For those who’ve been doing search engine optimisation for some time, you’ll perceive what I imply after I say class pages are a typical space search engine optimisation and UX consultants disagree on.
And that is for one key purpose: SEOs are likely to need to add extra content material and hyperlinks, and UX consultants need to prioritize clicks to merchandise.
Nevertheless, there’s a center floor the place we will retain the industrial nature of classes and embody content material to assist customers make their buy choice.
All through this information, I’ll present the way to enhance your e-commerce class pages for search engine optimisation whereas making certain the person stays on the core of your choices.
The significance of nice classes can’t be understated.
They’re the location space the place you’ll usually seize “The Fats Head” and “The Chunky Center” of search queries—the high-volume, less-specific queries that the majority bosses/purchasers need to rank for.

That’s to not say classes can’t goal long-tail key phrases. However except you could have lots of SKUs, websites usually goal the long-tail with product pages.
Along with classes being important for capturing visitors from high-volume phrases, additionally they assist:
- Customers uncover your merchandise when navigating your website.
- You successfully distribute PageRank to vital subcategories and merchandise through your inside linking.
- Customers and search engines like google and yahoo perceive your info structure (IA), i.e., the way you’ve organized your content material.
Earlier than we transfer on with some ideas, I’ll introduce the 2 varieties of class pages you’ll discover on e-commerce shops:
- Class itemizing pages (CLP) – Classes that predominantly record classes.
- Product itemizing pages (PLP) – Classes that predominantly record merchandise.
You’ll see CLPs throughout many in style e-commerce shops, they usually’re usually present in classes larger up inside a website’s hierarchy.
For instance, here’s a CLP on ASOS:

And right here is ASOS’ PLP:

So why is knowing the distinction between CLPs and PLPs important?
CLPs goal very broad matters. A website is unlikely to service the person’s necessities by displaying one product kind. For instance, on ASOS’ males’s clothes CLP, it doesn’t know the precise kind of males’s clothes a person needs to see, so it hyperlinks to a mix of various kinds of merchandise.
CLPs exist to assist customers navigate to a extra particular web page. Websites do that, as they gained’t make sure particularly what the person needs but—so that they present them a number of all related product sorts.
With PLPs, then again, websites know what a person needs. If a person searches for “males’s black boots,” the intent is evident—so that they present them black boots.
Whereas we should always nonetheless assist customers navigate to a extra particular class (if attainable), we all know exhibiting an inventory of black boots for them to buy will fulfill their necessities.
Your typical class web page is straightforward and appears just like the PLPs I’ve simply described. They’ll doubtless have:
- An H1.
- A piece below the H1 with some intro copy.
- A listing of merchandise, doubtless with pagination.
- Faceted navigation to assist customers filter the merchandise.
Nevertheless, there are much more components you may embody to assist customers and search engine optimisation on each PLPs and CLPs.
Right here’s a mockup of the essential components it’s best to contemplate for each varieties of classes that each customers and search engines like google and yahoo will love.

I’ll now increase on the above factors all through the remainder of the article that will help you enhance your class pages.
On this state of affairs, useful content material will assist the person make a buying choice.
When you have an “engagement ring” class, writing about the historical past of engagement rings isn’t useful.
Worthwhile supplementary content material on this state of affairs will probably be answering questions like:
- How have you ever sourced your diamonds/metals?
- Are your diamonds lab-grown or pure?
- Why did you choose these? Metals out there? What makes yours higher?
- What’s the most well-liked model?
You’ll be able to briefly reply key ache factors under the H1, often in round 30–60 phrases. However then you may as well add additional info decrease down the web page, both in a generic content material block or an FAQ part.

Not solely is this handy for a person, but it surely additionally helps you rank.
In an interview with Marie Haynes, Google Search Advocate John Mueller mentioned:
When the ecommerce class pages don’t have another content material in any respect, apart from hyperlinks to the merchandise, then it’s actually arduous for us to rank these pages.
Google wants some content material to know the web page’s content material, and customers who don’t know your model want one thing to assist them determine whether or not you’re the only option.
So we all know beneficial content material helps. Nevertheless, that is generally taken to the intense, leading to a considerable amount of content material that no one will learn under the fold.
One of many worst offenders is eBay, with many pages together with over 1,000 phrases of textual content positioned on the backside of the class.

