Keywords

Here are the key takeaways from the article about Kindle Keywords:

Key Findings from Keyword Experiment: 1. Filling in more characters (up to 50) in keyword boxes increases book indexing for more search terms 2. Amazon rearranges and indexes variations of entered keywords automatically 3. Specific keyword phrases help improve initial search rankings 4. Including keywords in title/subtitle provides 37% better ranking boost compared to keyword boxes

Recommended Keyword Strategy: 1. First 1-3 Boxes: Use highly specific, relevant phrases that: - Perfectly describe your book - Have actual shopper searches - Are not overly competitive

1. Next 1-2 Boxes: Target specific categories using category-specific keywords

2. Remaining Boxes: Fill with broad, niche-specific terms describing:

- For Fiction: Character roles, settings, story catalysts, genre - For Nonfiction: Reader pain points, success goals, reader demographics

Critical Insights: - Repeating keywords doesn't help or hurt rankings - Amazon evaluates overall book metadata to determine keyword relevance - Balance between broad indexing and specific ranking is key

Practical Tip: Use tools like Publisher Rocket to research keyword search volumes and competition levels to optimize your strategy.

Best practices

• Search using keywords you're considering on Amazon. If you get irrelevant or unsatisfying results, make some changes. When searching, look at the suggestions that appear in the "Search" field drop down
• Think like a reader. Imagine how you'd search if you were a customer who didn't know your book existed.

Examples (for fiction)

• Setting (Colonial America)
• Character types (single dad, veteran)
• Character roles (strong female lead)
• Plot themes (coming of age, forgiveness)
• Story tone (dystopian, feel-good)

Keywords to avoid

• Information covered elsewhere in your book's metadata (title, contributors, etc.)
• Subjective claims about quality (e.g. "best novel ever")
• Time-sensitive statements ("new," "on sale," "available now")
• Information common to most items in the category ("book")
• Spelling errors
• Amazon program names like as "Kindle Unlimited" or "KDP Select"

Other metadata and keyword tips

• Focus your book's description on the book's content
• You can change keywords and descriptions as often as you like
• On Amazon, use the category menu to brainstorm keyword ideas. For example in the Romance category, you can refine search results in the menu on the left by "Romantic Heroes" such as vikings or doctors. If your book is a viking romance, consider using "Vikings" as a keyword.

What are the best keywords for your book?

You are limited to 50 characters for each of the 7 slots (350 characters total). I recommend this slick tool to make the most of the real-estate KDP provides.

Other tools that I've used in the past:

• SpyFu Free
• Word Counter & Keyword Density - Note that while there is a 1000 word limit for Amazon descriptions, you can take advantage of far more 'sales page real estate' via AuthorCentral. Read more on AuthorDock.
• Ubersuggest
• LSI Graph
• Netspeak
• Keyword Tool
• SONAR

More resources

• Google Trends
• Google Adwords Keyword Planner
• Power Thesaurus
• Ludwig
• Best practices for finding new keywords - Google Ads Help
• Google Ads Keyword Planner Dashboard

Ideas

Squeeze in more keywords! Making the most of the real estate you are given:

• Keywords Gone Wild