Keyword Audit & Optimization

The Keyword Audit: A Checklist of Common Mistakes

Before you look at your own keywords, let's build a framework for the audit. Most keyword-related sales failures stem from a few common, correctable mistakes. By turning these mistakes into a checklist, we can perform a thorough and objective review.

Let's watch a video that concisely covers five of the most critical errors KDP authors make.

Based on that video and what we've previously learned, here is our audit framework. A strong keyword strategy avoids these pitfalls.

Our Audit Checklist:

1. Compliance: Are you using any banned words that could get your book suppressed (e.g., bestseller, free, other author names)?
2. Repetition: Are you wasting space by repeating keywords from your title/subtitle in your backend slots?
3. Specificity: Are your keywords too broad and competitive, or are they specific, long-tail phrases that target high-intent buyers?
4. Validation: Are your keywords actual phrases customers are searching for, or are they guesses?
5. Efficiency: Are you using all 50 characters in each of your 7 backend keyword slots?

This next resource provides a fantastic, detailed walkthrough of how to approach the backend keyword slots with these rules in mind.

Performing Your Practical Keyword Audit

Now it's time for the hands-on work. You will apply this checklist directly to your coloring book.

Step 1: Gather Your Data

1. Log in to your KDP account.
2. Navigate to your bookshelf and find your coloring book. Click the ellipsis button (...) and select "Edit Book Details".
3. Open a simple text editor (like Notepad or Google Docs).
4. Copy and paste your Title, Subtitle, and all 7 Backend Keywords into the document.

Step 2: Run the Audit Checklist
Go through your list of keywords, one check at a time. Be critical and objective.

1. ✅ Check for Compliance:

   • Read through all your keywords.
   • Action: Highlight any words that are against KDP policy: best, bestseller, free, on sale, new, book, or the names of competing authors or brands.

2. ✅ Check for Repetition:

   • Look at your title and subtitle.
   • Action: In your backend keywords, highlight every single word that already appears in your title or subtitle. Amazon automatically indexes these, so you are wasting precious space.

3. ✅ Check for Specificity (The Long-Tail Test):

   • This directly applies our last lesson. Look at each of your 7 keyword phrases.
   • Action: Mark each one as "Broad" or "Long-Tail." For example, "mandala coloring" is broad. "Stress relief mandala patterns for adults" is long-tail. How many of your slots are filled with vague, high-competition terms?

4. ✅ Check for Validation (The Autocomplete Test):

   • Open a new Incognito or Private browser window and go to Amazon.com. Make sure the search department is set to "Books".
   • Action: One by one, start typing each of your keyword phrases into the search bar. Does Amazon suggest the exact phrase in the dropdown menu? If it doesn't, it's a sign that very few people are searching for that term. Note which of your keywords are "unvalidated."

5. ✅ Check for Indexing (The ASIN Test):

   • This is a technical check to see if Amazon is "seeing" your book for a given keyword. Find your book's ASIN on its product page (under "Product details").
   • Action: In the Amazon search bar, type [Your ASIN] + [your keyword]. For example: B0C123XYZ4 floral coloring for seniors. If your book does not appear as the only result, Amazon is not indexing you for that term. It could be due to irrelevance or a policy violation. Test your most important keywords this way.

6. ✅ Check for Efficiency (The 50-Character Test):
   • Look at each of your 7 keyword boxes.
   • Action: How many characters are in each box? Are they mostly full (45-50 characters), or is there a lot of empty space? Note any boxes that are less than 80% full.

From Audit to Opportunity

By now, your document should have several highlighted words and notes. This isn't a list of failures; it's a precise map of opportunities. Each problem you found points to a specific, actionable improvement.

• If you found banned words... you have an opportunity to replace them with relevant, compliant keywords that drive the right traffic.
• If you found repeated words... you have an opportunity to free up valuable real estate for new long-tail keywords you couldn't fit before.
• If you found mostly broad keywords... you have a massive opportunity to swap them for specific, long-tail phrases that target buyers ready to purchase.
• If you found unvalidated or non-indexed keywords... you have an opportunity to stop sending signals into the void and start using terms that Amazon's algorithm and customers actually recognize.
• If you found empty space... you have the easiest win of all: an opportunity to add more relevant keywords to increase the number of searches your book can appear in.

This last point about filling the slots is powerful. There's a strategic choice between using one strong keyword phrase per slot versus filling the space with multiple related terms.

For your book with zero sales, maximizing reach by intelligently filling all the space with relevant, long-tail terms is the best starting point.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this vital diagnostic step. You've moved from guessing what's wrong to knowing exactly where the problems lie in your book's discoverability.

Key Takeaways:

• A keyword audit is a systematic process of checking your metadata against known best practices.
• Common mistakes include using banned terms, repeating keywords, targeting overly broad phrases, using unvalidated guesses, and wasting character space.
• Each mistake is an opportunity. Identifying a problem is the first step toward a powerful solution.
• You can check if Amazon is indexing your book for a keyword by searching for "ASIN + keyword".

Preview of the Next Lesson:

Your audit has shown you the "what" and the "why." In our next lesson, we will focus on the "how." You will learn to compile a new, prioritized list of 7 backend keywords for your book, using your list of opportunities as a guide and the research techniques we've discussed to find high-potential replacements.