Learn how writing high-quality blogs and incorporating SEO increases conversions and brings traffic to your e-commerce website
Too many blogs are missing the mark
You’ve probably come across blogs that look enticing to read. They have catchy titles that make you think, “Maybe I’ll learn something.” So you click the link. But—cue the sad trombone music—you get zero value from the article. Many e-commerce businesses publish blogs but they don’t always understand the potential and value of investing their efforts into making them good! Instead they rush to churn out new content for the sake of content. Not only is it a waste of time for the business and the reader, it takes away the brand’s credibility.
You can feel and taste the difference
If blogs were food, then bad blogs are stale (say nothing new), bland (language is dull and boring), and contain no substance (don’t benefit the reader). It’s like having eaten an entire loaf of processed white bread. After you’ve read a weak blog article, you feel bloated, but not satisfied.
Good blogs, on the other hand, are fresh, have a distinct on-brand flavor, and contain value rich information served up in ways that stimulate and delight. A good blog satisfies your hunger to achieve a goal or learn more about a topic, while satisfying your craving for entertainment and novelty. And after you’ve read a good blog, you want to share it to your network—to give your friends a taste of that good stuff too!
Creating quality blogs requires research, strong writing and editing skills, and creativity—but it’s an investment into your sales funnel. Blogs have the power to nurture your existing customers and build brand awareness—attracting new eyes to take notice of your brand in a “non-salesy” way.
As an e-commerce business your objective is to bring people into your website, to get people browsing and eventually buying, right? Putting in the work to create value rich blogs will make your marketing more efficient in the long-term.
Do you get stuck on email marketing? What should you write to recipients on your weekly or monthly newsletters? Providing links to new blog articles is a great way to attract your subscribers to visit your website.
Do you want to expand your reach to bring awareness of your brand to new groups of people? Instead of only relying on paid advertising such as Google Ads, blogs help increase organic traffic to your website—when they show up on search engine results because they contain topics and keywords that are relevant to the interests of your target audience.
Speaking of increasing your reach, ensuring your blogs have relevance and value is also a must for yourlink building strategy—popular and credible websites will link to your blog and funnel their audiences into your brand’s website.
If you want to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace, stay on-brand and help your target audience get to know, like and trust your brand in order to drive conversions—then stick around—because this blog about blogs is written just for you!
Every blog post your business publishes serves as a marketing piece. A quality blog can help your business drive conversions. Each is a touch point where you can gain loyalty from existing customers and influence purchases from new customers.
Blogs build and maintain relationships with your target customers
You know that friend who keeps an online journal about their deep existential ponderings or gripes about society? Sure, while those posts are considered blogs—blog articles within the e-commerce world are definitely not those! A company’s blog posts aren’t musings, they’re powerful pieces of MARKETING. Take it from our friend Allison Bran, Founder and CEO ofREX Marketing + Design Inc.. In arecent interview about brand strategy, Allison explained that “Brand is like a third entity that exists between the business and its customers. It’s the relationship between the company and the customer.”
Marketing is one component of the overall brand strategy that involves the mechanics of getting your brand narrative across to your target audience. This includes content marketing activities such as newsletter to existing and potential customers on your email list, advertisements, social media posts, and of course—blog writing.
Valuable blog content can lead to more sales
Let’s state the obvious, as a business owner, you want your marketing efforts to go toward generating revenue—because in business, you’re here to make money!
Therefore, is blogging for your business really worth it? Consider thissurvey by Hubspot:
“When we surveyed 300 consumers via Lucid and asked, ‘Have you ever purchased something from a company after reading a blog post?’ a whopping 56% said, ‘Yes.’ Furthermore, according to our trends report, blog posts are among the media formats with the highest ROI, along with videos, images, and podcasts.”
Blog articles are vehicles that take readers on a journey to know, like, and trust your brand—and ultimately make a purchase, tell their friends, and keep coming back for more!
High-quality blogs, when planned, researched, and written properly will build loyalty from existing customers while also influencing new audiences to become customers.
What should my brand start blogging about?
Now that we’ve seen data to support that blogs can convert leads to make purchases, it’s time to start hammering out 1500 word posts to brag about your brand and show how life-changing your products are, right? Wrong! Many fashion brand founders often fall into “sales mode” when writing their own blogs—accidentally morphing them into long winded sales pages. Don’t make this mistake with your blogs.
Why do people read blogs?
In aHubspot Survey that asked consumers why they read blogs, one-third of respondents read blog posts to "learn something new” and about 20% for entertainment. In contrast, only four percent of consumers said they read blogs to learn about brands or products. Therefore, according to this data:
“To win over blog readers, you'll need to create content that provides some type of informative value or entertainment, rather than purely using your blog to discuss your brand or product.”
This is where the fun and creativity begins! First, let’s take a look at 3 great examples of how different brands cater to their respective audiences. All of these businesses incorporate articles in their blog sections that serve as guides or educational information that help the reader accomplish goals, solve problems, and make decisions. But they don’t look the same.
