Amazon backend keywords are the search terms you add to a product listing that shoppers never see, but that Amazon's search engine can use to match your product to their queries. They live in a single field in Seller Central, they have a strict length limit, and Amazon has clear rules about what they may contain. Filled well, they catch searches your title and bullets cannot fit. Filled badly, they are ignored, or they put the listing at risk.
This guide explains what the field does, what Amazon's own help pages say about it, and a practical method for choosing what goes in. Every rule below is described as Amazon states it on its Seller Central and selling-partner pages.
What Amazon backend keywords are
Amazon's own guide to Amazon SEO describes back-end search terms as keywords you add to a product's catalog data that are not visible to customers but can still help a product rank for specific searches. It suggests using this section as a spillover for keywords that you run out of room for, or that do not fit naturally elsewhere on the product detail page, including synonyms, abbreviations and alternative names.
Amazon's help page Use search terms effectively is more precise. It defines search terms as keywords used by the search engine for lexical matching between an ASIN and a query, and it says that on that page, search terms mean the terms entered into the Generic keyword field when you list or update an ASIN. So when sellers talk about Amazon backend keywords, hidden keywords or generic keywords, they mean this field.
The length limit, in bytes
The limit is measured in bytes, not characters. Amazon's Keyword attributes explained page says search terms (the generic_keywords attribute) should be less than 250 bytes long, and that if the field exceeds the limit, the attribute is completely ignored by Amazon Search. That is the most expensive mistake in this whole topic: an overfilled field does not get truncated, it gets dropped.
The search terms help page explains the difference. For standard English letters and numbers, one byte corresponds to one character, but characters such as a German umlaut can take two or more bytes. For that reason, it says the Generic keyword field in Seller Central stops accepting input when the byte limit is reached. The same page states that Amazon search does not count spaces or punctuation when calculating the length of search terms, and recommends separating terms with spaces for readability.
| Topic | What Amazon's help pages say |
|---|---|
| Field | Generic keyword field (attribute generic_keywords) on the Product details tab |
| Length | Should be less than 250 bytes; over the limit, the attribute is completely ignored |
| Bytes vs characters | One byte per standard English letter or digit; some characters use two or more |
| Spaces and punctuation | Not counted for length; separate words with spaces, avoid punctuation |
| Visibility | Not shown to customers |
| Guarantee | Amazon may not use all search terms supplied |
Amazon's rules for what goes in
Amazon's search terms page lists these tips for drafting and optimizing the field:
- Stay within the text length limit.
- Use synonyms.
- Use spelling variations, but do not include common misspellings.
- Include abbreviations.
- Use all lowercase letters.
- Avoid punctuation marks such as semicolons, colons and dashes.
- Separate words with spaces.
- Avoid repetitions.
- Avoid articles, prepositions and short words such as "a," "and," "for," "of," "the" or "with."
- Use either singular or plural words.
Prohibited search terms
The same page warns that violating its rules may result in your ASIN being suppressed and may put the health of your selling account at risk. The prohibited list covers:
- Your brand or other brand names. Amazon's examples include Apple, Nike and Amazon.
- ASINs.
- Profanity.
- Temporary statements, such as "new," "on sale now," "limited time" or "just launched."
- Subjective claims, such as "best," "cheapest," "amazing," "popular" or "trending."
- Offensive terms, including terms that promote illegal activities or intolerance.
A method for choosing Amazon backend keywords
Because the space for Amazon backend keywords is small and the matching is literal, the job is selection, not stuffing. This is the order we work in:
- Collect the demand. Start with how shoppers actually search. Amazon's SEO guide suggests typing variations into the Amazon search box and mining the drop-down suggestions, and pointing brand owners to Brand Analytics dashboards such as Search Query Performance and Top Search Terms.
- Map what the listing already covers. List every word already in the title, bullets and description.
- Find the gaps. Keep the relevant terms that are not already on the page: synonyms, alternative product names, abbreviations, spelling variations, uses and materials.
- Cut what Amazon prohibits. Remove brand names, ASINs, temporary and subjective words.
