Welcome back to the Listings Lounge! We're thrilled to have you here as we dive into the latest tips and strategies for optimizing your Amazon product listings keywords, to help you build strong sales in the New Year!

In this updated article, following up from this post, we'll be covering everything you need to know about leveraging keywords to ensure your products are easily discoverable by your customers. Whether you're a seasoned Amazon seller or just getting started, this information is crucial for boosting your visibility and sales during the busiest shopping time of the year.

Let's start with the basics - what exactly is a keyword?

Keywords are the words and phrases that customers use when searching for products on Amazon. They can be as broad as "furniture" or as specific as "red leather couch." These keywords help Amazon's search algorithm match your listings with the customers who are looking for what you have to offer.

Today, we're going to dive deep into a particular type of keyword - the generic keyword, also known as a search term.

Search terms are the keywords you enter into the "Generic Keyword" field when creating or updating your product listings. These terms are then indexed by Amazon's search engine, allowing your products to appear in relevant search results. In the past, search terms were allowed to be placed withing 5 different lines when creating your listings. This has been condensed down to one line a year ago.

Now, let's talk about short-tail and long-tail keywords:

Short-tail keywords are search terms made up of just one or two words, like "furniture" or "sofa." These are very broad and tend to have high search volume, but also high competition.

Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are more specific phrases, such as "red leather couch." While they may have lower search volume individually, using a combination of short-tail and long-tail keywords can be an effective way to capture a wide range of potential customers.

One important thing to keep in mind is the 249-byte limit for search terms. That means you need to choose your keywords carefully, as exceeding this limit can cause Amazon to completely ignore your search term attribute.

Last year, Amazon has also made the Generic Keyword field a requirement for 23 specific product categories. This went into effect December 6, 2023. You can find the full list of affected categories in our additional resources section.

To help you get the most out of your keywords, we've curated a selection of informative videos covering topics like keyword match types, broad match, phrase match, and exact match. Be sure to check those out for a deeper dive into optimizing your keyword strategy.

Ensure you are not entering prohibited words.

Examples of prohibited words

Brand names - Apple, Nike, Amazon

Temporary words - available now, brand new, current, discounted, just launched, last chance, last minute, latest, limited time, new, on sale, this week (month, year), today

Subjective words - amazing, best, cheap, cheapest, effective, fastest, good deal, least, most, popular, trending

And don't forget - keyword optimization is just one piece of the puzzle. Be sure to also review our previous posts on keywords, optimizing your listing titles and product images to create a cohesive, high-performing Amazon presence.

As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas for future Listings Lounge content. Let us know what you think in the replies, and don't forget to use the UPVOTE 👍 / DOWNVOTE 👎 feature to share your thoughts.

Until next time!

Michelle