How to Write the Best Amazon Product Titles

Writing the best Amazon product titles can seem overwhelming. To help sellers, Amazon provides the Amazon Services Quick Start Style Guide as a primer. It lists guidelines such as spelling out measurements and capitalizing the first letter of most words. The guide is a good starting point on the best practices for developing Amazon titles, but it really is just a jumping-off point.

For one thing, products in different categories follow different title formats. Fortunately, Amazon does provide additional recommendations and title examples in categories such as bedding and small appliances. This article looks at these recommendations to optimize Amazon product titles and goes beyond them to draw from sellers’ experiences.

Why Optimized Titles Matter

First, here’s a quick note on the importance of Amazon product titles. A good title is critical for the following reasons:

• It helps customers find your product (when the title is optimized for search)
• It conveys important product information at a glance
• Your sales should rise because customers are finding and buying your product

What to Avoid When Crafting Titles

One part of writing the best Amazon product titles is to know what to avoid. To that end, Amazon says, “Nope!” to the items listed below.

• Symbols and Type 1 High ASCII characters (@&*!~©Æ and so on – although ampersands are OK if part of a brand name)
• Subjective descriptors such as “Great Item,” “Hot Seller” or “Best Product”
• Promotional and pricing descriptors such as “Free Shipping” or “Sale”
• Merchant name for brand or manufacturer unless your product is private label
• All caps
• Capitalization for prepositions of four letters or fewer
• Capitalization for conjunctions and articles (and, but, an the, for and so on)

It may be tempting to promote a deal such as free shipping or to showcase the fact that your item is selling like hotcakes, but stay factual and restrained.

These are good recommendations to follow, but you’ll probably notice many listings that eschew these rules in favor of a bolder and easier to read approach.

Amazon Title Basics

Amazon has recommendations for products in different categories, but here are the basics that apply to any product title.

• Spell out measure words such as inch, ounce and pound (write 3 inches, not 3″)
• Use numerals instead of spelling out numbers (write 3, not three)
• Capitalize the first letter of each word except for the words touched on in “What to Avoid”
• List size and color when the product is a “child” ASIN variation

To expand on the latter point, say you’re selling sports bras in a variety of colors and sizes. You would have what is called a parent ASIN that does not mention size or color. Customers make their selections for size and color, and once they put an item in their cart, the child ASIN shows up. Amazon gives this example for a parent ASIN: “Crocs Beach Clog.” Meanwhile, the child ASIN is “Crocs Beach Clog, Lime, Medium (Women’s 8-9 M US/Men’s 6-7 M US).”

Best Practices for Developing Product-Specific Titles

Depending on your product, the title should list information such as pattern, color(s), model number, quantity, size or power output. Take the small appliances category. Amazon recommends this formula: Brand + Model Number + Model Name + Product Type, Color. This is one of the examples Amazon gives: KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan 5-Quart Mixer, Empire Red.

Now take DVD players. Amazon recommends this style: Brand + Model Number + Size + Product Type + Screen Style (if needed) + (Color/Pack Size). The example given is Panasonic PV-D4743S Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo (Silver).

As you can see, Amazon recommends that titles start broadly and list very specific attributes at the end. Here are some more style recommendations from Amazon:

• TVs: Brand + Model Number + Product Type + (Color/Pack Size)
• Video games: Brand + (Model Number if unclear what product is) + Product Type + (Platform)
• Bedding: Brand + Line/Pattern + Thread Count + Material + Size + Product Type, Color
• Bath towels: Brand + Line/Pattern + Material + Product Type + Quantity, Color
• Tableware sets: Brand + Pattern + Product Type, Amount
• Individual pieces of tableware: Brand + Pattern + Size + Product Type
• Cooks’ Gadgets and Tools: Brand (+ Model Number if necessary) + Model Name + Product Type, Color
• Cutlery and cookware: Brand + Line + Size+ Product Type

You Have Room for Flexibility and Keyword Research

Amazon gives sellers latitude in titles. For example, if you sell bedding with a low thread count, you are not required to include the thread count in your title. Of course, if your bedding has a high thread count, you probably want to include that in the title. The more relevant or highly searched keywords that you can include, without keyword stuffing, will typically help product exposure in search results on Amazon.

You do not always need to start with brand, especially if the product isn’t a well-known brand or is generic. Rather, you might prefer to start your title with a standout feature such as the pattern, design or fabric. To write the best product titles, know your product well and understand who your target audience is and how they would use the product.

• What are its best features? Is there a way to get them in the title?
• Which features do customers ask about often?
• Which features are weaker and should be held for the details section?
• What is the target market for the product? If you’re selling bats, for example, are they for children? Men? Women?

It can be a good idea to experiment with titles and see which versions get higher click-through rates and sales. Do some simple research and take a look at how your top-selling competitors craft their titles. Which features do they highlight, especially at the beginning of titles? Are there any highly-searched keywords included?

If you’re struggling to optimize Amazon product titles it may be time to reach out to the marketing experts at OperationROI. Get in touch with us today to see how we help Amazon sellers sell more on Amazon.

Learn More About How We Optimize Product Titles For Success!