What are backend keywords and how do they work on Amazon?

When it comes to Amazon, keywords surely play a fundamental role: both for Sellers and Cendors, in fact, being able to place their products on the most popular keywords is the first step to be found by interested users and consequently improve performances.

As mentioned in previous articles, the Amazon ecosystem distinguishes two different types of keywords:

• Frontend keywords: visible within the title, description and bullet points. Entering the most relevant keywords for your products – those that users usually type in the search bar – is essential to appear among the first results;
• Backend keywords: additional relevant keywords for the category and for the product itself, also fundamental for the indexing of the product, but in this case not visible to users. Below, an example of a backend keywords list for an eyeliner pencil:

The limit for backend keywords is set up at about 250 characters: it is advisable to insert as many relevant keywords for the product and for the category because the greater the number of appropriate words present, the greater the chances that the product is shown within the SERP for users’ queries.

Where to insert backend keywords?

The path is different for vendors and sellers:

Vendor Central: items -> catalogue -> product details -> generic keyword

Seller Central: inventory -> manage inventory -> edit → product details -> generic keyword

As with all textual products-related content on Amazon, even backend keywords must follow strict guidelines. In fact, it is forbidden to include:

• ASIN;
• General information (e.g. special offer);
• Brands’ names;
• Offensive language;
• Time-related words (e.g. today, new).

Instead, it is recommended not to use repetitions, punctuation, prepositions, and plural forms (if the singular is already present as a frontend keyword).

In general, we need to focus on relevance: it is essential to carefully choose the most relevant keywords rather than insert unnecessary ones just to “make up the numbers”.

Witailer Tips

Backend keywords are invisible to the end user, unlike frontend keywords (in which it is not recommended to insert misspelt words). For this reason, if you detect a keyword with a high search volume although grammatically incorrect, it is still advisable to insert it in the backend, in order to detect any type of search with the same purchase intent.

How to find the right backend keywords?

Nowadays there are several web services that allow you to search for keywords, in order to identify the most relevant ones for each type of product. Witailer, for its part, has developed a number of proprietary tools that can perform specific analyses for the Amazon world. Among these, STAT helps brands to intercept trends on the platform through the continuous analysis of consumer research, with an aggregation of data that allows you to focus only on the most interesting segments of the industry.

An internal Amazon data-based method consists of searching from Brand Analytics, a tool made available by the platform that allows brand owners (listed on Amazon Brand Registry) to make strategic and informed decisions about their product portfolio, advertising and marketing activities: it provides a series of reports on search terms, product comparison and purchasing habits, and it’s updated within 72 hours of the closure of a specific time frame.

Conclusion

Backend keywords play a key role in positioning a brand’s products within the Amazon platform. Finding the right and the most relevant keywords is not a one-time process, but the result of extensive research and periodic testing. A keyword can be performant when it is inserted, and become obsolete after a certain period of time: it is, therefore, primary to carry out constant checks, in order to keep your catalogue up to date and performing.