Amazon Keyword Policy: Permitted and Prohibited Terms

Policy Details

Amazon's keyword policy governs what terms are permitted in your listing title, bullets, description, and backend search terms. In title and customer-visible fields: prohibited terms include competitor brand names, drug claims, medical claims, misleading product descriptors, and promotional language. In backend search terms (the 250-character field in the Keywords tab): Amazon prohibits competitor brand names (the most commonly violated rule), terms not relevant to the product, terms that violate any other Amazon policy, repeated keywords (they waste character budget but are not technically prohibited — they are just ineffective), and ASINs of other products. What Amazon specifically states about backend keywords: terms should be words buyers would actually use to search for the product; they should be different from what is already in the title, bullets, and description (repetition is not beneficial); they should not include subjective claims like "best" or "cheapest"; and they should not include temporary/time-sensitive terms. Keyword violations can result in listing suppression or Account Health warnings. The most common enforcement is for competitor brand names — brand-registered sellers can report trademark violations in backend keywords, and Amazon actively monitors for this.