Listings attribute

guide

Overview
This guide is for sellers who want to learn how to select attributes when listing a product in the
Amazon store.

Jump to:
What’s an attribute?
Why do I need to select attributes?
Types of attributes
Attributes via ‘Add a Product’
Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’
Key takeaways
Listing attribute guide

What’s an attribute?

Attributes are information about your product that you must enter when listing or updating a
product. You can find them in our Browse Tree Guides (BTGs). Depending on a category, the
required attributes will differ. For example, if you sell shoes, you’ll be required to enter
attributes such as Shoe size and Color. Whereas if you’re selling books, you’ll be required to
enter Publisher and Publication date attribute.

On the Add a Product page, you’ll see attributes listed in each tab.

If you download a template via ‘Add Products via Upload’, you’ll see attributes listed below each
field name.

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Listing attribute guide

Why do I need to select attributes?

Sellers populate attributes, which Amazon uses to help customers find products. Providing
accurate, specific data about the items you sell can help Amazon surface your products in search
while providing detailed product specifications to customers. Amazon uses attributes to
generate keyword search results and to automatically assign products to browse navigation.
Providing attributes increases the quality of your product details and enhances the shopping
experience for our customers.

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Listing attribute guide

Types of attributes

Required

Required attributes are the minimum values necessary to create a product listing in the Amazon
store. Required fields can be identified by their red borders. You must enter attributes into these
fields to submit your listing. Failure to enter a valid value in a required field will prevent your
product from being added to the Amazon store.

Conditional

Conditional attributes may be required depending on the values you enter in a template.
For example, you must provide package_dimensions_unit_of_measure if you want to
enter package length.

Optional

Optional fields give customers product information that is useful, but not critical, when making
buying decisions. We recommend that you provide as many optional attributes as possible for
your product. In some cases, optional fields may be important to your product or business—or
even required according to your seller agreement.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add a Product’

One way to add attributes in Seller Central when creating a new

individual listing is via Add a Product.

In the top left corner of Seller Central, click the menu icon to
expand the main menu.

To create a new listing, click Inventory,

and then Add a Product.

To create a new individual listing, click I’m

adding a product not sold on Amazon. To
add multiple products by uploading a file,
select Add Products via Upload from the
Inventory section of the main menu.

Note: Make sure your product doesn’t

already exist in the Amazon store.

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Listing attribute guides

Attributes via ‘Add a Product’ (cont.)

Select a product type by either searching for a

category in the search box or browsing for a category.

Once you select your category, you’ll be directed to the listing page. The attributes will differ
and appear automatically based on the category you selected. Red exclamation points indicate
product attribute groups that require your attention.

Make sure to click the More attributes toggle button to see all attributes.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add a Product’ (cont.)

Required attributes have asterisks and fields with red borders, while optional attributes
don’t. When you make selections that require additional product information, conditional
attribute sections will appear. These will have asterisks and red borders like required
attribute sections.

Required

Optional

After you fill out all the required attributes in a given

section, the red exclamation points will disappear.
Complete the sections beneath each tab by entering
your product information. Then click Save and finish.

If you click Save and finish without completing all

required sections, you’ll get an error message that
shows the number of items that need your attention.
Click OK, check and complete each tab’s section as
needed, and click Save and finish again.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’

If you’re a professional seller, you can also add attributes via spreadsheet when uploading
multiple listings at once.

How to generate a template

At the top left corner of Seller Central, click the menu icon to
expand the main menu.

To generate a template, click Inventory,

then Add Products via Upload.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’

(cont.)

On this page, you can generate

customized inventory templates
specific to the type of products
you sell. Using the template, you
can list information for different
types of products across multiple
categories in one place rather than
uploading individual ASINs.

1. Select the types of products you want to list by either using the search tool or selecting
from the product classifier box.

2. If you’re registered in more than one marketplace, you have the option to select which
marketplace(s) to list in.

3. Select the type of template: Advanced or Custom.

a. Advanced: Contains all attribute groups associated with the selected products.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’

(cont.)

b. Custom: Allows you to choose

attribute groups associated with
the selected products that you can
add to your template. This option
includes the Required Attributes
fields as default. Click the attribute
groups from the Available
Attribute groups list, then click
Add > to select the attribute
groups.

Note: The Basic and Offer attribute groups are required. Make sure to add at least these
two attribute groups.

4. Click Generate Template.

5. Once you’ve generated a template, it’ll become available in the template list at the bottom
of the page. You can click the document name to download it.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’

(cont.)

Attributes in the template

Open the downloaded template and read through the instructions.

The Data Definitions sheet contains the acceptable values that can be used as you fill out the
Template sheet. It also indicates whether a field is required or optional.

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Listing attribute guide

Attributes via ‘Add Products via Upload’

(cont.)

When you’re ready to add attributes, click the Template tab at the bottom and add the listing
information to its sheet. We recommend you add as much detail as you can to help customers
make the most informed purchase decisions possible.

In the Template sheet, click the cell in the Product Type

column. The drop-down menu button will appear. Click
the button, and select the product type.

Once you select the product type, the template will show required attributes in red while
irrelevant attributes will be grayed out.

Note: Required sections must be filled in. Without complete required sections, the template
can’t be uploaded properly.

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Listing attribute guide

Key takeaways

Now that we’ve covered how to add attributes, you have the tools to get started with listing
your products so customers can find them. Remember:
• It’s important to complete all required attribute sections.
• In Seller Central, required sections have red borders. In templates, required sections have
red borders once you select a product type. Optional attributes don’t have red borders.
• Make sure to fill out all required attribute fields.

Image
(center align
with guide)

Additional resources
• Keyword attributes explained
• Product Attributes in Lighting
• Build your inventory file

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