How modern Amazon algorithms work, what Rufus is?

How modern Amazon algorithms work, what Rufus is, and why listings, video, and CTR matter

Amazon has changed a lot over the past two years. Just uploading a book is no longer enough — now everything is decided by algorithms and the quality of the presentation: the cover, keywords, description, video, advertising.

What Rufus does

Rufus is Amazon’s internal system that analyzes every element of your book’s product page:

• the cover

• the title

• the subtitle

• the description

• the keywords

• the reviews

• advertising data

• how well the book matches the buyer’s query

Rufus decides which books to show higher, which lower, and which not to show at all.

Its job is to show the buyer the most relevant and the most clickable product.

Why the cover is half the success

Amazon tracks how people react to your book in the search results. If a person sees the cover but doesn’t click on it, the algorithm considers the book “uninteresting” and starts pushing it lower. This is directly connected to CTR.

What really matters — CTR

CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the ratio of clicks to impressions.

Example:

there were 1,000 impressions, 20 clicks - CTR = 2%.

The higher the CTR, the more trust the algorithm gives to the book, and the more willingly Amazon shows it to new people.

CTR affects:

• organic ranking positions,

• ad click price (a good CTR lowers CPC),

• frequency of impressions,

• reach,

• the speed at which the book grows after launch.

Amazon loves products that get clicked. This is the simplest signal: “buyers are interested.”

What increases CTR the most:

• The cover
  If the book looks weaker than competitors, CTR drops instantly. Amazon sees this first.
  

• The title and subtitle
  They must clearly explain what the book is about.
  

• Look Inside preview
  If quality is visible — more clicks
  

• Sponsored Brands Video ads
  Videos appear directly in the feed among products, and they always attract more attention than just a cover.

What the new DPV feature in video ads is?

DPV (Detail Page Views) is a new optimization type in Sponsored Brands Video.

It shows how many people reached the book’s product page after watching the video ad.

Why this matters:

• it helps understand how well the video actually grabs attention,

• Amazon shows your videos to people who are more likely to visit the product page,

• it increases traffic quality — fewer “empty views,” more genuinely interested visitors,

• it helps boost organic CTR faster because more truly interested people visit the page.

In simple terms, DPV focuses on real engagement, not just views.

Why the system no longer works without all this?

Amazon has become smarter. It no longer promotes books just because they have many keywords or a low price.

Now what matters is the buyer’s reaction:

• do they click

• do they visit the page

• do they interact with the video

• do they read the description

• do they add to cart

• do they buy

The stronger your CTR and engagement, the faster your book grows in the rankings.