The title is one of the most important parts of an Amazon listing and has a major impact on its success. The Amazon product title should be concise, clear, and yet somehow special – depending on the product.
Main Challenges When Creating Amazon Product Titles
Amazon has new rules when it comes to product listing titles. Let’s discuss how to grab your reader’s attention with concise, informative, and interesting product titles for Amazon.
When it comes to creating a winning Amazon product title, there are two main challenges. First, you need to come up with a good set of keywords and only then proceed with a good title.
Let’s show how to grab your reader’s attention with concise, informative, and interesting product titles for Amazon.
Important Information Needed in the Amazon Product Title
Before you begin to write, you’ll want a general formula to use as your guideline which Amazon helpfully provinces. No matter what product you are selling, the title should contain the following bits of information:
- Brand name
- Color, flavor, or another variation
- Size and/or quantity
- Keywords
As an example, if you’re selling sneakers, the product title should look something like this: Converse White Size 9 Sneakers.
This is a very short version of how it should look, and we’ll explore how to grow it since titles are allowed up to 50 characters. This helps your Amazon product listing rank higher in searches.
There’s also another reason. Starting in July 2019, Amazon suppresses ASINs from Amazon Search whose titles do not comply with Amazon’s product title requirements. This is because the research shows that ASIN titles that violate Amazon policies result in poor customer experience.
Being suppressed from the search algorithm would result in being suppressed from search results, and that’s what every seller would want to avoid. Products with bad titles will be near-impossible for customers to find on the platform.
50 characters are plenty for a title. With very few exceptions, anything beyond that is the content that should be in bullet points or the product description. This also means that Amazon shoppers will not be inundated by titles like “Cute baby infant boy girl present gift child birthday baby shower soft towel gift set for infant boy or girl” or “iPhone Charger, Lightning Cable MFi Certified 5Pack(3/3/6/6/10 FT) Extra Long Nylon Braided USB Charging&Syncing Cord Compatible iPhone Xs/XS Max/XR/X/7/7Plus/8/8Plus/6S/6SPlus/SE/5/Ipad More (Grey)”
Here’s what Amazon says about the update:
Your business is important to us, and we want to make sure that both your business and the customer experience are not compromised by products whose titles do not meet Amazon’s FBA product title requirements. Amazon currently requires that titles for non-media products meet the following requirements:
- Titles must not contain promotional keywords and phrases, for example, “free shipping”, “100% quality guaranteed”.
- Titles cannot contain non-readable characters, such as HTML characters.
- Title length must not exceed 50 characters.
- Titles must have product identifying information, for example: “hiking boot”, “umbrella”.
What’s interesting, Amazon doesn’t always comply with its own policies. Many sellers report that Amazon retail listings have titles that run hundreds of characters long. But Amazon has ownership of those listings and apparently it’s fine with them.
Challenges of the Amazon Product Title Policy
There are many contradictions in the title policy that make it near impossible for some sellers and their items to follow. For example…
Conjunctions (and, or, for) and articles (the, a, an) should not be capitalized.
Amazon automatically capitalizes the word “the” in product titles.
Use numerals (2 instead of two)
If you’re selling Tale of Two Cities, you need to change it to Tale of 2 Cities?
Don’t use symbols, such as ~ ! * $ ?
Many perfectly legitimate product titles and brands contain a hyphen.
Don’t capitalize prepositions with fewer than five letters (in, on, over, with).
If you’re selling the film In Bruges, this means you need to change it to in Bruges. For many sellers, it’s impossible to make titles to be both grammatically correct and within policy.
That’s when you need to be creative. If your ASIN titles aren’t fully optimized and up to scratch then your products won’t appear in Amazon Search results. In order to create a positive customer experience, your content needs to be of good quality.
Amazon Product Title Formatting Rules to Follow
Amazon has specific guidelines on how product titles should be written, and they include:
- Capitalize the first letter of every word (an exception to this is the word ‘and’, which should be in all lowercase letters), and don’t capitalize every single word.
- Writing it as ‘and’ and not using the ampersand (‘&’), unless the ampersand is part of the product’s brand name.
- Writing numbers as numerals, not words (e.g. 14 instead of fourteen).
- Units of measurements should be spelled out and not abbreviated (e.g. Pounds instead of lbs, etc.).
- Avoid putting prices, promotions, symbols, seller information, and suggestive commentary in the title (e.g. don’t say a product or you are the best).