In the identical interview, John mentioned this about that observe.
I’m not saying all of that textual content on the backside of your web page is dangerous, however perhaps 90%, 95% of that textual content is pointless. However some quantity of textual content is helpful to have on a web page in order that we will perceive what this web page is about.
So it’s doubtless not serving to. However is it harming? The reply is probably going—sure.
Our algorithms generally get confused after they have an inventory of merchandise on high and primarily a large article on the underside when our algorithms have to determine the intent of this web page.
Nonetheless not satisfied about eradicating the content material?
Right here’s a case research.
On the finish of June 2021, I completed a four-week rollout of latest class web page content material.
I up to date 191 pages with 70 phrases of content material above the fold. Beforehand, as much as 800 phrases have been above the fold, hidden by a “learn extra” toggle.
Right here’s the visitors for the next weeks (“A” marks the purpose the rollout completed):

Listed here are some snapshots of the rating for key phrases on the highest visitors pages. Every of those moved from 800 phrases to round 70 phrases (they beforehand have been instructed extra content material equals higher, so that they added extra content material to their high pages).

Right here’s the fifth-largest, non-brand question:

And right here’s the sixth-largest, non-brand question:

And the long-term impression?
The location has been steadily rising.

There may be by no means one single purpose for search engine optimisation progress—however this transformation actually did no hurt.
As at all times, do your individual testing. However my expertise and feedback from John have proven that filler content material on classes doesn’t assist.
To summarize class content material:
- Reply questions that assist customers make buy choices
- Reply questions succinctly
- Don’t stuff content material
Most e-commerce options present a manner so that you can set mother or father/little one relationships between classes.
Right here’s an instance of that performance for a WooCommerce product class:

Organizing your classes right into a logical hierarchy ends in your website outputting breadcrumbs appropriately; right here is an instance on my search engine optimisation Toolbelt useful resource:

Breadcrumbs assist customers by indicating the place they’re in your website, they usually assist search engine optimisation by distributing PageRank to the classes throughout the breadcrumbs.
Additionally they assist Google, because it makes use of inside hyperlinks to know website construction.
We do use the inner hyperlinks to higher perceive the construction of a web page.
Nevertheless, breadcrumbs are one thing lots of UX professionals are reluctant to introduce, often as a result of they:
- Take up a number of room.
- Are typically fairly ugly.
- Promote customers to navigate to classes moderately than merchandise the place they’ll convert.
The excellent news is that breadcrumb placement doesn’t matter for search engine optimisation.
I’m at all times cautious about introducing breadcrumbs, as expertise has proven UX consultants are proper. At any time when I’ve purchasers run an A/B check, breadcrumbs have negatively impacted conversion charges.
Nevertheless, the workaround is straightforward: transfer breadcrumbs decrease down the web page.
On each CLP and PLP pages, it’s best to make sure you’re linking to different related classes the person might discover useful. On e-commerce websites, I advocate for a mix of automated inside linking and manually positioned hyperlinks.
Automate hyperlinks to mother or father/little one classes
For giant e-commerce shops, with out automation, managing hyperlinks will probably be an admin nightmare.
Take GetYourGuide, for instance. On its “issues to do” on the U.S. web page, it has a block of inside hyperlinks decrease down the web page to totally different areas within the U.S.

If we head to Colorado, scroll right down to the identical space. Now, it shows cities.

When you go to Boulder, you’ll see hyperlinks to exercise classes.

It most undoubtedly automates these hyperlinks.
How? The location understands the mother or father/little one relationship between classes. That’s the way it may also show static breadcrumbs above the footer.

It’ll be dynamically querying a database for the kid pages of the present web page after which displaying these to customers.

The explanation why that is so helpful is that:
- You realize you gained’t get orphan classes as a result of a human error.
- For those who create a brand new subcategory and set the mother or father class, the mother or father class will hyperlink to the subcategory mechanically.
- Your inside hyperlinks will at all times point out your website construction, e.g., Google will perceive that Louisiana is a subcategory of the U.S. class, as you hyperlink to Louisiana in your U.S. web page.
One other appreciable profit is that you simply’ll mechanically create a pyramid website construction, the place broader pages hyperlink to extra particular ones.

We all know this helps Google perceive website construction, as confirmed by John.
The highest-down strategy or pyramid construction helps us much more to know the context of particular person pages throughout the website.
Automate hyperlinks to comparable classes
Just like the above, you’ll additionally need to hyperlink comparable classes. You’ll be able to automate this, but it surely doesn’t go well with each website.
Again to the Boulder web page on GetYourGuide, it additionally hyperlinks to different in style cities.

