Amazon Keyword Goldmines: How Indie Authors Find High-Intent Search Terms (Without Guessing)

Amazon Keyword Goldmines: How Indie Authors Find High-Intent Search Terms (Without Guessing)

If you’ve ever stared at Amazon ads or your book listing and thought, “Okay… what keywords do I even use?” you’re not alone. Most authors start by guessing. They pick words they like, words that sound “bookish,” or words they assume readers search for.

But here’s the good news. You do not have to guess.

Amazon is already telling you what readers are searching for. Your job is simply to listen, collect, and test. In this post, we’ll walk you through practical ways to find high-intent keyword goldmines that attract readers who are ready to click, sample, and buy.

First, what “high-intent” actually means

A high-intent keyword is a search term that signals a reader is close to making a purchase. It’s the difference between someone browsing and someone shopping.

“Fantasy” is broad. It’s a vibe, not a buying decision.

But “cozy fantasy with found family” or “dragon academy fantasy romance” is specific. That person knows what they want. And when your book matches that desire, your conversion rate usually improves because the reader is already ready to buy.

In general, high-intent terms are more specific, more descriptive, and closer to readers' language than author language.

Keyword goldmine #1: Amazon autocomplete (the easiest win)

Go to Amazon and start typing a phrase related to your book into the search bar. Do not hit enter yet. Watch what Amazon suggests.

Those suggestions are not random. They are real searches. Amazon is basically saying, “People type these exact phrases all the time.”

Try variations like:

Start with your genre and add a trope or detail.

Try “romantic suspense small town,” “ya enemies to lovers,” “cozy mystery bakery,” “epic fantasy quest,” “thriller with female detective.”

Try adding “book” or “novel” at the end.

Try adding “series” or “standalone.”

Try adding a strong theme: “grief,” “revenge,” “second chance,” “time travel,” “forbidden love.”

Your goal is to collect phrases that sound like something a reader would genuinely type when they want their next read.

Quick tip: open an incognito window if you can, so your personal browsing doesn’t influence suggestions as much.

Keyword goldmine #2: The “also bought” neighborhood of your comp books

Find 5 to 10 books that are genuinely similar to yours in tone, audience, and promise. Not aspirational comps, but realistic ones. Then scroll through:

“Customers also bought”

“Related to items you’ve viewed”

The carousel of similar titles

This is one of the best ways to understand what Amazon thinks your book is, and what readers are buying in the same session.

Now, here’s the move most people miss.

Click into a few of those similar books and read how they describe themselves, especially the subtitle and the first few lines of the blurb. Often you’ll spot recurring phrases like “gripping domestic thriller,” “slow burn romantic suspense,” “clean small-town romance,” “high fantasy adventure,” “dark academia mystery.”

If you see the same words over and over across successful books in your lane, those words are usually worth testing.

Keyword goldmine #3: Category language (where Amazon hides buyer intent)

Categories aren’t just for browsing. They’re also a clue to how Amazon groups reader intent.

When you find your closest competitors, look at their categories. You’ll often discover subcategory phrases that are basically keywords in disguise, like:

“Women Sleuths”

“Technothrillers”

“Paranormal Witches & Wizards”

“Historical Mystery”

“Coming of Age Fantasy”

These can inspire keyword phrases that align with how Amazon already organizes demand.

A simple approach is to write down category phrases that feel like a perfect match for your book, then convert them into natural reader searches. For example, “Women Sleuths” can become “female detective mystery series” or “mystery with female investigator.”

Keyword goldmine #4: Reviews (reader words beat author words)

Reviews are a cheat code because readers describe what they experienced, not what you intended.

Open reviews on your comp books and scan for repeated phrases, especially in 4-star and 5-star reviews. Look for:

• Tropes readers mention

• Emotional payoff readers describe

• Pacing or vibe words

• Setting and character type language

• The “I picked this up because…” clues

You’ll see patterns like “page-turner,” “slow burn,” “banter,” “found family,” “twisty,” “cozy,” “dark,” “spicy,” “clean,” “heartwarming,” “smart detective,” “unreliable narrator.”

Those phrases can become strong keyword angles because they mirror how readers talk.

Keyword goldmine #5: Amazon Ads search term report (the most powerful, once you have data)

If you’re running Amazon ads, the search term report is where the real gold lives. It shows the actual customer search terms that triggered your ads.

Even if you’re brand new to ads, you can generate data by running a simple auto campaign with a small daily budget. The goal is not to “win” immediately. The goal is to learn.

Once you have a bit of data, look for search terms that have:

• Orders or strong conversion

• High click-through rate

• Multiple clicks and strong engagement

Those terms are your high-intent candidates. Move the best ones into a manual campaign as exact or phrase match so you can control bids and keep them active.

Also, look for irrelevant terms that are wasting spend and add them as negatives. That’s how you stop paying for the wrong audience.

How to tell if a keyword is actually “good”

A keyword can sound perfect and still not perform. So instead of debating endlessly, use a simple filter before you invest time and money.

A keyword is worth testing if:

• It matches your book promise clearly.

• It sounds like something a reader would type.

• It implies a specific reading desire, not just a vague genre label.

• It’s not so narrow that nobody searches it.

A keyword is probably weak if:

• It’s too broad, like “romance” or “thriller.”

• It describes your writing process instead of the reader experience.

• It’s a theme word with no genre anchor, like “betrayal” by itself.

• It attracts the wrong audience, like “cozy mystery” for a dark serial killer thriller.

A simple keyword-building method you can reuse forever

Here’s an easy way to create a big list fast without making it messy.

Start with 5 core “reader wants” for your book. For example:

• A trope or relationship dynamic

• A vibe or heat level

• A setting type

• A character type

• A subgenre niche

  
  

Then mix and match them into natural phrases.

Example, romance:

“small town second chance romance”

“clean small town romance”

“grumpy sunshine small town romance”

“single dad small town romance”

Example, fantasy:

“magic academy fantasy romance”

“dragon rider fantasy adventure”

“found family epic fantasy”

“dark fae romance series”

You’re not trying to be clever. You’re trying to be findable.

Where to put these keywords (so they actually matter)

Once you have your shortlist, use them strategically:

• Your subtitle, if it fits naturally and doesn’t look spammy

• Your book description, especially the first 2 to 3 lines

• Your backend keywords (KDP keyword fields)

• Your Amazon Ads manual keyword campaigns

• Your BookBub or promo copy, if relevant

The key is consistency. When your listing, your ads, and your book’s promise all point in the same direction, Amazon learns faster who your ideal reader is.

A quick testing plan that keeps you sane

If you do nothing else, do this:

• Pick 20 to 40 strong keyword phrases.

• Run an auto campaign to discover more.

• Move converting search terms into manual exact and phrase campaigns.

• Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords.

• Repeat weekly or biweekly.

This is how you stop guessing and start building a keyword system that improves over time.

Treat keywords like a conversation, not a spreadsheet

The biggest mindset shift is this. Keywords are not just “SEO.” They are the language bridge between what readers want and what your book delivers.

When you focus on reader intent, your keywords become clearer, your ads become cheaper, and your book becomes easier to find.

And that’s the real goldmine.