Amazon Keyword Rules: New Update!

[@RickGualtieri]

Thanks. Didn't realize I could call up category keywords in Rocket.

[@Kindlepreneur]

A fun new feature we introduced a couple of months back :)

[@rebeccabolandstrategy]

@@Kindlepreneur I didn't realize that either! Time to refresh a few listings!

[@toddpickens]

Yeah I wasn't aware of this either

[@soggynomadpress]

Whew, was updating lots of my old, non selling book keywords with advice from your recent video on the topic. For a second I thought I'd need to start over. I can deal with these. Thanks for the heart attack (ha ha) and the update.

[@jillkthomas]

Amazon trying to force us to log into our account every few months and check on our books/keywords and such kindof a pain but since we should be doing that anyway I guess it has a purpose.

[@armitahs]

Thanks for another great informative video. Always to the point, clear, and helpful.

[@Kindlepreneur]

I like to make my videos like I like to watch them :)

[@user-fh5gw6cm7i]

Thank you for the video - thank goodness that you keep us updated - it would be nice if KDP updated us on these changes

[@Kindlepreneur]

So true...

[@toddpickens]

Thanks for the update. Here's a question for you regarding brand names. Some companies have open license for people to create supporting material. For example, Dungeons & dragons. As a result there are countless products on Amazon designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons that say so in their subtitle or product description. This is not a violation of using a trademark term, according to the trademark owner. Whether or not Amazon understands this is another question. How should one navigate around this.

[@Kindlepreneur]

I think, when it comes to Brands and trademarks, Amazon's system isn't checking for every trademark registered in the world and then blindly stopping any term that is listed as one. I think their system is looking for any use of a word that is a brand that would be misleading. Something like Coca Cola or Disney would be clearly words or names of a brand that has product and is well known enough that would be problematic. I can't speak on behalf D&D specifically, but I think that would be safe if the book is D&D related.

[@amypalafox7315]

Thank you for this question. My son is working on D&D fiction presently, so this is good to know

[@patriciajackson1542]

Thanks, Dave! This video has given me a clearer understanding of keywords.

[@Kindlepreneur]

Excellent!

[@RickSkorupski]

Thanks, Dave. I am about to launch book number nine. As a long-time Rocket user, I will certainly use your category to keyword feature to set my seven keywords.

[@theresamcevoy6120]

There is another time when KDP might think it is a spelling error when it is not. I write High Fantasy fiction and sometimes in my book, I use Elven language or Draconian language when it fits the scene.

[@ashleyemma4954]

Thank you for saving our butts again, Dave!!!!!!!! I would have never known about this otherwise, and I have 4 clients who have gotten flagged/terminated over silly things like this.

[@creativecareer1133]

Thank you Dave for a very helpful and informative video, it really helped me

[@Kindlepreneur]

Very welcome

[@montanadivacreations9267]

glad I saw this.. I was just hitting publish.. so went and changed my backend words..

[@elisekrentzel27]

This all makes sense. Nothing outlandish.

[@davidchristiansen6132]

Always uptodate, precise and not one word to much. Love it, thanks Dave.

[@fyurileblanc7206]

i thought i had followed all rules. they kept kicking my book back and refused to publish it until i removed all keywords. even when i went with just 3 keywords, they still kicked it back. the weirdest thing was they let the hard cover publish with those three keywords, but kicked the soft cover back at me. never did figure out what was wrong with the keywords. and yeah, i knew about the three new rules. i went and read them all trying to figure out what i was doing wrong.

[@rebeccabolandstrategy]

Are you sure it's specifically the keywords at the bottom that is causing the issue, and not potentially somewhere else in the listing? For example if your subtitle accidentally said "Friendly Dinosaur" which was one reason I had a book kicked back 100 times! Couldn't figure it out until I finally had a flashback to babysitting and realized that's gotta be a Barney trademark! Where all I wanted was to make kids know they were smiling and not scary in my book 😊

[@toddpickens]

Some of the books I produced are player journals for Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplay games. They are very specifically formatted for use with those games and are not usable for anything else. In spite of that, they told me I was in violation for selecting those categories and made me remove them. In spite of the fact that there are countless other books produced the same way that are in those categories. And in many cases those books are not uniquely formatted but instead or just ruled pages, like a normal notebook. Frankly I think the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing with their compliance. And their customer support experience has been a train wreck.

