Beginner’s Guide to Amazon Keywords

In recent years, Amazon has positioned itself as the best marketplace for books and eBooks, especially in self-publishing. As an author, it is essential that you get to know the ins and outs of Amazon in order to boost your book sales and get the most out of your marketing strategy. Because Amazon, like most websites and search engines today, works with algorithms, it can be quite difficult to grasp how to get your book in the highest rankings. This article will help you understand how to choose the right categories for your book or eBook and therefore boost sales, but we recommend checking out our Amazon Analysis service to find out how we can help.  

How does Amazon work? 
The Amazon search engine works with an algorithm that is constantly updated in order to generate better results. An algorithm is a process or set of rules used in calculations that performs a particular function. Let’s take the Google algorithm as an example. Through a complex mathematical calculation, Google finds websites that can constitute the best search results and then uses an algorithm to assign rankings for relevant search terms. The Amazon search engine works in a similar way, in that it aims to produce the right results for the right customers. Most importantly, the rankings in the search results are based on what Amazon believes will increase their sales. In the case of your book, its success on the Amazon marketplace will depend mainly on the keywords and categories you choose, which are the main elements that the algorithm uses to generate search results.  
 
What are keywords and how to choose them 
Keywords are the first tool Amazon will use to determine the ranking of your book on the results page. Kindle keywords are the words customers type into the Amazon search bar when looking for books or eBooks. Simply put, the more precise your keywords are, the higher up in the results your book will be. The recommended number of keywords to associate to your book is seven, so you need to choose them carefully. If you overdo it and choose too many words that aren’t relevant to the content of your book, Amazon will remove your book from the search results altogether. The Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) website provides a useful guide on how to avoid this. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your book’s keywords: ​

• Check the Kindle keyword competition – To maximise sales and clicks on your product page, you should aim to have your book rank first on the search results page. It’s good to check the popularity of keywords, as the less competition you have, the higher the chances of ranking first. For example, it is unrealistic to try to rank #1 for the word ‘blue’ as it is extremely common. Make sure you use niche keywords for your book, but always keep an eye on the competition.  
   
  
• Use long-tail keywords – These are very specific keyword phrases that generally have low competition and are useful to customers when they already know what they’re looking for. For example, if ‘blue’ is a word with extremely high competition, a long-tail keyword to sell your book might be ‘blue painted glass by Welsh artists’.  
   
  
• Place your keywords in the right places – Keep in mind that even if the title on your book cover doesn’t include the keywords you want to use, you can still include them in the title you type for your Amazon product page, which can be different from your actual book title (as long as it’s not misleading). So the title is the first place to start inserting keywords. The subtitle on your KDP dashboard is a good place to focus on different keywords than the ones included in your titles, as long as there aren’t too many and they’re all relevant. Finally, use header tags in your description to tell Amazon which words are more important. Your description is the only part of your product page where you can control the font and look of the words, so make sure the keywords are visible!