Amazon KDP “Banned Keywords”: What KDP Actually Prohibits in 2026
KDP does not publish one universal list of forbidden words. The rules are field-specific, so the same text can require different treatment in a title, keyword box, or book description.
The important correction
Older KDP advice often circulates as a giant “banned words” list. That is not how KDP’s current help documentation is structured. KDP publishes rules for specific metadata fields, plus content and customer-experience policies. Context, accuracy, and authorization can matter.
BookBloom therefore separates clear field-rule conflicts from context-dependent risks. A sales-rank claim in a title is a clear metadata issue. A trademark reference may require an authorization review. An ordinary medical, pandemic, profanity, or sexual-topic word is not automatically a universal metadata ban simply because the word appears.
Pro Tip: Understanding Amazon's metadata and content rules helps reduce avoidable publishing issues. Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran covers this in detail.
1. Title & Subtitle Rules
KDP says the title must contain the actual title shown on the cover, and the subtitle follows the same title rules. Title and subtitle together must be 200 characters or less.
Explicitly prohibited examples
- • Sales-rank references such as “bestselling”
- • Advertisements or promotions such as “free”
- • Repeating generic keywords
- • Unauthorized references to other titles/authors
- • Unauthorized trademark references
- • HTML tags
Also check for metadata-quality issues
- • Title/subtitle mismatch with the actual cover
- • URLs or genre/keyword stuffing in title metadata
- • Inconsistent metadata across linked formats
- • Subtitle text that acts like promotional copy instead of a real subtitle
2. Keyword-Field Restrictions
KDP lets you choose up to seven keyword entries that relate to the book. Its current guidance prohibits or warns against several categories of keyword material.
- • Other authors or books by other authors
- • Sales-rank claims such as “bestselling”
- • Advertisements or promotions such as “free”
- • Unrelated or misleading terms
- • Time-sensitive statements such as “new” or “on sale”
- • Brands you do not own or are unauthorized to use
- • Amazon program names such as Kindle Unlimited or KDP Select
- • HTML tags
What about quotation marks?
KDP’s keyword guidance says to avoid quotation marks in search terms. That is a keyword-entry recommendation, not evidence that quotation marks are a universal content-policy violation everywhere else.
3. Book Description Restrictions
Book descriptions have a different ruleset. KDP supports limited HTML formatting here, but restricts specific kinds of information.
Do not include
- • Phone numbers, email addresses, physical ordering/contact details, or website URLs
- • Reviews, quotes, or testimonials
- • Requests for customer reviews
- • Advertisements or promotional material
- • Price, availability, or alternative ordering information
- • Time-sensitive tour, seminar, lecture, or promotional information
What is allowed
- • Book-focused descriptive copy
- • KDP-supported basic HTML formatting
- • Headings, paragraphs, emphasis, and supported lists
- • Durable information that helps the customer understand the book
4. Brands, Trademarks & Sensitive Terms
Avoid the shortcut “all trademarks are banned.” KDP’s actual rule is about unauthorized references and brands you do not own or are not authorized to use. A compliance tool cannot reliably know your licensing rights from text alone, so a brand match should usually be a manual-review warning rather than an automatic guilty verdict.
The same principle applies to ordinary sensitive subject matter. KDP has content guidelines, but a single word such as a medical term, “COVID,” profanity, or a sexual-health term is not enough by itself to prove a metadata violation. The field and context matter.
Adult-content discoverability is a separate issue: Amazon can restrict discoverability for adult-content titles. Do not turn that into an invented list of single-word “automatic dungeon triggers.”
5. A Safer Pre-Publish Review Process
Compare title/subtitle with the cover
The metadata should match the actual book rather than act as an SEO advertisement.
Review all seven keyword entries for accuracy
Remove unrelated terms, promotions, sales-rank claims, unauthorized brands, and Amazon program names.
Audit the description separately
Check contact details, URLs, testimonials/review requests, promotions, price/availability, and time-sensitive material.
Treat trademark matches as context-dependent
Verify ownership, permission, and legitimate descriptive need instead of automatically replacing every brand word.
Recheck current KDP help before publishing
Amazon can update its rules. KDP’s live help pages and your KDP interface are the authoritative sources.
What BookBloom can—and cannot—tell you
BookBloom can flag explicit field-rule conflicts and context-sensitive patterns. It cannot verify your trademark license, predict Amazon’s enforcement outcome, or guarantee that KDP will approve a title.
Use the tool as a structured pre-publish review, then verify uncertain findings against current KDP documentation.
Quick Answers
Is “bestseller” safe if my book once ranked #1?
Do not put sales-rank references in KDP title or keyword metadata. The current KDP title/keyword rules prohibit that category of metadata claim.
Can I put my website in the book description?
No. KDP’s book-description restrictions include website URLs and contact information.
Does KDP allow HTML in descriptions?
Yes, KDP supports limited basic HTML in book descriptions. Do not apply that rule to title or keyword fields, where HTML is not accepted.
Optional Publishing Resources
Additional reading for authors who want broader self-publishing guidance.
by David Gaughran
Master Amazon KDP policies, avoid violations, and build a sustainable publishing business.
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