Keywords are what helps search engines find your product or service and increase their visibility. A keyword-rich Amazon listing has increased chances of appearing in search results, leading to increased traffic and sales.
Amazon has its own search engine. While it may share some similarities with Google or Yahoo, it doesn’t necessarily follow the same search ranking rules. One of the things these platforms have in common, however, is a reliance on keywords.
Businesses can select from among the best SEO software, such as SEMrush, to grow their online visibility.
However, these tools aren’t helpful for Amazon sellers.
Key Takeaways
- More than half the clicks on Amazon are for the top three products on any search result page
- Gaining visibility through SEO on Amazon is as crucial as with general search engines
- Amazon looks first at text match relevancy of a product listing when search ranking, which makes it essential to include keywords on the front-end and backend of a listing
- Keyword tools can help generate new and long-tail keywords to improve the SEO of your product listing for Amazon
What Is SEO?
SEO is the processor, as some digital marketers like to call it — the art and science of getting pages to rank higher on search engines like Google.
Getting them to rank is where SEO comes in. Most small business owners understand that SEO is essential, although they only have a vague idea of its complexity. On the other hand, marketing professionals understand the need for it, which is why 61% make SEO their top priority.
Why Are Keywords Important on Amazon?
Keywords are important on Amazon because the search algorithm places a lot of weight on them. Amazon first considers the text match relevancy of a listing to a customer search before anything else because customers must first find the listing before they can buy, and Amazon is all about conversion.
Text match relevancy directly affects Amazon’s ranking, and this involves keywords in the title, features, and product description sections of a listing. If a keyword in any of your sections matches with a keyword that someone types into the search box, Amazon will most likely consider your listing.
Of course, other factors directly affect ranking, as you can see in the above screenshot from the Search Engine Journal video. These include availability, price, and sales velocity.
Sales velocity measures how fast you sell a product and make money. A big part of your sales velocity depends on factors you can control directly, namely keywords, price, and availability.
Among these three factors, keyword research is critical because it ensures a customer can find your competitively priced and available product. Amazon will see it that way, at any rate, and if you want to rank well in a search, you’ll do what it takes to make sure you get text match relevancy.
How important is a high ranking on Amazon?
Well, how important are sales to you?
You’d be surprised to know that about 70% of Amazon buyers never go beyond the first page and 64% click on the top three products.
How To Do Keyword Research on Amazon?
The good news for marketers familiar with SEO strategies is that most involve keyword research on Amazon. You might even find that SEO for Amazon is simpler than that for Google.
Amazon’s primary goal is to sell as much as possible, so it tends to be less arrogant about the way you use keywords. You can stuff as many keywords as you want in the title, features, and product description, and that’ll work on Amazon as long as you’re within its requisite character limit.
Hidden keywords in the backend (or backend keywords as they’re called) are also useful for SEO. Shoppers never see them, but the Amazon search bot does. You can think of backend keywords as alt-text for images.
All this is great to know, but the real trick is identifying keywords that your target buyers use and including them in your listing. Here are some suggestions.
Target Complementary Products
You should know who your Amazon competitors are. Do a quick search for your product and check out the top results. Head over to the product pages and note what is showing in the “Frequently bought together” section. These are complementary products you can use in the front end and back end of your product listing.
For example, suppose you sell bath salts, and you see that your competitor’s listing includes bath bombs and Epsom salts as frequently bought together with bath salts. You can then have “bath bombs” and “Epsom salts” in your product description or as back-end keywords. Anyone looking for Epsom salts might thus see your product as well.
But why would you want to do that? Because you want to target people who aren’t looking specifically for your product but are in the market for complementary products. Doing this increases your product’s visibility for people who may be potentially interested in buying it.
Use the Amazon Search Bar
When you begin to type something on the Amazon search bar, it provides suggestions for searches frequently made often by others related to what you typed so far. Use those suggestions as keywords for your listing.
The beauty of this tactic is it’s quick, free, and likely effective. Amazon is literally telling you the relevant search queries of actual shoppers. Take the hint. Use the search suggestions to start building your keyword list.
Free Amazon Keyword Tool
Influencer Marketing Hub has partnered with Helium10 to provide a free Amazon Keyword Tool. You can search by keywords or using product Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) or URLs.
Searches by product ASIN or URL are known to yield more relevant results. However, the free tool provides just a few keywords compared to the search volume, so it might be suitable for an initial search and not for an in-depth one.
Check Your Best Google Keywords
If you sell outside of Amazon (and you should) through your website, chances are you’re already using keywords as part of your e-commerce marketing strategy. If that is the case, check the keywords you rank for on Google.
If you are doing your job, you should already know this. If you don’t, use a keyword SEO tool, such as Ahrefs Rank Tracker to find out.
Your purpose for doing this is to transfer your success on Google to Amazon. Since 35% of shopping queries start on Google, it means millions of shoppers might use those same keywords on Amazon — and if they do, you have it covered.
Tools That Help With Keyword Research
Now that you have an initial list of keywords, you can use tools specifically targeting Amazon keywords and get in-depth insights into them. You want to rank well on the Amazon search result pages, so you need to find keywords high in search volume but low in competition.
SellerApp Amazon Keyword Tool
The SellerApp Amazon Keyword Tool comes with the free version of the SellerApp subscription and provides critical information for your keyword research. It includes data on search volumes and keyword difficulty. It also includes the cost-per-click (CPC) and estimated orders per month, which should give you some idea of the competition of the product.
The paid version starts at $49 a month and includes keyword tracking and revenue insights.
Sonar Amazon Keyword Tool by Sellics
Sonar, a free Amazon keyword research tool, provides a list of related keywords and their search volume. It only includes keywords ranking on the first page of Amazon search results as per the most recent update.
You can download the list, but you’ll not get more information. You can sign up for a paid SEO subscription to get more details, but Sellics doesn’t publish the rates without requiring personal information.
Keyword Scout
Jungle Scout’s Keyword Scout provides a comprehensive profile for each keyword, including historical search volume and competitor research.
Paid plans start from $49 a month with three keyword searches a day. Sign up for the suite at $69 a month for unlimited searches. Jungle Scout offers a seven-day money-back guarantee but no free trial.
We also compiled a list of the top keyword SEO tools for small businesses, but not all are specific to Amazon.
Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
Often associated with general SEO, Ahrefs has a Keyword Explorer tool where you can specify an Amazon search.
Keywords Explorer provides you with all the information you need to understand if a given keyword is worth developing for your Amazon product. That includes Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume.
Ahrefs has a seven-day trial for all plans. Paid plans start at $99 a month, with no contracts.
Keyword Tool
Keyword Tool is a keyword research tool for determining the best keywords for your Amazon listing. When you choose Amazon and enter a keyword, it’ll give you upwards of 750 related keywords on the platform. It uses the Google Autocomplete technology to generate them.
Keyword Tool has a free version, but the flip side is you get very little data. The Pro version is a bit pricey at $69 per month, billed annually, considering keyword search is all it does.
Unfortunately, Keyword Tool doesn’t have a free trial.
What to Do Next?
You should do your Amazon keyword research right away, whether you use a paid or free tool. You should make text match relevancy a priority for your listing if you want to move your products and grow your Amazon business.
Here are the best SEO software with potent backlink tools, reporting tools, rank tracking tools, and keyword research tools. Additionally, SEO software can be used to examine rival businesses in a particular sector segment. This helps you improve your website’s organic search rankings.