If you visit a top e-commerce website, you are most likely to find a section for blogs. If not right on the top, then right at the bottom. Many online sellers are unaware of the power of blogging and perceive blogs the same way it was perceived in the late 1990s. Back then, blogs were avenues for one to communicate one’s personal thoughts, inner beliefs, and feelings.
Not surprisingly, businesses quickly found a way to capitalize on this online asset. Today, for example, blogs are used to expand one’s online visibility via covert SEO practices. It is also used to communicate with one’s loyal customers. As a seller selling via one’s own e-commerce website; it is important that you use this key tool to drive traffic to your site. Post which you can convert them into paying customers. Let us now deep-dive into this.
Jump to: 9 benefits of blogging for retail brands
Why have a blog when you have content on your main website?
Many e-commerce website owners might argue that if the key sections of an online store, are text or content-based; then a blog is not essential. After all, an e-commerce website is supposed to be, to the point & crisp. Too much text on an online store can drive customers away due to being too distracting from the core purpose of making a sale.
It is all about where you place a blog on your site i.e. what part of a site visitor’s journey does he come across the blogs. Blogs can be used to provide detailed information about your product.
For example, imagine you are selling genuine leather handbags on your e-commerce website. Your main product catalog will have essential details such as product photos, descriptions, dimensions, and prices.
Now, as a seller of genuine leather handbags in a market filled with faux leather products; you might want to further educate your site visitors on the benefits of pure leather. It is likely that your products are selling at a premium versus a competitor’s low-cost imitation handbags. A blog will help you create awareness. You can write a blog on the different types of leather, the way it is treated, how leather is aged, and how this translates into long-lasting handbags. Over time, this helps build customer loyalty as they become deeply captivated by your brand and its story. You prepare them to pay more for quality, which is what you are offering.
Blogs help in search engine optimization (SEO)
The number one reason why online stores indulge in blogging is SEO. Whether you put your blog section upfront or not, blogs are a way to use high ranking keywords on your website. A potential online shopper’s journey usually begins with an online search. The goal should be to appear in the top ten search results of a Google search, for that particular-keyword. There are two scenarios here.
One, you are selling a niche product. Niche products have less competition especially when they are new in the market. Some examples are beard oil, hemp oil, vintage bow ties, etc. Here a shopper already knows what he is looking for and would type related search words on google. It would be a lost opportunity if your site does not feature in resultant search results. A shopper may type “vintage bow ties in India”. A blog on “the growing fashion trend of vintage bow ties in India” might just get your customer to your site.
The second scenario is when you have medium or heavy competition. In this case, it is challenging yet imperative to feature among the top search results. There might be unlimited keywords to compete for. This especially applies to well-developed product categories. An e-commerce website owner can use an SEO consultant to do the job or learn the SEO game himself.
The key point here is, blogs are the gateway to SEO dominance. They help pump in all the important keywords onto your site, without compromising on the site quality. One can also indulge other bloggers and generate backlinks as barter so that the overall ranking of your site improves.
Relevancy & quality of your blog: Building meaningful customer loyalty.
The type of blogs on e-commerce websites can be broken down into two types. The first one is where blogging is done purely for the sake of SEO. Here, one will note that the topics will be haphazard. A closer look at each blog will reveal that the content does not deliver value. The use of keywords will look forced. It is evident that such blogs are written for the sole purpose of SEO & driving traffic to the site. But in our experience, this is a lost opportunity.
Online shoppers trust brands that deliver authenticity. If your blog delivers value to the reader, it is more likely that the visitor will return to your website. A well-written blog is most likely to be shared on social media platforms-generating more traffic. An e-commerce website owner can also market the blog on social media, generating visitors and probably converting them into paying customers.
Over a period, an e-commerce website that delivers quality blog content can build a community of loyal customers. For example, if you are selling custom-made organic ‘vegan’ lipsticks. It is known that there is a growing trend of people adopting organic, animal-cruelty-free, vegan lifestyles. A well-conceived blog section on such an e-commerce website. will help the seller build a rich & meaningful community of ardent followers. They are more likely to be lifetime customers and become willing ambassadors of your brand.
There are multiple other benefits that blogs deliver and one can discover those only via experience. Start simple, create a list of topics, either basis keywords or subjects, your target customers are most likely to be interested in. Once you start and get a hang of what is to be done; there is no limits to what you can achieve. There are many large e-commerce websites which became profitable ventures; solely based on organic traffic via blogs. We hope that as an owner of an e-commerce website, you will relook at blogging as a tool to grow your business. And make the most of them.
9 Benefits of a Blog for a Retail Business:
- Winning SEO can drive ‘free’ regular organic web traffic to your site.
- A great blog converts information seekers to buying customers.
- Get greater mindshare of your target customer segment.
- Well-written content builds trust with your audience.
- Establish authority and thought leadership on the subject of your products.
- Build a fan base of loyal customers who become your brand ambassadors.
- Share customer stories to further build trust and help build a community.
- Get a regular flow of business leads without paid marketing.
- Increase opportunities of building business partnerships.
