KDP keywords: how to choose your seven

Your KDP keywords are the words and short phrases, up to seven of them, that you enter on each format's details page in KDP. Chosen well, they make your book easier to find when someone searches Amazon. The rules for filling them are short, and nearly all of them sit on two KDP help pages. Here they are in one place, checked against KDP's help in October 2026, with a way to find phrases using only the Amazon search bar and three worked examples.

The quick answer

• Seven boxes for each format. KDP lets you use up to seven keywords or short phrases, set on each format's details page.
• Describe what the title doesn't. KDP suggests setting, character types, character roles, plot themes and story tone.
• Leave out what KDP lists to avoid. That means words already in your title, contributors or categories, other authors' names, quality claims, time-sensitive words, "book", program names, quotation marks and HTML.
• Test before you publish. Search each phrase on Amazon and read the drop-down suggestions, as KDP's help advises.
• Change them anytime. KDP says you can change keywords as often as you like. For an eBook, its timeline for a keyword update is 72 hours.

What KDP keywords do, and what they can't

KDP's help puts the job plainly. Your keywords should accurately describe your book's content and use the words customers type when they search. Along with factors like sales history and Amazon Best Sellers Rank, it says, relevant keywords can boost your placement in Amazon's search results.

Two things follow. Keywords are one input among several, so they work alongside how your book sells, not in place of it. And they only work when they're true. KDP's metadata guidelines say inaccurate keywords can lead to unexpected or confusing search results, and that KDP does not tolerate keywords that mislead or manipulate customers.

Authors often call these backend keywords. KDP's help simply calls them keywords, and they have their own section of the details form, apart from the title, cover and description that shoppers read. The seven boxes are for what those can't hold: KDP's help says keywords can capture useful, relevant information that won't fit in your title and description, like setting, character, plot and theme.

Seven boxes, set for each format

In KDP, go to your Bookshelf, click the ellipsis button next to the book, choose Edit book details for the format you're working on, and find the Keywords section. Here is what KDP says about the boxes:

• Up to seven. KDP's help says to use up to seven keywords or short phrases. An empty box does no work, so fill all seven with phrases that are true to the book.
• A word or a phrase. KDP's metadata guidelines say a keyword can be either, and recommend phrases two to three words long for best results.
• Mind the length. KDP's keyword help says to keep an eye on the character limit in the text field, without giving a number. Inkbound's Listing flags any keyword over 50 characters, and short phrases sit well under that.
• In reading order. KDP asks you to combine words in the most logical order. Its example: customers search for "military science fiction", not "fiction science military".
• No quotation marks. KDP explains that a phrase in quotation marks reaches only shoppers who type all of its words. Without them, shoppers can find your book with any one of those words.
• One set for each format. The eBook, paperback and hardcover each have their own details page, so you enter keywords on each. KDP suggests keeping your keywords and description consistent across formats.

KDP's two pages lean slightly different ways on length. The keyword help says single words work better than phrases, in the middle of its note on quotation marks; the metadata guidelines recommend phrases of two to three words. Read together, the advice is short phrases of specific words, with no quotation marks.

What KDP says to include

KDP's keyword help lists five kinds of keyword that work well, each with an example of its own:

Two more pieces of KDP's advice shape the list. Think like a reader: KDP asks you to imagine how you'd search if you were a customer, which is rarely how you'd describe the book to an editor. And prefer specific to vague. KDP's own example is a book titled "America's National Parks", which may gain visibility with the keywords "Yellowstone" and "Grand Teton", but not with "parks".

Those five types are written with fiction in mind. For nonfiction, the same thinking points at the reader's problem, the specific topics the book covers, the kind of reader it's for and the method it teaches. Someone looking for help types the problem, not your title.

What KDP says to avoid

This list combines KDP's keyword help and its metadata guidelines. KDP says its list is not exhaustive, and that every keyword must comply with its Terms and Conditions.

• Anything already in your book's details. KDP names the title and contributors. Your own author name is already there, so it doesn't need a box.
• Words already in your categories. KDP's example is 19th Century History: if that's your category, those words don't need a box either.
• Other authors and their books. The metadata guidelines prohibit references to other authors and books by other authors, and the keyword help calls the name of an author not associated with your book misrepresentative.
• Quality and rank claims, such as "best novel ever" or "bestselling".
• Time-sensitive and promotional words, such as "new", "on sale" and "available now".
• Words common to most books in the category, such as "book".
• Misspellings and near-duplicates. Skip variants of spacing, punctuation, capitalization and plurals, such as "computer" and "computers". The exception is a word with more than one accepted translation, like Hanukkah and Chanukah.
• Brands you don't own or aren't authorized to use.
• Amazon program names. KDP's examples are Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select. Kindle+, the name KDP's help pages now also use for Kindle Unlimited, counts too.
• Quotation marks and HTML tags.
• Anything unrelated to your book's content.

KDP takes this seriously. Its keyword help describes a zero tolerance policy for metadata meant to advertise, promote or mislead, and its metadata guidelines say it removes content that doesn't follow them. If it removes a title, KDP says it lets you know and you can appeal.

Keywords stay out of the title and description

The seven boxes are the place for search phrases. KDP's metadata guidelines say the title field should hold only your book's title as it appears on the cover, and they prohibit repeating generic keywords there. A subtitle follows the same rules. The description can't include keyword or tag phrases at all. It should read as a pitch to a person, so here is how to write a book blurb that does that.

How to find keywords for Amazon KDP with the search bar

KDP's help suggests one research method, and it needs nothing but Amazon itself. Before publishing, search Amazon for the keywords you're considering, change any that bring up irrelevant or unsatisfying results, and look at the suggestions that appear in the search box drop-down. Here it is as a routine.

