Why category pages hold the key to growth for brands

This talk highlights the often-overlooked power of category pages when looking to grow organic visibility. Building and earning authority to category or service pages is vital for brands and businesses to compete.

Many brands prioritise individual product pages or blog content for SEO efforts, neglecting the strategic value of category pages.

This talk will provide a framework for optimising category pages, linking the right content, and building links at a deeper level to drive topical authority and growth for priority products and services.

Transcript

1. Why category pages hold the key to growth for brands Alex Jones Cartwright Communications speakerdeck.com/alexjonesdigital @alexjonespr @alexjonespr
2. Head of digital at Cartwright Communications 13+ years of experience in PR and digital marketing Worked in a variety of agencies in the Midlands and London Worked with UN, Interflora, Speedo, Admiral Insurance, LexisNexis, Remitly, The AA, eBay, Moonpig, Reebok, and more... #brightonseo @alexjonespr Who am I?
3. There may be things in this session you already know. You are not in the same place now, as when you initially found out. #brightonseo @alexjonespr
4. A category page is a page that sits above your product pages in your site hierarchy. It is essentially a topic page for a group of products. It helps a user navigate to the section of your site they want and find the specific product types they are looking for. A good category page offers... #brightonseo @alexjonespr
5. Increased organic traffic #brightonseo @alexjonespr
6. Stronger brand authority within your niche #brightonseo @alexjonespr
7. Improved conversion rates (visitors turning into customers) #brightonseo @alexjonespr
8. Enhanced user experience (easier navigation, clear product information) #brightonseo @alexjonespr
9. Increased sales and revenue #brightonseo @alexjonespr
10. #brightonseo @alexjonespr The importance of great category pages cannot be understated. They’re the site area where you’ll often capture “The Fat Head” and “The Chunky Middle” of search queries—the high-volume, less- specific queries that most bosses/clients want to rank for.
11. Who has a category page SEO strategy? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
12. Building the foundations Clear category names Detailed category descriptions Use of relevant keywords Effective filters and sorting Enticing calls to action #brightonseo @alexjonespr
13. Building the foundations Internal links to relevant pages Breadcrumb navigation High quality product imagery Pagination or infinite scrolling? Strong core web vitals & page load speeds Structured data - reviews/social proof #brightonseo @alexjonespr
14. #brightonseo @alexjonespr A lot to consider...
15. #brightonseo @alexjonespr An example...
16. #brightonseo @alexjonespr Similar story for B2B and ‘service’ pages too...
17. So we all know the importance of category / service pages? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
18. We all know the benefits? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
19. We all know the theory of how best to build a technically sound page? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
20. We all know what good looks like? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
21. OK - job done? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
22. #brightonseo @alexjonespr Why am I talking about category pages?
23. #brightonseo @alexjonespr In the last 6 months, I have supported and pitched x7 proposals for SEO...
24. #brightonseo @alexjonespr and in every single one, the opportunity for growth is focusing on the category or service pages.
26. Who has looked at a category page’s authority or referring domains in the past year? #brightonseo @alexjonespr
27. “Driving non-branded search terms to high impact category pages by improving trust flow and earning authority is key to boosting organic search growth.” A strategy In a nutshell #brightonseo @alexjonespr
28. Create a blog content strategy in order to gain a competitive advantage The recommended approach Review category pages and implement fixes to improve health Technical fixes Category /service pages Blog & content strategy Further optimise service pages to enhance visibility and conversions Phase two - building visibility Phase one - housekeeping Digital PR to gain links and drive improved visibility to target pages to improve key rankings PR & Digital PR Phase three - driving growth #brightonseo @alexjonespr
29. Page authority of 22 #brightonseo @alexjonespr 8 referring domains Remember the Holland and Barrett example?
30. #brightonseo @alexjonespr Use your preferred SEO tool...
31. Volume of keywords Positions 1-5 Positions 5-10 Positions 10+ 0 20 40 60 80 100 Then look at enhancement opportunities... 49 26 99 KEYWORD RANK SEARCH VOLUME sports nutrition supplements 5 110 supplement store 5 1,000 sport nutrition 7 1,300 gym supplements 9 2,400 sports nutrition 11 1,900 #brightonseo @alexjonespr
32. 2 DOMAIN CATEGORY PAGE CATEGORY PAGE Content Campaign Reactive PR PR stories 3 This then feeds into your off-site / earned media efforts #brightonseo @alexjonespr
33. 2 It does work #brightonseo @alexjonespr
34. #brightonseo @alexjonespr Key takeaways...
35. Refresh your category page SEO and keyword strategy. #brightonseo @alexjonespr
36. Ensure it is aligned with your business goals for 2025. #brightonseo @alexjonespr
37. Start work now to build topical authority, trust and earn new referring domains. #brightonseo @alexjonespr
38. This could be the difference in 2025 and hold the key to growth. #brightonseo @alexjonespr
39. Thank you Nottingham Birmingham London 4 St Marys Place NG1 1PH The Building Society 55 Whitfield Street London W1T 4AH 10x at, 10 Brindley Pl, Birmingham B1 2JB speakerdeck.com/alexjonesdigital @alexjonespr @alexjonespr