Category Style Guide: Shoes

CATEGORY STYLE GUIDE: SHOES
About this document

This Style Guide is intended to give you the guidance you need to create effective, accurate product
detail pages in the Shoes category.
In addition to using this document, we encourage you to take advantage of the wealth of
information available in our Seller Help pages.
Table of Contents
Section I: Overview
Section II: Title Style
Section III: Key Product Features
Section IV: Product Descriptions
Section V; Images
Section VI: Variation Relationships
Section VII: Browse & Search
Section VIII: Visual Guide
2 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Shoes (Approval is required to sell in this category)

Whether you're selling products for men, women, boys, girls or all of the above, accurate data is crucial to
discoverability and sales. How you present your products will greatly influence the customer's purchasing
decision when shopping on Amazon.com. Clear and concise listings in a consistent format will better
inform customers and enhance discoverability of products. This can result in increased traffic to product
listings.
Please carefully review the following information and make the appropriate adjustments to your
product listings.
This section covers the following guidelines for setting up product detail pages:
Title Style Get customer attention with great titles. Clear and concise titles will
improve search results and catch the customer‘s attention.
Brand & Manufacturer Improve discoverability and duplicate detection by entering accurate
brand and manufacturer information.
Images Show customers what they're buying. Professional images on white
backgrounds will bring life and added attractiveness to your product.
Key Product Features Highlight the key features and benefits of your product.
Product Descriptions Elaborate on the features and uses of your product.
Item Package Quantity Indicates how many items are in the package. Provide this if there is
more than one identical unit in the package of the product you are selling.
Variation Relationships Make choices easy: Display multiple size and color options on a single
detail page. Always use the size/color variation theme for your
shoe products and always supply us with a value for both size and
color for each of your shoe products.
Improve discoverability and traffic through search terms, Item Type
Browse & Search Keywords (ITKs) and refinements.

Title Style
The product title is the first thing customers see when visiting a detail page. Does the title provide the
customer with the right information? Will they continue looking at the detail page?
Amazon uses product titles to display products in search results. A concise and relevant title will drive
traffic to a product detail page. Always check titles for consistent format and accuracy. Follow the
guidelines below to create product titles that create a good first impression.
When you list your child products, fully describe each one so they can be included in browse and search
results. Each individual word in the product name is searchable by itself. For example, suppose your
product name is “Doc Marten's Black and White Smooth 5 Eye Wingtip Brogue Shoes.” Because this
product name is very detailed, this product already has a good selection of search terms even before you
add additional search terms.
Tips on how to create a great title

Do Do Not
• Capitalize the first letter of each word (but see • Do not include price and quantity
exceptions under Do Not) • Do not use ALL CAPS
• Use numerals (2 instead of two) • Do not capitalize:
• If a bundled product, state value in parenthesis • Conjunctions (and, or, for)
as (pack of X) • Articles (the, a, an)
• Keep it short, but include critical information • Prepositions with fewer than five letters (in,
• 50 characters maximum on, over, with, etc.)
Note: Please include only standard text. • Do not include seller information
Type 1 High ASCII characters (®, ©, ™, etc.) • Do not include promotional messages such as
or other special characters are not supported "sale" or "free ship" (use the Promotion
Manager tool to include messaging instead)
• Do not use your seller name for Brand or
Manufacturer information, unless your product
is Private Label
• Do not include symbols in your listings
(such as: ! * $ ?)
• Do not include commentary such as
‘Hot Item’ or ‘Best Seller’
Elements to Include
For Parent ASINs:
[Brand]+[Gender/Age Group]+[Product Line]+[Material*]+[Shoe Type] (e.g. "Kenneth Cole REACTION
Women's Work Space Leather Pump")
Examples:
Gender/Age Product
Brand Group Line Material* Shoe Type Title:
Kenneth Cole
REACTION Women's Work Space Leather Pump Kenneth Cole REACTION Women's Work Space Leather Pump
New Balance Women's WR8509 Running Shoe New Balance Women's WR8509 Running Shoe
Superstar
Adidas Originals Men's II Sneaker Adidas Originals Men's Superstar II Sneaker
Birki's Toddler/Little Kid Aruba Sandal Birki's Toddler/Little Kid Aruba Sandal
Sperry Top-Sider Toddler/Little Kid Bluefish Boat Shoe Sperry Top-Sider Toddler/Little Kid Bluefish Boat Shoe
*Only include the Material in the title if relevant to your product

