How to Make Subcategories in Shopify: Complete Guide

Creating subcategories in Shopify is essential for organizing your products effectively and improving the customer shopping experience. While Shopify doesn't have a native subcategory feature, there are several methods to achieve hierarchical product organization that enhances both usability and SEO performance.

Why Create Subcategories in Shopify?

Subcategories help organize products into logical groups, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for. This improved organization leads to better user experience, higher conversion rates, and enhanced SEO performance through better site structure and navigation.

From an SEO perspective, well-organized subcategories create clear content hierarchies that search engines can easily understand and index. This structure also provides opportunities for targeted keyword optimization and improved internal linking.

Method 1: Using Product Tags for Subcategories

One of the most straightforward ways to create subcategories in Shopify is using product tags. This method allows you to group products under main categories and then create subcategories using specific tag combinations.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Go to your Shopify admin dashboard
2. Navigate to Products → All products
3. Select a product you want to categorize
4. In the product details, add tags in the format: "category-subcategory"
5. For example: "clothing-shirts", "clothing-pants", "electronics-phones"
6. Save the product and repeat for all products

Creating Collection Pages

After tagging your products, create collection pages that automatically display products with specific tags. This creates the appearance of subcategories while maintaining Shopify's native functionality.

Method 2: Using Metafields for Advanced Subcategories

For more advanced subcategory organization, you can use Shopify's metafields feature. This method provides greater flexibility and allows for more complex categorization structures.

Setting Up Metafields

1. Go to Settings → Metafields
2. Create a new metafield definition for "Subcategory"
3. Set the namespace and key (e.g., "custom.subcategory")
4. Choose the appropriate field type (single line text or list)
5. Apply the metafield to products

Using Metafields in Collections

Once metafields are set up, you can create collections that filter products based on metafield values. This creates dynamic subcategories that automatically update when products are added or modified.

Method 3: Using Apps for Subcategories

Several Shopify apps provide native subcategory functionality with advanced features like drag-and-drop organization, bulk editing, and enhanced navigation options.

Popular Subcategory Apps

• Bold Product Options: Provides advanced product organization features
• Advanced Product Options: Offers hierarchical product categorization
• Product Filter & Search: Includes subcategory functionality with filtering
• Collection Tree: Creates visual category trees with subcategories

SEO Benefits of Subcategories

Properly implemented subcategories provide significant SEO benefits by creating clear content hierarchies, improving internal linking, and providing opportunities for targeted keyword optimization.

Improved Site Structure

Subcategories create a logical site structure that search engines can easily crawl and understand. This hierarchical organization helps search engines determine the relevance and importance of different pages on your site.

Enhanced Internal Linking

Subcategories provide natural opportunities for internal linking, helping distribute page authority throughout your site. This improved link structure can boost the rankings of individual product pages.

Targeted Keyword Optimization

Each subcategory page can be optimized for specific long-tail keywords, providing more opportunities to rank for relevant search terms and attract qualified traffic.

Best Practices for Shopify Subcategories

Logical Organization

Organize your subcategories in a way that makes sense to your customers. Consider how they would naturally browse and search for products, and structure your categories accordingly.

Consistent Naming

Use consistent naming conventions for your subcategories. This helps with both user experience and SEO, as search engines can better understand your site structure.

Breadcrumb Navigation

Implement breadcrumb navigation to show users where they are in your category hierarchy. This improves user experience and provides additional SEO benefits through structured data.

Mobile Optimization

Ensure your subcategory navigation works well on mobile devices. Consider using collapsible menus or other mobile-friendly navigation patterns.

The Future: AI-Powered Product Organization

As e-commerce continues to evolve, AI-powered tools are emerging that can automatically organize products and optimize category structures based on user behavior and search patterns.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-Categorization

Creating too many subcategories can confuse customers and dilute your SEO efforts. Focus on creating meaningful categories that genuinely help users find products.

Inconsistent Implementation

Ensure all products are properly categorized and that your categorization system is applied consistently across your entire product catalog.

Ignoring User Experience

While SEO is important, don't sacrifice user experience for search optimization. Your subcategories should make sense to your customers first and foremost.

Conclusion

Creating subcategories in Shopify is essential for organizing your products effectively and improving both user experience and SEO performance. Whether you use product tags, metafields, or specialized apps, the key is to create a logical, consistent categorization system.

Remember that the goal is to help customers find products easily while providing search engines with clear signals about your site structure. As e-commerce continues to evolve with AI-powered discovery, consider how your categorization strategy fits into the broader landscape of search optimization.

Implement these subcategory strategies today to improve your Shopify store's organization, user experience, and search visibility.