For these hyperlinks, it will likely be querying a database, getting the mother or father class of the present web page, after which itemizing the dad and mom’ little one pages.

Subcategories of the mother or father are doubtless related to the present web page, which is able to assist customers discover different pertinent classes and assist search engine optimisation by sharing PageRank between them.
Manually hyperlink in style classes
You’ll now have a great baseline for inside linking. However it’s additionally important to take editorial management of hyperlinks, particularly on CLP pages.
Typically, you may have a excessive search alternative web page deep throughout the website hierarchy, so counting on mother or father classes linking to little one classes may end up in “excessive alternative” classes being too deep.
Due to this fact, it’s essential to additionally make sure you manually add hyperlinks to in style/vital classes to pages nearer to the homepage, equivalent to your CLP pages.

A elementary goal of classes is to hyperlink to merchandise, however there are a couple of nuances on how to do that finest.
Hyperlink to in style merchandise
For bigger shops, prioritizing linking to in style merchandise is commonly higher than linking to all merchandise with pagination.
Take Sports activities Direct within the U.Ok., for instance. On its broad CLP pages, moderately than linking a number of merchandise, it consists of hyperlinks to solely its finest sellers.

That is useful for customers and likewise consolidates PageRank into these URLs, enhancing how properly they rank.

Doing this can be a a lot better choice than linking to extra merchandise (however ones which can be much less in style), which ends up in the favored traffic-driving merchandise receiving much less PageRank and rating worse.

Think about view-all pages
When you ought to goal to hyperlink to in style merchandise for pages larger up in your class hierarchy, as you get deeper into the location, customers are likely to need to see as many merchandise as attainable.
Usually, the easiest way to realize that is by utilizing view-all pages, which is one thing Google discovered customers favor (albeit again in 2011).

The principle caveat with a view-all web page is that customers need quick load occasions (as talked about in Google’s view-all article), and Core Net Vitals can impression rankings.

For those who’re going to implement view-all pages, contemplate that it’ll trigger PageRank to be diluted between all of the pages you hyperlink to from that class.
Don’t go overboard with pagination
You don’t want to indicate all of your merchandise inside your pagination.
As an alternative, hyperlink to extra particular variants of the present class, particularly in the event you can match that to look demand (extra on that shortly).
For instance, on ASOS, its “ladies’s attire” class has 176 pagination element pages.

Each time it hyperlinks to a “ladies’s costume” element web page, it dilutes PageRank. This successfully causes ASOS to lose some PageRank to deep element pages which can be not possible to rank.
Slightly than linking to 176 element URLs, it might restrict the pagination and consolidate PageRank into different extra particular classes by linking to them as an alternative.
Typically, this will even be helpful for UX.
If a person reaches web page #20 of your pagination, you doubtless want to assist them refine what they’re on the lookout for—perhaps by linking to “ladies’s costume” classes by kind or shade—as advised by John.
When creating your pagination technique, it’s best to contemplate whether or not sequential linking like ASOS or linking to a number of element pages is the higher alternative.
Sequential linking causes the primary set of element pages to have stronger indicators, which is able to end result within the product pages they hyperlink to additionally having stronger indicators, as confirmed by John.
For those who hyperlink sequentially, what’s going to typically occur is the primary web page of your website could have quite a bit stronger indicators within the sense that your primary content material hyperlinks to the primary web page, after which it sort of like incrementally drops and drops and drops because it goes via the pagination set.
Due to this fact, if you’d like rating indicators to be unfold throughout all merchandise in a class, hyperlink to extra element pages. If you wish to consolidate indicators into merchandise earlier inside pagination, hyperlink to fewer.
Aren’t positive which strategy it’s best to take? Do some testing!
A well known tactic to enhance your classes is to create long-tail, extra particular variations of broader classes.
Right here’s my favourite manner of doing that utilizing Ahrefs’ Key phrases Explorer.
First, enter the question a broader class is concentrating on, e.g., “engagement rings,” and seek for it within the software.

Subsequent, head to the Matching phrases report.

Within the second left sidebar that now seems, click on “Mother or father Subjects.” It will group key phrases with comparable search outcomes into the very best quantity key phrase.