Even from a quick glance, you get an idea of who each company’s target customer is. A well-planned blog section with relevant content categories acts like a mirror in front of your website visitors. The menu of topics reflect who they are, what they need and what they care about.
What blog topics are best for my brand's audience?
Without us taking a deep dive into yourmarket research and insights into your customer base, WE can’t tell you what to write.
But for you to do this yourself, our advice is to start with your customer persona. Then continue to do a little more digging.
Every brand should have their own customer persona (or customer avatar). Your brand’s customer persona is the ideal person for whom you have been designing your products. And just like how your apparel exists to solve your ideal customer’s problems, express their aesthetic preferences, and support their lifestyle and values—your blog articles should do the same.
Ways to learn about what your target audience wants to read about:
Check your customer persona, but don’t stop there because your customer base might have evolved overtime
Ask your followers, email subscribers, and customers about what they want to learn more about—create surveys, questionnaires, polls, and invite them to leave comments
Check their social media to see what they post about, who they follow, and what they like
Observe what customers are telling you about their needs and lifestyles during your interactions
Review customer feedback and product ratings
How can I spice up my blogs to make them one-of-a-kind, build trust and keep readers engaged?
Remember in the beginning of this article when we compared blogs to plates of food?
Once you have decided on what valuable content will benefit your audience, your format and writing techniques will give your blogs distinct flavor—that will make your business stand out amongst competitors who might blog about similar topics.
Format
To illustrate creative ways to format content, let’s take a look at some article topics for hypothetical brands:
Example Topic 1:
A brand that makes casual children’s wear for day to day activities such as playtime and school wants to write a blog to help parents prepare or choose healthy snacks for recess break and family outings.
Format ideas:
Interview a credible dietician for tips on healthy eating and ask them to contribute a recipe that parents and kids can prepare together
Connect with a healthy kid-friendly snack company to do a behind-the-scenes article that shows how the snacks are made
Example Topic 2:
A brand that sells natural plant-dyed dresses wants to write a blog to educate readers about natural dyes.
Format ideas:
Invite an environmental scientist to write about the effects of synthetic dyes versus natural plant-based dyes on the environment
Write about the brand’s plant-dye process and show photos of the actual ingredients and process from beginning to end product
Hook
When you walk past a restaurant and you smell something delicious, you can’t help but stop and look to see what’s cooking. You might peruse the menu displayed on their window, and even step inside for a bite!
Good hooks throughout your article will attract the reader’s attention and keep them engaged to read all the way to the end.
Try these types of hooks to make your message more relatable and memorable:
“You’d think that by then, Lexi would be curled up in the fetal position on a pile of her leggings that could no longer be sold in-person—but NO! Lexi took control of what she could, re-focusing on selling her products online.”
Insight
Beyond including facts or data, you can give your article more substance and create resonance by including thoughtful insights.
“Eighty percent of the female population does not have the ‘ideal hourglass figure’. But who designs for them? It’s not a secret that in America, the average size is a size sixteen. The ‘cool’ brands on the market offer anywhere from a size zero to a size twelve, sometimes up to size fourteen. So where does it leave the average American woman? She’s being told, ‘You have to shop plus-size.’ But who on earth wants to go shop in the plus-size department? To me that is still associated with body shaming and there’s a stigma attached to it.”
Call To Action
Congratulations! If your reader stuck with you all the way to the end of your blog article—your brand has likely made a good impression on them so far. You’re in! So now is your chance to inspire action to keep the relationship alive between your brand and your target customer.
Your “Call To Action” CTA can direct your reader to do a variety of things. Don’t forget to include links! For example:
Try out the tips and advice you provided
Shop your product pages
Sign up for your newsletter
Browse related articles
Leave a comment and share with a friend
Follow on social media
How can I incorporate SEO into my blogs to increase visibility and more traffic to my website?
One of the benefits of blogs is that it serves as a long-term method to bring traffic to your fashion e-commerce site. Once you have a well-written blog that caters to what your target customers need and want, then you can start working on optimizing your blog for search engine results.
Hold on—why am I not advising you to start with a list of popular keywords first, and then write your blog around those keywords? That is because starting with a long list of popular keywords can often feel restrictive for the writer, producing a written product that sounds unnatural. As an SEO Consultant, I always tell my clients towrite for humans first, then optimize it for the search engine bots.
Oh, and speaking of bots, what’s my opinion on the use of AI?
While AI tools such as ChatGPT are handy for certain scenarios—for example, doing basic research more efficiently by quickly gathering information, summarizing long pieces of content, etc.—you have to keep in mind that it’s not actually coming up with “original” ideas. AI tools like ChatGPT are limited to working with information that already exists or is given. So, I’m not saying don’t use AI tools, just keep its limitations in mind when you aim to create content that is refreshing and flavorful for your audience.
