Types of Content That Improve E-Commerce SEO
Your e-commerce marketing campaign is an important strategic step in making your target customers aware of your brand and product, with the goal of driving them to your website and becoming your buyers.
On our blog, we talk a lot about how to market your products and reach your target customers, and many e-commerce businesses tend to rely on paid advertising on Instagram, Facebook, and Google Ads to reach their customers. Many e-commerce businesses, especially when they're just starting out, give very little consideration to search engine optimization or SEO, despite the fact that SEO is largely free and has the highest ROI of any other type of e-commerce marketing campaign.
When a website ranks high on a search engine results page, or SERP, it's basically the equivalent of discovering an e-commerce gold mine.
Ranking high in the SERPs should be at the top of your priority list as an e-commerce store owner because if you don't rank well, it means you're definitely missing out on making sales and making money.
SEO research shows that e-commerce businesses that employ content marketing strategies have a higher conversion success rate than those that don't. Content marketing is a powerful force in driving paying customers to your online store.
So, how can we take your e-commerce site to the top? The beauty of working on SEO is that it's never too late, whether you're building a new e-commerce store or trying to improve your existing online business.
Below, you'll discover our strategic step-by-step guide that can help you improve your online store's SEO and overall performance.
Keyword Search
The first step to optimizing your website with SEO is keyword research. This is the most important step and a must-do in your website optimization journey.
Keyword research is when you research and analyze the search terms people type into search engines, with the intention of optimizing your site for and around those terms.
Consider your niche and industry and brainstorm topics you think your target audience will be interested in. For example, if you run an online store selling children's clothing and accessories, what do you think your potential customers are searching for online?
Some topics may include baby accessories, baby swaddles, bibs, etc. Make sure you develop a comprehensive list of relevant topics that you know your customers are searching for.
Once you have a list of topics, a great thing to do is go to Google Search and type your topics into the search box, where Google will give you suggestions based on what other people are searching for.
For example, when you type "baby accessories," you might get suggestions that include keywords and phrases like: baby bag, baby headbands, and more. These are also good to add to your keyword list. You can also go ahead and do the same with YouTube suggestions and even Amazon suggestions.
You can also use dedicated SEO keyword research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Keyword Planner. While this isn't a comprehensive guide on how to use keyword tools, it's important to note that SEO keywords are important because they guide the direction of your content, helping you create searchable content on the SERPs.
It can be time-consuming, but laying the foundation for your SEO strategy based on these keywords is key to helping you develop a great strategy for developing your site and its content.
Remember, search engines aren't just trying to provide users with sites that contain the most relevant keywords, they're also trying to provide the most valuable, in-depth, and authoritative content based on relevant topics.
Now, let's dive into the type of content e-commerce sites can use to appeal to SERPs and, ultimately, your customers.
Type of content that helps SEO
Content is the information you post on your e-commerce site that you'll use to attract traffic and potential customers. Your goal when creating content shouldn't just be to increase traffic, but to create content that actually converts visitors into paying customers. This is why it's important to develop content that doesn't end up in the trash, and that means you'll have to put in the effort because search engines like Google appreciate high-quality content and reward it with higher search engine rankings.
Here are the types of content that can help you optimize your store and help potential customers find you on search engine results pages:
1) Blog
Long-form content like blogs has been shown to be more engaging, more shareable, and better for SEO. According to Wordstream, having a blog is one of the easiest ways to create a regular stream of SEO content.
Blogs are significantly more engaging than product descriptions and are a great way to build authority, credibility, and even trust in the industry. A blog can help your e-commerce site promote your online store for free, help you reach more people, generate repeat visitors, and help generate more online sales.
You can use your blog to explore different ways to reach your audience with a variety of content. For example, if you run an online store selling pet supplies, you could publish an article about common dog food allergies, linking readers to a line of dog food for allergy-prone pets.
Starting a blog can be hard work, but it's the kind of work that can really pay off if you're consistent enough to reach your goal. It's one way your site can attract organic traffic, which means blogging can help you reduce your advertising costs.
Research on SEO and search engine optimization has found that 2,000-word blog posts tend to perform better than shorter blog posts on Google. Today's shoppers are avid searchers looking for high-quality information, and if people are interested in what you have to say, they might want to check out your store and even subscribe to your mailing list for more articles.
Remember, when your audience reads something you write that they love or find particularly helpful, not only are they more likely to share your content, but they'll also be more likely to keep coming back to your website, even sign up for your email list, becoming a loyal customer.
2) Content of instructions
As we've said, the modern shopper is looking for information, and how-to guides are particularly helpful and offer shoppers some pretty targeted information, usually described as detailed guides.
How-to guides are also considered long-form content, like blogs. Their purpose is to educate the reader and guide them toward a specific goal, regardless of whether the content consists of a procedure for building something, operating a device, or any other action.
The beauty of how-to guides for e-commerce stores is that they specifically address customer problems. For example, if you run an online technology store that sells drones, a how-to guide on how to set up and use your best-selling device will definitely be helpful to your customers and interested buyers.
A practical guide like the one mentioned above will also help you attract new customers and serve as post-purchase customer service for your clients. Furthermore, how-to content includes excellent keywords to boost your website's SEO, helping you rank higher in the SERPs.
And just like blogs, how-to guides are highly shareable and universally accessible to all types of e-commerce retail businesses. Whether you run an online pet supply store, a bikini shop, or a kitchen accessories store, it's time to start brainstorming some of your own how-to guides for your customers.
3) Video content
While text and images can give your online store a boost on search engine results pages, some research suggests that sites that host video content are over 50 times more likely to rank higher than sites that don't use video in their strategy.
Search engines rank websites that provide quality content and answers to their users' questions, and with the evolution of digital marketing, video content is also influencing the way we purchase. Today's shoppers prefer to watch video descriptions and often do their own research to find product demos and reviews online. Written product descriptions are limited in allowing potential buyers to experience the product, while video descriptions and demos help pique buyer interest.
For example, let's say you run an online store selling clothing made from an innovative new fabric that people aren't familiar with yet. A video production explaining and showcasing your new product will excite, engage, and educate your target audience much better and more effectively than a static image and text.
According to an online consumer survey, 50% of shoppers prefer to watch videos before purchasing electronics, appliances, tools, and even personal care products. The survey also found that 85% of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 said they've purchased a product or service after watching a video.
4) Images
By now you know how important images can be in the world of e-commerce. Images have the power to communicate and convey visual information and the actual function of your products to consumers. Images are what capture the attention of your potential customers and convert them into buyers, so it's important to maximize their potential.
Unfortunately, many e-commerce stores seem to use generic-looking stock images for their websites. When you include stock images or product images directly from the manufacturer on your site, you run the risk of not being able to stand out, appearing cheap, and losing web traffic.
There are a number of things you can do to optimize your website for images, one of which is to use unique images for your site whenever possible. Image renaming is also important. When renaming image files for your online store, use words that clearly describe the image being viewed.
Another important consideration for all e-commerce store owners is image size. Excessively large images can slow down your site's loading time, which in turn lowers your search engine rankings, as SERPs tend to favor fast-loading sites.