We’ve now found many long-tail variants of our “engagement rings” pages that we will create on our website.
By creating pages concentrating on these queries and higher masking the subject space of “engagement rings,” we’ll rank higher for broad queries inside that subject.
SEOs usually seek advice from this as “subject experience”—and we didn’t make this up.
John confirmed it’s a part of Google’s algorithms.
It’s one thing the place if we will acknowledge that this web site is de facto good for this broader subject space, then if somebody is looking for that broader subject space, we will attempt to present that web site as properly. We don’t should purely deal with particular person pages, however we’ll say oh, like, it seems such as you’re on the lookout for a brand new laptop computer like this web site has lots of info on varied aspects round laptops.
Wish to know extra? Learn Ahrefs CMO Tim Soulo’s information on the long-tail key phrase technique.
A essential ingredient that may go unsuitable on class pages is the way you cope with faceted navigation (sometimes called “filters”).
Right here’s an instance of 1 on the Nike retailer:

I like to recommend studying my faceted navigation information for all the small print, however the major search engine optimisation issues are to:
- Prohibit crawling – Do make sure you forestall Google from crawling all side hyperlinks (as there will be tens of millions of potential mixtures, losing your crawl price range).
- Forestall indexing of low-value aspects – For those who don’t, Google can index a whole lot of hundreds to tens of millions of primarily duplicate pages that aren’t helpful for search.
For those who’re going for an excellent implementation, you’re going to need to:
- Apply aspects client-side with AJAX, and don’t embody
<a href>
hyperlinks. - Present alternate crawl paths to vital aspects you need to be listed.
This subject is undoubtedly a technical one—and one you’ll need to get proper. So I suggest you learn my information so that you don’t simply forestall search engine optimisation points with aspects however reap the benefits of the advantages.
Information from Reevoo suggests constructive evaluations lead to an 18% uplift in income on common—so that they’re fairly vital.
Many websites limit evaluations to product pages, however they’re additionally nice to incorporate in classes.
Fanatical is a good instance, an e-commerce retailer promoting Steam Keys for PC video games.

It consists of suggestions from different avid gamers all through its classes.
This provides distinctive content material to classes and helps customers discover well-reviewed video games. Crucially, well-reviewed video games (which usually tend to convert) get extra PageRank and rank higher.
As talked about, one ingredient usually missed in classes is that it’s best to present content material to assist customers make a buying choice.
Whereas including written content material to the web page helps, it isn’t meant to be overly detailed. This is the reason you must also hyperlink to in-depth guides.
Take Sephora, for instance. Its CLPs have hyperlinks to guides to assist customers determine on a product.

For search engine optimisation, this additionally helps the weblog posts rank, as they’ll obtain extra PageRank. Additionally, it helps Google higher perceive your subject experience, as you could have a number of interlinked content material.
There may be loads of recommendation on URL construction already out there, however the primary ingredient to think about is to select a format you gained’t want to vary.
John acknowledged that URLs are identifiers for content material.
For essentially the most half, we deal with URLs as identifiers of content material.
Altering URLs (and redirecting them) is commonly deemed dangerous exercise—you may’t make sure how lengthy it’ll take Google to consolidate indicators into the brand new URL.
Due to this fact, it’s finest to not change URLs except you could have a great purpose (such as you’re rebranding).
Stopping URL adjustments for classes comes right down to protecting them easy and pre-planning.
For instance, you might inform your builders to construction URLs primarily based on the mother or father/little one relationships between classes:
www.instance.com/mens/
www.instance.com/mens/trainers/
www.instance.com/mens/trainers/white/
However what occurs in the event you change your website hierarchy?
Say the enterprise begins promoting boots. You’ll doubtless need to introduce a “Sneakers” class into the hierarchy because the mother or father of the “Trainers” web page and the brand new “Boots” web page.
Your URLs will now change to be:
www.instance.com/mens/
www.instance.com/mens/sneakers/
www.instance.com/mens/sneakers/trainers/
www.instance.com/mens/sneakers/trainers/white/
www.instance.com/mens/sneakers/boots/
We’ve now simply brought about redirects for the “Coach” URL and any subcategories it had.
Herein lies the problems with hierarchical structured URLs.
However what’s the answer?
Maintain them so simple as attainable to scale back the necessity for adjustments.
Right here’s an instance: If for the “white trainers” URL above, we instruct builders to take the very top-level class (which is much less prone to change) after which embody the final class, the URL will probably be this: www.instance.com/mens/white-trainers/
Now, if any of the mother or father classes of the white coach’s class change, it gained’t impression the URL however will nonetheless have an effect on the breadcrumbs.
However wouldn’t or not it’s higher to take away the construction and have a flat URL like this: www.instance.com/mens-white-trainers/?
My private expertise right here is that structured URLs impression rankings, regardless of what Google mentioned on the subject.
Right here’s a current instance:

