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KDP categories and keywords, and Amazon A+ Content

On Kindle Direct Publishing you choose up to three categories when you set up the book, and you can enter up to seven keywords in a separate field. A+ Content is a later block for a Live book or a pre-order. Draft2Digital requires at least one BISAC code and allows up to five. IngramSpark recommends three and, on the article checked, does not state a hard cap. Amazon does not publish a ranking formula.

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The short answer

  1. KDP lets you select 3 categories at setup. A change can take up to 72 hours to display. Support will not recommend categories. Misleading categories are not allowed.[85]
  2. You may use up to seven keywords or short phrases. The page tells you to watch the character limit in the field and does not print that limit as a number. Kindle Unlimited and KDP Select are on the avoid list.[84]
  3. A+ Content is for published KDP books, including Live titles and pre-orders. It is unavailable before publication. Compliant content appears within eight business days, and high volume can extend that. The page does not say by how long.[251]
  4. BISG's best practice is no more than three BISAC codes. IngramSpark recommends three. Draft2Digital requires one and allows five, and says not every store uses all five.[311][313][314]
  5. Sales history and Best Sellers Rank are named beside keywords. How they are weighted is not stated. A category's effect on rank is not stated.[84][85]

01

How does KDP say categories are chosen, and how many can you pick?

KDP's categories page, checked 10 October 2026, says you can select 3 categories when creating a book. Those categories, along with the keywords you select, tell Amazon where to shelve the book. You choose them on the Details tab after you review Primary Audience and Primary Marketplace. If three are already selected, remove one before you add another. It can take up to 72 hours for the book to display in the new categories. After you submit, KDP reviews the change. KDP does not tolerate categorization that misleads readers, and the support team cannot give specific recommendations. You must answer Yes or No to sexually explicit images or title before you can proceed. If you answer Yes, the book is ineligible for Children's categories and you cannot set a reading age. Children's categories use a reading age of 0-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12. Teen and Young Adult categories use 13-17, except on Amazon.de, where they are set between 12 and 15. Some categories are not available for every format, and the lists differ by marketplace. If a category exists on Amazon but not yet in KDP, the page says to pick the closest match and wait for KDP's list to update. The page does not publish a ranking formula.[85]

  • Three categories, chosen at setup, and editable later from the same details screen.
  • Up to 72 hours is the display time the page states.
  • Support will not recommend a category. Misleading categorization is not allowed.

02

How do KDP keywords work, and what does KDP say not to enter?

KDP's keyword page, checked 10 October 2026, allows up to seven keywords or short phrases. Watch the character limit in the field. That limit is not printed as a number. Along with sales history and Amazon Best Sellers Rank, relevant keywords can boost search placement. Weights are not stated. Edit keywords from the Bookshelf, then save and publish from the pricing page. Avoid metadata already covered, subjective quality claims, time-sensitive words such as new, on sale, or available now, words common to the category (the example is book), spelling errors, and spacing, punctuation, capitalization, or plural variants, with an exception for a name translated more than one way. Also avoid misrepresentation, including another author's name, brands you do not own, quotation marks, Amazon program names such as Kindle Unlimited or KDP Select, and HTML. The list is not exhaustive. You can change keywords as often as you like and should keep them consistent across formats. Titles over 60 characters are more likely to be skimmed. That sentence is about the title.[84]

  • Seven slots. The character cap is mentioned and not numbered.
  • The avoid list includes the category name, the word book, Kindle Unlimited, and KDP Select.
  • A boost in search is stated. A formula for that boost is not.

03

Who can add Amazon A+ Content, and what do the rules allow?

KDP's A+ Content page, checked 10 October 2026, says A+ Content adds images, text, and comparison tables to the detail page, usually under From the Publisher. It is for published KDP books. One project can cover more than one ASIN in your account. You cannot add it before publication. Live titles and pre-orders can have it, built from the Marketing page. Compliant content appears within eight business days. High volume can extend that review. The extension is not numbered. Publish the project on each marketplace. Amazon.co.jp is published from kdp.amazon.co.jp. The guidelines page forbids customer reviews. Up to four quotes are allowed, from well-known publications or public figures, with the source. Pricing, promotional language, and Kindle Unlimited references are not allowed. Comparison charts may only use other books in your KDP account. Images on that page: jpg and png, RGB, under 2 MB, at least 72 dpi, no animated GIF. The create page says JPG or PNG, minimum 300 DPI, and calls anything under 200 DPI low resolution. Both figures stay as written. AI Ready modules are English only and United States only. Amazon may limit daily uses. That number is not stated. You are responsible for published content, including text the tool adds that was not in the prompt. A+ Content is not a keyword field or a category.[251][252][253]

  • The book must be Live or on pre-order. A+ Content cannot be added before publication.
  • Eight business days is the stated review time when volume does not extend it. The extension is not numbered.
  • The guidelines page says at least 72 dpi. The create page says a 300 DPI minimum. Both figures stay as written.

04

What metadata do IngramSpark and Draft2Digital ask for?

These are BISAC fields, separate from KDP's three browse categories. BISG's code-selection page, checked 10 October 2026, allows more than one code. Its best practice is no more than three, and fewer when fewer codes fully describe the book. The first code is primary. Use the most specific code, and do not pair a specific heading with General in the same category. BISG will not choose codes. The list is updated annually, and the latest list that page names was published in December 2022. IngramSpark's article, updated 19 December 2024, recommends three codes, first the most specific, and says to avoid General codes, including FIC000000, unless nothing more specific exists. Keep codes consistent across formats. Do not mix fiction and nonfiction. Ages 0-11 use Juvenile Fiction or Juvenile Nonfiction. Ages 12-17 use Young Adult Fiction or Young Adult Nonfiction. The article does not state a number the form will reject. Draft2Digital's BISAC article, modified 29 January 2025, requires at least one BISAC and allows up to five. Not every vendor uses all five, so put the most relevant code first. Do not mix fiction and nonfiction, juvenile and adult, or young adult and adult fiction. Keep the same codes across formats and across a series. The metadata article, modified 5 February 2025, lists shared ebook and print fields: cover, title, series name, volume, language, authors, publisher, search terms, target audience age, and BISAC subjects. A search-term count is not stated.[311][312][313][314]

  • KDP's three categories are Amazon browse categories. BISAC is the code IngramSpark and Draft2Digital ask for.
  • Three is BISG's stated best practice and IngramSpark's recommendation. Five is Draft2Digital's stated maximum.
  • A search-term count on Draft2Digital is not stated. A hard BISAC cap on the IngramSpark article is not stated.

05

What do these pages leave unknown?

KDP does not publish a ranking algorithm, a weight for sales history or Best Sellers Rank, or a rank that a category will produce. The keyword character count is not printed. How far A+ Content review runs past eight business days is not stated, and the daily AI Ready cap is not stated. The guidelines page and the create page state 72 dpi and 300 DPI as separate figures. Draft2Digital does not state a search-term cap. IngramSpark's article does not state a form maximum. BISG's page names December 2022 as the latest list on that page.[84][85][251][253][311][312][313][314]

  • Unknown: the ranking formula, a category's effect on rank, and a keyword character count.
  • Unknown: how long A+ Content review runs past eight business days, and the daily AI Ready cap.
  • Unknown: Draft2Digital's search-term maximum, and an IngramSpark form cap beyond the recommendation of three.

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