In the past, authors would need publishers to help get their work out there, but

Amazon KDP has made it far easier for authors to self-publish now than ever before! However, as easy as it is to get a book published, it is still difficult to get people to buy it. 

However, Amazon KDP has a solution for that, too: keyword research. 

When you find the correct keywords, you can make the best ads.

And these ads will generate sales. In this article, we will provide a beginner’s guide on everything you need to know about keyword research for Amazon KDP. If this is of interest to you, read on for more! 

What Is Amazon KDP?

Amazon KDP, also called Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, is the self-publishing platform provided by Amazon for authors to get their stories out there.

When you publish through Amazon KDP, your story will become an e-book for people to read via Amazon Kindle. Not only that, but authors will be able to sell hardback and paperback versions of their books. 

Perhaps the most advantageous aspect of using Amazon KDP is the 70% of royalties you could earn with every sale you make, depending on where you live. 

Your book can be both reviewed and published within 72 hours of uploading to Amazon KDP. From there, readers will be able to find your book and become engrossed in the pages. 

What Are Amazon KDP Keywords?

To realize your dreams of becoming a successful author through Amazon KDP, you first need to understand what Amazon KDP keywords are and how to use them. 

In short, Amazon KDP keywords are what readers will type in when searching for a book.

These are known as keyword phrases, and these keyword phrases may bring your book to the forefront of the search results. 

The more relevant the keywords are to your book, the higher the chance the book will appear in the search results! 

But why is this a good thing?

Well, readers are often searching for what they want to read, and they are more likely to buy books that appear within the top three to four results of their search. 

How Do You Know If You Have Chosen The Right Keywords?

The key to a good keyword is relevancy – how much a keyword in the potential readers’ search relates to your book. However, other important factors go into making a good keyword.

They are: 

• Common phrases people will use when searching for books. 
• Keywords that have low competition, giving your book the chance to rank higher in the search. 

Example Keywords: Fiction

To explain what we mean in more detail, here are some great examples of keywords for fiction! 

• Character roles or types. For example, single mom, strong female lead, anti-hero, etc. 
• The theme and plot of a book (romance, horror, sci-fi)
• The story tone (coming of age, profound, feel-good)
• The setting of the story (1700s France, Victorian Britain, outer space) 
• The story genre flavor (an epic love story, a tragic love story, etc)

Example Keywords: Non-Fiction

Great examples of non-fiction keywords work slightly differently. It is best to focus on the keywords that best define the book as a whole. To do this, it is helpful to ask yourself the following questions. 

1. Who is my target audience?
2. What do readers gain from reading your book?
3. What are the key highlights and insights of the book?

Example Keywords To Avoid: Amazon’s Guide 

Amazon has a great guide of keywords that are best avoided. Let’s check them out in more detail!

• Keywords with grammar and spelling mistakes 
• Subjective keywords – “your new favorite novel”, “the best novel you’ll ever read!” 
• Misrepresentative keywords 
• Common, vague keywords (ebook, novella, book)
• Keywords that are time sensitive (new!”, “on-sale”)
• Brand names from Amazon (Amazon Kindle, etc) 

How Do You Find The Best Keywords For Amazon KDP?

It may be a process of trial and error to find the correct keywords. However, carrying out careful keyword research is sure to make your book easily accessible to users. 

First of all, you will need to type in the title of your book. Once you have done this, you will get to the Amazon KDP keyword screen.

Before you can enter your keywords into the boxes on the screen, you will need to have collected keyword data and analysis to ensure they are the best ones for your books. 

But how do you do this? Let’s find out! 

Step 1: Work Out What People Type Into Amazon

This is a very simple but very effective way to find great potential keywords for your book on Amazon KDP. 

Amazon’s search bar will often automatically complete your search as you type it in, and this can give you ideas as to what search terms are popular.

Other search bars such as Bing and Google will do this, too.

So, here you can try and experiment with various keywords. It is best to log out to do this, so your search is not impacted by your previous search history! 

In this regard, Amazon gives the following advice!

1. Think like a reader! How do you search for books? How will people search for yours?
2. Combine keywords logically – what should come first? What should come second?
3. Consider length – do not include more than seven keywords. 

Step 2: Check Out What People Are Searching For On Google 

You can perform the same steps as above – but use Google instead of Amazon! Through Google, you will see an even bigger breadth of keywords relevant to your book.

You will even get options such as “People Also Ask” questions, which can help you decide which keywords are best. 

Amazon KDP Keywords: Keyword Search Volumes

Not only is knowing what keywords are searched for important, but you also need to know how often the keywords are used.

When you have found your main list of keywords, you can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner and AHrefs to find their search volume. 

Google Keyword Planner is useful for finding the average monthly searches for different keywords, while AHrefs can be used to limit your keyword volume search to Amazon which removes a lot of data from Google that you do not need. 

Amazon KDP Keywords: Amazon’s Advertising Console

Amazon has automatic advertising campaigns and they are very helpful when it comes to finding keywords. With this advertising console, you will receive a lot of keyword data and keywords per month.

All you need to do is set the correct budget, and amazon will do the rest! 

Typically, at the end of a month, you will receive 100 keywords along with metrics to compare them.

You will be able to search for important factors like click-through rate, conversion rate (which should be high), and the advertising cost of sale (which should be low.) 

From here, you can find the keywords that work best for your book and type them into the Amazon KDP keyword page! From here, you can create ads for your book using these keywords. 

However, it is important to note that these campaigns can get rather expensive. So, when you find the right keywords, it is best to switch to a manual campaign so you can set the budget for your ads. 

Final Thoughts 

Finding the best keywords for Amazon KDP can be a trial-and-error process. But with some patience and by following our beginner’s guide, you should start seeing sales for your book in no time!