Top Tips for Optimizing Your Backend Search Terms

This article thoroughly explains Amazon backend keywords, how they contribute to optimizing product listings, and how to find the best keywords. It also offers five tips on how to conduct backend search term optimization and demonstrates how to leverage the Amazon Search Term Report.

Amazon backend keywords are different from normal keywords in that only sellers can see them. They are used when there’s no space left for their product description, or they don’t make enough sense when placed there.

These keywords are still used in the same way as frontend keywords- for Amazon to find your product when a customer searches their database. Amazon backend keywords are located under “search terms” for your product description under Seller Central. Items that are included here but do not show inside of the product listing are always backend keywords.

The giveaway here is the word “backend,” meaning that they are unseen by the customer because they are mainly used for SEO purposes. If there are too many customer-facing keywords, also known as “keyword stuffing”, it can disturb the customer experience. This is one way Amazon sellers “cheat” to compete in Amazon’s SEO battle. Keyword stuffing habits make a store look unprofessional, so the A9 and A10 algorithms penalize sellers who do this.

Moreover, choosing a backend keyword allows you to hit secondary keywords without finding the need to force them into your product listing. They also allow you to focus on creating engaging sales copy while still including the keywords you need. The alternative, frontend keywords, are those used directly in the product listing. You, and your competition, will be able to see them in your product description. You might also see them repeated for emphasis.

Amazon backend keywords are important as they enable you to hit secondary keyword targets and provide you with more than one opportunity to rank. Even if you don’t rank in the top ten of Amazon’s search results immediately, your goal is to index yourself. Indexing yourself on Amazon is adding yourself as a potential search result to your chosen search engines.

For example, if your company creates Bluetooth devices and your target customer puts “Bluetooth speaker” in the search bar, you will appear among those search results. Imagine you had a small booth at a trade show to talk about your product. While your booth might not be the most popular one, at least you have a booth so you can start growing.

To confirm that your product is indexed, you can follow the following steps:

1. Locate the ASIN of your chosen product.
2. Paste it in the Amazon search bar on top of their page
3. Place the target keyword in front of the ASIN
4. Search for the keyword + ASIN combination

Amazon sellers can also leverage DataHawk’s various SEO tools to generate keyword ideas and validate existing ones. 

Amazon product listing optimization is the process of building your product page to be perfect according to Amazon’s standards. The process involves picking high-quality photographs, choosing the right keywords, and creating engaging sales copy. In order to rank on Amazon and win at SEO, listing optimization is vital to rank among the top keywords. Applying that logic to backend keywords allows you to rank for a more extensive list of keywords.

The potential Amazon backend search terms you can rank for is enormous. This is because you have two primary forms of keywords to focus on when creating an Amazon product listing:

1. Seed Keywords – Keywords that describe your product in the most general terms. These are also known as short-tail keywords.
2. Long-Tail Keywords – These keywords describe your product with precise, incredible detail.

Amazon has had over 150 million shoppers as of 2021. Among those shoppers, different people will have different ways of searching for what they want. While there are some common phrases among their search methods, it’s challenging for one human to predict what another human will type in a search box.

As a result, there are almost unlimited numbers of long-tail keywords to choose from. Provided that you target relevant keywords, there is potential for you to rank higher on less competitive grounds. Secondary backend search terms may result in more sales.

When finding the best Amazon backend keywords for your listing, there are two resources you should consider:

• Amazon PPC
• Amazon SEO Tools

Let’s dig into how these two options can help you:

The Amazon Search Terms Report is only available to members of the Amazon Brand Registry. This tool shows the most popular search terms on Amazon with the top three products and how the customers chose among those.

If you want to improve your Amazon listing, this report can help you find how the top three results structure their listing. By observing their listing, you can also use this information to determine if any of these keywords are backend. To understand this report, you should know about these three terms:

• Search Frequency Rank – The rank of a search term compared to the popularity of other words.
• Click Share – The aggregate percentage of people who clicked on a product listing when searching for a term.
• Conversion Share – The conversion count after customers search for a term.

This report is specific to brand owners who want to see how the top performers operate. It can also provide information on changing performers, which is essential when ranking for a specific search term. This information can be important if you have an Amazon product listing close to ranking in the top three. If you want to use this data, you’ll need to join the Amazon Brand Registry Program.

To become a member of the registry, you need to meet the following criteria.

• You need to be an Amazon Seller
• You need to have an active trademark in an approved country
• Your brand needs to have a text-based form

After you complete these steps, you can begin to apply for the Amazon Brands program. Being a part of this program is essential to your success as a seller, as it gives you access to a storefront and powerful analytics tools. For more information on the program, check out our article, the Ultimate Guide to the Amazon Brand Registry.

You’ll need to access the “search terms” section under your product description if you want to add your keywords. To do this, log in to Seller Central and visit your products list. Next, select the product you would like to modify and search for a section labeled “Search Terms.” The search terms field enables you to put in as many or few keywords as you want.

Start with your focus keyword and follow it with secondary keywords found in the product listing. All following keywords not found in the description are your backend keywords. Using your keyword list found through research, you’ll want to enter the best prospects available. Those prospects should focus on the following:

• A combination of competitive and non-competitive keyword options
• The most relevant keywords that focus on providing detailed information about your product
• Keywords with enough search volume worth targeting
• “Test keywords” you aren’t entirely sure of

This section allows you to include spelling variations and minor tweaks between different keywords. Relevant search terms are the key to drawing attention to your quality listings.

