Product Information Management

MARKETPLACE taxonomy & Search Relevance

Marketplaces are search-driven engines - not online catalogues where your website structure automatically works.

Amazon, eBay, B&Q and others rely on structured product data to match buyers with products. When your data fits the marketplace's taxonomy and search logic, your visibility increases. When it doesn't, your listings drift out of sight.

Listabl aligns your catalogue to marketplace taxonomies and search models so your products appear where buyers are actually looking.

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Why taxonomy is the foundation of marketplace search

Every major marketplace organises products using a strict category hierarchy and attribute model. Search relevance starts here.

Amazon is explicit about this:

“Selecting the most accurate category and providing complete and accurate product information helps customers find your products and improves search relevance.”

eBay makes the same point in plainer terms:

“Item specifics are critical to buyers finding your listings through search and filters.”

If your product is:

Then it simply won't appear for many searches — especially filtered ones.

The result:
Your product exists, but buyers never see it.


Marketplace search doesn't work like website search

On your website, free text and flexible navigation can compensate for weak structure.

Marketplaces don't work that way.

They rely on:

Amazon's search algorithm uses category placement and structured attributes to understand what a product is before deciding who should see it.

As Amazon puts it:

“Product titles, key attributes and category assignments help our systems determine relevance for customer searches.”

Search starts with structure. Keywords come second.

Examples from the coalface

Amazon: browse nodes, attributes, and relevance

Amazon uses a Product Type attribute and a deep category hierarchy (often called the Browse Tree) to determine:

  • Where products appear
  • Which filters apply
  • Which searches they qualify for

If a product is placed incorrectly, Amazon's systems struggle to match it to buyer intent - even if the keywords are technically present.

Amazon Seller guidance is clear:

“Incorrect categorisation can result in reduced visibility or suppressed listings.”

That's why sellers who fully populate category-specific attributes consistently outperform those relying on titles alone.

eBay: item specifics are search visibility

eBay's search engine, Cassini, uses item specifics as a primary relevance signal.

eBay states:

“Listings with complete item specifics are more likely to appear in search results and filtered searches.”

Item specifics are tied directly to taxonomy. If a buyer filters by brand, size, compatibility or condition - and you haven't populated that field - your listing is excluded.

Even a perfect title can't compensate for missing structure.

The result:
Visibility drops silently, especially as buyers rely more on filters.

B&Q: structured discovery at scale

B&Q's marketplace is built around category-led discovery. Customers browse by:

  • Department
  • Product type
  • Specification filters

As B&Q describes it:

“Product titles, key attributes and category assignments help our systems determine relevance for customer searches.”

For sellers, this means taxonomy alignment isn't optional. Products that don't fit B&Q's category and attribute model are harder to surface - even if demand exists.

As marketplaces scale, structure becomes the competitive advantage.

What happens when THE taxonomy is wrong

When product data isn't marketplace-aligned:

  • Listings fail validation or go live incomplete
  • Filters exclude your products
  • Search impressions drop
  • Teams fix issues reactively, one channel at a time

Most sellers only notice when sales stall - not when visibility first declines.

What marketplace-aligned data looks like

A Marketplace-ready schema means:

  • One core product structure aligned to real marketplace categories
  • Preset attributes based on category rules
  • Accepted values marketplaces actually recognise
  • Automated adaptation per channel

This turns product data into a search asset, not an operational burden.

The outcome:
Products appear more often, in more relevant searches, with less manual effort.

How Listabl improves marketplace search visibility

Listabl is built around marketplace taxonomy - not internal convenience.

Listabl:

  • Aligns products to marketplace category structures
  • Applies category-specific attributes automatically
  • Converts one dataset into marketplace-ready formats
  • Validates data before submission
  • Updates mappings as marketplaces change their rules

Instead of managing categories and attributes in spreadsheets per channel, you structure once and let automation handle the rest.

Typical result:
Better placement in search, fewer suppressed listings, and cleaner scaling across channels.

Who this matters most for

  • Amazon sellers chasing page-one visibility
  • eBay sellers relying on filters and long-tail search
  • B&Q and Mirakl sellers competing in crowded categories
  • Teams managing large or growing SKU counts

If marketplaces drive your revenue, taxonomy should drive your operations.

FAQs

Isn't marketplace visibility mostly about price?

Price matters - but only after a product appears. Taxonomy and attributes decide whether your listing is shown at all.

Do marketplaces really change taxonomy that often?

Yes. Categories, attributes and accepted values evolve constantly. Marketplace-first systems adapt automatically.

Can I reuse my website categories?

Rarely without issues. Website taxonomies optimise navigation. Marketplace taxonomies optimise search and filtering.

What happens next?

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