According to Oberlo, over 1 million new sellers join Amazon every year!

If you want to beat out the competition and run a profitable Amazon business, you need to complete keyword research for Amazon SEO.

Amazon SEO enables you to push the product in front of the audience that are most likely to click the buy box.

To achieve the best results with Amazon SEO, you first need a keyword research strategy to find the right keywords that are likely to drive sales. 

Before diving into this Amazon keyword research strategy, it’s important to understand what exactly these keywords are being used for.

The Amazon A9 Algorithm

Amazon shoppers buy the products that are presented in front of them. Usually, these are the products on the first Amazon search result page.

The Amazon A9 algorithm controls the order in which products are ranked and which page they appear on.

The A9 algorithm considers many variables to determine the order that products rank. However, relevant keywords in the product listing are a major contributing factor.

Amazon’s algorithm indexes keywords from the product listing, so products become linked to keywords used there.

Amazons A9 algorithm rewards products that make them money. They make money from fees when you sell a product, so the A9 algorithm ranks products higher that convert on sales.

Therefore, only relevant keywords should be in your product listing. Amazon rewards your organic ranking when someone purchases your product after using a search term that your product appears for.

If you include keywords that aren’t as relevant just because they have high search volume, the algorithm will punish you.

When an Amazon shopper types a search term into the search engine, usually they have specific intent to buy a specific item.

If your item appears in the Amazon SERP for a non-relevant keyword, potential customers are not likely to interact with your product. This influences the A9 algorithm to penalize your product by moving it down in ranking. 

Amazon Marketing

Aside from influencing where your product ranks in organic search, relevant keywords are also important for Amazon marketing.

When Amazon shoppers see relevant products that match their search term, they are most likely to click into the product listing.

Therefore, successful Amazon advertising requires you to target customer search terms with relevant keywords to have the best chance of converting on your Amazon ad.

Whether through organic ranking or paid advertising, Amazon keywords are a driving factor for sales.

Establishing the Main Keyword

The main keyword for your Amazon listing should be an ultra relevant word or phrase describing your product. Also, it should have sufficient search volume to ensure visibility of your product in the Amazon marketplace.

If you have already done product research to find a product to sell, you likely have some idea of what your main keyword should be.

You can verify which keyword should be your main keyword by using an Amazon keyword research tool.

There are a variety of different tools to use, like Keyword Scout, Merchant Word or Keyword Tool Dominator. In this Amazon keyword research strategy, we use Viral Launch.

In Viral Launch, go to Keyword Research and type your main potential keyword into the search bar.

It then shows you a list of related keywords and their monthly search volume. Use this to determine if there is a better main keyword that is still ultra relevant but with higher search volume.

Choosing the right keyword as the main descriptor of your product is the first step toward success with Amazon FBA.

Expanding the Amazon Keyword List

Establishing your main keyword is just the start. There are many other potential keywords that can drive sales too. 

Therefore, you next need to expand your keyword list to find other relevant Amazon keywords with high search volume to increase your products visibility in the Amazon marketplace. 

With Viral Launch there are two primary ways you can expand your Amazon keyword list. 

Reverse ASIN Lookup

This method involves taking the ASINs of the best-selling competitors in the market and stealing the keywords that are helping them rank highly and drive sales. 

Start by taking your main keyword phrase and typing it into the Amazon search engine. 

Next, navigate to the top three highest ranked organic searches by scrolling past any “Sponsored Product” advertisements.

Then, click into each product listing and copy the ASINs from the address bar. 

Paste each ASIN into the reverse ASIN lookup tool of the Amazon keyword tool you are using. In Viral Launch, it’s called Competitor Intelligence and you can only use one ASIN per lookup. 

Therefore, create three new reverse ASIN lookups by starting with “Track New Competitor.”

The reverse ASIN lookup shows hundreds or thousands of keywords that the item is ranking for. Add filters to only show the keywords that have the greatest potential for driving visibility and sales.

For example, add a filter to only show results that have over 1,000 or more monthly searches. Also, add another filter for organic rank so you only see the keywords that the product ranks highly for. 

Once you have done this for all 3 ASINs, export the results to excel for further sorting. Combine all keywords onto one sheet and remove the phrase duplicates. 

Next, for easier viewing, hide all the columns except “Phrase”, “Volume Estimate”, and “Rank”. Add filters and sort Volume by largest to smallest, and then sort Rank by smallest to largest. 

This leaves you with a list sorted for relevancy and search volume. 

Keyword Research with Product’s Market

Instead of just looking at the top competitors, Viral Launch’s Keyword Research tool finds the most relevant and searched keywords from a whole product market. Start the search by inputting the main keyword for the product. 

Just like with the ASIN lookup method, we want to focus our results on only the results with the highest search volume. Again, add a filter to only show keywords with at least 1,000 search volume.

Export to excel for easier manipulation of the data and sort the data from highest to lowest volume. 

