1. Identify 5+ closely matched, high-performing competitors

  2. Reverse-engineer their keywords, filtering for terms 3+ competitors rank for, average rank ≤100,000, and ≥800 monthly search volume

  3. Run an initial competition filter using your keyword tool of choice

  4. Manually verify competition via 5 core/secondary metrics to finalize your list.

This process cuts wasted Pay-Per-Click (PPC) spend by ~30% on average and helps you target terms that actually drive organic and paid sales.

Tired of dumping hundreds of dollars into PPC campaigns for keywords that never make it to page 1, or rank but don’t convert? I’ve refined this 4-step keyword research process over 2 years selling in the home goods, electronics, and apparel categories on Amazon US, and it’s helped me cut wasted ad spend by 32% while growing organic traffic by 40% for my last 3 product launches.

If you’re still picking keywords based on gut feel or copying exactly what your competitors are using, this process will fix that—Amazon is a data-driven game, and keyword selection is too.

The Core Logic of Keyword Selection

The basic sales formula for Amazon is simple:

Orders = Traffic × Conversion Rate

If your Listing is already fully optimized (high-quality images, clear bullet points, A+ Content, etc.), the fastest way to grow sales is to increase traffic. The most sustainable long-term traffic comes from organic rank: getting your product to show up in the top 6 Organic Search Positions for as many relevant keywords as possible.

Common Risks of Poor Keyword Selection

Picking the wrong keywords almost always leads to one of three avoidable outcomes:

  1. You spend weeks and hundreds of dollars trying to rank, but never make it past page 2 or 3, resulting in near-zero traffic.

  2. You successfully rank for a term, but it has such low search volume that almost no one searches for it, so you get no meaningful sales from it.

  3. You rank for a high-search-volume term that’s not relevant to your product. Your Conversion Rate (CVR) will tank, and Amazon will eventually drop your ranking back down, as the platform prioritizes products that match user search intent.

All three lead to stagnant or declining sales. Proper keyword selection is non-negotiable if you want consistent, sustainable growth.

3 Core Metrics for Keyword Filtering

All keyword research starts with evaluating these three non-negotiable metrics:

  1. Search Volume: Target keywords with sufficient monthly search volume (use 800+ as a baseline, adjust up or down based on your specific category and site—niche categories may use a 300+ threshold). Terms with very low search volume rarely drive enough sales to justify ranking effort.

  2. Competition Level: The more competitive a keyword is, the more time, budget, and effort it will take to rank in the top 6 positions.

  3. Relevancy: If a keyword does not exactly match your product’s core features and use case, Amazon will not prioritize your Listing for that search term. Even if you force the keyword into your title or backend, you will see low CVR and eventually lose your rank.

The 4-Step Keyword Selection Process

I use popular keyword tools like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or Merchant Words for this process (the logic works for any tool with competitor keyword reverse-search functionality).

Step 1: Identify 5+ Closely Matched, High-Performing Competitors

This step is make-or-break. If you select competitors that are not closely matched to your product (e.g., you sell a waterproof iPhone 15 case with a card holder, but pick competitors selling basic silicone cases), your entire keyword list will be inaccurate.

Choose at least 5 competitors that:

  • Sell a product with nearly identical core features and use cases to yours

  • Have consistent sales and rank well for your target core terms

  • Are not massively larger brands with disproportionate market share (unless you’re targeting highly competitive categories)

Step 2: Reverse-Engineer Competitor Keywords to Find High-Potential Terms

Use your tool’s competitor keyword reverse-search feature to pull all keywords your 5+ competitors rank for. Then filter the list using these three rules:

  1. Only keep keywords that at least 3 of your 5 competitors rank for: This confirms the term is proven to drive traffic and sales for your product type, not just a random term one competitor is targeting.

  2. Filter for keywords with an average competitor rank of 100,000 or lower: Terms with average ranks above 100,000 rarely generate enough impressions to drive meaningful order volume.

  3. Keep terms with minimum 800+ monthly search volume: Adjust this threshold to match your category (e.g., low-demand niche products may use a 300+ baseline).

For most products, this will narrow your list down to 30-50 preliminary keywords that already meet the search volume and relevancy requirements.

Step 3: Initial Competition Filter Using Your Keyword Tool

If your preliminary list has 100+ keywords, use your tool’s built-in competition score (e.g., Helium 10’s Keyword Competition Score, Jungle Scout’s Opportunity Score) to do a first pass filter and remove the most highly competitive terms.

Warning: Tool-generated competition scores are only a starting guide, not a 100% accurate measure of real-world competition. Never rely solely on tool scores to finalize your keyword list.

At this stage, you can also manually remove any obviously irrelevant terms (e.g., if you sell transparent iPhone cases, remove terms like “leather iPhone case” or “rugged iPhone case” that don’t match your product).

Step 4: Manual Verification to Confirm Competition Level

This is the most important step to avoid wasting budget on terms you can’t rank for. Manually check each remaining keyword on Amazon to evaluate these 5 metrics:

Core Verification Metrics

  1. Actual number of relevant competitors: Ignore the “total results” number at the top of the Amazon search page (it includes thousands of irrelevant products). Manually count how many closely matched competing products appear in the first 4 pages of search results. If you see 15+ relevant competitors on pages 3 and 4, the term is highly competitive, and ranking top 6 will require significant budget and time.

  2. Competitor Review count: If most top-ranking competitors for the term have 500+ reviews, you will struggle to get high Click-Through Rate (CTR) and CVR even if you reach the first page, as buyers tend to trust products with more social proof.

  3. Competitor sales velocity: To outrank a competitor for a keyword, you need to match or exceed their daily sales for that term. Use a Chrome extension like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout to estimate top competitors’ daily sales. If top sellers are getting 40+ orders per day from the term, it will be very difficult to outrank them as a new entrant.

Secondary Verification Metrics

  1. Listing completeness: If top competitors for a keyword have incomplete Listings (e.g., <5 images, no A+ Content, poorly written bullet points), this is a low-competition opportunity you can exploit by launching a fully optimized Listing.

  2. Review quality: If top competitors have 4.5+ star ratings with high-quality photo and video reviews, you will face higher competition, as buyers perceive these products as more trustworthy.

Final Takeaway

Once you complete these four steps, you’ll have a curated list of high-relevancy, high-search-volume keywords with competition levels that match your brand’s current resources. You can use these terms to optimize your Listing (title, bullet points, backend search terms) and build targeted PPC campaigns.

Keyword is King. Without targeting the right terms, all your ranking and ad spend efforts will fail to drive consistent, profitable sales.

What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to keyword research? Have you tried a similar manual verification step, or do you rely fully on tool scores? Drop your experience below—I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!