Google Search Engine’s Helpful Content System rewards authentic, people-first content
Writing authentically and providing value for your human readers is the right thing to do if you want to create positive feelings around your brand. It’s also something that Google Search Engine is rewarding in their Helpful Content System.
First off, how does the Helpful Content System work? According to the information provided on Google Search Central, “The helpful content system aims to better reward content where visitors feel they've had a satisfying experience, while content that doesn't meet a visitor's expectations won't perform as well.”
The helpful content system has an impact on the visibility of your web pages in Google Search Results. The automated ranking system acts as a filter, ensuring users see useful content in search results.
How will the Google Helpful Content Update (HCU) impact your blogs’ visibility?
Continuing in their efforts to connect search engine users to the most relevant content on the web, Google updated its Helpful Content System in September 2023. The aim of the update is to “better ensure people see original, helpful content created for people in search results.”
This Helpful Content Update (HCU) was a major update —and every marketing team should know about it, because the changes affect how Google is now ranking content on search results.
If you are already creating valuable content, you don’t need to worry. Keep doing what you’re doing as this system is specifically designed to recognize and reward helpful content. On the other hand, if your website is full of fluff—containing lots of unhelpful content, you may experience reduced visibility in search results.
How can you turn things around? You can check out Google’s content self-assessment checklist. Then start removing your unhelpful content and start creating helpful, reliable, people-first content—such as blogs that provide rich and engaging information that serve your target audience. And of course, continue reading this blog to learn my steps on writing SEO-friendly content.
How does creating original, high-quality blog content help you appear on AI Search Engines such as Google AI Overviews and Search GPT?
With AI search engines becoming increasingly popular, blogs that provide helpful content have a better chance of appearing in search results on SearchGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity or other similar systems.
If you’re unfamiliar with AI search engines, one example is Google’s AI Overviews. It uses artificial intelligence to generate concise summaries of information from multiple web pages, displaying these at the top of search results for complex queries. Websites that are featured in AI Overviews tend to receive more clicks, making it an essential SEO opportunity for e-commerce businesses.
Example of my client’s blog on AI Overviews:
The blog “Can You Wear Linen Clothing in Winter” by my client Nomi Designs appears as the top AI Overview result for the search query “can you wear linen in winter.” In the last 3 months, their blog had 22,890 impressions and 525 clicks. It’s the #2 best performing page on their website, mainly because the blog ranks for 743 keywords!
The left side of this screenshot shows what the AI Overview answer looks like when you search “can you wear linen in winter”. On the left side, the Nomi Designs webpage is referenced as a source.
To learn more about AI Overviews, how they work and how to increase your chances of appearing on them, see my article What are Google’s AI Overviews?.
Here are 9 steps for writing SEO-friendly content to optimize your blogs and rank higher on Google:
Start with keyword research: A piece of content should target one primary keyword and 5-10 additional keywords. To identify your primary keyword, ask yourself
What is my audience looking for?
What questions do they ask online?
Determine search intent: Identify keyword search intent by analyzing the SERP features. There are four main categories of search intent queries:
Create a well optimized Title Tag: The title tag must be unique, corresponds to search intent, contains keywords you are trying to rank for, has a maximum of 60 characters, and may include a call to action.
Create a catchy H1 Heading: You can include keywords in your headings. The initial heading (<H1>) should include your best keywords. Use only one H1 heading per page to strengthen your SEO.
Optimize the Meta Description: This is the text under a title tag in a search result. The meta description encourages a user to click on the link on SERPs (search engine results pages). Keep your meta description under 150 characters. Ensure it clearly describes the page and also include keywords but don’t over optimize. Each page’s meta description should be unique.
Structure your content and make it readable: Highlight main ideas in bold, italics, or change font size and style. Use H2 + H3 heading tags. Stick to one paragraph for one idea and break up long sentences. Add bullets and numbered lists. Focus on long form content of 1500 words—if you can write more, you should, but make sure to shoot for quality content over quantity.
Optimize your images for image search: Visual content such as infographics, checklists, videos and photos deliver value to your audience faster and in a more appealing way. Ensure your images have descriptive ALT tags (make them unique, describe what the image shows) and optimize image file names (never leave it with the default file name like image123.jpg).
Include a keyword in your page URL: URLs help users understand what’s inside the page. Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) between words. Words should be lowercase.
Create topic clusters: A topic cluster consists of a group of web pages that focuses around a main topic idea and linked to cluster pages of subtopics. By creating a topic cluster you build an internal linking system that strengthens your web pages ability to rank. This helps build and position you as a trustworthy subject matter expert with your audience. This is important because Google wants to rank sites that demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
Tools for Blog SEO
There are various products on the market to help with SEO. In my practice, I use Semrush and Neuron Writer to optimize my client’s blogs and webpages.
If you have an internal team to handle your content marketing strategy, and intend to do much of your SEO work in-house, then you could consider investing in paid subscriptions for those tools. Since the subscriptions can get pretty pricey, you should weigh the costs and benefits of in-house versus outsourcing your SEO efforts.
