Deciding upon a title for your products may seem straightforward, but there are many factors to consider when choosing an effective title. This post is about how to write the best title for the products you sell on Amazon in 2025 and beyond. A product title is one of the few items that show up on a search results page, so its importance cannot be overstated. Titles also play a role in advertising, and can improve your efficiency and performance there as well. The title is a place where sellers need to be succinct and efficient in explaining exactly what the product is and what its use-cases are. A bad or misleading title can result in customer confusion, which hurts your click through rate and sales. This post will cover Amazon’s new product title requirements, tips for writing the best title, and ways to continuously improve your titles.
New Title Requirement Effective January 21st, 2025
Amazon recently announced changes to their title requirements that will go into effect January 21st, 2025. The new policy consists of 3 main points:
For most product categories, titles may not exceed 200 characters, including spaces.
Traditionally, a listings title on amazon was one of the best ways to send a signal to Amazon that a certain keyword was relevant to your product. Because of this, people created longer and longer titles over time to maximize the amount of keywords they would be indexed for. Lengthy titles that are jam-packed with repetitive keywords led to a worse shopping experience. Many times, shoppers are left confused and lose confidence in the product. In an effort to combat this, Amazon has settled on a 200 character limit. Their goal is to have titles that are “clear, concise, and consistent.”
The special characters !, $, ?, _, {, }, ^, ¬, and ¦ are not allowed, unless they are part of the brand name.
This point is also an effort by Amazon to clear up any confusion for shoppers. Special characters can be distracting when they are misused, so this policy change avoids that entirely. However, hyphens, colons, and regular brackets will be allowed in titles because they are considered functional.
Titles may not contain the same word more than twice. Prepositions, articles, and conjunctions are exceptions.
One tactic some sellers use to try to generate clicks is to fit as many keywords as possible into the title of their product. When taken to an extreme, this practice clutters up the page and can lead to hesitation and skepticism from potential buyers. Amazon sellers and Amazon are always trying to balance what makes most sense for indexing in the search algorithm compared to what is best for shoppers' merchandising preferences. When Amazon’s new title policy rolls out, sellers will be allowed to repeat a word (within the same context) twice in their title. In some special instances where a brand name is also a phrase/word that could be used as a product descriptor, a third use of the phrase/word would be allowed - once as a brand name, and twice as a description of the product.
Tips for Creating a Title
When you are planning out the titles (or any other merchandising) for your products, a tip to remember is putting yourself in the shoes of a customer. What would someone search to find your product? Oftentimes, the first words that come to mind when considering this are the most effective. It’s imperative to keep things simple. With the 200 character limit soon to be in place, try to find the most concise description of your product that can still paint an accurate picture of your product. Your title should be direct and easy to understand, but also include important details that may differentiate your product from competitors.
Continuously Improve your Titles
If you’re not seeing the results you’d like on your existing listings, remember; a product’s title is not permanent once it is uploaded. In fact, it is something that should be revisited and evaluated to allow for continuous improvement. If you are stuck deciding between two different options for a title, an A/B test would allow you to run both titles separately and then see which performs better. Also, periodically check your reporting and conversionconversion ratesrates to see how different titles are doing within your catalog.
FAQ
What happens if I don’t change my titles to be compliant?
If the title is not updated to be compliant, Amazon will modify the product title to comply with the new policy while retaining all relevant information. Be proactive to adjust and improve your product titles to avoid the risk of Amazon re-writing titles on your behalf.
Does my Amazon Brand Name count as a duplicate use of a word in a title?
Your Amazon Brand Name does not count as a duplicate use of a word, as long as it is used in a different context from other uses. Amazon’s new title policy states a word/phrase is considered duplicate only when there are 3+ instances in the same context. Meaning you can use a word or a phrase once as a Brand Name, and then twice more in the title as product descriptions (if applicable)
Why is it important to have a good title on Amazon?
It is important to have a good title on Amazon because it is some of the only information that will be shown initially to a shopper on the search results page. Amazon is an incredibly competitive marketplace, and you do not have much time to grab a shopper’s attention as they are scrolling through their options.
What is the best title length for Amazon?
The best title length for Amazon is one that is under the 200 character limit, while also providing accurate information at a glance. It can vary from category to category, but the best titles communicate clearly what the product is, what it is used for, and exactly what a customer will receive in the package should they decide to purchase.
How many keywords can I use in an Amazon Title?
Technically, there is no limit on how many keywords you can use in an Amazon title as long as the same word isn’t used more than twice. That being said, avoid keyword stuffing and focus on using more natural language that describes your product.
Conclusion
Now that you know the importance of a good title, tips for writing an effective one, and how to make sure you are compliant with Amazon’s policies, you can reevaluate your own product catalog. Remember that a product title is always an ongoing project, and Amazon’s policies are ever-changing, so be sure to remain flexible and stay compliant. Should you ever need assistance with title creation, or troubleshooting policy violations, Goat Consulting is happy to help.
About the Author - Mac Richards
This post was written by Mac Richards, an Account Manager at Goat Consulting. Mac helps his clients sell on Amazon by increasing sales, mitigating risk, reducing costs, and solving problems. Mac has experience and expertise in writing titles that align with the overall Amazon selling strategy and goals for his Goat Consulting clients. If you want help writing your product titles, or assist with other aspects of selling on Amazon, Mac is happy to lead your account.