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Amazon Backend Keywords: The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Product Listings
Learn everything about Amazon backend keywords, an effective strategy for sellers to improve the discoverability of the products and drive sales.
Jan 31, 2025
With over 740 billion products in its catalog, Amazon is incredibly vast. This means product visibility isn’t just an advantage—it’s the lifeline of an Amazon seller. When another seller’s product outshines yours in search rankings, you’re losing sales and customers at the same time. So, the million-dollar question is how to improve your product ranking. The answer is - Amazon Backend Keywords. It is a behind-the-scenes strategy that can help skyrocket your product’s visibility and push you ahead of the competition. In this article, let us learn everything about this powerful concept and how to master it. We will cover:
What are Amazon backend keywords?
Why are Amazon backend keywords important?
How to find the right Amazon backend keywords for your store?
How to add Amazon backend keywords to a listing?
How do you check whether your Amazon backend keywords are indexed?
Dos and don’ts of Amazon backend keywords
Emergence of Amazon Rufus
What are Amazon backend keywords?
Also known as seller keywords, Amazon backend keywords are hidden yet powerful elements that can enhance your listing’s discoverability on the Amazon platform. Unlike visible keywords on the product listing, backend keywords are not displayed to the customers. However, they are indexed by Amazon to improve product rankings and are an effective alternative to keyword stuffing for sellers.
Why are Amazon backend keywords important?
Here are some of the key reasons why you must use backend keywords for your Amazon listing:
Enhances search coverage
Competition on Amazon is high; the first 3 products account for 64% clicks. It means your optimization needs to be strong to appear on the first page. The backend keywords help your product index for a wide variety of relevant keywords on Amazon. "Indexing" means that Amazon’s algorithm recognizes your product for specific keywords and search queries that customers are using.

Let us understand this with an example. Imagine a potential customer searching for a "thermos bottle" but is also open to considering other bottles. Now, if your listing only has the keyword “thermos bottle,” your product will not be displayed in the search results for other related keywords. Instead, if you use the following types of backend keywords, you can broaden your coverage and target a wide range of customers:
Misspellings and typos: "thermo bottle," "thermoss bottle," "thermous."
Synonyms and alternatives: "Insulated bottle," "Vacuum flask," "Metal water container."
Regional Variations: "Tumbler USA," "Flask UK."
Other related terms: "Gym bottle," "Travel bottle," "Office bottle."
In the above example, once you add these backend keywords, Amazon will index them, and your product will be more likely to appear in search results when a customer uses any of those keywords.
Helps keep listing clean
Backend keywords enable you to include additional relevant search terms that you do not want to be seen on product titles, bullet points, or product descriptions. They are perfect for sellers who want to maintain a clean and professional listing and, at the same time, want to optimize for misspellings, utilize synonyms, and alternate terms that shoppers may use.
Improves PPC performance
This is not a direct benefit. You already know that backend keywords help your product show up more often in regular search results. So, when more people find your product organically and buy it, your product starts to perform better overall. This can lead to better PPC ads performance because higher sales can make your ads work more efficiently. This will potentially cost you less per click, bring down your advertising cost of sale (ACoS), and lead to more conversions.
| Related read: Amazon Ads ACOS Optimization - All Use Cases Covered
Keeps your keyword strategy hidden
Imagine you're a seller in a niche industry with limited competitors but intense competition for potential buyers on Amazon. It’s common practice for other sellers to analyze competitors’ pages to identify the keywords they’re targeting. By leveraging backend keywords, you can keep your keyword strategy hidden while strategically ranking for terms your competitors may have overlooked, giving you a competitive edge.
How to find the right Amazon backend keywords for your store?
Here are three popular methods to find the right backend keywords for your Amazon store:
Search Term Report and Brand Analytics Report
The Search Term Report and Brand Analytics Report available on Seller Central are goldmines of data. They reveal how customers are searching for your products and offer insights into the most effective keywords. While the search term report shows real-time customer search behavior, brand analytics report provides historical keyword trends, search frequency rankings, and competitor keyword performance.
To access the search term report:
Log in to Amazon Seller Central.
Click on Reports.
Select Advertising Reports.
Click on Create Report.
Under All Campaigns, select Sponsored Products.
Select report type as Search Term.
To access the brand analytics report:
Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
Navigate to the main menu and hover over "Brands."
Click Brand Analytics.
Using both these reports, you can come up with different strategies for your backend keywords like:
Search terms with high clicks but low conversions may indicate irrelevant traffic. Stay away from such keywords.
Search terms containing long-tail keywords are highly specific and can drive targeted traffic. These are excellent for backend keywords since they cater to niche search intents.
Search terms with high click-through rates and conversions indicate what your potential customers are actively searching for and looking for in your product.
Explore customer reviews and Q&A
Customer reviews and the Q&A section of a listing are a rich source for your backend keywords. These sections are the best places to find the actual terms used by your target audience to describe the product. Let’s say you’re selling a travel backpack on Amazon, and you see the following review on a similar product listing -

