Category pages are more than simply a collection of links to products in your online store. They’re a powerful component of search engine optimization (SEO), fueling search visibility and helping customers find your website. These hard-working pages also drive sales, guiding visitors to the products they’re looking for.
You likely already have category pages on your site, but are they generating tangible results? Follow along as I share top strategies for ecommerce category page SEO. I’ll explain the purpose and value of category pages for search rankings and outline best practices to improve your online visibility and conversion rates.
What Are Category Pages?
Category pages provide links to products with common themes or attributes, funneling customers to the items they’re most interested in. If you visit REI’s online store, you’ll see category pages for climbing gear, sleeping bags, and kids’ clothing, saving users from sifting through unrelated products.
Category pages can be broad or specific, depending on your inventory and audience preferences. REI understands that some customers shop by brand, for example, and has category pages for hundreds of brands.
Types of Category Pages
There are two types of SEO ecommerce category pages:
- Category listing pages are high-level category pages linking to subcategories. They give an overview of different product types so customers can begin narrowing their searches to specific item groups.
- Product listing pages sit deeper in the site hierarchy and lead customers directly to individual product pages. Users can access all available items in a category to browse and compare products.
CVS Pharmacy uses both types of category pages. For example, the category listing page for lotions and moisturizers leads customers to individual product listing pages for face creams, body lotions, hand creams, and foot creams.
The Value of Category Pages for Ecommerce SEO
While category pages are great for user experience and conversions, they’re also critical for lifting your site in search rankings. When you implement ecommerce category page best practices, you:
- Give your site a logical structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your pages.
- Integrate important keywords into your ecommerce store, increasing the number of short and long-tail queries you can rank for.
- Link from top-level category pages to pages deeper in the hierarchy, ensuring search engines discover new pages and distribute page authority for ranking.
- Engage users so they stay on your site longer, showing Google that your content is relevant.
Ecommerce Category Page Best Practices
Below, I’ve put together my top tips for ecommerce category page SEO. By implementing these strategies, you can get your category pages working effectively for your online store.
Identify and Use Long-Tail Categories
Use SEO category pages to incorporate high-intent, long-tail keywords into your site. These search terms attract customers looking for specific items and who are more likely to convert. A kitchen supply store might target “cookware” as a general keyword and use category pages to rank for related long-tail keywords like “ceramic nonstick cookware” or “stainless steel cookware.”
To identify potential long-tail keywords, you can:
- Enter a broad keyword into an ecommerce SEO tool such as Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz to find related terms.
- Start typing a search term into Google or Amazon and review the autocomplete suggestions that pop up.
- Analyze user behavior on your website to see what keywords bring customers to your site and what pages they look at next.
- Track recurring questions fielded by your customer service teams. If they’re often asked about moisturizers with vitamin C, you may need a category page targeting that term.
- Review competing ecommerce stores to see what categories they use on their websites.
Build Out an Intuitive Structure
The way you organize your category pages impacts SEO. Don’t simply build a page and throw it onto your website, as that makes it difficult for search engines to understand context. Ideally, you should have a hierarchy that features broad categories at the top and leads to related subcategories.
There are a few SEO benefits to this type of site structure.
- Search engines learn how pages are related and which ones are more important, helping with crawling and indexing.
- Clusters of thematic content help you strategically target keywords and establish topical authority.
- Higher-ranking parent pages can pass link equity to child pages, improving rankings.
- Users can easily find related products, reducing frustration and enhancing dwell time.
To organize your category pages, group keywords together in a logical way and link between general categories and subcategories. Submit a sitemap to search engines to help them discover and crawl your pages.
Establish Clear Navigation
The goal of category pages is to help customers effortlessly navigate to the products they want so they’re more likely to explore. Their navigation options should be clear, and they shouldn’t have to take unnecessary steps such as hitting the browser’s back button or returning to the homepage to get around your site.
Showcase general categories on your main navigation so users can start their search right away. You can also implement an accordion panel with the subcategories collapsed, keeping the interface clean but highly functional. Breadcrumb navigation and internal search engines also help users quickly find the right products.
Provide Useful Content
A collection of links on a category page can be useful, but not necessarily interesting. Provide some helpful content to guide customers along their journey. From an SEO perspective, rich content gives search engines context about the page’s topic, helping them to accurately match your category pages with relevant queries.
I like how Proctor Silex uses content to introduce its coffee maker category page.
