I hear it all of the time; authors blaming Amazon’s search when their book isn’t getting found. Truth is, though, the real culprit is almost always something they set up on day one and never looked at again.
Frustrating, to say the least, right? “I published my book, I told people about it, and it’s just…it’s not getting found!” And almost every time I’ve heard it — before anyone starts chatting up marketing, or ads, etc., I’m asking at least these initial three questions: What keywords did you use? What categories did you pick? What does your metadata actually say?
And most times, it’s the pauses, blinking, etc., when I know that we’ve hit their problem.
Not the algorithm. Not poor timing or bad luck. Not some mysterious Amazon penalty or discourse. It’s just that the book wasn’t set up to be found in the first place (and nobody told the author the importance of the setup — or the fact it was their job).
WHAT “DISCOVERABILITY” ACTUALLY MEANS ON AMAZON
Amazon is a search engine first and a bookstore second. That’s not some revelation or hot take — it’s just what we know about how the platform works. When someone types “nervous system regulation journal for women” into their Amazon search bar, the platform runs through its catalogue and surfaces what it believes are the most relevant results for that particular query.
How does it decide what’s relevant to their massive marketplace and audience? It’s largely based on the information you gave it when you set up your title. Remember that section on keywords? Categories? Your title and subtitle? Your description? All of that data is what Amazon uses to understand what your book is about and who it’s for.
So, if that information is at all vague, generic, or just not quite right — Amazon genuinely doesn’t know where to put you (and/or, more importantly; when to include you in search results). And if Amazon doesn’t know where to put you, readers can’t find you, right? It really is that straightforward.
KEYWORDS: THE PART MOST AUTHORS RUSH
I didn’t write this to beat up on you. I didn’t. Here’s another very real example, though: KDP gives you seven keyword fields when you publish. Seven. And most authors treat them like an afterthought — they type in a few obvious words — often not taking advantage of all 7 spaces, then they click through and consider it done.
Here’s the thing about those seven fields though: they’re not just for single words. They’re for keyword phrases — strings of two, three, four words that reflect exactly how your ideal reader is searching. “Mindfulness journal” is a keyword. “Daily mindfulness journal for anxiety” is a better one. The second version tells Amazon — and your reader — a lot more about who this exceptional book of yours is actually for.
“And if Amazon doesn’t know where to put you, readers can’t find you, right?”
Now, let’s be clear; the goal isn’t to stuff every imaginable buzzword into those fields. The goal is to think like the person who needs your book and hasn’t found it yet. What are they typing when they’re looking for help? What problem are they trying to solve? What words would they use — not the words you’d use as the author, but the words they’d use as the reader?
That gap — between how we authors describe our own work and how readers search for it — is where discoverability most often falls apart. Don’t forget; you wrote it…so you’re not buying it. The person you wrote it for is buying it, so describe the book in the same way you’d expect they’d be searching for it.
CATEGORIES: MORE STRATEGIC THAN YOU’D THINK
When you originally set up your KDP title, you choose two or three browse categories — the “shelves” your book lives on inside Amazon’s catalogue. Most authors will ultimately pick the two most obvious ones to them, and call it a day.
That’s not wrong, necessarily. But it might not be completely right, either. Just hear me out on this.
Categories determine more than just where your book appears when people browse, ok? They also determine which bestseller lists you’re eligible for. A book that’s competing in a massive, saturated category has a much harder time gaining any visibility than the same book placed in a more specific, less crowded one. See where I’m going with this? Even if a potentially more niche category has a smaller audience overall, being a top title in that focused category is genuinely more valuable than being invisible in a broad one.
“I remind everyone; the good news is your categories aren’t permanent! You’re absolutely able to update them anytime through your KDP dashboard. And your seven keyword fields can trigger placement in additional subcategories automatically, which is another reason keyword strategy and category strategy aren’t really separate decisions. I’m telling you, they work together, or they don’t work at all…but they’re there for you to make things work!”
YOUR TITLE AND SUBTITLE ARE DOING MORE WORK THAN YOU REALIZE
Algo’s make us crazy, don’t they? They change more frequently than Atlantic Canadian weather! Amazon’s search algorithm weighs the words in your title and subtitle heavily — more heavily than your keyword fields, in most cases. Not surprising, then, if your subtitle is vague or purely stylistic, you may be leaving real discoverability on the table. Sorry.
A subtitle like “A Journey to Healing” is lovely. That’s what it is; and that’s why you wrote it. It tells the reader almost nothing specific, though, and it tells Amazon even less. A subtitle like “A 10-Week Nervous System Regulation Journal for Women Coming Home to Themselves” is doing some serious search and placement work on your behalf. It’s specific. It contains searchable phrases. It tells both Amazon and your prospective reader exactly what they’re getting.
You don’t have to sacrifice voice for clarity. But the two aren’t mutually exclusive, either. The best subtitles manage both.
THE PART NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR
All of this — the keyword research, the category strategy, the metadata — it takes time to get right. Real time, not “I’ll figure it out in twenty minutes before I hit publish” time. It just does. And yes, it requires at least a working knowledge of how Amazon’s search actually behaves, which (as I’d mentioned above) changes more often than most people realize.
I also want you to understand this; it’s equally not a set-it-and-forget-it type of situation. A keyword strategy that worked six months ago might be underperforming now. Categories get more or less competitive over time. Your description might need a refresh after your first few months of sales data is available for you to scrutinize.
This is the part of publishing that looks invisible from the outside — and that’s exactly why so many authors skip or underestimate it. The book gets written. The cover art gets made. And then this whole other layer of work gets a rushed thirty minutes on publishing day…never to heard from again.
Bottom line; If your book isn’t getting found, start here before you spend a dollar on advertising. Fix the foundation first. Ads can amplify discoverability, sure — but they can’t create it out of nothing.
Keyword strategy, category selection, and metadata setup are part of every publishing package at DENNER Media — because getting this right from day one changes everything that comes after. If you’d like us to take a look at what you’ve got, or build it properly from the start, let’s talk.