There are tons of different ranking factors inside Google’s algorithm. However, keyword research is still one of the major influences.
One of the most critical questions to ask yourself is…. Do my keywords attract qualified traffic? There’s no use having loads of traffic if no one’s buying.
So let’s take a look at what things you need to consider when doing keyword research for an e-commerce site.
What Four Things Must My Ecommerce Keywords Have
Keyword research is tricky and even more so when it’s for an e-commerce site as there are additional factors you need to take into account.
I will show you what you need to look for and how you can analyse each keyword.
The four factors for you to review are:
- Search Volume
- Intent
- Relevance
- Competition
So let’s dive a little deeper and take a look at how these factors work.
1. Search Volume
When starting your keyword research, the first thing for you to consider is the search volume.
If you are spot on with all the other factors, but then no one searches for that keyword, then you’re fishing in an empty barrel.
You need to figure out how many searches an average keyword for your niche has, as this can vary massively between slots.
Take a look at other high traffic keywords in your niche and use that as a benchmark for your research.
But don’t be tempted to skip the other factors once you have completed this step. In some circumstances having the highest search volume can be damaging, so keep reading as you still have three more points to consider.
2. Intent
If you aren’t attracting people to your store with the right plan then you are wasting their time as much as your own.
So the goal isn’t to get traffic, it’s to get qualified traffic.
In other words, visitors who are not only interested in what you have to offer but who are at the correct stage of the sales funnel.
You need to have something to offer people at each stage of the funnel.
At stage one your visitor may not even know that they have a problem that needs solving yet, whereas people at step 4 are waving their money in the air willing to give it to the person who can give them what they need.
There are generally a lot more people at the early stages, and they filter out in the later stages, but that is a good thing because you are left with people who have money and are ready to spend it.
By using Google analytics, you can work out your conversion rate which shows you the difference between just attracting traffic which generally has a low conversion rate to attracting qualified traffic where your conversion rate is much better.
For example…
10,000 people with a 0.5% conversion rate whose average order value is $20, you’d bring $1,000 in revenue.
2,000 people that convert at 5% with an average order value of $20, your revenue would go up to $2,000.
That’s the power of targeting keywords with the right intent.
3. Relevance
It’s not just about attracting people who have the right intention, you also need to consider the importance of your keyword to what you can offer.
Sounds simple right? Well, I guess it kinda is.
If you have a store that only sells shoes, you’re not going to choose a keyword the misleads your visitors into thinking that you sell clothes – no matter how high the search volume is for that keyword.
To ensure the keywords, you use to optimise your pages are relevant to what your store offers and this will increase your conversion rate.
A few quick tips
Check out the top 10 results for a keyword, and if the pages are similar to yours, then you stand a good chance of making the first page. If they also have a load of adverts, it’s more than likely very profitable too.
4. Competition
When it comes to looking at the competition for your keywords, you need to be realistic.
They say choose your battles wisely, well that applies here. You aren’t going to do battle with the likes of Amazon, eBay & Walmart. If the first page of Google for that particular keyword is full of the big guns, then you are probably better looking for a more realistic keyword to rank for.
For example, let’s say you wanted to position for the keyword “cheap computers.” If you take a look at Google’s results, you will see this:
It is highly likely that these brands have a level of authority you cannot fight against. So it’s better to explore the long tail, lower competition search keywords first
But how do you find your keywords?
I go more in-depth into keyword research and show you other e-commerce SEO strategies.
But for now:
E-commerce Keyword Analysis With Rankwatch
By using Rankwatch’s keyword suggestion feature, you can search for phrases that you can use to optimize your content.
Simply set up your project by entering your domain name, project name, search engine and location.
Then you can add the keywords you are currently ranking for and want to track.
Hit ‘SAVE & TRACK’ then you will be directed to the dashboard.
If you select ‘Keyword Overview’ from the left-hand menu, you will then see a drop-down menu where you can select a specific keyword from the list you added when setting up the project.
Hit the ‘RELATED KEYWORDS’ button.
A new screen will open will a list of related keywords.
Not only that but if you return to the left-hand bar and select ‘Research’ then ‘Keyword Suggestion’. You can then enter a keyword and be given a list of 1000ish suggestions to look through.
You can also see which of your competitors are competing for the same keywords as you by selecting ‘Competitors’ from the left menu.
You will then see a list of competitors, just tick the ones you wish to compare and select ‘Compare Now.’
Then you will see a graph showing you how your competitors are ranking for the same keywords as you. The one who is ranking the most highly would be the one to track!
Finally, Rankwatch has a little ‘Hidden Opportunity’ which you can learn all about in their video.
If you are on a bit of a tighter budget, then you can use Google Keyword Planner for free. To get more information on using this tool check out the ‘Keyword Research’ section on this blog post.
Conclusion
We have only really scratched the surface on ways you can research your keywords for e-commerce SEO.
A few things to remember:
- When looking for e-commerce SEO keywords you need to think about 4 things, search volume, intent, relevance and competition.
It’s not the products that you sell or the design of your website that makes a difference; it’s the way you attract qualified traffic at scale.