Is having the word catalog in an ecommerce site url detrimental to seo.

[no6thgear]

IS:

www.example.com/catalog/category%/product%

better than

www.example.com/category%/product%

category and product are dynamic values that change with the diff. categ. and products displayed while catalog is constant.

[evolvingSEO]

Hi

I think the only compelling reason to keep it, is if it reflects the real structure of your site. Is there a "category" button or link to click on, which brings you to a page www.example.com/category with content on it?  If not, I would remove it.

I generally think of "category" more as a word for blogs or portfolio sites.  If you DO have a actual page or link for "category" I would consider renaming it "products" or something more e-commerce friendly.

-Dan

[EGOL]

I would implement this without the word "catalog".  I don't think that it adds anything of value and the shorter URL might be very very slightly more effective.

Not a big deal but I like to toss dead weight overboard.