- In my past videos on Amazon keyword optimization,
I shared how to find and optimize Amazon keywords
for your Kindle books.
However, I failed to mention how Amazon
has specific keywords to avoid and general guidelines
you should use when filling out seven keyword metadata slots
for your books.
Today I'm going to share the top six keywords to avoid,
a banned keywords list, if you will, so you have no delays
or unnecessary strikes in your publishing process.
Stay tuned.
(gentle music)
Welcome to Self-Publishing with Dale
and if you're new to this channel and you wanna learn
how to publish and profit the right way,
then subscribe and hit the bell icon next to it
to get notification on all my latest videos.
If you haven't checked out my full playlist
on Amazon Kindle keywords, then you might
want to get up to speed on things by visiting this link
and watching a video or two.
According to the Kindle direct publishing page
on how to make your books more discoverable with keywords,
there are several best practices, useful keyword types,
and metadata tips to optimize your book listing.
In addition to that, KDP has specific keywords
you should avoid and some fairly ambiguous guidelines
you should stick to.
From my experience, here is my list
of the top six banned Amazon Kindle keywords.
One, Amazon.
Yep, the online retailer doesn't like you using
their name in vain.
Certainly the word is called for if you have a book specific
to the subject of Amazon, but be prepared
to explain yourself and jump through a few hoops
to keep that keyword.
Two, Kindle.
This is much like using Amazon as a keyword.
Even though you may have your book on Kindle,
they feel using the product name leads to inaccurate
or overwhelming search results.
Three, KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited.
Like the last two banned keywords, Amazon simply
doesn't want you using their brand names in your metadata.
Four, best seller.
Even if you had a best seller for one year or one hour
in any one category on Amazon, you cannot use best seller
and they will put your book to draft
if you dare try using it.
In fact, subjective claims such as best novel ever
are strongly discouraged in your keyword metadata.
Five, other author or brand names.
You may share the same niche as Steven King
or have a book just like the For Dummies branded books,
but you can't use their names to leverage more eyes
on your project.
Using any trademarked names in your book
is a dangerous business model anyway,
so avoid them like the plague or face the consequences.
And before I name the final banned keyword,
I thought I'd give a few honorable mentions in this list
that aren't necessarily banned Kindle keywords
as they are strong recommendations made by Amazon.
Book or any other information common to items
in that category.
Time-sensitive statements such as new, on sale,
or available now.
Misspelled words.
Hey, they aren't banning misspelled words so much
as they are wanting everyone to make money,
so why fill your limited keyword slots with poor spelling?
Run your keywords through a spell checker to make sure
everything is on the up and up.
There are a few exceptions to this rule.
Quotation marks.
Using quotes around your keyword means
you want exactly that keyword and no variation of it.
Unless that is what you want, don't use quotation marks.
And, the last banned keyword is free.
The four letter F word is a big no-no
and they even question using the word
even if you have a zero cost book listing.
Now, using these banned keywords
within your book description or title is a gray area,
so proceed with caution.
Only use keywords actually relevant to your content
so you keep your KDP account on the straight and narrow.
That's all the time we have for today, but I'd love
to hear from you and your experience in banned keywords.
What are some keywords Amazon has stopped you for?
Leave your comments down below.
Now, get out there and avoid
those banned Amazon Kindle keywords,
you savvy self-publisher, you.
Til later, this has been Self-Publishing with Dale
and I'll see you guys soon.
(big band music)