[@kamilapanasiuk3163]

well I am also not able to publish any book since this update, time to leave, waste of time

[@toddpickens]

The problem isn't that they have strict rules. That's reasonable. They are protecting themselves from liability. Problem is that they seem to make zero effort to communicate with KDP members about updates and changes to the terms. And then when a terms are violated they make, at least in my experience, zero attempt to identify what the problem is, or why it's a problem, or help you arrive at a solution. My recent experience feels like I am being punished for asking questions of the compliance department. Being told to remove my books from the only two categories that are appropriate for the books. And when complying with that order receiving a follow-up email to unpublish anything that is in violation of their terms. Could they possibly give me a broader, all encompassing less helpful response? So now I've lost almost a year of 5 star reviews and audience building, and establishing my presence in the marketplace.

[@paulacappa3794]

Dave, can you clarify? Is it okay to use keywords that are in the book subtitle? Ex, if my book title is Sky Wolf, A Fairy Tale, is it okay to use fairy tales as keyword? And what if fairy tales is a sub-category (ex. Kindle Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Fairy Tales )? Or are you saying only the main category Science Fiction & Fantasy?

[@PiploProductions]

Thanks. As usual very helpful. With regards to using the word book, I noticed on kdp rocket that children's book is often a good part of a keyword phrase as in children's books about anxiety or anxiety book for kids. In this video, you noted not including a word like book. Would that be correct in this case? Thanks so much.

[@Kindlepreneur]

No, something like workbook or children's book are not a format level term, and so it shouldn't be a problem. Also, the use of "Book" or "eBook" isn't a no no, it's more a suggestion that amazon knows it is a book or ebook and so they claim its a waste.

[@defletcher2902]

Thank you for keeping us up to date on AMZ changes. :) Love Rocket BTW.

[@ZoiyGalloay]

For Brand Names, does this mean you can't put in the description something like: "This book is for fans of (famous author) and (famous book name)"?

[@jsa-z1722]

Thank you Dave! I love Publisher Rocket

[@enesijoseph7769]

Forgive me, sir. You made mention of "Variant of a word through spacing." Could you please throw more light on that with one example? Thanks 🙏

[@enesijoseph7769]

Massive thanks to you. Recently my book was blocked. I discovered where the problem lied, and I made necessary changes to it. Please, can I still publish that same book since I've already corrected my mistakes?

[@Kindlepreneur]

That depends on what you violated and if they banned your account or just rejected it.

[@FCSchaefer]

I was just planning to take a look at the keywords for some of my non-selling books, and I've got my work cut out for me.

[@lmjuniper]

Is this only for keywords only or does it also apply to the description? Eg saying "in this X-Men meets Desperate Housewives" or some of the like?

[@JaphetOsayande-fk6mb]

Hello Dave, Just a quick one. I wanna understand the "Books" Part, are you saying amazon frowns at including "Books" in our Backbend?? And lastly on this new update is it in effect to the next books we publish or one have to go back to make this corrections on the Old Books??

[@connielafortune1299]

Thanks for the update! Now I'm wondering if we list keyword phrases from all three genres if that would work? Or make it worse?

[@CodyCEngdahl]

thank you

[@Kindlepreneur]

You're welcome

[@petaobrien4719]

thank you! very clear and helpful!

[@unbreakable_tv]

Thanks for the update! To clarify, this is only for Kindle, is that correct?

[@Kindlepreneur]

No, both book and ebook.

[@rm6442]

Thanks Dave 👍 Much appreciated. I was wondering... I always believed Amazon took the exact keywords from your title in order, but do they also take different combinations of the words, as they do with words in the 7 boxes?

[@planetaryPoem9]

In Publisher Rocket, is there a way to check what keywords competitors are ranking for?

[@hassanazeez8793]

Addition to the UPDATE I updated my manuscript and cover.. I misspelled the book title: AGEING AS AGING. So I corrected the title and my book was flagged. So am confused, I don't wat is wrong?

[@lilithroman]

Does this mean that if my book is a mafia romance, and it has "mafia romance" in the subtitle, and it is in the Mafia Romance, and Romantic Suspense categories, then I should not put mafia, romance, or suspense in the keywords since it's a duplication? It feels strange not to have any of them in the keywords.

