How do I compare competitor keywords?
To compare competitor keywords, collect the search terms associated with a competitor product using a Reverse ASIN tool, then check each one against your own listing to find the gaps. The terms your competitor ranks for but your listing does not cover are your highest-priority optimisation opportunities. To compare competitor keywords, you need two lists: the keywords your listing covers and the keywords a competitor listing covers. A Reverse ASIN tool gives you the second list. Comparing the two reveals which terms the competitor ranks for that your listing does not yet include. These missing terms are called keyword gaps. They represent search queries where the competitor may be visible to shoppers but your product is not. Closing those gaps, where the terms are relevant to your product, is one of the fastest ways to broaden your organic reach on Amazon. The comparison starts with your own keyword list. This includes every term in your product title, bullet points, description and backend Search Terms. Some sellers also include keywords they are already bidding on in Sponsored Products campaigns. The competitor list comes from a Reverse ASIN lookup. Enter a competitor ASIN into a tool like Keyword Hunters and it returns the search terms their listing is likely targeting. Run this for two to four close competitors rather than one, so the comparison covers a wider range of relevant terms. Analysing products at a similar price point with a similar target customer gives the most useful results. A premium competitor and a budget competitor may rank for very different keyword sets, so choose listings that genuinely compete with yours. With both lists available, go through the competitor keywords one by one and mark each as covered, partially covered or missing from your listing. A keyword is covered if it appears verbatim or as a clear phrase match in your title, bullets, description or backend Search Terms. Partially covered terms are phrases where some words appear in your listing but not together as a phrase. These are worth reviewing: Amazon may index them individually, but including the full phrase can improve ranking for that exact search. Missing keywords that accurately describe your product are the primary outcome of the comparison. Sort these by search volume to focus effort on phrases with real demand. Not every gap is worth filling. Prioritising by search volume and relevance ensures effort goes to the terms most likely to drive results. High-priority gaps are terms with meaningful search volume that closely describe your product and are completely absent from your listing. These belong in your title or bullet points first, where Amazon's indexing weight is highest. Medium-priority gaps are relevant terms with lower volume, or phrases where your listing covers the words but not the exact phrase. Add these to backend Search Terms or test them in broad-match PPC campaigns before committing to visible listing copy. Low-priority or skip: terms that describe the competitor's product but not yours, branded terms, very low-volume phrases and any keyword that would require stretching your product description to fit. Adding irrelevant terms reduces conversion rate and can confuse shoppers. Once gaps are prioritised, the results feed into two workflows: listing optimisation and PPC targeting. For listing optimisation, add high-priority gaps to your title and bullet points naturally, without keyword stuffing. Use the exact phrase where it fits, or spread the words across adjacent bullets so Amazon can still index the full phrase. Secondary gaps go into backend Search Terms, in order of priority. For PPC, keyword gaps from competitor research make strong Sponsored Products targets. Start with exact match to test conversion before expanding to phrase or broad. Terms the competitor ranks for organically may have proven demand, making them worth testing at a competitive bid.
Learn how to compare competitor keywords on Amazon, find keyword gaps in your listing and decide which terms to add for better organic and PPC results.