What is optimizing category landing pages about? On-page, off-page, or technical SEO? It turns out that it is a combination of all of them. And you got to do them all right.
Landing pages lead the audience to the products and encourage them to make a purchase. eCommerce category pages also serve as landing pages (apart from the homepage and product pages).
This page categorizes, displays, and optimizes the products the associated business(es) sell. When you think about it, more people may come to your site through this page than the homepage.
Take the eCommerce site as a mall. Then, the category page will be like a map that tells you the location of different products or store types.
Aside from getting tons of new traffic, optimizing the product page will also boost your SEO. So, let’s show you how you can do it in today’s article.
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Why Optimize eCommerce Category Landing Pages?
Like how a restaurant owner will want their menu book to look appealing, so should an eCommerce website owner. Aside from pleasing your customers, there are other ways it can help your SEO,
For example-
Helping Google Crawlers Understand Your Content
The category page is like a link hub that links to all the types of products on the site. So, when submitting your website to search engines, the sitemap will also include it.
Thus, Google crawlers can use these links to understand your content quickly. It will realize the connection among all the pages on your site. It helps them rank your site quicker and guide people to your category page.
Helping with Broad Keywords
When someone is planning to buy a specific product, let’s say, skin lotion, this is how they usually search it online-
- They go for specific product pages saved on their browser beforehand. Or,
- They search ‘skin lotion’ or ‘best skin lotion for dry/oily skin’ online. Or,
- They search for ‘skin lotion price’ or ‘best skin lotion brands.’
The latter two will almost always show them search results of product category pages from different eCommerce websites related to pets.
Category pages may let you target search queries like ‘skin lotion’ or ‘buy skin lotion’ easily. It can even go to a broader search term, like ‘skincare products.’
As a result, the broad keywords on the product category pages have a higher search volume compared to specific product keywords in the product pages.
Optimizing category pages helps with keyword targeting and boosts your revenue.
The Two Types of Category Pages
When we narrow it down, there are only two types of category pages.
- The one that categorizes the different subcategories. It helps with broader search queries and keywords.
- The one that categorizes individual products. It helps with specific keywords or niche-focused search queries.
How to Optimize an eCommerce Category Landing Page
An eCommerce category page optimization involves all types of SEO, including on-page, off-page, and technical SEO.
Here are some tips on how you can optimize your eCommerce site’s category landing page for the search engines-
Structuring the Category Page Appropriately
Let’s bring up our earlier analogy. You have two restaurant menu designs. One includes coffee, fruit juice, soda, etc., under one category: drinks.
Meanwhile, the other ones divide the drinks into subcategories- coffee, soda, alcoholic beverages, etc. It goes without saying that most people will have a better user experience from the second design.
It is the same for product category pages on eCommerce sites. Organize the product types logically to help visitors quickly find what they want.
If you are running a site for school or office supplies and accessories, then you can categorize them into main types first-
- School supplies, office supplies, furniture, printers and scanners, etc.
Then, you can subcategorize each section. So, office supplies may contain subcategories like-
- Office basics, binders, planners, etc.
Afterward, you may even further have categories among them. For example, office basics can have-
- Pocket folders, scissors, staplers, etc.
Finally, each section can lead visitors to the collection of products. Staples’s category page is an ideal example of what we said so far.
Having a Hierarchy of Category URLs
Each category and subcategory hierarchy in an eCommerce site, explained in our last point, should have a proper URL to help crawlers.
It prevents crawlers from missing out on any page or repeating the same page when crawling. An ideal URL hierarchy structure can be-
- Petstore.com/cats (the ‘cats’ here is a subfolder
- Petstore.com/cats/collars (the ‘collars’ here is a slug)
- Petstore.com/cats/collers?type=buckle (the ‘?type=buckle’ here is a parameter)
While short URLs don’t impede Google crawlers as much as many think, it is still ideal to have shorter URLs for various reasons. A clean URL is also pleasant to see for visitors.
Making Long Tail Categories
While long-tail categories have lower search volumes than broader keywords or short-tail ones, the former has a higher conversion rate.
A study by Embryo found that long-tail keywords offer a conversion rate of 36%, while short-tail ones are limited to 115%. Why is that, you may wonder? There are two large reasons.
