HOW TO DO KEYWORD RESEARCH for Kindle Publishing | Step by Step Keyword Research | Video #4

About this video

This is a step-by-step tutorial on keyword research for Kindle publishing, framed around understanding how Amazon’s search algorithm finds and ranks books. The creator’s core formula for picking a niche is high demand plus low competition, ideally layered over a topic the publisher is personally interested in so the work stays sustainable. He demonstrates finding niches by drilling into Amazon’s bestseller category pages and looking for recurring topic patterns (the worked example lands on minimalism, decluttering, and home organizing). To judge profitability he uses bestseller rank: he prefers a category where most of the top 20 books sit under roughly 30,000 BSR, but not so many under 5,000 that the niche is over-competitive. He shows a paid route using the KDSpy extension and a free route using the DS Amazon Quick View extension or manually checking each book’s product page. For keyword research itself, the free method is harvesting Amazon’s autocomplete suggestions from the search bar while skipping trademarked phrases, author names, book titles, and anything containing ‘free.’ A good keyword, by his guideline, has at least the first ten results under about 50,000 BSR and fewer than roughly 3,000 total competing results. He also looks for exact-match usage: if few competitors use the exact phrase in a title, putting it in your own title makes ranking much easier. He then shows the paid route with Publisher Rocket, which adds estimated monthly searches, competitor counts, and a competition score, plus a competition analyzer showing which rivals use the keyword in their title or subtitle. Finally, he stresses checking all three formats separately — Kindle, paperback (under ~100,000 BSR can sell well), and audiobook (judged largely by Audible result counts) — because a topic weak in one format can be strong in another, and he advises gathering around ten profitable keywords in one niche to build a series.

Key takeaways

  • Pick niches by the formula high demand plus low competition, and browse Amazon bestseller subcategories looking for topics that repeat across the top results.
  • Use bestseller rank as the profitability test: most top-20 books under ~30,000 BSR signals a good niche; too many under 5,000 means it is too competitive.
  • Harvest keywords from Amazon autocomplete suggestions, avoiding trademarked terms, author names, book titles, and phrases containing ‘free.’
  • A strong keyword has its top results mostly under ~50,000 BSR and under ~3,000 total competing books; few exact-match titles means easier ranking if you use the phrase in your title.
  • Validate every topic across Kindle, paperback, and audiobook separately, since demand and viable BSR thresholds differ by format, and collect about ten keywords per niche to build a series.

Episode details: published March 16, 2020 · 27:32 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.


← Previous: How Long Should a Self-Published Book Be | Free Self-Publishing Course | Video #2 · Next: How to Create a Best-Selling Book Title | Free Self-Publishing Course | Video #5 →

All Sean Dollwet videos · Sean Dollwet profile · Sean Dollwet on YouTube

Sister brand · Vacation Club Promo

All-inclusive resort stays from $435

Qualified couples: promotional Mexico and Caribbean packages at real resorts. Short presentation during your stay — enjoy the rest of the trip.

Qualifications apply · presentation during stay · no purchase required

Subscribe YouTube Suggest