Guides · SEO & AI Search · 2 min

Large catalogs have a navigation problem first

Pascal Hippmann · updated October 2026
In short

A store with over 1,000 products and well over a hundred collections didn't have a problem with too little choice. The problem was that customers couldn't find the right choice fast enough. We reorganized navigation, collections and filters. Afterward, not only did orientation in the store improve, so did visibility on Google: many times the impressions and significantly more clicks.

The case

This happens in almost every growing store: every new product range adds a collection, every promotion another one. At some point the menu tries to show everything and ends up showing nothing clearly. On mobile, it gets even messier.

The key idea: these three things don't do the same job.

Job Typical mistake
Navigation Show the main directions Putting every collection in the menu
Collections Pages for real search intent that also rank on Google A separate one for every color and every promotion
Filters Narrow down within a collection Too many filters nobody uses

What we implemented:

  1. Navigation reduced to the most important paths. A few clear entry points, with the matching subsections below.
  2. Custom filters for the attributes customers actually choose by. Not every product attribute makes a good filter.
  3. Mobile navigation designed separately. A menu that works on desktop doesn't automatically work on a phone.
  4. Collections as landing pages for Google. The important ones get copy and clear titles. The others are now just filters, not standalone pages.

The new structure helped users and search engines at the same time. Fewer but stronger pages are easier for Google to understand.

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To SEO

Your takeaways

  • More collections don't mean more order. Check which ones are actually searched for and used.
  • SEO starts with structure. Long before individual titles get optimized.
  • Impressions and clicks are good early signals. They show faster than revenue whether a new structure is working.
  • Ask of every filter: does it help the decision? If not, it just clutters the page.

Is nobody finding their way through your large catalog anymore? We optimize the path to the right product first, not the number of products.

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