Managing an online store can take a lot of effort. When it comes to an online shop, something as simple as creating product categories can be just as important as creating rest of your site. We’ve compiled a series of tips and tricks to help your customers find what they need.

 

Keeping Your Categories Simple

When it comes to naming categories, keep it simple and concise. Creating made-up words for your product can be fun, but make it hard for your customers to find what they want. You will also find that search engines have a difficult time ranking your site. For example, naming a category “Crocmobile” instead of baby stroller sounds fun, but doesn’t help customers or search engines find your store. Instead, labels should be searchable and easily understood so that customers can find exactly what they’re looking for. 

While we encourage you to keep your categories simple, it doesn’t mean there is no room for creativity. For example, you can add creative labels in your product description. If your brand provides a niche service or product, you will find that giving it a made up name and its own category can show customers you bring something unique to the table. If you do decide to keep a creative or brand name attached to your categories, be sure to include a general keyword along side it – this case perhaps “Crocmobile baby stroller.”

 

Add Sub Categories

It can be overwhelming to have so much information on one page. For instance, an online clothing store might have a “For Men” category which can range from shirts, to pants, to ties. To help customers find what they’re looking for, consider implementing hierarchical subcategories. This means starting with a broad topic that eventually splits into subcategories. As you go down the hierarchy, each subcategory becomes more and more specific.  Following the example above, “For Men” would be your main category, with “shirts” being its subcategory. Farther down the hierarchy, you would find “dress shirts” or “casual shirts” as possible further subcategories.

 

Analyze Product Categories

The ultimate goal of an e-commerce website is to make money. To do that, you need to find out which products are most popular and how many people are buying them. You should be regularly checking the numbers behind your product categories to see which products customers are interested in, and how many of those clicks turn into conversions rather than abandoned carts. You should also study how customers are navigating through your site. Are they following the hierarchical format that you’ve laid out for them, or are they jumping randomly from page to page? All of these factors can help you understand which product categories you want to promote and emphasize on the front page.  

 

Creating a “Whats New” Category

Whether you’re targeting new or existing customers, adding a “Whats New” section gives exposure to newer products but also shows consumers that your brand is always improving and developing. In this category, you are free to test how new products are received by the public while also keeping your website looking fresh and innovative. If you feel these products need more exposure, offering limited-time discounts can be an effective way to get the ball rolling with your customers. 

 

Review Ratings

As consumers, we’re often taught that sticking to big name companies is the safest. If you’re not an established brand, it can be hard to find customers willing to try your product. To combat this, you need to gain the trust of your customers. One way to do that is to introduce ratings to each product category. This means giving customers who bought your product a chance to review and post their opinion of your product. Here, you can gain credibility from customers and see which products are working for your business.

 

Selecting the right categories can often times be overlooked in the rush and excitement of setting up your online store. However careful consideration of how to organize your categories can help your customers find what they’re looking for and allow you to make more sales. A win-win in our books!

How do you decide to organize your online store?