Is the Amazon search terms limit 250 characters or 250 bytes?

250 bytes. A Latin letter is one byte, but accented characters, Chinese characters and emoji take two to four bytes each, so a non-English keyword list can hit the limit well before 250 characters.

Should I repeat words from my title in the search terms?

No. Words in the title are already indexed; repeating them wastes the byte budget. Use the field for synonyms, alternate spellings and use cases that are not in the copy.

Do I need commas between search terms?

No. Spaces are enough. Commas consume bytes without adding meaning.

Amazon search terms: 250 bytes, not 250 characters

The backend keyword field is measured in bytes. For plain English that is close enough to characters, but the moment you use accented letters, Chinese, Japanese or emoji, the budget disappears two to four times faster than you expect.

Count yours

Search terms field

0/ 250 bytes empty

Byte count uses UTF-8, which is how the field is stored. Latin letters = 1 byte, accented/Cyrillic/Greek = 2, Chinese/Japanese/Korean = 3, emoji = 4.

What actually belongs in the field

Include	Why
Synonyms the title does not use	The title already covers its own words; this field covers the rest
Alternate spellings and regional terms	“flip flops” vs “thongs”, “aubergine” vs “eggplant”
Use cases and occasions	“camping”, “dorm room”, “housewarming”
Material and compatibility words not in the copy	“BPA free”, “fits 15 inch laptop”

Leave out	Why
Words already in the title or brand	Already indexed; pure waste of bytes
Competitor brand names	Trademark risk, and Amazon removes them
Commas, quotation marks, dashes	Each one costs a byte and changes nothing
Subjective claims (“best”, “cheap”)	Nobody searches for them as a product term, and “best” is a restricted word
Misspellings	Amazon handles common typos; spend the bytes elsewhere

Good vs wasteful

Wasteful (repeats the title, uses commas):
silicone spatula, silicone spoon, silicone whisk, best kitchen utensils, free shipping

Useful (new words only, no punctuation):
cooking turner non stick egg flip pancake fish slice heat resistant gift dorm

The second line spends its bytes on words the title cannot reasonably contain. That is the whole point of the field.

Check the rest of the listing too

Backend terms are wasted if the title gets suppressed. The free checker scans 63 restricted terms, title length, caps, repetition and missing size — in your browser, nothing uploaded.

Run the free audit

FAQ

250 characters or 250 bytes?

250 bytes. Non-Latin characters cost 3 bytes each, so a Chinese keyword list might hold only ~80 characters before the limit.

Should I repeat title words here?

No. They are already indexed; repeating them wastes the byte budget.

Do I need commas?

No. Spaces work, and commas cost bytes.