Start blogging for your business
I hope today’s article hasn’t left you feeling bloated or sleepy. After you’ve had some time to digest the benefits of blogs for your business, give the blog writing tips go to begin creating high-quality blogs that your target customers deserve and crave!
Hungry for more blogs about blogs?
If you want to continue learning more about how to craft better blogs and how to use them to make your marketing more efficient, then stay connected so you don’t miss my future articles about content creation, digital content and SEO. To continue learning how to make your marketing more efficient. Sign up for my weekly e-letter for new articles and resources delivered straight to your inbox.
If you want to know how to get targeted quality traffic from customers who are looking for your product, take my FREE SEO training series. Learn how to use SEO to get consistent traffic and sales for your brand.
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If you need help with putting together a content strategy, content creation or a professional copywriter to help with producing high-quality, high converting blogs, then Book a Call with our SEO Specialist to get started on creating consistent website content today!
In my experience working with fashion e-commerce business owners, including designers and clothing brand managers, I've noticed a common theme: technical SEO often presents the most confusion and misunderstanding. My goal with this business is to take the mystery out of SEO, so that it’s more accessible to everyone.
As a fashion e-commerce business owner, you don't need to master every technical detail—there are skilled web developers and SEO experts for that. However, a basic understanding of important technical SEO aspects and terminology can significantly impact your business operations.
This foundational knowledge will help you feel more in control and ensure transparency when you hire professionals to enhance your site's SEO.
In this article, we'll examine the 11 essential elements of the technical SEO checklist, providing a clear, practical guide to each. The technical SEO checklist makes up one part of my comprehensive SEO Ranking Factors Checklist. Prepare for a technical SEO show-and-tell that will empower you to collaborate more effectively with your team and elevate your online presence.
You will learn:
What is technical SEO?
What is each item on the technical SEO checklist?
Definitions and example images
Common issues amongst e-commerce websites
Best practices and how the common issues are typically resolved
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO concentrates on refining the backend structure of your website to ensure that search engines like Google and Bing can efficiently crawl and index your web pages. It also addresses critical issues such as fixing errors, broken URLs, and redirects, auditing load speed, checking for toxic backlinks, and ensuring your site is mobile-friendly.
Why is technical SEO important to your business?
As an SEO specialist, I often come across websites where pages are not being properly crawled or indexed—even when they appear to be working fine on the surface. If search engines cannot crawl your website, it won’t appear in their search engine results—which means web users won’t find your site pages.
The bottom line? Loss of opportunities to make online sales.
When I start working with a new client, I always conduct a complete SEO site audit—a website health check that flags many key issues affecting the website’s visibility, including technical SEO issues.
What is the difference between Technical versus On-Page SEO?
I get this question a lot! While technical SEO deals with the backend structure, on-page SEO focuses on elements such as focus keywords, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, block text, blogs and internal links.
Technical SEO is one of the foundational aspects of SEO that needs to be addressed and improved before moving onto more advanced SEO strategies. To learn more about the three levels of a complete SEO strategy, refer to my Complete “How-To” Guide for E-Commerce SEO - From Beginner to Advanced.
What is on the Technical SEO Checklist?
To help ensure that your technical SEO is properly addressed and maintained, here is a handy checklist of 11 key areas to focus on. As you read this list, don’t be intimidated—I’ll explain each item in the next sections.
Technical SEO Checklist
Crawling and Indexing
Robots.txt
XML sitemaps
Schema markup (aka Structured data)
HTTPS
PageSpeed
Mobile Friendliness
Site Structure
URL Structure
Canonical Tags
Broken links (404 and 301 redirects)
These items are included in my comprehensive complete SEO checklist that is downloadable here: SEO Ranking Factors Checklist
Now that you know the definition of technical SEO and the eleven key items on the checklist, let’s sink our teeth into each item to learn how they impact your site’s visibility, the common issues seen on e-commerce websites, and how those issues are typically resolved.
Crawling and Indexing
Check that pages you want visible in search engines are being crawled and indexed.
Google has automated software called search bots or spiders. These bots visit web pages in a process called “crawling the web”. Then they add the pages that they crawl to Google's index, which is like a huge catalog of trillions of web pages. Just think of it as a library where all these web pages are all catalogued and organized.
You can check if your website pages are being properly crawled and indexed by using the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console.
For the pages that you want the public to be able to search and find, you need to make sure that they are crawlable and indexable. There are various reasons preventing crawling and indexing and those include the subsequent items on the technical SEO checklist that you’ll learn about here.
Robots.txt
Make sure your robots.txt file is not blocking pages from being shown on the web.
A website’s robots.txt file tells search engines what pages can or cannot be crawled on a site.
