Utilizing Amazon Search Terms for Optimized Product Listings: An Illustrative Guide

Navigating the realm of Amazon sales involves a deep understanding of several core concepts, among which are keywords and search terms. These two seemingly similar terms play distinct roles in enhancing a product’s visibility and performance on the platform. This summary explores the intricacies of Amazon Search Terms and how sellers can strategically use them in their product listings, using a specific example to illustrate the practical application of these concepts.

Amazon Search Terms are essentially the words or phrases that customers type into the Amazon search bar when looking for a particular product. This differs from Keywords, which are a single word or multiple words strung together as a phrase used by sellers to boost the discoverability and inorganic growth of a product. The primary distinction between the two lies in their application: keywords are entered into PPC campaigns by sellers, while search terms represent the actual input from customers during their product search.

To illustrate, imagine a seller who is marketing a red water bottle. They might use keywords such as “red water bottle”, “water bottle for sports”, or “durable water bottle” in their PPC campaign. Meanwhile, potential customers could use search terms like “red water bottle for gym”, “water bottle for outdoor activities”, or “long-lasting water bottle” when looking for such a product on Amazon.

Amazon provides a feature called Keyword Match Types, which allows sellers to align their ad displays with customer search terms. There are three types of matches: Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match. In a broad match type, the keywords entered by the seller are matched with a wide range of search terms that contain all possible variations of the keyword. Phrase match type allows sellers to enter a phrase as a keyword, and any search terms containing this phrase will be matched. Exact match type implies that the customer’s search term must be identical to the keyword used to target the ad for it to be displayed.

Applying this to our example, if the seller uses a broad match type with the keyword “red water bottle”, their ad could be displayed when a customer types in “red water bottle for gym” or “large red water bottle”. With a phrase match type for “water bottle for sports”, their ad could appear for search terms like “water bottle for sports and outdoor activities”. However, if they use an exact match type for “durable water bottle”, their ad would only be displayed when a customer types in “durable water bottle” exactly.

The relationship between a keyword and a search term is central to the matching process. Keywords, which are collected from frequently used customer search terms, are made up of multiple search terms. Therefore, a keyword with one particular match type can be associated with several search terms and vice versa.

When sellers view keyword-level metrics on Amazon Seller Central, they are essentially looking at the metrics of search terms attributed to the keyword. For instance, if a keyword “red water bottle” receives 5000 impressions and has three search terms attributed to it, the 5000 impressions represent a cumulative total of the impressions of all the search terms attributed to it.

This relationship underscores the importance of understanding the terms that customers use to search for products, which in turn aids in building and strengthening the seller’s keyword strategy. Therefore, sellers must invest time and resources in understanding and analyzing their customers’ search behaviors to tailor their product listings and PPC campaigns accordingly.

Key Takeaways:

• Keywords are used by sellers in their PPC campaigns to boost product discoverability, while search terms are the actual words or phrases customers use in their product search.
• Amazon provides three keyword match types – broad, phrase, and exact – that allow sellers to match their ad displays with varied customer search terms.
• The keyword-level metrics viewed on Amazon Seller Central represent the metrics of search terms attributed to the keyword.
• Understanding customer search terms is vital for building and strengthening a seller’s keyword strategy.

Understanding and strategically using Amazon Search Terms can significantly enhance a product’s visibility and performance on the platform. Sellers must grasp the difference between keywords and search terms, the concept of keyword match types, and the relationship between keywords and search terms. By doing so, they can optimize their product listings and PPC campaigns, leading to improved product discoverability, better customer reach,and ultimately, higher sales. For instance, by effectively utilizing search terms and keywords, our hypothetical seller of the red water bottle could reach more potential customers, and increase the visibility and sales of their product on Amazon.