The way you organise product categories helps guide users towards a seamless shopping experience. Using separate filters, or indexable facets, within each category is crucial for any large eCommerce store.

As SEOs, we need to recognise that not all categories need to be created the same. Each category may benefit from a unique set of filters tailored to how users search for products within that category.

For example, users searching for electronics may prioritise technical specifications, while those exploring clothing may focus on size, colour, or style preferences.

Recognising and adapting to this search behaviour is essential to optimising the user experience within each category.

Creating Category-Specific Filters

We can set up our categories according to your customers by thoroughly analysing user behaviour. When doing this, identify common search queries, frequently searched attributes, and the order of information users prioritise.

For example, a category for home appliances may be set up to filter by colour and size, but your research will likely reveal that it may benefit from filters like brand, energy efficiency, and capacity.

SEO Considerations for Indexable Facets

Our indexable facets contribute to the overall SEO performance of our websites, but having too many can cause duplication and cannibalisation issues.

The best way to decide which ones we should index or not is often based on data, but I also created this handy workflow to help guide you in the right direction.

Product Detail Pages (PDPs) are where potential customers make decisions that can shape their entire shopping journey. Improving the user experience on these product pages goes beyond showcasing products; it involves addressing customer queries and concerns effectively.

Improving Content on PDPs

One simple yet powerful way I’ve achieved this with my clients is by incorporating a Q&A or a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section directly into the PDPs.

This injects unique and valuable content into the product pages, removes any buying friction, and substantially increases the likelihood of conversions.

I’ll cover some of the additional benefits and ways we can do this below.

Addressing Customer Queries

A Q&A or FAQ section provides a dedicated space to address common questions and concerns that potential buyers may have about a specific product.

We can also use user-generated questions and answers to create more unique and relevant content on our websites, which we all know is something search engines value.

The Q&A format also adds diversity to your content strategy, offering a mix of structured information and user-generated insights.

Reducing Friction

Users often hesitate to make a purchase, and it often doesn’t take much to give them a degree of uncertainty. A well-crafted Q&A section directly addresses these uncertainties head-on, reducing friction in the buying process.

When users find answers to their specific questions, they feel more empowered to make informed decisions and nudge them further towards making a purchase.

Crafting an Effective Q&A Section

Now that we understand the benefits, we need to know how to create a Q&A section on our product pages that will be genuinely useful and benefit our target audience. 

We can do this by encouraging users to contribute their questions and answers in a dedicated section. However, in doing this, we need to make sure we have a system to moderate the answers to guarantee we only have high-quality contributions on our PDPs.

We can then curate the Q&A section to emphasise only the most relevant and helpful information.