11 Amazon Keyword Tips to Increase Your Sales

Amazon has a lot to offer merchants. Its huge user base makes it an invaluable platform for reaching a wide customer base. However, the popularity of Amazon makes it competitive to sell on, so it’s vital you do careful keyword research as part of the listing process. This can help maximize the discoverability of your products and ultimately drive sales. In this post, we’ll explore keyword research tips that can help you choose terms that will rank well under the Amazon A9 algorithm. After all, quality keywords can get your products in front of the right shoppers. We’ll also look at some of the features the platform offers to help sellers improve their listings.

Key takeaways

• Amazon’s A9 algorithm ranks products based on keywords, context, click-through rates and a variety of other factors, and decides which products to rank above the fold. Choosing relevant keywords and writing good product descriptions can help ensure your products rank well.
• To choose quality keywords, consider the products you’re promoting and who you’d like to sell them to. Keyword research and Amazon’s autocomplete feature can be helpful when nailing down your keywords.
• Amazon’s additional keyword features, such as backend keywords and negative keywords, can help improve the quality of the matches your products get by ensuring you’re only shown to the most relevant searches.
• Monitor your product’s listing and ad performance over time, and keep refining your keywords until you achieve a favorable conversion rate.

1. Set clear goals

Before you start creating your product listings, think about your goals in terms of both who you’re selling the product to and the metrics you’d like to achieve. For ads on Amazon, a click-through rate (CTR) of around 0.5% is acceptable, although well-targeted ads appearing above the fold can achieve a CTR of around 2-3%. If you’re seeing CTRs lower than 0.5%, your listings are most likely poorly targeted and in need of review. Consider who you’re trying to reach, whether the product is seasonal, and whether the images and text you’re using truly reflect your target audience and their interests. Continue to develop benchmarks throughout the funnel establishing conversion rate and ACoS KPIs to help gauge the effectiveness of your keywords. As your listings and ads improve, adjust your benchmarks to match new expectations.

2. Consider your audience

With any form of selling, it’s important to understand your target audience. Some sellers make the mistake of trying to use the same keyword research and marketing strategies for Amazon as they do for a blog or other online presence. This probably won’t work. To do well on Amazon, you need to know who you’re marketing to and tailor your keywords around what they’re looking for. In general, Amazon visitors have a stronger purchase intent than most search engine users. They’re either planning to buy or they’re researching products and prices for potential future purchases. One way to help you map out your target audience is to develop buyer personas. A buyer persona is a description of someone who is your ideal customer. By describing this person in great detail, as if they were a real person, you’ll find it easier to craft a marketing message for your audience. Let’s imagine you’re selling laptops. You might have several buyer personas for different brands:

Buyer persona: Gamer Gary

Gamer Gary loves all things video games. He’s a young professional with a good disposable income and he’s looking for a gaming laptop to take with him when he’s traveling for work.

• He’s quite brand-conscious and loyal to a few specific hardware brands that his favorite streamers like.
• The main thing he’s interested in is tech specs and benchmark scores.
• He’s willing to pay a little extra for something that won’t look out of place next to his gaming rig at home.

Gary likes to tinker with his devices, so if you can sell one thing to him, there’s a good chance you can sell upgrades or peripherals to him in the future, too.

Buyer persona: Busy Beth

Beth is a busy mother, who is shopping for laptops for her two school-aged children.

• She’s price-conscious because she’s got to buy for more than one child.
• She’s not particularly confident when it comes to purchasing electronic devices, so she’s looking for a brand she can trust.
• Technical specifications mean nothing to Beth. She wants a clear list of features and capabilities written in no-nonsense language.

Beth is the most organized among her circle of friends, and if you can win her over, you could benefit from word-of-mouth marketing because she’ll tell all her friends about her good experience. The above is just a general picture of what a buyer persona might look like. In a full persona, you may also list locales, income levels, what social media platforms each persona uses, and any other details that might help you market to them.

