E-Commerce Category Page SEO Best Practices

6 min read
20 December 2023

E-commerce SEO services

While category pages on your e-commerce website may not be as visually appealing as product pages, they're just as vital for search engine optimization - and for converting users into buyers.

Shoppers are still weighing their options when they arrive at your category pages. You are responsible for guiding them to the next step, whether viewing subcategories or specific product pages.

That is why e-commerce SEO services are important!

But how do you attract those customers to visit your category pages in the first place?

Keep reading because I'll walk you through 10 tried-and-true techniques to improve your category page SEO and perhaps bring in more visitors.

Let’s start!

What are category pages and their importance?

Both consumers and search engines rely on category pages. Users benefit from category pages since they help organize content and make finding what they're looking for easier. Category pages allow search engines to index and rank information.

Why is this the case? 

Category pages assist search engines in comprehending the link between various pieces of material and how they fit together. Internal links on category sites can also help specific pieces of content rank higher.

eCommerce Category Page SEO Best Practices

Follow these e-commerce category SEO recommendations to optimize your category pages to rank effectively in search engine results.

1: Conduct keyword research and plan your strategy

The first step in optimizing your category is to develop a target keyword strategy.

As previously stated, consumers who land on category pages are in the middle of their purchasing journey. As a result, you should target both short and mid-tail keyword phrases (such as "women's gloves," "black women's gloves," "discount women's gloves," and so on) on these pages. 

Save more precise, long-tail terms (specific brands, sizes, etc.) for your product pages to minimize keyword cloning.

You can use a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush to discover those keywords and then deploy them appropriately:

  • Meta title (title tag): Target primary and secondary keywords, but also accurately define the category title.
  • Meta Description: Target all keywords, including variations.
  • Descriptions: Target all keywords, including multiple keywords with a single usage (for example, if a primary keyword is part of a secondary keyword phrase).

2: Guidelines for Content

Web marketing revolves around content, which also helps search engine crawlers understand the purpose of your website. Concentrate on content that is relevant to your products or topic matter. Google's Webmaster Guidelines, which should be your brand's initial resource for category page SEO content, provide the best practices in this area:

Create a helpful, information-rich website, and write category pages that summarize your content clearly and properly.

Consider the phrases that users might use to find your category pages, and ensure that your site contains such words.

Allow Google to crawl all site assets that would significantly alter page rendering - CSS, JavaScript, and so on - to help Google fully grasp your site's contents.

3: Optimize URL Structure 

Category pages must have a clean and SEO-friendly URL structure. The URL should be short and easy to read, while still including relevant keywords. 

For instance, rather than a nonexclusive URL like "www.yourstore.com/category123," utilize a design like "www.yourstore.com/item class/key-catchphrase."

This not only makes the page easier for users to use and share, but it also helps search engines comprehend the content. Your URLs should not contain any unnecessary parameters or special characters.

4: Create a List of Relevant Products 

The last thing that drives transformations is the item postings on your category pages. Here are some suggestions for making sure your product listings are useful and relevant:

  • Options for Filtering and Sorting: Allow customers to sort and filter products according to price, color, size, brand, and other factors. As a result, they can now find the things they are looking for more easily.
  • High-quality pictures: Make use of high-quality images that accurately and visually represent your products. Provide users with a comprehensive view of the product by including multiple images taken from various angles.
  • Descriptions of Products: Describe the product clearly and concisely, highlighting its primary advantages and features. In the descriptions, naturally, incorporate keywords.
  • Ratings and Reviews from Clients: Display ratings and reviews from customers to increase conversions and build trust.

5: Schema Markup

Schema markup is an excellent on-page SEO best practice that can give businesses an extra boost in CTR and traffic from search engine results pages (or "SERPs").

The process of introducing structured data or schema markup code to a category/product page is an aspect of on-page search marketing. To be clear, schema (also known as structured data) is not a search engine ranking consideration.

So, how does this affect SEO on category pages?

Beyond the conventional title and description, schema markup adds more information to the search results page. This covers information such as product pricing, user ratings, availability, publication date, and other factors. It improves search engine algorithms' grasp of your site's content.

6: Respond to User Inquiries

When attempting to obtain information from a company's customer service department, do you ever feel as if you're talking to a brick wall?

You're not by yourself. It's a typical sensation, and it often leads to individuals giving up and asking their questions on social media instead. Worse, make unpleasant comments on social media and give negative reviews.

You can't and shouldn't constantly be available to answer questions. You simply need to respond to the FAQs.

When you include a FAQ page, you'll (hopefully) earn more than just pleased customers; you can also leverage internal linking to increase the SEO of your category sites.

Wrapping Up

Using these SEO tactics for category pages will help your website rank higher in search engine results pages. You can guarantee that the right people see your website by optimizing its title tags, meta descriptions, and anchor text.

Implementing these ideas over time should improve the overall experience for your visitors, help your category page SEO, and potentially lead to increased customer loyalty.

 

In case you have found a mistake in the text, please send a message to the author by selecting the mistake and pressing Ctrl-Enter.
Davis Smith 12
Joined: 4 months ago
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