How to Optimize SEO for eCommerce
Aaron Levenstadt CEO & Founder
July 15, 2020 | 5 Min Read
Article updated on December 12, 2022
In our previous blog, we discussed how SEO-driven blog content is your eCommerce store’s best salesperson. We showed how brands that invest in ecommerce content marketing optimized for Search discoverability have reaped the benefits of being visible to prospective buyers at the right moment, building brand reputation and trust, and eventually sales conversions. It is abundantly clear that systematic SEO for ecommerce is the bridge that empowers your store to also serve as a school.
In this article, we are going to build on our last article by looking at how to create and curate ecommerce content that can serve the purpose of being informative and relevant to users searching for a product. The content should also set them along the path of the buyer’s journey by developing trust through growing engagement and relationship building.
With respect to search relevancy, Google made this comment on their Search Engine algorithm core update statement last month answering why is SEO important for ecommerce content:
Ensuring relevancy not only ensures the content can rank high on SERP, allowing new customers to find you, but it also builds a layer of trust. It informs a consumer how much you know about your product and essentially, why you are the subject matter expert they should buy from – this applies to both products and services. This “soft” conversion of landing a new reader on a ranking blog post can lead to a “hard” conversion or a new sale.
Customers need information before they purchase a product. You provide it. If they get all the information they needed from your content, and you have the product in stock, why would they go back to Google to find another source? Or at the very least, why wouldn’t they browse the brands you carry that you write about?
Besides informational relevancy, a blog driven by SEO for ecommerce should also adopt the E-A-T model that Google’s Search Quality Evaluator uses to determine whether your blog is high-quality content to the search user.
The model consists of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness of the creator of the main content, the main content itself, and the website. Now that you know what your blog content must have, read on to find out how to curate and create high-quality ecommerce content that possesses these attributes.
These questions can be a clue to a search “land grab” as there might be a missing piece of information across the web that potential customers need addressing.
Ask your customers questions and be listening to what you can address on your blog.
As you strategize ecommerce content marketing campaigns, you’ll need to see if there are terms where you could rank higher for informative content. A common SEO mistake is to only optimize and publish content tuned for product results and missing out on the opportunity to create content that is informational. By leveraging the gap in SERP results for high-quality informational content, you can create content that matters and actually gets discovered.
Identify your “high-value” keywords, search terms with the most conversions, high CTR, etc. from your Pay Per Click ads. This data can provide you with organic search ranking opportunities by informing how your content should be optimized.
Your eCommerce platform, such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, will provide a clear infrastructure to ensure users are able to buy and receive what you’re producing. However, you need an eCommerce blog to extend your voice and to encourage prospects to resonate with your passion, your knowledge, and subsequently, your product.
You may rank for particular products, but as your company grows, product formulas change, or the services you provide transform from what they were: you also move from just a product to an encompassing brand, to a clear brand voice and, hey, maybe even a movement.
To learn more about SEO for eCommerce businesses, read our recent article ‘How to Conduct an eCommerce SEO Audit’.
In this article, we are going to build on our last article by looking at how to create and curate ecommerce content that can serve the purpose of being informative and relevant to users searching for a product. The content should also set them along the path of the buyer’s journey by developing trust through growing engagement and relationship building.
Why is SEO important for ecommerce content?
Search Engine algorithms keep updating so the most relevant information appears on top of Search Engine Results Page (SERP), and it is important to ensure the information provided is relevant to the search terms your prospective buyers search for. You might be producing great content, but if it isn’t getting discovered and consumed, is it really that helpful?With respect to search relevancy, Google made this comment on their Search Engine algorithm core update statement last month answering why is SEO important for ecommerce content:
Ensuring relevancy not only ensures the content can rank high on SERP, allowing new customers to find you, but it also builds a layer of trust. It informs a consumer how much you know about your product and essentially, why you are the subject matter expert they should buy from – this applies to both products and services. This “soft” conversion of landing a new reader on a ranking blog post can lead to a “hard” conversion or a new sale.
Customers need information before they purchase a product. You provide it. If they get all the information they needed from your content, and you have the product in stock, why would they go back to Google to find another source? Or at the very least, why wouldn’t they browse the brands you carry that you write about?
Besides informational relevancy, a blog driven by SEO for ecommerce should also adopt the E-A-T model that Google’s Search Quality Evaluator uses to determine whether your blog is high-quality content to the search user.
The model consists of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness of the creator of the main content, the main content itself, and the website. Now that you know what your blog content must have, read on to find out how to curate and create high-quality ecommerce content that possesses these attributes.
Implementing ecommerce content marketing strategies
Listen to your customers
One of the best ways to ensure you’re creating informational content that is valuable, useful, and relevant is by seeing what questions you frequently get from customers.These questions can be a clue to a search “land grab” as there might be a missing piece of information across the web that potential customers need addressing.
Ask your customers questions and be listening to what you can address on your blog.
Look for SERP gaps in informational content
As mentioned above, there are two different types of consumer results in Google: product results or product pages, and then informative results.As you strategize ecommerce content marketing campaigns, you’ll need to see if there are terms where you could rank higher for informative content. A common SEO mistake is to only optimize and publish content tuned for product results and missing out on the opportunity to create content that is informational. By leveraging the gap in SERP results for high-quality informational content, you can create content that matters and actually gets discovered.
Gain insights from paid search campaigns
Paid ads allow you to “pay-to-play” and provide needed visibility for your business immediately. A common marketing oversight is the failure to leverage the keyword opportunities your paid search ad data provides.Identify your “high-value” keywords, search terms with the most conversions, high CTR, etc. from your Pay Per Click ads. This data can provide you with organic search ranking opportunities by informing how your content should be optimized.
Product producer or content creator? You need to master both
You know your product inside and out. But knowing your industry and product isn’t enough. In the highly competitive eCommerce landscape, you need to showcase your credibility. Storytelling, knowledge transfer, and blog content are proven ways to present this to your prospective shoppers. You need to speak for your brand and your product directly, by being informative, creative and savvy about what your customers want to know from you. As the saying goes, every great brand needs a great face and “voice” in this context.Your eCommerce platform, such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce, will provide a clear infrastructure to ensure users are able to buy and receive what you’re producing. However, you need an eCommerce blog to extend your voice and to encourage prospects to resonate with your passion, your knowledge, and subsequently, your product.
You may rank for particular products, but as your company grows, product formulas change, or the services you provide transform from what they were: you also move from just a product to an encompassing brand, to a clear brand voice and, hey, maybe even a movement.
Partner with Experts
A digital marketing agency such as Pedestal with professional expertise in SEO-driven content can help you find the best opportunities for content creation and curation. Our ecommerce content writers are experts in creating content that is discoverable, digestible, and readable to online users. Get in touch with us to discuss how you can get content that brings the best of both worlds: informative and data-driven.To learn more about SEO for eCommerce businesses, read our recent article ‘How to Conduct an eCommerce SEO Audit’.
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Aaron Levenstadt
CEO & Founder
Aaron Levenstadt completed his degree in Statistical & Data Science at Stanford University. That focus has given him an unparalleled data-driven approach to search engine digital marketing. Prior to founding Pedestal Search, Aaron worked at Google at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View California. At Google he worked on the Organic Search, Paid Search and Google Analytics products, which equipped him with extensive knowledge of the mechanisms driving Google’s algorithm and other internet search engines.