COVID-19 lockdowns have made a lot of things crystal clear – one of which is the increasing importance of eCommerce, and how important it is for businesses to have an eCommerce system in place.
Within weeks of the pandemic reaching Aussie shores, more and more Australians turned to online shopping for everything from essentials to things like clothes, shoes, kitchen accessories and home decorations.
While business was already trending that direction, the last year has really pushed these developments forward, as this report by AusPost reveals!
Of course, while businesses have been quick to see the advantages of an eCommerce system for their stores, one thing that a lot of them aren’t quite as sold on is the importance of blogging.
Make no mistake, blogging plays a crucial role throughout your digital marketing, from search engine optimisation (naturally) to sales promotions and more!
5 Reasons why your eCommerce store needs a blog
Reason #1: Your blog allows you to present your business persona in your unique way
Your business has a personality – but how do you communicate it?
Well, there are a lot of ways:
- Website copy
- Advertising
- Social media
- Website blogs
All of these can be quite effective – if you ask us however, too many businesses are either sleeping on the last one, or not putting enough effort into it!
Since blogs are direct like social media, they feel a lot more direct and therefore authentic than advertising, helping you really communicate your business personality.
Blogging gives you plenty of opportunities to speak directly to your audience and communicate everything that you’re about, get your brand persona across and connect with your audience.
Reason #2: lets people keep up with what’s happening
Have you just introduced a new product? Is the business expanding? Do you have a big sale coming up?
If so, people need to know about it!
Social media, PPC advertising, banner ads, email campaigns… all of these are great ways of spreading the word.
What you may not know however is that blogging is another way to get the word out there!
You want to get the word out on as many platforms as possible. What blogging does is give you yet another outlet to spread the message to potential customers.
Better yet, any blog articles you do write about your new offerings can be shared around on your social media accounts as well for extra reach. Not only does this make it easier to connect to your customers, but it can also be a big help if you’re running short on social media content!
Reason #3: demonstrate your competence
People want to buy from somebody who knows their stuff – not only does it suggest that your product is up to par, but it also means that you’ll be able to help them out if something goes wrong.
And a blog is a great way of doing that.
Even your topic choices can be powerful in building confidence in you. For example, say you sell gardening equipment online, and you start writing blogs about the right types of fertiliser, or how to revitalise a wilting plant.
All of this establishes you as a genuine authority in your field, and makes you look more credible and trustworthy – and that directly translates into more leads!
Of course, don’t forget to sprinkle in a couple of calls-to-action throughout to remind your customers of what needs to be done in the end after reading your blog.
Reason #4: Create content that helps users
On a related note: visitors will always make time for content that offers value, whether it’s general tips or helping them overcome a specific problem.
Sometimes, that isn’t just about finding the right product – in some cases, they could be looking for advice or answers to their questions.
A blog can be a great way of offering this type of content.
Your blog isn’t just limited to spruiking your products. If you’re a fishing supplies store, you might blog about beginner fishing tips. If you run an online clothing outlet, you might teach them how to take their own size.
Basically, these are the sorts of things that potential customers are plugging into Google. By blogging about these subjects, you increase the chances of your website being the one they stumble upon in their search for information.
And once they’re in your eCommerce website, the hard part – getting them to your site – is over. Now all you have to do is sell them on what you offer.
Oh, and while we’re on the topic of bringing people to your eCommerce website…
Reason #5: search engine optimisation
We’re an SEO agency in Melbourne – you really didn’t think we’d mention this?
Blogging is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal when it comes to search engine optimisation.
That’s because good SEO doesn’t rely on generating backlinks or cramming in keywords – in our experience, the key is a steady stream of good, high-quality content. Content is king, as we say in the business.
There’s only so many extra pages you can add to your website to create that stream of content.
A blog section of your website, however? That’s a built-in excuse to create new SEO content on a regular basis!
Essentially, blogging improves your SEO by giving you an avenue to create that all-important SEO content. A regularly updated blog can be the difference between a successful SEO strategy, and one that doesn’t get you any results.
And that directly translates into more leads and therefore, more sales!
The key takeaway? If your eCommerce website doesn’t have an SEO strategy – and more importantly, a blog section to make it happen – you aren’t going to get the outcomes you’re looking for!
Blogs are a powerful eCommerce tool – however, they’re NOT something you can just improvise
If your goal is to generate sales with your online store, you need a blog – more specifically, you need a blog that’s backed up by a comprehensive strategy.
That means choosing subjects that are:
- Topical and relevant
- Useful to your customers
- Timely
Most importantly, it means devising a strategy that improves your SEO, and which helps you rank up for the searches you want your ecommerce store to be found for.
Just like your other digital marketing methods, it’s important that your blogging is backed up by a strategy – instead of doing it ad hoc, you’ll need a plan behind it that sets out:
- Subjects and topics
- Scheduling/li>
- SEO targets and keywords/li>
A lot of thought goes into all of this – that’s why it’s so important that you get the right help.
And that’s where our SEO agency in Melbourne comes into the picture.
Need SEO in Melbourne? iformat has you covered
So now you know the importance of blogging to your eCommerce website. Now the only thing left to do is to find an agency to help you with your blogging.
From devising an SEO strategy (and a blog strategy to go with it) to creating engaging, informative and well-optimised blogs and other content for you, our team has been providing SEO to Bayside businesses of all shapes and sizes, including our fair share of eCommerce businesses.
Whether it’s crafting an SEO strategy (and a blogging strategy to make that happen) or taking over your blogging altogether, we’re just the team you need if you want to take your eCommerce operation to the next level.
Find out how our SEO agency Melbourne can help you get down to business. Call us on 1300 88 64 50, or fill in the form to get in touch with us today!
Alternatively, check out some of the results we’ve been able to achieve, or take a gander through our blog to learn more about the power of SEO.