The credit for this goes to our new forum member GerTex, who I first heard about this from. Speed+ GerTex..

So, there is a new tool out called MerchantWords - still in free beta (but will be priced), that lets you search for what keywords or products people have been looking for on Amazon.

And although they don't reveal actual search volumes for each keyword - you will definitely get a good overview of what people are looking most to buy in relation to others. For instance, a quick search on "guitar" will reveal what kinds of guitar products people are most interested in buying on Amazon - and which ones they aren't that interested in.

In my opinion, this information can be gold whether you decide to use it to research an entirely new product, getting into a category, or even improve the search rankings of what you're already selling there.

Eskil said:

And although they don't reveal actual search volumes for each keyword - you will definitely get a good overview of what people are looking most to buy in relation to others. For instance, a quick search on "guitar" will reveal what kinds of guitar products people are most interested in buying on Amazon - and which ones they aren't that interested in.

In my opinion, this information can be gold whether you decide to use it to research an entirely new product, getting into a category, or even improve the search rankings of what you're already selling there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words Eskil.

Here is an interesting thought... take the info you glean out of that tool and throw it into SerpIQ. Use their competition analyzer to see global searches, competition, domain age, emd's, backlinks etc.. Then use the keyword discovery tool to see related terms/items that might be of interest and compare them in the Amazon tool as well.

Wasn't there also an ebay tool online somewhere with similar data? Can not remember for the life of me...

Having all those bases covers would give you fantastic data points...

Some nice bonus tips right there, GerTex - thanks again.

I can't recall what that eBay tool would have been but maybe someone else will.

i think this is what you're looking for

eBay Research Labs BayEstimator

its a listing title optimizer

Eskil said:

So, there is a new tool out called MerchantWords - still in free beta (but will be priced), that lets you search for what keywords or products people have been looking for on Amazon.

Click to expand...

Hi everyone...
I'm George, the founder of MerchantWords. Thanks for your kind words and nice post. Even though we've just barely launched our first beta, it's great to see that people are talking about it.

Eskil said:

And although they don't reveal actual search volumes for each keyword - you will definitely get a good overview of what people are looking most to buy in relation to others. For instance, a quick search on "guitar" will reveal what kinds of guitar products people are most interested in buying on Amazon - and which ones they aren't that interested in.

Click to expand...

That a great example, and that's exactly what we had in mind when we built MerchantWords. Adding real search counts (instead of just High/ Medium / Low) is our #1 most requested feature, and we're currently hard at work building it. I'm not entirely sure when we'll have those numbers ready, but when launch our next beta version we'll have real search counts.

Eskil said:

In my opinion, this information can be gold whether you decide to use it to research an entirely new product, getting into a category, or even improve the search rankings of what you're already selling there.

Click to expand...

We're considering adding search data for other big retail shopping websites. We're thinking about possibly adding eBay, WalMart and TheFind.com. How would your rank these three in terms of order of interest. Also, any other big sites we should consider looking at?

Naturally, we're interested in your opinion about what features you'd like to see us work on next.

I'll try to lurk around here, so reply or PM me with ideas. Also, feel free to drop me an email at george@merchantwords.com

Thanks, -- George

"How do you get this data?
Our servers are positioned in strategic data center locations to directly observe search traffic.

We analyze this traffic to determine the volume and type of searches performed."

That does not look like an answer to me, more like beating around the bush.

I need to know how do you estimate this data in order to have some trust that the data is correct and worth the money (after all i can also estimate amazon data using google keyword search tool, and assume that if people are searching on google, they are also searching on amazon similarly) .

It's obvious there is no official API from amazon that lets you find this data, so i assume you are using some sort of approximation? How is it done?

Looks promising if there is a solid way to know the data is reliable.

GerTex said:

Wasn't there also an ebay tool online somewhere with similar data? Can not remember for the life of me...

Having all those bases covers would give you fantastic data points...

Click to expand...

Terapeak?

Nick said:

more like beating around the bush.

I need to know how do you estimate this data in order to have some trust that the data is correct and worth the money

Click to expand...

Yup, we were totally dodging an answer there. I see now that was a big mistake... in order for users to get any value from our data, we have to be transparent. And that's exactly what we're working on.

For our next beta version, we're planning on making significant changes on how we measure and estimate search volume. Once those changes are in place and we publish our next dataset, we're going to be completely open about how the process works.

