The Importance Of Optimising Category Pages
- 19 January, 2021
- Jason Ferry
- SEO Optimisation
Businesses online should know the importance of ecommerce website SEO optimisation, especially for their category pages. Category pages divide an online store’s inventories into easy-to-manage subsections, allowing customers to quickly find products. SEO optimisation can boost a category page’s visibility in the search results for higher site traffic.
But optimising these pages can be challenging for those who are new to SEO, especially without the help of a professional SEO agency. Page optimisation may require creating hybrid copies and unique layouts that have the same functions of informational and commercial pages.
Most of the time, ecommerce websites use category pages to organise their products and services in neat groups to make their customers’ shopping experience better. Most often, these products are sorted into various categories with their own sub-filters and landing pages.
It’s also important for the visual design to be aesthetically appealing and simple enough so users can easily find products without distractions. Therefore, many category pages are made with simple but highly-structured layouts. Moreover, they feature pictures of individual products that redirect users to their corresponding product pages.
Some of the top brands online also make interesting use of their category pages. For instance, apart from the usual search filters, navigational links, and markdown promotions, pages tend to feature only the most important text details, such as the product name and description.
The product images often speak for themselves, so this sort of minimalistic approach makes for as few distractions as possible. With simple product pages, customers can easily navigate around the site, scrolling through the various categorised products until something catches their attention.
However, online businesses are now looking for more methods to increase their sales for a specific product category instead of just focusing on promoting their brand as a whole. The best SEO solution for this is to use keyword-optimised text to improve their page rank and on-page SEO.
Still, SEO professionals are careful when it comes to adding too much text to category pages as it can either help site rankings or distract users, which can affect their shopping experience. Moreover, too much text can cancel out the simplicity of the page layout. There are two main things that businesses can do to level up their SEO ecommerce strategies: maintain a simple and image-focused design and include enough text to target keywords.
It is indeed challenging for most individuals to target keywords on their category pages while maintaining a simple layout. Aside from this, ecommerce site owners are also torn on whether they should optimise category pages or not, which is why most of them seek help from professional SEOs.
The experts always recommend using a well-informed and creative strategy when it comes to category page SEO optimisation. They should also be able to determine the factors that help category pages rank better for their targeted keywords. Some choose to noindex these pages instead of optimising them, but there are better ways, such as:
- Steering clear of keyword stuffing within category pages.
- Optimising internal linking to category pages.
- Building external links to category pages.
- Making it easier for customers to browse category pages from product pages.
There are more ecommerce tactics available for optimising category pages, but the first important step is always to identify which keywords to go for. Therefore, a business needs a professional SEO agency that can conduct thorough keyword research, evaluate ranking difficulty and search volume, analyse search intent, and more to get the best results.
Here at Position1SEO, we have a team of professionals who can provide you with great insights and tactics that can boost your on-page SEO. We are experts in website SEO optimisation, driving organic site traffic and converting your site users into paying customers.
Before working with us, we will provide you with a free, in-depth SEO audit to find out the areas of your website that need improving.
If you are interested, send your queries to office@position1seo.co.uk or call us via 0141 846 0114.