11 Ways to Improve E-commerce Category Pages for SEO

Ecommerce websites use category pages for conversions and to boost rankings. Like all other eCommerce site pages, it is crucial to spend time optimizing these pages to deliver the best conversion rate.

Category pages are often designed to house different types of products rather than serve as a landing page when it comes to SEO. These category pages usually end up being too broad to compete in search results on their own, and eCommerce stores rarely take advantage of category pages as an avenue for increasing traffic. The good news is that with a little bit of effort you can turn your category pages from just a place to post products into pages your visitors (and search engines) will appreciate. How is this done? We’ll tell you!

Creating SEO Copy

Despite eCommerce category pages not typically featuring extensive text-based content, they do still need SEO copy on them. You should be spreading SEO basics throughout the website since all content has the potential to be helpful for SEO, including on category level pages. You can add SEO copy above or below your product listings provided it is naturally written without keyword stuffing. SEO copy can be expandable or collapsible as well to enable users to navigate pages without inconveniences.

Implementing Faceted Navigation

Ecommerce websites feature multiple product categories that can confuse buyers. Integrating sort and filter features on the website can help users locate what they are looking for easily. However, faceted navigation is not entirely SEO-friendly because it creates multiple URL combinations with duplicate content. To be safe, try not to add indexing to some versions of the faceted navigation to avoid confusing the search engine.

Image Optimization

Displaying product images is essential for improving eCommerce SEO for category pages. The photos require alt text for optimization since it helps the visually impaired understand your page. In addition, it allows search engines to understand what a page is about. While adding images, ensure they are optimized for web and do not affect the site’s speed. Finding a balance between having a fast-loading site with useful pictures is integral.

Using Pagination

Categories are a fundamental way to link products, but eCommerce stores must learn how to do it right. Pagination can help users find items on multiple pages as opposed to scrolling through a long list on a single page and getting lost halfway through. Larger stores can prioritize their popular products in this way as well. When linking popular product pages higher in the category hierarchy, users will have a better chance of finding what they are looking for instead of scrolling through a massive list that includes products they may not be interested in.

Using Product Snippets for a Description

The likelihood of a customer clicking a product listing from a category page is higher when they understand what they are clicking on. For this reason, it is vital to include a snippet giving a short description of the products to entice the user.

Using Schema Markup

Schema markup is a great tool for category pages since they improve eCommerce SEO. This markup contains HTML tags with additional information about page content. Common schema types include product markup, review snippets, and branding. You can manually add schema markup if you have experience doing so, or you can rely on SEO services to help.

Optimizing Long-Tail Keywords

A long-tail keyword combines two or more words that match what the customer is looking for in a more specific manner than a single keyword. Although these keywords typically have lower search volumes, they are highly relevant for your business and have the potential to generate more relevant traffic. It takes a lot of time and money to rank for the top keywords everyone wants and pace out the competition, so long tail keywords are often good for specific products or category pages as a way to get more website traffic in a shorter time frame.

Making the Website User-Friendly

The user experience (UX) is critical for eCommerce websites since great designs make a site visually appealing. The visuals must also complement the site’s operations without ads or other visual elements interfering with how users view content. Your pages must be easy to navigate intuitively so that they can quickly and easily spot what they are looking for. This ensures they can engage with your site pages, providing a fantastic experience. Google will rank your site lower if it determines your site is offering an unsatisfactory experience.

Building Simple URL Structures

An eCommerce website with a simple URL structure enhances the user experience. In addition, it improves eCommerce SEO efforts since it gives search engines more relevant data. A simple URL structure also simplifies sharing products on other sites, including social media. Try keeping your URLs short, easy to read, and to the point. For better optimization, add keywords to the URLs to alert search engines on the content your page holds.

Adding H1 and Title Tags

You can optimize your category pages like other posts and pages on your site. This includes optimizing the page’s H1 tag and content. Each category page can have one H1 tag atop the page, which can feature the page’s title. Even if you make the H1 separate from the category page title, it should contain the keyword you are targeting. After the H1 tag, you can add lines of content to allow users and search engine crawlers to learn more about what the page is about.

Adding Helpful Content

Helpful content can help a buyer make an informed purchasing decision. Providing supplementary content to the product description that answers questions about the products that the user might have is a great way to do this. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are the most common form this type of content appears in and is a format that Google loves as well. These answers should be short, precise, and honestly answer a question a visitor may have.

Category pages act as powerhouses for eCommerce websites and monitoring them closely to improve SEO optimization for them is important. Attracting traffic directly to them is a great way to get your products in front of the eyes of visitors and should not be underestimated as an SEO strategy. By implementing the strategies above, you can identify category page opportunities and capitalize on organic traffic to your site.