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ASM Module 5: Initial Strategic
Keyword Research
In this lesson, you will perform strategic keyword research specifically
for your listing. This allows Amazon to know what your listing is about,
and enables prospective customers to find your product.
This Lesson Covers:
1. Keywords
2. Primary and Long Tail Keywords
3. What Amazon Wants
4. Where to Use Keywords
5. Which Keywords?
6. Finding Relevant Keywords
1. Keywords
A Keyword is what a consumer types in the Amazon search bar to find what they are
looking for. It is normally two or more words.
Take a look at the following example:
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If you sell bicycle pumps on Amazon, you want your product to appear for the keyword
“bicycle pump.” However, not every consumer will use only that phrase. They might
search for:
● “Bicycle pump automatic”
● “Bicycle pump and patch kit”
● “Bicycle pump seal”
● “Bicycle pump online”
You need to capture as much relevant traffic as possible to be sure that your product is
included in as many search results as possible. To do that, you need to find the most
productive keywords for your listing.
2. Primary and Long Tail Keywords
Primary keywords are the main, most obvious keywords (e.g., “bicycle pump”). Long tail
keywords are the ones that are less-frequently searched for (e.g. “bicycle pump and
patch kit,” “small bicycle pump with gauge”).
Use our keyword strategy and focus on both types of keywords, in order to get more
traffic as a new seller.
3. What Amazon Wants
Amazon wants you to do your own keyword research—this lets them know which
searches you think your product is relevant to. Amazon even has a space where you can
enter keywords when you set up your product listing.
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But there is a lot of work you need to do first to be sure you add the most relevant and
productive keywords when you set up your product listing.
4. Where to Use Keywords
Use your specific keywords (after you have researched them) in the following places, to
increase their effectiveness:
● Product title
● Bullet points
● Description
● Back end (in the listing setup)
● Advertising on Amazon
● Advertising off Amazon
5. Which Keywords?
Amazon doesn’t tell you exactly which keywords to use, but Amazon Ads give you the
most accurate keywords (this comes later, once your product is live).
We recommend using Amazon search and a keyword research tool called
“MerchantWords” to find your listing keywords, as you get started. Click the link below
to take advantage of a deal that they are offering ASM students:
www.amazingsellingmachine.com/merchantwords
This lesson focuses on Amazon keywords. You may use Google to search for them, but
we do not recommend it.
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www.getwsodo.com
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6. Finding Relevant Keywords
Do the following things to find relevant keywords for your product:
1. Click this link to sign up with MerchantWords (you do not have to use them, but
they are the best tool we have found for finding Amazon keywords):
www.amazingsellingmachine.com/merchantwords
2. Open your ASM product opportunities spreadsheet.
3. Go to www.amazon.com, then start typing your primary keywords into the search
bar (e.g. “bicycle pump”). You will see a drop-down list of keyword options:
4. Enter all of these variations into your spreadsheet (these are your seed
keywords):
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5. Note: Only enter keywords that match your products. Click the keywords in the
drop-down menu to visit the products, if you are unsure about whether or not to
use them.
6. Try out different variations of your product name (e.g. “bike pump” instead of
“bicycle pump”).
Take the time now to enter all of your relevant keywords into your spreadsheet. When
you have done that, continue with the following steps:
7. Go to www.merchantwords.com and enter your keywords into their search bar,
then click “Search”:
8. MerchantWords sorts your results by highest search volume, and offers more
suggestions for different keywords!
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www.getwsodo.com
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9. Click “Download as CSV” at the top right of the page.
10. Open Google sheets and click the file folder at the top right of the page:
11. Click “Upload” in the pop-up window, then drag and drop the .csv that you just
downloaded into the box. When you do this, the file will automatically open.
12. Alternately, open your .csv, highlight the keywords and their search volume (do
not highlight anything with a volume of less than 100), copy the information, then
go back to your product keyword research spreadsheet and paste the
information there.
13. Repeat this process for all of your keywords, and find out whether there are any
that you missed. Your list should now look something like this:
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14. Go through your list, and delete any duplicates that you find.
15. Click the down arrow at the top of the “Search Volume” column, then select “Sort
Sheet Z–A” from the drop-down menu to organize your spreadsheet in order of
the keywords with the most volume to the ones with the least volume.
16. Read through your list, and start labeling them in the “Type” column—for
example, enter “Brand” for any keyword that involves a brand, “N/A” for any
keywords that are not applicable to your product, and “Good” for any potentially
good matches.
Now you have created a great list of potential keywords!
7. Process Recap
Read through this list, and double-check that you have taken all of the steps:
1. Identify seed keywords
2. Run them through MerchantWords
3. Download CSV or copy and paste into product keyword research spreadsheet
4. Check to see if longer tail keywords are in the spreadsheet
5. Remove any duplicates and sort by highest search volume
6. Identify type (“Good,” “N/A,” or “Brand”)
Now that you have developed your list of keywords, head to the next lesson, where you
will use them to craft your perfect listing headline!
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