Amazon search terms are important for sellers to understand because it is what will drive consumers to your product’s page, and ultimately lead to more sales. Most traffic to Amazon products is generated by customers going on Amazon and searching for keywords. While some traffic is generated from Amazon advertisements, getting the search terms right can make or break your Seller business,
Using tools, metrics, and algorithms you can make sure your seller products are aligned well with Amazon search terms, and position your products for increased sales. While you can use the metrics behind the scenes, you should also give thought to what the best backend keywords are for your seller’s page.
As a seller, you can include keywords on the backend of your product that will ultimately match up with customer searches. These backend words are what you need to determine are best for your products. If you use the right keywords, your business can soar.
What are Amazon Search Terms?
There is an algorithm used by Amazon, A9, that matches all customer searches with the terms in the product listing backed – and then the right products are placed in search results. Be advised, as a seller, the backend search terms field is limited to 249 bytes, which includes spaces and punctuation, so consider the keywords to include on the backend for your product that will be matched up with customer searches.
Amazon occasionally changes the rules regarding the 249 characters, sometimes you can get away with extra characters if they are spaces and punctuation and other times you cannot.
For up to date data on the 249 characters, use IO Scout Amazon FBA tools and our personal assistant can help give you up to date information any time of day. It can be a little tricky limiting yourself in characters, and our personal assistant can offer expert advice on how to help you fine-tune keywords and attract buyers. What you spend on our assistant will be made up in profits by the extra sales generated by the right backend keywords on your product and seller page.
How to use Search Terms in Amazon Seller Central?
You want to think about what people should type in the search box to find your product. Make sure you are targeting the right audience. This might seem obvious, and you might think it is easy to go after the right audient. But, consider this - ff you are selling a flute, make sure your backend keywords match the right kind of flute. Are you selling a champagne flute glass? Or, are you selling a musical instrument flute. Two very different products that necessitate very different key words match in the search terms.
A few tips to remember:
- Add as many relevant keywords as you possibly can to your Amazon listing
- Add the right keywords – again, add words like “champagne” or “music” to differentiate between the types of flutes
- Do not be repetitive – find ways to include different words with different meanings and not just different words that are synonyms and say the same thing
There are so many words in the English language that mean different things that you should consider long and hard what time of keywords you can add to your product to make it stand out. If you are selling a ball – what kind of ball? Add words that describe your product and not just words that are the product itself. A Soccer ball and a tennis ball are very different items, so make sure your keywords are optimized to reflect that.
Amazon Search Terms Optimization Models
In terms of optimization models there are some guidelines to pay attention to:
- Never go over the character limit of 249, and if you need clarification on what counts as a character, our personal assistant can help answer any questions
- Make sure all your keywords are relevant, and do not throw in any key words that are not pertinent to your product
- While you want to include as many keywords as you possibly again, avoid repeating yourself
- If there are different spelling variants, you can make use of hyphens to match them up
- Do not use any Platinum keywords (more on those below)
- Avoid punctuation marks – create clean words without contractions or distractions
- Tell the truth – no false claims or false advertising, as that could ruin your entire business in the blink of an eye
- Do not use product names – you want to describe your product, not litter with technical terms and product names
Remember, you can always chance your keywords on your product page. If you find things are not working how you want, or you are not getting quite the amount of traffic you had thought you would, change up your relevant keywords.
What are Backend Keywords on Amazon?
Amazon backend keywords are very important as a seller, as that’s what you put on your product page to match up with customer searches.
They are used for a few reasons, and they can be vital to your success as an Amazon seller:
- Help Amazon’s A9 algorithm come up with relevant products for the searches that customers perform
- Increases the odds of a seller making a sale by customers finding the product during a keyword search
- Helps the customers find the right product – while your goal as a seller is to sell your product, it is also important to make sure the buyer is making the right purchase. You want your customers to be happy, so they leave positive reviews. Try to avoid misleading the customer, which could generate a sale, but could also necessitate the product being returned, and the customer becoming disgruntled
Think like a customer – what keywords would a customer search for to find your product? Use those keywords in the backend on your seller or product page.
What are Amazon Platinum Keywords?
These are specifically for Platinum Merchants who need to add some structure to their store and brand page. Sellers can use keywords here, but they are not going to impact your Amazon ranking. Typically, average Amazon sellers can ignore platinum keywords.
Platinum is a special account that you can only access by being invited by Amazon, and it will cost a little extra money. While platinum keywords can offer a little additional flexibility, by and large they aren’t a good idea for most products or consumers.
What are style keywords on Amazon?
If you want to get a little creative with your product detailed pages, you can use style keywords. These keywords are going to let you place your product into a category, so in the flute example, a style keyword could place your product in the right category, and help eliminate any confusion on the part of the consumer.
There are a variety of style keywords you can use:
- Target Audience
- Subject Matter
- Other Attributes
- Intended Use
Let style keywords supplement your existing keywords and help target the right audience or subject for your product – these style keywords could help elevate your product and your brand.
Prioritize Keywords in Amazon Seller Central Backend
As a seller, you should always try to prioritize keywords in your Seller Central background. If you have questions about this, you can reach out to our personal assistant who is available to help you 24/7, and can help you with Amazon search keywords or anything related to your Amazon account.
A reminder, you can only use 249 characters in the backend search fields, so make sure you do not go over this amount of characters
Think like a buyer. If you do not know much about your product, but maybe you are shopping for a gift for someone who knows all about your product, what are the keywords you would use to find your product? Prioritize these words and create a specific list of the words that are most relevant for your product.
Uniqueness is key. Do not use repetitive words. Think of words and searches that are related to your product but not the same as other words. Like “music” and “instrument” are related words, but mean different things.
Final Thoughts
Amazon search terms can be the arguably the most important tool for you as a seller. If you match the right backend keywords up with the words customers are shopping for, you can drastically increase the amount of traffic to your product page, which is going to increase sales and profits.
On the other hand, if you do not get the keywords right, you could be floundering for months, struggling to get customers. While you might be in a hurry to get your product listed for sale on Amazon, take your time and get the keywords right, and your profits will thank you later.
