The old system of emailing KDP support to request additional categories is gone. Here is what actually controls your category placement beyond your three chosen slots — and how to influence it.
| 8-minute read | Intermediate |
If you have encountered advice telling you to email KDP support to request additional categories for your book, that advice is out of date. The support request pathway for additional category placements was removed in mid-2023. Your three dashboard-selected slots are your complete manual allocation. For the full category strategy, see our complete guide to Amazon KDP categories.
What Happened to the Support Request System
Before mid-2023, KDP authors could email support with a list of desired Amazon browse category paths and have them added to their book — up to ten total categories. Amazon ended this system as part of its 2023 category overhaul, replacing BISAC-code selection with direct Amazon store category selection and eliminating the support request pathway entirely. KDP support no longer adds categories on request, and the template for requesting them no longer exists in the help system.
Some authors report mixed results attempting to request category changes through Amazon Author Central rather than KDP support, but this is inconsistent and cannot be relied upon as a strategy.
How Amazon Assigns Additional Categories Algorithmically
Beyond your three manually selected categories, Amazon’s algorithm reads your full metadata — title, subtitle, description, and backend keyword fields — and may place your book in additional browse categories based on what it determines is relevant. You cannot directly control or guarantee these placements, but they do happen, and authors sometimes find their book appearing in category bestseller lists beyond the three they chose.
These algorithmically assigned placements are not permanent guarantees. Amazon may add or remove them as it recalibrates its understanding of your book’s genre and relevance. They are a bonus, not a dependable strategy.
Using Keywords to Influence Placement
The most reliable way to influence your category placement — both to stay in your chosen categories and to encourage additional algorithmically assigned ones — is through your backend keyword fields. Amazon treats keywords as genre and context signals alongside your categories. Keywords that accurately reinforce your genre position help the algorithm understand and maintain your category placement.
Category-Anchoring Keyword Strategy
Amazon may move your book to different categories if it determines your metadata does not match your selections — this happens more often than most authors realise. Using one or two of your seven keyword fields to include phrases specifically associated with your chosen categories (category-anchoring keywords) reduces the risk of unwanted reassignment.
If your book is placed in British Detectives and Amateur Sleuths categories, including phrases like “British detective cosy mystery” and “amateur sleuth village mystery” in your keyword fields sends a matching signal that reinforces the placement. See our article on KDP keyword research for the full keyword strategy.
Checking Where Amazon Has Placed You
After publishing or updating categories, always check your actual Amazon product page — not just the KDP dashboard — to see which categories your book appears in. The Product Details section lists all your current category placements, including any algorithmically assigned ones beyond your three choices. Your book’s bestseller rankings will also show which categories you are ranked in.
Check this 72 hours after publishing or updating, once the re-indexing period has completed.
If Amazon Moves You to Wrong Categories
If you find your book in categories you did not choose and do not want: update your chosen categories through the KDP dashboard to stronger alternatives, and simultaneously review your keyword fields and description to ensure your metadata accurately signals your intended genre. If your book consistently gets moved away from your chosen categories, the issue is likely a metadata mismatch — your title, description, or keywords are signalling a different genre than your category selection, and the algorithm is resolving the conflict in its own way.
Your category strategy brings the right readers to your book. Manuscript proofreading before publishing from Vappingo ensures the content those readers find is error-free and publication-ready.
