Ecommerce category pages (aka “collection pages on Shopify) attract online shoppers interested in specific groups of products such as “travel suitcases for kids” or “magnetic baby clothes”, for example. As a Shopify store owner, good ecommerce category page SEO that optimizes broad keywords will get your store in front of these ready-to-buy shoppers, without having to pay for ads.
Even as a “small” Shopify store, your category page can appear above established brands in search results by following simple ecommerce category page best practices. Just like this ‘unknown’ ecommerce brand, MagneticMe, outranks established brands and the almighty Amazon with good category page SEO.
This store is an excellent example of how to SEO ecommerce category pages the right way.
The rest of this post will discuss why product category pages matter to ecommerce sites and how to SEO category pages for results like Magnetic Me.
Why category pages matter for SEO
Ecommerce category pages group products into categories so shoppers can find similar products easily.
These pages are designed to group products with similar attributes together. By organizing products in this way, category pages improve the shopping experience for your potential customers as they can easily find what they are looking for.
Organizing your product pages into categories also helps search engines like Google, Bing, etc., understand the relationships between different pages on your site – which can lead to higher placements in search results. Magnetic Me’s optimized category pages help it rank in the number 1 position across multiple categories, ranging from rompers to blankets.
A well-optimized category page helps your store attract customers using broad, high-volume keywords.
For example, Magnetic Me optimized its ‘baby clothes’ category page to attract customers searching for “magnetic baby clothes”, a high-volume keyword with 1,300 monthly searches.
Category pages also improve the user experience by organizing products into logical groups of similar products, which can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates. There’s a high chance that a shopper searching for magnetic baby clothes to gift a new mum will probably click on some products on this page – and maybe even make a purchase.
Category pages also serve as hubs for internal linking. They make your store easier for search engines to ‘crawl’ while distributing authority to individual product pages and strengthening overall site rankings.
For example, Magnetic Me’s baby clothes category page also distributes authority to individual product pages featuring sub-categories like footies, pajamas, and more.
To figure out how to optimize ecommerce category pages for your brand like Magnetic Me did, it’s crucial to understand how SEO works.
How ecommerce category page SEO works
SEO works for category pages exactly the same way it does for other online properties and page types.
As a rule of thumb, any change to your store that helps shoppers and search engine crawlers easily find what they are looking for improves your store’s SEO.
These changes work for several reasons:
- When you organize categories logically, search engines can analyze them quickly and store them in their central databases (aka ‘index them’) so that online searchers can quickly discover them.
- Using targeted keywords in titles, descriptions, and headers in existing category pages signals to search engines that your page is relevant to customers’ searches.
- Proper internal linking directs users to relevant products, involving fewer clicks. This makes the user experience smoother and sends the right signals to search engines.
- Updating pages regularly with fresh content helps your site adapt to changing search trends. This keeps your pages relevant and improves your rankings over time – and it applies to all the pages in your ecommerce store, not just category pages. MagneticMe practices this beautifully by updating its front page to feature a holiday-themed carousel and festive prints.
And these are just a few reasons for optimizing your category pages for SEO. But when it comes to putting the work in, there’s a right and wrong way to do things. It’s easy to spend time and resources optimizing pages without direction, only to find that the needle hasn’t moved in 6 months.
That’s why it’s critical to optimize category pages for SEO according to best practices.
How to optimize category pages for SEO in practice
Now that you understand how this all works let’s get down to business and discuss the specifics of optimizing your category pages.
1. Research relevant keywords to your store
Keyword research is what you do to find the broad keywords your customers are searching for.
The easiest and quickest way to do this is to use a keyword research tool to discover and research these keywords. Here’s a rough example of what keyword research looks like.
To improve eCommerce category pages, start with keyword research to find what broad keywords your customers are searching for.
In the example above, I used Ahrefs, but a free tool like Google Keyword Planner will also help you find the right keywords. Your main job is to:
- discover new keywords you may not have previously paid attention to
- find high-volume, broad keywords with low competition for your main category pages
- find long tail keywords to use in product pages
You want words and phrases that bring the right visitors to your page. To find these, you’ll need to identify commonly used terms by your target audience.
