Similar category names result in similar urls and duplicate anchor texts

[mdimov]

Hi all,

I'm working on an e-commerce website about car tuning and car parts.

There are main categories like ( Aerodynamics, Power tuning, Interior, Wheels, Tires, etc. ) and in the products are organized in sub-categories representing the product manufacturer, car manufacturer and car model + modification. Unfortunately this kind of structure creates duplicate sub-category names. For example we can have parts for Audi A4 8K in Aerodynamics and ABT, and the same time we can have Power tuning from the same manufacturer and for the same car, or Sport brakes for the same car by different manufacturers.

So here are how some links look-like:

/alfa-romeo-147-c1070-en

/alfa-romeo-147-c234-en

/alfa-romeo-147-c399-en

These are totally different  categories, with the same anchor text and almost the same url addresses ( the only difference in the urls is the category id ).

Can this be affecting the site's indexation, and which can be the better way to create the internal link structure ?

[Entrusteddev]

You'll probably find that you'll get keyword cannibalisation with multiple pages all jockeying for the same Key Phrases.

Possibly a big and risky job, but could you not rewrite the URLs to include the category name rather than cat id?

/Alfa-romeo-147-sport-brakes-en

Without seeing the site and checking out the current structure its hard to say exactly I would structure it. Can you post a link?

Cheers

Aran

[mdimov]

Hi Aran,

thanks for the fast response.

Here's more detailed information about the sub-categories:

1st Category

Performance > Chip Tuning & Power Box > Power Box - Diesel Engines > Alfa Romeo 147

url - /alfa-romeo-147-c1070-en

2nd Category

Aerodynamics > Rieger Tuning > Alfa Romeo 147

url - /alfa-romeo-147-c234-en

3rd Category

Lighting > Tail Lights > Alfa Romeo 147

url - /alfa-romeo-147-c399-en

The url represents the name of the subcategory with it's category id and the language.

I was thinking of changing only the url, but the urls will become much much longer, and this will not help with the problem with the anchor texts and the keyword cannibalisation  ...