Product descriptions & category pages
-
Hi
I wanted to ask if anyone knew how much, if at all, product page titles/descriptions affected the rankings of the category page they're linked from?
I am looking for ways to improve the ranking of category pages, but we don't want to put too much content which overshadows the product listings.
Thanks!
-
Thanks for everyone's comments, this is helpful!
Does anyone have any advice on how to better boost category pages? We are looking at user guides, and more content - but this won't all be directly on the category page.
Ill have a bit of content on then category page, but this alone isn't going to have a huge impact.
Becky
-
Hi Becky,
I'm not sure that product titles / descriptions would directly affect rankings as such i.e. writing good titles and descriptions is unlikely to make the category pages suddenly jump up in rankings. However I can see how it would help Google better understand the topic of the category as a whole, which may allow the category page to rank for a wider range of keywords.
The one thing to be careful of is that you don't accidentally confuse Google with your keyword targeting. So you should try and make sure that your target keywords map to different pages and don't cross over too much. If you cover the same keywords across a category page and a product page, it may confuse Google and they won't know which one to rank for that set of keywords - which means they may rank the wrong one and not rank as highly as they could.
I hope that helps!
Paddy
-
I've recently looked into category page in Wordpress. If I understand your question correctly, you're asking if the title/description of a product pages affects the linked category page. The answer is not directly, and not much at all if any. If you're using WP you can install the YOAST SEO plugin and use it to force descriptive titles/descriptions of category pages. Let me know how it goes.
-
One other point, try including preview descriptions for products that appear on category pages. These are an additional way of including key words on the category page that does not detract from the product. Bullet points work well, they're are clear and neat.
-
From experience, product page titles provide a ranking boost to the category page. They tell Google what the category is about, and are a good place to include keywords. In a category where there are loads of products, be wary of keyword stuffing.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What happens when most of the website visitors end up at an "noindex" log-in page?
Hi all, As most of the users are visiting our website for log-in, we are planning to deindex login page. As they cannpt find it on SERP, they gonna visit our website and login; I just wonder what happens when most of the visitors just end up at homepage by browsing into an "noindex" page. Obviously it increases bounce rate and exit rate as they just gonna disappear. Is this going to push down us in rankings? What are the other concerns to check about? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
Dates appear before home page description in the SERPs- HUGE drop in rankings
We have been on the first page of Google for a number of years for search terms including 'SEO Agency', 'SEO Agency London' etc. A few months ago we made some changes to the design of the home page (added a blog feed), and made changes to the website sitemap. Two days ago (two months after last site changes were made) we dropped subsantially in the SERPs for all home page keywords. Where we are found, a date appears before the description in the SERPs, dating February 2012 (which is when we launched the original website). The site has been through a revamp since then, yet it still shows 2012. This has been followed by a few additional strange things, including the sitelinks that Google is choosing to show (which including author bio pages showing in homepage site links), and googling our brand name no longer brings up sitelinks in the SERPs. The problem only affects the home page. All other pages are performing as standard. When Penguin 4.0 came out we saw a noted improvement in our SERP performance, and our backlinks are good and quality, largely from PR efforts. Of course, I would be interested in additional pairs of eyes on the back links to see if anyone thinks that I have missed anything! We have 3 of our senior SEOs working on trying to figure out what is going on and how to resolve it, but I would be very interested if anyone has any thoughts?
Algorithm Updates | | GoUp3 -
Doorway Algorithm Update Affecting Location Based Pages?
Hi all, I read this article concerning the doorway algorithm update - http://searchengineland.com/google-to-launch-new-doorway-page-penalty-algorithm-216974 This quote is what got my attention: "How do you know if your web pages are classified as a “doorway page?” Google said asked yourself these questions: Is the purpose to optimize for search engines and funnel visitors into the actual usable or relevant portion of your site, or are they an integral part of your site’s user experience? Are the pages intended to rank on generic terms yet the content presented on the page is very specific? Do the pages duplicate useful aggregations of items (locations, products, etc.) that already exist on the site for the purpose of capturing more search traffic? Are these pages made solely for drawing affiliate traffic and sending users along without creating unique value in content or functionality? Do these pages exist as an “island?” Are they difficult or impossible to navigate to from other parts of your site? Are links to such pages from other pages within the site or network of sites created just for search engines?" We utilize location based pages for ourselves and a few clients too. **Example Case: ** -We attempt to rank for "keyword city/state" - "keyword city/state" - "keyword city/state" The keywords will often be the same such as "AC Repair" or "Physical Therapy" etc. with city / state combination such as "Tulsa, OK" "Seattle, WA" etc. The goal is to rank locally for those terms (NAP is applicable in some circumstances). Does the above case classify as a Doorway page? According to that definition, it does. However, this is a business that services that area. Some don't have physical address there but they do service that area (whether it be AC Repair or Website Design). Please advise me as to what a doorway page is exactly & if my practice is in-line. Thanks, Cole
Algorithm Updates | | ColeLusby0 -
Page 1 all of a sudden for two clients
Hello, So, for many months, a couple of my clients have had a handful of terms that they were ranking for on Page 2. All of a sudden in the past month, both clients have moved up to Page 1, #2 for most of their terms. I have been working on some optimization tests and made minor changes, but I am concerned because the consistency of the #2 position for both clients for all of the previously Page 2 ranking keywords. I have seen this type of Google increase for clients before, and my experience has shown that it is a test from Google-so, from Google's perspective: "we're going to move your rankings up to Page 1 and see what you do with this to prove to us that your site is worth the position". Anyone had any experience with this kind of movement? Thanks so much in advance..
Algorithm Updates | | lfrazer0 -
Is it stil a rule that Google will only index pages up to three tiers deep? Or has this changed?
I haven't looked into this in a while, it used to be that you didn't want to bury pages beyond three clicks from the main page. What is the rule now in order to have deep pages indexed?
Algorithm Updates | | seoessentials0 -
Which Google Snippet to use? Products or Review
A "product" page that includes "user reviews/ratings" and "comparison prices", which Google snippet do/should you use? Thanks in advance
Algorithm Updates | | righty0 -
Specific Page Penalty?
Having trouble to figure out why one of our pages is not ranking in SERPs, on-page optimisation looks decent to me. Checked by using gInfinity extension and searched for the page URL. Can one page be penalised from Google engines (.ie / .com ) and the rest of the website not penalised? The (possible) penalised page is showing in Google places in SERPs. I assume this would not show if it was penalised. Would appreciate any advice. Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | notnem0 -
Google Cached Pages
I made some on-site changes to a site last week, in particular their page titles. This was all done on the same day at the same time. Now, one of those pages, got re-indexed on August 8th and has my updated changes, which also helped with my ranking. The other page I made changes to still shows a cached version from July 27th, which is before I made the changes. Why wouldn't google have an updated page from August 8th for both pages, not just one?
Algorithm Updates | | MichaelWeisbaum0