5 Great Examples of How to Use Amazon Listing Keywords Naturally
All the research before writing an Amazon listing is the hard part, right?
Well – not exactly.
You’ve done the Amazon keyword research, set yourself up with a nice list of keywords, so now you just paste them into the listing… Not so fast!
Amazon listing keywords don’t necessarily have to be the ones you search for. They can (and should) also be keywords your customers aren’t plugging into the search box (you can read more about customer intent and why it’s important in this article).
Like everything in listing optimization, there’s a science (and an art) to it.
Today we’re taking a look at 5 brands that are doing it right.
But First – An Example of What Not to Do (A Note About Overdoing Amazon Listing Keywords)
Yes, this is a thing. And a problem.
Check this out:
See how many times they use the word blanket? It’s because they want to rank for ALL those individual keywords: yoga blanket, Mexican blanket, falsa blanket and so on. This is called keyword stuffing. The verdict? Horrible.
Not only does this put me off as a customer, it just feels yucky. They’re just targeting everyone they can. There’s no flow, nothing to describe the blanket, and it’s not easy to read.
One of the things about using Amazon listing keywords is to use them subtly without anyone noticing. Sentences and points should flow easily and be easy to read. You should be talking to the customer.
What is the use in me reading the word blanket in a bunch of different keyword phrases? At least try to put some benefits or features in there!
🍯 Example 1: Beekeeper’s Naturals, No Dirty Keyword Tactics
I love this listing.
Let’s start with the title:
BEEKEEPER’S NATURALS Wildflower Honey – Raw, Wildcrafted, and Unprocessed- Rich in Nutrients and Beneficial Enzymes- Notes of Mint & Lavender-100% Raw, Pure Honey- Paleo-friendly, Gluten-Free (1.1lbs)
It follows the right format – brand first. Then they include the primary Amazon listing keywords that speak to what the product is: wildflower honey, raw, wildcrafted and unprocessed. It also mentions the flavor – notes of mint and lavender – and includes some other helpful info like the fact that it’s paleo-friendly and gluten-free.
Beekeeper’s Naturals absolutely used all the real estate, meaning they fit as many benefits into 200 characters as they could. This is a great idea because the keywords in a title rank more heavily than elsewhere in a listing. It also helps customers who are short on time quickly see all the important information at a glance.
Their bullet points are great too. Their subject matter (or bullet title) is easily skimmable with valuable information. They’re using simple language and a cheerful tone that speaks directly to the customer in a friendly way. It shows they know their stuff. For more on how to write killer bullet points, you can take a look at this article.
Although they might not be exactly what the customer types into the search box, they are words that will jump out at them as an “oh, that’s nice” benefit. These are keywords like: pesticide-free, sustainably sourced, rich in nutrients, beneficial enzymes.
These types of benefits can also be focused on sustainable and eco-friendly products. There has been a surge in green products lately on Amazon – they now even have their own badge that allows these products to stand out (you can read more about the Climate Pledge Friendly badge here). In fact, if you own a green product, it may be in your best interest to call attention to those sustainable properties via green marketing tactics.
Jump down to the A+ content and you’ll see they’re continuing in the same vein (more amazing examples of A+ content on Amazon in this post). I love the line:
This isn’t what you’ll find in those plastic bears at the supermarket.
This is copy gold. By telling them what the product isn’t, they’re eliminating a certain type of customer. It’s an interesting tactic to sort of “weed out” the customers. By saying this, they’re creating a contrast to position their product as superior in quality.
By including primary (searchable) and secondary keywords (intent-driven) in their Amazon listing, they are helping their customers make the decision to buy their product and #SaveTheBees.
Amazzzzing. 🐝
☕️ Example 2: Mayorga Organics Communicate their Values
Mayorga Organics knows how to write a listing. They use easy-to-read language and a matter-of-fact tone.
Their title delivers the most important keywords first (what the customer searches for): whole bean coffee, dark roast, 5lb bag. They also include secondary keywords – specialty grade, USDA organic, non-GMO verified, direct trade and kosher – to communicate their commitment to sustainability and quality.
They only use 120 characters, so I might include something extra. Small batch roasted? How to enjoy? Flavor notes? Slow roasted?
If I were a customer looking for all of this, I’d say just the title checks off everything I’m looking for. For more nitpicky ones, Mayorga Organics extrapolates on these points in their A+ content and bullet points.
These guys include some secondary Amazon listing keywords (based on intent) in their bullet points too. They mention the taste, origin, source, and roasting process in the first 4 bullets and then offer a guarantee in the 5th bullet if you’re not convinced.
There is still debate about whether the keywords from the A+ rank on Amazon, but I still like how they communicate everything about their coffee, from their purpose, roasting methods to their origins. I can feel the personality from their story and as a coffee buyer, it makes me feel like I’m supporting a good cause.
🍉 Example 3: Ugly Drinks Ain’t Ugly at All
Ugly Drinks ain’t ugly at all. In fact, they’ve got their Amazon keyword strategy down pat.