[@Kindlepreneur]

I personally still keep them in my 7 KDP boxes. Their point on this is really a recommendation.

[@scifidesign2]

Thanks for this Dave.

[@Kindlepreneur]

Glad to help :)

[@eandersauthor]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@godcannotfailjohnson230]

Please if I am writing a biography on Taylor Swift for example, can I use Taylor Swift in the backend

[@kamilapanasiuk3163]

so whne I have a coloring book and it is in coloring books cathegory I can't mention this in any other place? People buy coloring books searhing for " x y z coloring book" not for "funny doggies". What to do now?

[@Kindlepreneur]

They suggest you don't....but it is not necessary to listen...nor would I advise you do.

[@deborahgarland-author3956]

Categories- They put us in categories on their own and so how can we avoid keywords in categories we don't know we're in.

[@Kindlepreneur]

Like I said in the video, that rule is more of a suggestion. As in, try not to waste one of your boxes on a keyword that is in the category. If you do find that you are using keywords that drove you into a different category, you can change them.

[@authoreverafter]

@@Kindlepreneur As follow-up Q - since Amazon doesn't always use the categories we select, would using them as keywords increase the odds we could "force" the use of the categories we want to be in, lower the odds we're put in categories the bots think we should be in?

[@trishamessmer2610]

@@authoreverafter Great follow question. I was wondering this as well. When I use a trope for a keyword slot, I typically add on Regency to avoid being shown on contemporary romances with the same trope.

[@tophat2115]

so what you're saying is, if you have 'kindle book' as part of your phrasing you should remove it?

[@danielegbo5135]

I got block from publishing because i used the wrong keyword. Itried to appeal but the support refused to unblock. How fo i go about this

[@rosinaiglesias-traductoral5827]

Hi Dave, I have a question. Reading some books on Marketing for authors I've seen that they recommend using other authors' names with books similar to yours in the boxes. Is that right or against Amazon's rules?

[@Kindlepreneur]

You can target authors and other books as keywords in Amazon Advertisements, but not for your 7 Kindle keyword boxes.

[@rosinaiglesias-traductoral5827]

@@Kindlepreneur Ok. Thank you very much for your quick answer.

[@blairdenholm4167]

"Keywords to avoid". How ambiguous is that? That actually doesn't literally mean "you must not use them" but rather, best not to use them. Or am I wrong?

[@jeffh3409]

What are examples of "subjective claims about quality" and "time sensitive statements"?

[@Kindlepreneur]

Time sensitive: Buy now, it's on sale, etc Subjective claims about quality: Best Sci Fi, #1 rated, etc

[@ZoiyGalloay]

@@Kindlepreneur So does this mean you can't say in the description "#1 USA Today's Bestselling Author" etc.?

[@eveharrellauthor]

Thank you! I added my name in my keywords because it helps all of my books come up in search. So is this in violation?

[@Kindlepreneur]

I think you're fine. They'd say that it is a waste of space in the box, however, as you probably see, that's not entirely the case. And it isn't a violation of their hard rule because it isn't misleading.

[@karinwinter9057]

So am I not allowed to use the word books, or is it just a recommendation? Publisher Rockets gives higher numbers for phrases with the "books" word in them.

[@Kindlepreneur]

It's a recommendation - but sometimes they get grumpy about it but normally for other terms like Audiobook

[@johngerles842]

Does it mean we have to avoid keywords they have the word book in it? I am asking you because there are many keywords that include the word books or book like "book about spiritual awakening". Is not allowed to use them? also i can't use the keyword "self development best sellers" because of the quality phrase "best sellers"? What about the keywords that exist in both the Title-Subtitle and the Categories?

[@tariahb20]

How do I get my account back after and error on Amazon ‘s part? I can’t seem to reach anyone via email and when I call the reps say they’re not apart of KDP smh has anyone received an email response or knows how to contact someone from KDP??? My account was terminated twice with no explanation.

[@tophat2115]

Dave, is this an update from your last keyword video?

[@PeterNyong-jr8su]

So does it means that words that are in our book category, description title and subtitles should not be in our 7 backend keywords?

