Understanding Keywords is critical inside Amazon.  The basic concept is very simple (the execution is somewhat more complex).   You create a Display Page – a Listing if you will.  The words in the Title Line and in five “Search Word” fields are placed in a database.  Potential customers enter something in the search bar and Amazon searches the database for the best match between what you say you are delivering and what the customer says they are looking for.  In order to sell more, you must understand this system and apply it to every Listing you create.  If customers never see your Listing they can’t possibly buy your product.  So let’s dive in.

The Key Words Are Not The Only Things That Count!

Note that Amazon takes more things into account than just the search words.  They will give preference to products that are selling well and products that have reviews.  They also give preference to sellers with good ratings and products that sell after a customer has found the product using the specific keywords being used.  That being said, we need to focus on what we can control in the Listing and then work to increase sales (coupons, discounts, PPC ads, friends and relatives, you name it) and get more good reviews (note that you have the phone number and an internal Amazon email system for doing followup and requesting reviews.)

Understanding Keywords for Your Product

You need to follow the chain from your customer’s point of view.  What are they looking for?  What words will they use to describe that they are looking for?  These are the keywords.  If you have a product that the customers are looking for, you need to do several things:

• Describe Your Product using the words they will be searching for.  Try to use them ALL.
• Look for as many multiple word (i.e. long tailed keywords) combinations as you can that different customers might use.
• Make sure you use these words IN PLACES THAT AMAZON USES TO FILL THEIR DATABASE.

Where does Amazon Get Keywords In Your Listing?

Here is a link to a page on Amazon.  I will note that they have pages that are out of date, but I think this one is correct.

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help-page.html?ie=UTF8&isLink=1&itemID=10471&

From everything I can find Amazon takes keywords from  1) the first 80 characters of your Title line and 2) the five Search Word  Fields. As stated on the page referenced in the link above Bullet Points and the Item Descriptions are not used.   This means that those words you found earlier MUST be in those two places if you are going to get any benefit.  There are a couple of other fields:  The manufacturer of your product, your seller name and events.  (I’ll have to look further to find what that last one means.)  I will also note that the rules change if you are uploading products using a text filed or an XML file.   So some common mistakes:

• Ignoring key words – probably the most common mistakes for beginners.
• Not putting all the long-tailed keywords in the first 80 characters of the Title or in the Search Term fields
• Forgetting that you are writing your Listing for Amazon’s search  engine AND your customers.   Make the title human readable.
• Wasting space by duplicating words that are already used.
• Ignoring the fact that Amazon will create words using common additions to the keywords you provide (known as stemming)  For example< f you enter “sled”, Amazon will automatically create “sleds”, “sledding”, etc.   They will not usually add words like “sleigh”  That is your job.
• Using commas – don’t waste the space.  I will note that according to the link I gave you above, there are times when you may want to use quotation marks.  For example, I have dog products where “no stuffing” is important.  Putting the words NO and STUFFING in my keywords field mill match the word NO with every other keyword I have – not what I want AT ALL.
• Not using a tool like http://Merchantwords.com.  I’ll show you why in the case studies below.
• Using the Wrong Word!

Understanding Keywords – You Need To Use the Right Words

This is actually the topic that prompted this article.

I was recently looking at some Listings and noted three cases where things could have been done better by using the right words.

Case 1:   The listing was for a “Cell Phone Holder”   Here are some results from Merchant words showing how often this phrase is searched for:

I’ll talk more about keywords later:

Until Next time, you have a Great Day!  Oh Hale Yes!

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Hale Pringle – Hale Yes!

 

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P.S. If you are working to move your business online and it all seems overwhelming, I can help! My team and I are currently working with best “Earn Money Quickly From Home” Program I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen them ALL!) I strongly urge you to take a look at http://HalePringle.com/ds. You can also take a look around http://HalePringle.com, especially the resources menu option. You will see that I specialize in list building, am a Certified Trainer with Ann Sieg and am an award winning blogger. I’ve also written three books on AWeber (AWeber: Quick Start) and over 20 others. You can email me or give me a Skype call. I’ll give you the benefit of my years of experience and many thousands of dollars in training and searching the rabbit hole called Internet Marketing and especially selling physical products online.