What Is Ecommerce Product Categorisation: Everything You Need to Know

Can you imagine hunting for a single speck of sand on a massive beach? That’s what shopping can sometimes feel like on an ecommerce site that lacks well-thought-out product categorization.

This process is not just about good looks or ease of use. It’s a powerful strategy that can better your site’s SEO, improve the user experience, and ultimately, increase sales.

Interested in learning more? Stay with us as we dive into the details of ecommerce product categorisation and how it can revolutionize your online store.

Key Takeaway :

Ecommerce product categorization is the process of organizing and grouping products into specific, meaningful categories to improve the shopping experience, increase sales, and enhance site search and SEO. It is a strategic tool for competing in the vast online marketplace and involves tailoring categories to customer locations, avoiding the use of the “other” category, limiting products to one category, ensuring unique and distinct categories, and maintaining consistency with the brand’s voice and ethos.

Why is product categorization important in ecommerce?

1. Improves Shopping Experience: Proper categorization elevates the customer shopping experience, making it easier to browse and find products.
2. Increases Sales: By grouping similar products, it encourages customers to add more items to their cart, directly influencing sales volumes.
3. Enhances Site Search and SEO: Well-structured categories improve your site’s search functionality and SEO, making your store more visible in online searches.
4. Simplifies Navigation: A site without categorization is overwhelming. Imagine a mega-store with countless products and no organization – it’s a quick way to lose customers.
5. Utilizes Advanced Technologies: Machine learning and natural language processing can automate and refine the categorization process, reducing manual effort and errors.
6. Acts as a Secret Weapon: Effective product categorization is not just about organization; it’s a strategic tool for competing in the vast online marketplace.

Other points state the importance of Ecommerce product categorisation in a business.

✅ Organized ecommerce sites with clean organizations sell more

When it comes to the fast-paced world of online shopping, the way you layout and categorize your products can make a huge difference in your sales and customer satisfaction. If your online store is neat and well-arranged, with a smart system for sorting products, you’re more likely to win and keep customers.

A well-arranged online store makes it simple for customers to find exactly what they need, making your site more user-friendly.

A well-thought-out product classification system can be used as a method to upsell or cross-sell products, which can boost your sales.

A tidy online store gives customers a wide range of choices, which could tempt them to buy more.

✅ Product organization and categorization enable better search functionality

Maintaining a neat and organized online store is a surefire way to boost your sales. But what’s just as important is enhancing your search functionality. How? By smartly organizing and categorizing your products. This simple strategy helps your customers navigate your site with ease, pushes specific products to the forefront, and increases the average order value.

The magic of product organization and categorization lies in its ability to supercharge search functionality. It makes the shopping experience a breeze by helping customers find exactly what they need, which results in more sales conversions.

Plus, it’s a great way to optimize your site for search engines, making you more visible online and improving the overall user experience.

✅ Product categorization helps with monitoring data

Product grouping isn’t just about making your online store look tidy, it’s a smart way to keep tabs on everything that’s going on. Think about it. When you’ve got your products neatly arranged into categories, it’s easier to see what’s happening. You can track which categories are getting the most visits and which ones are turning those visits into sales.

You can also see how your customers are behaving based on the categories they visit. Say, for instance, you’ve got a category that’s getting a lot of visits but not a lot of sales. Maybe something’s off? Maybe the prices are too high, or the product descriptions aren’t clear enough? This is the kind of information you can glean from category-based monitoring.

And then there’s the magic of tools like Shopify’s Live View analytics. With this, you can keep an eye on the performance of your shop in real-time.

But, let’s not forget about the customers. A well-organized online store is a joy to browse. And a happy customer is more likely to make a purchase. So, when you think about it, product grouping isn’t just about keeping your shop tidy, it’s about making your customers happy and helping you make smart, informed decisions about your business.

