Amazon isn't just the world's largest online marketplace; it's the world's largest book retailer with the most extensive library of every genre and category you might think of. With thousands of books published yearly, more books are listed competing on topics and categories, making it hard to make a book stand out.

That's where a keyword strategy for books comes in.

Readers on Amazon search for books using keywords they type in the search bar. They search for books related to how-to's, challenges, or solutions in a certain topic, genre, or category.

Authors who master the art and science of researching the right keywords used by Amazon customers (the target readers) and including them in their book's metadata (title, subtitle, synopsis, and listing) will make their books rank right there on top of the search page and improve the chances of being picked up on Amazon.

As a side note, the same principle applies to all other online book retailers. Almost all search engines use keywords. It's just like how Google search works.

Let's start decyphering Amazon keywords for books.

Amazon keywords

Keywords are words or phrases (aka long-tail keywords) that readers type into the search bar when searching for a book on an online market, such as Amazon. If your product (in that case, your book) is properly indexed for keywords, it will appear in their search results, preferably on top of the search results or anywhere on the first page.

Amazon book keywords are phrases or words you choose when publishing your book on Amazon. Knowing how to select keywords used by your target audience will highly impact how and where your book appears in Amazon's search results.

What are the criteria for good Amazon keywords for books?

When choosing the keywords for your book, you want to ensure they're both high-search volume keywords and relevant to your book and its content.

Keyword Relevance

Your keywords need to be relevant to your book and its content.

Including non-relevant keywords, such as "real estate" for a book on personal development or "thriller" for a romance novel, will not make sense; even worse, your book's visibility will get penalized for such an attempt.

On the other hand, including highly relevant keywords, such as "real estate investing," for a book with a title, description, and content on real estate will highly work in your book's favor.

Keyword Specificity

General or broad keywords are highly competitive, meaning many books are indexed for those keywords. The more a keyword is competitive, the harder it is to get ranked on it, and the more expensive the bids are if you're running Amazon PPC ads.

The more specific you can get on keywords, the less the competition. For example, instead of "Thriller" or "real estate," go for something like "psychological thriller suspense" or "investing real estate books," respectively.

The above are examples of long-tail keywords, which are longer, more specific keyword phrases. They might get fewer hits, but they can boost your rankings and attract the right audience.

High-Search Volume Keywords

The trick is to find keywords that are popular but not too competitive. This is where you'll need the help of keyword research tools or a keyword expert. Indexing your book for such keywords will be highly rewarding for your book's visibility and bidding on keywords if running PPC ads.

You must research properly to get the right combination of keyword relevance, specificity, and search volume. We gave an acronym for such keywords under "RSV," which stands for Relevance, Specificity, and Volume.

Researching RSV Amazon Keywords for Books

Get them right, and Amazon's algorithm will reward your book; get them wrong, and let's say your work could get lost in the void. It's important to get your keyword research done and make the most out of this optimization aspect. Here are a few helpful tips:

Keywords Research Examples

Creating keywords for fiction books is like putting together elements like the setting, character types, plot points, and themes. For example, if you've written a sci-fi novel about a time-traveling astronaut, potential keywords could be "time travel," "astronaut," "sci-fi adventure," or "space exploration."

For non-fiction books, your keywords should outline the primary subject matter and benefits to the reader. For example, if your book is about business startups for beginners, possible keywords could include "business startups," "starting a business for entrepreneurs," "beginners' guide to starting a business," or "how to start a business for beginner entrepreneurs."

Amazon's Rules for Keywords

To limit keyword experts from abusing the system, Amazon has created a set of rules and recommendations that relate to relevance. This meant there are rules on keywords to be avoided so you don't get penalized.

Here are a few things to remember:

• Don't use subjective claims like "best," "best seller," "top," "most," or "most amazing." These don't help your ranking and can come off as spam.

• Avoid using terms that are offensive or violate Amazon's content guidelines.

• Stay away from marketing gimmicks like "new," "on sale," or "limited-time offer."

How to Research Keywords on Amazon (and Google)

Regarding keyword research, both Amazon and Google search tools will be needed. They're free and accessible, and if properly used, they can provide you with some pretty keen insights.

Let's say you've written a business book about leadership. You type "leadership book" or "business book" into the Amazon search bar and get amazed at what the search bar will suggest in the drop-down list of suggestions and popular search terms that real-life readers are typing. The "autocomplete" feature in its search bar gives you a glimpse into what people are searching for.

