Retailers who sell their goods and services online are always looking for new and relevant keywords to use on their websites and other platforms. This helps them to improve their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking, which in turn increases the amount of traffic to their site. You will need to take into account both what the user is looking for (search intent) and how relevant your content is to that search.
If you outsource your keyword research, it can be expensive and may not produce the results you want because you would have no control over the process. The keyword difficulty score is a measure of how difficult it is to rank for a keyword in Google. Many contractors will provide you with a list of irrelevant keywords that have a high search volume but a low difficulty score.
As a result, you’ll spend money on a poor keyword profile that could result in less traffic and sales.
To avoid this pitfall, be sure to invest your time in creating a high-quality keyword list internally. You don’t need to be a professional to create an actionable keyword profile. There are easy-to-use tools available that will allow you to do this at a reasonable price.
But how do you go about it?
This guide will teach you what keyword research is and why it is important for your eCommerce business. You will also learn how to properly conduct keyword research to ensure the success of your business.
Why keyword research?
By conducting keyword research, you can discover which terms and phrases are most relevant to your product or service, and then optimize your website and product pages accordingly. This will help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), and ultimately drive more traffic to your site. This technique can help you get your site onto Google’s first page, which will result in more people visiting your site.
The goal of having eCommerce stores is to drive conversions from the traffic they generate. By optimizing the keywords on their landing and product pages, they can attract more customers and result in more sales.
If you want your site to appear on the first page of a search engine, you need to make sure it has relevant keywords that match what users are searching for. It is important to not only appear on the first page of a search engine but also to rank high on that page.
If you use the correct keyword phrases, your website will improve its ranking on search engines, which will lead to increased traffic and sales. To use SEO to improve your eCommerce business, you need to understand how to do keyword research.
What is keyword research?
A keyword is a phrase or word that is used by search engines to find content, products, and services online. The keywords on a web page help users find results that match their search queries on websites.
People use search engines to find websites about topics they’re interested in. The search engine shows a list of websites that are related to the words (keywords) that were used in the search.
There are different types of keywords, but the most common way to distinguish them is by their length. Short keywords are two words or fewer while long keywords are three to five words.
Examples of short-tail keywords are:
- Winter Clothing
- Dresses
- Wedding gowns
- E-Commerce
Examples of long-tail keywords are:
- Social media marketing tools
- 10-inch black hair extensions
- Large cardboard boxes
Long-tail keywords are less competitive than short-tail keywords, making them easier to rank for. Therefore, it is preferable to use long-tail keywords for your eCommerce website.
Long-tail keywords are more specific and enable search engine tools to match users’ search words and phrases to your content more easily. Short-tail keywords are more difficult to rank because a search term like “hair extensions” will generate many results, while “20-inch brown hair extensions” will produce fewer results.
Keywords are also categorized according to search intent. Search intent can be informational, navigational, or transactional/commercial.
Informational intent keywords are used to target searchers who are looking for information. A blog post that answers user queries is a good tool for reaching such visitors.
Navigational intent keywords are used to guide people to websites where they can find information such as user guides and research tools. keywords that indicate that the user is looking to make a purchase, such as “school uniform designs.”
The search volume for a given keyword phrase shows the average monthly searches for that phrase. You will see the greatest benefits for your eCommerce store if you use keywords that have a high monthly search volume. You will get more traffic and more conversions this way.
Consider the SEO difficulty in relation to the keyword. The difficulty of the keywords you choose to target should be around 30% so you can compete well against other websites. This means that keywords that have a difficulty score between 30-70% are still reasonable to target because they have a good amount of search volume.
To get better search engine rankings, you should look for keywords that have a good balance of search volume and competition.
Now that you understand what a keyword is, research your keyword to further your understanding.
Let’s get right to it!
Keyword Research For E-commerce 101
There are various factors to take into consideration when conducting ecommerce keyword research in order to determine the best keywords.
Here are a few important considerations:
Search Volume
The monthly number of searches for a particular keyword search phrase is called search volume.
You should target keywords with high monthly search volumes because that means many users are searching for that given term.
This means that if many people are searching for a keyword, it might be more difficult to rank for that keyword. If your content is high quality and you are able to get other websites to link to it, you can target bigger terms. But it may take longer and be more difficult.
There is no specific amount of search volume that you should aim for as it depends on your website. If you’re looking for qualified leads, a good rule of thumb is to consider any keywords that get over 20 monthly searches.
While there are a number of free keyword research tools available that can help you determine search volume, this author prefers the paid tool Ahrefs.
Keyword Difficulty
The difficulty of ranking for a given keyword on Google is estimated by a score between zero and 100.