✅ Product organization creates a streamlined shopping experience for your customers

If you’ve ever wondered why some online shops are just so easy to navigate, the answer lies in good product organization. Having a well-arranged ecommerce platform, with products neatly grouped and labelled, makes a world of difference to your customers. They can easily find what they’re looking for, compare different options, and make their purchases without any fuss.

The magic of product organization doesn’t stop at customer convenience; it also helps to increase your sales. With an easy-to-navigate site, customers are more likely to buy, and not just one thing, but multiple items. And let’s not forget about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)! A well-organized product line can give your platform better visibility, attracting even more potential customers to your online shop.

A step-by-step guide for ecommerce product categorization

Alright, let’s chat about sorting out your ecommerce products.

To kick things off, you’re going to need to gather all the essential details about your items and brainstorm some potential categories they could fit into.

Don’t forget that using keywords to boost your products’ visibility and organizing your items based on how your customers shop can make a huge difference.

But don’t stop there, keep refining and improving your approach as you go along.

1) Collect essential product data

Ever thought about how to categorize products for an online store? Well, the first step is gathering all the necessary product information. It’s like being a detective, collecting clues from a variety of sources – your suppliers, the product creators, and even your internal records.

Now, imagine you’ve got all this information. Where do you put it? You’ll need a place to store it all where it’s easy to access. This could be software designed for managing product information or even a database you create yourself.

But here’s the thing – your job isn’t done once you’ve collected all the data. You have to keep it up to date. Whether it’s changes in pricing, availability, or product specs, keeping your information current is key. It’s like maintaining a garden – you can’t just plant the seeds and walk away, you have to tend to it regularly.

2) Create potential categories for your products

Alright, let’s talk about your products. You know, the stuff you’re selling? We’re going to focus on getting them organized into categories. This is a pretty big deal and needs some thought.

So, how do you do it? First, you’ve got to figure out where you can get info to help you make these categories. The goal here is to make it easy for your customers to find what they’re looking for. So, think about how they shop and try to match that.

When you’re naming your categories, make it simple and clear. This will help your products get found more easily.

And don’t forget, this isn’t a one-and-done thing. Keep an eye on how things are going and tweak as needed. It’s all about making the shopping experience as smooth as possible for your customers.

3) Use keyword research for product category/page optimization

So, you’re looking to boost your ecommerce site’s visibility and make it super easy for your customers to find what they need, right? Well, keyword research can be your secret weapon in achieving just that.

And no, it’s not about randomly stuffing your site with all the relevant keywords you can think of. It’s more of a strategic game plan, where you align your keywords with what your customers are likely to search for and with the products you offer.

So, how do you go about it? Here’s a quick rundown:

• Start by pinpointing the keywords that work best for your products. Then, weave these into your product category and subcategory descriptions and meta tags.
• Don’t shy away from using specific, long-tail keywords on your category pages. These can help highlight unique product features and attributes.
• Don’t forget, this isn’t a one-and-done deal. Keep a close eye on how your keywords are performing and tweak them as needed to keep your page optimization at its best.

And there you have it – a simple, effective way to optimize your product categories using keyword research.

4) Categorize your products based on user behaviour

Okay, let’s talk about sprucing up your online store. One of the best ways to do that? Organizing your products based on how your customers behave. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.

Here’s the deal. You’ve got to keep an eye on your customer’s moves. What they’re searching for, the lingo they’re using, their journey to the checkout line – all of these can clue you in on how to best arrange your products. Make it feel intuitive for them, and you’ll find your products flying off the virtual shelves.

And guess what? There are tools out there that can help you get into your customer’s heads (in a non-creepy way, of course). They can predict patterns and trends, helping you stay one step ahead.

This isn’t just about making your website look pretty. It’s about making it easy and enjoyable for your customers to shop. Do that, and you’ll see your sales going up. Sounds good, right?

5) Scale and iterate your product categorization efforts

As your online store grows, it’s super important to keep re-evaluating and updating your product categories. This will keep your store organized and make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for. By constantly adjusting and improving your product categorization, you can make shopping on your site a breeze, and make your products easy to find on other ecommerce platforms.

