Tag: shop categories

Categories You Should Be Adding to Your Online Store This Time of Year

August 5, 2013 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

store categories to add in the fall When Google searches your online store, they search your online store categories, so it doesn’t hurt to update them from time to time, especially when it comes to seasonal shopping habits.

For example, the online home goods store, Wayfair, has added two prominent shop categories, right at the top of the page, “College Living” and “Back to School“. Under these headings, Wayfair also has various sub headings (based on popular search phrases) such as:

Dorm Design on a Budget
14 Dorm Design Ideas
Dorm Essentials
College Checklist

Google reads these headings and sub headings and, as a result, it will drastically move Wayfair up in Google searches for anyone looking for college dorm room decor.

Other notable top online retailers have already added fall-related shop sections:

Williams-Sonoma has added a “Halloween Preview” shop section.
H&M has added a “Fall Looks“ shop section.
Nordstrom has added “Back to School“ and “Summer to Fall Booties“.
Grandin Road has added “Halloween Haven“.
Office Depot has added its “Back to School Headquarters“ as well as its “Mobile Accessories Marketplace” (as many college kids are upgrading their laptops, phones, etc. before they head back).
Pier 1 has added “Fall & Autumn Decor” and a sneak peak at their “Halloween 2013 Collection“.
Ann Taylor has added “Pre-Fall Forecast“.
Bed, Bath & Beyond has added “College Shopping / Back to College“.
J.Crew has added the section “Looks We Love for Back to School“.
Best Buy has added “College Student Deals“.

FINAL WORD: Shop sections, categories, departments and headings are very important in Google search. Make sure you are adding ones relevant to seasonal shopping habits (in this case, Back to School, Fall Fashion, Autumn Decorating, Halloween Decor, College Shopping, etc.) to help drive more traffic to your online shop. It also helps your shop to get found by blog and magazine editors who are looking to write about products on these topics as well.

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How to Make Your Ecommerce Product Categories More Appealing

April 25, 2013 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Your Ecommerce Product Categories are very important.

Last week I wrote about altering your shop sections/categories to make them more in sync with seasonal buying habits. For example, adding categories for Mother’s Day, Prom, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, etc. (in case you missed it: Keep Your Online Shop Categories In Sync with Seasonal Buying Habits).

But there are also other ways you can help visitors zero in on what they really want to find in your shop, in order to maximize purchases. People don’t have a lot of time these days. A lot of the reason online shopping is so popular is because it is easier to find what you want, due to searching capabilities. So consider some of these shop categories used by popular online stores that might work for you:

Add Fun Categories to Peak Interest

Piperlime is an online clothing store with all the typical categories such as Dresses, Tops, Pants, Shoes, etc. But they also offer the visitor other ways to shop with categories such as Spring Trends, Girl on a Budget (Everything Under $100) and New to Sale.

Add Niche Categories

West Elm sells home décor products with your typical product categories such as pillows, furniture, etc. However, they offer other categories such as Most Pinned Products, Eco/Green and the Monogram Shop.

Promote Specials and Seasonal Items

P.S. sells children’s clothing. They have interesting shop categories that appeal to moms who are looking for something specific, the convenience of already put together outfits, or a bargain, such as: Mix & Match 2 for $12, $5 Fun Finds and Shore Things (items for the beach).

Promote Value Offers

Everyone knows what Victoria’s Secret sells.

What was interesting in their online store is how they really push the deals, with shop categories such as 2/$40 Tops and Tees, 2/$60 Shirts and 2/$40 Yoga Bottoms.

YOUR NEXT STEP: Think about how your typical buyer shops. Do they want something for a specific occasion, do they want a deal, do they want style advice? This is an opportunity to really facilitate that buying decision and generate more sales. For more great marketing advice, visit my Shopify Store for marketing plans, guides and worksheets.

Keep Your Online Store Product Categories In Sync with Seasonal Buying Habits

April 11, 2013 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

online store product categories As you know, your online store product categories, whether on your own website or a major marketplace, are also picked up by search engines. Therefore, are they carved in stone or do you alter them depending on the buying season?

Online Store Product Categories Examples

For example, I was on a site called Accessorize that sells jewelry and accessories and I noticed that they had an interesting shop category among the regular ones called, “Vacation“. When you clicked on this category all the items they sell that would work great on a beach vacation were listed here. Now, why I don’t think they optimized the title of this category ideally for SEO, I do think it is a great way to help customers zero in on what they want.

That has always been the beauty of online shopping. The fact that you can quickly search and narrow down what you are looking for, something you can’t do in a physical store. How many times have you walked out of a store because you couldn’t find what you were looking for? So spoon feeding your busy, time-strapped customers by tailoring your shopping categories to buying patterns at certain times of the year, really helps.

Another example. Obviously everyone is gearing up for Mother’s Day sales in May. A lot of online shops, such as Williams-Sonoma and Etsy have added Mother’s Day categories.

Online greeting card shop, Treat, has not only pushed its Mother’s Day category to the very front of the list, but it has also added, Graduation, obviously another top search this time of year.

At World Market, they have a product category entitled, Cinco de Mayo, helping out customers looking for products for this upcoming holiday.

Amazon has a Green Category every April for Earth Day.

Even Amazon has added an Earth Day category (April 22nd) for visitors looking for eco-friendly and green products, a big topic in the news this time of year.

FINAL WORD: Are you taking advantage of calendar buying habits to bring the buyers over to your shop? Your online shop should always be adapting to and anticipating buyer behavior if you want to be selling all year long.

Need More Advice?

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