Optimize taxonomy with attributes

A well-structured taxonomy is crucial to how product data is displayed on ecommerce sites. The organization of categories, the breadth as well as depth of the tree, the amount of detail that it can contain - all of these determine the effectiveness of the product display page, including the filters that appear on the left hand pane, the breadcrumbs displayed, and the very discoverability of the product.

Consider this approach to categorization:

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Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>1-Ton

Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>2-Ton

Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>2.5-Ton

Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>10-Ton

Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>20-Ton

Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks>>25-Ton and Up

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Now how about this?

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Lifting Equipment>>Service Jacks [Capacity = 1 / 2 / 2.5]

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What we’ve done is, ended the class path at “Service Jacks”, and introduced an attribute “Capacity” that can hold the weight in tons. This streamlines the taxonomy in a number of ways:

• We’ve eliminated the need to create a new category every time a new capacity service jack is purchased - all you need to do is add the tonnage value to the leaf node attribute.
• When a customer searches for “Service Jack” on your ecommerce site, all capacities are displayed. However, there is still an option to zero in on the exact jack the customer wants - because of the attributes. The “Capacity” attribute with all its values shows up as filters with checkboxes on the left hand navigation pane, giving the customer a list of everything available, and also letting them choose what they want. 

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This is just one example of how attributes can be effectively used to optimize taxonomy structures. There are several other ways, depending on your business, the way you categorize products, and the way your customers use those products. We take every aspect into consideration and help you create what works for you.

Our customizable taxonomy management tool gives you full control over categories, attributes, filters and any business rules you may want to incorporate, such as valid values for a particular attribute or applicable units of measure for your product data. We provide collaborative workflows designed to ensure that all taxonomy changes are reviewed and approved by designated user roles. Approved changes can be seamlessly synced to your catalog, giving you end-to-end taxonomy and catalog management capabilities with a single intuitive interface.