How To Choose Keywords For Kdp - 7 Keyword Slots Research Strategy

About this video

The creator explains his strategy for filling the seven backend keyword slots on Amazon KDP. He stresses that the title and subtitle carry more weight than the backend slots, but the slots still matter and should always be filled. Although Amazon advises against repeating keywords already used in the title, category, or description, he says that based on his own testing and conversations with other KDP publishers, repeating keywords in the backend does not appear to hurt. His core recommendation is to use exact-match, long-tail phrases — the precise wording a customer would type into Amazon search — rather than scattering individual words across slots and letting Amazon assemble the phrase. He compares keyword placement to Tetris: when a customer searches an exact phrase, clicks, and buys, it signals the algorithm that the phrase matches the product, improving ranking for that keyword and eventually for broader, higher-volume terms through a snowball effect. Each slot allows 50 characters. He repeatedly warns that keywords must be relevant to the book’s actual niche, because irrelevant keywords confuse the algorithm and hurt ranking and sales. Overall he frames it as an ongoing testing process: there is no single right or wrong approach, but learning your niche’s keywords and giving the algorithm what it wants is what drives faster sales.

Key takeaways

• Title and subtitle carry more ranking weight than the seven backend keyword slots, but the slots should still always be filled out.
• Use exact-match long-tail phrases — the exact wording customers type into Amazon search — rather than scattering single words across slots.
• Each of the seven backend slots allows up to 50 characters.
• The creator says repeating keywords in the backend, despite Amazon’s guidance against repeats, has not hurt his listings in his testing.
• Never add irrelevant keywords: mismatched terms confuse the algorithm, hurt ranking, and reduce sales.

Episode details: published April 21, 2020 · 13:03 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are RJ Martinez’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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