Amazon seller glossary
Short, practical definitions of the terms behind rank, the Buy Box, and listing work on Amazon. Each page explains what a term means, why it matters to sellers, and how to check it.
Products and listings
Amazon listing
The product detail page for an ASIN: title, images, bullet points, description, price, and the offers of every seller of that product.
ASIN
The 10-character code Amazon assigns to every product in its catalog. One ASIN is one product detail page on a marketplace.
BSR (Best Sellers Rank)
A sales-based ranking of a product within its Amazon category, where 1 is the best seller. Amazon updates it hourly.
Parent and child ASIN
A parent ASIN groups the variations of one product, such as sizes or colors. Each variation is a child ASIN with its own price, stock, and offers.
Seller SKU
The code a seller chooses for their own offer on an ASIN. Prices, stock, and fulfillment are managed by SKU, not by ASIN.
Search and keywords
Amazon search suggestions
The phrases Amazon's search bar offers while a shopper types. They reflect what shoppers actually search, which makes them a useful keyword source.
Backend search terms
A hidden keyword field in Seller Central that Amazon uses for search indexing. Shoppers never see it.
Honeymoon period
An unofficial term for the first weeks after launch, when a new listing may get extra search visibility while Amazon learns how it performs.
Keyword indexing
A product is indexed for a keyword when Amazon search can return it for that phrase. Without indexing, a product can't rank for the keyword at all.
Organic rank
The position of a product in Amazon search results for a keyword, counting only unpaid results and skipping Sponsored ads.
Search volume
An estimate of how many times shoppers search a phrase on Amazon each month. Amazon doesn't publish exact numbers, so tools estimate them.
Offers, sellers, and pricing
Buy Box
The offer Amazon features on a product page with the Add to Cart and Buy Now buttons. Amazon now calls it the Featured Offer.
FBA and FBM
FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) means Amazon stores, packs, and ships your orders. FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) means you ship them yourself.
Hijacker
A seller who joins your listing with a counterfeit, lower-quality, or different product, usually at a lower price, to take the Buy Box.
MAP (minimum advertised price)
The lowest price a brand allows its resellers to advertise. It is a brand policy, not an Amazon rule.
Tools and integrations
Repricer
Software that changes the price of your Amazon offer automatically, by rules, by schedule, or in response to competitor prices.
Reverse ASIN
Keyword research that starts from a product's ASIN instead of a seed keyword, to find the phrases that product is or could be found for.
SP-API (Selling Partner API)
Amazon's official API that lets approved apps work with a seller account: orders, listings, prices, inventory, and reports.