In the image above, all the keywords featured refer to the same product. However, the terms people use to search for this item depend on their region. A store using the term “tracksuit bottoms” in its categories will easily attract a maximum of 100 organic searches each month.
However, if the same store changes to “wide leg sweatpants”, it instantly appeals to 1000% more searchers. That’s the power of keyword research.
While powerful, the entire process of discovering new keywords and digging deeper to find their broad and long-tail counterparts can take hours.
You can speed this up significantly by using Plug In SEO to audit your store. The app scans your store and automates your keyword research in no time. After scanning your store, just head over to the Keyword Studio to find a list of relevant keywords in seconds.
From here, you can vet the list and delete irrelevant keywords or add those that you may have missed.
Now, incorporate your vetted keywords into your category page content naturally. Prioritize keywords that align with your products and user intent. Don’t forget to strategically integrate secondary keywords in product listings and meta descriptions to enhance your SEO efforts.
2. Optimize Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions briefly summarize your page content, while title tags are the first thing users see in search results. Both are critical for SEO.
Remember those keywords you found at the keyword research stage above? Classify these into primary and secondary keywords and use them generously in your meta descriptions and title tags.
As a rule of thumb, your title tag should include the main keyword and be under 60 characters, while your meta description should not exceed 160 characters.
3. Optimize Category Page Structure and Organization
Good site architecture and internal linking are critical for eCommerce websites. The best ecommerce category pages use both effective vertical and horizontal navigation menus to improve accessibility, just like MagneticMe does.
As you can see, MagneticMe organizes its horizontal navigation by theme (e.g Holiday, Disney), then by subject (Baby, Kids, Adult). This well-structured category page serves two purposes: prospective customers can head straight for what they need, and search engines can also crawl categories easily.
You can replicate this by organizing your categories logically, keeping each category intuitive and easy to navigate. MagneticMe does this by making all categories one to two levels deep and linking them all to the homepage.
4. Use Internal Links Effectively
Internal linking is like building inroads throughout your website. Internal links help spread ranking power around your site and signal to search engines which pages are important.
In practice, this can look like creating valuable blog content where you add links to your products. Your aim is to interconnect pages to guide users to interesting products or content.
While embarking on this, you’ll need to remember to routinely fix broken links and maintain clear URL structure. Thankfully, Shopify makes it easy to edit your URLs, keeping them simple and descriptive.
5. Leverage Breadcrumbs as a Navigational Aid
Breadcrumbs show users where they are on your site and how they got there. They are a series of text links that help users navigate back to categories or home pages. Breadcrumbs improve the user experience by making navigation smooth and intuitive.
From an SEO perspective, breadcrumbs are also beneficial. They can help distribute link juice across pages. They show search engines how different parts of your site connect. When using breadcrumbs, make sure they match your URL structure to avoid confusion.
Proper breadcrumb usage leads to better navigation and boosts overall SEO. They provide a consistent path through your website, enhancing user satisfaction and retention.
6. Enhance Your User’s Experience
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, don’t sleep on your user experience when boosting your ecommerce category page SEO.
A consistent layout across all category pages, complemented by high-quality visuals and a functional design, contributes to a positive user experience.
Also, remember to improve your store speed to keep users engaged. When users can quickly and easily find what they are looking for, they are more likely to stay on your site longer and make a purchase.
7. Use Structured Data to Make Your Store More Visible
Structured data helps search engines understand your page better. Using schema markup helps you provide detailed information about your products. While this might not be enabled in all regions, structured data helps display “rich snippets” in search results, which stand out more in regions where it counts.
If this sounds too technical, don’t panic. All you need to do is register for a Google Merchant Center account (If you don’t already have one!). You’ll then need to update fields directly (aka “rich data”), such as product prices, reviews, and availability.
8. Improve Load Times for Better User Engagement
All the SEO improvements in the world wouldn’t work if your ecommerce store loads slowly, frustrates users, and makes them leave. A fast website is a no-brainer, as instant responses keep users interested and reduce bounce rates. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for load times of under 3 seconds to keep users engaged.