While the ASIN method benefits because it shows the indexing status and organic rank of the best sellers, this method shows the current search volume trend, average reviews, and average sales. 

This allows you to see which keywords are trending and how competitive the market is for that keyword. 

Free Bonus Method: Keyword Suggestion

An Amazon keyword tool is extremely useful. However, you can still complete keyword research without one with the keyword suggestion method. 

To do this, type your main keyword and other similar keywords into the Amazon search bar and it shows you suggested searches. 

Amazon makes these suggestions based on what customers are searching. While this method can be useful, it does not provide the same advanced metrics a keyword tool allows. 

Therefore, most would agree an Amazon research tool is worth the expense because it gives you the insights to make high-quality decisions. 

What to Do With the Keywords

Now that you have your keywords, there are two places you will want to incorporate them:

Proper use of relevant keywords in these two areas is the basis of driving your product up in keyword ranking and stimulating higher sales. 

Amazon Product Listing

There are a few areas to incorporate keywords into your Amazon product listing, but not all of them carry the same weight in ranking.

Product Title

The product title should contain your main keyword phrase. You can also include 1 - 2 additional highly relevant keywords or phrases that are different names for the product or product features. 

Amazon Backend Keywords

After the product title, Amazon backend keywords that can be reached from 
Amazon seller central are most important for Amazon SEO. These are hidden keywords that Amazon shoppers can’t see, but that are used to index your product on Amazon’s backend. 

The two buckets to input keywords are the Subject Matter and Search Term fields. 

Starting with Search Terms, go to your excel keyword list and copy all the phrases. The Search Terms field accepts up to 249 characters, so you need to remove any unnecessary words.

Paste the keyword phrases into a duplicate remover tool.

Then, bring the remaining words to a letter count tool to get the remaining characters below 250. Remove the least relevant words like prepositions and brand names.

Once below 250 characters, paste the words into the Search Terms field so Amazon knows to index your product for those keywords. 

Next, the Subject Matter field accepts keywords a little differently. In this field, you can add five lines of up to 50 characters. 

Instead of taking individual words like the Search Terms field, here you enter them as the keyword phrases. 

Go back to your sorted excel sheet and start adding the most relevant keyword phrases from the list. To maximize space, you can try to combine keyword phrases and/or don't duplicate phrases already used.

For example, instead of putting "slim wallet" and "mens slim wallet", just use "mens slim wallet" because it encompasses both phrases. 

Bullet Points and Product Description

Finally, relevant keywords should also be sprinkled into the bullet points and product description.

Feature and benefit keywords that fit naturally into the text are best here. They should be used in concise language to maintain readability for customers while helping Amazons algorithm to show your product when relevant search terms are used. 

Amazon PPC Advertising

Besides Amazon product listings, you also use keyword research to properly targeting your Amazon ads.

In a PPC campaign, you designate specific keywords to show ads when potential customers type a matching search term into the Amazon search bar. 

For example, a highly relevant keyword on the excel list for slim wallet is “minimalist wallet”. If we add that specific keyword to a PPC campaign, our product ad could show when a customer types “minimalist wallet” into the Amazon search bar. 

Google Keyword Planner

Many sellers wonder if they can use the free Google Keyword Planner tool to find potential keywords for Amazon ads. 

The search intent of a Google user differs from that of someone searching on Amazon. Therefore, the data Google collects and uses in its tool is information seeking based, while the data used in an Amazon specific keyword tool is purchase seeking based. 

For that reason, it's best to use an Amazon keyword tool instead of Google. 

Amazon PPC can be an overwhelming topic, but it can be very simple if you start with a solid Amazon PPC strategy. 

Rinse and Repeat to Win the Buy Box

Consumer trends are constantly changing. Amazon optimization with keyword research requires regular testing and adjustment for best results. 

If the keyword ranking of your product is not improving after a few weeks or a month, exchange some keywords.

Instead of taking the ASINs of the top 3 competitors, see if there are other keywords you can find from ASINs that rank a little lower. 

If using the product market keyword research method, complete the search with another highly relevant keyword instead of your main keyword. 

For example, instead of using “slim wallet” in the search, use “mini” or “minimalist” wallet. If different highly relevant yet similar keywords appear with higher search volume than some keywords you’re already using, replace them with those. 

Finding potential keywords that can boost your ranking requires equal amounts of patience and a good strategy. 

Beyond a Solid Keyword Strategy

Implementing a solid keyword strategy is the foundation of Amazon optimization. However, to be a successful Amazon FBA seller, you must continually optimize across your entire business. 

Make sure you always comply with Amazon guidelines and position yourself to take advantage of anything that could propel you above the competition. 

For example, by simply joining the Amazon Brand Registry, you are allowed greater visual control in portraying your product to customers. Also, you have access to valuable brand analytics through Amazon Seller Central. 

Running a successful Amazon business is no simple task. However, it is entirely possible with the right systems and strategies in place. 

The effect of a keyword research strategy that puts the right words in the right places will certainly surprise you.