Let's start with a short explanation of what are exactly keywords. Simply put, keywords are the searches of customers, the words they type in to find what they want. So, if you want to sell better you have to add the right keywords. This way your book will appear in more searches and therefore increase the chance to be purchased.
Keywords are of great importance when it comes to advertising on Amazon, and honestly, everywhere else. They are the engine of your advertisement. Because of them, your perfect book cover and blurb will appear in front of potential readers who will then click on it and land on your page.
You might think that you can guess the keywords for your book and you might be right in a way. But how profitable they would be? You need keywords that appear in many searches - broad and specific. It is like when you go to the store to buy milk but you walk out with two bags of groceries. You didn't know you wanted or needed those items before you saw them in the store but once you glanced at them you decided to buy them. It is the same with books. Many readers think they know what they want but they change their minds when they're offered more options.
HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT KEYWORDS?
The truth is you need A-B testing and lots of work until you get it right. The market is an ever-changing place that needs care and updates almost all the time.
FIND WHAT PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR?
First, use Incognito mode on your browser to go to Amazon. We do that so your previous searches don't affect what Amazon shows you.
Then you click on “Kindle Store” or “Books” and choose your category - you need to see what's popular in your genre.
Start typing in a very word, and appearance to determine what Start typing a word of simply writhe the first letter of the alphabet and see what Amazon suggest you're searching for. Then type "b", "c" and so on, Amazon pre-populates keywords within the search box.
Once you've found a phrase that you think is suitable for your book copy-paste it into an excel document. And keep going. It is a lot of work but it is worth it in the long run.
Do the same with phrases.
For example, if your phrase is "fantasy books" then you write "fantasy books a" and see what appears in the search box. Then "fantasy books b" and so on.
In the end, you want a minimum of 50 keywords/phrases, the best minimum would be 150.
USE YOUR COMPETITION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.
The second option for profitable keywords is to add the titles and author names of popular books in your category. This way, your book will appear next to them and readers may get interested and give it a shot.
USE KEYWORDS TOOLS
There are many tools on the Internet - free and paid. You can always use one of those but beware they are a bit broad and you may need more time to get it right. You need to check your campaign at least twice a week and replace not working keywords with new ones.
HIRE AN EXPERT TO CREATE YOUR CAMPAIGN
Hiring a specialist will save you time and money (in the long run). The main plus in hiring an expert is that the person/company already had done that and the A-B testing period will be much shorter than if you do it alone. Also, the possibility of success if much bigger when the campaign is done professionally.
Again, on the Internet you can find many specialists who would do your campaign.
We, at BooksShelf, also do that. We pride ourselves on the personal touch and customized campaigns that we create.
If you're interested, please follow THIS link.