Picking the right anchor keyword for a launch starts with relevance, not search
By Elizabeth Greene · September 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Picking the right anchor keyword for a launch starts with relevance, not search volume.
A lot of sellers pull up a keyword tool, sort by highest volume, and start there.
And honestly, that's where a lot of launches go sideways before they even begin.
Your anchor keyword has to describe your exact product first. It should describe your specific product.
So if you have a baby blanket, is it a swaddle blanket?
Is it plush?
Is it customizable with names on it?
If you have a folding table, is it compact?
If you have a cup, is it insulated?
Is it metal?
Is it glassware?
Get clear on that before you even open a keyword tool.
We use a simple approach.
Type the keyword into Amazon and look at the search results page.
If you see products that are very similar to yours, that fit a very similar shopper need, you found a relevant keyword.
But if you see three or four different types of products showing up, that keyword is probably not what shoppers are searching for when they want your specific product.
They might be looking for a possible solution, but it's not always going to be exactly what you offer.
Keywords like that have a lower conversion rate almost every time.
That matters more than people think, because when you launch, you have zero conversion data.
You're starting cold.
So you need keywords where the intent already lines up with your product, because that's how you build velocity faster.
Relevance gives you a better shot at converting early, and early conversions are what move you up in rankings.
We did an audit for a brand that couldn't figure out why their sales were so volatile.
Good day, bad day, no pattern.
We looked at what they were targeting for ranking in exact match and found they were going after keywords with 30 searches a month.
The volatility was sporadic search volume creating sporadic sales.
So the order matters.
Relevance first, then enough search volume to sustain consistent sales.
You also want competitor validation to confirm you can rank.