How to name categories so people find them
LightSEO · Catalog
How to name categories so people find them
A category name is both navigation for the shopper and the main signal for the search engine. Creativity works against you here.
Rules
How to word the names
Use the name people search for. Choose "Cleaning products" over "Surface care products" – if that is exactly how people phrase the query.
Avoid internal jargon. Names from your accounting system or a supplier's price list mean nothing to the shopper.
Skip the creativity. "Home coziness" instead of "Textiles" looks cute and brings zero clicks from search.
Keep it short. Two to four words. Long names break the menu and look bad in breadcrumbs.
Nuances
What else to consider
🔤
Singular or plural
Categories usually take the plural: "Sofas" rather than "Sofa" – that is how people phrase their queries.
📍
No city in the name
Put the location in the meta tags and the text and keep it out of the catalog category name.
🏷
Brand separately
"Nike sneakers" is a brand page inside a category, separate from the category itself.
Check
How to make sure a name works
Type it into search. If the results show exactly the kind of products you sell, the name is right. If they show something else, the wording is off.
Show it to an outsider. If they understand in a second what is inside, the name works.
We'll check the category names in your catalog
We'll see which queries your sections are optimized for and suggest wording that people actually search for.