Here’s what you should be doing:

• Keep an eye on your product categories, and update them based on how your customers are shopping and what’s currently in style.
• As you add new products, make sure they fit neatly into your existing categories. This will make your site easy to navigate.
• Consider using a Product Information Management (PIM) system. This will make it easy to store and manage your product categories.

Ecommerce product categorization best practices

For effective product categorization in online shops, it’s crucial to tailor your categories to the locations of your customers and steer clear of placing items into a vague ‘other’ category. Instead, strive to assign each product to a specific, well-defined category.

Categories should not only be distinct but also mirror your brand’s style. Additionally, when crafting product categories and descriptions, consistency with your brand’s voice is key.

✅ Adjust your product categorization based on geolocations

Ever thought about giving your product categories a little shake-up based on where your customers are? It’s a clever tactic that can make your product lineup feel more personal and tailored to your buyers, wherever they might be in the world.

Regional preferences, shopping habits, and trends can be wildly different, and by tuning into these, you can give your customers a shopping experience that feels more relevant and engaging.

Here’s the game plan:

• Get to know your sales data. What’s flying off the shelves in which regions?
• Give your product catalogue a makeover. Highlight those top-selling items for the customers who love them.
• Keep an eye on the ball. Trends change, and so should your categories. Don’t forget to listen to what your customers are saying, too.

Just by giving this a whirl, you can create a shopping experience that feels more like a personal shopper, and less like a one-size-fits-all. And who doesn’t love that?

✅ Avoid using “other” as a category

Crafting the perfect product categories for your ecommerce site is a bit like piecing together a puzzle. You want to make it easy for your customers to find what they’re looking for, right? So, you might think adding an ‘other’ category for those miscellaneous items would do the trick. But here’s the thing, ‘other’ is a bit of a grey area. It’s not very clear or specific, making it tricky for customers to find what they need. And let’s be honest, who wants to rummage around in the ‘other’ bin?

The key is to be specific and relevant to your product categories and their details. It’s all about making your customers’ shopping experience smooth and stress-free. The easier it’s for them to find what they need, the happier they’ll be. A happy customer is a loyal customer.

✅ Keep products limited to one category at a time — except for special categories

In the world of online shopping, it’s good practice to keep just one product per category. Think of it like organizing a physical store. You wouldn’t want to mix up shoes with kitchen utensils, right? The same goes for your virtual store.

Why do this? Well, it’s simple: it makes things easier for customers. If they can find what they want quickly and without fuss, they’re more likely to buy. And who doesn’t want that?

Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Special categories like ‘Bestsellers’ or ‘Clearance sales’ are a great way to showcase specific products. It’s a bit like setting up a special display in a brick-and-mortar store – it catches the eye and can help boost sales.

✅ Product categories should all be unique from one another

Just think about it – when you’re sorting out your products into categories, you’re not just tossing them into any old group. Each category needs to be its unique entity, separate from the rest. Having distinct categories makes shopping a breeze for customers – like walking down clearly labelled aisles in a store. And in the world of online shopping, you want your products sorted in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate.

It’s all about keeping things simple. Let’s say you’re selling clothes, for example. You wouldn’t put dresses and shoes in the same category, would you? Of course not! Each category should cater to a specific product range, satisfying various customer needs without any overlap. It’s about making the search process smooth and ensuring your product layout is crystal clear.

Keep in mind – the aim is to avoid any confusion and make navigation a walk in the park. By making each of your product categories its unique entity, you’re setting up your online store in a way that appeals to a broad range of customer interests and needs. And the best part? More sales for your business!

✅ Keep branding tone in mind while creating product categories and descriptions

When it comes to setting up your product categories and descriptions, you’ve got to keep your brand’s distinct tone and voice front and centre. Why? Because it makes for a smooth, familiar shopping experience for your customers. Plus, it’s a smart move for your online store’s product categorisation, reinforcing your brand identity and getting your customers more involved.

