[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch":3,"blog-related-category-en-what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch":54,"blog-translations-what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch":67,"blog-related-latest-en-what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch":68},{"id":4,"type":5,"locale":6,"slug":7,"title":8,"description":9,"body":10,"status":11,"section":12,"tags":13,"author":18,"cover_url":19,"published_at":20,"metadata":21,"template":5,"sort_order":49,"source_id":50,"search_vector":51,"created_at":52,"updated_at":53},"cdd7fe13-8fc9-4bfd-b5d8-b1d57fd17b58","blog","en","what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch","What to use for keyword research before first launch","Build the pre-launch keyword list from three sources and group it into rank-for, cover, and buy-only. Replace it with your own search term data at 90 days.","Before launch you have no data of your own, so use three substitutes: competitor term\nextraction from a research tool, Amazon autocomplete for real phrasing, and competitor\nreviews for vocabulary. Treat the whole list as a hypothesis you will replace within 90 days\nof selling.\n\n## The short version\n\n- **You have no data yet.** Everything pre-launch is an estimate.\n- **Three sources:** competitor terms, autocomplete, competitor reviews.\n- **Group into rank-for, cover, and buy-only.** A flat list is not a strategy.\n- **Plan to replace it** with your own search term data after 90 days.\n- **Do not over-invest in pre-launch keyword work.** It has a short shelf life.\n\n## The three pre-launch sources\n\nI run Flapen with 50 operators managing about 70 brands. Pre-launch keyword work is\nharder than post-launch, because the best source does not exist yet.\n\n| Source | What it gives you | Limitation |\n|---|---|---|\n| Competitor term extraction | A broad candidate list quickly | Estimated volume, no intent signal |\n| Amazon autocomplete | Real phrasing buyers type | No volume data |\n| Competitor reviews | Vocabulary and unmet needs | No volume data |\n| Brand Analytics | Real search frequency rank | Needs Registry, limited pre-launch use |\n\nAutocomplete is the most underrated of the three and it costs nothing. Type your category into\nthe Amazon search bar and watch what completes. Those are live, real phrasings, unfiltered by\nanyone's volume model.\n\n## Why the pre-launch list is a hypothesis\n\nEstimated search volume is a model of what buyers might type. Your search term report, once\nyou are selling, is a record of what they did type and then buy.\n\nThe gap between those two is routinely large. Terms that look excellent by volume convert\npoorly for your specific product. Terms nobody predicted turn out to carry your best\nconversion rate. Neither outcome is knowable in advance.\n\nWhich is why pre-launch keyword work should be good enough rather than exhaustive. A\nspreadsheet of 2,000 terms with volume estimates takes days to build and gets replaced within\na quarter. Spend that time on the primary image instead, which caps every click your listing\nwill ever receive.\n\n## Grouping matters more than list length\n\nSplit candidates into three sets before writing anything.\n\n**Rank-for.** A small number of terms you can realistically achieve organic position on. These\ndrive the title and the first bullet.\n\n**Cover.** Terms worth being indexed for but unlikely to rank on early. These go in bullets,\ndescription, and backend search terms.\n\n**Buy-only.** Terms you will reach through advertising and probably never rank on organically,\nusually the broadest and most competitive.\n\nMost beginners produce a flat list and then stuff the title, which reads badly and converts\nworse. The grouping is the strategy.\n\n## Reading competitor reviews for keywords\n\nUnderused because it looks like qualitative work rather than keyword research.\n\nRead fifty negative reviews on the top competing products. You are looking for two things: the\nwords buyers use for the product and its features, which often differ from industry\nvocabulary, and the recurring complaints, which are the objections your listing must\npre-empt and frequently contain search-relevant phrasing.\n\nThis also feeds differentiation. The market states where it wants something better, and\ninnovating only where it is asking is more reliable than invention.\n\n## What to do at 90 days\n\nReplace the whole thing.\n\nPull your search term report, sort by conversion rate rather than by spend, and rebuild the\ntitle, bullets, and backend terms around what actually converted. Most sellers never do this,\nwhich is why a listing built on pre-launch estimates is still running on them a year later.\n\nSet the calendar reminder now, while you are doing the pre-launch work, because nobody\nremembers to revisit a job they consider finished.\n\n## What most agencies will not tell you\n\nPre-launch keyword research is one of the easiest deliverables to make look substantial. A\nlong spreadsheet with volume columns and color coding takes little time and is largely\nunusable, because the hard part is prioritization rather than collection.