For Child ASINs:

[Brand]+[Gender/Age Group]+[Product Line]+[Color]+[Material*]+[Shoe Type]+[Size] (e.g.
"Kenneth Cole REACTION Women's Work Space Black Leather Pump 7.5 M US")
Examples:
Brand Gender/Age Group Product Line Color Material* Shoe Type Size Title:
Kenneth Cole REACTION Women's Work Space Black Leather Pump 7 M US Kenneth Cole REACTION Women's Work Space Black Leather Pump - 7 M US
New Balance Women's WR8509 White/Blue Running Shoe 7 B US New Balance Women's WR8509 White/Blue Running Shoe - 7 B US
Adidas Originals Men's Superstar II White Sneaker 10 M US Adidas Originals Men's Superstar II White Sneaker - 10 M US
Birki's Little Kid Aruba Black Sandal 31 M EU Birki's Little Kid Aruba Black Sandal - 31 M EU
Sperry Top-Sider Toddler Bluefish Chocolate Boat Shoe 5 M US Toddler Sperry Top-Sider Toddler Bluefish Chocolate Boat Shoe - 5 M US Toddler
*Only include the Material in the title if relevant to your product
Note:
1. Include the size and color in the "child" item only. Do not include size or color in the parent. See
the Variation Relationships Help page for more information.
2. Including your company information or sale messaging in your product titles may negatively
impact your seller account.
3. For more information on 'Shoe Types,' please visit our Visual Guide to Shoe Categories in Seller
Central.
4. For more information on how to properly format and submit shoe sizes for your products, please
visit our Shoe Size Guidelines, Charts, and FAQ Help page in Seller Central:
Examples:
Correct:

CATEGORY STYLE GUIDE:
SHOES
Incorrect:

Key Product Features

The Key Product Features bullets on the detail page give the customer more details about the product
and can influence the customer purchase decision. Customers use feature bullets to get a snapshot of
the product. They may finalize a purchase decision based on this information alone, or it may interest
them enough to read the full product description.
Do Do Not
• Highlight key features you want customers to • Do not include your seller name, e-mail
consider, such as age appropriateness, ideal address, website URL, or any company-
conditions for the product, contents, country of specific information
origin, and so on
• Do not include product information such as
• Maintain a consistent order; if your first bullet color, size, heel height or material; you can
point is country of origin, keep that same order include these attributes in the new product
for all your products feed templates
• Do not include promotional language such

• Reiterate important information from the title as "sale" or "free ship" (use the Manage
and description Promotions tool)
• Begin each bullet point with a capital letter • Do not write about anything but the product
for sale; this is your opportunity to tell the
• Write sentence fragments that do not include customer what they are viewing
ending punctuation
• Do not include shipping or company
information; Amazon policy prohibits
including seller or shipping information
• Do not use hyphens, symbols, periods, or

exclamation points
• Do not write vague statements; be as

specific as possible with product features
and attributes
Note: Tips to improve readability

• Write all numbers as numerals
• In bullets with multiple phrases; separate the phrases with semicolons
• Spell out measurements such as quart, inch, feet, and so on