A robots.txt file is located at the root directory of your website. For instance, if your website is www.example.com, you would find the robots.txt file at www.example.com/robots.txt. This file, which is a plain text file adhering to the Robots Exclusion Standard, contains one or more rules. These rules either permit or restrict access to your website's content for various crawlers based on the specified file path within the domain or subdomain that hosts the robots.txt file. By default, if not explicitly mentioned in the robots.txt file, all content on the site is allowed to be crawled.
Below is an example of a simple robots.txt file containing two rules:
A good reason for blocking a page might be because there is private information on it that you don’t want the public to see. But sometimes, the instructions on your robots.txt might be inadvertently blocking pages that you want to be crawled and discovered by the public.
In the beginning stages of working with my SEO clients, we often discover these issues and address them as soon as possible, bringing in a web developer when needed. A typical Content Management System (CMS) such as Shopify will create a default robots.txt file that works for most sites, but you can also customize your robots.txt file. A web developer can help to ensure you have the proper robots.txt file configuration for your site.
Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console for crawling and indexing.
An XML sitemap is a file that helps Google discover your pages, triggering crawling and indexing. New sites might not be recognized by search engines if the sitemap is not properly submitted.
This is what a sitemap looks like:
This is an example of a sitemap that can be found at https://glynistao.com/sitemap.xml
Once the sitemap is submitted, Google’s crawlers can more efficiently catalog site content. For e-commerce platforms like Shopify, sitemaps simplify the process, but even WordPress sites benefit greatly by submitting an XML sitemap to ensure comprehensive site indexing. This submission can take up to 48 hours to reflect data in Search Console, so be patient and check back periodically to see how Google has processed the sitemap.
How to submit your site map
We will talk more about Google Search Console in a later blog, but for now in reference to how to submit your sitemap, when setting up the Google Search Console, you would go under sitemaps, type in the URL plus /sitemap.xml and submit.
Implement structured data to enhance understanding by search engines.
Schema markup or structured data is a technical language that websites use to tell search engines what your web pages are about. According to Google Search Central, “Google uses structured data that it finds on the web to understand the content of the page, as well as to gather information about the web and the world in general, such as information about the people, books, or companies that are included in the markup.”
This is what a schema markup looks like:
Schema markup is usually added to the website code by a web developer to make search engines better understand the content. Without schema markup, search engines might not fully understand the context of your page content, which can impact your visibility. You can use structured data testing tools such as Schema Markup Validatorto check if your schema markup is working properly.
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between a browser and a website, protecting user privacy and security. It is especially important for sites handling sensitive information.
HTTPS is a ranking factor for search engines. Non-HTTPS sites may be labeled as "Not Secure," which can reduce trust and visibility in search results, as Google and other search engines prioritize secure sites. To secure your site, install an SSL certificate through your hosting provider. This enables HTTPS and ensures data protection and improved SEO performance.
Check your site's load time and optimize images or reduce server response time to improve speed.
Page speeds refer to how quickly your website loads.
A slow site can lead to poor user experience, lower search engine rankings and increased bounce rates (percentage of visitors who land on a webpage and leave without taking any further action).
Mobile friendliness means your website adjusts to various screen sizes and is easy to use on mobile devices. With more mobile users than desktop, a non-mobile-friendly site can negatively affect rankings and user experience, so you need to make sure that your website is responsive, adjusting seamlessly to both mobile and desktop screens.
The Search Console Mobile Friendly testing tool can be found in Core Web Vitals inside your Google Search Console dashboard.
Site Structure
Create a clear logical structure for your site.
Website structure refers to how your pages are organized and linked within your website. Complex or unclear site structures can confuse both users and search engines when navigating your site. Google might have difficulty indexing important pages and this can impact your rankings.
I often encounter e-commerce websites with site structure issues that are overly complicated. My best advice is to keep things simple and predictable for the site user.
SEMrush advises that “you should plan your website’s structure so users can easily move down your marketing funnel by navigating to pages like products, services, and other important pages.”
Simplify and optimize your URLs with relevant keywords.
URL structure refers to how URLs are organized on your site, including domain and subfolders.
Your URLs should be simple, descriptive, and include relevant keywords so that search engines can easily understand what’s on those pages and index them accordingly. When I analyze my client site for which pages are ranking well for their target keywords, the urls that include the relevant keywords usually rank better.
Examples of poorly structured URLs and the issues they can cause according to Google Search Central:
Poorly structured URLs can make it harder for search engines and users to understand what a page is about.
You should review your URLs to ensure they are concise and keyword-optimized.
Canonical Tags
Use canonical tags to manage duplicate content.
Before I get into canonical tags, let’s first define what is a canonical URL versus a canonical tag.
A canonical url defined by SEMrush is “the version of a webpage chosen by search engines like Google as the main version when there are duplicates. And is prioritized to avoid showing repetitive content that doesn’t provide unique value in search results.”
Since Google doesn’t always choose the primary url that you want it to, you can use canonical tags to manage your site’s duplicate content.
A canonical tag guides search engines to a single “main” version of a page.