For the remainder of this article, we’ll discuss five tips worth considering when optimizing your Amazon listing for backend keywords.

As you pursue the highest ranking on Amazon, thousands of other sellers are doing the same thing, many of whom are in the same product categories.

When it comes to backend search terms, Amazon will always favor the highest performers. Instead, they find who works for target keywords, placing them higher on that list. As trends change and the A9 algorithm favors one over another, you’ll find that some keywords make more sales than others.

For example, let’s assume you sell shoes. One shoe you have is suitable for running. However, you find that “running shoes” is a pretty competitive target. However, your secondary backend keywords include “jogging shoes,” “sprinting shoes,” and “long-distance running shoes.” You find that targeting the long-tail keyword gets you more sales.

You also know that “sprinting shoes” is a less popular keyword but might be less competitive. Your process should involve testing both keywords as a primary. For example, you can use testing environments available through Amazon Advertising to see how customers respond to a given keyword. The Amazon Search Terms Report can also tell you how you rank among other competitors.

This point reminds us that it is vital for sellers always to be responsive to changing factors. Many times, your Amazon backend search terms might end up being more suitable for the front end. You can find out which of your options is the most effective through testing, but you need to be willing to change.

When we talk about logical thinking, this refers to two main things. First, your product solves problems in one way or another, making the customer’s life easier. Therefore, you need to find keywords that describe how exactly it solves that problem.

For example, let’s say you made a sturdy pair of over-the-ear headphones. Your headphones might have a sporty, fitness-oriented image, making them appeal to people who like to work out. Your product is wireless and fits securely to the head, which is ideal for active people.

As a result, your long-tail keyword could be “over-the-ear wireless headphones for working out.” While this is a mouthful, it contains a plethora of details the customer will appreciate. The second half of being logical involves paying attention to the order of the keywords. You won’t type the above as “headphones over-the-ear wireless for working out.” That word combination doesn’t make sense.

Instead, think of grammar when selecting your keywords. If you would like assistance in this, check out the Amazon search bar’s autofill features. Your Amazon product listing will gain more attention when it is written in a logical order.

When creating an advertising campaign for the first time, it isn’t likely to be incredibly successful. The same logic applies to creating Amazon SEO campaigns. Your Amazon ASIN lookup process will reveal numerous target keywords. Unfortunately, not all of those keywords are likely to work. So you’ll have to try out many keywords until you find something that does. When you find Amazon backend search terms that work, stick with them.

Continue using them until they lose effectiveness, and then try other options. The same exact process applies to frontend keywords. However, you won’t let your Amazon listing remain untouched if someone with a more compelling description beats your focus keyword.
As your store’s product inventory becomes more extensive, collecting all of this data can be challenging. But by that time, you will likely have a larger staff that can help you address the changes. You’ll want to revisit your search terms regularly.

Ideally, your most essential products need to be re-addressed once every week. This is especially important if you are in an incredibly competitive field. For less competitive items, visit those Amazon backend search terms at least once a month. You’ll want to put all of the efforts you can into improving your ranking on Amazon.

Optimizing your product listing is a significant part of gaining recognition. When you work on your backend search terms, Amazon will be more likely to improve your Amazon ranking.

However, none of this will matter if you don’t know the business management basics. Amazon puts an incredibly high priority on those who offer a great customer experience. More specifically, those who provide high-quality products consistently.

Improving the customer experience applies to everything else you do on Amazon. So focus on improving the following areas as you optimize your listings:

• Reduce your order defect rate by performing regular quality tests on the products you sell. When your items are constantly returned, your optimized listing ranking will drop.
• Consider becoming an FBA Seller. FBA Sellers ship their items to a fulfillment center that can send them out anywhere in the country in just a few days. This improves your chances of receiving a high ranking on Amazon.
• Pay close attention to your inventory levels. Stockouts are one of the worst situations sellers can get themselves into. Often, a stockout ruins any chances of the seller getting into the top ranks.
• Use product inserts to thank the customer for buying your product. It’s great to receive recognition for anything you do, and people appreciate that recognition.

Small businesses on Amazon can break if they don’t practice the basics. So while you are performing high-level Amazon SEO activities, don’t forget that you also need to manage your store.

Take a look at Amazon Seller Central: they have various tutorials you can use to improve your products. When enhancing your Amazon listing, why not ask the company who made the platform? If you haven’t already, explore various Amazon guides on how to produce excellent product listings. You can also use the Amazon ASIN lookup feature to pinpoint successful products.

The combination of competitive and Amazon-based research will help you. Continuing your research will always be necessary, as Amazon constantly releases new features for its sellers to try out. For example, Amazon Posts is a free content platform that sellers can advertise directly on competitor pages. This gives you a last-ditch effort you can use to snag a customer from a product description page.

However, you wouldn’t know about it without paying attention to Amazon’s announcements. You should also pay attention to third-party blogs as there are many selling experts out there who are willing to share their experiences. With a bit of insight, you can really help your business grow.

When optimizing backend search terms, Amazon doesn’t provide you with many tools. That’s why it is important to watch how other sellers handle this. It’s essential for you to hit relevant keywords that draw the right customers. Focus on keyword indexing, which enables Amazon to understand all your desired targets.

Your efforts in improving your seller rating will result in you ranking for these terms. It’s important to cast a wide net, but always be sure that you prioritize primary keywords on the front end.