How would you optimise category pages for an online store?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Map categories to search demand and intent
- Unique titles, headings and helpful intro or buying guide content
- Strong internal linking and breadcrumbs
- Manage facets and pagination carefully
- Fast performance and good UX
- Structured data such as breadcrumbs, and product data on product pages
Model answer
Category pages often have the biggest SEO potential in ecommerce because they match broad commercial searches like 'women's running shoes'. I start by mapping categories and subcategories to real search demand, sometimes creating new landing pages for valuable filter combinations. Each category gets a unique title and H1 that match intent, plus short helpful content, like key buying tips, placed so it does not push products down too far. I make sure the internal linking is strong, with clear navigation, breadcrumbs and links from related categories and guides. Faceted navigation needs control, so low-value filter combinations are not crawled, while pagination uses normal crawlable links. Page speed and Core Web Vitals matter a lot on product-heavy pages. Finally, I add breadcrumb structured data and keep out-of-stock handling sensible so pages do not empty out.
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