Amazon keyword research, and knowing how to do it, is the difference between what makes or breaks your Amazon business. The keyword research process lets you find new product ideas, gain more visibility, and rank higher than your competitors. Below, you’ll find out the steps you need to take for effective Amazon keyword research.
Amazon keyword research methods
There are many ways you can find the best keywords. These methods involve using the right Amazon keyword tools for your business.
Before you begin, understand that longer keywords of three or more words (also known as long-tail keywords) are more effective. They have lower competitiveness and are more specific, meeting the customer’s needs with more detail.
Below, you’ll find some techniques and tools new sellers use to grow their business:
- Suggestions in the Amazon search bar. The search bar on Amazon.com will autofill from any keyword you put in. Put in the most basic description of your product and look at what it auto-fills to.
- Check Google trends. Google will tell you how many people are searching for products over time. Using Google Trends, you can determine if a product is trending and has long-term potential.
- Use the Amazon Best Sellers page. The “best of” list uses multiple divided categories you can dig through. Pay attention to the top sellers, the relevant keywords they use, and how they structure their product listing.
- Use the Amazon Movers & Shakers page. The Movers & Shakers section is a more narrow view of products with recent popularity. This page can tell you of recently popular items that are currently trending.
- Use Amazon third-party keyword tools. Third-party analytical tools let you look up effective keywords and steal your competitor’s keywords. For example, AMZScout’s Reverse ASIN Lookup and Keyword Search let you quickly identify keywords your competition is targeting and some they might be missing.
Keyword research step-by-step
When engaging in keyword research, there are four steps you can follow to help you along. By following this process, you can reduce your research time and focus on what is most important.
1. Perform research on new products and niches you can target
Before you start your research process, you need to have a general target. This is your niche, which includes a list of products that fit your customer’s needs.
Your niche should ideally meet these needs:
- Underserved customers demanding new products
- Popular, but not so popular that it’s overly competitive
- You need to find products that are easy to manufacture and ship (lightweight and simple)
- Moderate selling price ($25 to $60)
- It needs to be a niche you can make a profit from with a good net margin
Some people target where their passion is, selling items because they love the items. This is a great start, as it bolsters your willpower.
However, some people pick a product niche purely because it has good potential. Below are a few niches that you should consider:
- Baby products
- Kitchenware
- Health products and fitness equipment
- Clothing and apparel
- Pet supplies
Once you have a general niche, you need to find a product within that niche. To do this, you’ll want to look at the different product types within each niche.
Using tools like Amazon’s Best Sellers, Movers & Shakers, and Google Trends can help you affirm individual product popularity.
2. Create a list of seed keywords you can use to find related topics
The list of product types you’ve defined with potential can find seed keywords. These keywords describe your product in the most basic of terms. They allow you to find long-tail keywords with lower competitiveness. This is necessary, as there are nearly 2 million active sellers on Amazon.
Keyword research is an important part of a comprehensive product research strategy. It all starts with short one or two-word strings. For example, searching “turtle toy” on the Amazon search bar will reveal a few options:
- Turtle toy for dog
- Turtle toy for girls
- Turtle toy for baby
- Turtle toy for 2-year-old
So, if you want to sell a turtle-themed toy for kids at or under the age of two, you can target three keywords potentially. Amazon’s search bar can help you flesh these keywords out.
Be sure to create a list of seed keywords, as you don’t want to limit yourself to a single term. Think of what other people might search to find what you want to sell. For example, you might include “turtle plush” if you sell a stuffed animal.
3. Review and sort those keywords by popularity and competition
Once you have a longer list of keywords, you need to sort them by popularity and competition. You have two options for doing this.
First, if you have the time, you can look through the current sellers of your products. Identify, save, and bookmark your competitors for later information. These competitors can include anyone who shares your target keyword.
Alternatively, if you want to save time and effort, you can use Amazon’s third-party analytics tools like AMZScout. Tools like these typically have ways you can sort keywords by competitiveness and popularity. Automating aspects of your business, like research, can help you grow faster.
Spy on your future competitors
The list of competitors you created in the prior list is still useful. Seeing how your competitors work is a necessary part of your process.
Pay particular attention to the images they use, relevant keywords, and the way competitors describe their products. Ask yourself how to improve on their existing descriptions, but don’t step away from what works.
You can also take inspiration from their advertising. PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising is still necessary for new sellers. However, the recommended budget for advertising is about 7% of your revenue, which can add up.
Amazon SEO, which includes researching and using keywords, reduces that advertising budget. This lets you continue to make sales on established products while moving your advertising budget to new items.
Tips on how to use keywords in your listing
Below, you’ll find some quick tips on how you can use keywords in your product listing. To ensure you get the keyword rankings you want, here’s what you need to know:
- Select one primary keyword that describes your product the best and put it in your title and maybe one or two more times throughout your product description.
- Select a series of secondary keywords that also describe your product (or its features and benefits) to spread throughout your bulleted list and detailed description.
- Put in all keywords that you cannot fit in your description, title, and bulleted list into your backend keywords. These will still help you rank for search results, but cannot fit naturally into your description.
- Be sure to make your description look natural. Keyword stuffing, or using too much of the same keyword, looks unnatural. You’ll lose your ranking position by doing this.
- Target these same keywords using Amazon PPC to determine whether they give you effective sales. Doing so can save you money so you can avoid optimizing for a keyword that doesn’t work.
Conclusion
Amazon keyword research is an important part of finding effective products and putting them in front of your customer. By following the tips and using the right keyword research tools in our guide, you’ll grow your Amazon business.
Check out this ultimate Amazon SEO guide for further tips on making sure your listings rank.
