kindle ebook categories keywords selection guide
Picture this – you are holding a yard sale. To advertise it, you set up 16 signs all pointing in the wrong direction. Whoops!
Who would do such a thing? Nobody would, right? But you would be surprised to know how many authors commit the same mistake all the time.
These masterminds write the perfect book, get it proofread, and publish it only to use the wrong Kindle keywords. Oh-no! Thus, they end up driving billions of potential readers away from their e-books. If you think you can commit this blunder, too, then we suggest you read this blog.
Below, we have shared all you need to know about choosing the right keywords and categories for your Kindle eBook. Come on now, choosing these factors will put your book in front of many potential readers each day. So, read on!
What Are Kindle Keywords?
Kindle keywords are search words that the readers type into Amazon when they are searching for a book. Now, these readers can type in anything about the book, and no eBook design services sites would be able to translate what those readers are searching for exactly. There is way too many possibilities.
So, amazon allows the book authors to do that for them. It lets the author enter 7 keyword phrases that the authors think should attract people to their work. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that these keywords are your only bet to steer the audience towards your work.
How Do Kindle Keywords Work?
Amazon does not force its authors to enter the keywords that describe their books only. Nor does it say that the keywords must be relevant to the book’s context. As a matter of fact, entering the keywords that are related to your book is only going to scare away the readers. That is right!
Say, for instance, you wrote a book for people seeking to plan an event on a budget. The blunder a lot of authors commit is that they make their keyword list look something like this:
- Events
- Fun Days
- Event planning
- Event planners
- Event book
- Books about events
- Planning an event, etc.
All of these keywords relate to the book, however, truth be told, it is a horrible keyword list. Let us look into how you can select the best Kindle keywords for your eBook.
How To Pick The Best Kindle Keywords For Your eBook
Step No. 1 – Understand What Sells Kindle eBooks
First things first, what you need to do while choosing keywords for your e-books is to hunt down the positioning of your book. Moreover, you should also pinpoint who would be interested in reading your book. Yes, we are talking about your target audience. Both of these aspects go hand-in-hand, and they both form the basis of every aspect of your eBook marketing plan.
Step No. 2 – Game The Kindle Book System
Next up, you need to understand how Kindle keywords actually work. For that, you must be aware of what Amazon do with your keywords. If you don’t know, then worry not. We are going to tell you about it right now!
Okay, so, amazon recombines your phrases automatically. As per research, Amazon takes each phrase you put in, breaks it into single words and recombines them into all the best possible combinations. For instance, if you enter: “how to plan a fantastic event on a pocket-friendly budget,” Amazon would also index:
- Event
- Fantastic event
- Pocket-friendly budget
- Plan an event, etc.
Step No. 3 – Make A List Of Particular Key Phrases
You must expand your keyword list with various but similar phrases. For instance, a “pocket-friendly budget” could also be:
- For penny pinchers
- With bad credit
- Without spending a lot
- On a tight budget
- Without a lot of money
- Small budget, etc.
So you get the idea, right? You can experiment with so much here, the only limit is that these Kindle phrases cannot exceed the 50-character limit.
Step No. 4 – Research Your Kindle Keywords
By now, you will have a list of possible phrases. Excellent! Take it as your cue to type your favourites into Amazon. Be attentive while typing because Amazon’s predictive text will show you what people search for the most. For instance, typing “plan an event when” does not bring up any recommendations; however, “plan an event on” suggests “on a budget-friendly rate.” Moreover, you should also contact an online reputable book cover maker to design your book covers to attract more audience.
Step No. 5 – Use Kindle Keyword Tools (Optional)
There are a lot of keyword research tools that make the entire research process less exhausting by handling the work for you. These tools also give you more specific data as compared to when you find the keywords yourself. So, we think it would be smarter if you run a keyword search in the tool to find out how popular a certain keyword is and how tough the competition is, rather than typing your own keywords into Amazon.
FAQ’s
What is the most profitable Kindle category?
The KDP authors with the most success are those who work on genres such as fiction, romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc. Children’s books and poetry do not sell that well. Moreover, short self-help booklets also sell very poorly. Lastly, low-content planners/notebooks do not sell at all.
How many keywords should I use for KDP?
You can use 7 keywords on KDP. However, that is a bit misleading. On KDP, are are seven keyword fields, and in each field, you can enter 50 characters. So, instead of solely focusing on keywords, we think you should also focus on key phrases, too.
How would I know what keywords I should use on Amazon?
There are some options for Amazon keyword research tools, including Keyword Tools, Sonar, etc. Both of these keyword tools generate Amazon-specific keywords and allow the author to look at the search volume for specific keywords.
What kind of eBooks sell more on Amazon?
The most successful e-books on Amazon tend to be those that cater to evergreen and popular niches, including romance, personal finance, self-help, health and wellness, and more. Such genres have a consistent and broad readership that results in higher sales potential.
Summing It All Up!
And that is a wrap! By reading the information provided above, we are sure that you are now well aware of how you can choose the right keywords for your Kindle eBook. So, go on and hunt the perfect ones down and make your masterpiece sell more on Amazon. Isn’t that what you wanted? We bet!
