The Importance of Categorising Correctly on Amazon

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Have you ever wondered why that camera lens filter you listed ended up in the car filter category? Categorising correctly on Amazon is crucial for maintaining visibility, ensuring accurate ad placements and avoiding those pesky policy violations. But how do you know if you’re doing it right? Read on to find out more.

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Amazon uses algorithms and automated systems to recategorise products. However, these systems aren’t perfect. Recategorising is done based on product detail page content (PDP), keywords and other listing elements. Subsequently, Amazon sometimes moves products into incorrect categories. Ah, the fun! This can have significant negative impacts on your sales performance and advertising campaigns.

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Why Correct Categorisation Matters

1. Visibility and Ranking

Amazon’s algorithms rely heavily on product categorisation to determine their relevance in search results. If your product is in the wrong category, it may not appear when customers search for it. This can lead to a drop in visibility. Lack of views leads to a lack of sales – a frustrating journey for any business owner!

Being miscategorised can also put your product in competition with irrelevant competitors. For example, imagine you have a high-end kitchen appliance mistakenly placed in a lower-tier category. Competing with low-cost alternatives may lead to lower perceived value and reduced sales.

2. Ad Placement Issues

Amazon uses product categories to determine where adverts are displayed. If your product is in the wrong category, your ads may be shown to the wrong audience or in unrelated search results. Sponsored Ads and Product Display Ads are also often targeted to customers based on categories. An incorrect categorisation can prevent your product from showing in the right ad spaces. This can lead to lower click-through rates (CTR), poor conversion rates and wasted ad spend.

3. Risk of Policy Violations

When Amazon automatically reclassifies products, this can inadvertently cause your product to be listed in a restricted or prohibited category. Even if your product doesn’t violate any of Amazon’s policies. This can trigger warnings or suspension from Amazon, even if the mistake wasn’t your fault! This can take time to rectify.

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4. Customer Experience

Customers expect to find products in the correct categories. If your product is incorrectly categorised, it might not meet customer expectations. This can lead to dissatisfaction, confusion or loss of trust. It can also result in poor reviews or returns due to unmet expectations, impacting your seller metrics. 

Why Amazon Moves Products to Other Categories

Amazon’s categorisation automation system is designed to optimise the marketplace experience. It often focuses on titles, descriptions, bullet points and other key attributes. However, this can also cause products to be incorrectly moved to irrelevant categories. Contributing factors include:

  • Keywords and Phrasing: Using specific keywords, even if relevant to your product, can lead to misinterpretation by Amazon’s algorithm. Top Tip: Keyword stuffing can cause these issues, so don’t do it! 
  • PDP Structure Changes: Updates to your product detail page (such as title changes, keyword adjustments or description updates) can trigger Amazon’s system to review and reclassify the product.
  • Amazon’s Internal Updates: Occasionally, Amazon updates its category structures. This means products may be moved to new or different categories without seller input.

There are things you can do to ensure you’re categorising correctly on Amazon.

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How to Categorise Correctly on Amazon

1. Regularly Monitor Category Placement

Frequently check where your product is listed. You can do this through the “Edit Product” section of Seller Central. It’s a quick and simple fix. This can help prevent potential issues in the long run.

2. Optimise PDP Content Carefully

Ensure the wording in your product titles, descriptions and bullet points aligns with your intended category. Don’t overstuff them with keywords and don’t use irrelevant terms. It can confuse Amazon’s algorithm and lead to misclassification. Accuracy is key!

3. Submit Correct Category Information

Select the most appropriate category when creating a new product listing. There are also subcategories you can use. These are helpful to use if you have quite a niche product. If you’re precise from the outset, your placement will be more accurate in Amazon’s algorithms.

4. Audit Listings After Updates

Anytime you make significant changes to your listing, you should review your product categorisation to check your product wasn’t inadvertently moved. Even minor changes can trigger a categorisation change. It’s a quick check to do, so don’t ignore it. Reviewing is your friend!

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5. Use Amazon Support to Resolve Issues

Contact Amazon Seller Support if you find your product has been miscategorised. It’s not always our favourite course of action but they will be able to help. Be prepared to provide evidence showing why your product belongs in a different category. This will be simple things like screenshots or documents. 

6. Track Changes in Search Performance

If you notice sudden changes in CTR, conversion rates or sales, your product may be in the wrong category. Investigate any performance drops. You would be doing this anyway if there were any significant changes in your product performance. If it’s categorisation, this would be a simple fix. Just head into Seller Central and “Edit Product”.

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So, what have we learned? Proper categorisation on Amazon is vital! It can help maintain your listing’s visibility, performance and policy compliance. As Amazon tends to move products based on how PDP content is interpreted, you must stay vigilant. Check your categorisation regularly. Optimise your product pages carefully and promptly address any misclassification. That way, you can ensure your product reaches the right audience. Ultimately, you’ll then be able to maintain peak performance on Amazon.