Short version: Give every keyword one home. Put the most important one in the title, secondary terms in the bullets and description as normal sentences, and synonyms and variants in the Search Terms field. Do not repeat words across fields hoping to rank harder. Amazon publishes no per-field weights, so verify each placement by searching the keyword after the edit is live.
You have a keyword list. Now you have four fields to put it in, and each has different limits. Put a term in the wrong field, or in all of them, and you waste space the listing needed for something else. This guide is a placement map: which keyword tier goes where, what Amazon says about repeats, and how to check the result.
OptimalCentral is the operating system for your Amazon business. On the free and Pro layer, Ossy audits your keyword placement and you make the edits. On the Brand plan, with your account connected, Ossy is a 24×7 optimizing agent, and any change that moves money still waits for your approval item by item. Placement is the audit side of that work.
The placement map
Sort every keyword into a tier before you place it. Then each tier has a default home.
- Tier 1, the primary keyword: the phrase that names your product the way shoppers search it. Home: the title, near the front.
- Tier 2, secondary keywords: features, materials, sizes and use cases that buyers filter by. Home: bullet points and the description, written as sentences a person would read.
- Tier 3, variants and synonyms: alternate names, abbreviations and related terms that do not fit visible copy. Home: the Search Terms field.
Amazon does not publish how much each field counts toward ranking. Sellers often treat the title as the strongest signal, but that is practitioner belief, not an Amazon rule. The title earns the top keyword for a plain reason: shoppers read it first, so it has to be right for them before it is right for a crawler.
Field by field
Title
Titles are capped at 75 characters from July 27, 2026, with media categories exempt. Lead with the product name and the primary keyword, then the one or two attributes buyers decide on. Everything past 75 characters is rewritten by Amazon over time, so keywords at the end of a long title are at risk. Our title optimization guide covers the full formula.
Bullet points
Bullets carry the secondary keywords, one idea each. Write for a buyer comparing three listings: lead with the benefit, then the spec. A keyword forced into a sentence that does not need it reads badly and converts worse. Limits vary by category, so read the limit Seller Central shows for your product type. See Amazon bullet points for the structure.
Description and A+ content
The description is the place for the long-tail phrases that do not fit a bullet. Use plain sentences. Do not park the only copy of an important keyword here: keep the keyword in the title or a bullet too, where more shoppers see it.
Search Terms field
This hidden field is for Tier 3. Amazon staff posts on Seller Forums give the guidance directly:
- Length is limited by bytes: Amazon staff posts give 250 bytes; many tools use 249 as a safe margin.
- Separate words with spaces. Punctuation is not needed.
- Do not repeat words within the field.
- Skip stop words such as "a", "and", "for" and "the".
- Do not re-enter information already captured in the title, brand or other fields. Amazon says it does not improve placement.
- You do not need misspellings. Amazon says its systems compensate for common ones.
Our guides to backend keywords and Amazon search terms go deeper on the field itself.
Worked example
Keyword list: insulated water bottle (primary), stainless steel, leak proof, 32 oz, gym, hiking, flask, thermos, tumbler.
Title: Insulated Water Bottle, 32 oz Stainless Steel, Leak Proof Lid (about 60 characters, under the 75 cap).
Bullets: one for cold retention with the "stainless steel" detail, one for the leak proof lid, one for gym and hiking use.
Search Terms: flask thermos tumbler. These words are in no visible field, so they add coverage. "Insulated", "water" and "bottle" stay out, because the title already carries them.
Every keyword has one home, no word is paid for twice, and the title stayed readable.
Placement checklist
- List all keywords and assign each a tier.
- Put the Tier 1 phrase in the first half of the title, under 75 characters.
- Write bullets for the buyer first, then check each Tier 2 term appears where it fits.
- Strike every word already in the title, bullets or description from your Search Terms list.
- Remove duplicates, punctuation and stop words from Search Terms, and count bytes.
- Save once. Wait until the edit is live on the detail page.
- Search each keyword and note whether your listing appears. Recheck on a second day.
Where placement goes wrong
- Stuffing the title. A title past 75 characters is rewritten by Amazon over time, so you do not control which keywords survive.
- Copying the title into Search Terms. Amazon says re-entering captured information does not help.
- Counting characters in Search Terms. The field counts bytes, and accented characters take more than one.
- Editing every day. Change one thing, then measure. See how to check if a keyword is indexed.
- Placing keywords without researching them. Start from real demand, as in Amazon keyword research.
See where your keywords sit today
The OptimalCentral Keywords Audit lists the keywords that matter for your ASIN, recommends a placement for each (title, bullets, search terms field, A+ content), and marks visibility only where it was measured. Start with a 14-day free trial.
See the Keywords Audit →Frequently asked questions
Where should I put keywords in an Amazon listing?
Put your single most important keyword in the title, work secondary keywords into the bullets and description as natural sentences, and use the Search Terms field for synonyms and variants that do not fit the visible copy. List each term in one field, then check the listing after the edit goes live.
Should I repeat keywords in the title, bullets and Search Terms?
No. Amazon staff advise not to repeat words within the Search Terms field and not to re-enter information already captured in the title, brand or other fields, because it does not improve placement. Repeating a word in visible copy is fine when the sentence needs it, but a repeat adds no new coverage.
How many keywords can I use in an Amazon listing?
Amazon sets limits by field, not a total. The title is capped at 75 characters from July 27, 2026 (media categories exempt). The Search Terms field is limited by bytes: Amazon staff posts give 250 bytes; many tools use 249 as a safe margin. Bullet and description limits vary by category, so read the limit Seller Central shows for your product type.
Does Amazon weigh title keywords more than bullet keywords?
Amazon does not publish field weights. Sellers commonly treat the title as the most important field, but that is practitioner belief, not an Amazon-documented ranking rule. Place your top keyword in the title because shoppers read it first, and test with an index and rank check.
Do I need misspellings in my Amazon keywords?
Amazon staff say you do not need misspellings in the Search Terms field because its systems compensate for common customer misspellings. Spend the bytes on synonyms and alternate names instead.
How do I know my keyword placement worked?
Search the keyword on Amazon after the edit is live and look for your listing in organic results. Recheck on a different day. Then track the position weekly with a rank tracker, since an index check only tells you whether the listing appears at all.