Amazon Product Title Basics
The Amazon product title is the first impression the customer has with the product and a big factor that Amazon’s A9 search algorithm relies on to determine relevance. If you intend to succeed as an Amazon seller, you need to nail this one.
FBA product title requirements
All non-media products on Amazon have title requirements for using FBA. Non-compliance with these requirements could cause it to be suppressed from Amazon search results.
Amazon suggests these elements for your product title:
- The product’s brand
- The product line it’s part of
- Its most material or key feature
- What is the product type
- Specify the color
- Specify the size
- The quantity inside each package (such as “3-Count”)
What NOT to include in your Amazon product title:
- More than 200 characters, including spaces.
- Promotional claims or sales messaging, such as “free shipping”, “100% quality guaranteed”.
- Decorative characters, such as ~ ! * $ ? _ ~ { } # < > | * ; ^ ¬ ¦
More details about requirements and prohibitions for Amazon product titles can be found on their Product title requirements page.
Style tips for creating the perfect Amazon product title
Now that you know what you basically must include, and what you can’t include, let’s get to the creative part that will make your product stand out.
A product title is one of the most important elements of a listing page, right up there with the main image. There are specific Amazon product title guidelines to follow before writing one. If it is fully optimized and yet creative enough, it can instantly tell Amazon, buyers, and searchers what you are actually selling.
Having said that, it’s very important to use your most valuable keywords in the title. Both search bots and humans are looking for that #1 term. Therefore, you should start with your #1 keyword right next to the brand name.
Once they click over to your product page, they will be able to view the entire 200-character title length.
But don’t stuff keywords: Creating a messy title that’s stuffed with the keywords won’t help much with SEO and will reduce your click-through-rate. Focus your 200-character allowance on creating an attractive title with one or two top keywords.
Consider title length: Titles will be viewed by visitors on different places and devices and they will appear at different lengths. Ensure your title catches attention at all lengths and placements.
On a search results page (SERP) — where most shoppers will first find your product – only the first 123 – 155 characters will display on a computer monitor, depending on how wide the user has set their browser window and, consequently, how many products are shown in a single row.
On a mobile screen, you get at most about 80 characters in a SERP. If it is not optimized with good phrasing, it could end up cutting off words in a search results page, as you see in the example on the right, below.
Think carefully about these dynamic display issues, and try to use short adjectives. Even though “Frustration Free Packaging” might be a good USP, you probably would not want a shopper to see the truncated word “Frustrati….” at the end of your product title – What does that mean? ‘Wouldn’t “EZ-Open Package” sound friendlier, even if truncated?
Other best practices to follow for an Amazon product title
- Use primary keywords or search terms while including long-tail variations.
- Include other potential keywords in the title but use dashes (-) or pipes (|) to break up each term. This improves readability and is less confusing.
- Include USP (Unique Selling Point) of the product (although, “Frustration Free Packaging” from the example above isn’t a great choice, both for length and the subliminal message that it’s frustrating).
- Use connectors if possible (before or after the main keyword).
- Use brand name.
- Capitalize the first letter of each word in the title except the, or, and, a, for, in, an, with, over.
- Include color, model number, series, and quantity (if required).
- To save space, use numerals (3 instead of Three).
- If the product is a multipack, mention the quantity. Example: 15-Pack, 3-Count, Set of 5, etc.
Shoppingfeed syndicates product listings on all of the world’s most powerful marketplaces, syncs and refines inventory data with >11M product tags, and automates order fulfillment. As an Amazon Partner, we can help assure every product you list is fully optimized and properly listed with Amazon.