3. Perform competitor research

The keywords your competitors are using are a great way to understand what’s already working well for similar products you sell. If your competitors are regularly outranking you, take a look at their listings. Don’t just copy what they’re doing. Try to understand why they’ve chosen those keywords, and consider if there are any popular keywords they might have overlooked. Your research should cover more than just keywords:

1.  Look at the pictures they include with their listings. Do they present the product in a different way from the images you’ve used? Ensure they relate to the keywords you plan on using, a disconnect between your message and your visuals could create distrust.
2. Pricing is another important factor. If your product is vastly more expensive than a competitor’s equivalent, you may want to use keywords:
   1. Focused on reinforcing the products’ value,
   2. Include words that imply luxury, and
   3. Avoid words like “inexpensive, discounted, or deals” as audiences will often gravitate to the lower price.
3. Review sales estimates. Under reviews, you can see how many sales a product has had in the last month. Alternatively, you can use a Chrome extension like ours to get a directional sense of what products are doing well.

Based on this information, you can validate the competitors you choose to research. Not all of your competitors are doing well, so you want to make sure you aren’t following a suffering brand to their demise. Competitor research doesn’t have to be limited to just Amazon, either. You can learn a lot by looking at what sellers are doing on other sites, too.

4. Amazon keyword research tools

Take advantage of Amazon keyword research tools to help you find more keywords related to your products. These tools can be a useful source of inspiration. For example, if you’re trying to figure out what to put in a listing for a strawberry-flavored yogurt, you could put “yogurt” into a keyword research tool, and it might suggest terms like:

• Yogurt pouch,
• Low-sugar yogurt,
• Kids yogurt,
• Organic yogurt.

If any of the above keywords apply to your yogurt, including them in your listing will help it stand out from other similar products. Look for keywords with a reasonably high search volume and relatively low competition. These are the keywords that will most likely offer you a good return on any ad spend.

Backend keywords

Keep in mind that you can use keywords in product listings, but you also have the option of including backend keywords. These are terms that you don’t want to have publicly visible but that people frequently search for. Backend keywords could be common misspellings, abbreviations, or synonyms. For example, if you’re selling body lotion, you might want to add “cream,” “butter,” and “moisturizer” to your backend keywords. You have limited space to add these terms, so think carefully about which ones to include.

5. Amazon autocomplete feature

Amazon’s own autocomplete feature can be a handy tool for keyword research. To use it, go to the Amazon store and navigate to the category that’s relevant to the product you’re creating a listing for. Now, just start typing into the search bar. The site will offer suggestions based on what people frequently search for. Autocomplete won’t give you the level of detail you’d find with a more traditional keyword research tool, but it can still be a useful source of inspiration.

6. Use relevant long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are keywords that are highly relevant to a buyer’s interests. A person who enters a long-tail keyword most likely has a good idea of what product they want to buy, and has already done a lot of research. These terms tend to get less search volume than more general keywords, but because they’re so specific, they usually see a higher conversion rate. Long-term keywords are a boon for any FBA seller, for several reasons:

• They see less competition from other sellers,
• The cost per click is lower,
• Searchers using these keywords have a stronger purchase intent.

Another thing to consider is that using long-tail keywords helps ensure relevancy. If a buyer searches for “microSD card”, and you’re selling a very high-capacity, high-speed card, there’s a possibility the buyer might want that card. However, they might be looking for a smaller, cheaper option for an older device that wouldn’t be able to access all of the storage on your card. By targeting a long tail keyword such as 128GB micro SD card or Class 10 Micro SD card with SD adapter, you’ll get your product in front of people who know exactly what they want and who are looking to make a purchase.

1. To find valuable long-tail keywords, start with your product’s specifications.
2. Put some key details into a keyword research tool and look at the typical search volumes and keyword bids.
3. With luck, you’ll find some keywords that see steady traffic but that don’t have a lot of people bidding on them.

While there is still value in attempting to rank for more general keywords, don’t allocate too much of your budget to these terms. You’ll most likely find yourself in a bidding war with much bigger online stores.

7. Avoid “best” keywords

As tempting as it can be to use phrases such as “best-seller” or “top quality” in your listings, it’s not a good idea. That’s because Amazon forbids subjective claims when selling on the platform. It’s important to note that most shoppers don’t search Amazon for “the best running shoes” or “fastest memory stick.” Rather, they’ll do that product research off-site, then come to Amazon once they know more about what they’re looking for. So, when you’re writing your product listings, stick to the facts and descriptive keywords. Superlatives and subjective comments about the product are things that can be highlighted in reviews, so encourage your customers to leave a review of the product once they’ve received it. Hopefully, they’ll agree with the sentiment that you have the best products around.

