Amazon Search Terms Byte Counter (250-Byte Limit)

These are example search terms. Paste your own to check them.

Search terms

Must stay under 250 bytes. Spaces and punctuation don’t count.

Your brand name (optional)

Backend search terms344 / 250 bytes

From the Generic keyword field in Seller Central. Separate words with spaces.

Lowercase, each word once, no stop words, punctuation, prohibited words or brand.

Byte cost of every word

Words with accented letters or other scripts cost 2 or more bytes per character.

70 words · 43 flagged · 1 with 2-byte or larger characters

YourBrand9 bytes, Brand name, Capital letters
steel5 bytes
water5 bytes
bottle6 bytes, Singular and plural both used
best4 bytes, Subjective word
water5 bytes, Repeated
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
for3 bytes, Stop word
kids4 bytes
new3 bytes, Temporary word
insulated9 bytes
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
bottles7 bytes, Singular and plural both used
for3 bytes, Stop word
school6 bytes
Flask5 bytes, Capital letters
thermos7 bytes
vacuum6 bytes
flask5 bytes, Repeated
for3 bytes, Stop word
office6 bytes
hot3 bytes
and3 bytes, Stop word
cold4 bytes
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
leak4 bytes
proof5 bytes
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
sipper6 bytes
sipper6 bytes, Repeated
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
with4 bytes, Stop word
straw5 bytes
gym3 bytes
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
BPA3 bytes, Capital letters
free4 bytes
cheap5 bytes, Subjective word
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
11 bytes
litre5 bytes
10004 bytes
ml2 bytes
11 bytes, Repeated
ltr3 bytes
trending8 bytes, Subjective word
café5 bytes, uses multi-byte characters
flask5 bytes, Repeated
stainless9 bytes
steel5 bytes, Repeated
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
for3 bytes, Stop word
travel6 bytes
YourBrand9 bytes, Repeated, Brand name, Capital letters
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
water5 bytes, Repeated
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
for3 bytes, Stop word
the3 bytes, Stop word
gym3 bytes, Repeated
and3 bytes, Stop word
office6 bytes, Repeated
school6 bytes, Repeated
bottle6 bytes, Repeated, Singular and plural both used
for3 bytes, Stop word
boys4 bytes
and3 bytes, Stop word
girls5 bytes
tiffin6 bytes
sipper6 bytes, Repeated

2 or more bytes per character Flagged, see the checksThe number is the word’s byte cost.

Check the whole listingThe full listing grader also checks your title, bullet points, description and images.

Search terms size

344 / 250 bytes

At 250 bytes or more, Amazon indexes none of these terms. Remove 95 bytes to get under the limit.

None of these terms are indexed

Checks

Must fixSearch terms use 344 bytes. They must stay under 250, or none of them are indexed.
Remove repeated words, brand names and filler words until the count is under 250.
Amazon rule: Search optimisation
Must fixSearch terms include your brand name.
Remove brand names, yours and other brands’. Amazon already indexes your brand.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
Must fixSearch terms use temporary words Amazon prohibits: “new”.
Remove words such as “new”, “latest” and “on sale”.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
Must fixSearch terms use subjective words Amazon prohibits: “best”, “cheap”, “trending”.
Remove words such as “best”, “cheap” and “amazing”.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
Should fixWords repeated in search terms: “yourbrand”, “steel”, “water”, “bottle”, “school”, “flask”, “office”, “sipper”.
Use each word once. Amazon matches words in any order.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
TipSearch terms include filler words: “for”, “and”, “with”, “the”.
Leave out a, an, and, by, for, of, the and with.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
TipSearch terms are separated with punctuation.
Separate words with spaces only.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
TipSearch terms use capital letters.
Write search terms in lowercase.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively
TipBoth singular and plural forms are used: “bottle”.
Use the singular or the plural, not both.
Amazon rule: Use search terms effectively

Your search terms are wasting space. Get a free keyword review.

