Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords

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Prepare, Publish, Promote Publish Your Book Enter Book Details 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

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

For information on timelines, including details on new publications and updates to published books, see our Help page.

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)

Learn more about search keywords based on browse categories.

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"

Note: This list is not exhaustive. All keywords must comply with our Terms and Conditions.

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