The publishing world is a hard one, and for most aspiring writers it is much easier to get your foot in the door by self publishing than hiring an agent and looking for a publisher.
Self-publishing is easy to do, but it takes a lot of work to get where you want to be, and the process of marketing your work properly can take skill.
You get the book on the online shelf easy enough, but getting people to read it is another story, one way to get more eyes on it is via keywords.
Picking out the right keywords is key, if you have tried keywords for your book so far, and had little to no luck, then it would make sense that you would want to change them, but the online work is tricky, so we have put together this guide for you.
Find everything you need to know about Keywords on Amazon KDP here, as well as 5 simple steps to help you add and change your keywords for your best success !
Amazon KDP & Self-Publishing
Amazon KDP is the most popular online self publishing platform around. KDP stands for ‘Kindle Direct Publishing’ and you can publish e-books and paperback books to be sold through amazon.
It is the main tool for authors wanting to self-publish books online. It also makes it easier to get Kindle readers. You can also earn up to 70% royalties through Amazon KDP as well!
Self-publishing through Amazon is very quick, the longest a review and publication will take is 72 hours.
What Are Amazon Kindle Keywords?
Once you are up-and-running as an Amazon KDP Self-Published Author you need to start thinking about your audience. This means keywords.
Keywords are a big part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and getting your book into the right places.
Keywords are what your potential readers will be typing into Amazon’s search bar when they are looking for a new good read.
They are phrases which will help to surface your book in the search engine results.
The more relevant and better your keywords are, the more likely it is your book will show up to the right people.
How Do You Know Your Keywords Are Actually Good
Being relevant is important, you need to choose keywords that are phrases people actually use when they’re searching for a book.
You want them to surface your book to people who will be willing to buy it, and you should pick them carefully, some keywords are low competitive areas.
You should consider including some of the following information as keywords:
- Character role or type.
- Theme.
- Plot.
- Story tone.
- The setting.
- Genre, or mood.
Consider who your target audience is. What will they want to see? What will the reader gain from reading your book, and what are the key insights and aspects, as well as the primary highlights.
Tips
- Ensure that there are no grammatical or spelling errors in your keywords.
- Avoid subjective phrases e.g. “The Best Novel Ever”.
- Avoid any misrepresentations.
- Common and broad descriptions such as ‘book’, ‘novel’, etc, should be avoided.
- Do not use keywords that are time-sensitive.
- Avoid Amazon brand names. Do not use ‘Kindle’, ‘Kindle Select’, and so on.
Finding The Best Keywords For Amazon KDP
Picking out the right keywords will be a game changer for book sales. When you have started to create your title, you will end up getting to a screen that offers you 7 keywords.
It looks simple enough, but the right keywords will change how easily your book gets into the hands of your ideal readers.
Simply coming up with words or phrases that sound ideal won’t work, you need some keyword data and analysis to ensure what you choose is correct.
You can use simple techniques to find out what people actually type into Amazon simply by searching for a relevant phrase and seeing what comes up below this. You can also use this same technique on Google.
Otherwise, you can use applications and programs to help you such as Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner. Of course, you could also use Amazon itself, via their Amazon Advertising Console.
Using Accurate Keywords For KDP
Creating accurate keywords is all about understanding what your book is about, and who will want to read it. Amazon encourages authors to consider the setting, characters, character roles, plot themes, and even story tone.
Having a plot which is developed and well organized will make it easier for you and the reader to determine the type of book you are selling.
Use Keyword Research Tools
While you can use Google, or Amazons search engines to discover some potential keywords you can include, using keyword research tools can be very helpful.
If you want something or someone else to discover what keywords will work best for you there are plenty of tools at your disposal that you can use.
Some of these include programs such as:
- Ahrefs.
- Cerebro.
- Keywordtool.io.
- Sonar.
Keywordtool.io is a great example of these and one of our favorites. It has a search bar which lets you search for keywords across Google, Amazon, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as other popular websites.
For this, you would need to ensure you select Amazon, and then type in a reword you are looking into.
Tools like this will then show you how many people look at the keyword, how much the volume of searching on this topic has changed, and the cost-per-click of the keyword on Google Ads.
Tools like this can help you to find a keyword that is low CPC and high in search volume.
Using Keywords
Once you have selected your keywords with plenty of research backing them, you need to put it into your Amazon KDP account.
Amazon does not state that it considers keywords in the title, subtitle and description of a book, but this is probably likely. If you can put keywords in any of these places it should help.
Then you need to add keywords to the Amazon keyword boxes.
Check out the step-by-step guide on how to do this below!
Step-By-Step To Add/Change Your Keywords
Adding and changing your keywords is the easiest part of the progress, picking the right keywords is much more challenging.
However, let us talk you through how you can change your Amazon KDP keywords.
Step 1. Firstly, log in to your Amazon KDP account at https://kdp.amazon.com.
Step 2. Go into the section titled ‘Bookshelf’, and click the ellipsis button, under “Book Actions” under the book you wish to add/ change keywords for.
Step 3. Select the subject “Edit Book Details” from the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Scroll to find the ‘Keywords’ header, and make your chosen updates”.
Step 5. Go to the bottom of the page and click “Save & Continue”, then click to publish your book at the bottom of “Rights & Pricing”. It will take time for your book to update and publish.
Overall
Adding and changing keywords on Amazon KDP can have a massive impact on your book sales, knowing how to do it is only half the battle, your main focus should be on choosing the correct keywords to help your book be met by the right people!