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The 250-byte rule for search terms

Backend search terms on Amazon.in must stay under 250 bytes. If the field goes over, Amazon indexes none of the terms, not just the ones at the end. We checked this against Amazon India’s Seller Central help pages on 14 September 2026.

The limit is in bytes, not characters. Spaces and punctuation are not counted, so you gain nothing by removing them, and lose nothing by leaving one space between words.

How bytes are counted

What you type	Bytes
English letters a to z and numbers 0 to 9	1 each
Accented letters such as é, ñ or ü	2 each
Spaces and punctuation	Not counted
Hindi and other Indian scripts	3 each in this counter

So “cafe” is 4 bytes and “café” is 5. “1 litre” is 6 bytes, the same as “1-litre”.

What to include

Synonyms shoppers use that are not already in your title and bullet points, such as “flask”, “sipper” or “thermos” for a water bottle.
Abbreviations, such as “ml” and “ltr”.
Correct spelling variants, such as “colour” and “color”.
Each word once, in lowercase, separated by spaces. Amazon matches words in any order.
The singular or the plural, not both.

What Amazon prohibits

Amazon does not allow brand names, yours or other brands’, or ASINs in search terms. It also prohibits these words:

Temporary words

available nowbrand newcurrentdiscountedjust launchedlast chancelast minutelatestlimited timenewon salethis weekthis monththis yeartoday

Subjective words

amazingbestcheapcheapesteffectivefastestgood dealleastmostpopulartrending

Leave out

aanandbyforofthewith

Worked example

The example in the counter above is a typical keyword dump for a steel water bottle. Here it is before and after clean-up:

	Before	After clean-up
Search terms	YourBrand, steel water bottle, best water bottle for kids, new insulated bottle, bottles for school, Flask, thermos, vacuum flask for office, hot and cold bottle, leak proof bottle, sipper, sipper bottle with straw, gym bottle, BPA free, cheap bottle, 1 litre, 1000 ml, 1 ltr, trending, café flask, stainless steel bottle for travel, YourBrand bottle, water bottle for the gym and office, school bottle for boys and girls, tiffin sipper	steel water bottle kids insulated bottles school flask thermos vacuum office hot cold leak proof sipper straw gym bpa free 1 litre 1000 ml ltr café stainless travel boys girls tiffin
Size	344 bytes	153 bytes
Indexed	None of it	Yes

The clean-up removed the brand, “best”, “cheap”, “new” and “trending”, the stop words, the commas and every repeated word. That took the field from 344 bytes to 153 bytes, so it is indexed again with room for 96 bytes of new synonyms. It still has “bottle” and “bottles”, so drop one of them yourself.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the search terms limit on Amazon India?

Backend search terms on Amazon.in must stay under 250 bytes. The limit is in bytes, not characters, so some letters cost more than others.

What happens if my search terms go over 250 bytes?

Amazon indexes none of them. Going over does not just drop the extra words at the end: the whole field stops working, so a long keyword dump can do more harm than a short, clean one.

Do spaces and commas count towards the 250 bytes?

No. Spaces and punctuation are not counted. You still don’t need commas: separate words with single spaces.

Why do some words use more bytes than letters?

English letters and numbers take 1 byte each. Accented letters such as é or ñ take 2 bytes, so “café” is 5 bytes. Letters in Hindi and other Indian scripts take 3 bytes each in this counter.

Should I put my brand name in search terms?

No. Amazon prohibits brand names in search terms, yours and other brands’. Amazon already indexes your brand.

Should I repeat words from my title in search terms?

No. Use the space for synonyms, abbreviations and spelling variants that are not already in your title and bullet points. Use each word once, since Amazon matches words in any order.

Should I use singular and plural forms?

Use one or the other, not both. Pick the form shoppers type most often and spend the bytes you save on a new synonym.

Is this byte counter free, and are my keywords stored?

Yes, it’s free. The count, checks and clean-up run in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

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