Many writers, especially those that have just published their first book, become obsessed with Amazon.com’s sales ranks. They watch these rankings change and try to puzzle out some deeper meaning. I have fallen prey to this dark obsession myself. Over the last several months I have watched the sales rank for my book, Mr. Overby is Falling, bounce all over the map. During that same period I have read every article I could find about Amazon sales rankings. I have drawn many conclusions, and I plan to share them here.
In way of research I have watched my ranking at Amazon and at Amazon UK closely, and compared what I have seen with what I have read (and with what I know to be true). I believe that I now have a solid understanding of how these ranks work.
Amazon’s sales ranks are generated through use of an algorithm. Each book has a unique rank (that is, no two books have the same rank simultaneously). No book can have a ranking number until it sells at least one copy. After Amazon sales its first copy of a book a sales rank will appear. Usually this first rank will be in the area of 2,700,000. Sales in this vicinity will lead to a ranking that is updated monthly.
Two sales within the same week should cause a book’s ranking to drop into the area of 1,600,000. At that point sales five or fewer books will have little effect on sales rank. In order to drop below the one million mark a book will need to sell in excess of eight books in a single week. The book will have to continue to perform this well for several weeks to maintain a rank of less than a million.
Books ranked under one million will update weekly. Books ranked under one-hundred thousand update daily. And, books ranked under ten thousand update hourly.
Once a book’s rank drops under ten thousand the rankings change rapidly. When Mr. Overby is Falling dropped to a rank of 5,998 it maintained that number for only a single hour. It rapidly climbed to a ranking of 94,000.
An important aspect of the Amazon system is the way it uses several criteria to rank a book. Number of sales is the most important aspect. However, rankings are also effected by frequency of sales, and recency of sales. A book that has sold one thousand copies this year may have a better rank than a book that sold ten thousand copies several years ago.
Amazon also uses some non-sales factors to sort books. Number of searches for that book, placement on listmania lists, and reviews can help a book achieve a slightly better sales rank.
Amazon UK uses a similar system. However, it is easier for a book to garner a lower number on the UK site due to a smaller sales base.
So, in conclusion, what can we truly know about Amazon sales ranks? Only this is certain:
A book must have sold at least one copy to have a sales rank.
Lower numbers are better than higher numbers.
When the rank goes down it means that at least one book has sold.
Three months worth of sales ranks for Mr. Overby is Falling:
2,772,918
2,250,200
1,405,621
1,290,798
5,998
7,642
94,418
94,720
95,915
96,413
908,043
1,800,220
1,293,347
976,274
945,789
87,987
126,501
228,942
309,527
At Amazon UK
213,220
221,496
288,600
1,992
5,820
7,965
82,981
66,432
55,210
69,750
70,600
71,385
73,219
75,069
77,029
78,586
82,102