eCommerce Blogging, Why Waste Time blogging on my eCommerce Site?

Why work on eCommerce blogging? Oh, I don’t know maybe to build your brand, your audience, expand your search rankings and improve your site’s value.

eCommerce blogging

Some have the view that, just because they have an e-commerce website, there’s no need to blog.

This assumption that blogging doesn’t impact the sales or user experience on your site is false.

 

Website owners place great emphasis on the layout, style, and brand image of their sites to influence, motivate and persuade customers to purchase. eCommerce blogging adds even more dimension to the marketing of a website, and should NOT be neglected.

Why you need to think about blogging, even on an eCommerce site!

We’ll explore how easy it is to blog further down in this post, but before you decide that blogging is too difficult, according to Start Blogging Online:

 

“If you are able to write emails, then you are also able to run a blog.”

 

That pretty much sums up how easy it is.

 

Benefits of blogging

Imagine yourself as a customer on a website—whether you have a deliberate intention to be there or you’ve stumbled across it—and you’re looking for a specific product, but you’re not sure which one is best for you.

 

Lo and behold, right there on the website, you see a blog post that compares a couple of the products you’re thinking of purchasing, with someone’s personal viewpoint as to why one is better than the other.

 

This is a classic example of how a blog, especially one with an e-commerce capability, can be highly beneficial.

It is more than likely going to facilitate your buying decision; all because someone has taken the time to post their personal opinion and add value to your shopping experience.

Let’s delve into some other benefits of eCommerce blogging:

 

1. Increased traffic

One could argue that having informational articles on your website through a blog is the number one way to exponentially increase that website’s traffic and Google ranking.

The HOTH recently published a case study on blogging for eCommerce and the results were pretty clear.

In the example referenced below they illustrate the growth of a brand new eCommerce site; however they had very similar results for sites that had been active for a few years.

In this example they wrote and published four 1000 word blog posts on the eCommerce site with nice volume keywords related to the niche products. It is important to note that they also ran a fairly basic link building campaign to these posts. That being said, the results and the traffic started increasing almost immediately.

ecommerce bloggin case study

 

The strategy here is to work in great quality long form blog content to build out organic ranking. The key takeaway is that the content is valuable, as opposed to just standard product page descriptions.

By following this strategy, we see Google starting to unlock the floodgates – This is showing the massive potential that we can target coming up:

ecommerce bloggin case study traffic

Takeaways

Ecommerce needs content, and by writing long form blog posts, you can start ranking for your valuable keywords. These pages are easier to rank, and you can do an internal link to your product pages. After you have the content, it makes getting good links 1000 times easier!

 

By posting relevant and up-to-date content on your blog, adding value to the market and to your customers, you can really cement your website/business/brand reputation.

 

2. Targeted ads and increased income

Having your own product that you might be giving away, selling or promoting (for example through Amazon) is a very common and popular way of monetizing your website.

 

Additionally, by adding a blog to your website, you can use Google’s AdSense program within your blog to have highly relevant, targeted adverts to greatly diversify and increase your business’ income.

 

How many times have you been reading an article that is split by an advert which is relevant to that piece or to the overall theme of the site? Next time, see how aware you are of these ads and see if you can apply this strategy to your site.

 

3. Build a community

Many entrepreneurs look to build a brand following before launching their product or service. Most commonly, this is done through the likes of YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.

 

By regularly updating a blog on your site, you have the perfect opportunity to post in-depth, written content that engages your followers. At the same time, you’re increasing your brand awareness and establishing yourself as an expert in your chosen field.

 

Over time, your followers will buy into you as that authority and trust your views and judgment; this will likely extend to them purchasing your product/service.

4. Networking

eCommerce Blogging provides an excellent opportunity for you to network with people that you might not have otherwise encountered. They could be other business owners, entrepreneurs, and people in your local area or on the other side of the world, and could potentially spark future business collaborations, which can diversify your business, increase income, and drive more traffic to your website.

 

For example, it could be that you invite others to write guest posts on your blog on a topic that is relevant to your website. This expands your network into theirs, tapping into their knowledge and their connections—especially if they use their social media platforms to share their guest post.

 

5. Increase consumer engagement

It’s a nice touch for customers to see the real you, who you are, your background and life experiences, and why you run your website.

 

By posting regular blog updates, especially those that are on a more personal level, can really grab your audience’s attention.

 

Simon Sinek is a well-known authority on the power of ‘why’, and he vehemently explores and publishes as to why consumers make their buying decisions. One of these reasons is because they can relate to the business owner in some way. So, by being authentic and true to yourself, you are more likely to succeed from creating a blog.

 

Is blogging difficult?

Setting up your own website, maintaining it, and ensuring the e-commerce is running smoothly isn’t an easy thing to do, so you might be thinking that blogging for your eCommerce site is just an extra chore that you feel like you have to do.

It really doesn’t have to be tough, though, especially if you’re structured and organized.

 

Chances are that blog post ideas will jump into your head at the most inconvenient times. For these exact moments, having a notebook with you will enable you to jot down those lightbulb instances.

 

And, because you’re so super organized and on the ball, you’ll already have a regular schedule in your week as to when you write a blog post. This way, when it comes to getting the words down, you’ve already outlined the title of your blog posts and have an idea of the content.

 

Is blogging expensive?

Most definitely not!

In fact, it can be one of the most affordable ways of growing a business, expanding your network, and increasing your income.

 

If you’ve already invested in your website, have a theme set up, have paid for your hosting etc., then adding a blog is a walk in the park. The only major increase in cost is your time, especially if you’re going to be doing the posts yourself.

 

There is always the option of outsourcing your blog content but then you might lack engagement with your audience and a certain level of authenticity since it can sometimes be glaringly obvious when it’s not coming from you.

 

You can still have a guest blogger write something on your website, and if writing really isn’t your strength then you could always brief a writer or used speech-to-text tools, such as the one on Google Docs, and then pay someone to tweak the content, make it super shiny and look amazing.

 

Final words

 

Blogging is insanely popular for the above mentioned reasons. However, you shouldn’t feel pressured to blog; there are many other ways to network and grow your business.

 

As is the case with most things in life, pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone can be highly beneficial, but if you really feel uncomfortable doing something then your heart is likely to not be in it.

 

Stick to what you know and what works best for you but always keep an open mind …. and blog!

 

Resources

https://ecommerce.shopify.com/c/ecommerce-design/t/create-an-accordion-for-product-descriptions-537121