Why Rocket Shows
Flagged Keywords
Amazon KDP has several rules about which keywords authors are allowed to use for their books. In general, these rules prevent authors from misrepresenting their content – such as passing their book off as the competition or using common brand names in their keywords. For example, authors cannot use words like “Harry Potter” or “Lord of the Rings” in their 7 kindle keywords, as these pertain to popular brands and might confuse readers.
In addition, Amazon prevents authors from using subjective or time sensitive phrases in their keywords, as these may be misleading to readers. That means authors cannot use phrases like “best book of 2025”, since that is subjective. They also can’t use phrases like “sci-fi limited time deals”, because that might no longer be true when a shopper is viewing the book.
Fortunately, when Rocket detects a keyword that Amazon might not like, Rocket flags that keyword so you can check if it breaks the rules.
So… you may be wondering… if Amazon doesn’t allow these keywords, then why does Publisher Rocket show them at all?
Well, even if you can’t use these keywords, they can still provide valuable insights into keywords that you can use for your book. With this information, you can better understand customer behavior and increase your sales.
For example, take the keyword “Cozy Mystery Kindle Unlimited“. Amazon forbids this keyword because it includes the words “Kindle Unlimited”.
However, if your book is in Kindle Unlimited and you use the keyword “Cozy Mystery”, your book will still likely show up when someone types in this full phrase. That’s because even though you’re not allowed to use that specific keyword, Amazon is smart enough to tell that your book belongs in that search.
So if the keyword “Cozy Mystery Kindle Unlimited” is getting lots of traffic and lots of sales, it may be worth your time to use similar keywords such as “Cozy Mystery”. That way, even though you aren’t allowed to use the flagged keyword, you’ll still get a share of the traffic and sales.
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