The first few weeks after publishing decide the next few years. Amazon watches how a new product performs: click-through rate, conversion, sales velocity. If that first verdict turns out badly, you spend months fighting a deficit you dug yourself in the first week. So the rule is: a launch begins long before you go live.
The honeymoon phase – and why you mustn't waste it.
New products get the benefit of the doubt from Amazon: because no performance data exists yet, the listing is shown more often as a test than its history would justify. This phase typically lasts two to four weeks.
If you have a half-finished listing online during this time, no reviews and no campaigns, you burn through the most valuable traffic the product will ever be given for free. Amazon learns: this product converts badly. And that's exactly what shapes the rankings afterwards.
→Our rule: only go live when everything is ready. Launching a product two weeks later costs you two weeks of revenue – a botched launch costs you months.
Phase 1 – legal matters and formalities.
1Trade mark registered
A UK trade mark with the UK IPO for the UK marketplace, plus an EU trade mark with the EUIPO if you also sell in the EU – since Brexit an EU mark no longer covers the UK. An unregistered mark is not accepted by Amazon Brand Registry.
2Brand Registry applied for
Without a registered trade mark there's no A+ Content, no Brand Store, no Vine, and no effective protection against hijackers.
3EPR numbers in place
Packaging (EPR) registration for every country in which you store or sell – plus WEEE for electricals and battery registration. Amazon checks actively and deactivates listings without a number.
4GPSR details prepared
A responsible person in the market, manufacturer details, warnings and technical documentation must all be in place before launch.
5Tax registration sorted
A German tax number if you use FBA storage in Germany, and OSS registration for EU distance selling.
!These points need lead time – a trade mark application takes months. If you're planning the launch, start here first, not last.
Phase 2 – product and numbers.
1Costing worked out backwards
Subtract the selling fee, FBA fee, purchase price, freight and advertising costs from the sale price. What's left is your real margin. If too little remains, no amount of marketing will help.
2Competitors analysed
How many reviews do the top sellers have? What prices, what images? A market with five sellers on 5,000 reviews each is a different project from an open niche.
3Category checked
Some categories are gated and need approval. Sort that out beforehand, not once the stock is already in the warehouse.
4EAN, SKU and ASIN planned
Get GS1 EANs and set up a clean SKU scheme. Tidying up the catalogue afterwards is a pain.
Phase 3 – listing and content.
1Keyword research completed
Main, secondary and long-tail keywords are defined and spread across title, bullets and backend. More on this in our article on
Keyword-Recherche.
2Images professionally produced
Main image on a white background, the product filling at least 85% of the frame, no clutter or text banners. Plus infographics, in-use images and a size comparison – the image pack decides the click-through rate.
3A+ Content built
Available after Brand Registry. Reduces returns, lifts conversion and makes the brand tangible.
4Brand Store set up
A landing page for external campaigns without third-party advertising – and a prerequisite for the Brand Referral Bonus.
5Price finalised
Don't start too low: raising the price later can cost you the Buybox and push conversion down.
Phase 4 – logistics and stock.
1Delivery scheduled
Goods receipt at Amazon takes days to weeks. Considerably longer before Q4 – note the deadlines in your calendar.
2Stock secured for 8–12 weeks
Going out of stock in the launch phase is the most expensive mistake of all: rankings collapse before they've settled.
3Packaging FBA-compliant
Labels, barcodes and sets correctly prepared. Mistakes here lead to extra costs or unsellable stock.
Phase 5 – launch and the first few weeks.
1Vine activated
Up to 30 reviews via the Amazon programme. Honest feedback, often detailed – the fastest legal route to your first reviews.
2PPC campaigns ready
An automatic campaign to discover search terms plus manual campaigns on the main keywords. Active on launch day, not two weeks later.
3External traffic planned
Social media, newsletter or partners via Amazon Attribution – speeds up ranking build-up and earns the Brand Referral Bonus.
4Monitoring set up
Keep an eye on your main keyword rankings, Buybox share, conversion rate and stock every day – in the first few weeks speed of reaction is everything.
The most common launch mistakes.
!Going live too early. „We'll optimise the listing later" is the most expensive sentence in the Amazon business.
!Advertising without reviews. Clicks on a product without reviews convert badly – the budget fizzles out and the conversion history starts off negative.
!Too little opening stock. If you sell out after three weeks, you lose visibility in exactly the phase where it's worth the most.
!No reaction to early signals. If the click-through rate is well below the category average after a week, that's an image problem – and it needs fixing straight away, not at the end of the quarter.
Short version as a checklist.
Before launch: Trade mark, Brand Registry, EPR, GPSR, tax number, costing, competitor analysis, category checked, EANs, keyword research, listing, images, A+ Content, Brand Store, price, delivery date, opening stock.
At launch: Vine, automatic and manual PPC campaigns, external traffic, monitoring.
In the first few weeks: Evaluate search terms, set negative keywords, adjust bids, watch reviews, top up stock.
If that sounds like a lot: it is. That's exactly why we offer our Launch service – we take on the whole list and support the launch until the rankings are stable. You'll also find all the technical terms in our Knowledge hub.
Frequently asked questions.
How long does the honeymoon phase last?
Usually two to four weeks after publishing. During this time Amazon has no performance history yet and gives new products more visibility in order to test them.
How much starting budget do I need for advertising?
It depends on the category and the cost per click. As a rule of thumb, the budget should be enough to generate several hundred clicks on your main keywords in the first four weeks – otherwise you lack the data for meaningful optimisation.
Do I need reviews before I run advertising?
Ideally yes, at least a few. Advertising a product without reviews converts significantly worse – the budget fizzles out. Vine or your first organic reviews should already be running.
What if the launch goes wrong?
A weak launch can be repaired, but it costs time and budget. The typical route: rework the listing and images, check the price, build up reviews and restructure the campaigns. A clean launch is always cheaper than a rescue.