There’s a brief but compelling paragraph highlighting key product features. Depending on your niche, you might add FAQs, short explainer videos, and links to buying guides. Don’t go overboard and clutter the page, but adding concise and helpful information can benefit your ecommerce content marketing efforts.
Create Well-Written Copy
Ecommerce content should be engaging and invite users to browse your site further. Include keywords, but don’t unnaturally shoehorn them in. Take time to create people-first content that’s geared toward human readers.
Aim to create copy that is:
- Polished and professional.
- Neatly formatted and easy to read.
- Aligned with your brand voice to build familiarity and trust with your audience.
- Crafted in an appropriate tone to resonate with readers.
Add Structured Data
Structured data is another key element of SEO for ecommerce category pages. Also known as schema markup, this code tells search engines what different pieces of content on your web page mean.
While structured data doesn’t directly influence your rankings, it does enable search engines to create rich snippets that can encourage clicks. Images, prices, and star ratings make your snippet stand out in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and draw attention to your web page.
To mark up your category page, decide which content you would like to feature. Visit the Schema.org website for a list of schema types and add the appropriate product schema to your HTML using a tool such as Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
Integrate Links To Relevant Categories
Customers usually land on a site in search of a specific product, but you can encourage them to discover other items by recommending related product categories. Someone looking for children’s parkas might be prompted to browse boots or scarves if the option is clear and accessible.
If you anticipate customer needs, you can improve time spent on the site and demonstrate your store’s relevance for SEO ranking purposes. You could also boost your conversions and average order value.
To decide which categories to link to, analyze audience behavior on your website and see what kinds of products users tend to look at together. You can also link within category hierarchies or to product categories that often go together. Use headers such as “Related Products,” “Customers Also Viewed,” or “You Might Be Interested In” to capture attention.
Showcase Reviews
According to a TrustPilot study, 89% of consumers read reviews as part of their buying journey. Online shoppers, in particular, want reassurance that they’re purchasing quality products from credible businesses.
Adding social proof to your category pages is an easy way to highlight your top-rated products and give customers confidence in proceeding with their purchases. Consider adding aggregate star ratings to each product listed on the category page to encourage users to click through to view the item. In a separate block, you can also showcase reviews of high-rated products as recommendations.
Don’t forget to implement product page SEO to encourage shoppers to purchase once they click through to individual product descriptions.
Optimize Title Tags and H1s
When you integrate primary keywords into title tags and H1s, you show search engines the relevancy of your category pages for different queries. The H1 is the main header on your category page and should accurately describe the contents so customers know they’ve landed in the right place. “Women’s Nike Clothing” or “Living Room Furniture Sets” are typical category page H1s.
Search engines often use title tags as the clickable headline in a search snippet. Craft a compelling title tag that encourages clicks and sends traffic to your ecommerce store, but keep it shorter than 60 characters. You could add your brand name to boost visibility, use a verb like “shop” or “buy” to motivate action, or highlight offers such as free delivery. Examples of effective title tags are “Merrell Hiking Shoes & Boots – DICK’S Sporting Goods” and “Hiking Shoes | Best Prices at DICK’S.”
Systematize URL Structure
Enhance your category page SEO by using simple, readable URLs. Try to leverage keywords and reflect your site hierarchy. For example, if you have a category listing page for pet food that leads to a product listing page for dry dog food, you might create the following URLs:
- example.com/pet-food
- example.com/pet-food/dry-dog-food
This type of construction benefits both search engines and users. The URLs describe the content of the category page and where it’s located in your site hierarchy. They also look trustworthy and help encourage clicks. To optimize URLs:
- Keep them brief but descriptive.
- Use concise keywords.
- Separate words with hyphens.
- Avoid using special characters.
- Use lowercase.
Include Image Alt Text
Finally, optimize the images on your category pages with alt text. This improves accessibility and helps search engines understand the context of an image. When crafting alt text:
- Incorporate a keyword, but don’t repeat it.
- Be descriptive and mention color, size, brand, and other important features.
- Avoid superlatives and subjective language such as “best” or “pretty.”
- Avoid using “photo of,” as this is redundant.
Watch Your Rankings Climb
Ecommerce category page SEO can improve traffic and conversions, working most effectively as part of an overall strategy. Our ecommerce SEO agency can help with site audits, link building, content creation, and all aspects of on-page, off-page, and technical optimization. Reach out for a free consultation and learn how partnering with Victorious can turn your website into a thriving ecommerce powerhouse.
