Are My KDP Books Not Being Indexed? Book Series Invisible Unless You Search My Brand

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone here with more experience in Amazon search or indexing can shed some light. I’ve published a 12-book series of word search puzzle books under the brand Professor Rocko’s Word Search Puzzle Books.

All books have been live for about two months. They’re properly categorized, optimized for keywords, and connected through the official KDP series manager. Each title is professionally formatted with clean metadata and detailed descriptions.

Here’s the issue: none of my books appear in search results unless I type my brand name exactly (“Professor Rocko”). Even very specific queries like “music word search” or “food and drink word search” don’t return my titles — not even many pages deep.

I’ve contacted Amazon support, but the only answer I received was a generic link to their FAQ on “how search works.” No confirmation that my titles are properly indexed.

So, my questions for those of you who manage books or products at scale:

• How can I confirm whether my KDP titles are actually being indexed for their backend and front-end keywords?
• Have you ever had to deal with indexing delays or bugs on new KDP books?
• Are there effective ways (other than PPC) to “nudge” Amazon’s system to recognize new listings?
• And realistically — is running Amazon Ads the only way now to get traction for new books in a crowded niche?

This is my first publishing venture, and I’m trying to understand what’s normal vs what’s a technical issue. I’ve spent a lot of time researching, reading subreddits, and testing metadata adjustments, but I’m still at a loss for why the books seem completely invisible.

Any insights, diagnostic tips, or personal experiences would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!