Product Descriptions
When describing your product, you might want to include some key details from the feature bullets.
However, go beyond a simple, to-the-point description. Well-written product descriptions help the
customer imagine the experience of owning or handling the product. Put yourself in your customers'
shoes: what would they want to feel, touch, ask, and want? Incorporate information about the feel,
usage and benefits of your product to fire the customer's imagination. This is as close as you can come to
creating an in-store experience. Product Descriptions are limited to 2000 characters.
Do Do Not
• Describe the major product features and list • Do not include your seller name, e-mail address,
product information including size, used-for website URL, or any company-specific
and style information
• Keep it short, but include critical information. • Do not write about anything but the product for
• Include accurate dimensions, care instructions sale; this is your opportunity to tell the
and warranty information customer what they are buying
• Use correct grammar and complete sentences • Do not include promotional language such as
"sale" or "free ship" (use the Manage Promotions
tool instead)
Correct:
Product Description
Product Description
Naughty Monkey is a fresh fun shoe collection that originated in California and has everyone
clamoring for the monkey from coast to coast. The naughty monkey, whose identity shall remain
nameless, heard constant gripes and complaints about how mundane and boring footwear had
become. In his monkey mind came the devastating first designs of a brand that would leave a
lasting impression on fashion and how fun it could be. The evolution of naughty monkey to this
day continues on the same maddening quest to bring the opposite of boring to fashion and can
only be appreciated by those who have a little of the naughty monkey inside of them.
Product Description
Product Description
Can you ever have too much Adrenaline? Not according to millions of runners. Brooks'
trustworthy "Go-To Shoe" is back again with the signature mid foot wrap, forefoot capture, and
progressive support countless runners rely on and love. Whether you've worn it for years or are
trying it for the first time, the Adrenaline delivers the right amount of cushioning and support.
Incorrect: -Too vague, more like a feature

Product Description bullet point than a description
Product Description
Hi-top lace-up sneaker, Metallic detailing, Fabric lining, Padded collar, Rubber outsole for
grip.

Images
Images display on the product search page and the product detail page. A professional image helps
customers discover products and can drive traffic to a detail page. Show customers what they will receive
in their shipment (and only what they will receive). Make it easy for them to identify the product with a
clear, high-quality image displaying exactly what you're offering.
Required • Shoe images should be of the shoes and NOT the shoes in a shoe box or near
the shoe box
• Use simple and clean backgrounds that do not distract from the product; ideally,
the background should be pure white
• Product images should be at least 500-dpi although 1,000-dpi images are
preferred
• Product images should be in color, not black & white
• Show the entire product; the product should occupy at least 80 percent of the
image area
• Include only what the customer will be receive; accessories that are not part of
the product should not be shown
• Multiple angles of each product is preferred
• Only one shoe or pair of shoes per product image is permitted
Prohibited • Brand tags or packaging in any of the images
• Images of second hand or slightly used products
• Borders, watermarks, text, or other decorations
• Sketches / drawings of the product – real images only
• Colored backgrounds or lifestyle pictures
• Other products, items or accessories that are not part of the product listing;
only include exactly what the customer is buying
• Image place holders (i.e. temporary images or “no image available”)
• Images containing graphs of product ratings
• Promotional text such as "sale" or "free ship" (use the Manage Promotions tool
instead)
Note: Zoom Functionality

When you submit an image of at least 1,000 dpi, customers can zoom in on the product image on the
detail page. This provides a detailed view of the product and may reduce returns and negative feedback.
Examples of correct images

Examples of incorrect images
Additional Images
Swatches
When using variations, upload a swatch image for each child item or, preferably, upload a thumbnail
image of the actual product (one thumbnail for each color). The image displayed in the Color selection
box on the detail page is populated from the SwatchImageURL field in the flat file template or from
"Variation Swatch" in Seller Central Add a Product.

Variation Relationships
Variations allow customers to choose the desired color and size of the product from a single detail page,
which you create using parent-child product relationships. Variations provide a cleaner customer buying
experience.
Note: If your products currently match with Amazon offers on the detail page, please do not use
Variation Relationships because your products will automatically match to an identical product offer.
The parent products are the initial display on the detail page. The child products are the products that
are related to each parent and display when the variation is selected by the buyer. The relationship of
parent to child is the variation theme: Size, Color, or Size-Color.
Child Child
Size 9, Size 10,
Parent Silver Silver
Running
Shoe
Child Child
Size 9, Size 10,
White White
There are three Components to a Parent/Child relationship:

