Ecommerce
New Product Category Playbook
When a store starts selling something new, its existing customers may not notice and new shoppers have no reason to associate the store with it. This playbook introduces a new category with an explainer hub, comparison articles and product copy that link together, so the category has a clear place on the site.
Who this is for
Established online stores adding a product category they have not sold before.
Before you start
- The products in the new category and the attributes shoppers compare.
- An explanation of why the store is adding this category and who it is for.
- A category page ready to receive products.
- Somebody who knows the products well enough to review guides for accuracy.
Step 1
Plan the category hub
Decide what a shopper new to the category needs to learn.
- List the questions someone new to the category asks before buying anything.
- Identify the comparisons shoppers make between types within the category.
- Plan a hub article that introduces the category and links to each guide.
- Note existing products and articles that relate to the new category.
Step 2
Create explainers and comparisons
Help shoppers understand the category before choosing.
- Write the hub article as a plain introduction to the category.
- Write comparison articles for the main choices within it, stating where each option fits.
- Write category and product copy that links back to the relevant guides.
- Have the reviewer check every claim about materials, specifications and use.
Step 3
Publish and connect to the store
Give the new category a clear place.
- Publish the hub and the category page together.
- Add the category to navigation and link it from related existing categories.
- Update older articles that should now mention the new products.
- Tell existing customers about the category with a link to the hub, not only the products.
Step 4
Measure category adoption
See whether shoppers find and understand the category.
- Check in your search console which category questions the hub and guides appear for.
- Track purchases in the category by existing and new customers.
- Revise comparisons as the range grows or changes.
- Answer recurring questions with new guides rather than longer product pages.
Common pitfalls
- Adding products with no explanation, so they look out of place in the store.
- Comparison articles that only ever favour the most expensive option.
- A category page that no other page links to.
Where Opus Rank helps
Tutorials for the parts of this plan you can do in Opus Rank.
- Build a topical map
Plan the hub and its supporting guides together.
- Write an article from a topical map topic
Generate each guide from a topic on the map.
- Add internal links
Link new guides to older articles about related categories.
Related playbooks
Turn a playbook into published articles
Plan the topics, generate drafts in your own voice and publish them to your site from one workspace.