Ecommerce SEO can help advance your online business.
SEO for ecommerce businesses
People’s curiosity is endless.
Think about every time you pull up a search engine and begin to type in a phrase, sentence or question. Despite what you originally planned to educate yourself on, odds are you’ve been distracted by pre-populated answers at some point or another.
This is why understanding how to use SEO in branding content for your e-commerce business is critical. A higher ranking can mean the difference between a sale for your company or someone else’s.
Proper SEO includes identifying the right keywords within your content so that search engines such as Google will easily find and rank it high up.
In order to become a visible competitor online, SEO-friendly content must be part of your marketing strategy. But first you must understand your target market—the demographic you’re pitching your product or service to.
Your optimized content should mirror your brand’s messaging and voice while having original, quality and relevant attributes.
TIPS AND TRICKS TO CREATE BRAND-FRIENDLY CONTENT – ecommerce SEO tips
Audience participation
Who knows consumers better than your target market? Why not put questions out to them instead of guessing the best way to reach them?
While there are various ways to do this the most straightforward and obvious is to conduct audience-focused research. This can be done through an online poll, Google survey or closed Facebook group. The HOW is up to you.
Don’t be afraid to put your questions out there. If you don’t ask, you won’t know. So find out what your audience is looking for and base optimization off of that.
Be original
Content should be creatively crafted and therefore, unique. Using a particular format as an outline or piggybacking off an idea for inspiration is one thing. But don’t copy and paste verbatim someone else’s text and plop it onto your page. That’s not only plagiarism but it’s not authentic.
To use a similar concept change the wording up dramatically—try using a thesaurus or just think of how to incorporate words and phrases that your audience will understand and identify with.
The exception to this is when you’re using text that’s properly cited, attributed to a source, or used as a direct quote. In these cases you can also paraphrase for lengthier information or just hyperlink it!
Quality over quantity
You know the saying, “If it’s not worth saying don’t say it? Well, the same applies to the written, ahem, typed word. For example, the phrase “needless to say”. If it’s needless to say it’s obvious…you get my drift.
Search engines are updated today to find quality content that’s grammatically sound and free of typos. Mistakes in this area can be devastating to your business. Ensure you have an objective party with an eye for detail, syntax, and the like to look content over before patting yourself on the back.
Give conceptual context
As discussed above, content optimization goes beyond just repeating keywords, it includes using related concepts and phrases. Doing this involves the inclusion of similar ideas. In example, a search for “SEO-friendly content” pulled up the words and phrases “custom optimization strategies” “step-by-step guide” and “personalized SEO plan.”
Create a brand
Don’t just be another e-commerce business floating out there in the world of online retailers. Build yourself a brand and make sure it has a clear voice. This being said, brainstorm ways to stand out among the crowd by being descriptive. This means staying away from alliterate slogans and cliches that have been used time and again.
Avoid using jargon
Within a given industry working professionals have adapted to using jargon as a default. It’s easy and sometimes a necessary habit to fall into, but when we’re talking about optimizing content for your brand, mostly avoid it.
Think about a situation where you’re having a conversation with your friend about something to do with your job. Unless your friend works in or is otherwise familiar with the industry you wouldn’t speak in acronyms, abbreviations and jargon, you’d explain it as succinctly as possible.
The exception here is of course when research shows that your target market actually uses these keywords. In general, know your audience and default to that.
Research first, then react
Sometimes we get excited. We see something new and we want to implement it. But as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If the keywords and phrases you’re currently using are ranking well for your branded content, keep it. Make sure you understand what content rankings do. Afterall, the goal is to rank higher, not lower with your ecommerce SEO ratings.
Differentiate your keywords for ecommerce SEO
The punctuation in keywords, phrases and conceptual context are disregarded by search engines so keep this in mind. This provides a loophole for variations of the same keywords, resulting in varied search results. Feel free to use periods, commas and exclamation points to diversity and improve your rankings.
Don’t beat around the bush
Attention spans grow shorter and shorter as instant gratification becomes the norm. Businesses are vying for just seconds of consumer’s time, so don’t waste it. Be straightforward and get to the point. There’s a time and place for anecdotal story-telling and your keyword search isn’t it.
Overall, you can create brand-friendly content but if it’s not correctly enhanced or “optimized” it’s not going to help much. So do your research and audience participation and value quality over quantity. You’ll reach your target market in no time. Good luck!