Keywords (KDP metadata) Defined.
Definition
KDP keywords are the short words and phrases you enter with a book's details so Amazon can match it to shoppers' searches. KDP lets you use up to seven. Together with the title, description and categories they make up the book's metadata, and they should add search terms the title doesn't already cover.
Sources checked 20 October 2026.
How it works
You add them under Keywords on the book's details page. KDP's advice is to put words in the order people search ("military science fiction", not "fiction science military"), to try each phrase in Amazon's search box first, and to think like a reader. Useful kinds include setting, character types and roles, plot themes and tone. Phrases work without quotation marks: KDP says a quoted phrase only matches shoppers who type every word in it, while separate words can each be found.
An example
For a budgeting guide titled "Money for Freelancers", repeating "freelancer money book" wastes a box, since the title already covers it. Better are phrases a reader would type that the title doesn't contain: "irregular income budget", "self-employed taxes set aside", "budget for uneven paychecks". Each one should describe the book honestly.
Common mistakes
Repeating words from the title or the chosen categories. Using claims about quality ("best guide"), time-sensitive words ("new", "on sale"), Amazon program names such as Kindle Unlimited, or another author's name: KDP has zero tolerance for misleading metadata. And filling all seven boxes with variants of one phrase (plurals, spacing, capitals), which KDP lists among the things to avoid.