Here’s the nitty-gritty:

• Let your brand’s specific language and style shine in your product categories and descriptions. This not only beefs up brand recognition but also makes the shopping experience feel like a seamless part of your brand.
• Make sure your product categorisation vibes with your brand’s tone and voice. This is a surefire way to boost customer loyalty and engagement.
• Let your brand’s personality show when you’re creating product categories and descriptions. It just might sway purchasing decisions in your favour and make your customers feel even more connected to your brand.

✅ Consider adding a product quiz to help customers find the right product

Have you ever thought about jazzing up your ecommerce site? A fun and interactive way to do this is by introducing a product quiz. This little addition to your site can make a world of difference to your customer’s shopping experience.

Imagine this, rather than aimlessly scrolling through countless products, your customers can simply take a quiz that directs them to the best choices for their needs. The questions in the quiz are carefully designed to get to know your customers better, and based on their responses, the quiz offers personalised product suggestions.

This isn’t just great for your customers, but for you too! You can suggest additional products that go well with what they’re already interested in. This can be a great way to boost your sales and increase your customers’ basket size.

The bottom line? A product quiz can help your customers feel more satisfied and confident in their purchases. And when customers are happy, they’re more likely to return and even recommend your site to others. Trust us, adding a product quiz to your ecommerce site is a win-win for everyone involved!

Best Practises for Ecommerce Product Categorisation

📌 Tailor Categories to Customer Locations:

Recognize the diversity of your global audience by customizing product categories to fit the geographic specifics of your customers. This approach ensures that shoppers only see what’s available to them, reducing frustration and streamlining their path to purchase.

📌 Steer Clear of the “Other” Category:

The ‘other’ category is a murky abyss where products go unnoticed. It’s crucial to allocate every item to a specific, meaningful category. This precision not only aids in discoverability but also enhances the overall structure of your online store.

📌 Limit Products to One Category:

While it might be tempting to place products in multiple categories to increase their visibility, this practice can lead to confusion and dilute the shopping experience. Aim for a singular, most relevant category for each product, but don’t shy away from featuring it in promotional or seasonal special categories where appropriate.

📌 Ensure Unique and Distinct Categories:

Clarity is key in category creation. Avoid overlapping or redundant categories that can puzzle shoppers. Each category should have a clear, distinct purpose and audience, making the browsing process as intuitive as possible.

📌 Maintain Consistency with Your Brand Voice:

Your product categories and descriptions should echo your brand’s voice and ethos. This consistency ensures that shoppers have a cohesive and immersive experience, reinforcing your brand identity at every touchpoint.

📌 Use Geolocation for Smarter Categorization:

Advanced tools like Advanced Store Localization or Geo Targeted can help you adapt your product visibility based on the shopper’s location. This smart categorization enhances the relevance of your offerings, ensuring that customers see products that are accessible to them.

📌Avoid the Ambiguity of “Other” Categories:

Categories labelled as ‘other’ often become dumping grounds for miscellaneous items, making them hard to find and easy to ignore. Instead, strive for specific categorization, using keywords and descriptions to guide customers to these harder-to-place items.

📌 Keep Products Exclusive to One Category:

To maintain a neat and navigable catalogue, resist the temptation to list products in multiple categories. Choose the most fitting category for each item, using special categories like “Best Sellers” or “Seasonal Favorites” as exceptions to highlight specific products without confusion.

📌 Strive for Distinctive Categories:

Simplify the shopping experience by ensuring that each product category is unique and non-overlapping. This clarity helps customers navigate your store more efficiently, leading to better engagement and conversion rates.

📌 Echo Your Brand’s Style in Categories and Descriptions:

The language and tone used in your product categories and descriptions should reflect your brand’s personality. This consistency builds a stronger connection with your audience and enhances the overall shopping experience.

Adopting these best practices in product categorization not only makes your online store more user-friendly but also leverages categorization as a strategic tool for enhancing discoverability, engagement, and sales.

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