• Parent product: Non-buyable products displayed in search results are parent products, such as
shoe styles.
• Child products: Buyable products related to parent product by size and/or color, such as 7 wide,
blue shoe.
• Variation theme: Defines how the child products differ from each other, such as size-color.
Note: If you enter the Relationship Type and fail to enter the color or size, you may receive an error
when uploading your data or the product’s detail page might not display properly on the website. Make
sure you enter all required variation fields for your products. If you fail to enter any of the required fields,
your products may not display on Amazon.com. If you have questions, please contact Seller Support.
Required • Fully describe each child product so they

will be included in browse and search
results
• Add the size and color to the child product
title
• Use SKUs to build relationships using
fields for SKU and ParentSKU
• List the Child offers under the Parent SKU
in your flat file template or XML markup
Prohibited • Do not include price or quantity values for
parent products
• The parent title should not include size or
color
• Do not link any products that are not a
variation of size or color to the parent
product

How to set up Variations for a product
To properly set up your variation theme and product relationships, please see the Guide to Creating Shoe
Variation Themes in Seller Central.
XML Help:
Seller Central Help: XML Automation & Integration: Tasks & Tools: Product-Related Feeds: Relationships
Feed: Relationships Feed Overview
XML Sample Feed:

Seller Central Help: Download Templates and Guides: Sample XML Feeds
Shoe size instructions
To ensure your shoe sizes display properly on the website, include the following information for each size
of each shoe product you submit.
• Size
If the brand is on the Non-US Shoe Size Brands list, include the non-US size and the size-system
locale (such as 43 M EU). We also recommend that you include US size information, but it is not
required.
• Width
• Sizing-System Locale
• Gender
• Age Group
We recommend using this field for kid-sized shoes, size-ranges that overlap, multiple sizing-
system locales, or unisex shoes. Examples are listed below.
There are no separate fields for each individual element listed above, so you can combine them all
together in the clothing_size or size_name attribute for XML, or the size field in flat file feeds.
FORMAT: [Size]+[Width]+[Sizing-System Locale]+([Gender] and/or [Age Group])
For specific instructions on how to submit shoe sizes so they will be displayed properly on
Amazon.com, please visit our Shoe Size Guide in Seller Central.

Browse & Search
Customers visit Amazon.com to shop for products. They can find products in two ways: either using the
Browse option, or using Search Terms. Most often customers use a combination of browse and search.
Make sure customers can find your products either way. Drive traffic by providing Item Type Keywords
(ITKs) and Search Terms.
Classification - Browse
Thousands of merchants sell millions of products on Amazon.com. To help customers find products easily,
Amazon developed a detailed product hierarchy or browse-tree structure. Customers refine by category
and subcategory links until they reach the most specific product type.
Amazon uses your Item Type Keywords to classify product detail pages under the correct browse nodes.
In order for your products to continue to appear when customers refine their category options, they must
be classified correctly to the deepest level.
See the latest Browse Tree Guides (BTGs) in Seller Central for Shoes, Handbags, Eyewear, and
Shoe Accessories.
The Shoes BTG contains all of the Item Type Keywords that you will need in order to fully and properly
classify your products for browse discovery purposes. Be sure that when adding Item Type Keywords to
products that they match *exactly* to the spelling and format of the Item Type Keywords listed in the
BTG. For example, if you have a pair of women‘s flats, the appropriate Item Type Keyword to use is ’flats-
shoes‘ (along with a department value of ‗womens‘ ). If you spell the style keyword as ‘flats shoes‘ (i.e.
exclude the ‘‗’ (hyphen)), Amazon will not recognize the item-type keyword and the product will not be
browsed into the women‘s flats node. The Item Type Keywords you use must be exact matches to
those listed in the BTG.
How to Pick and Apply Terms to an Item
Start with the item to classify and refer to the Shoes, Handbags, Eyewear, and Shoe Accessory Browse
Tree Guide (BTG) for Item Type Keywords. Refer to the Valid Values tables in the flat file template for the
appropriate and relevant refinements.
For example, to classify a women's rain boot, you would complete the following steps:
1. Refer to the Amazon Shoes BTG, and locate the footwear section in that guide
2. Identify the Item-Type-Keyword (in this case, "rain-boots")
3. Refer to the Amazon Valid Values document, and locate Department and Material values
4. Identify the appropriate Department (in this case, "womens")
5. Choose the appropriate Material (rubber), Occasion-lifestyle (rain), etc.
Note:
• The Item Type must have the same exact spelling and formatting as listed in the BTG.

