When customers land on your ecommerce site, their journey should be as seamless as possible. A well-organized category structure helps them find products quickly, improving their shopping experience and, ultimately, conversion rates. Additionally, a logical category hierarchy improves SEO, making your pages more discoverable. Clear marketing structures also benefit from well-defined categories, allowing for better campaign targeting and cross-selling opportunities.
Finding Opportunities for Better Category Organization
1. Collect Data from Users
Before restructuring your categories, analyze how your customers search and navigate your website. A powerful technique to understand their mental model is card sorting—where users categorize products based on their own logic. This method can reveal hidden patterns in how customers expect to find products.
For example, an online fashion store might assume customers search by clothing type (e.g., jackets, shirts, dresses), but a card-sorting study might reveal that many shoppers prefer sorting by occasion (e.g., workwear, casual, formal).
2. Use Keyword Data
Leverage search insights from Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs to understand how users describe products. If many users search for "men’s running shoes" instead of "sports footwear," renaming the category accordingly will enhance visibility and relevance.
A home improvement store might discover that "kitchen lighting" is a more popular search term than "kitchen fixtures." Optimizing category names to match real search queries can lead to increased organic traffic.
3. Analyze Category Performance
Evaluate which categories generate the most revenue and engagement. Are some categories overloaded with too many SKUs while others are too sparse? A furniture retailer might find that "Office Chairs" generates high engagement, whereas "Office Furniture" is too broad and underperforms. In that case, breaking down "Office Furniture" into "Office Chairs," "Desks," and "Storage Solutions" might be more effective.
Best Practices for Structuring Your Ecommerce Categories
1. Be Clear Rather Than Clever
Avoid ambiguous names. A category called "Urban Essentials" might sound trendy but confuses customers. Instead, use "Everyday Clothing" or "Citywear."
2. Prevent Cognitive Overload
Shoppers should not feel overwhelmed by too many options. Keep main categories broad and introduce subcategories to guide users step-by-step. A beauty store should use "Makeup" as a main category and subcategories like "Foundation," "Lipstick," and "Eyeshadow."
3. Leverage Categories and Subcategories
Use a tiered system to simplify browsing. A pet supply store can categorize as follows:
- Dogs → "Food," "Toys," "Grooming Supplies"
- Cats → "Food," "Litter," "Scratchers"
If a customer is looking for cat litter, they can navigate effortlessly instead of sifting through unrelated products.
4. Think About User Journey Relationships
Anticipate what customers might need next. If someone is shopping for a garden hose, they may also need a hose adapter or a storage reel. Displaying related items within categories or suggesting relevant add-ons increases order value.
5. Align with Business Goals
Your category structure should support marketing and promotional strategies. If your company aims to promote a specific brand or product line, create dedicated sections. An electronics store launching a new smartphone line might add a top-level category like "Latest Smartphones" to highlight the collection.
User preferences, A/B testing, and internationalization require adapting your categories. Sales Layer PIM ensures accurate, dynamic category updates, improving site navigation, user experience, and SEO for better product visibility and conversions.
Conclusion
Well-organized ecommerce categories simplify navigation, improve SEO, and enhance customer experience—all leading to higher conversions. By gathering user data, leveraging keyword insights, and applying structured best practices, businesses can create a clear and effective shopping journey. A PIM system can further streamline category management, allowing you to dynamically adapt to user behavior and market changes.