- Strip the filler. Drop articles, prepositions and repeated words, choose singular or plural, and write in lowercase separated by spaces.
- Check the byte count before saving, so the field stays under the limit and is not ignored.
- Review after a few weeks. Use your search and sales data to see which terms bring traffic, then revise.
Amazon's own example of effective search terms for a cutting board reads as a plain run of lowercase words covering materials, sizes, uses and features, with no brand, no punctuation and no repetition. That is the shape to aim for.
How to add backend keywords in Seller Central
Amazon's search terms help page describes the steps as: in Seller Central, select Manage Products; select the product and, from the Fix menu, click Edit; then open the Product details tab and enter your keywords in the Generic keyword field. For many listings at once, the same page explains that you can download a spreadsheet of existing listings through the Category Listing report and use an inventory file template with the partial update function.
It also notes that, effective December 6, 2023, the Generic keyword field became required for a list of 23 product types, including bedding sets, blankets, board games, balloons and several bath and body care types. If you sell in those categories, an empty field is not an option.
Common mistakes and what Amazon says about them
| Mistake | Why it hurts |
|---|---|
| Going over the byte limit | The whole attribute is ignored by Amazon Search, per the keyword attributes page |
| Adding competitor brand names | Brand names are prohibited; violations may lead to ASIN suppression |
| Repeating title words | Amazon's tips say to avoid repetitions; the space is better used for new terms |
| Using commas and dashes | Amazon advises avoiding punctuation and separating words with spaces |
| Adding "best" or "new" | Subjective and temporary terms are on the prohibited list |
| Including common misspellings | Amazon's tips say to use spelling variations but not common misspellings |
| Treating the field as the whole strategy | Amazon says it may not use all search terms supplied |
The search terms page also explains why some terms may not be searchable: Amazon determines relevancy automatically, the terms it deems relevant can change over time, and terms can be eliminated if prohibited words were used. Amazon backend keywords support the visible listing; they do not replace a clear title, strong bullets and good images. If you are enrolled in Brand Registry, the extra tools covered in our Amazon Brand Registry guide give you better search data to work from, and the principles in our SEO copywriting piece apply to the visible copy that does most of the selling.
Getting your listings right with us
Our Amazon listing optimization work covers the whole detail page: keyword research from real search data, titles, bullets, descriptions, A+ content and Amazon backend keywords written to the marketplace's rules and byte limit. We document what changed on each listing so you can see what moved, and you keep every file and keyword list.
If your listings get views but not the searches you expect, or you are launching new ASINs, tell us what you sell. We will reply within one business day.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most commonly used keywords on Amazon?
Amazon does not publish one universal list, and the most searched terms change by category and season. Brand owners enrolled in Brand Registry can see search frequency rank for top terms in the Top Search Terms dashboard in Brand Analytics, according to Amazon's selling-partner guide. For a single listing, the most useful keywords are the ones shoppers in your category actually type.
What are Amazon keywords?
Amazon keywords are the words and phrases shoppers type into the Amazon search box, and the terms sellers place in titles, bullets, descriptions and the hidden search terms field so their products match those searches. Amazon's help page describes search terms as keywords used for lexical matching between an ASIN and a query.
What are the four types of keywords?
In general search marketing, keywords are often grouped by intent into four types: informational, navigational, commercial and transactional. On Amazon most searches are already shopping searches, so a more practical split is short-tail terms such as "shoes" and long-tail terms such as "vegan leather brown loafers," which Amazon's SEO guide says tend to have lower volume but more specific intent.
What are generic keywords on Amazon?
Generic keywords are the backend search terms entered in the Generic keyword field in Seller Central. They are not visible to shoppers but are indexed for search matching. Amazon's help pages say they should stay under 250 bytes and must not include brand names, ASINs, temporary statements or subjective claims.
Should backend keywords repeat words from my title?
Amazon's search terms guidance says to avoid repetitions, and its SEO guide describes the backend field as spillover for terms that do not fit elsewhere. Since the space is limited, it is better used for synonyms, alternative names and variations that are not already in the visible listing.