A high keyword difficulty means that it will be difficult to compete with existing search results. The success of your website depends on the quality of your website and the content you create for each target keyword.
Search Relevance
This is determined by how often the search term appears in the result, as well as how close to the top of the results the search term appears.
You can find a keyword by doing a search on a keyword research tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner or Google Trends. Although achieving goals and conversions are unlikely if the text on your page does not accurately describe what you are selling, it is still possible.
It is better to have 10 qualified prospects from an organic search than to have 1,000 visitors who leave immediately because they cannot find what they are looking for on your page.
A Guide to E-Commerce Keyword Research
Brainstorm your keywords
You will need to gather a list of search terms that have high monthly search volume but low competition. The keywords should align with what your customers are likely to use when searching for the items you sell.
A contextual inquiry is a research technique used to observe and interview potential customers about how they interact with your product. You can create contextually relevant questions and submit them to test participants through user sessions.
Some of the questions to ask are:
- Why did you select this option or click on this button?
- What product improvement suggestions do you have in mind?
- What did you like or dislike about this product?
The goal of this research is to examine how users perform certain tasks online, and the time it takes to complete and exit the user sessions. You should research your customers’ emotions and habits to figure out which terms they’re likely to use to search for your products on search engines.
You can also ask family or friends to help you look for your products on search engines. See what types of things they search for and what buttons or links they click on. This tactic can help you understand what people might typically search for.
Determine Where You Rank In Relevant Search
You need to set benchmarks before you can make informed decisions about keyword strategy. When creating new content, consider what would be most helpful to your audience.
If you have already started to build your ecommerce website and have tried to incorporate SEO keywords, you should also use a keyword ranking tracker to find out where you are in a relevant search.
Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker can help you keep track of your rankings, as well as other mentioned functions.
Consider Search Intent
You need to figure out what exactly they’re looking for and give it to them The most important thing now for attracting target customers to your website is understanding what they are looking for, and then giving it to them.
In the past, Google’s algorithm prioritized websites with a high number of keywords and backlinks. Most advice on keyword research suggests using long-tail keywords.
Keyword research strategies had to be changed because Google’s algorithm started to prioritize semantics, intent, and relevance.
Not paying attention to search intent is a big mistake that some SEO professionals make. If you don’t take into account what the user is actually looking for (their search intent), your web pages will show up for the wrong keywords or attract the wrong target audience. Both represent missed opportunities and wasted money.
Although expert SEOs each have their own ways of categorizing intent, according to Think With Google, there are four types of search intent:
- Informational.
- Commercial.
- Transactional.
- Navigational.
The clues that can help you to understand the keyword intent are words that identify what the user is looking for and specific ecommerce pages.
Look For Target Keywords
You can research your target keywords by looking at your competitors or by doing your own research. We recommend doing both.
To develop a list of keyword ideas for your online store, you can use Google tools like Autocomplete, People Also Ask, and related searches. Amazon is a great place to start your brainstorming session.
After looking over your keyword list, choose the main keyword that you want to focus on. Make sure to keep in mind that numerous factors play a role in ecommerce keyword research as you gather data. This way, you can ensure that your keywords are accurate.
Use tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to determine:
- Search volume.
- Search relevance.
- Keyword difficulty.
- Search intent.
After finding a few target keywords, see if there are any longer versions you can use, especially when making product pages and blog posts for your ecommerce website.
There will be fewer people searching for these specific queries, however, they are also consumers who know exactly what they want. As a result, they have higher purchasing intent.
Spy On The Competition
After you’ve completed your keyword research, the next step is to check how your competition is ranking. This will give you an idea of how much effort you’ll need to put in to be successful. This text is discussing how, by using a keyword research tool, you can get ideas to help focus your keyword research.
That’s especially important for ecommerce. If you don’t rank first, you will miss out on conversions. If your competitor is in first place for a query, you will only receive half the potential traffic.
A few things to look out for during your competitor research process include:
- The specific keywords they’re going after.
- The number of backlinks they have.
- Where their backlinks are coming from, which can give you ideas for guest posting and other collaboration opportunities.
- The topics the content covers, its quality, and any missed opportunities that you can fill.
The Semrush keyword tool is a great way to research your SEO and PPC competitors. It can help you to determine all of the mysterious pieces of the puzzle.
Wrapping Up: How To Do Keyword Research For Ecommerce
When developing an SEO strategy for your ecommerce business, ecommerce keyword research is essential.
And if you do it well, it can help you find the right keywords and give you useful tips on what tactics and strategies to use in your ecommerce store.
Leave a Reply