Best Practices to Create Winning Product Taxonomy for your eCommerce

Best Practices to Create Winning
Product Taxonomy for your eCommerce

Typically, online shoppers do not spend more than 8 seconds trying to find a
product on any eCommerce site. This is like a book enthusiast walking into a
library and searching for the book category (where they can find the book they
want).
When does it take users more time to find what they want? Simply put, when
product information is inefficiently organized (or simply not there). As it stands,
around 46% of product-related searches begin on Google. This is where
product taxonomy can help your eCommerce business win. 
What is product taxonomy? Simply put, it is the organization of products (based
on categories) in an eCommerce store. Why is it important? Product taxonomy
can:

● Improve the user's experience in product discovery.
● Improve site navigation and facilitate faster searches.
● Elevate the brand reputation.

For a "winning" product taxonomy, eCommerce stores must implement the
following seven best practices:

1. Optimize for SEO

Without search engine optimization (SEO), product searches can be
frustrating to most customers. Among the best practices, eCommerce stores
must consider optimizing product taxonomies for SEO keywords. In concrete
terms, with detailed keyword research, ensure your taxonomies include the
keywords your customers are looking for.

Additionally, you can also optimize other content like product title, image,
and meta descriptions to map to the target keyword. But avoid any keyword
stuffing that can attract penalties (or even a lower SEO ranking from
Google). However, you must consider optimizing your product page URLs
using keywords.

2. Make It Concise

Product taxonomy must be concise and accurate. Avoid putting the same
product in multiple categories, as it can confuse the shopper and interfere
with stock management. Another best practice is to group single-value
product categories and make them a sub-category to the main category. 

For example, in an online furniture store, break down the "Lounge" category
into second-level categories like chairs, coffee tables, and couches.

Additionally, avoid grouping categories that do not complement each other.
For example, water hoses and cooling systems. You can also consider a
special category for products "on sale" or "new additions."

3. Remember Your Target Audience

Product taxonomies aim to attract more customers. Every eCommerce store
must know the customer base that they are targeting. Find answers to
common questions like "why should they choose your brand?" or "how do
they choose products?" 

That said, there are multiple ways to seek audience information and create
appropriate product taxonomies. This includes:

● Speaking to customers directly and asking for feedback.
● Observing real-time data on customer behavior and purchase

patterns.
● Researching the latest industry and shopping trends.
● Testing the user experience.

For a "winning" taxonomy, remember that online consumer behavior differs
from that in the physical retail shop. For the best results, organize your
product categories based on how consumers navigate through the online
shop.

4. Don't Stuff Attributes

Product attributes are essential for filtering product searches (within the
online store). Among the best practices, avoid stuffing the taxonomy with
product attributes. Attribute stuffing is the practice of including many
product specifications and attributes in the category label. 

Instead, identify the most generic attributes that can be applied across
product categories—for example, color, size, and material. 

After identifying the main attributes, include the attributes specific to your
product (for example, dimension or weight). Avoid creating an
attribute-based product search that goes into the third level, as a two-level
hierarchy works best for most shoppers.

5. Base Your Taxonomy on Geographical Location

Besides the target audience, shopping behavior can differ according to the
country or region (within the same country). Hence, the taxonomy for the
same product must be different for the U.S and France. 

Further, online product searches can vary according to demographics and
spoken languages. Therefore, must segment their audience based on these
factors. 

For example, a fashion retailer can "seasonalize" their product category for
a particular country (for example, "Winter wear" in the U.K). The same
retailer is unlikely to include this category in their Middle East market.

6. Understand the Products

With a solely customer-centric focus, eCommerce companies lack a
complete understanding of their products. For business success,
eCommerce shops must dedicate equal importance to understanding their
customers and products. A product-driven customer-centric approach is the
best mode. Here are some product-related questions that need to be
addressed:

● Why do my customers love to use my products?
● What product feature sets it apart from similar products in the

market?
● Which product categories are most visited by my customers?

A product-centric approach can easily optimize the product datasets and
create stronger taxonomies.

7. Avoid Any "Junk Drawer" Category

As the final best practice, avoid creating a "junk drawer" or ambiguous
categories like "Others" or "Miscellaneous." These categories are often
created when a "new" product category does not exist. Additionally, they
may be secondary products that do not warrant the effort of modifying the
existing taxonomy. 

Online shoppers may navigate to the "junk drawer" category and may not
find the product they are looking for. This can frustrate most shoppers or
hinder efficient navigation. 

Conclusion

38% of online shoppers are known to leave a poorly organized eCommerce
store. That makes it critical to optimize and prioritize the product taxonomy. An
efficient product taxonomy is the foundation for eCommerce success and can
simplify product searches. 

EnFuse Solutions offers a variety of eCommerce-related services to its
customers. With extensive industry experience in enterprise data management,
our Catalog & Digital Asset management services are designed to improve
your catalog-related data. In sum, we can implement customized managed
services designed for your eCommerce needs. 

Contact us today to know more.

Related Blog : How Product Content Impacts the eCommerce Buyer’s Journey