How to Choose Keywords for Amazon

As all authors know, one of the best ways to sell more copies of your book is finding and reaching your targeted audience. An integral tool for this is using keywords to help people find your book on Amazon. Here are some tips on how to choose keywords for Amazon.

Firstly, what is a keyword? A keyword is a specific word or phrase that pertains to your book, that helps customers find your book using the search engine. A keyword can be about the genre, subject matter, or style of your book. So, knowing how to choose keywords for Amazon increases the chances your book will appear in a search. For example, if your book is a murder mystery that features a female P.I, a keyword might be ‘female detective.’ Then, when a customer searches this phrase on Amazon, your book will be one of the results to appear.

There are some basic categories for fiction that you can follow for how to choose keywords for Amazon. These are:

  • Setting (ex: Victorian England)
  • Character types (ex: royalty, warrior)
  • Character roles (ex: strong female lead)
  • Plot themes (ex: young love, forgiveness)
  • Story tone (ex: suspenseful, feel-good)

If your book is nonfiction you can still use some of these categories for how to choose your keywords. The ‘character roles’ may be your own background, and the story tone is still relevant (ex. Academic, personal).

When deciding on keywords, do not use words or phrases that are already in the metadata such as the book’s title, the author’s name, or the genre. This information is already included, so instead focus on the content and themes of your book, so that even more general searches will lead to your book.

Finally, when planning how to choose keywords for Amazon, think like a reader. What words would you search if you are looking for a modern women’s fiction novel, or an inspiring memoir? Search on Amazon using some of the keywords you are considering, to see if any results appear, and if they are similar to your book. If so, you have learned how to choose keywords for Amazon, and are targeting the right audience.

Central Park South Publishing is proud to have published books for many successful authors, and in helping them reach their audience by showing them how to choose keywords for Amazon.

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