The Ultimate Guide to Amazon Keyword Research [+ Free Tools]

Keywords are a big part of how Amazon determines which products to display in a particular customer’s search.

So using the right terms in your listing increases the chances of your products appearing high in Amazon’s search results.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Amazon’s search algorithm works. Next, we’ll go over different methods for Amazon keyword research and show you how to add these terms to your product listing.

How the Amazon search algorithm works

Amazon’s search algorithm (A10) ranks products based on several factors:

• Keywords: Adding specific keywords to your product listing can show that your product is relevant for a specific search
• Critics: Getting lots of positive reviews (and few or no negative ones) tells Amazon that you’re offering a high-quality product. Making its inclusion in search results more likely.
• Exchange rate: Maintaining a high conversion rate (the percentage of people who buy after clicking on your listing) makes it more likely that Amazon will show your product in search results
• Sales history: Having a longer sales history indicates that buyers are probably happy with your product. This gives your product a greater chance of appearing on the first page of Amazon search results.

All four factors help the algorithm determine the most suitable products for a particular search. Our guide focuses on how to optimize your product listings for the first factor: keywords.

Further reading: Amazon SEO: Top Strategies for Optimizing Your Product Listings

What are Amazon keywords

Amazon keywords are terms you can associate with your product to help Amazon understand that your product meets the needs of buyers.

Amazon gives you two ways to add keywords to your product:

• Keywords frontend: Keywords that you use throughout your product listing. For example, any keywords you might add to your product title, description, or bullet point.
• Support keywords: Keywords added to the Keywords tab of your Amazon Seller Central product listing. These keywords won’t be visible to buyers, but Amazon still takes them into account when determining whether your product matches a purchase search.

How to Effectively Conduct Amazon Keyword Research

So how do you find the best keywords to use in your Amazon product listings? Well, you need to do proper keyword research.

Here are three simple methods:

1. Use ecommerce keyword analysis

The Ecommerce Keyword Analytics app can help you find the most popular keywords on Amazon and other popular online retailers. Here’s how to use it:

Type in your seed keyword (a general term related to your product) and click “search” button.

You’ll then see a detailed report showing the total number of monthly searches, clicks and orders for that keyword across multiple retailers in your selected area.

Click on “Related keywordstab “.

Here, you can see a comprehensive list of relevant keywords that buyers are searching for.

You can filter the list using the drop-down menu at the top and set it to only show results for Amazon (make sure you select every Amazon site if you’re looking at all regions).

You can also sort keywords by number of search requests, product clicks, orders, conversion rate (Conversions) and clicks per sale (CPS).

If you want to export the list, just click on “Export to CSV” button.

2. Find keyword suggestions with the Amazon search bar

If you’ve ever searched for something on Amazon, you’ve probably noticed that the search bar provides product suggestions as soon as you start typing.

You can use this search suggestions feature to your advantage to uncover target keywords for your listings.

Start by thinking about what keywords potential customers might use to find a product like yours. You can probably find four or five different ones.

Type each of these keywords into Amazon’s search bar and note the queries it autocompletes.

3. Tap on Google Search

Shoppers don’t necessarily use the same search queries on Google and Amazon. However, Google’s autocomplete predictions and search results can lead you to some potentially relevant keywords to include in your Amazon listings.

Start by typing one of your main product search terms into the Google search bar. You will see that it will suggest some relevant keywords.

Write these down. Then hit the search icon and check out the top search engine results pages (SERPs) for your keyword.

Then use Semrush’s organic search tool to find all the keywords these pages are ranking for.

Enter the URL of the top search result in the tool and click “search.”

Your search will generate a detailed report associated with that URL (make sure “Exact URL” appears in the bar at the top).

Then go to “Seats” tab. And scroll down to see a list of all the keywords the page is ranking for.

Note anything that makes sense for your product listing. You can repeat this for the other top search results.

How to use Amazon keywords to show product relevance

Here’s how to display keywords in your Amazon product listings:

Use keywords in your Amazon product titles

The product title is the most important place to add keywords that you would like your product to rank for in Amazon search.

However, you don’t want to stuff your title with keywords. Just include the main keyword you want to rank for. And adhere to Amazon’s product title guidelines by keeping your titles under 80 characters.

To customize a product title, log in to Amazon Seller Central and select “Inventory“>”Management of all inventory.”

On the next page, find the product title you want to edit from the list. Click on “Processing” button next to it.

Go to “Vital information” tab. From here, you can modify the “Product Title” field to include your main keyword.

Scroll down to the bottom and click on “Save and complete” button.

Include keywords in the product description

The Amazon product description is a good place to add some secondary keywords that you can’t fit in the title.

Although it gives you much more room for keywords compared to the product title, don’t overdo it. Stick to using between two and three additional keywords here.

Click on “Description” tab on the main Amazon seller dashboard to add a detailed overview that includes secondary keywords in the “Product Description” field.

Save your changes by clicking “Save and complete.”

Enter keywords in the bullets section

You can also add some more relevant keywords in the bullets section. This is usually where you highlight the key features of your product.

Use keywords that you would like Amazon to associate your product with. Again, don’t overdo it—Amazon makes it clear that keyword stuffing is bad practice.

You can edit this part of your listing in the “Description” tab. Scroll down the “Bullet Points” fields to add features that include additional keywords.

Click “Save and complete” when you finish.

Add Amazon hidden keywords and search terms to Seller Central

As we already mentioned, Amazon also allows you to use support keywords — sometimes referred to as hidden keywords.

To add them to your product list, head to “Keywords” tab. Enter your chosen keywords in the “Search Terms” field and click “Save and complete.”

Follow these tips when adding support keywords:

• Type them as a shopper would when performing a search (eg “white sneakers” instead of “white sneakers”)
• Include spelling variations (eg “aluminum” and “aluminium”)
• Use only spaces to separate words
• Don’t use stop words (eg “a”, “if”, “from”, etc.)

Use the right keywords in your Amazon product listings

Targeting the right product keywords is an important step to ranking high in Amazon search results.

Finding the right keywords doesn’t have to be difficult either.

Take advantage of tools like Organic Research and Ecommerce Keyword Analytics to identify suitable options for your listings. So you can support your marketing efforts and optimize your conversion rate.