Adding Fresh Content to Your Ecommerce Website

Article Rating: 2 / 5 Votes: 8

Category: Sell Online , Developing An Ecommerce Strategy

Now is the time to add fresh content to your ecommerce site. Long before holiday shoppers flood the Web in search for "the right gift," you can take measures and improve the chance that they'll find your online shop.

Search Engines, Fresh Content
It's a fact: fresh content on your website can boost the frequency of search engine visits. If you're already taking steps to build your Web presence, (paid online marketing services or social media marketing efforts) you can support these initiatives by adding new, unique, valuable content directly to your site well before the holiday rush. Note: Once you've added fresh content to your site, you can easily resubmit your website URL to the top three search engines.

Additional, unique content makes your site more attractive to search engines and helps your standing as a more valued resource in your industry. But what kind of content should you include?

An obvious place to start is with product descriptions. If your online store doesn't already answer every possible question a customer might have about your products, now is the time to fix that. You don't have to be "salesy" about it and wax on about how your tomato chopper is the "best ever." Just provide information. People like to know exactly what they're paying for.

Original Product Descriptions

And while you're at it, keep in mind the following two guidelines so your product descriptions can engage customers and count as SEO friendly fresh content:

When your product description is identical to the description on ten other sites, customers will wonder why they should shop with you and not someone else. So don't use copy from product manufacturers. Your original product descriptions, even if they're not super slick marketing copy, are better.
When you have similar products, do more than just change a word or two in your product descriptions. So if you sell blue shoes and red shoes that are otherwise the same shoe, write a unique description for each. This combats SEO filtering and helps your customers.

Product Guides
Another approach related to product descriptions is how-to guides. You can create a "Guides" page, or you can create a separate page for each guide (better). These sub-pages can be linked to Resources, FAQs, Contact and/or Products pages. Each page should have its own heading, such as, What to Look for in a Replacement Window.

Good Pages
Beyond products, you can focus on other essential areas of the buyer experience. If, for example, you don't yet have some of the following pages, now is a good time to add them:

About Us - Introduce yourself to your customers. If you have this page, make sure the information is up to date.
Contact Us - A separate contact page lets you add unique content and lets your customers know exactly where and how they can find you. If you already have a contact page, look it over for errors or outdated information. Write a few call-to-action statements that invite site visitors to feel free to use the use the contact information you provide.
Why Buy from Us - Many ecommerce websites don't have a page that addresses this question, but it can be a great way to both add new content and tell your customers precisely why you are the best resource for whatever it is you sell.
Guarantees - Alleviate any concerns your customers could possibly have about purchasing items from your e-store. Make your customers more comfortable about buying from you by letting them know that it's a risk-free proposition. Be specific (free returns, no questions asked, etc).
FAQs - "Frequently Asked Questions" pages are common. If you have one, take a look at it and give it a tune-up if needed. If there is no FAQs page on your site, take this opportunity to do something that will save time on customer service calls and add new content. Like the Guarantees page, FAQs pages can alleviate fears that might keep your visitors from becoming buyers.
Customer Testimonials - Reassuring and a source your customers are more apt to trust, testimonials present your trustworthiness and value from a third-party perspective. The best testimonials are real ones, of course, and include a first and last name, preferably city and state too. If you have a drawer or computer file folder full of rave reviews, now is the time to post them!
Resources/Links - Let your customers know you are there for them. You can provide expert advice, industry-related information, links to pages about safety or consumer tips, etc.

Themes, Pages, Keywords
Any unique, original content that adds value to your ecommerce site is a good thing, so make the most of it. Keep the following in mind as you enrich your site with your particular brand of marketing genius:

Each page should adhere to a strictly focused theme. This is important because search engines like themes; they'll be quicker to dismiss a rambling page with lots of different types of information all mashed together.
If you have a lot to say on a topic, break it up into sub-themes and have a separate page for each sub-theme. Make sure you include links from one page to the next so it's easy for interested consumers to keep reading.
Make sure visitors can find your new pages. Provide links from your Home page (typically the "hub" of a Website) to important product pages, resources/links, FAQs, or other areas of your website. You can do this with "calls to action." (e.g., "Read our articles on what to look for in quality fishing gear, or just contact us for help selecting the right equipment.")
Incorporate top-performing keywords that relate to your products, but don't overdo it. Whatever content you add should read naturally and primarily be written to serve your readers, not the search engines.
Place a targeted keyword in the title and near the beginning of the first block of text. You can also use synonyms of your keywords. This is good for SEO and for keeping your visitors interested.

Goethe said it best: "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." So, be bold! Act now to add quality content to your website. Do what you can to boost your search engine rankings and build customer confidence long before the first signs of the holidays appear, and you'll be ready to cash in on seasonal consumer spending.