5 CRO Tips for High-Converting eCommerce Category Pages

Your category pages are a window for your website visitors to view what it is you sell and ultimately find what they want. 

From out-of-stock products to confusing page navigation, there are many reasons why a customer could abandon their search. Giving the customer control of the way they search for a product is paramount to the success of your category pages and your eCommerce store in general. Improving your category pages is a surefire way to ensure that future customers stay and buy! 

In this article we’ll cover 5 actionable conversion rate optimisation (CRO) tips you can make today, that will give your category pages more of a chance at converting.

1. Let Customers Compare Your Products

Your product pages should be effortless for the user. Customers are always looking for the best product for them and your goal is to provide that in the most informative and simple way possible.

To do this, make sure each product listing clearly shows product images, names, prices, star ratings, and more so potential customers can understand each product at a glance. Doing so will help shoppers compare each listing with ease, giving them more control over their choices and purchases.

A typically well-optimised product listing should include:

• Clear, concise product images
• Clear Product names
• Descriptive Product specification
• Clear price
• Customer rating and the number of raters
• Customers reviews
• Stock availability
• Clear Shipping options

If each of your listings uses these on your category pages, then they are more likely to give the customer more options to compare and more reasons to convert.

2. Create Sub-category Sections For Easier Website Navigation

Subcategory sections on category pages are a great way to help your customers navigate with ease. Giving them options to find their desired product using minimal effort will improve your eCommerce store’s overall user experience.

Often placed in the top navigation bar, sub-category sections help the user sort through your product categories faster. Even if they were to leave your page, giving them the option to find where they left off with ease on their return is an extremely important quality for your website to have and can improve overall conversion rates.

Alternatively, it can be beneficial to place your sub-category options to the left of a screen (on a desktop) readers tend to read left to right on any webpage, so placing it here will help it be found easier, possibly multiple times.

3. Promote Popular Categories and Products Using Featured Content Blocks

In time, you’ll start to see what your most popular categories and products are. These are what you should shout about the most! People tend to do what others have done before them. If you showcase your most popular products on your category pages, then intrigued customers could be more likely to click to see why they are so popular.

The layout of any eCommerce category page is very important. Where you place specific products could be the difference between someone purchasing them or not. Showcasing your most popular categories and products through branded content blocks with clear sub-headings can help make them stand out on a page and are more likely for the customer to navigate towards.

4. Give The Customer The Option to Sort Your Product Listings

Giving your customer’s the illusion that they are in control throughout their purchase journey can help reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rates. Your category pages are one of the most important places to give your customers as much control over your product listings as possible. 

Having the option to easily sort or filter product listings gives the customer the option to refine searches faster and can lead to quicker checkouts! Below are the most used (and expected) sorting options on category pages:

• Default
• Alphabetical
• Featured or Recommended
• Top Sellers
• Top Rated
• Most viewed
• Price (low-high or high-low)
• Recently Added
• On Sale
• Custom

5. Build Your Category Pages For Mobile

Mobile devices are now the go-to when searching the internet. It’s now more likely that your eCommerce store will be viewed on a mobile device rather than on a desktop. While you should design and optimise your category pages for both mobile and desktop, mobile should always be your top priority.

When creating a category page for mobile first, ask yourself, Are the product listings, images, and product descriptions clear on smaller screens? Are the CTAs easy to find and large enough to tap on? Always keep in mind how a user would use your store on any device.

What’s more, Google now favours websites that are optimised for mobile, so make sure your category pages look the best they can. Your main aim is to give your customer an amazing and memorable user experience. Doing so will make it more likely for them to stay, buy and come back to your store for more!

Learn more CRO tips or speak to our CRO experts on how you can further improve your eCommerce journey.