For example, if multiple URLs display similar products (like sorted or filtered variations), canonical tags help consolidate these into one authoritative page. This preserves SEO strength and avoids diluted rankings.
You can set up canonical tags by either manually by adding <link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com"/> to the <head> section of your page's code, but hardly anyone does that because it's too much hassle. It's usually way easier to do it through your website platform.
Setting canonical tags in WordPress
Install Yoast SEO, then scroll to the “Advanced” section on a page or post where you’ll see an option to specify a canonical.
Setting canonical tags in Shopify
Shopify generally manages canonicalization fairly well out of the box. But that doesn't mean it's always perfect. However, most small to medium-sized stores will likely not need to manually adjust canonical tags. If adjustments are necessary, I suggest enlisting the help of a web developer, since you'll have to modify the code in your theme's .liquid files directly.
You can use tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush to confirm your canonical tags are working effectively to keep search engines focused on the most relevant page.
Broken Links (404 and 301 redirects)
Repair broken links and set up 301 redirects for missing pages.
Broken links (often 404 errors) occur when pages are deleted, URLs are changed without redirects, or external sites remove linked content.
This is what a 404 page looks like. Does it look familiar?
Many websites have these issues, and the problem is search engines interpret broken links as a sign of poor maintenance, which can hurt rankings and deter potential customers. Be proactive in repairing broken links to improve your user experience and signal to search engines that your website is well-maintained.
Use tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush to scan your site for broken links. Update or redirect these links to active, relevant pages. For missing pages, set up 301 redirects (permanent redirection from one URL to another) to help retain any SEO authority previously linked to the original URL.
Congratulations—You made it through Technical SEO!
Wow! That was a lot of technical information. And if you’re not a “techy” person—I’m proud of you for sticking to the end of this article. Because these aren’t easy concepts to grasp.
I like to tell people that one of my purposes as an SEO specialist is to “take the mystery out of SEO” for fashion e-commerce business owners. So I hope this article has helped to open your eyes on the issues occurring on the backend of your site that could affect your organic site traffic and ultimately your sales.
For further reading check out these related articles:
Black Friday continues to dominate as one of the most lucrative sales events of the year. In 2023, U.S. consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online during Black Friday, marking a 7.5% increase from the previous year.
With these growing numbers, it’s clear that a well-prepared online fashion business can reap tremendous rewards from this important holiday shopping event. But, is your fashion e-commerce website ready to capitalize on this surge?
In this guide, we'll share essential steps to help you prepare your business for Black Friday success, from defining your offers to optimizing your tech and creating a winning promotional strategy.
3 Steps to Prepare for Black Friday
Define your product offers
Identify and plan your promotional strategy
Optimize your technology
Define your Product Offers
The first step is to clearly define the products you want to promote, backed by data such as analytics, customer surveys, or competitive analysis. It’s crucial to strike a balance between maximizing sales and maintaining profitability.
How to decide what to promote:
Focus on higher-margin products: Offer discounts on products with a healthy profit margin and bundle them with other items to increase your average order value.
Check inventory levels: Make sure you can handle the potential influx of orders and avoid over-promising.
Plan for order fulfillment: Timely order processing is key during Black Friday. Ensure your fulfillment team is ready, and clearly communicate estimated delivery times to customers.
These alternative promotions offer flexibility for businesses that may not be able to offer deep discounts while still creating excitement and encouraging purchases during Black Friday and the holiday season:
BOGO (Buy-one, get-one 50% off): This is a classic promotion that appeals to both new and returning customers. By offering a discount on the second item, you not only boost the chances of selling multiple products but also increase your average order value. This type of promotion works well for complementary items, allowing customers to feel like they're getting more value for their money while moving additional stock.
Upsells and cross-sells: This strategy involves encouraging customers to either upgrade their current purchase (upsell) or add complementary products to their cart (cross-sell).
Upselling typically promotes a higher-end version of the product they're considering, such as a premium edition or a larger quantity, increasing the total order value. Cross-selling, on the other hand, suggests related products that complement the main purchase, like matching accessories, care products, or bundled items. These tactics can significantly boost revenue per transaction while providing customers with a more tailored shopping experience that meets their needs. For example, if someone is purchasing a winter coat, you could suggest a matching scarf (cross-sell) or offer an upgraded version of the coat with premium materials (upsell).
Gift with purchase: Everyone loves a freebie. By offering a gift with purchase, such as a small accessory or sample product, you incentivize customers to complete their purchase while enhancing their overall shopping experience. This strategy is particularly effective when the gift is perceived as high-value or exclusive, encouraging shoppers to hit a minimum spend threshold to qualify for the free item.
Early access to new collections: Create a sense of exclusivity by offering early access to your upcoming collections or limited-edition items for loyal customers or email subscribers. This can make your audience feel special and appreciated, while simultaneously driving early sales and helping you gauge customer interest in new products. This promotion can be combined with a "members-only" sale for extra impact.
