- Sign in to: https://kdp.amazon.com
- Go to your Bookshelf and click the ellipsis button ("…") under the KINDLE EBOOK ACTIONS or PAPERBACK ACTIONS menu next to your book
- Select "Edit eBook Details" or "Edit Paperback Details"
- Under the "Keywords" section, make the edits you want
- Go to the bottom of the page and click Save and Continue
- Once you reach the book Pricing page, click the Publish button at the bottom of the page
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Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords
Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords
To make your book easier to find on Amazon, you need keywords that accurately portray your book's content and reflect the words customers will use when they search. Along with factors like sales history and Amazon Best Sellers Rank, relevant keywords can boost your placement in search results on Amazon.com. Browse the topics below to learn more.
How to add and update keywords
Best practices
- Combine keywords in the most logical order. Customers search for "military science fiction" but probably not for "fiction science military"
- Use up to seven keywords or short phrases. Keep an eye on the character limit in the text field
- Before publishing, search for your book's title and keywords on Amazon. If you get irrelevant or unsatisfying results, make some changes. When searching, look at the suggestions that appear in the "Search" field drop down
- Think like a reader. Imagine how you'd search if you were a customer
Useful keyword types
- Setting (Colonial America)
- Character types (single dad, veteran)
- Character roles (strong female lead)
- Plot themes (coming of age, forgiveness)
- Story tone (dystopian, feel-good)
Keywords to avoid
- Information covered elsewhere in your book's metadata (title, contributors, etc.)
- Subjective claims about quality (e.g. "best novel ever")
- Time-sensitive statements ("new," "on sale," "available now")
- Information common to most items in the category ("book")
- Spelling errors
- Variants of spacing, punctuation, capitalization, and pluralization ("80GB" and "80 GB," "computer" and "computers", etc.). Exception: Words translated in more than one way (e.g. "Mao Zedong" or "Mao Tse-tung," "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah"
- Anything misrepresentative like the name of an author not associated with your book. This kind of information can create a confusing customer experience. Kindle Direct Publishing has a zero tolerance policy for metadata that is meant to advertise, promote, or mislead
- Quotation marks in search terms. Single words work better than phrases, and specific words work better than general ones. If you enter "complex suspenseful whodunit," only people who type all of those words will find your book. For better results, enter this: complex suspenseful whodunit. Customers can search for any of those words and find your book
- Amazon program names like as "Kindle Unlimited" or "KDP Select"
Other metadata tips
- Customers are more likely to skim past long titles (over 60 characters)
- Focus your book's description on the book's content
- Your keywords can capture useful, relevant information that won't fit in your title and description (setting, character, plot, theme, etc.)
- You can change keywords and descriptions as often as you like
- If your book is available in different formats (physical, audio), keep your keywords and description consistent across formats
- Make sure your book's metadata adhere to KDP's eBook and paperback guidelines
