In a recent Google Webmaster Hangout, a publisher inquired whether using content from product pages on category pages would result in a demotion of those pages. Google’s John Mueller shared his insights on how Google addresses duplicate content, the impact of reusing snippets of content on both category and product pages, and provided guidance on how publishers should manage this situation.
What’s the Problem with Category Pages?
Category pages are top-level pages featuring product listings, allowing users to browse and then click through to specific products. The issue at hand is when a merchant employs identical content from the product pages on the category pages. The question is, how does Google manage this duplicate content?
How Google Handles Duplicate Content on Category and Product Pages
John Mueller explains how Google deals with duplicate content:
“What generally happens in a case like that is we find the same text snippet on multiple pages on your website and that’s perfectly fine… What will however happen is when someone is searching for something just in that text snippet then all of these different pages are kind of competing against each other in the search results and will try to pick one of these pages to show and try to figure out which one is their most relevant…
So that could be that maybe your category pages see more traffic but that would kind of come at the cost of your product detail pages seeing less traffic.
So that’s something which you essentially can decide on and think about for your website… to see does it make sense to bring more information at a higher level within the website at the cost of those higher-level pages ranking more when people are actually searching for detailed information. Or does it make sense to kind of separate that out and clearly say well this is detailed information and this is kind of more general higher-level information.”
Which is Best for Users, Category or Product Page?
It’s a common practice to use snippets of information from product pages on category pages that describe all products within a single category. This facilitates user navigation and provides a good user experience.
However, based on John Mueller’s comments, it may be beneficial to use unique descriptions on category pages to help Google distinguish between general (category page) and specific content (product page).
When a user is searching for a type of product rather than a specific item, the category page would be a better match. Thus, the content of that page should be constructed to rank for more general queries relevant to that product type. Additionally, it’s important to make the category page well-organized, allowing users to easily compare products and decide on options, such as a cheaper model, a specific color, or features. Google’s quality raters guidelines highlight that a feature enabling users to browse multiple products easily is an indicator of good quality.
For users seeking a specific product, the product page will provide more detailed information, including color options, user ratings, model numbers, weight, size, shipping information, and other relevant details.
Possible to A/B Test Organic Listings?
John Mueller also suggested A/B testing to determine which pages are most effective for users. He recommended directing traffic to categories in one area and product pages in another.
However, A/B testing for organic traffic involves blocking Google from product pages in the first test and category pages in the second, which is impractical and potentially risky. One cannot control where Google directs traffic to the site, making this method unsuitable for A/B testing.
Instead, you can A/B test user behavior through PPC (Pay Per Click advertising) and gradually understand user preferences for specific keyword phrases. John Mueller’s suggestion:
“…usually you can kind of A/B test this as well, where you take some of your categories or some of the products and you kind of try this out, you let it run for a couple of months and you compare it to some categories where you have it set up differently and you see where users are reacting differently.
Are they coming to your site, are they doing what you expect them to do? Or are they bouncing, are they going back, are they looking for something else, do they end up browsing to the detail pages anyway and maybe you can shorten that and just send them directly to the detail pages but that’s something you can definitely test.”
Perhaps an ideal approach is to view category pages as general pages designed to attract users researching a type of product rather than a specific item. This involves using more general content that enables users to compare features and click through to individual products. On product pages, specific language appropriate for discussing a particular brand and model can be employed.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, edited by author