• Make sure all of your products have keywords for the most specific subcategory possible.
Search
Amazon automatically indexes the search terms that are derived from the standard-product-id (e.g.
UPC/EAN), product-title, brand, manufacturer, and manufacturer-part-number, so you don‘t have to. This
allows you to add even more keywords to your products. There are five separate entries for the keyword
field and each can contain up to 50 characters—comma separated.
Search terms help customers find products. Product titles and company names are already searchable,
so think about other words that describe the product. We have added new attributes and refinements
such as heel height, shoe style, toe style, strap type and frame material that will help customers
narrow their search results. Refinements correspond with new fields in the feed templates, XML XSDs,
and Add a Product tool, so you can provide additional attributes that apply to the products. Think like a
customer when choosing your terms; use words customers might enter into the search bar, including
synonyms. Make sure they can find the products!
Guidelines for listing your Search Terms
• Each product can have up to five search lines of 50 characters per field; that's 250 characters
available for your search terms
• The words you choose are the terms our search engine uses when customers search the site
• The individual words of the title, seller, and brand are automatically included as search terms and
you do not need to add them to the keyword field
• Any combination of title words and search terms are fully searchable
Examples
Text–file feed
If you are using an inventory flat file, the template fields for search terms appear as search-terms1,
search-terms2, and so on. For more details about how to create effective search terms, see Using
Search & Browse.
Add a Product in Seller Central

Visual Guide to Shoe Categories

You can use the following visual guide to help identify Item Type Keywords (ITKs) and attributes when
classifying products. Please reference the Browse Tree Guide (BTG) for the full list of ITKs and attributes.
Athletic & Outdoor
Athletic and Outdoor shoes should consist of technical athletic shoe brands (Nike, Adidas, New Balance,
Asics, etc.) and rugged outdoor brands (Merrell, Hi-Tec, Timberland, Columbia, etc.). We’ve also created
Item Type Keywords for various sub-categories to ensure products are classified correctly.
All non-technical athletic shoes should be categorized under Fashion Sneakers. This includes brands such
as Diesel, Pony, Tsubo, most Puma, adidas Originals, and so on.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): american-handball-shoes, baseball-shoes, cross-trainer-shoes, walking-shoes,

hiking-shoes, mountaineering-boots, and more
Attributes to include: Department, Closure Type, Material, Special Features, etc.
Men: Women:
Boat Shoes & Moccasins
Boat Shoes are shoes intended for wear on boat decks. They feature non-marking siped, rubber soles.
Moccasins include casual slip-ons with a reversed stitched moccasin toe. Moccasins should not include
loafers or other wear-to-work styles that happen to have a moccasin stitched toe.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): athletic-boat-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Closure Type, Material, Special Features, etc.
Men: Women:

Boots
Boots are shoes that cover the ankle bone. Styles range from dress to casual to rugged.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): boots, rain-boots
Attributes to include: Department, Toe Style, Material, Special Features, Heel Type, Shoe Height, and
Occasion/Lifestyle
Men: Women:
Clogs & Mules
Clogs traditionally had a wood bottom, round closed-toe design and open-back styles. Many clogs now
have flexible rubber soles but still look like traditional clog styles. This category does not include any
open-toe sandals.
Mules can include open-toe sandals but not thongs or flip-flops. Mules are closed-toe.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): clogs-and-mules-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Special Features, Heel Type, and Occasion/Lifestyle
Men:

Women:
Fashion Sneakers
Fashion Sneakers can be categorized as both Athletic and Outdoor/Fashion Sneakers or simply as Fashion
Sneakers. All casual but non-technical athletic shoes are categorized as Fashion Sneakers. This includes
brands such as Diesel, Pony, Tsubo, most Puma, adidas Originals, and so on.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): fashion-sneakers
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Special Features, and Occasion/Lifestyle
Men: Women:

