How Long Should Amazon Bullet Points Really Be?

When it comes to writing bullet points for Amazon, “How long can they be?” is probably the most frequently asked question.

The better question to ask is “How long should Amazon bullets be?” That’s because, even though Amazon lays out guidelines (terms of service), there are several other considerations when determining the best length for your Amazon bullets.

What’s the Best Length for Amazon Key Feature Bullets?

Depending on what categories you sell in, the allowed length will vary. Please keep in mind that, just because Amazon says you CAN have X number of characters per key feature bullet, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

You’ll find anywhere from 100 to 500 characters mentioned in the individual Add-A-Product screens and other Seller Central web pages.

If you’re selling in multiple categories, this can be difficult to keep up with. The good news is, Amazon rarely challenges sellers who use more than the allowed number of characters. The bad news is, many sellers think more is better and go for the 500-per-bullet length.

For help, I recommend Helium 10’s Scribbles tool (which we use at Marketing Words and LOVE!). It will not only tell you what the limits are per category, but will show you the character count as you type. Here’s a demo.

At Marketing Words, we prefer somewhere around 150 to 200 characters per bullet unless Amazon has a hard stop in the bullet fields. There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. This length gives enough space to make an emotional connection while highlighting the benefits of the most-important features.
2. It also has enough room to include keywords so that your Amazon bullet points are optimized for search.
3. On a desktop, if you stay at 200 characters per bullet or less, 3 (or possibly 4) bullets will show before the shopper has to click the “More” button. Many shoppers won’t do that, so they never see your last two bullet points.
4. If you opt for longer than 200 characters per bullet point, shoppers may only see 2 bullets. That leaves a lot of unread info that could persuade customers to buy.

Elements That Can Skew the Performance Bullet Points on Amazon

I see group posts and threads constantly that make statements such as:

“If you look at any major brand, they almost always have super-short bullets.”

This may be true, but it doesn’t mean you should follow suit. Think about it this way. If you have a favorite brand of socks, you’re not going to click to Amazon, type in “women’s athletic socks” and scroll through all the results to find what you’re looking for.

Instead, you’ll type in “Hanes women’s athletic socks” and see what comes up. Major brands often don’t require the additional length of bullets because people are familiar with the brand and its products.

“Even Amazon uses really short bullets. Shouldn’t I be doing the same?”

Amazon doesn’t always use short bullets. Here are numerous examples of their own lists that show the key feature bullet length at well over 100 characters.

Examples of Amazon Bullet Points… From Amazon’s Own Listings

AmazonBasics Spinner Luggage

At the time of this blog post, the bullets read as:

• 20-inch hardside spinner luggage for weekend getaways or as international carry-on
• Protective hard shell with scratch-resistant finish; made of extra-thick ABS (thicker than  the competition) for enhanced strength and durability (147 characters)
• Fully lined interior with divider; 150D-polyester interior organizer with 3 zippered pockets for conveniently storing smaller items (134 characters)
• Expandable for up to 15% additional packing capacity; solid, strong zippers; telescoping handle for comfortable maneuvering; securely mounted short handle (157 characters)
• 4 double spinner wheels ensure smooth-rolling mobility in any direction

AmazonBasics Knife Set

As of today, the key feature bullets read:

• 12-piece colored knife set includes 6 knives and 6 matching knife covers; Knives include: paring knife, utility knife, Santoku knife, carving knife, chef’s knife, and bread knife (181 characters)
• Durable stainless-steel blades effectively hold a sharp cutting edge for safe, efficient use
• Unique color-coded system for quick knife identification and to reduce the risk of cross-contamination during food preparation (129 characters)
• Nonstick color coating helps prevent food from sticking to the blade for faster, easier cutting
• Ergonomic handles promote a secure, comfortable grip; Matching blade guards protect blades and allow for safe storage in a drawer (131 characters)

AmazonBasics Portable Bluetooth Speaker

• Portable Bluetooth speaker with 33-foot wireless range for streaming music, podcasts, and more from your compatible Bluetooth-enabled device (143 characters)
• 2 internal full range 2.5-watt speakers for high-quality sound; provides rich bass without distortion, even at highest volume (128 characters)
• 5mm aux in jack for connecting non-Bluetooth audio devices (AUX cable not included)
• Rechargeable battery allows for up to 8 hours of playtime on a full charge; small and lightweight for take-anywhere convenience (130 characters)
• Built-in microphone for hands-free speakerphone calling; choice of stylish colors

Amazon Fire TV Stick With Alexa

• Our best-selling Fire TV Stick, now with Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Gen). Use the dedicated power, volume, and mute buttons to control your TV, soundbar, and receiver. (167 characters)
• Launch and control content with the Alexa Voice Remote. Watch favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, STARZ, SHOWTIME, or CBS All Access, plus stream for free with Pluto TV, IMDb Freedive, and others. (206 characters)
• Fire TV Stick devices have more storage for apps and games than any other streaming media stick.
• Experience tens of thousands of channels, apps, and Alexa skills, plus browse millions of websites like YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit using Firefox or Silk. (159 characters)
• Alexa on Fire TV provides the most comprehensive voice experience of any streaming media player—view live camera feeds, check the weather, dim the lights, and stream music. (175 characters)
• Amazon Prime members get unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV episodes, plus ad-free listening to millions of songs with Prime Music. (146 characters)
• No cable or satellite? No problem. Watch live TV and sports with subscriptions to Hulu, PlayStation Vue, and others. (119 characters)

• Switch seamlessly between your headphones and sound system—pair compatible Bluetooth headphones with Fire TV to listen to movies, TV shows, and music. (153 characters)

Amazon has changed the layout on mobile (which the majority of shoppers use). It now includes more than the previous 3 bullets. Currently, Amazon shows all 5 bullet points, which can be a good thing or a bad thing.

If your bullets are very long, it displays a giant wall of text on a cell phone screen or tablet monitor that is difficult to read. Here’s one example where a shopper would have to read all those words by scrolling through almost 2 screens of text.

How Much of the Bullet Points Are Indexed in Amazon?

Please understand that being indexed means nothing. Just as with Google, all search engines index all content. It’s how they work. All “indexing” means is that your copy has been added to the Amazon search system’s database. Nothing more.

Once that information is in the system (is indexed), then Amazon decides what will be used to determine search rankings. So, the question you want to ask is “How many characters of the Amazon bullet points are used for rankings?”

Currently, only the first 1,000 characters are thought to be used for search rankings. Anything beyond that may be indexed, but it won’t be used for search at this point.

Overall, I do not recommend that you force a particular character length when writing Amazon bullet points. Some products simply don’t require as much information to sell as others. I consider the bullets as an introduction to the product. What won’t fit comfortably in the bullets should be moved to the description section.

We’ll cover in-depth techniques for writing Amazon key feature bullet points (as well as keyword research, titles and descriptions) in my Amazon Product Description Boot Camp. Use coupon BOOT20 now and save 20%. Get details and secure your spot today.

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Have questions about amazon bullet points? Talk to me below!