There are other paid tools that you could use to get real data for keyword research. The most important data you will need are search volume, average sales, how many books use those keywords, and how competitive the keywords are. While they come with a cost, usually between $99 and $199 per month, they offer an in-depth understanding of your keyword landscape, giving you an edge in the highly competitive book market.

If you don't want to invest in keyword research tools, there are some basic free tools like Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic, and Keyword Surfer to get you started. They can help you find long-tail keywords, understand search volume, and even see what questions people are asking about your topic.

Harvest Keywords and Build a Keyword List

Here are a few simple steps to harvest keywords and build your keyword list for your books:

1. Explore your competitors: The first place to start is to check your competitors. Examine their book listings for keywords in titles, subtitles, and book descriptions. To evaluate how effective they seem, check their books' bestseller ranks.

2. Check Google Trends: Google Trends provides insights into a keyword's popularity over time, making it an invaluable tool for keywords, for now, and coming trends in your book's genre, helping you stay one step ahead.

3. Brainstorm keywords specific to your book's topic and genre: Start your keyword brainstorming with your book's topic, genre, category, problems it solves, solutions it provides, a specific historical period, landmarks, locations, etc.

4. Brainstorm keywords specific to the characters in the book: Your characters offer another source of keyword ideas, such as their occupations, hobbies, quirks, and backstories. Describe them in as many ways as possible.

5. Plot themes and tonal keywords: Your book's plot themes are a gold mine for keywords. If your story is about overcoming adversity, then keywords like "resilience," "perseverance," and "overcoming obstacles" are relevant.

6. Leverage Amazon's search bar for keyword recommendations: After researching and brainstorming keywords from the list above, Amazon's search bar becomes your best ally. Type in those keywords from your list, one by one, and Amazon's search bar will recommend other high-volume and high-relevance keywords that real clients are typing in. This is GOLD!

7. Narrow down the list to those keywords that meet the RSV criteria: After you've completed harvesting as many keywords as possible through research and brainstorming, it's time to narrow down the list to those few that are relevant, specific, and of high volume (remember RSV). You'll want to select keywords most relevant to your book with substantial search volumes and reasonably low competition.

8. Continuous monitoring and updating of your keywords: Keyword research isn't a one-time task – it's an ongoing process. Keep an eye on your selected keywords' performance, and feel free to switch them out if they're not delivering the desired results. Stay flexible and ready to adapt as market trends shift.

You will be asked to select seven keywords per book format when listing your book on Amazon's KDP, the publishing platform. Those keywords shall be the ones you believe best fit the RSV criteria. Remember that you'll continuously monitor and update keywords, as explained above. Also, remember that long-tail keywords are usually the most relevant and less competitive but attract more quality prospects. Make sure you include them. In this selection of the seven keywords, Amazon's algorithm will dislike (and often rejects) keywords that have in them any of the following: "best," "bestseller," "top," "the," "and," "a," "an," or "in." Avoid them by all means!

The rules of the keyword game are quality, not quantity. To boost your book's Visibility on Amazon, cleverly chosen keywords can make your book more visible to readers interested in your book's topic and genre.

"Keywords are road signs that guide readers to your book." - HJ Chammas

Following the guidelines above will make your book appear in the search results whenever someone on Amazon is hunting for a book related to the keywords you've used to index your book on Amazon.

The next you need to think about is book categories. You must select the categories per book format in which your book will be listed. You can't force your book into categories that are not a good fit for your book. Amazon's algorithm uses your selected keywords to match your book for specific categories. Trying any tricks could mean pushing down the visibility of your book.

For example, using "real estate" and "investing" as your keywords would likely land your book in the "Books > Business & Money > Real Estate" category. This placement gives your book more visibility among readers interested in this topic. Forcing your book into a category such as "Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Books & Reading > History of Books" to rank high on this list will most likely trigger red flags.

A careful selection of keywords and categories will play a significant part in making your book discoverable, increasing its visibility, and ultimately, increasing your chances of making a sale; however, they won't make it a bestseller overnight. Here's where marketing, and specifically Amazon Ads, comes into play: you advertise your book on Amazon by bidding on those keywords that are relevant, specific, and of high volume. This increases your book's visibility (or impressions) and, eventually, clicks. The higher those clicks convert into sales, the more Amazon's algorithm will score high relevance of those keywords to your book, and the more potential future sales (both organic and advertised).

Resource: Get help with keyword research and Amazon Ads to make your book a bestseller