It’s difficult for a new store to enter a saturated market. Social media may look promising, but can require constant upkeep, and some platforms may be limited in your region or market.
Ads also work but also need constant updates to stay ahead of your competitors and on top of the latest fads.
Targeting search engine traffic (called search engine optimziation or SEO) can get you customers and require less upkeep.
Google and other search engines rank results. 80% of searchers click on one the top three links. So, how do write content that ranks your products above your competitors? To answer this question, it’s easier to take a step back and realize how search engines rank pages. They use a mix of “page authority” and “page relevance.” There’s some overlap between the two, but in general page authority answers the question “How reliable is this source of information,” and page relevance answers the qustion, “Is this webpage what the search user is looking for?”
If you’re starting out, your page authority will be near-0. So, you can’t compete on authority. Instead, your best strategy is competing on relevance. And that’s our SEO tip: start with the long tail.
What is the long tail strategy?
Long tail SEO targets keywords and phrases that are ultra-specific to your audience and potential customers. By being ultra-specific, you give search engines content that is highly relevant to a few individuals. That way you rank higher for niche topics even though you don’t have page authority.
For example, instead of targeting “polo shirt,” get more specific. “Golf shirt for men” is better, but you can get more specific. “Moisture-wicking golf shirt for men” is even better. Notice that you’re taking a general item and finding a niche for it. It might feel like you’re going to lose out on customers not fitting that niche, but:
- Realistically, you’re not going to rank well for general searches like “polo shirt” until your store is bigger than Macy’s or Amazon anyway.
- The more specific a user’s searchers are the higher their buying intent is. That means, every user you bring in for a long tail keyword has a higher likelihood of converting and buying your products. General queries come from users doing reserach, specific queries come after they’ve decided what they want and are ready to buy.
Where do you put long term keywords and phrases on your store page?
The easiest option is naming your products after the long tail keywords you’re targeting. Most Shopify themes will then put those keywords in your page title and feature those keywords prominently on the product page. Then, in your page copy simply write about the product. In keeping with our moisture-wicking golf shirt example, write a few sentences about what moisture wicking is, and what makes it a good golf shirt. Don’t overthinkink it, and don’t try “stuffing” the keywords too much on the page, which can look spammy. Keep it simple.
One last tip. Try to only target one or two keywords on any particular product page. Anything more might look spammy or unnatural, which will hurt your conversion rate. If you want to target more, simply make a new landing page and then link to the product pages from there.