Nick said:

(after all i can also estimate amazon data using google keyword search tool, and assume that if people are searching on google, they are also searching on amazon similarly) .

Click to expand...

Sometimes that's true, but in many cases it's not. It was surprising for me to discover just how different search behavior is between Google and Amazon. And I suppose it makes sense if you think about it... me personally, the searches I do in Amazon are very different from the searches I do in Google.

Search for "how do I" in Google's AdWords tool vs. MerchantWords.com. The top results are phrases like this:

Google:
how do I blog
how do I find people
how do I find a phone number
etc.

Amazon:
how do i activate my kindle
how do i sign out of amazon
how do i use my gift card
etc.

Another good example are terms associated with "weather". In Google the big terms are related to finding weather conditions in various cities around the world. In Amazon the big terms are related to finding weather instruments to measure the weather.

Nick said:

Looks promising if there is a solid way to know the data is reliable.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement. We're working hard to make the next beta version much better.

George; Nice to see you come in here and request some suggestions. I sent you an e-mail..

Hi George,

I have been experimenting with the tool for the past week or so and overall I'd say it's looking good. Congratulations on tackling what I know is a challenging task.

This could be a bit too granular for your thread here (so I apologize in advance) but I write e-books for Kindle and I have a couple of observations from that limited perspective. It might be an entirely different scenario for other merchants on Amazon so do forgive my ignorance if it is.

Anyway, as I've worked with Amazon, I've learned that there are a couple of dimensions of keyword research. The first level is kind of what your tool is seeking to do. Namely, are people even searching for this keyword? By the way, I tend to agree with your statements above about search intent on Google vs. Amazon. In any case, it seems as though you are focused on ironing out the wrinkles on the search volume front which is good.

But that aside, and it could just be me, I've also found that there is a secondary consideration when it comes to keywords. And that is the relative competition for a keyword in the context of the category I am targeting. This is a sticking point I had with some stuff that I have been doing and so having someone like yourself here to bounce ideas off of is very helpful.

In other words, every keyword has a value but it's relative to your objectives. For example, if I wanted to write a book about "clown makeup" it will be of different value to me than if I actually sold "clown makeup". Both of these are keyword search possibility outcomes for someone searching for "clown makeup" on Amazon along with many others.

Sales ranks tend to reflect the demand for the keyword within the category as well. Sticking with the example above, if I navigate to a section of books where titles about clown makeup are prevalent, there will be one set of average sales ranks within books for all of those titles. Conversely, if I navigate to a section where vendors of clown makeup congregate, this will result in a completely different set of sales ranks in say, beauty, for instance. So, as a merchant of either books or makeup, all I care about is the people that are competing with me for that keyword in the category I am targeting on Amazon.

So, to my way of thinking, a simple "low volume" or "high volume" (while an excellent leading indicator) only hints as to part of the picture and very little of the intent behind the search. Is most of the search volume for "clown makeup" in books or beauty? That's probably impossible to say for sure. But an easy fix could be to take an iterative step in the search process.

This basically asks the user, what is your intent here and/or which category would you like to search within first? From there, the metrics of "low volume" or "high volume" become exponentially more valuable to merchants, which is the group I assume you are targeting. So, if I know (after using MerchantWords) that 90% of all "clown makeup" search volume is in beauty and only 10% is in books then I have a much more accurate assessment for the need of what it is I am trying to sell.

God, when I reread all of that, it sounds awfully confusing. Sorry about that man! I know in my mind what I am trying to say so please feel free to ask me any questions, that is, if you want.

Thanks again for offering your service for free for us to try.

Big thanks to Eskil for sharing the love and to George for creating such a great tool!

I'm an e-book author like Held for Ransom and would also love to be able to see the Amazon store category the search terms pointing toward, if possible . Also, if you're expanding to other storefronts, iTunes would probably be a great help to a lot of entrepreneurs here, whether they self publish e-books or music, podcasts, etc.

I just used the site and discovered that several of my keywords are totally useless--Eek! Thanks so much for your help figuring this out. I'm sure your site will save me many a white hair in the future!

Held for Ransom said:

Congratulations on tackling what I know is a challenging task. ...
Thanks again for offering your service for free for us to try.

Click to expand...