- You don’t need to put the color or size in the title if it’s not directly relevant to the product (e.g. if an item only comes in one color or size, like a stainless steel toaster)
What Happens When Your Listing Is Suppressed
Suppressed listings have no Buy Box. If a buyer wants to see your offer, they must click the “see all offers” link near where the buy box usually is. It also means you cannot advertise. Your listing is also suppressed from Amazon’s search.
What is the character limit for Amazon product title 2022?
The maximum number of characters in the product title is 150-200 characters, depending on the category. However, Amazon recommends a maximum length of 80 characters for the full title to display on mobile devices, and this length is perfect for better placement.
Learn more about Amazon title keywords, content, and how to optimize them for each product category now.
3 tips to optimize your Amazon product title
1. Use keywords in the Amazon listing
Using accurate phrases and keywords in the Amazon product listing title is important to ensure that more than one search query is covered. The best keywords and terms can be found easily by reviewing comparable products or by simply including the keywords that come to mind.
It’s important to include the keyword in the title, but use a meaningful phrase and not a simple string of keywords.
2. Usability is important
Of course, the title has to be appealing. When the user clicks through the platform, he should choose your product. The title must be concise, appealing, and contain points that are important to the buyer.
3. Correct formatting
Be sure to capitalize the first letter of each word. Numbers should be represented as digits, the title should be attractive and easy to understand when reading.
4. What is the competition doing?
If you’re new to Amazon or have doubts about the correct arrangement of the various terms in the title, look at the listings of your successful competitors. Is there a “usual” order for the various pieces of information?
How to write a good title for your Amazon listing
Each category has guidelines for the ideal Amazon product title. Of course, the correct spelling and capitalization is always important. That included translations too!
As Amazon says in Help & Customer Service, these are the most important aspects to consider when phrasing. Here are a few examples from different categories. Some of the titles listed here exceed the recommended character limit, but we would like to show possible relevant parts of a specific title here.
Including the keywords in the Amazon product title
This is often where merchants underperform. Amazon has its own unique algorithm which can help your product rank higher on searches. Although different factors, like price, availability, sales history, and selection also impact a product’s search ranking, the keywords you use are often most within your control.
One thing remains certain. Keyword stuffing, the practice of jamming as many keywords into the title as possibly allowed, can actually harm your product’s ranking. Instead, it’s well worth it to spend a bit of time finding out which keywords work best for you.
The proven practice is putting yourself in the place of a buyer. Do searches for the products you’re selling, and see which items show up on top of the search page. Examine the keywords found in those titles and compare how frequently they’re found in your searches.
In the next step, take the most common keywords and apply them to your product titles. As a bit of extra work that may pay good dividends, see if there are other, less frequently used keywords that are associated with sellers with a high ranking. The goal is to emulate these merchants so you can be a better seller yourself.
Examples of best-performing Amazon product titles
Style: Brand + Quality + Amount + Color + Material
EXAMPLE: UTOPIA TOWELS PREMIUM 8 PIECE TOWEL SET (DARK GRAY); 2 BATH TOWELS, 2 HAND TOWELS AND 4 WASHCLOTHS – COTTON TOWELS
Starting from the brand, the title explains that we have a bundle of towels of different sizes. Adding the colors makes sense as the product comes in 6 different variants. Thanks to the combination with the attractive image, the user knows what he is getting for his money.
However, the title as a whole is too long and too confusing. Better would be:
Utopia Bath Towels Towels Premium Quality, Cotton- 8 Pieces (Dark Gray)
Some of the following examples have titles that are too long or not the ideal length of max. 80 characters. We deliberately chose these longer variants to show what can be included in the title.