[@Kindlepreneur]

They recommend that, but I still put them in my 7

[@Damian-lz7mr]

Hello Dave, I am sorry the question is not related to this video. Yet I thought you could share your opinion on this. I found out that the word "mediterranean" has been trademarked under class 16 (which is related to books and print on demand products) in UK trademark office. We all know that UK is the second largest market in kdp space. Since only the word mediterranean is trademarked, can we make a book named "Mediterranean Diet for Beginners" or "Mediterranean Recipes Cookbook"? "Mediterranean Diet" is a huge niche with high demand for very long time. How did those top selling books survived then? Aren't we allowed to use only the exact trademarked word (mediterranean)? Or can we use the other variants of that keyword? I have found several other keywords with the same issue. How these trademark laws work in kdp space? Thank you :)

[@Kindlepreneur]

I think, when it comes to Brands and trademarkts, Amazon's system isn't checking for every trademark registered in the world and then blindly stopping any term. I think their system is looking for any use of a word that is a brand that would be misleading. So, my take is something like mediterranean would be completely fine becasue it is a word. Whereas if you were targeting something like Mediterranean Company or something that would mislead shoppers if they typed that in, then the system would flag it.

[@Damian-lz7mr]

@@Kindlepreneur Thank you so much Dave. This means a lot :)

[@AbrahamRobert.C]

Is that why books are been block without Amazon highligthing the reason

[@demiliveandwingit6363]

Seconding this. Is this why books are getting blocked?

[@Kindlepreneur]

It could be a part of it. But I have my theories on what is going on - and I think it goes beyond that.

[@Stoicpath365]

I wish to know better why...

[@carlbarton772]

Is there a rocket version for chromebooks, coming back to KDP after sometime away

[@Kindlepreneur]

Yes there is :)

[@carlbarton772]

@@Kindlepreneur And this is why we love you..... epic work....

[@vincenthandara3968]

Can I write dog coloring book?

[@joannebarnes8866]

I just paid someone to write a blurb, and it uses HTML. Maybe I should delete it?

[@Kindlepreneur]

No no...that's for your book description. The HTML rule is for your KDP keywords boxes. So you're fine.

[@amandaschiller3159]

thank you! i am a dumbass using 'book' in some of my keyword phrases - hah!

[@historicalcanvas]

Please reply me, if i use other author name in keywords for his biography book. Will this be the issue?

[@Kindlepreneur]

If it is an author name of someone else who is not a part of the book then that woudl be misleading so it would be a violation. If it is the name of the author of that book, then they wouldn't consider it a violation since it is misleading...they'd just say that it is a waste.

[@godcannotfailjohnson230]

Sorry, someone else who is not part of the book? Let's say I am writing a biography of Taylor Swift, can I use Taylor Swift in the backend

[@butchersrespawn]

Is cyberpunk considered a brand name?

[@Kindlepreneur]

Probably not, but I'm not a lawyer and that's not legal advice.

[@tonwandnorth]

Roll on the days when ai just scans your book and selects the keywords and categories. It won't be perfect, but it might make it fairer.

[@endermarsh1632]

👍

[@user-rb2hz5mw7z]

So sir is it okay then to add cookbook on your backend

[@demiliveandwingit6363]

Books have been getting blocked across several niches. Could this be a reason?

[@Kindlepreneur]

It could be a part of it. But I have my theories on what is going on - and I think it goes beyond that.

[@demiliveandwingit6363]

@@Kindlepreneur oh. Pls share the theories. At this point, I know it could be anything but you know this space a lot and your insights might be real helpful. I can’t think of anything beyond them wanting to stop/stem independent publishers from publishing altogether

[@toddpickens]

Leave it all very much like to hear those theories. ​@@Kindlepreneur

[@Snowfox23]

@@KindlepreneurI wanna know

[@Relaxingguruss]

First to comment

[@AbrahamRobert.C]

Lol

[@Kindlepreneur]

Haha..well played :)

[@Quizibo]

Do I just put commas between each keyword or should I just like list them out without commas?

[@Kindlepreneur]

List without commas

[@Quizibo]

@@Kindlepreneur Thanks! I have been asking that question and never get a straight answer. I have been putting commas between them since I started a few years ago. Should I go back and erase the commas or just go forward now without commas?