- Firstly, long tail keywords are focused on a specific product within broader categories. So, the search engine understands what a buyer is looking for quicker than short-tail keywords.
For example, searching for home devices will give someone a whole lot of different products in the search results. However, if they search for speakers, it will pinpoint specific category pages about speakers.
- Secondly, long-tail keywords help with your site’s voice search optimization. Around 58% of smartphone users in the USA use voice searches, using Siri, Alexa, etc., to find their desired products.
Most of these voice searches utilize long-tail keywords. So, targeting long-tail search queries helps get these audiences on your site, too.
For example, Hoka’s ‘cold weather gear’ before the winter season is a wise move. Many people will be looking for cold-weather shoes during October and end up on their page.
If you search for ‘cold weather shoes’ and scroll down a bit, Hoka appears as the first eCommerce site.
It is happening because Hoka targets the long tail keyword- ‘cold weather gear.’
Optimizing Meta Data and Title Tags
After searching on the search engine for a product, the product category pages come with unique title tags and meta descriptions. So, what are they?
Title tags are the title of each result on the SERP that you see after searching. Meanwhile, the meta description is the summary under that title. Check the following image, for example-
Both title tags and meta descriptions must be keyword-rich. Here are some standards you should follow when making them-
Title Tags-
- Within 60 characters
- Relevant and keyword(s)-included
- Interesting (if possible)
Meta Description-
- Short (under 160 characters)
- Descriptive and keyword-rich
Aside from compelling the audience to enter your site, title tags and metadata also help Google understand the site’s context. Remember to update your category page metadata regularly.
Also, keep one H1 on the category page (only one), which is different from a title tag.
Uniform Layout
A consistent layout falls within the designing aspect, which is an on-page SEO. It helps customers navigate quickly through the category page and has a better user experience.
Your product category page, sub-category page, and sub-subcategory page should all have the same layout and design. Some points regarding this topic are-
Choosing the same color scheme
- Same fonts
- Same header and footer position and design
- Same organization of products and categories
- Same place for the buttons and call-to-action (CTAs) with same design, if possible
Using the same layout will also be easier for the designer team since they can copy-paste lots of stuff. Moreover, it is easier to design on WordPress.
However, if it ever comes to design vs functionality, choose the latter.
Faceted Navigation
Faceted navigation is filters on eCommerce sites that make it easier to find a product with specific details. It can include color, size, price range, rating, brand, etc.
From a user’s point of view, filters help them greatly, allowing for a better user experience. It also converts up to 26%. Some sites add it to the side on the category or product pages-
While others make a separate page for the faceted navigation, like eBay-
The issue with Google crawlers with faceted navigation is that the latter often have multiple URL combinations that point to the same product, confusing the former.
Moreover, the faceted navigation URLs tend to be long, which doesn’t contribute much to the technical SEO. You don’t search for a product like- ‘men’s shoes in black from Nike, priced between $60-$100.’
They are strictly for a higher conversion rate and better user experience (on-page SEO).
- You can edit your sitemap in the robot.txt file to prevent crawlers from indexing the faceted URLs.
- Otherwise, you can use the no-follow directive to do the same thing. Both processes take professional-level expertise in website development (especially backend).
Having a Compelling and Focused Copy
There won’t be much space for a copy on the category page. So, when adding one, it needs to be short (400-800 words) and include the necessary bits.
When we say necessary, we mean sentences that can compel visitors to make a purchase. So, only add information like-
- Your material sources
- The choosing process for your products
- Pain points and your solution to them
Adding a FAQ or Q&A Section
We often don’t see category pages having FAQ sections as much as there should be. After all, it increases the eCommerce site conversion rate up to 157.1%.
When people get the answers to their questions, they are satisfied with the experience. Their trust on the site increases.
It is a great on-page SEO tactic. Since it is a helpful part, Google bots also like this.
Category pages aren’t there to compare with landing pages, but they are landing pages themselves. So, we recommend not to neglect to optimize them like many new eCommerce site owners often do.
By optimizing them with means like adding URL hierarchy, FAQ, reviews, copy, uniform structure, etc., you can get three birds with one stone:
Higher conversion, better user experience, and improved SEO.