From this review, you can add backend keywords like “lightweight backpack,” “water-resistant backpack,” “padded straps,” “durable backpack,” etc., to make your listing more searchable.
Use the autocomplete feature of Amazon
Amazon’s autocomplete feature is another simple but powerful tool for finding valuable keywords that actually align with actual customer search behavior. All you need to do is type a broad keyword related to your product into Amazon’s search bar. Then, observe the list of suggested phrases that reflect popular and high-traffic search queries. These suggestions could even include specific product attributes and variations that customers use when searching.
For example, when you type backpack, you might encounter search terms like “backpack for women” or “backpack for school,” which you can add to your list of backend keywords.
Alt text: Amazon’s autocomplete feature
You can experiment with different variations, like adding adjectives or testing singular and plural forms, for even more targeted suggestions. The method is especially valuable because it provides real-time insights into the current shopping trends and customer language. In other words, it helps you align your backend keywords with high-demand searches.
How to add Amazon backend keywords to a listing?
Here are the steps to add Amazon backend keywords to your listing:
Log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
Under Inventory in the main menu, go to Manage All Inventory.
Find the listing where you want to add backend keywords and click Edit.
Click the Product Details tab.
Enter your keywords in the Generic keyword field.
Tip: Amazon's backend keyword section has a character limit of 500 bytes. This makes it important to carefully select and prioritize only the most important keywords. Ultimately, you need to maximize this limited space to ensure high visibility and discoverability of your product.
How do you check whether your Amazon backend keywords are indexed?
Before we take you through this, it is important to understand what ‘being indexed’ means.
For every product in the catalog, Amazon assigns a set of keywords. It then uses these keywords to determine whether that product matches a customer’s search query. For instance, when a customer searches for "mobile" on Amazon, the results show all products indexed for the "mobile" keyword.
If your product or ASIN isn’t indexed for that keyword, it won’t appear in the search results. This highlights the importance of ensuring your product keywords are properly indexed to maximize discoverability. At the same time, being indexed for a keyword doesn’t guarantee a high ranking. Because product rank depends on several other factors like relevance, sales performance, and customer reviews.
How to check whether your keywords have been indexed?
Here are the steps to check whether a particular keyword has been indexed for your product:
Locate the ASIN in the product information section or in the URL of the product page.

Copy your product’s ASIN and enter it into the Amazon search bar, followed by the keyword you want to check.

If your product appears in the search results, the keyword is indexed. If it doesn’t, the keyword is not indexed.
Keep checking your indexing status and optimize your keywords. This is important to ensure your products remain discoverable to potential customers.
Dos and don’ts of Amazon backend keywords
Here are some dos and don’ts of using Amazon backend keywords:

Emergence of Amazon Rufus
Amazon Rufus is a generative AI-powered shopping assistant that was introduced in 2024. It was integrated into Amazon's platform to enhance the customer experience. Rufus understands and responds to natural language queries, providing personalized product recommendations or sharing detailed information based on user inquiries.
For example, if a shopper asks, “What’s a good blender for making smoothies and protein shakes?” Rufus doesn’t just look for products labeled “blender.” Instead, it analyzes the context of the query—prioritizing blenders with features like high-speed motors, multiple blending settings, and to-go cups for convenience.
Rufus’s impact on backend keywords strategy
With Rufus's emphasis on semantic understanding and natural language processing, traditional backend keyword strategies focusing solely on exact match keywords may become less effective. To optimize for Rufus, you need to consider the following approaches:
Noun Phrase Optimization (NPO): Incorporate detailed noun phrases (product name + modifiers/descriptive adjectives) that describe your product's features, materials, and benefits. For example, a noun phrase would be “comfortable keyboard”, where the system identifies the concept of “comfort” from the user’s question - “Is company A’s keyboard comfortable to use?”
Semantic Content Building: Develop content that focuses on relevant contexts and usage scenarios of your products.
Q&A Enhancement: Provide natural, conversational responses to frequently asked questions about your products.
Inference Optimization (IO): Map your product attributes to inferred benefits that customers seek, even if not directly stated.
Optimized Content on Product Detail Pages: Ensure product titles, bullet points, and descriptions are clear, engaging, and optimized with semantic relevance.
Descriptive and Contextual Images: Use lifestyle images that show the product in a relatable setting. For example, if you’re selling a mixer grinder, show it in a kitchen setting being used by a family to prepare everyday meals. Contextual imagery enhances Rufus’s ability to understand product use.
Leverage A+ Content: This content can help visually describe your product’s features, benefits, and use cases. You can include infographics, comparison charts, and detailed sections that showcase why your product stands out.
By adapting your backend keywords strategy to align with Rufus's advanced AI capabilities, you can improve your product's discoverability and relevance in Amazon's changing ecosystem.
Wrap Up
Amazon backend keywords have always been a key strategy for sellers to improve their product’s discoverability. However, the Amazon ecosystem is evolving rapidly with the introduction of AI-driven tools like Amazon Rufus, which is adding a new layer of complexity. Navigating this increasingly complicated space can be overwhelming, but that’s where Atom11, an Amazon PPC expert, comes in. With proven expertise in Amazon advertising, we help you not only survive but also thrive in this dynamic ecosystem. We equip you with the strategies you need to climb the ladder of growth quickly. Partner with Atom11 now to unlock your full potential as an Amazon seller.
Frequently asked questions
What is the limit of backend keywords on Amazon?
The current limit for backend keywords on Amazon is 500 bytes. With 500 characters at your disposal, you can include a large array of relevant backend keywords to your listing.
How many backend keywords should I use per listing?
Amazon allows up to 500 bytes of backend keywords per product listing. This limit includes spaces. So the number of keywords you can include depends on their length and the total byte count and not on the actual number of words.
Does Amazon penalize backend keyword stuffing?
Amazon penalizes keyword stuffing no matter where you are adding them - frontend or backend. Overusing keywords can push your organic search ranking down.
What are hidden keywords in Amazon?
Hidden keywords are nothing but another name for backend keywords of Amazon.
How will Rufus impact backend keywords?
Rufus will require you to include long-tail keywords and highlight the problems your product solves. In other words, you will have to provide more detailed backend keywords. But how Amazon plans to evolve the backend keyword section for Rufus in the coming days remains uncertain.