When you upload a book to KDP, Amazon gives you seven little keyword boxes. Most new authors type in "romance," "love story" and "spicy," hit publish and wonder why nobody finds their book.
Here's how to use those boxes properly, without paying for a single tool.
Think like a reader, not an author
A reader rarely searches for just "romance." They search for exactly what they're in the mood for:
- "enemies to lovers mafia romance"
- "fated mates werewolf romance"
- "grumpy sunshine small town romance"
These longer, specific phrases (long-tail keywords) have less competition, and the people typing them are ready to buy.
Method 1: Amazon's search bar
Go to the Kindle Store and start typing a phrase slowly. "Dark romance w..." Amazon autocompletes with what real shoppers actually search. Write every useful suggestion down. Then try it with each of your tropes, your hero's job and your setting.
Tip: use a private browser window so your own shopping history doesn't skew the suggestions.
Method 2: Study the competition
Open the top 20 books in your sub-genre. Read their titles, subtitles and blurbs. What words keep showing up? Those repeated phrases are signals of what the algorithm and readers respond to.
Method 3: Mine the reviews
Readers describe books in their own words. "The morally grey hero of my dreams." "Such a good slow burn." Those phrases are keyword gold, because they're how readers think.
Method 4: Brainstorm with AI
Give AI your sub-genre, tropes and hero archetype, and ask for 25 search phrases a reader might type. Then check every single one in the Amazon search bar. Only keep the ones that autocomplete.
How to fill the 7 slots
- Use all the space. Each box holds up to 50 characters. Put short phrases in each one, not single words.
- Don't repeat yourself. Amazon combines words across your title, subtitle, categories and keywords. If "romance" is already in your title, you don't need it again.
- Group by theme: trope searches, character-archetype searches and tone or vibe searches.
- Skip restricted words. No "free," "bestseller" or other authors' names. They can get your keywords rejected.
Want the full metadata playbook?
The keywords and categories chapter of Plot. Publish. Profit. includes a worksheet with all 7 slots built in, so you plan them once and save them. Or hand it off to me along with your blurb.