The copy begins with the title. And this is one of the brands in this article that do the title better than most others. And as we’ve said many a time before: the product title is important.
Their title:
163 characters. Is it too long? Not to us. We like long titles! If you have the real estate, use it. Ugly Drinks manages to include both “sparkling water” and “seltzer water” in the title, along with some other crucial information like sugar-free, flavored, no sugar, calories or artificial flavoring. Nice!
Including “summer variety pack” also has a nice ring to it. Plus, it’s very current for someone who’d be searching for something refreshing and light in the hot summer months.
Their first bullet point starts in an interesting way – a quote to promote social proof. Though we don’t do this in our own listings, it’s a cool way to give the brand some personality and sell the product on how good it tastes.
They go on to talk about ingredients in the second and third bullets to include their Amazon listing keywords – fruit extracts, natural flavors and aromas, sugar-free, no sweeteners, no calories – all keywords that a customer would be skimming for.
In the 4th bullet, Ugly Drinks lets you know about the cause they support: For every can sold, we donate to Girl Up. This is a great extra kind of benefit. They care about social change and gender equality!
Last but not least, to avoid all confusion and make it as clear as possible, Ugly includes the number of cans the customer can look forward to receiving. Although this isn’t required, it’s a good idea because the worst thing for a listing is a customer being disappointed because they thought they were getting something else. Overshare and you avoid problems like that.
One thing though… what happened to their description? They’ve just copy/pasted the title. Negative point here. Other than this, Ugly Drinks has done a great job communicating everything about their product. Would love to try some!
🥜 Example 4: PBFit Focuses on Intent-Driven Keywords
It’s no wonder that PBFit’s peanut butter ranks #1 in its category. It’s a converting machine.
By using our trusty keyword research tool Cerebro, I’ve found a nice list of the top 21 keywords. When I import the listing into Scribbles and use my keywords there, only 1 is used: peanut butter.
So what’s happening here? Remember that the listing copy isn’t the only place where keywords can be plugged in. They can be entered into the back end too. It’s also possible that they’ve changed the copy after ranking for certain keywords.
You may also notice that PBFit is using secondary keywords – keywords that speak to customer intent. If a brand does this well enough, then Amazon will see that people are buying the product from all different manners of search terms. A high conversion rate makes a product rank higher in other categories too. This is just one example of how the Amazon Flywheel works to create more success for products that make their customers happy.
You can see some of these intent-driven keywords in this Amazon listing: 8gs of protein, simple ingredients, great flavor. These are all clues that signal the product’s quality and benefit to the customer.
They also give great examples of how to use their products in their A+ content and images: toss a few spoonfuls into shakes or smoothies for a tasty protein boost.
All of these tactics not only help speak to the customer, but they also create a frictionless journey to the buy button. If someone’s first thought is “well, whatever would I need peanut butter in powder form for?”, PBFit gives the answers, and then some!
🌿 Example 5: BetterBody Foods Knows Their Customer
BetterBody Foods does a good job of using both primary and secondary Amazon listing keywords.
They’ve got the standard keywords related to what the product is – avocado oil, avocado oil for cooking, cooking oil – in both the title and bullet points.
Straight from the product title which includes “cooking oil for paleo and keto”, we can see that they are targeting a certain type of customer. They’re only using 93 characters which makes it a great title when considering optimization for mobile. But they might also want to include a few more benefits in there to attract more customers. Nothing about the taste or the fact that it’s multipurpose? Those are great selling points!
Where BetterBody does a great job is in their bullet points. Each title (also called subject matter in Scribbles) offers a descriptive benefit for the customer: great for cooking, high smoke point, light flavor enhancer, naturally refined and multipurpose oil. Each bullet then goes into more details about how to use the product and why, with easy-to-read copy that targets the customer. Not the Amazon search algorithm.
Next, both the product description and A+ content re-iterate the bullet points, giving the customer different ways to digest the same information.
Great job on their part!
Do Keywords in A+ Content Index on Amazon?
The short answer is no. As of this writing they don’t.
Amazon claims that the algorithm doesn’t index copy and keywords in the A+ content, although in the past they said it has. Some agencies have conducted tests to see if it’s true or not. They found that the A+ copy does make a difference. So it’s still something to consider!
What you can also think about is Google. Google will pick up on the keywords all over an Amazon listing. And since Google is a megamachine search engine this is great. So if someone is looking for a specific phrase and that phrase appears in the A+ content, bingo! You might have yourself a new customer. We’ve got a whole guide on Amazon SEO if you’d like to learn more about how this all works.
This is a nice thing to keep in mind if you think that all the copy in the A+ has no clout. It does, just not on Amazon (so they say).
🔑 Key Takeaways
Here are some main points to help you think about how to include keywords in your listings naturally:
- Use all your available real estate – work on finding a happy medium between maximizing character limits in titles and bullet points without compromising readability
- Pay attention to the title – use all available characters to communicate value and give customers an idea of what your product can do using primary and secondary keywords
- Use human language – there’s nothing worse than reading something that’s obviously just written to maximize keyword density, it just confuses your customer
