Introduction
If you’ve styled your titles with separators like “–” or “|” and included benefit statements within them, you might be handing Amazon’s algorithm less indexing power than you thought. Recent analysis from seller tracking groups suggests that Amazon’s search indexing may treat those separators as noise—and discount the portion after them. That means visitors, impressions, and ranking perks could quietly shrink.
1) What the Data Shows
- Tracking tools show a drop in impression volume for SKUs using “|” or “–” in titles.
- Search Query Performance (SQP) often reveals missing core keyword impressions post-title update.
- Amazon appears to reward titles with clean structure: primary keyword(s) → product variant → brand. Benefit statements fit better into bullet/description.
2) Why Two-Part Titles Are Risky
a) Separator Overload – The characters “|”, “:”, “–” might signal marketing fluff rather than meaningful modifiers.
b) Keyword Dilution – When benefits or brand names dominate early in title, core category/keyword may be buried and less visible in first 60 chars.
c) Customer Experience – Titles optimized for humans (long, benefit-packed) may hurt click-through and relevance sorting algorithms.
3) New Title Structure You Should Use
[Primary Keyword] [Variant] – [Brand] or
[Brand] [Primary Keyword] [Variant]
Keep benefits in bullets or descriptions.
Stick to 200 characters max (marketplace-dependent) and front-load high-intent search terms.
Example:
From “Brand – Adjustable Ergonomic Desk Chair | Lumbar Support & Headrest”
To “Ergonomic Desk Chair Adjustable – Brand”
4) Audit & Recovery Process
- Export top-100 SKUs with two-part titles.
- Identify titles with “|”, “–”, “:” or pipe bars.
- For each: restructure title as above; keep benefit value in bullets.
- Update titles in batches of 50–100; monitor before/after SQP for rank changes.
- Track impression rate, session rate, Buy Box. If sessions fall >10% week-over-week, revert or test alternative.
5) 30/60-90 Plan
Days 1–30:
- Audit title format across catalog.
- Re-write high-volume SKUs using new structure.
- Monitor SQP impression trends.
Days 31–60:
- Expand rewrites to mid-volume SKUs.
- Optimize bullets/images for newly moved benefit placements.
- Compare session rate pre/post updates.
Days 61–90:
- Run A/B tests on title variants (if possible).
- Automate future product uploads with clean titles only.
- Quarterly review of title performance metrics—impression share, ranking, clicks.
Final Word
Two-part titles may look slick—but they might hide the most important part: indexing power. By front-loading your core keywords, ditching separators, and moving benefits into bullets, you’ll unclog your title’s ranking engine and give your listings a chance to perform again.