DEFINITIONS OF COMMON TERMS

The following is a list of definitions for the terms you see in our SEO tools and services. If you have additional questions, please feel free to click on the blue button in the corner of your screen.

Actions

Within MerchantWords there are several special “actions” you can take. Here are the most common:

PLUS BUTTON: Click on the "+" to add a search term to your Keyword Collection to save your keyword research.

GRAPH BUTTON: Click on the graph icon to launch the Keyword History Analysis panel to see search volume history and trends as well as pricing metrics and related keywords for your original search term.

MAGNIFYING LENS BUTTON: The magnifying lens in this column allows you to perform an additional search to analyze and research the corresponding keyword phrase.

Click on "Search MerchantWords" to see additional longtail keyword phrases and search volumes.

Click on "Page 1 Search Results" to see all the ASINs that show up on Amazon's first page of search results for this keyword.

Click on “Search Emerging Trends” to see all the brand new and rediscovered search terms related to this keyword.

Click on "Search Amazon" to see the product search results for this keyword on Amazon.

Or, you can click on "Search Walmart" to see the product search results for this keyword on Walmart.com.

Amazon’s Choice

If you see a "Yes" in this column it is because that ASIN displays an Amazon’s Choice badge when you search with the associated keyword phrase.

Amazon Prime

If a product has a "Prime" badge on Amazon, we display a "Yes" in our results. This identifies whether or not the product is fulfilled by Amazon and Prime eligible.

Amazon Search Terms (Keyword Search)

This column provides you with the search terms real Amazon shoppers are using to find products on Amazon. There are many, many variations of them – we've collected over 1 billion unique keywords (and growing) since 2012!

These are the actual searches from the Amazon search bar. For example, if you are shopping on Amazon and type in the letter 'a' you will see a set of keywords that look something like this:

As new e-commerce trends emerge, new search terms are seen first in the Amazon search bar. By focusing on data obtained exclusively from customer searches, MerchantWords gives you direct access to these trends and a distinct advantage over other sellers using data obtained any other way.

Amazon Search Terms (ASIN Search)

For any given ASIN, we provide all of the keywords that place this product on the first page of Amazon’s search results. At the time of data collection, these are the Amazon shopper words and phrases the Amazon search algorithm associates with this product. This keyword list is different from a non-ASIN search on MerchantWords. Many sellers use this information to understand the scope of keywords their competitors rank for, and to verify the relevance and popularity of keywords they are using for listing and ad optimization. Discover underutilized phrases, words you didn’t realize you were being indexed for, and possible new product opportunities.

Appearance

This column indicates how often a keyword or phrase is searched by Amazon shoppers, and shows up in the MerchantWords database, in a 12-month period. Keywords can be classified as:

EVERGREEN: appears on Amazon every month

SEMI-ANNUAL: appears on Amazon for 1-3 months at a time throughout the year

ONE-TIME: has only appeared once

SEASONAL: seen before for a period 2-4 months and then not seen again

REDISCOVERED: last seen at least one year ago

BRAND NEW: never been seen before

VINTAGE: has not appeared on Amazon for 13 months or more

If you notice anything out of the ordinary please feel free to let us know via the blue help/chat button below.

ASIN Plus

For any given ASIN, we provide all of the keywords that place this product on the first page of Amazon’s search results. At the time of data collection, these are the Amazon shopper words and phrases the Amazon search algorithm associates with this product. This keyword list is different from a non-ASIN search on MerchantWords. Many sellers use this information to understand the scope of keywords their competitors rank for, and to verify the relevance and popularity of keywords they are using for listing and ad optimization. Discover underutilized phrases, words you didn’t realize you were being indexed for, and possible new product opportunities.

Amazon Search Volume

This column gives you the estimated monthly total of overall Amazon searches per keyword. Our data scientists use our proprietary algorithms to comb through our extensive database and calculate the ranking of every single search phrase. Taking into account the number of monthly Amazon shopper visits, we then allocate the proportional search volume across all search phrases. We repeat this process many times every month to give you the most up-to-date information available today.

Other Amazon keywords tools use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising data to produce their keyword estimates. The MerchantWords approach is different. Instead of focusing on what search phrases are popular with Amazon Advertisers, we focus first on what search phrases are popular with Amazon Shoppers.

The best place to find new opportunities and trends is within the Amazon search bar. Naturally, we also consult PPC advertising data, but this is to supplement our algorithms and data science. The result is the most accurate, most extensive database of customer keyword search data available today.

