Is there a negative effect to show categories and products on the same page?

[Mike.Bean]

I mean having say 5 different categories on a page and showing the products that are in those categories below the categories.

Just In case people don't want to dig deeper to find there product because they know what they need already.

I would also want those categories for the people that need to do a little more searching and have a better reference guide.

So is there any negatives to my SEO doing it that way?

[Mike.Bean]

Thank you,

My thoughts were close to the same, but I needed to be sure.

Thanks again!

[anthonydnelson]

Hi Mike-

Not at all. Structure your categories to be the most useful for your shoppers. Then allow subcategories to target more specific keywords.

What you're describing is just like having a Men's Shoes category. Within the page, you'd have sections with Dress Shoes, Running Shoes, Casual Shoes, etc. Products from multiple categories will help your visitors realize what they are looking for.

When your shopper realizes what they want, they will drill down into the Running Shoes only section and see products that only fit that mold. Your page title and content on that page will be optimized for something like Men's Running Shoes.

Often times, your base categories, like 'Men's Shoes' will be too broad to rank for unless you are a well-established brand. It's still OK to have them though, as they are needed for user experience. You may find the traffic potential for your site lies in the smaller subcategories and the individual product pages.