Style: Brand + Collection + Material + Measurements + Color
EXAMPLE: SAPPHIRE COLLECTION 800 THREAD COUNT PURE EGYPTIAN COTTON SUPER SOFT HOTEL QUALITY 40CM/16 INCH DEEP FITTED BED SHEET (WHITE, KING)
EXAMPLE: DUCK & GOOSE PREMIUM HOTEL QUALITY LUXURY DOWN ALTERNATIVE WHITE MICROFIBER PILLOW, HYPO-ALLERGENIC, 100% COTTON WITH ELEGANT DESIGN(48 * 74CM-19 * 29″, PACK OF 1PIECE)
Writing Amazon product titles for Kitchen Gadgets & Cooking Accessories
Style: Brand (+ Model Number if necessary) + Purpose + Model Name(s) and Descriptions + Product Type( Color) + Additional
EXAMPLE: BLACKSTONE SIGNATURE GRIDDLE ACCESSORIES, RESTAURANT GRADE, 2 SPATULAS, 2 CHOOPER SCRAPER, 2 BOTTLES, FREE RECIPE BOOKS, 5 PIECE TOOL KIT FOR BBQ GRILL, GREAT FOR FLAT TOP COOKING, CAMPING
Style: Brand + Line + Material + Purpose + Size + Product Type
EXAMPLE: CALPHALON PROFESSIONAL HARD-ANODIZED ALUMINUM NONSTICK COOKWARE, OMELETTE FRY PAN, 10-INCH AND 12-INCH SET, BLACK, NEW VERSION – 2018986
Style: Brand + Pattern + Product Type, Amount
EXAMPLE: AMAZON BASIC 18-PIECE DINNERWARE SET, SERVICE FOR 6
Style: Brand+Product Type+Material+Size
EXAMPLE: SOPHIE CONRAN FOR PORTMEIRION CPW76821-X SALAD BOWL, PORCELAIN, WHITE, 33 X 33 X 11 CM
Optimization of the Amazon product title for the electronics
With electronic devices, many functions could theoretically be displayed in the title. From processor speed to RAM to battery life or screen size.
Many points could influence the customer’s purchase decision, but having the most important information in the title is a very good start and very important for the conversion rate. For example, with a smartphone, the processor speed is not absolutely necessary in the title, but the screen size is.
What is the most important information about my specific product?
It’s important to decide which features are particularly and relevantly mentioned or “standard” – a competitive analysis can often work wonders here. Especially in this product category, a list of technical data can be quite useful. Nevertheless, user-friendliness must not be left out.
- DVD Player: Brand + Model Number + Size + Product Type + + (Color/Pack/Size)Laptops and Desktop Computers: Brand + Model Number + PC Type + (Processor Speed + MB RAM + Hard Drive Size + Optical Drive + etc)
- TV: brand + model number + product type + screen size + (color/pack size)
- Style: Brand + Model Number + Size + Product Type + Screen Style (if needed) + (Color/Pack Size) + Additional Features
EXAMPLE: PANASONIC S700EP-K MULTI REGION 1080Ü UP-CONVERSION CODE REGION FREE DVD/CD PLAYER, XVID, USB PLAYBACK AND PHOTO SLIDESHOW WITH MP3 MUSIC
Style: Brand + Model Number + Size + Product Type
EXAMPLE: SAMSUNG 40NU7100 FLAT 40” 4K UHD 7 SERIES SMART TV 2018
Style: Brand + Year + Size + Model Number + PC Type + (Processor speed + MB of RAM + Hard Drive Size+ Optical Drive)
EXAMPLE: HP 2019 14” LAPTOP – INTEL CORE I3 – 8GB MEMORY – 128GB SOLID STATE DRIVE – ASH SILER KEYWORD FRAME (14-CF0014DX)
Amazon product title: Clothing and accessories
When it comes to apparel, the brand is usually first in the title. Especially in the clothing sector, people are more likely to buy a specific brand than “new designs” or anything like that.
Style: Brand + Material (Quality, ct.) + Style/Name + Product
EXAMPLE: NAAVA 9CT GOLD THIRD CARAT DIAMOND CLAW SET ETERNITY RING
ow one has to remember that small additional notes can make a big difference. Since the customer is not just looking for a specific ring or necklace with a specific style, one of the most important aspects is the material used.
Since the material can also be decisive for the quality and the price, one should not forget this point. Of course, special or unusual design ideas are still of interest to the customer.
The ideal Amazon product title in PC & video games
Style: Name+Title+Game Console+Product
EXAMPLE: CRASH TEAM RACING – NITRO FUELED – PLAYSTATION 4 (BY ACTIVISION)
Adding the company behind the game (from Activision) makes sense for well-known companies and can be named as in the example or at the end of the title:
In general, it’s always a good idea to take a look at the competitors and their products first. You will see that the majority will follow Amazon’s guidelines, but for all products, there will be differences from country to country, category to category, and product to product.
There’s no secret recipe, but certain tips and tricks will ensure you get the most out of the title. Creating a compelling title of 80 characters or less that is not only easy to understand and clear but also includes relevant keywords in a meaningful order is ideal. Avoid “unnecessary” additional information or synonyms.
Here’s a complete guide on how to get the most out of your listing and how to optimize every single part of it.
Conclusion
It’ll take a bit of time and practice, but eventually, you will master the art of creating awesome product titles. Once you do, and once you see a spike in your sales volume, make sure you’re using the best product images possible.