To achieve this, consider optimizing images, using a content delivery network (CDN), and minifying CSS and JavaScript. Faster load times lead to better user experiences and can positively impact your search rankings. Remember, every second counts in retaining user interest.
9. Optimize Content
Content optimization shouldn’t stop at your products and category pages.
Your blog is also a powerful tool when used strategically. You can funnel target customers from search queries to valuable content in your blog and finally to your product pages where they (hopefully!) make purchases.
Each of these pages serves a unique purpose. Use blog pages to position your products as helpful solutions to a problem. Then, use your product pages to encourage visitors to make purchases.
Here are some tips for executing this:
Use descriptive text in product category pages
Descriptive text is vital for creating high-converting category pages. This text style helps your visitors understand what the category offers. When writing content for these pages, use clear and concise language to describe the items within the category.
Don’t forget your category headings, either! Optimize your headings with relevant keywords, as this helps your category pages rank organically while helping your users navigate your ecommerce store easily. Aim to create headings that are both informative and engaging. Use bullet points or short lists where possible to break up the text and make information easier to digest.
Provide helpful content
Keep your category page content helpful (with buying guides, FAQs, etc.) to address prospective customers’ concerns and give them reasons to buy.
A great example of a store that uses helpful content strategically is Be Still Farms, an organic farm food store. They invest heavily in creating blog content that ranks at the Number 1 Position for multiple keywords. People click on blog posts, find helpful information and hopefully click through to product pages.
Here’s what the impact of this strategy looks like:
Other ways you can optimize your store content include:
- Providing detailed product descriptions on category pages.
- Including important features and benefits in descriptions.
- Highlighting key specifications in italics or bold to draw attention.
- Using tables to compare products to support decision-making while improving SEO value.
Can You Optimize Category Pages for Conversions?
Yes, you can.
Conversion optimization is all about turning your existing traffic into paying customers, and category pages are a critical area to focus on. Your aim is to create product category pages that convince users to click on your product pages and make a purchase.
To optimize your product category pages for conversion, start with a clear and concise layout that guides users effortlessly through your product offerings. One layout that I’ve seen work is:
- Header: [H1] Collection title
- Text: Descriptive intro with a sprinkling of keywords
- Collection Images
- Text: H2 More about the collection, FAQs using each question as a H2 header
Don’t forget to use high-quality visuals to attract attention and show off your product features.
Other small touches like social proof (such as customer reviews and ratings), can also build trust and encourage potential customers to buy. By focusing on these elements, you can create category pages that attract visitors and convert them into loyal customers.
Tools for Continuous Category Page SEO Monitoring
If you follow these steps and track your store rankings, you should see improvements in your SEO over time.
However, improvements in SEO are not permanent (that’s why you can outrank stores that ranked well yesterday. Therefore, it’s critical to stay ahead of the game and create an internal system for making incremental SEO improvements and monitoring the effects of these improvements over time.
You need a tool like Plug In SEO (Shopify only) to help with end-to-end ecommerce category page SEO management. Here’s how this can fit into your workflow:
Before the process: Plug In SEO audits your Shopify ecommerce website, highlighting all under-optimized pages including category pages.
During the process: The app implements first-level keyword research and then walks you through optimizing the pages highlighted during the audit at a deep level. You get text and audio walkthroughs demonstrating clearly what to do with each meta description, title tag, image alt text, or whatever else is destroying your search rankings. The idea is to simplify the steps to the point where a VA can just run with them and report.
After the process: You get access to a handy dashboard that displays your progress over time.
Your category page will print you money – if done right.
In conclusion, your category page holds the key to future ecommerce sales. But you’ll need to put the work in today.
A sensible place to start is with an SEO audit that shows you which category pages are performing below par so that you can target them for optimization.
If you’re a Shopify store owner, Plug In SEO is the best non-negotiable tool for optimizing your category pages and putting them to work. With category page audits, optimization guidance, and constant SEO monitoring, Plug In SEO is the best investment you can make towards optimizing your critical category pages for future revenue. Start your free 14-day trial here.
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