Flats and Loafers (Women)
Flats and Loafers are closed-toe styles with a heel height of less than 1 inch.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): flats-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Toe Style, Shoe Height, Special Features, and
Occasion/Lifestyle
Loafers
Loafers are traditional slip-on styles. Some have a penny keeper and some are plain Venetian styles.
Some are Monk straps and some are slip-on styles that have a buckle on the side; the buckle can be
ornamental or functional. Please do not include all slip-on casual styles under loafers. Boat shoes are not
loafers. Loafers do not have lace-up styles.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): loafers-shoes
Oxfords and Lace-ups
Oxfords and Lace-ups can be dressy or casual but do not include any Athletic styles or Fashion Sneakers.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): oxfords-shoes

Men: Women:
Pumps
Pumps include all closed-toe dress shoes with a heel of 1 inch or greater. They do not necessarily have to
look like the traditional pump styles.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): pumps-shoes or d-orsay-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Heel Type, Toe Style, Special Features, and
Occasion/Lifestyle
Sandals
Sandals must be open-toe summer styles. For example, espadrilles, which can be made of linen, leather
or nubuck and always have a jute/rope covered sole.

Item_Type_Keyword(s): sandals, athletic-sandals, beach-flip-flops-and-pool-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Heel Type, Special Features, and Occasion/Lifestyle
Men:
Women:
Slippers
Slippers can be open-toe, closed-toe or boot styles. They sometimes have an indoor/outdoor sole.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): slippers
Men: Women:

Work & Safety
Work Shoes are styles made specifically for construction, factory, heavy-machinery, or other industrial
labor jobs. They often have steel toe construction and slip-resistant, heavy-duty soles. Fashion styles that
resemble work boots should not be included. Brands include Dunham, Wolverine, Magnum and Dr.
Martens.
Item_Type_Keyword(s): work-and-safety-shoes
Attributes to include: Department, Material, Toe Style, Shoe Height, Special Features, and
Occasion/Lifestyle
Children's Shoes
Children's Shoe categories follow the same rules.

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About this document

Section II: Title Style

Section III: Key Product Features

Section IV: Product Descriptions

Section VI: Variation Relationships

Section VII: Browse & Search

Section VIII: Visual Guide

2 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Shoes (Approval is required to sell in this category)

3 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Tips on how to create a great title

*Only include the Material in the title if relevant to your product

For Child ASINs:

*Only include the Material in the title if relevant to your product

5 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

6 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Key Product Features

• Do not include promotional language such

• Do not use hyphens, symbols, periods, or

• Do not write vague statements; be as

Note: Tips to improve readability

7 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Incorrect: -Too vague, more like a feature

8 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Note: Zoom Functionality

Examples of correct images

9 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Examples of incorrect images

10 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

There are three Components to a Parent/Child relationship:

Required • Fully describe each child product so they

11 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

How to set up Variations for a product

XML Sample Feed:

Shoe size instructions

FORMAT: [Size]+[Width]+[Sizing-System Locale]+([Gender] and/or [Age Group])

12 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Browse & Search

How to Pick and Apply Terms to an Item

13 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Guidelines for listing your Search Terms

Add a Product in Seller Central

14 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Visual Guide to Shoe Categories

Athletic & Outdoor

Item_Type_Keyword(s): american-handball-shoes, baseball-shoes, cross-trainer-shoes, walking-shoes,

Attributes to include: Department, Closure Type, Material, Special Features, etc.

Boat Shoes & Moccasins

Attributes to include: Department, Closure Type, Material, Special Features, etc.

15 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Item_Type_Keyword(s): boots, rain-boots

Clogs & Mules

16 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Attributes to include: Department, Material, Special Features, and Occasion/Lifestyle

17 © 2012 Amazon Services LLC

Flats and Loafers (Women)

Attributes to include: Department, Material, Special Features, and Occasion/Lifestyle