Julie Broad breaks down Amazon's May 2025 algorithm update and what it means for self-published authors. The platform now rewards external traffic from social media, email, and blogs as proof of real demand. Keyword stuffing is out; natural, reader-friendly descriptions are in.
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Lovingly called a 10 in the publishing community, dropped in May of 2025. But it takes a while before anyone can really start to understand the changes that have been made. Customer experience, you know, Organic relevance External traffic is what is more important now. There's really no value in doing a bunch of keyword stuffing into your description. In fact, the new algorithm seems to penalize anything that's awkward. It's going to favor natural, reader friendly language for authors and publishers. This means visibility isn't just about Amazon ads anymore, it's about demand elsewhere. Choosing the books you want Amazon to think you're like and building it all up together to create a more organic and holistic marketing approach. Well, number one, external traffic becomes a powerhouse. Signal views and referrals from social media, email lists, blogs, influencers, anything that is proof of genuine demand will boost your organic rankings. Number two, listing optimization shifts to reader first design. Now I think it's important to be thoughtful about the books that you want Amazon to think your book is like and to do that you can use the keywords those books rank for. Number three, Ads still have value, but they're supportive. They're not the savior of your book. Amazon ads don't do much for books unless the author is driving traffic to their page. Getting reviews and continuously proving to Amazon their book will convert. You want to drive external traffic to your Amazon page. Email newsletters, social proof through influencers, even SEO optimized author websites linking to Amazon will help keep converting traffic hitting your book.
