in each of the product page URLs too:

Where can I get an Amazon ASIN?

If you are an Amazon private label seller, you receive an ASIN as soon as you create your new Amazon product listing. You can find your ASIN on your product page (like I demonstrated above), or you can check your Inventory page on Amazon Seller Central. It will be in its own column.

If you sell products that weren’t your own creation (if you sell retail arbitrage or wholesale, for example), then your products will use the ASIN assigned to that product. That ASIN is shared with every seller of the product.

How to create a new ASIN in Amazon

To create a new ASIN on Amazon, you need to create a new product listing. All you have to do is click on the “Add a Product” button in your Amazon Central Seller account.

Follow all of the steps in this process and click submit once your listing information is completed. After you click submit, your new product listing, along with the product ASIN, will be shown in your Manage Inventory section of Seller Central.

If you want an in-depth step-by-step guide on how to create and optimize a new listing, please check out this article: How to Create & Optimize an Amazon Product Detail Page

Why is the Amazon ASIN so important to sellers?

There are a number of reasons that ASINs are so important to Amazon FBA sellers.

First, it makes identifying products on Amazon easier for you and everyone else. Plus, the ASIN is solely used for Amazon, unlike a UPC or GTIN, which can be used in other retail environments.

But as an Amazon seller, ASINs are most useful for ASIN tracking and Reverse ASIN lookups.

What is reverse ASIN lookup?

Reverse ASIN lookup is a clever way of taking your competitors’ product ASINs and using the numbers to look at the actual Amazon pay-per-click keywords they are using to generate sales.

More often than not, you will need to use an application such as Keyword Scout to perform a reverse ASIN lookup. Below, I’ll show you how easy it is to do a reverse ASIN lookup using Keyword Scout.

Three easy steps to performing a reverse ASIN lookup using Keyword Scout

Performing a reverse ASIN lookup is incredibly easy. In fact, it can be done in only three quick steps.

Note: You’ll need to be a Jungle Scout subscriber to use the Keyword Scout tool.

1. Find your competitor’s ASIN

I showed you two ways to do this above. Make sure you grab that number and copy it to your clipboard.

2. Open up Keyword Scout and put the ASIN into the search bar

All you have to do is open Keyword Scout and put your ASIN right into the search bar. Just hit enter, and, if you don’t want to search by ASIN, you still have the option to search by keyword. It’s amazing!

3. Collect your keywords

Once you hit enter, Keyword Scout will, within seconds, generate keywords that you can use in your own product’s Amazon PPC campaigns.

 

Have you ran a reverse ASIN search?

For many, the ASIN and Amazon reverse ASIN lookup can be something of a mystery. But now you understand how the ASIN works and no doubt you’re ready to start building powerful Amazon PPC campaigns with all of your new keywords.

Remember, you’ll need to have a tool like Keyword Scout to do this. And the good news is, Keyword Scout is part of Jungle Scout’s award-winning suite of Amazon selling tools.

With over 3,200 reviews with an average of 4.6 stars on TrustPilot, Jungle Scout — an all-in-one platform for selling on Amazon — is the world’s most trusted software for Amazon product research, ASIN tracking, and business scaling methods!

If you’re serious about selling on Amazon, get started today:

 

17 comments on “Amazon ASIN and Reverse ASIN Lookup: What Is It and How Does It Work?

  1. Hey Greg,

    Really useful post. Generally every business person should know about these all the things if they want to expand their business even digitally. As Amazon is a vast platform for online business, this all the facts are very useful. I do want to learn more about amazon e-commerce. Thanks and keep postings posts like this.

  2. Excellent post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I’m inspired! Extremely helpful info specifically the ultimate section 🙂 I care for such info much. I was seeking this certain info for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.

  3. how do i find an asin of a product that is not listed on amazon, but yet when i list it they tel me the asin does not match.

  4. Hi,
    I put in two asins (B07C1SKVQD and B01J4MF19O). Keyword Scout found the products but did not find a single keyword for either product. Why so?

  5. Hi, thanks for the post. The ASIN is created for each listing when it is approved by AMAZON. However, there can be many listings for the same product, trying to create value and so winning the market share.
    I have a couple of questions:
    1) When a seller tries to sell off of your list (ASIN) without creating its own list, is this called Hijacking?
    2) Also, can the hijacker legally sell using your listing ONLY if he is buying the product from you? because otherwise his product will be counterfeit?
    3) How can a hijacker make money if he is not selling counterfeit product while he is selling at lower price to win the buy box?

    Thanks.

    1. 1) Yes, typically, especially if they’re selling a false product.
      2) Sometimes hijackers use similar products to your own that they dropship from your competitors or from the factories directly.
      3) Usually, hijackers wait for your product to run out, then leap on your listing. They’ll dropship your competitor’s product and mark it up. While sales are slower for the more expensive item, their margins are all profit since they don’t actually own the goods they’re selling.

  6. Hi Greg,

    Great post and exactly what I wanted to see today i.e. keywords for PPC. For the products in my tracker, it says “this is variant ASIN”. What is Variant ASIN?

    1. Hey Inder,

      A Variant ASIN is just a variation of the original product. Most often you’ll see this when a product has several color options. Each color option of that product has it’s own ASIN to distinguish each one. It depends on your type of product, not all sellers will have variations.

      Hope that helps!
      Melissa

  7. Hi Jungle Scout team. I know this question is off topic but I would appreciate your advice. I have heard of customers who had their accounts suspended for being inactive while waiting for freight shipping of product. Any ideas to avoid this problem? Thanks.

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