An informational product page AND a shop page (for same brand)

[MouthyPR]

Hi all,

This is my first foray into e-commerce SEO.

I'm working with a new client who sells upscale eBikes online.  Since his products are expensive, he wants to have informational pages about the brands he sells eg. www.example.com/brand. However these brands are also category pages for his online shop eg. www.example.com/shop/brand

I'm worried about keyword cannibalization and adding an extra step/click to get to the shop (right now the navigational menu takes you to the information page and from there you have to click to get to the shop)

I'm pretty sure it would make more sense to have ONE killer shopping page that includes all the brand information but I want to be 100% sure before I advise him to take this big step.

Thoughts?

[EGOL]

My concern is that page 1 and page 2 are redundant.

They are only redundant if they are filled with identical content.  Content about brands can be sales information or information of many other types.. how to select amount their models, how to use, how to repair, accessories available, many, many other types of information - each different, each targeting a different searcher, each capable of stimulating conversion, each a candidate for producing links.

Entire websites can be made from one brand, one product line, one model... potential customers, new buyers, long-time owners, service providers, journalists, and many other types of people love this type of website.

[MouthyPR]

So continue with the car example, my client currently has the following types of pages:

1. A brand page www.example.com/Kia (explains all about the brand, not connected to woo commerce )

2. A 'brand' category page in the shop, where all the products of the brand are listed www.example.com/shop/kia

3. Product pages (the specific cars) - www.example.com/shop/Kia-Sorento-2017

My concern is that 'page type 1' and 'page type 2' are redundant.

His reason for wanting to have both 'page type 1' and 'page type 2' has to do with the template and it's limitations (on 'type 2' category pages, any added info/text currently displays above the products - so they aren't seen right away).

So the question is which is better:

a) Is it OK for his site to have both ' page type 1' www.example.com/kia  and 'page type 2'? www.example.com/shop/kia.... Or

b) Should he remove the 'page type 1" brand pages (www.example.com/kia), only have the 'page type 2' brand category pages in the shop (www.example.com/shop/kia) and find a way to display all the detailed text explaining about Kia below the images (as opposed to above, which the template is currently designed to do)

[EGOL]

Using cars as an example....  And here we are using CONSUMER language....

Brand:  Kia

Model: Sorento

Configuration:   Kia Sorento 2.4L LX

Year:  2017 Kia Sorento 2.4L LX

Category:  Sport Utility  or   Mid-Size

On a car dealer's website there might be multiple ways to arrange these, both on the pages, in the subfolders, in the navigational hierarchy.

Kia  >>  Sorento  >>  2017  >>  2.4L XL

2017  >>  Kia  >>  Sorento  >>  2.4L XL

Sport Utility  >>  Kia  >>  Sorento  >>  2017  >>  2.4L XL

There are many other ways... which method to use depends upon what products you have and how you want to present them to your customers.

2017, Kia, Sorento, Sport Utility, Mid Size, New/Used, Price Range, Mileage, etc can all be category pages.

Product pages are going to be either individual cars, or they could be pages farther up in the hierarchy with multiple products.

[MouthyPR]

Sorry to come back to this again, but could you define MODEL and BRAND pages?

What I understood from you is that 'MODEL pages' are the specific product pages in the store, whereas 'brand pages' would be category pages in the shop. Is that correct?

Just to be clear, my client is interested in having:

1. Brand pages, explaining the brand, not connected to woo commerce

2. Product category pages (products that qualify as urban bikes, family bikes, also grouped as a brand

3. Product pages, for the specific bike models he's selling

My concern is that having two brand pages (as both regular Wordpress pages and also Woo Commerce product category pages) will lead to keyword cannibalization. Thanks for helping to clarify.

[EGOL]

I would make extremely detailed MODEL pages.  They would be enormous in size, telling all of the benefits about each model.  I would also have enormous brand pages, summarizing each model and including comparisons that help the customer select the right one.  For the brand you can also have detailed maintenance pages, pages about safety, and much more.

People who purchase this type of product want a lot of information.  Your website can be the "go to place" for every model and the entire brand.  I would make it better than the manufacturer's website.

This client is already selling these bikes.  He should know all of the questions that people ask before they buy, all of the questions that they have after the purchase and all of the questions that they don't ask but should be askin'.   I'd put a lot of work into this if I was your client, especially if nobody has done anything like this before.  Then I would release it an promote it like mad.