Amazon Keyword Research for Better Rankings
Why Amazon Keywords Are Different From Google Keywords
Amazon's search engine serves a fundamentally different purpose than Google's. Google searchers want information, answers, or navigation. Amazon searchers want to buy something. This means Amazon keywords are almost always product-focused and purchase-intent driven. Someone searching "silicone spatula" on Amazon is ready to compare options and add one to their cart. Someone searching the same term on Google might want recipes, cleaning tips, or general information. This purchase intent difference means Amazon keyword research focuses entirely on product-relevant terms that shoppers use when they are ready to buy.
Amazon's A9 search algorithm ranks products based on a combination of relevance (does your listing contain the search term?) and performance (does your product sell well when people search that term?). Keyword research handles the relevance side. Your listing must contain the customer's search term somewhere, whether in the title, bullet points, description, or backend keywords, for Amazon to consider showing your product. Missing a keyword means missing every customer who searches that term, regardless of how well your product would serve them.
Step-by-Step Keyword Research Process
Search your main product keyword on Amazon and examine the first two pages of results. Identify 5 to 10 listings that are most similar to your product, have strong sales (use Helium 10 X-Ray or Jungle Scout to check estimated revenue), and represent the competitive landscape you are entering. Copy each competitor's ASIN (the 10-character alphanumeric identifier found in the product URL or listing details). These ASINs become the input for your reverse ASIN analysis.
In Helium 10 Cerebro, enter a competitor's ASIN and run the analysis. Cerebro returns every keyword that product ranks for in Amazon's search results, along with estimated monthly search volume, the competitor's organic rank for that keyword, whether the competitor runs Sponsored Products ads for that keyword, and the keyword's click and conversion share data. Run this analysis for each of your 5 to 10 competitors. In Jungle Scout, the equivalent feature is Keyword Scout with the "Search by ASIN" option. The data formats differ slightly between tools but the concept is identical.
Export the keyword data from all your reverse ASIN lookups into a single spreadsheet. Remove exact duplicates (the same keyword appearing from multiple competitor analyses). Sort by estimated search volume from highest to lowest. Remove keywords that are not relevant to your specific product. If you sell a silicone spatula set and the keyword "wooden spatula" appears because a competitor also sells wooden utensils, remove it. Your final list should contain 200 to 500 relevant keywords organized by search volume.
Divide your keywords into tiers. Tier 1 (5 to 8 keywords with the highest search volume and strongest relevance) goes in your product title. Tier 2 (20 to 30 important secondary keywords) gets woven into your 5 bullet points. Tier 3 (remaining relevant keywords) fills your backend search term field and product description. The goal is ensuring every relevant keyword appears somewhere in your listing so Amazon indexes your product for that search term. You do not need to repeat keywords across sections because Amazon indexes your entire listing as one document.
Write your listing copy incorporating keywords naturally. Your title should read like a coherent product name while containing your top keywords. Bullet points should address customer needs and benefits while weaving in secondary keywords. Backend search terms should contain the remaining keywords that did not fit naturally into visible text. Then use your master keyword list to build your initial PPC campaigns. Start manual campaigns targeting your Tier 1 and Tier 2 keywords, giving your product immediate visibility for the terms that matter most.
Using Amazon's Own Data Sources
Amazon's search bar autocomplete is a free keyword research tool. Start typing a product keyword and Amazon suggests completions based on actual customer search behavior. Type "silicone spat" and Amazon might suggest "silicone spatula set," "silicone spatula heat resistant," "silicone spatula for cooking," and "silicone spatula red." Each suggestion represents a real search term that customers use. The order of suggestions roughly corresponds to search popularity, with the most popular terms appearing first.
Amazon Brand Analytics (available to Brand Registry sellers) provides actual search term data directly from Amazon. The Search Query Performance dashboard shows the most popular search terms in your category, along with click share and conversion share for each brand and product. This data is authoritative because it comes directly from Amazon rather than being estimated by third-party tools. If you have Brand Registry through Amazon's enrollment process, Brand Analytics should be a primary input to your keyword research.
Your own PPC search term reports are another valuable data source. After running automatic Sponsored Products campaigns for 2 to 4 weeks, download the search term report. This report shows the actual search terms that triggered your ads, along with real impressions, clicks, and sales data. Search terms that generated sales are confirmed valuable keywords. Terms that generated clicks but no sales might indicate a relevance mismatch or a listing conversion problem. This real performance data from your own campaigns supplements the estimated data from research tools.
Backend Keywords: The Hidden Ranking Factor
Amazon gives you 250 bytes (roughly 250 characters including spaces) of backend search term space. These terms are invisible to customers but indexed by Amazon's search algorithm, making them powerful for capturing additional search terms. Fill backend keywords with synonyms your visible listing text missed (e.g., "turner" if your title uses "spatula"), common misspellings ("silcon" instead of "silicone"), Spanish translations of your main keywords, related terms that do not fit naturally in English listing copy, and abbreviated or alternate product names.
Do not waste backend space on keywords already in your title or bullets. Amazon's algorithm does not give bonus points for repetition. Do not use competitor brand names because Amazon can suppress your listing for trademark violations. Do not use subjective claims like "best" or "cheapest" because Amazon ignores them. Separate terms with spaces, not commas, to maximize the number of terms that fit within the byte limit. Use all lowercase because Amazon's backend search is case-insensitive.
Tracking Keyword Rankings Over Time
Keyword research is not a one-time task. Track your organic ranking for your top 20 to 30 keywords weekly using Helium 10's Keyword Tracker or Jungle Scout's Rank Tracker. Watch for ranking improvements that indicate your listing optimization and PPC strategy are working. Watch for ranking drops that might signal increased competition, listing suppression, or algorithm changes. When you notice a ranking drop on an important keyword, investigate immediately: check that your listing text has not been altered by Amazon, verify that your price is competitive, and increase PPC bids on that keyword to defend your position.
Keyword trends change over time as new products enter the market, customer language evolves, and seasonal patterns shift search behavior. Revisit your full keyword research every 3 to 6 months, running fresh reverse ASIN analyses on current top competitors. New search terms may have emerged that you are not targeting, while previously valuable terms may have become less relevant. Keeping your keyword strategy current ensures your listing remains visible for the terms that matter today, not just the terms that mattered when you first launched.