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Steps for setting up eCommerce category pages

eCommerce graphic

Before you add products to your eCommerce website, you will first need to add your product attributes and create your product category pages.

For search engines, your category pages are more important than your product pages as they make it easier for search engines to accurately index your site.

Top 10 things people buy on Amazon

Creating category pages

Below is an example of a category named Menswear, which consists of two subcategories: shirts and trousers.

Menswear Category

Menswear >> Shirts

Menswear >> Trousers

  • Your Category menu should be added to the top of your page.
  • Try to create keyword-specific categories and subcategories.
  • Do not make your category names too long, or they will not fit in the page menu.
  • Do not add too many subcategories. Visitors may become overwhelmed and confused, if you display too many options.
  • Add a detailed category description and include your relevant keywords.
  • Add a price range for your category.

If you plan to regularly sell many discounted products, consider having a  Sales category. This is because the terms: cheap and sale are popular consumer keywords.

Manufacturers/brand information

Complete this in full. You can boost sales by optimizing these pages. Some consumers will search for products by manufacturer or brand name. It may be the one keyword search term they use to land on your website. These consumers are often searching for reliability and quality. Add the manufacturer/brand logo to your manufacturer pages.

Price range field

Complete the price range field if you have one. The price range should be realistic for the manufacturer’s price range.

For example:

-60;60-150;150-;

Here, I am allowing the consumer to choose between products of less than $60, between $60.00 and $150.00, or more than $150.00.

Manufacturer description

The manufacturer description should be at least 150 characters of your own words and should sound as natural as possible. The main keyword in this example is the brand name, “Brett and Mann”. Shoppers may expand their search term on this keyword to “Brett and Mann Clothes” or “Clothing by Brett and Mann”.

For example:

This clothing company was founded by John Brett and Alan Mann in 1956. They make quality silk clothing for men, including ties, jumpers and jackets.

Your Meta Title should be brand specific. For example:

Brett and Mann | Men’s Silk Clothing

The above example is fine if Brett and Mann only make silk clothes for men. However, if they also make – say cufflinks – a “Men’s Clothing and Accessories” keyword is more brand specific in this instance.

For example:

Brett and Mann | Men’s Clothing and Accessories

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) and Manufacturer Part Number (MPN)

A SKU is the store or product identification code. The MPN is the product’s unique identification code which is part of the product’s barcode. If you have them, add them to your product information. You will need them if you want to create a Google Product Feed. SKU and MPNs are also useful for generating web analytic reports about product performance.