8. Add negative keywords

Negative keywords are irrelevant or low priority terms that you can use for your advertising campaigns. If someone conducts a search that includes those keywords, Amazon won’t show your product to that user. An example of this would be if you’re selling cute phone cases with cats on them for Samsung phones. If someone searches for “iPhone case with cats”, you probably don’t want to appear in the results page. If you decide to use negative keywords to better manage your ad listings, thoroughly read and understand the documentation about the way keyword and keyphrase matching works. When using negative keywords, you have two matching options:

• Exact match: This option ensures the keyword must match exactly to be excluded. For example, if you exclude “SSD drive” only a search for that exact phrase would count as a match. A search for “NVME SSD drive” or “1TB SSD drive” would not be considered a match.
• Phrase match: With phrase match, the matching algorithm is slightly more forgiving. “NVME SSD drive” or “1TB SSD drive” would be considered matches because the phrase includes the keywords mentioned above. However, “1TB SSD hard drive” would not match. Nor would “SSD external drive.”

9. Add keywords to your listing content

Once you know which keywords you want to use, you can start adding them to your listings. The platform has some rules that sellers must follow, particularly for how titles are written. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and hassle if you get the format right the first time around.

• A good product listing includes several images along with a written description that includes bullet points to highlight key features of the product.
  • If the product is a garment, include size, color and washing instructions.
  • If it’s electronic, a tool, or anything else that has technical specifications, ensure those specifications are listed clearly.
• Try to include as many keywords as you can in the listing text without making it appear obviously keyword-stuffed.
  • Use synonyms and abbreviations as well as the most common term for the product, so you can hit as many keywords as possible.
• Keep your listing factual and to the point. Avoid any subjective or misleading claims, as these could see your listing removed. Your product listing is simply a place for you to describe the product and highlight its specifications.

10. Monitor your keyword performance

Amazon’s rankings are not static, and a product that’s performing well one week may not perform well the following week. The A9 algorithm itself is constantly adjusting rankings based on user behavior. You should also consider what competitors are doing, such as altering their listings or adding new products. You can’t afford to rest on your laurels when it comes to monitoring your Amazon store. Pay attention to the level of organic traffic your listings get, as well as your CTR and your sales rank. Ideally, you want to have a steady stream of daily sales.

1. If your organic traffic falls, this could be a sign of increased competition or a change in Amazon’s ranking algorithm.
2. A reduction in the CTR of your ads could indicate your advertisements are being shown in irrelevant searches, suggesting you need to review the keywords you’re using.

Fortunately, once you’ve figured out how to rank for keywords on Amazon, you’ll be able to keep refining the terms you use to maintain good rankings in the long term.

11. Optimize images for keywords

Images are one thing people often overlook when they’re doing keyword research. Amazon takes your images into account when ranking products and has strict requirements for the size, format, and content of the photos. If you fail to follow their rules, Amazon will require you to edit the listing before allowing it to be visible.

1. Firstly, include your product’s keywords in the image file name.
2. Next, make sure the alt text for the image is descriptive and includes any important keywords too.
   1. The alt text will be displayed to any users who have images turned off in their browser and will be read out by screen reader software commonly used by visually impaired individuals. Filling out your alt text in a thoughtful way won’t just help with SEO, it will make your product more appealing to those who make use of such accessibility tools.
3. You’re allowed to have several images as part of your product listing, so take advantage of this.
   1. Include infographics alongside traditional product photographs. An eye-catching infographic could help you highlight some of the more interesting aspects of your product and convert prospective customers who are on the fence about making a purchase.

Optimize your listings with Trellis’ keyword tools

The above are just a few tips for how to rank for keywords on Amazon and maximize your product’s sales. It takes consistent research and effort to keep your listings appearing above the fold, but the effort is worthwhile. At Trellis, we help sellers harness the power of automated and AI-driven resources to make informed decisions about their keywords. Whether you’re running a manual or auto campaign, we can help you move the needle by refining terms that are most relevant to your products. Contact us today to find out how.

s, wonder no more! Our quick guide will teach you the fundamental tips to supercharge your Amazon keyword strategy and set the foundation for

blazing Amazon PPC campaigns. 

The ABCs of Amazon: What is Keyword Research?

Amazon search optimization is a key part of success on Amazon. Keyword research entails searching for all relevant search terms or ‘keywords’ that customers might use when looking for your product on Amazon.

