This week’s Ask an SEO comes from the manager of a medium-sized eCommerce website:
“Our product pages rank well, but our category pages rarely show up in search results. What specific SEO strategies can help increasing visibility?”
Thanks for your question!
This is a common challenge for e-commerce site owners. Category pages have great potential to drive traffic, but often don’t rank well in search results, making increasing visibility even more important for long-term growth.
First Thoughts
If your product pages are doing well in search but your category pages aren’t, it might be because category pages usually target broader keywords that are harder to rank for.
Product pages often match more specific searches, which are less competitive. On the other hand, category pages try to rank for more general terms that have higher competition.
Here are some common reasons why your product pages perform better — and some simple tips to help your category pages get increasing visibility too:
1. Technical Accessibility
Sometimes, your category pages don’t rank simply because search engines can’t access or index them properly.
To fix this, make sure:
- Noindex tags aren’t added by mistake — these can stop your pages from showing up in search results.
- Robots.txt file isn’t blocking your category pages from being crawled by search engines.
- Canonical tags are set up correctly and point to the main version of each page — this avoids confusion for search engines.
2. Site Architecture and Internal Linking
Your website might be set up to give more link value to product pages instead of category pages. This can make category pages harder to rank well.
To improve this, focus on linking more to your category pages—especially the ones that can bring in the most sales. You can add links from other category pages, blog posts, guides, or any relevant content.
By linking to category pages more often, you show search engines that these pages are important.
It’s also helpful to analyse which category pages have the best potential, so you know where to put your linking efforts.
Finally, make sure your breadcrumbs are clear and easy to find. Breadcrumbs help visitors understand where they are on your site and encourage them to explore more, which also signals search engines about your site’s structure.
3. Issues with Faceted Navigation
Faceted navigation lets shoppers filter products on big eCommerce sites, which is very helpful. But if it’s not set up carefully, it can cause SEO problems.
One big issue is called “index bloat.” This happens when too many different URLs are created for all filter options, often creating duplicates.
This can waste search engines’ time crawling your site and make them miss important pages.
It can also cause duplicate content, hurt your category page rankings, and weaken how link value spreads across your site.
To fix this, limit how many filtered pages you let search engines index—usually no more than two at a time.
Which filters you choose should depend on what people are actually searching for.
For example, don’t index a very specific filter like “size 7, green, wide fit, running shoe” if almost no one searches for that.
But a filter like “green size 7 running shoe” might be worth indexing because more people are likely to look for it.
4. Insufficient or Low-Quality Content on Category Pages
From my experience, good on-page content can make a big difference for category pages. Adding clear, helpful text gives search engines a better idea of what your page is about.
Search engines like pages that offer useful information to visitors.
But many category pages just show long lists of products without any explanation. This is a missed chance to rank higher and attract more visitors.
Here are a few ways to boost their chances:
Short Introductions at the Top
Many e-commerce sites add a short introduction at the top of their category pages.
It doesn’t have to be long—around 100 words is enough—and it helps search engines understand what the page is about. Make sure the text is original and useful, not just generic or copied content.
A good intro should explain the category and mention the variety of products or brands you offer.
For example, if the category is “running shoes,” the introduction might describe the different materials, colours, and types of running shoes available, and what kinds of runs they’re suitable for.
Guidance Lower Down
Lower on the page, you can add extra sections to help shoppers decide what to buy.
Common options include:
- FAQs
- Product comparisons
- Details about your brand
- Tips on how to choose products
- Videos
- Shipping and delivery info
5. Lack of On-Page optimisation
Your category pages might not fully match what people are searching for. It’s a good idea to review and improve your on-page SEO to better fit user intent.
Page Titles
If your category page titles are too generic or not well written, search engines may not understand what the page is about, and users might not want to click on them in search results.
To improve titles:
- Look at what your competitors are using in search results.
- Make sure each category page has a unique title to avoid confusion.
- Keep titles between 50-60 characters so they don’t get cut off.
- Include important details like product features (such as colour or size) if they help users find what they want.
Meta Descriptions
A good meta description for a category page should encourage people to click by clearly showing what the page offers.
Keep it short—about 150-160 characters—so it doesn’t get cut off in search results. Make sure it answers what users might be looking for, like “best [category] for [specific need].”
Header Tags
For category pages, your headers should clearly show what the page is about and match what shoppers are looking for.
Use a clear, keyword-focused H1 heading, like “Men’s Running Shoes,” to describe the main category.
Then, use H2 headings for subcategories or filters, such as “Top Rated” or “Shop by Brand,” to organise the content.
On product pages, headers should be more detailed and specific to each item.
6. Missing or Poor Schema Markup
Now we’re looking at some technical things that can help your category pages rank better.
Maybe your product pages have good schema markup, but your category pages need more work or updates.
Here are a few easy steps you can take:
- Add Bread-crumb-List schema to category pages. This helps search engines understand where the page fits in your website, improving internal linking.
- Use structured data that applies to the whole category if possible.
- Check if any important structured data is missing from your category pages and add it.
7. Keep Your Content Fresh
Many people create category pages, but then leave them unchanged for a long time.
Updating these pages regularly shows search engines that your site is active, which can help your rankings.
Keep Pages Up to Date
Feature popular, best-selling, or seasonal products at the top to keep things fresh.
Add Recent Reviews
Include new customer reviews on your category pages. Fresh reviews show that your products are popular and trusted.
Update Your Text
As trends change and new products arrive, make sure your page content reflects the latest information.
Final Thought
I hope these ideas help your category pages get more attention – and complement your already successful product pages.