Thanks, very kind of you to say. There are a lot of moving pieces behind the scenes, but I'm working hard to make that end result be easy to use. In fact, it's great feedback like yours that'll help me build something useful... so actually the thanks go to you.

Held for Ransom said:

I write e-books for Kindle ...
in the context of the category I am targeting ...
write a book about "clown makeup" it will be of different value to me than if I actually sold "clown makeup"

Click to expand...

Excellent! I was wondering when I was going to hear from some of the Kindle authors.

I've been experimenting with the idea of building a keyword research tool specifically for Kindle. The idea is that in the Kindle version of the MerchantWords tool, we'd only include phrases and search volumes from the Kindle category, and exclude all other phrases which have no search volume there. So, sadly, "clown makeup" wouldn't appear at all because it seems no one is searching for clown makeup in the Kindle section of Amazon.

Although "clown sex" is actually a pretty popular search term in the Kindle category. I was a bit surprised to see a wide selection of Kindle erotica dealing with clowns in one way or another. But I digress...

I'm also considering adding a measure of "competition" to the Kindle keyword tool. i.e. for each search term, how many books are listed in the search results? This will let authors pinpoint the best keyword opportunities (high search volume, with low competition in the results page).

In fact, an author could look around for the hot keyword opportunities even before they start writing. Let the search keyword opportunity drive the storyline / title of the book ;-)

Held for Ransom said:

God, when I reread all of that, it sounds awfully confusing

Click to expand...

Nope, I totally understood what you were saying. And I think a Kindle-specific tool would give you exactly what you're looking for. It would, right?


Thanks again for the feedback. Ping me anytime.

I'll try to lurk here, or you can fire off an email to me directly at george@merchantwords.com

-- George

Delilah Fawkes said:

I'm an e-book author like Held for Ransom and would also love to be able to see the Amazon store category the search terms

Click to expand...

Hi Delilah, that's for the feedback. What would you like to see if I built a Kindle-specific version of MerchantWords.com?

-- George

georgelawrence said:

I've been experimenting with the idea of building a keyword research tool specifically for Kindle. The idea is that in the Kindle version of the MerchantWords tool, we'd only include phrases and search volumes from the Kindle category, and exclude all other phrases which have no search volume there. So, sadly, "clown makeup" wouldn't appear at all because it seems no one is searching for clown makeup in the Kindle section of Amazon.

Click to expand...

Yes, well, "clown makeup" was probably a poor example. The point I was trying to make was about being able to isolate volume specific to a particular category (beauty vs. books) but I think you got my point on that.

georgelawrence said:

I'm also considering adding a measure of "competition" to the Kindle keyword tool. i.e. for each search term, how many books are listed in the search results? This will let authors pinpoint the best keyword opportunities (high search volume, with low competition in the results page).

In fact, an author could look around for the hot keyword opportunities even before they start writing. Let the search keyword opportunity drive the storyline / title of the book ;-)

Click to expand...

Sounds great. Speaking for myself, I'd be very interested in seeing what you come up with and then just keep building from there.

Thanks George!

Update...
Looks like this tool just got even better. They now include an estimate of volumes:

Anyone used this tool recently?

TedM said:

Anyone used this tool recently?

Click to expand...

Merchant words can be...inaccurate at times. Your better off using Google's Keyword Planner IMHO.

However, Jungle Scout is the go-to tool for Amazon research. It's built by a friend of mine (Greg), and I actually used it before I met him.

www.junglescout.com - there is also Unicorn Smasher (same guy, Travis, built it who built AmzTracker), but it's more of a JS copy. I've also met Travis, great guy and his Amz Tracker software is pretty awesome.

Jungle Scout will get you going with no other tool out there.

JasonR said:

However, Jungle Scout is the go-to tool for Amazon research. It's built by a friend of mine (Greg), and I actually used it before I met him.
....

Jungle Scout will get you going with no other tool out there.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Jason!
This is exactly what we need.

JasonR said:

Merchant words can be...inaccurate at times. Your better off using Google's Keyword Planner IMHO.

However, Jungle Scout is the go-to tool for Amazon research.

Click to expand...

Hey Jason-
I experimented a bit with JS, and found - so far - that it doesn't meet my needs.
- we are looking at putting out a series of ebooks, and wanted to be search-volume driven in our particular niche. In our case, there are not exact matches for what we are doing, so I didn't find the JS product-based search to be very helpful (so far).

