User-defined categories should be properly mapped to a pre-existing Amazon-defined category.
As new categories are being created within an Amazon channel, each of those user-defined categories should be properly mapped to a pre-existing Amazon-defined category.
Each user-defined category is mapped to the most relevant Amazon-defined category one time. This will not need to be repeated for new products added to a mapped category, because it is actually the category that is mapped and not the product(s).
The information presented in this chapter can be used to map categories in most channels (i.e. Amazon US, Amazon UK, eBay, etc). In this instruction, we will be using Amazon US as an example.
1. To locate a specific channel (such as Amazon US), the user should start at the global dashboard and click the down arrow that appears to the left of the word Global on the upper left side of the screen:
2. With the menu expanded, a marketplace can be selected:
3. Once inside a marketplace, a list of specific channels will be available to choose from. For this instruction, we will be selecting Amazon US:
4. The feature related to channel mapping can be located by clicking the plus sign that appears to the right of the channel name, in the navigation panel. Once the navigation panel has been expanded, the word ‘Mappings’ can be clicked:
5. There are a total of five tabs in this section. Only the first tab, which is labeled ‘Categories’, is relevant to this specific topic.
6. Two file trees appear on the ‘Categories’ tab. The file tree on the left (1) is comprised of user-defined categories. The file tree on the right (2) is comprised of Amazon-defined categories:
7. Both file trees can be expanded by clicking the white arrow that appears to the left of each one:
8. All user-defined categories and al active Amazon-defined categories will auto-populate:
Unlike most other channel management programs, Store Automator will even show the English translations of those category names when shown in channels that use other languages. Here’s a quick example:
A ‘Parent Folder’ will be shown for all categories. Categories may also be broken down into subsections using one or more ‘Child Folder’. When this occurs within user-defined categories, it’s not enough to just map the Parent or 1st of a list of Child Folders. Mapping can only be done by matching the last of all (if any) Child Folders to an Amazon folder:
The actual mapping of a category is very simple.
First, locate the last of all (if any) Child Folders for a chosen user-defined category (from the file tree shown on the left):
Then, locate the Amazon-defined category that best matches the selected user-defined category (from the file tree shown on the right):
The best / most appropriately matching Amazon category can be found by either using the search feature provided above the file tree or by fully expanding each folder to perform a manual search:
When the matching Amazon-defined category has been chosen, the user-defined category can simply be dragged and dropped onto the Amazon-defined category.
When the two categories are properly connected, the user-defined category will change to reflect the connection.
Should it become necessary, the connection between the user-defined category and the Amazon-defined category can be broken by clicking the ‘x’ that appears when the mouse is hovered over top of the back-and-forth arrows, as shown below:
Inside Tip – Folder colors can be used to know, at a glance, which categories are completely mapped and which are not. Categories that are fully mapped will display a green folder, while categories that are not fully mapped will display a blue folder.