Knowing which keywords to target is essential to any effective eCommerce SEO campaign. By doing the research, you will be able to find the right keywords that will bring you higher ROI and more visibility.
Knowing which keywords to target is essential to any effective eCommerce SEO campaign.
With more and more online stores popping up, ranking in Google for all relevant keywords is becoming more difficult. But it is also becoming even more important to target the right keywords otherwise your website is pretty much “invisible” and you won’t be able to attract new customers.
By doing the research, you will be able to find the right keywords that will bring you higher ROI and more visibility.
Look at the keywords people are currently using to find your products.
Use Google Analytics “Keywords” report and Google Webmaster Tools “Search Queries” report to identify what search queries customers use to find your website. Knowing what keywords you’re already ranking for is a great starting point as it is much easier to increase the rankings of keywords that are already bringing in customers than it is to target a keyword you’re not ranking in the top 100 for.
However, these keywords should only be a portion of your whole target list as it’s also important that you also target keywords that you aren’t ranking for yet as these will bring in new customers. Having a mix of keywords, with ones that your website is already visible for and others that your site is not yet ranking for is a great way to ensure that you’re covering all angles.
Make a list of all the categories and products you want promote.
Making a list of all the categories and products you want to rank for is a great way to undertake your keyword research.
Write down all the categories and products you want more traffic to and then type them into Google’s Keyword Planner which will provide you with a list of potential keywords that you could target. Sort through this list and add the most relevant ones to your product offering.
Target Long-Tail Keywords. It’s a No Brainer.
Long-tail keywords are an imperative part of your target keyword list and there are so many reasons to love them!
• While these keywords have lower search volumes than more generic search terms, they also have lower competition, making them easier to rank for.
• Targeting long-tail keywords drives extremely qualified traffic to specific pages. Using a women’s online fashion boutique as an example, people searching for “womens navy blue dresses” are much closer to purchasing you products than people searching for “womens dresses”.
• There are so many different relevant keywords that you can target from long-tail keywords that can be used as blog article topics to product-specific keywords. So instead of trying to rank for a short-tail keyword that has a few thousand searches each month that is very competitive and will take significantly longer to achieve, track and target multiple long-tail keywords. It will not only get you on page 1 faster, but will also get you a higher return on investment.
BONUS TIP: It’s also much easier to rank for shorter-tail keywords, e.g. “womens dresses” when you are already ranking for longer-tail keywords that are related to it.
Spy on your competitors! Do it!
Unless you have a completely exclusive product line and aren’t interested in targeting broader keywords, you won’t be the only one trying to rank in Google for relevant keywords. You will have a lot of competitors trying to claim their spot on page 1. In most industries there are usually 1-3 industry leaders that are dominating the space and ranking highly for a range of different keywords.
These stores are obviously doing something right to be ranking on page 1 of Google. So check out their websites, site content, headings and meta titles and descriptions they are using. This will give you a good idea of what keywords they are targeting and the keywords you may want to target and outrank.
While it may be difficult to outrank your competitors for high search volume and high competition keywords in the beginning, it is much easier and quicker to outrank your competitors for long-tail keywords. So I repeat, make sure you are targeting these.
And remember, when it comes to SEO there is always room for improvement and there are always opportunities to outrank your competitors in Google. And one of the best ways to do this is through knowing which keywords they’re going after and which ones they’re forgetting. So spy away!
BONUS TIP: If you don’t know which competitors are winning in Google, you need to fix this fast. Here’s an easy way to get an idea of who is dominating in your industry:
1) In Google, type in 5-10 of the top, most relevant keywords that you have found using the strategies above.
2) Make a note of the websites that are appearing again and again on the 1st page on Google.
3) These stores are your biggest competition in Google so keep your eye on them!
Want someone else to tell you who your top competitors are and which keywords to target? At Digital Animals, we specialise in building ROI-driven eCommerce SEO campaigns that help stores outrank their competitors. Get started with a free no-obligation Competition Rankings Report.
About Author: Charlie Nicholls is our Digital Marketing & SEO Coordinator and is passionate about developing strategic eCommerce SEO campaigns that earn sites greater authority, rankings and traffic. Digital Animals is a great source of information and has the capability to help you at every step of the online marketing process. Please get in touch, we are happy to answer any questions you may have.