Why are category descriptions in an online store a real SEO powerhouse?

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When creating content for an e-shop, we usually deal with two types of texts:
- product descriptions;
- category descriptions.

The first ones are of course descriptions of a specific product, its features, properties, advantages and benefits resulting from its use. The second type of content concerns the parent structure, i.e. the category in which specific products with similar features are located. It will be easiest to explain this using the example of, for example, a women's fashion store.

The structure of a women's fashion store is usually based on several main categories and second-order categories (subcategories).
For example, it might look like this:




In the Orsay store, we have three levels of categories. The first one groups products into: New Arrivals, Products, Sale. In the Products category, we already have subcategories indicating types of women's wardrobe (Dresses, Jeans, Trousers, Jackets, etc.). These in turn are broken down into further subcategories indicating specific types of trousers, dresses, etc. For example, in the "Dresses" category, you will find more detailed categories that sort dresses by type of material (knitwear), length (maxi), or occasion (evening).

Categories help in the proper arrangement of the assortment, grouping and make it easier for the customer to find a product that will meet their needs. If the customer is looking only for maxi dresses, she will immediately go to the category with this type of long dresses. She will not waste time digging through the Dresses category, where all types of them are thrown.

As you can see, categories make navigation on the site clearer, helping customers quickly find what they want. However, this is not the only benefit that comes from categories.

OK, but why should I invest in category descriptions?
Good question. Categories have long been neglected, especially by e-shop owners who did not fully realize the important role they play in the visibility of their shop in search engines. For many of them, product descriptions were more important, because it is ultimately the product page that the customer enters and the final transaction is made from this tab. And categories? And who reads that? Who cares anyway?

Actually, it's...nobody.

Honestly? Me neither. Sometimes a text might interest me, but only for purely professional reasons. I suspect that the average user doesn't bother reading this type of text at all. And it's hard to blame them. In the vast majority of cases, category descriptions are boring and completely useless.

There is SOMEONE, however, who loves digging through category descriptions in online stores. And his name is GOOGLEBOT . Yes, my dears. Category pages are of great importance for SEO, and for this reason it is worth considering developing good category descriptions in your online stores.

Category pages are very important (if not the most important) for e-commerce sites. Properly optimized category pages can provide high rankings for keywords that can potentially generate sales and revenue.

What does this mean?

Let's say you run a women's fashion store and one of your sales departments is women's dresses. Customers who want to buy a dress usually have specific requirements for it, but they are not always specific. They are not looking architect title before name for "blue knee-length dress with flowers and long sleeves for a wedding" , but rather they are looking for "dresses for a wedding" , "maxi dresses for a wedding".

As you can see below, almost 246,000 people are looking for wedding dresses, and only 590 of those specific maxi length dresses.



Source: ubersuggest.com

If we want to position ourselves for a general phrase like "wedding dresses", the category in the e-shop is a great "tool" that will help us achieve this goal. Why?

Because Google wants to give the user the most valuable search results possible. And a valuable search result is one that contains valuable content for the user. In the case of an e-shop, this content is many valuable products that will correspond to the search phrase. For a woman searching for "wedding dresses", a link with a lot of "wedding dresses" will be valuable. Simple?

And what groups such similar products in an e-shop? Huh?

Tada!

This is our CATEGORY .

A category is a very valuable link for the search engine, which contains answers to Internet users' questions. For this reason, the algorithm will push a category link higher in the search results faster than a link to a regular page.
In other words, we will index the category link much faster and higher, because Google values ​​this type of links.

Now that we know that categories are useful, and even have a significant impact on attracting traffic from search engines, it is worth taking a closer look at them and considering what can be done to make the category page attractive to users and robots, and to produce the expected results.

Here are some tips to help you optimize your category page for SEO.
#1. Optimize your category URLs.
The work of optimizing categories begins with the proper form of URLs. It is important that the URL of the category accurately (shortly and concisely) defines its content (without additional characters or unnecessary information).
So let's stick to our dress shop. For example, if you have a category of evening dresses, your URL should be: https://przykladowysklep.pl/sukienki-wieczorowe

#2. Optimize your category titles.
Category titles are key to search engine results, so it's important to include keywords that your customers are looking for.
When creating your titles, consider the following:

a. Find out what your customers are looking for.
Knowing the keywords people are using to search for your product will help you get better titles. Examples of this are SENUTO, SEMSTORM, and Ubersuggest.com

b. Make sure the title is in the right form.
It is a good practice to start the title with the strongest keywords. Add the brand name at the end. For example:
Evening dresses: maxi, mini, midi | mojsklep.pl

c. Use specific features of the category products in the title.
For example, if you have a category page that features the hottest summer dresses, make sure that's reflected in the category title. "Summer Dresses - Hottest Floral Prints"