Free shipping or gift cards with a minimum purchase: Shipping fees are one of the biggest barriers to conversion for online shoppers. Offering free shipping above a certain order value encourages customers to add more items to their cart to avoid shipping costs. Similarly, offering gift cards for future purchases can incentivize customers to spend more now, while ensuring repeat business when they redeem the gift card later.
Limited-time bundles or gift sets: Curate a selection of products into special bundles or gift sets that are available only for a short period. This approach not only helps you move inventory but also provides customers with a convenient, value-packed purchase option that simplifies their shopping experience. Highlighting the savings compared to buying items individually can make the offer even more enticing, especially for holiday gift shoppers.
You need to entice first-time buyers as well, since this is the time that many customers will be open to looking for new products. You may have loyal customers but make sure to position your brand to a brand new audience and build market share.
Identify and Plan Your Promotional Strategy
The second step you want to do is define and plan your promotional strategy. BFCM is the most popular shopping day of the year. Your promotional strategy should be aligned with your goals and start well in advance of Black Friday. Here's a breakdown of how to ensure your products and brand stand out.
5 Key Elements of a Great Promotion:
Define your timeline. Start promoting early to build anticipation. Ideally, begin by late October and ramp up in November with weekly or bi-weekly email campaigns. You can try sending 1 -2 emails per week, featuring the offer you want to promote.
Prepare your audience. Build anticipation and excitement in advance, perhaps you can work with influencers to post sneak peeks of upcoming promotions, send teaser emails, or showcase upcoming promotions on social media to get your audience excited. This way your customers know what to expect and is ready for your offer.
Create urgency. You want to create a sense of urgency to have your audience ready to take action as soon as the promotion starts. Use countdown timers and limited-time offers to encourage immediate action.
Choose the right marketing channels. There are many channels in which to reach your audience. Leverage email marketing, paid ads, social media, and SEO to reach your audience effectively. Focus on the channels that have historically driven the most conversions for your business.
Create supplementary content. Promote your brand with various content such as blogs, videos, and other promotional materials to reinforce your brand's message and engage customers with value beyond discounts.
When should you start promoting your Black Friday offers? Depending on the size of your business and resources you have available, you can start as early as October or around Halloween. The critical time for heightened promotions is two weeks before Black Friday, gradually increasing the urgency.
Here are 4 ways to reach your audience:
Email Marketing- Black Friday emails tend to have the highest open rates, so prioritize a strong email strategy.
SEO- Make sure you perform quality Keyword Research prior to BFCM so that your know exactly what your audience is looking for. Target holiday-related keywords early to ensure you're visible when shoppers start searching for deals.
Social Media- Engage with your followers through interactive posts and stories to generate buzz around your offers.
Paid Media- Make sure to plan ahead and target your ads in a timely fashion
As you can see with all that needs to be done to ensure successful holiday sales, it's important to plan your online marketing ahead of key dates this holiday season.
Don't forget to make sure to follow up with new customers, through the new year and beyond!
Optimize Your Technology
A seamless shopping experience is essential to converting Black Friday traffic into sales. Make sure that your website is optimized for performance, usability, and reliability.
First, you want to make sure your tech can handle Black Friday. Here are four key areas to focus on:
Website UX- Check to see if there are any issues that would stop a customer from converting. Eliminate any barriers to checkout. Review your site’s navigation, speed, and mobile responsiveness to ensure a smooth customer experience.
SEO- Make sure people can find you and products you are offering. Ensure your website is search engine-friendly with optimized product pages, meta descriptions, and holiday-related keywords.
Ad Accounts- Ensure your paid ads are set up on the right channels and are optimized for your target audience.
Analytics- Do you have software in place that can track orders, sales & shipments? Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor site performance, track customer behavior, and optimize your campaigns in real-time.
Plan your campaign in advance (now) and upload your assets early to ensure they are approved in time for the launch of your Black Friday campaign. Creative approvals (paid ads) are a huge pain point and could cause an advertiser to completely miss out on running ads for BFCM.
In addition to these tech optimizations, list expected delivery dates, return policies, and payment options clearly on your website to reduce friction for new customers. Remember, first-time buyers also need to be catered to. So make it easy for them to buy on your website. That's why it's important that you take the steps listed above so that you don't lose them dues to a glitch on your website.
Some last tips to help give your e-commerce marketing a boost this holiday season:
Show "order-by" dates when a customer needs to order a product to get it before the holidays
Show countdown timers on your website and emails leading up to the sale
Make sure your messaging and branding is consistent from your ads, social posts and make sure your messaging matches on your website
Have several online payment options such as Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Recurly
Give customers more flexibility with payment installments such as Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, or Sezzle
Displays scarcity messaging, such as “Only X-left”, "X people have this in their carts", “X people viewing this product now” to encourage quicker purchases.
Make the return policy easy to find. Have it near the add to cart button
Make sure chat is prominent and that your support team is able to respond quickly.