1. Start long. Write down twenty or so phrases across the five types above, the way a reader would say them. Ask what someone who loved your book would type to find another one like it.
2. Type slowly. Choose the Kindle Store or Books department, type the first word or two of each phrase into the search bar, and note the suggestions in the drop-down. Borrow their wording and their word order.
3. Search each candidate. Read the first page of results. If the books there are nothing like yours, change the phrase, as KDP advises. A good phrase brings up books your reader would also pick up.
4. Get specific. Where a phrase is broad, look for the narrower one inside it: the place, the kind of hero, the exact problem.
5. Cut by the rules. Strike anything on KDP's avoid list, especially words already in your title, subtitle and categories.
6. Keep the best seven. Enter them one phrase per box, each in the order a reader would type it.

The drop-down shows wording, not numbers: it won't tell you how many people search a phrase. Some authors pay for research tools that estimate that. KDP's help doesn't mention them, and Inkbound has no search-volume data, so this guide sticks to the method KDP describes.

KDP keywords examples: three books worked through

The three books below are invented, to show the rules at work. Each list illustrates the method; it is not a promise of rank. Before you use phrases like these, test them in Amazon's search bar against your own book.

A cozy mystery

The book: A Crumb of Doubt, book one of the Puffin Point Mysteries. A widowed baker opens a shop in a seaside Maine village and finds a body at the harvest festival. It's a clean read, with recipes at the back. Say its categories are cozy and culinary mystery shelves.

Left out, and why: "cozy", "culinary" and "mystery" are already in its categories, and "crumb", "doubt" and "Puffin Point" are in its title and series name. "Book one" is series information KDP already has, and "new release" is time-sensitive. A famous mystery writer's name would be another author's. "Recipes included" earns its box only because the book really has recipes.

A practical nonfiction book

The book: The Balcony Kitchen Garden: Herbs, Greens and Tomatoes in Pots. A beginner's how-to for city renters with no yard: starting seeds on a windowsill, growing salad leaves indoors and out, choosing small planters, and dealing with pests organically. Say its categories are container gardening and herb gardening shelves.

Left out, and why: "balcony", "kitchen", "garden", "herbs", "greens", "tomatoes" and "pots" are in the title and subtitle, and "container" and "gardening" are in its categories. "Book" and "best gardening book" fall under KDP's rules on common words and quality claims. Notice that no box says what the book is called. Every box says what a reader is looking for.

A fantasy series

The book: The Glass Heir, book one of the Lantern Wars. A young exiled princess turned thief is pulled into the court politics of rival island kingdoms, with a magic system that runs on strict rules and a ship's crew that becomes her family. By the end she has to decide who she is. Say its categories are epic fantasy and sword and sorcery shelves.

Left out, and why: "epic", "fantasy", "sword" and "sorcery" are in its categories, and "glass", "heir", "lantern" and "wars" are in its title and series name. Comparisons to a bestselling series are out, because they name other authors' books. For book two, the boxes change with the story. Keep the phrases that are still true, such as found family and seafaring island kingdoms, and spend the rest on what the new book adds.

Keywords and categories work together

KDP lets you select three categories, and its categories help says the categories and keywords you choose together tell Amazon where to shelve your book. Categories are the shelves shoppers browse. Keywords match the words they type.

Two rules connect them. Don't repeat your category words in your keywords, since KDP lists those among the words to avoid. And when no category fits your book closely, KDP says keywords can help Amazon decide where to shelve it, because keywords are often more specific. Here is how to choose your three KDP categories.

Changing your KDP keywords later

KDP says you can change keywords as often as you like. To do it:

1. Go to your Bookshelf and click the ellipsis button next to the book.
2. Choose Edit book details for the format you want to change.
3. Edit the boxes under Keywords, then click Save and Continue until you reach the Pricing page.
4. On the Pricing page, click Publish.

If the book is In Review or Publishing, KDP makes you wait until it's Live before you can update it. Once you publish the change, KDP reviews it against its content guidelines, and its timelines page puts keyword updates on an eBook at 72 hours. Make the same change on each format so your editions stay consistent. If your book is on pre-order, plan ahead: KDP doesn't allow updates to book details within 72 hours of the release date.

A practical habit: change a few boxes at a time, wait for the update to go live, then search the new phrases on Amazon and see where your book appears. That way you know which change did what.

Your KDP keywords in Inkbound

In Inkbound, keywords live in the Listing, beside your description, categories and ISBNs, with a live preview of how your page will look on Amazon.

• Seven slots. Each shows a character count as you type and flags anything over 50 characters.
• Paste a list. Paste phrases on separate lines, or separated by semicolons, into any slot, and they fill that slot and the ones after it. List numbers, bullets and surrounding quotation marks come off as they go in.
• A check before you upload. Publish counts your keywords, suggests at least five, and flags any that run over 50 characters.
• Suggestions when you ask. One button in the Listing asks the Blurb Writer for a description and seven keywords: phrases a reader would type, each under 50 characters, without repeating words from your title. It uses AI credits, and you choose what goes in. The Publishing Coach answers questions about keyword strategy in the same team chat.

Inkbound has no search-volume data, so treat any suggestion as a candidate and put it through the search bar test above. When your seven are set, copy them out with one button and enter them on each format's details page in KDP. You publish from your own KDP account, and Inkbound's KDP publishing tools prepare the files and the listing you take there.

The rest of the listing has its own guides: your book description, categories and A+ Content. Step 6 of how to self-publish a book on Amazon KDP walks through every field in order.