This uplift solely impacted the modified URLs. We altered nothing else however noticed a direct impression.
Take a look at this your self. But additionally, as I’ve talked about, altering URLs is dangerous.
Fortunately, for my above instance, we didn’t want to vary too many URLs, and the income threat to the enterprise wasn’t important vs. the reward I’d had doing this for different purchasers.
I’m not writing a key phrase analysis article, and it’s good to begin there earlier than you determine on H1s and title tags. However the recommendation right here is that it’s best to use H1s and title tags in your website that match the language customers use to seek out your product.
For each H1s and title tags, it’s best to check and be taught what works finest to your website. However there are some basic guides and issues you may attempt out.
Use templates
Typically, it would be best to have a templated title tag construction that intently matches your H1.
Why?
Ahrefs information reveals Google will rewrite your title tag in 33.4% of circumstances after altering the way it created web page titles in August 2021.

When Google rewrites your title tag, Ahrefs information reveals Google will change it to your H1 tag 50.76% of the time.

One of the best ways to make sure you have a title tag that Google gained’t rewrite is by templating it so it’s generated primarily based in your web page’s H1.
Right here’s an instance: [Page H1] – [Brand Name].
You could need to add some selection to the web page title, however what works finest comes right down to testing.
Take a look at, check, check
There are a lot of totally different assessments you may run to see what works finest for you; listed here are some examples:
- Use dashes (-) over pipes (|)
- Embody a value – [Page H1] ranging from X – [Brand name]
- Add “Purchase” firstly of your title tag – Purchase [Page H1] – [Brand name]
- Add secondary key phrases – [Page H1] – [Secondary Keyword] – [Brand Name]
You’ll additionally need to contemplate how templates might differ by size. Google is 57% extra prone to rewrite titles over 600 px.

In line with Google, lengthy titles are additionally a purpose why it’ll rewrite those you add to your pages.

I’ve tackled this earlier than by individually customizing a template for an extended class identify or utilizing totally different templates—relying on the size of the generated title tag.
You’ll be able to add a number of structured information sorts to your class pages to assist Google higher perceive your content material and purchase wealthy outcomes.
The principle relevant sorts Google recommends in its search gallery are:
Including these will immediately impression your SERP snippet.
For FAQs, it enhances them by displaying the FAQs on the SERPs, which is the technique Journey Advisor takes.

For breadcrumb structured information, Google reveals the breadcrumbs on the SERPs. Right here’s an instance of Google doing that for Currys within the U.Ok.

You’ll be able to see the structured information it’s added in the Schema Markup validator:

Exterior of these two sorts, Google has no suggestions for product class structured information.
However you don’t should cease there.
On a “Search Off the Report” podcast, Ryan Levering (workers software program engineer engaged on structured information at Google) answered whether or not structured information past what Google recommends is efficacious (like what yow will discover on schema.org).
So it’s arduous to convey that in a few of our reporting and stuff that we really discover this [structured data] helpful as a result of it’s a nuanced calculation.
However when there may be issues detecting it [what the page’s content is about], we will use it as an additional sign.
So it’s often on the sting circumstances the place we discover that stuff helpful.
Whereas including additional structured information ought to be a secondary focus, I are likely to take the strategy of leaving as little for Google to determine as attainable.
The 2 primary extra issues I’d contemplate including are:
As well as, you may as well add mainEntity to CollectionPage and add the ItemList inside that. By doing this, you inform Google the primary a part of the web page is the record of merchandise, serving to it higher perceive that this can be a class web page.
Right here’s a easy instance of what that may look like:
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@kind": "CollectionPage",
"mainEntity": {
"@kind": "ItemList",
"numberOfItems": "[number of products]",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"url": "[Item URL]",
"identify": "[Item Name]"
},
{
"@kind": "ListItem",
"place": 2,
"url": "[Item URL]",
"identify": "[Item Name]"
},
{
"@kind": "ListItem",
"place": 3,
"url": "[Item URL]",
"identify": "[Item Name]"
}
]
}
}
PRO TIP
For evaluations, Google mentions explicitly within the technical tips to not add evaluation markup if the primary content material is a class itemizing gadgets.

It offers the identical instruction for product structured information.

Remaining ideas
There’s quite a bit to think about to make glorious class pages for search engine optimisation. However hopefully, this information has made that course of extra painless.
Received a query about optimizing e-commerce classes? Tweet me.