Amazon backend keywords are hidden search terms that may boost your product listing visibility. The backend search fields play an important role in Amazon SEO. These keywords are not visible to the visitors of your product listing page. So why do you need them, anyway?
Backend keywords help incorporate search terms that you were unable to naturally fit into the visible product listing copy. In the past, sellers played with unreadable keyword-stuffed titles and product descriptions. Those days are thankfully gone.
Today Amazon provides you with lots of places where you can add your target search terms that provide Amazon with some extra information. Every keyword plays a meaningful role in the discoverability of your product in search results.
How backend search keywords improve discoverability
Amazon backend keywords can include all the relevant keywords that are important but didn’t make it in the titles, bullet points, and product descriptions. When indexing your listing, the Amazon search engine does not discern between keywords, as long as they are included in the description. Make sure to add at least 10 backend keywords per listing.
How backend search keywords increase the readability of the product listing
When you write a product description, you are naturally lured to primary keywords that sound natural and blend in the text nicely. This keeps your listing engaging and helps improve conversions.
But the backend search terms section can include any of the following:
- Keyword variations that aren’t visually appealing and pleasing to read
- Colloquial terms
- Similar products
- Synonyms of your primary keywords
- Common misspellings of popular keywords
2022 update on Amazon backend keywords
Amazon allows you to edit or create product listings when your search terms are within the predetermined limit. It’s important to know the latest Amazon update on Seller Central about the search keywords:
- The total length of the keywords is limited to less than 250 bytes. Earlier it was 250 bytes precisely. Remember, it’s less than “250 bytes”, not 250 characters.
- The number of bytes equals the number of characters for alphanumeric characters (e.g. a-z, 0-9) while other characters can be 2 bytes or more. Examples include
ä (2 bytes), £ (2 bytes), € (3 bytes) or ❤️ (3 bytes)
- This new limit includes commas, spaces, and hyphens.
These updates have been introduced to increase the accuracy of search results at the same time increase the visibility of product listings.
The newest backend keywords update applies to Amazon seller accounts across the US and EU. If you exceed the character limit while adding keywords to the product listings, a warning message appears.
How to make sure your backend keywords comply with the update
Amazon provides you with the best practices when it comes to keywords:
- Remove the repeated keywords
- Remove competitor ASINs and brand names
- Remove duplicate keywords that are already present in other parts of the listing, like the title or bullet points
- Avoid keywords that are not closely related to the product.
Choosing relevant Amazon backend keywords
Knowing the exact keywords that are most relevant for describing their products is critically important. Thereby, it is necessary to prepare a list of backend keywords that can be optimized for Amazon search terms and the search algorithm of this site. These keywords should describe the product in the best way that will feature it on the top of any backend search list in Amazon.
Correct placement of Amazon backend keywords
The relevance of the keywords matters the most, though the keyword location does not hold much importance for backend search rules.
One thing is definite: There should not be any comma between two keywords, as it is best to make use of the character spaces and care needs to be taken to put only a single space between any two words.
When choosing the keywords for Amazon SEO ranking, it is best to use hyphenated keywords instead of placing two separate words, if it makes better sense as per the content because the hyphenated words are included in all types of searches where those two words are involved.
But there is no need to fuss about the correct usage of singular or plural numbers, nor is there any problem spotted with the upper or lower casing of the keywords used. As any sort of filler word or stopword is not counted in the search ranking, it is best to leave out all such words while picking the backend keywords for the product description for Amazon.
Features of Amazon bullet points
Amazon allows sellers to mention the main characteristics of their products in five bullet points, describing the major benefits of using those products. It is best to mention the most vital and beneficial point at the top of the list, to make the backend search to be more effective, followed by the lesser important features.
Make sure to use the profitable keywords within these five points in a sensible manner, which will make the listing more conversion-friendly on Amazon. Make use of 100 characters for writing these five bullets, where the main feature should be highlighted in each bullet.
Including Amazon backend keywords into the product description
Though most buyers read only the bullets before buying a product, some people like to gather full information before purchasing. That’s why it makes sense to include all the relevant backend keywords in the brief product description, even the ones that you may consider less important.
A good example of backend keywords:
- No usage of Platinum keywords in the search terms
- Complete use of the available space
- No keyword repetitions
- Keywords are thoughtful and unique
- Hyphens cover compound variations and separate spellings
- No filler words
- No use of irrelevant keywords
How often should you optimize Amazon’s backend keywords?
Make it a rule to fine-tune your Amazon backend keywords every 3-4 weeks. Here’s how to find new fresh ideas:
- Take a look at your Amazon pay-per-click (PPC) keywords which are high performing. Pick the high click-through rate (CTR) and best-converting keywords every 3 weeks. Find keyword variations of that primary keyword and add them as part of your backend keywords.
- Do a reverse ASIN search using one of many keyword optimization tools. Extract the keywords of your competitors and add the relevant ones to your Amazon backend keyword search terms.
- Repeat these steps every 3-4 weeks to maintain the top ranking for your listing.
Thanks to Amazon’s backend keyword policies, you can always add more keywords if necessary until you hit your limit.