ASIN

An Amazon Standard Identification Number. Each listing has a unique 10-digit alphanumeric code. It can be found in seller central or a product’s URL. You can use this in MerchantWords’ ASIN Plus tool to discover all the keywords that place a product on the first page of search results.

Best Seller Badge

A “Yes” or “No” in this box indicates whether or not a product has a "Best Seller" badge on Amazon. It quickly tells you which sellers are marketing and selling their product effectively. Pay attention to their keyword variations – some will be highly competitive, some utilized for Sponsored Ads, and some will be less competitive long tail phrases.

Collections

This tool allows you to easily store your keyword research on MerchantWords for listing optimization, product research, and pay-per-click campaigns.

Classic Search

The original MerchantWords Amazon keyword tool! Discover the shopper search terms Amazon shoppers use every month in 11 different Amazon marketplaces. Along with search volume, this keyword tool shows a keyword’s depth, seasonality, category, and 13-month search history.

Dominant Categories

Sometimes keywords are associated with a specific category. Whenever these are available, we show this data to you. Keep in mind; a single keyword can appear across multiple categories.

Depth

This point system indicates how many letters a user is required to type before a keyword is auto-suggested in the Amazon search bar. The number displayed is on a scale of 1-25, with 1 representing one letter and 25 representing twenty-five or more. Keywords with a depth of 1 are likely to be very competitive. Keyword depth can vary based on search trends, algorithm changes, seasonality, and new product releases.

Keyword History and Trends Analysis

This overlay panel provides further insight into how customer searches change over time. Dive into when keywords peak and fall and see supply-side data metrics. You can access this feature from the graph icon next to each keyword phrase in our Classic Search tool.

Keyword Multiplier

Use this tool to discover new keywords for optimization and PPC campaigns. Enter a seed keyword into the search bar and find relevant related and complementary keywords for your original search phrase.

Last Seen

This column header in our Classic Search tool indicates when a keyword appeared on Amazon. If a keyword appeared in search in the last month the column will display CURRENT. If the keyword is older than the current month the date of its last appearance is displayed by MONTH, YEAR.

Listing Advisor

Listing Advisor is MerchantWords’ listing optimization service. Our team of SEO experts provides you with a well-written and fully optimized product listing. Each listing is compliant with Amazon’s guidelines and regulations.

Page One

Quickly gauge the marketplace at a glance. See all the ASINs that show up on the first page of Amazon search results for any keyword in the US or UK Amazon marketplace.

Results

This column tells you the total number of products available for sale that match with the given keyword phrase. This total gives you an indication of the level of competition for a particular keyword phrase and/or product. If the number is high (i.e, thousands of search results and many SERPs), then it’s a quick indicator that the keyword and/or product is very competitive.

Reviews on Page

This is the sum total of reviews for all products on the first page of search results. This can be used as a proxy for estimating overall sales and to gauge competition. The total number of reviews can help you to quickly assess a product’s sales volume and popularity for any given keyword phrase. A high number of reviews can indicate a high barrier to entry for this product.

Search Rank

This column provides you with the ranking an ASIN received when the associated keyword was searched. When you perform a keyword search on Amazon, it produces a query of results that match the keyword phrase. This search engine results page is commonly referred to as a SERP. The placement of each product/ASIN on the page is determined by a number of factors: product listing optimization, advertising, sales, reviews, prime eligibility, etc. For example, if you see a keyword with Search Rank of 1, and on the Sponsored Ad column it says "Yes," then it is likely the seller was the highest PPC bidder for that #1 spot.

Please note that the search page changes rapidly, especially for competitive keywords. It's possible for a product’s position to change between the time of data collection and what is currently on Amazon.

Search Terms Found

This is the total number of Amazon shopper search words and phrases found at the time of data collection that when entered into the Amazon search bar will display this product/ASIN on the first Amazon search results page.

Sponsored Ads

This is the total count of Sponsored Ads we were able to find on the search results page for the given keyword. This information provides some insight into the keywords sellers are bidding on, and the level of competition on the page. It is important to note that advertising campaigns change all the time, so this represents a recent snapshot in time.

Star Rating

This data shows you how many stars a product has received. The scale is from 1-5, with five being the best. This rating is a direct reflection of a product's rating as it appeared on Amazon when we collected the data. As such, there may be a small lag between our data and what you currently see on Amazon.

Total Reviews

This number is the total amount of Amazon reviews for the ASIN you searched on MerchantWords. On the more popular products, the number of reviews listed on MerchantWords may at times be slightly smaller than the total on Amazon, as this information changes frequently.

Learn more Amazon terms in our Amazon Glossary!

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