When customers shop on Amazon, we want to help them easily find books to purchase. Some customers know exactly which book they want and others need help making a choice. Customers can search for books by entering a few words into the search box, and we'll show them matching results. The print and Kindle books departments also offer book categories to search and browse.

Contents

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• What determines where my book appears in search results?
• Why can’t I find my book in search results?
• How long does it take for my book to display in search results after I publish it?
• I have published my book in different formats. Why is only one format displaying in search results?
• Which Amazon department should I select to search for my book? Why is this important?
• Why is my book searchable only on specific Amazon marketplaces?
• My book position changed in search results. Can KDP change this?
• Other resources that can help to make your book discoverable.

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What determines where my book appears in search results?

Search results are determined by information that is not always visible on the search results page, such as keywords, book details, and the text of each book.

The search results are dynamic and it is expected for book rankings to fluctuate. This means if a book is on the first page of search results today, it is not guaranteed to be on the first page tomorrow, and will likely move around. As a result, your book may sometimes appear in places you do not expect.

Factors that may impact where your book appears in search results include, but aren't limited to the following:

• Past sales history.
• Availability.
• Length of time the item has been listed on our website.
• Popularity.

Neither Amazon nor KDP can guarantee that your book will display near the top of search results.

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Why can’t I find my book in search results?

When you search on Amazon, our system attempts to find the books you are most likely looking for across different categories. You can confirm that search results are working as designed by following these steps:

1. Sign in to: https://kdp.amazon.com
2. Go to your Bookshelf and search for the book.
3. Click View on Amazon below the book price, and select the desired marketplace.
4. Do you see the option to purchase your book?
   • If your answer is yes, then continue with step #5 in this troubleshooting.
   • If your answer is no, please review your book set up to see in which territories your book is available. This option is available while setting up your book, in the Kindle eBook Pricing page or the Paperback or Hardcover Rights & Pricing page. You can learn more about Distribution rights by checking our Help pages below.
     • eBook Distribution Rights
     • Paperback and Hardcover Distribution Rights
5. Now that you are on Amazon, go to the main search box and type the name of your book and your author name. Are you able to see your book?
   • If your answer is yes, then search results are working as expected. You can refer to our other resources list to make your book discoverable section.
   • If your answer is no, you can contact us so we can do additional research and determine how we can help.

Keep in mind that if you have selected the correct Amazon department and you are not seeing your book in search results, your book might be categorized as an adult item.

Books containing sexually explicit images or titles will not surface in general product searches in order to provide the appropriate shopping experience for all customers.

If you incorrectly indicated your book contains sexual images or titles, you can edit this by following the steps below:

1. Sign in to: https://kdp.amazon.com
2. Go to your KDP Bookshelf and click the ellipsis button ("…") Edit eBook Details, Edit Paperback Details, or Edit Hardcover Details menu next to your book.
3. Select Edit Details.
4. 4. Scroll to the Primary Audience section, and under Sexually Explicit Images or Title select No.
5. Go to the bottom of the page and click Save and Continue.
6. Once you reach the Kindle eBook Pricing page, click the Publish button at the bottom of the page.

Keep in mind that these instructions are only applicable if you incorrectly made the wrong selection. If KDP identifies sexual images or title language, your book will be marked as sexually explicit, and you will not be able to change this. Learn more about our Metadata Guidelines.

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How long does it take for my book to display in search results after I publish it?

Once your book is available for purchase, it takes up to 72 hours for it to appear in search results.

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I have published my book in different formats, why is only one format displaying in search results?

To show customers more choices in their search results, Amazon generally displays only one format for each book in search results. For example, the paperback edition may be shown, while the Hardcover, Kindle, and Audio Book editions of the same work also exist.

After clicking to view the book’s detail page, you (and customers) will see a "Formats" section under the book details. Click See all formats and editions to view all available options.

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Which Amazon department should I select to search for my book? Why is this important?

When navigating on the Amazon homepage, use the dropdown menu to search within a specific department. If you’re searching for paperbacks and hardcovers, select Books. If you’re searching for eBooks, select Kindle Store.

Once you are searching within a department, you can refine your results further by selecting desired features for the results using the links to the left.

This is important because each department will offer its own customized options to search and browse. For example, if you are doing a search by keywords using “All” departments and you are using the keywords “kitchen Spanish food” you will see a combination of products across all Amazon departments, while if you do the same search using either the Books or the Kindle Store departments you will see results displaying only for books.

If you are navigating through Amazon.com, you can also use Advanced Search. This feature allows you to choose which attributes of a product (title, author, etc.) to search for.

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My book is searchable only on specific Amazon marketplaces. Why?

When viewing product pages, keep in mind that the availability of books may vary based on your home country or region. This can also affect the search results you see.

Please note: books with titles longer than 200 characters will not display in search results on Amazon. You'll want to reduce the number of characters in your title, subtitle and/or series name to ensure your book displays in search results.

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My book position changed in search results, can KDP change this?

The order of the items that appear are determined automatically depending on different factors that we called out above on the What determines where my book appears in search results? section. These factors also cause the results on our website to change constantly.

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Other resources that can help to make your book discoverable.

You can also consider adding or updating your keywords or categories to help readers find your book in search results.

To learn more about keywords and categories, visit our Help pages below:

• Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords
• Browse Categories