Internal Links to Ecommerce Category Pages

[BobGW]

Hello,

I read a while back, and I can't find it now, that you want to add internal links to your main category pages. Does that still apply? If so, for a small site (100 products) what is recommended?

Thanks

[Mrs.Anastacio]

H have a general question about internal linking, I ask my question by one example:

home page---->category (toaster)---->products

In product pages I have linked the anchor texts like " Bosch toaster model XXXX " to Toaster category.

It is my question: is it right strategy. should I use only "Bosch toaster" to link to the category.

I should say I have breadcrumb for internal linking but I need help to have a good strategy to help the categories to be in SERP

please help me

[Chris.Menke]

The existence of categorization facilitates structure/hierarchy and aids visitors in finding like or wanted things. Because people tend to search for keywords that are categorical, it turns out that optimizing category pages helps to bring additional visits in from search engines. Category-type keywords also tend to be more competitive and thus require greater effort to attain visibility.

So the trick is to create logical structure/hierarchy in the most optimized way possible, i.e., around the least competitive  terms that will bring in the maximum amount of traffic for the strength of the domain/category page.  At the same time, they should strive to demonstrate features and benefits to the visitor, be creative, and provide a point of view that contributes to the overall brand message. I find that sites with unique, imaginative categories are far more likely to engage me than those that are run of the mill.

So, in answer to your question, internal links and their anchor text contribute to the conceptual structure your site presents to search engines and visitors and, as such, are an important part of a well-made site.  If your categories have a well thought out purpose and strategy and are well integrated into the fabric of your brand, you'll find yourself linking to them from other places in your site more often than  you will to individual product pages.  Not only does that make sense for the visitor, but search engines pick up on it too and tend to lend greater weight/strength to those pages.

[Marcus_Miller]

Hey Bob

In this kind of instance we can almost defer to common sense.

• what are our important pages?
• how will people arrive at these pages?
• how will people browse to these pages?

If you sell 100 products and have 5 categories those categories are likely important pages - important for a user on your site and important for users in search. Having a consistent internal navigation helps indicate to the search engines that these pages are important enough to link to on every page. It also ensures site users can jump from category A to category B. Good for people, good for search engines - win win.

In an ideal world we want a nice consistent hierarchy with your persistent navigation and URLs all being well aligned.

Nav

• Home
• Products
• -> Category A
• -> Category B
• -> Category C
• Contact

URL Structure

/
/products/
/products/category-a/
/products/category-b/
/products/category-c/
/contact/

Then any other elements can also line up - page titles, meta descriptions, breadcrumbs, h tags etc.

Ultimately, this is not any kind of SEO voodoo but rather the nuts and bolts of a user friendly and search friendly site.

Hope that helps! 
Marcus

[Mr.bfz]

Sure, not only still apply but internal link architecture is one of the main important on page optimization for a site.

The idea is that by internal links you are telling google which pages are the most important in your site. You can even check your most internal linked pages in WBT.

It is recommended to create links to your category pages in a natural way that increases UX.

I hope it helps!