How to Map Categories

A number of channels, including Google Shopping, require that you map your products to specific categories. This means that your product data needs to include certain identifiers, such as colour, size, brand etc. ShoppingFeeder makes this process very easy through the Category Mapping function. This helps ensure that your feed will be submitted without any errors and helps increase product discoverability.

While you may already have the products categorized in your store, they may not conform to the categories specified by Google or other channels that require specific categories in their feed specifications. For example: You may list books according to author, whereas Google may require this product type to be categorized by genre.

ShoppingFeeder makes it very easy to map your existing categories to those which are required by such channels. When you map your categories in ShoppingFeeder, a link will be created between the category that is in your store and the category that you have specified in ShoppingFeeder. Once a category has been mapped, ShoppingFeeder will push the correct categories for the specific channel into your XML Product Data feed. When you add a new product to a category that has already been mapped, the product will be automatically assigned to the required category.

From the left-hand menu in ShoppingFeeder, select Feed Management -> Map Categories.

ShoppingFeeder displays all the categories imported from your store. To begin the mapping process, click on the Not Mapped text and an input text box will appear. Start typing the name of the category or a keyword that defines your category and ShoppingFeeder will show you a list of possible categories that are related to your search term. Once you've found a result that best defines your category, click on the result and ShoppingFeeder will map that category to your store's category.

To edit the category, simply click on the category name and the search box will appear.

Once you have mapped all your categories, you can rebuild your XML data feed by clicking the Rebuild Feeds button to ensure your product data is up to date.        

You can also Map Attributes through ShoppingFeeder.