Blogging is a very cheap way to get more people to notice you online.
Let’s be honest: getting targeted traffic, or getting your ideal customer to find you, is one of the hardest parts of running an online store.
Yes, it’s true that most online shoppers (44%) go straight to Amazon to find the best deals, but it’s also true that 33% of online shoppers begin by doing a simple Google search. (According to an NPR/Marist poll)
Here’s where you come in. Well, your blog is where it comes in.
Google’s main goal is to show searchers the most relevant information about what they’re looking for. If you’re constantly adding new, useful, and relevant information to your pages, guess who will be watching?
You guessed it. Google.
But (and this is a big but), having a blog isn’t enough. It’s very important to have a blog with content that your readers and potential customers will find useful.
How do you provide blog content that is deemed valuable?
First, do research and write about things that are related to your business and are important to it.
If you sell “hair accessories,” you could write about “5 Hair Techniques That Actually Work For Styling Your Naturally Curly Hair.” If you sell pet supplies, you could write about “The 3 Best Pet-Friendly Hotels In (your state/country) For Travelers With Large Breed Dogs.”
Not sure what to write about?
Here are a few free tools that can help you come up with ideas:
HubSpot – https://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator
Content Ideas from Portent: http://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker
Second, use the following ideas to get people to visit your blog:
Use headlines that are easy to understand and make you feel something.
- For example, “5 Hairstyles That Actually Work for Curly Hair” is better than “Naturally Curly Hair Techniques.”
- Make URL structures that are easy to understand.
- For example: “www.examplestore.com/blog/hair/naturally-curly-hair-styling-techniques” vs. “www.examplestore.com/category=hair/id=176%”
- Make sure to write a “meta-description” that is useful.
This is important for Google searches because it lets people see if your page has the information they are looking for. A meta-description can make or break a visitor’s decision to click on your link.
- Write page content that is really interesting to your readers and doesn’t just talk about yourself.
- Make it your goal to give unique, real, and honest information, and don’t forget to check your spelling!
- Add links to share your pages on social networks to your pages.
- Use Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube (if you’re using video), and even email and text messages. Google really likes it when other pages link to yours.
- Make sure the “user experience” is good.
- Make pages that load quickly, look good, and are easy to use on mobile devices.
- Third, at the end of your content, include a call to action that tells readers to sign up for your blog, sign up for special discounts, shop in your store, or go to a related article.
Last, take pages out of the index that are useless, old, or duplicates (ie thank you page, printer-friendly versions of the page, etc). If you don’t put too much useless information on search engine results pages, Google is more likely to think your website is useful.
What do you think about writing a blog for your online store? Have you done well? Leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you!
