Photoelectrochemical devices incorporate light absorbing semiconductors, reaction-selective and supporting catalysts, conducting and protecting interlayers, and ion-conducting electrolytes. The overall device performance is a complex interplay between the design and the performance of the individual components. Catalysts and photoabsorber are usually in immediate vicinity in order to minimize the transport lengths of the charge carriers. Nevertheless, a large number of catalysts are light absorbing and considerably reduce the amount of radiation accessible to the photoabsorber. We present and experimentally demonstrate a strategy allowing for the use of light absorbing catalysts in immediate vicinity of the photoabsorber with limited influence on device performance. The strategy was predicted using PEC device modeling and consists of the directed and limited application of catalysts on the photoabsorber in regions with high concentration of charge carriers. We show that parameters such as the catalyst performance, interlayer conductivity, electrolyte conductivity, and device design, are affecting the success of the strategy and provide general design guidelines for the incorporation of light absorbing catalysts into photoelectrochemical devices.