Categorically Awesome Category Pages?

[harrytwatter]

I've seen the "should I index them? nofollow them?" question posed a lot regarding Wordpress category pages. Personally I've done both in the past and never really saw a big advantage or disadvantage because they've always just been a collection of links to individual posts so I by and large have just ignored them.

Recently though given the amount of clicks running through those category pages via my primary nav (menu is largely just organized post categories) and was thinking, geez, couldn't I squeeze some money out of those?

So I've been thinking of turning my category pages into general overview and category specific "directory" style resource pages. For example, if I had a fishing site, and my categories were "rods, reels, boats, gear, trips" then on the "rods" category page include a quick summary of the different types then a table listing the best brands/stores/suppliers.

I'd repeat that for reels, boats, gear, trips. For shops/brands that have affiliate programs I would use affiliate links but the aim would be to have it 90% altruistic and affiliate link free, like a real directory. Like a real directory, I could also theoretically charge for brand inclusion if someone wanted to be added to a category list.

My logic is, directory-styled (directorized?) content can be a quick way to get people click on links because things are organized and very easy to parse through (as a user, to make a determination) vs. a CTA buried somewhere in 1,700 word text-heavy image heavy post.

I'm not sure if adding dozens of OBLs to these pages will impact anything, or if adding a directory/table that pushes the actual category posts further down the page would be more detrimental than beneficial, but it sure would be sweet to pump up my affiliate offer links while simultaneously offering users a bunch of juicy quick access information.

Anyone out there crushing it with unique and/or robust category pages? Any words of warning?

 

[Ryuzaki]

I would say to consider the purpose for category pages to exist. Users understand the convention as does Google. To provide something different is a disruption to the convention.

That doesn't mean you can't put robust pages in your navigation. That can help them rank a ton because Google understands that you as the webmaster considers them prominent and important.

I think it depends on the size of the site too. A great use of categories is simply to reduce click depth and improve crawlability, and this will still coincide with the original purpose (or intent, if you will) of category pages. They're meant to help users and bots filter down by topic while perusing the available content, with pagination expected, etc.

I think that by turning a category page into a more glorified "hub" with product tables could be fine, provided maybe you only show it on the first paginated page with an "if statement" and still provide pagination links at the bottom so users can keep seeing what you offer.

But I also think that's just a numbers game. The users aren't there for that purpose, the intent is a mismatch. The user is seeking information, not yet ready to click over and look into products, etc. (unless we're talking about review categories and sub-categories).

There's a reason funnels and squeeze pages and all that exist, which is to massage the psyche of the user and move them into the right state of mind to make a purchase. That's part of what a category does. It takes an "information seeking" user and guides them to info which can THEN offer solutions to their direct queries (which might be a product or a link to another post that is directly about product reviews and suggestions).

My point being, unless you have a zillion visitors and can convert 0.5% of that into a sale of some sort, it even has the possibility of costing you sales further down the funnel by pushing people away or getting them to hop to the eCommerce store or product lander before they're ready.

Adding a ton of OBLs to pages linked sitewide in your navigation will most definitely bleed out a ton of page rank.

You may be better off using "sticky posts" that pin to the top of the category that achieve the goal you want, rather than moving the functionality of those posts onto the category page.

 

[bernard]

Yes, I agree with @Ryuzaki, but I do think adding a Category description and styling them better is definitely a good choice.

I get some traffic from Google for my category pages.

The most important in that regard is working with the Title tag. Instead of just "Category: Widgets", at least change to "Theme: Widgets - read all articles about widgets" or something like that,