Why large product catalogues need a different SEO strategy

Written by

Sam Wright

March 06, 2025

3 min read

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Imagine you walk into a restaurant that serves one dish - let’s say, the world’s best spaghetti carbonara. Your decision is easy: do you want the carbonara or not? The menu is short, the choice is clear, and the only thing standing between you and a delicious meal is whether or not you’re hungry.

Now picture a different scenario. You step into an all-you-can-eat buffet with 200 dishes ranging from sushi to tacos to deep-fried Mars bars. Suddenly, the decision isn’t just what to eat - it’s how to even start. 

This, in a nutshell, is the difference between small and large product catalogue stores.

The small catalogue approach

If you sell a single type of ergonomic office chair, your job is to make that chair look as amazing as possible. You highlight premium materials, showcase ergonomic certifications, use before-and-after productivity anecdotes, display high-quality product videos, and flood your product page with trust-building social proof.

In this case your SEO strategy is incredibly focused. You craft highly optimised blog posts, leverage influencer testimonials, and execute targeted link-building campaigns. Every piece of content reinforces why this chair is the best solution for your customer’s back pain and productivity woes.

Your customer’s journey is simple: they either buy your chair or they don’t.

The large catalogue challenge

Now let’s say you sell 500 different office chairs - each with varying lumbar support, materials, price points, and target audiences. The problem is no longer about convincing people why they need a chair - it’s about helping them choose the right one.

Suddenly, taxonomy - how you organise and structure your products - becomes the MVP of your SEO strategy. Filters, categories, and search functions aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re the difference between a smooth shopping experience and customers leaving your site.

Some of the biggest online marketplaces (think Amazon, eBay, ASOS) have mastered the art of guiding users to their perfect purchase. They know that when customers are overwhelmed, they don’t buy - they bounce. So, instead of bombarding shoppers with 500 chairs at once, they let users refine choices based on needs, preferences, and budgets.

A site-wide strategy

Here’s the good news: when you have a large catalogue, your SEO strategy doesn’t just scale - it compounds. By implementing improvements like:

• Optimised category pages (so users land exactly where they need to be)
• Strategic internal linking (ensuring Google understands the relationships between your products and categories)
• Enhanced menus (because no one wants to scroll through 20 pages of “black ergonomic chairs”)

…you’re not just improving search rankings - you’re making your customer’s decision-making process easier. And when customers find what they’re looking for faster, they convert more often.

Enter Macaroni: SEO for large catalogues made simple

This is exactly why we built Macaroni Software - to help large product catalogue businesses use taxonomy to scale SEO efficiently and cost-effectively. Whether you have 100 products or 10,000, our tools help you structure your site like a well-organised buffet, not a chaotic free-for-all.

Because let’s face it - no one likes decisions overwhelm. But everyone loves finding exactly what they need, fast.

Small catalogues make one product shine. Large catalogues guide customers to the right choice. If your store has 100+ products, your SEO needs to focus on navigation, taxonomy, and data-driven improvements. Otherwise, you’re just serving up chaos on a plate.

Do you want to make more from your product catalogue? Let’s talk.

Sam Wright - Managing Director

Sam is the founder and MD of Blink. He has been working in search engine optimisation since 2007, and is a regular speaker and writer on the subject of eCommerce digital marketing. He is heavily involved in all client projects.