\n\nAsk a provider which few terms they think you can realistically rank for, and why those. That\njudgment is the deliverable. The list is raw material.\n\nThe second thing: the shelf life is short and nobody mentions it, because a research\ndeliverable that expires in ninety days is harder to sell than one presented as a foundation.\nAsk explicitly what happens to the keyword strategy once your own data exists.\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [What products to use for Amazon keyword research](\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-products-to-use-for-amazon-keyword-research)\n- [What to use for listing optimization on Amazon](\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-use-for-listing-optimization-on-amazon)\n- [How to launch first product on Amazon](\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-launch-first-product-on-amazon)\n- [Amazon listing optimization agency checklist](\u002Fblog\u002Famazon-listing-optimization-agency-checklist)\n- [Hiring an Amazon agency: the complete guide](\u002Fblog\u002Fhiring-an-agency)\n\nSet the 90-day reminder to rebuild from your own data. We do it for clients at [Flapen](\u002Famazon-consulting).\n\n## Keep learning\n\n- [Compare Amazon business models](\u002Fguides\u002Fbusiness-models)\n- [Value your Amazon business](\u002Ftools\u002Fbusiness-value-calculator)\n","published","working-with-agencies",[14,15,16,17],"keyword-strategy","product-research","competitor-analysis","listing-setup","joel-turcotte-gaucher","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fclusters\u002Fhiring-an-agency-05.jpg","2026-09-04T01:50:51.798+00:00",{"faq":22,"seo":43,"batch":44,"cluster":45,"cover_alt":46,"answers_prompt":47,"primary_benchmark":48},[23,27,31,35,39],{"id":24,"answer":25,"question":26},"what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch-faq-1","Amazon autocomplete. Typing your category into the search bar shows live phrasings buyers actually use, unfiltered by anyone's volume model, and it costs nothing.","What is the best free pre-launch source?",{"id":28,"answer":29,"question":30},"what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch-faq-2","About ninety days of selling. After that your own search term report shows what buyers actually typed and bought, which is strictly better than any estimate.","How long is pre-launch keyword research valid?",{"id":32,"answer":33,"question":34},"what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch-faq-3","Fewer than most lists contain. A small rank-for set drives the title and first bullet, a broader cover set fills bullets and backend terms, and the rest is advertising territory.","How many keywords do I need?",{"id":36,"answer":37,"question":38},"what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch-faq-4","One cheap subscription is reasonable for competitor term extraction. Do not invest heavily in a deliverable you will replace within a quarter.","Should I pay for a keyword tool before launching?",{"id":40,"answer":41,"question":42},"what-to-use-for-keyword-research-before-first-launch-faq-5","Pull your search term report, sort by conversion rate rather than by spend, and rebuild the title, bullets, and backend terms around what converted. That report is a record of what buyers typed and then bought, and the gap between it and any pre-launch estimate is routinely large. Most sellers never do this, which is why a listing built on estimates is still running on them a year later. Set the calendar reminder while doing the pre-launch work.","What does the 90-day rebuild involve?",{},"B02","C01","Flapen cover for What to use for keyword research before first launch: a client watching the Flapen photographer frame a product in the studio","what to use for keyword research before first launch","B6",0,null,"'\u002Famazon-consulting':857C '\u002Fblog\u002Famazon-listing-optimization-agency-checklist':830C '\u002Fblog\u002Fhiring-an-agency':838C '\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-launch-first-product-on-amazon':824C '\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-products-to-use-for-amazon-keyword-research':807C '\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-use-for-listing-optimization-on-amazon':816C '\u002Fguides\u002Fbusiness-models':864C '\u002Ftools\u002Fbusiness-value-calculator':869C '000':372C '2':371C '50':167C '70':171C '90':41B,84C,138C,601C,841C 'a':60C,78C,120C,125C,153C,201C,284C,290C,306C,368C,385C,421C,486C,640C,653C,675C,702C,728C,766C,782C 'about':170C 'achieve':429C 'actually':630C 'advance':352C 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guide","2026-09-04T16:25:51.798+00:00",[],[69,70,74],{"slug":56,"title":57,"published_at":58},{"slug":71,"title":72,"published_at":73},"geography-and-marketplaces","Amazon marketplaces by geography: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:32:51.798+00:00",{"slug":75,"title":76,"published_at":77},"measurement-and-audit","Amazon account measurement and audits: the complete guide","2026-09-04T16:31:51.798+00:00"]