Welcome to this month's blog hop
When you set up your book on Amazon KDP you can pick three categories, but have you ever wondered by your book is listed in a category you didn’t choose? Or requested that your book be added to a specific category but you can’t tell if it was added?
Amazon Category Visibility
Amazon categories have changed over the years. You used to be able to see the category string your book was listed under:
But now you only get to see the final sub-categories:
Amazon Categories vs. BISACS
When you add your book to Amazon KDP you get to choose your categories. But don’t be misled, what you’re choosing is a BISAC identifier not an Amazon Category. BISAC is an acronym for Book Industry Standards and Communications, and is an industry recognized categorization system for books categorization.
Amazon presents these BISAC codes for you to choose from, and then they assign their own Amazon Category based on your BISAC selection, book title, sub, and your book details.
That’s why sometimes you don’t end up in the category you thought you chose from the list of available categories
Video: BISAC Codes Explained
How to Add More Amazon Categories to your Book
Instead of settling for only showing up in three book categories, you can actually get listed in up to 10 categories. Watch this video from Dave Chesson about how to submit your request to Amazon. You can also use the same process to change the categories you’re in.
On your book page, you may only still see three categories, but you can check what categories you’re listed in by using Publisher Rocket.
On the page of one of my books I can only see the three categories above. So I asked Amazon to add my book to the travel writing section, and when I searched on my book in Publisher Rocket a few days later, I can see the 5 categories I’m listed in, and my book has been added to the travel writing category.
You can add your book to 10 categories. This process has been available to authors for years, but it was difficult to find out how and it was up to Amazon’s discretion whether they added you to the 10 categories you requested. Sometimes they’d only add you to a few, and not the full quota of 10. Based on what I’ve read recently, it seems that Amazon are quite happy to allow 10 across the board now.
Now that I’ve walked through the process and examined my category listings to 5, I’m going to continue to research my book’s competition, to see what categories they’re listed in (using Publisher Rocket) and contacting Amazon to expand my category listings to 10 for each of my books. It’s going to take a while, but it’ll be worth it because it’s going to help my books get discovered organically on Amazon.
Reviewing your books
Once you’ve published your book, go to your book’s sales page on Amazon and check your categories. Are they the one’s you want?
If you don’t like the look of the categories you’re in, you can request them to be changed, or new categories be added. But there’s a reason your book has been placed in those three categories, so before you contact Amazon, double check your Amazon keywords, and see if anything in your book’s title or sub-title might be causing you to be placed in an incorrect category. Fine-tuning your Amazon Categories and Keywords takes time and effort, but these two pieces of metadata are key for discoverability.
Did you know you can list your book in up to 10 Amazon Categories. Forget just choosing 3 when you set up your book. Do your research and increase your chances of being discovered. #PublisherRocket #indieauthor Click To Tweet
Author Toolbox Blog Hop
This post is part of the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop, hosted by Raimey Gallant every third Wednesday of each month. Click here to join this author blog hop and to read writing tips and advice that will inspire your next writing session.
Very informative – thank you. My publisher does this on my behalf but I will check it out
If they’re not getting each of your books into ten categories then maybe nudge them and make sure they’re doing the best for your books.
Jay Artale recently posted…5 Reasons to Contribute to an Anthology
This is really interesting. I’ve bookmarked it for when I’m actually published someday. I really dislike that Amazon is hiding categories from authors. They can get away with it, because it’s a monopoly, and I hate it. Great post, Jay. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Raimey Gallant recently posted…Why I don’t default trust iconic authors #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
So many things Amazon do, annoy me. But it’s where most of my customers buy my books, so I’ve learnt to embrace their quirks.
Jay Artale recently posted…Take this Quiz – Do You Have What It Takes to be a Travel Writer?
That’s very cool, I never knew we could do that! I’m going to be bookmarking this and coming back to it later so I can fine-tune my categories better. I always wondered why I ended up in the wrong ones! Also I’ve heard some great things about Publisher Rocket, and this only makes me more curious about it. Thank you so much for sharing this!
It takes a serious amount of time to fine tune your categories when you’re only using three … so when you’re trying to get listed in ten, then that can take even more effort. But it’s well worth it for discoverability.
Jay Artale recently posted…Creating a Financial Plan for your Digital Nomadic Lifestyle
Wow–I didn’t know anything about how this worked. Thank you for sharing your expertise. I haven’t published anything on Amazon so far, but if I do, I’ll come back to this post as a resource.
Self-publishing a book is like fine-tuning an engine, there’s all sorts of tweaks you can do to improve performance.
Jay Artale recently posted…Author Interview with Travel Fiction Writer Jane Dunning
Hi Birds of a Feather Press! I just read your article “10 Amazon Categories You Didn’t Know Existed” and wanted to say thank you for sharing such a fun and interesting read. As an avid Amazon shopper, I was surprised to learn about some of these categories and can’t wait to explore them further!
One thing I appreciated about your article is that you provided some context for each category and why it might be useful. For example, I had no idea that there was a “Pet Cameras & Monitors” category, but now that I know about it, it seems like such a great idea for keeping an eye on my furry friends while I’m away from home.
I also liked that you provided some specific product recommendations within each category. It’s always helpful to have some concrete examples to start with, especially when you’re exploring a new product category.
Overall, I thought your article was a great resource for anyone who loves shopping on Amazon and is looking to discover new and interesting products. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us and helping to make the online shopping experience a little more exciting!