Announcement - Alibaba.com Post categories update

Background & Aim：

The current post category structure is not sufficient enough to meet the demands of relevant industries, making it difficult for suppliers to find suitable categories when posting products. An updated category structure will improve the search accuracy and improve the purchase efficiency of buyers.

Scope and schedule of categories adjustment：

Alibaba.com plans to update this feature starting from the middle of April to the end of August, 2018.

The post category update is distributed into three stages, impacting the 21 top- categories. Major adjustments involve updating category names, adding new categories, and splitting categories. For example, the secondary category of Apparel will be split into men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing, wedding clothing…etc.

Phase 1: Completed

• The update time: April 17, 2018
• The update target: Apparel

Phase 2: Completed

• The update time: May 08 to May 18 , 2018
• The update target: 8 Top top-categories, include: Consumer Electronics、Health & Medical、Office & School Supplies、Transportation、Automobiles & Motorcycles、Sports & Entertainment、Luggage, Bags & Cases、Shoes & Accessories、Sportswear under Apparel

Phase 3: Completed

• The update time: May 23 to Early June , 2018
• The update target: 10 Top top-categories, include: Furniture、Construction & Real Estate, Home & Garden、Textile & Leather Products、Lights & lighting、Fashion Accessories、luggage, Bags & Cases、Beauty & Personal Care、Health & Medical、Machinery

Phase 4:

• The update time: July 31 to August 10, 2018
• The update target: Beauty & Personal Care, Home Appliances, Electronic Cigarettes(Consumer Electronics)

The Impact of categories adjustment：

If your product is already posted under the current category structure, the product will be automatically moved to a new category. During the category update optimization, the product posting/editing function will not be available during the update period for 1 – 2 days.

Also, this will happen cross top categories optimization, ex. Bicycle category will be moved from “Transportation” to “Sports & Entertainment”, It’ll change your main industry information on Alibaba.com, please be notices.

FAQ:

1. How will this impact publishing products?

If your product is already posted under the current category structure, the product will be automatically moved to a new category. You can re-edit and move your product into a different category once the update period is complete.

2. Why did my search ranking drop?

The optimization of the post category structure may affect your ranking due to the updated category data. You can continue to optimize your product information and obtain a better ranking under the new structure.

3. Why can't I find a suitable RFQ?

Please note that the post category update may affect the accuracy of the RFQ search/recommendation function. During the update process, if you cannot find the corresponding RFQ through a category, it is recommended that you search by keywords.

4. Why is my product defined as “Miscategorized Products” in the Search Ranking Optimization Center?

The post category update may make the categories of products more accurate. Please correct the “Miscategorized Products” item as soon as possible to ensure that buyers can quickly find your product under the correct category name.

5. Why did my performance data change in Biz Trends?

Please note due to the post category update, the categories and industry related preference data will be impacted. If your preference data has experienced a big change, the category update may have caused changes to your main industry. It is recommended that you continue to optimize product information under the updated structure.