How to choose the right Amazon category for your product, and why you should
Choosing the right category for your product is one of the most important things you can do when selling a new product on Amazon. Not only will it put you in front of the right customers and lead to higher conversion rates, it will make everything easier in the long run.
Categories matter. A vast number of customers browse by category, and categories play a key role in Amazon’s algorithm. Failing to choose the right category for your products could therefore see you miss out on a large amount of traffic.
Three is the magic number
There are three factors to consider when choosing your product’s category:
- Relevance of category
- Size of category
- Competition of category
Strike a balance between all three. Can you rank highly in a relevant category which has plenty of traffic?
The triangle of needs
The triangle of needs is a useful guideline for ensuring you are putting your products in the most appropriate categories.
If your chosen category isn’t relevant to your product, people won’t buy it.
If your chosen category is too niche, people won’t search for it.
And if your chosen category is highly competitive, people won’t see it.
Avoid those three pitfalls, and you should be able to identify a successful category for your product.
The red tape is there for a reason
Don’t be tempted to save time by ignoring the relevant approvals that are needed to sell products within a specific category.
Amazon has the power to deactivate those listings (and potentially even your account) which are categorised incorrectly.
Collateral damage
Failing to select the relevant category for your product will make life difficult when it comes to uploading content and creating product variations.
If the category of your content differs from the category of your product, then you’re going to encounter more challenges uploading it successfully.
The badge of honour
The nicher the sub-categories you use, the easier it is to obtain that coveted Best Seller status.
But don’t go too niche. The Best Seller badge is worthless if no one is searching for your category.