I'm back to thinking that Merchant Words will provide us with the info we need - but I'm concerned about your comment that it can be "inaccurate at times".

What do you think?

I'm confused. Jungle scout doesn't show ebook data?

JasonR said:

I'm confused. Jungle scout doesn't show ebook data?

Click to expand...

It does (I think...I'm waiting for it to load/catch up) - but that's not entirely the point.

Say I want to do a series of focused cookbooks - one for banana cake recipes. another for chocolate chip cookies.

and i want to know what the market is: how many searches there are.

If there are only dessert-baking cookbooks... then I really don't know how to judge my potential market for my small focused cookbooks.

Likewise, if there are some narrowly focused cookbooks - like on chiffon cakes... well, that might help a bit since i'll know about a subset of desserts, but it still doesn't help me with knowing how many people are looking for chocolate chip cookie recipes.

Amazon does not give that data out, you can't mine it in any conceivable way. Merchant Words attempts to do this, but its very obviously that they use a lot of Google's data.

If you want KW data, use the Google Keyword Planner/Tool.

Keep in mind that just because there is volume on a specific Google Keyword, doesn't mean people pay for whatever their searching for (ex. people don't expect to pay for a chocolate chip cookie recipe).

Jungle Scout is as good as it gets for Amazon - if there is volume there, 90% chance someone is already selling something in that vertical/category.

JasonR said:

Jungle Scout is as good as it gets for Amazon - if there is volume there, 90% chance someone is already selling something in that vertical/category.

Click to expand...

Right. so, I guess I will poke around my niche and see what in general other books are selling.

JasonR said:

Keep in mind that just because there is volume on a specific Google Keyword, doesn't mean people pay for whatever their searching for (ex. people don't expect to pay for a chocolate chip cookie recipe)

Click to expand...

I would think that, while this is true in a Google search, in an Amazon search it would automatically have a buying intent, since that's what Amazon is...

Thanks again, Jason. good to hear from you and I hope things are going really well.

JasonR said:

Jungle scout doesn't show ebook data?

Click to expand...

i signed up for the paid membership, added the items to my list and waited - and did not see any sales data populating.

what did work nicely, actually, is the free estimator - http://www.junglescout.com/estimator/

i looked up my competitors, clicked on the kindle book link and popped in his numbers - and learned that he sells about 300 books/month for his current stable of books.

not tons, but it's income and in a few months he'll have paid for all his expenses for his books, i guess and from there its pure profit.

This is gold! I'm going to use this info and use it on ebay

I've heard Junglescout is the best tool for product research too, however, if you're like me and starting out and don't have a paid account with JS, then Unicorn Smasher is a great place to start especially as it's free and pretty much has the same features as JS

Navneet Aulakh said:

I've heard Junglescout is the best tool for product research too, however, if you're like me and starting out and don't have a paid account with JS, then Unicorn Smasher is a great place to start especially as it's free and pretty much has the same features as JS

Click to expand...

If you can't afford the $40 or $80 for THE best "research" Tool that has made me, personally, A LOT of money, well, you should stop trying.

If $1000 profit > $80 software tool, is that +EV?

Come on.

JasonR said:

If you can't afford the $40 or $80 for THE best "research" Tool that has made me, personally, A LOT of money, well, you should stop trying.

If $1000 profit > $80 software tool, is that +EV?

Come on.

Click to expand...

I didn't say not to get JS, just think there's no harm in starting with a free research tool if it's available - great to see you've made returns on your investment

JasonR said:

THE best "research" Tool that has made me, personally, A LOT of money

Click to expand...

Jason, is it accurate enough to know that the field you are getting into has a worthwhile revenue. If I looked at trying to improve a 3 star average product and JS showed it's revenue at 30K / month I would pursue making improvements...that's what I am trying to get at. Some of the revenue numbers are huge and my mind can't fathom it I guess...
TIA

Navneet Aulakh said:

I didn't say not to get JS, just think there's no harm in starting with a free research tool if it's available - great to see you've made returns on your investment

Click to expand...

There is harm, if it's way off and you end up spending a lot of money on inventory for a product that doesn't move. I haven't used Unicorn Smasher personally, but from friends that have, it seems to be way less accurate than Jungle Scout, especially with the 5-figure BSRs.

Jungle Scout is a great product at a great price. It's a no-brainer.