46% of people go directly to Amazon when they’re looking for a product, and they have unique ways of conducting their product search. For example, one customer may search for television by typing in ‘television’, but another customer may specify ‘television 40-inch HD’.

Accordingly, it is possible that some customers may have an idea of why they need a product and not what the product is. For instance, if a customer looks for ‘relaxing gifts for women’ it shows that the customer’s awareness about a product’s purpose. However, if a customer searches for ‘bath sets for women’, this indicates that they have knowledge about the specific product itself.

The Undeniable Importance of Amazon Keyword Research

When it comes to selling on Amazon, the importance of keywords is inarguable. Keywords are what make products appear in search results and drive sales. If you overlook any keyword, then your product won’t have a chance of being seen by potential customers.

The bottom line – Amazon keyword research can help you take your business to the next level by giving yourself an edge over competitors in search results. In the world of eCommerce, having great products is not enough because if people cannot find them for the right keywords, they will never sell.

1. Set Goals for Success

If you want to be successful on Amazon, it’s important that the goals and objectives of your business are very clear. If not, then you may find yourself spinning your wheels with no real progress or success. Firstly, before diving into researching new keywords for products, determine what kind of outcome are you looking to achieve. For example, if your goal is to boost brand awareness, then your keyword strategy would be different from if you were to launch a new product.

Trellis’ Top Tip: Amazon PPC strategies transform during every stage of the seller journey. Explore Beam, our free Amazon PPC strategy tool to garner strategic insights and streamline your Amazon journey.

2. Wear the Customers’ Shoes

Happy customers are your biggest advocates and your sales team! Before considering anything else, jump into the customers’ shoes and delve into understanding their behavior. Ask questions like:

• Why do customers buy our product?
• What kind of questions do customers ask about our product?
• What is our customer intent?
• What is our ideal customer profile?
• What features do customers associate with our products?
• What are the customers’ pain points?

Answering these questions will help you get in the minds of those who will end up searching for your product. Explore online customer communities on platforms such as Quora, Facebook, and Reddit. This exercise will allow you to explore the latest topics in your industry and identify the keywords that are leading these conversations.

3. Scan the Competition

Your competitor’s product listings are a gold mine for keywords you may have forgotten. Skimming through your competitors’ product titles can give you some new keyword ideas which are synonymous with your business. In most cases, the product titles include the primary keywords which your competitors are targeting. Look out for those repeated phrases in the product title to create a list of keywords that can help shape your Amazon keyword strategy.

4. Let Amazon Help You

Without the right mindset, strategies, and tools at your disposal, Amazon keyword research can turn into a tedious process. Luckily, this is where Amazon steps in. Using the platform’s autocomplete function can be an easy way to find keywords. However,  this method requires patience as you would need to try various combinations. To get started, type in your product name followed by each letter in the alphabet and see if you can identify a strong pattern in Amazon’s keyword suggestions.

5. Balance Traffic and Competition with Amazon Keyword Tools

Keywords with high search volume are the most-searched terms by Amazon users for a particular product. It’s important for sellers to target these popular terms, as they have greater exposure in the marketplace and can potentially drive more customers towards your listing!

However, here’s the tricky part – almost every seller on Amazon wants to rank for high search volume keywords. Therefore, the competition for these keywords is stiff. This is why you should strive to find the right balance between traffic and competition by targeting high volume, low competition amazon keywords.

Trellis’ Top Tip: Gauge the competitiveness of any keyword with Matrix, the free Amazon keyword research tool by Trellis. 

Matrix is a keyword competition and research tool for Amazon which helps you find the competitiveness of any given keyword in real-time. Simply plug in the keyword in the tool, and Matrix will evaluate multiple factors within the digital shelf, including price, competition, on-sale items, ad spots, and shipping. Analyzing these factors determines how difficult it is to target the given keyword.

Amazon Keyword Strategy for the Win!

In conclusion, If you want more sales on Amazon, the first step is to make sure your product listings are visible and discoverable. The right keywords will drive potential customers and increase conversions. However, a challenge for any seller might be finding the right combination of high, medium, and low competition keywords to target before their competition does – but thanks to keyword tools like Matrix, this task takes a few minutes. So now you can concentrate on what matters the most – growing your eCommerce business.