Choosing the right keywords for your ecommerce brand is an essential step toward ensuring that your ideal customer is able to find your website. By optimizing your website’s content with the right keywords, you'll improve your search engine rankings and attract the right audience to your products. This guide will teach you how to identify and use the best keywords to boost your ecommerce brand.
How do I Choose the right Keywords for an Ecommerce Brand?
Selecting the right keywords for your ecommerce website isn't just about finding popular terms. It’s essential to ensure that the keywords you choose reflect your audience's needs and intentions. Let's explore the key steps to help you define and implement an effective keyword strategy for your online store.
1. Understanding Your Target Audience
The first step in choosing the right keywords is understanding your target audience. For your keywords to be effective, they need to align with the needs of your customers.
Define Your Ideal Customer
Defining your ideal customer means creating a detailed picture of the person (or people) most likely to buy from your brand.
This isn't just about demographics like age and location; it's about understanding their needs, motivations, lifestyle, and aspirations.
Moreover, identifying the problem your customer actually has and how your solution solves it is a powerful way to narrow down your ideal target audience.
Those who buy shoes for work need to send a message of being a successful professional; therefore, the communication must match this particular need to be more compelling for the customer.
Analyze Customer Pain Points
Understanding the problems your customers face can help you identify keywords that reflect their needs. Analyze the most frequently asked questions on your site (and others in the same niche), research the challenges that your customers may be facing, and use that information to guide your keyword choices.
2. Researching Competitors
Analyzing your competitors’ search rankings and website content can provide valuable insights into the keywords that are successful for them.
While you shouldn't copy them directly, understanding their strategy can help you build your own.
Identify Your Main Competitors
Your main competitors are businesses that provide the same (or very similar) products to the same (or very similar) ideal customer. To determine who your competitors are, it can be helpful to search Google using keywords you already consider relevant to your business and then research the brands that appear most frequently.
Analyze Their Keyword Strategies
Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you discover which keywords your competitors are targeting—and not targeting. When several competitive websites are all using the same keywords in their content, the competition can make it harder for your business to earn a good search ranking. By finding gaps or keywords they’re missing, you can create a strategy focused on keyword niches with lower competition.
3. Utilizing Keyword Research Tools
According to a study by BrightEdge, 53% of website traffic for ecommerce stores comes from organic search. Keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush are designed to help you identify the keywords and search phrases that can drive more traffic to your online store.
4. Focusing on Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are specific phrases that reflect the thought processes of shoppers. These phrases usually have lower search volume than one or two-word phrases, but because they reflect a more specific need, traffic from those keywords can result in higher conversion rates.
What Are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search terms that reflect a buyer’s intention or ask a question. They're often used by consumers closer to making a purchase decision. For example, "running shoes" is a basic keyword that will yield many results. A longtail keyword like "pink marathon running shoes" is far more specific and will return fewer results, which helps the shopper narrow their purchasing options."
Benefits of Using Long-Tail Keywords
Focusing on long-tail keywords allows your brand to attract a more qualified audience, face less keyword competition, and get a lower cost per click (CPC), which is the price paid for each click you get in an advertising campaigns, such as Google Ads, for example.
5. Considering Search Intent
Search intent is crucial for the success of your keyword strategy.
Understanding why someone is searching for something helps you choose keywords that match their intent.
Types of Search Intent
There are four main types of search intent:
- Informational: When the user is seeking information;
- Transactional: When the user is ready to make a purchase;
- Navigational: When the user is trying to find a specific website;
- Commercial: When the user is comparing product options.
Aligning Keywords with Search Intent
Make sure your keywords align with the user's search intent and take them to the right page to meet their needs. For example, results for a transactional keyword like "buy iPhone 14 online" should lead to a product page where the user can buy that phone. Results for an informational keyword like "best features of iPhone 14" can direct users to a blog or informative landing page.
6. Regularly Updating Your Keyword Strategy
The ecommerce market is dynamic, and your keywords should evolve along with changes in search trends and consumer behavior. Regularly revisiting your strategy ensures you keep optimizing your content with relevant terms.
Conclusion
Choosing the right keywords for your ecommerce brand is an ongoing process that requires a deep understanding of your audience, competitor analysis, and the use of research tools. By following the steps outlined in this guide and adjusting your strategy as needed, you can optimize your digital presence and achieve your growth goals.
To further elevate your brand's success, explore how VTEX's ecommerce solutions can seamlessly integrate with your keyword strategy, helping you maximize your store's visibility and sales potential.
Try VTEX's demo for free today and experience the power of our composable and complete commerce solution to transform your ecommerce business!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Learn the answers to common questions about how to choose the right keywords for your ecommerce brand.
How Often Should I Update My Keyword Strategy?
It's recommended to review your keyword strategy every three to six months or whenever you notice significant changes in consumer behavior or market trends.
What Are the Best Tools for Keyword Research?
Some of the best keyword research tools include Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest. These tools provide comprehensive insights into search volume, related keywords, and competition.
Can I Use the Same Keywords for Different Product Categories?
Yes, you can, but it's not ideal. It's better to tailor keywords for each product category to ensure they are specific and relevant to the products. This increases the chances of attracting the right audience for each section of your website.