For a Book, How Important Are Keywords and Key Phrases?

1. Keywords Control Discoverability 🔎

Amazon’s search engine (called A9/A10) uses your keywords to decide when your book appears in search results.

For example:

• If someone searches “Civil War historical novel”

• Amazon will show books whose:

  • Title

  • Subtitle

  • Description

  • Backend keywords

  • Categories contain those words.

If your listing doesn’t contain those phrases, Amazon may never show your book to that reader.

2. Long-Tail Key Phrases Work Best

Single words are too competitive. Specific phrases convert better.

Example:

Weak keywords:

• mystery

• romance

• thriller

Better keywords:

• “small town murder mystery”

• “clean historical romance”

• “psychological thriller with female detective”

These match how real readers search.

3. Keywords Help Amazon Recommend Your Book

Amazon also uses keywords to decide:

• “Customers Also Bought”

• Recommended for you

• Category placement

If your keywords clearly define the genre and audience, Amazon’s algorithm can market the book for you.

4. They Influence Category Rankings

The keywords you enter in can help Amazon place your book in additional hidden categories, which can make it easier to become a #1 bestseller in a niche category.

5. Keywords Affect Ad Performance

If you run ads through Amazon ads:

• Amazon uses your listing keywords to determine relevance

• Good keyword alignment lowers ad cost per click and improves visibility.

  
  

✅ Rough Importance in an Amazon book listing

Typical impact on sales/discovery:

• Cover design: Very high

• Reviews: Very high

• Keywords/phrases: Very high

• Categories: High

• Description: Moderate–high

Bad keywords can mean a great book never gets found.

A Tip Most Authors Miss

Amazon gives 7 backend keyword fields (50 characters each) 

Best practice:

• Use phrases, not single words

• Don’t repeat words already in the title

• Avoid commas

• Think like a reader searching, not an author describing.

Example backend keyword line:

Publishing exceptional books in all genres since 2008

www.BarringerPublishing.com