You want traffic to your e-commerce website, right? There are of course many ways to take on your competitors online and build more traffic, and one of the most basic yet important steps you can take is to build an excellent blog that supports your e-commerce store.
Surprisingly, many e-commerce sites don’t have a blog or have a blog that languishes in the background, devoid of useful up-to-date content. Perhaps the owners worry that the blog will detract from the main site. The fact is, the blog is there to subtly encourage readers to head to the online shop and make purchases.
Let’s take a look at just some reasons a well-curated blog can support and augment your e-commerce store.
1 — It Gives Search Engines Something to Chew on
E-commerce stores are usually full of product specifications, technical information, and a smattering of sales talk. From a search engine’s point of view, it’s not much unique content to go on, especially if you’re in a niche where many other e-commerce sites are selling the same or similar products to you.
Blogs can be written in a more informal way that speaks to the type of queries visitors might have. If, for example, we ran a blog titled ‘How Can I Personalize My Online Fashion Store’, we could discuss the benefits of using DataCue to personalize each page to show only products relevant to each individual user. The search engine can see that we are answering a question on our blog, and when someone performs a search for such a question we will appear higher in the search engine rankings, driving more traffic to us.
2 — Support Your Social Media Efforts
At DataCue, we often laud the benefits of using social media to get leads for your e-commerce site by building a relationship with users. There’s only so much you can say in 140 characters though, so where do you put your longer pieces of content? On your blog, of course!
This allows you to bring people from social media to your site without directly selling to them. It also makes it much more likely for them to share your site’s pages with their followers and friends. Free advertising!
This also works for email marketing. Put your best work on your blog, and include links to these blog posts in your email newsletter to existing customers. You’ll be showing that you’re a knowledgeable authority in the space that offers value to the customer. This will build trust in your brand.
3 — Establish Yourself as an Industry Leader
Your blog is where you can expand on the products and services you provide, giving tips on how best to use them. Show how they were manufactured, who built them and the ideas behind their designs, and how to use them efficiently.
This not only gives the reader extra value and shows why your products are excellent, but it also shows that you and your company really knows what it is doing. You’re establishing yourself as an expert in the field. This naturally builds rapport and trust as the blog becomes the voice of your brand.
Talking about your business values, sharing sneak peeks into the business, showing how your product is being used successfully in the field, and sharing on-brand information that adds value to your customers quickly builds trust in your company and develops long-term customer relationships.
4 — Solve Your Customer’s Problems
There are two types of problems you can help solve for your customer on your blog.
First, consider the problems they are facing that can be solved through the use of your products. People like to solve problems for themselves, so they search on the internet for solutions to their problems. Specific blogs on your automotive e-commerce site, for example, could ask ‘How Do I Know If I Need New Tires?’, answer the question in a straightforward way, and finish by discussing some tires your store sells.
Secondly, you can solve problems people may have with your products. If there’s something that people are calling you up about because they need to know how a certain feature of your product works, make a note of it. Write a detailed blog showing how to use this feature. People are a lot happier if you address their problems up-front without them having to resort to contacting your customer services for advice.
Read back through the comments that people have made on your social media posts and previous blogs for an idea on what your core customer wants to know and what they’re interested in. Answering a question that was posted shows that your business really does care about its customers.
5 — Invite Guest Bloggers
Inviting guest bloggers can help give your blog an even more rounded feel, with unique perspectives from authority figures in your industry. This impresses new potential customers, gives current customers useful information, and builds your network. Having featured the post of an industry influencer, they’re more likely to interact with your brand in the future and re-post your content to all of their followers, friends, and subscribers.
6 — Boost Conversion Rates
It’s not easy to turn potential customers into real customers. Your blog offers an opportunity. Include call-to-action buttons to get readers to move further into the sales funnel. Depending on your business, this could start with offering them a free e-book, a free trial, a sign-up for a newsletter, or simply asking them to follow you on social media. You can ask them to contact your business through a number of means.
Incentives can be good at getting people to take the next leap, such as a time-limited special offer. These work best when they feel personalized to the reader, something that DataCue can offer your website. If they’ve previously bought a product in a certain category, for example, you can ensure that they receive a special offer that’s relevant to their tastes.
This is just the beginning of what a blog can offer your e-commerce site. Improve your search engine rankings, build customer relationships, and complement your social media marketing with an active and interesting blog.
