Short answer: A category page that AI tools can use is named the way people shop, like "wide running shoes", not "Collection 4". It opens with a short intro in text that says what's in the range, the price range and who it suits. It helps people choose, shows the key facts on every product card, and links to every product. Give the filters people search for their own pages, and keep the rest out of crawling.
What is category page SEO?
Category page SEO is making the pages that group your products easy for search engines to understand and show. These pages answer the broad searches, like "large dog beds", that come before a shopper picks one product.
They're also the pages that tie a store together. Google says it finds products by following links "from menus to category pages, from category pages to sub-category pages" and on to the products. If a category page doesn't link to every product, Google says it might not find them all.
What does ChatGPT link to when someone asks where to buy?
In part 2 we asked ChatGPT for the best product. This time we asked where to buy.
What we saw in 3 where-to-buy searches
On 17 October 2026 we asked ChatGPT where to buy cast iron cookware online, the best online store for large dog beds, and where to buy wide running shoes. It recommended 18 stores and gave a shop link for each.
- 7 links went to a category page. Chewy's and Petco's "Best Large Dog Beds" pages. adidas's "Wide Running Shoes". Under Armour's wide-fit running page. Brooks's shoes available in widths. Fleet Feet's running shoes filtered to wide. Lodge's shop-all page.
- 10 links went to a home page. Le Creuset and New Balance among them. A shopper who wants wide shoes or a big dog bed lands on the front page and has to find the right products themselves.
- Most of those pages were named for the question. "Wide Running Shoes" and "Best Large Dog Beds" match what the shopper asked for. The two that didn't were Lodge's shop-all page and Fleet Feet's filtered listing, titled just "Running Shoes".
ChatGPT also wrote its own buying advice. For cast iron it split the range into 3 types and said who each one suits. If your category page doesn't help people choose, the AI answer does it instead, and may send them somewhere else to buy.
How to structure a category page so AI can use it
1. Name the category the way people shop
Use the words a shopper types or says: "Large dog beds", "Wide running shoes", "Enameled Dutch ovens". Put that name in the page title and the H1. Names like "Collection 4" or "The Trail Range" might make sense internally, but they tell a shopper nothing about what's in it.
2. Open with a short intro in text, above the products
Write 2 to 3 sentences before the product grid: what's in the range, how many products, the price range and who it suits. Put it at the top, not in a long block at the bottom of the page that nobody reads.
3. Help people choose
Add a short "how to choose" section: the main types in the range and who each one suits. A small table works well here, because it really is a comparison. This is the advice ChatGPT wrote for itself in our test, so put yours on the page.
4. Show the key facts on every product card
Each card needs the product name with its key attribute, the price, the rating with the number of reviews, and whether it's in stock. These are the same facts from part 2, shown at a glance so a shopper can compare without opening every product.
5. Link to every product in the category
Google strongly recommends linking to every product you want indexed. Products that can only be found through your site's search box may be missed, because Google's crawler doesn't type searches. If you can't link to them all, use a sitemap or a Merchant Center feed.
6. Give the filters people search for their own pages
Filters like size, colour and price can create thousands of URLs. Google says these waste crawling time and slow down how fast it finds your new pages, and suggests blocking filter URLs in robots.txt.
But some filters deserve a page of their own. "Wide running shoes" is a search. "Size 11, blue, under $90" is not. adidas and Under Armour gave "wide" its own named page, and ChatGPT linked to both. Make a real category page for the few filters that match real searches, with its own name and intro, and keep the rest out of crawling.
7. Use real links between pages
If the category runs over several pages, give each page its own URL and link to the next one with a normal link. Don't point every page's canonical tag at page 1. Google's crawler doesn't click "Load more" buttons, so products behind a button with no crawlable link may be missed.
8. Answer buyer questions and add breadcrumbs
Add 3 to 5 questions about the range under question headings: sizing, care, delivery, what the types mean. Then add breadcrumbs, like Home > Dog beds > Large dog beds, with BreadcrumbList structured data. Google uses it to show where the page sits in your site.
Before and after: one category page rewritten
Here's the top of a typical category page from a made-up outdoor store, then the same page restructured.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Packs Shop our amazing range of packs! [48 products, no prices on the cards] [300 words at the foot of the page repeating "best hiking backpacks" 9 times] |
Hiking daypacks (20 to 35 litres) 18 daypacks for day hikes and wet commutes, from $49 to $189. All hold 20 to 35 litres, and 7 are fully waterproof. Not sure which size? See how to choose below. [18 products, each card with name, size, price, rating and stock] Separate page: Waterproof daypacks |
Below the products, the "how to choose" table:
| If you're going out for | Choose |
|---|---|
| 2 to 4 hours, or a commute | 20 litres |
| A full day with a jacket and lunch | 25 to 30 litres |
| A full day in cold or wet weather | 35 litres, waterproof |
The "after" page tells a shopper, or an AI tool, what the range is, what it costs and which one to pick. The "before" page only says "packs". I'd much rather land on the second one if I were buying.
A category page outline you can copy
| Part | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Breadcrumbs | Home > parent category > this category, with BreadcrumbList markup |
| Name (H1) | The words people shop with |
| Intro | 2 to 3 sentences above the products: the range, how many, the price range, who it suits |
| How to choose | The main types and who each one suits, as a short table |
| Product cards | Name with key attribute, price, rating with count, stock, linking to the product |
| Pagination | A unique URL for each page and a normal link to the next |
| Buyer questions | 3 to 5 questions about the range, each answered in the first sentence |
| Filter pages | Own pages for filters people search for; other filter URLs kept out of crawling |
What to avoid
- A wall of keyword text at the foot of the page. Put a short, useful intro at the top instead.
- Internal names. "Collection 4" and "The Trail Range" mean nothing to a shopper or a machine.
- Products only reachable through search. If nothing links to a product, Google may never find it.
- Every filter as an indexable page. Pick the few that match real searches and give them a proper page.
Does ChatGPT send shoppers to your store?
Our free AI visibility check tests whether AI tools can read your site, then emails you a report on what ChatGPT and Google's AI say when asked for a business like yours.
This is the last part of the series. Part 1 is how to structure a blog post for AI, and part 2 is how to structure a product page. Or browse all our guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is category page SEO?
Category page SEO is making the pages that group your products easy for search engines and AI tools to understand and send shoppers to. It covers the category name, a short intro, help with choosing, product cards, links to every product and how filters are handled.
Should a category page have text on it?
Yes, a short intro of 2 to 3 sentences above the products, plus a section on how to choose. Google doesn't set a length. A useful intro at the top does more than a long block of keywords at the bottom.
Should filtered category pages be indexed?
Most shouldn't. Google says filter URLs waste crawling and suggests blocking them in robots.txt. Give the few filters people actually search for, like wide or waterproof, their own named category page instead.
How many products should a category page show?
Google gives no number. What it asks is that you link to every product you want indexed. If the range runs over several pages, give each page its own URL and a normal link to the next one.
Does ChatGPT link to category pages?
Yes, when they match the question. In our test of 3 where-to-buy searches, 7 of the 18 shop links went to a category page, and 5 of those were named for what the shopper asked for. Most other stores got a link to their home page.