Clean up minor design issues like ugly fonts, mismatched icons, generic stock photography, add to cart and checkout buttons are easy to find
If your brand is focused on sustainability and want an alternative to Black Friday- while supporting a good cause, you can look into initiatives such as Green Friday.
With record-breaking online sales expected once again for Black Friday 2024, preparation is the key to success. By defining strong offers, planning a strategic promotional campaign, and optimizing your website for peak performance, your fashion e-commerce business can stand out and maximize sales.
Hope you found these tips to be helpful and let me know in the comments which ones you plan to use for your online store.
In the ever-evolving landscape of e-commerce, where trends change as swiftly as the seasons, mastering keyword research is crucial for the success of any fashion business. Keywords serve as the foundation for effective search engine optimization (SEO), driving organic traffic to your online store and ensuring your products are visible to potential customers. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the intricacies of keyword research specifically tailored for fashion e-commerce, providing you with actionable insights and strategies to enhance your online visibility and boost sales.
Understanding the Importance of Keyword Research
Before we dive into the specifics of fashion e-commerce website keyword research, it's essential to grasp why it's so vital for the success of your online business. Keywords act as the bridge between what your potential customers are searching for and the products you offer. By optimizing your website for the right keywords, you can increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), thereby attracting more qualified traffic to your online store.
Building a Foundation: Seed Keywords
To kickstart your fashion e-commerce keyword research, begin with what are commonly referred to as "seed keywords." These are general terms related to your products or industry. For a fashion e-commerce store, seed keywords could include terms like "women's fashion," "men's accessories," or "trendy clothing."
Once you've identified your seed keywords, use them as a foundation to explore more specific and long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer, more detailed phrases that potential customers might use when searching for specific products. For example, "women's floral summer dress" or "men's leather backpack."
Your competitors can be a goldmine of valuable keyword insights. Analyze the websites of successful fashion e-commerce competitors to identify the keywords they are targeting. SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu can help you uncover the keywords that are driving traffic to their sites.
While analyzing competitors, pay attention to the keywords that are common among the top-performing websites in your niche. This can give you valuable insights into the language your target audience uses and the terms that resonate most with them.
Utilizing Keyword Research Tools
Several powerful keyword research tools can streamline and enhance your fashion e-commerce keyword research process. Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, and Moz Keyword Explorer are popular options that provide valuable data on search volume, competition, and related keywords.
These tools can help you identify high-potential keywords, understand the search volume for each term, and assess the level of competition. Additionally, they often provide suggestions for related keywords, helping you discover new opportunities.
Understanding Search Intent
Keyword research is not just about finding popular words and phrases related to your products; it's also about understanding the intent behind those searches. Search intent refers to the reason behind a user's query, and it can be classified into informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial investigation.
For fashion e-commerce, identifying the search intent is crucial in tailoring your content and product page listings. If a user is searching for "how to style a leather jacket," they may be in the informational stage, while someone searching for "buy women's leather jacket online" has a transactional intent. By aligning your content with the user's intent, you can provide a more relevant and satisfying experience.
Creating a Keyword Mapping Strategy
Once you've compiled a list of relevant keywords, it's time to organize them strategically on your website. Keyword mapping involves assigning specific keywords to different pages or sections of your site based on relevance.
For instance, if you have a page dedicated to women's dresses, ensure that the content is optimized for keywords like "women's dresses," "party dresses," and other related terms. Mapping keywords to specific pages not only improves the user experience but also signals to search engines like Google that your website is a valuable resource for a particular topic.
Long-Tail Keywords: The Power of Specificity
While seed keywords are essential, long-tail keywords often hold the key to attracting highly targeted traffic. These more specific phrases reflect a user's precise search intent, making it more likely that they are ready to make a purchase.
In the realm of fashion e-commerce, long-tail keywords can include details like color, size, style, and occasion. Consider incorporating these specific terms into your product descriptions, blog content, and meta tags to capture the attention of users looking for precisely what you offer.
Localizing Keywords for Fashion E-commerce
If your fashion e-commerce business has a physical presence, whether through brick-and-mortar stores or pop-up shops, consider incorporating local keywords into your strategy. Local SEO is crucial for attracting nearby customers who may be searching for fashion products in their vicinity.
Include city or region-specific terms in your keywords, such as "women's fashion boutique in [city]" or "men's clothing store near [location]." This can enhance your visibility in local search results and drive foot traffic to your physical stores.
Staying Updated with Trends
Fashion is inherently dynamic, with trends evolving rapidly. Similarly, search trends can change based on seasons, events, or cultural shifts. Stay vigilant and adapt your keyword strategy to align with current trends and customer interests.
Use tools like Google Trends to identify rising search queries related to fashion. By staying ahead of the curve, you can create timely content and product offerings that resonate with your audience.
User-generated Content and Social Listening
Incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into your keyword strategy can provide a fresh perspective and mirror the language your customers use. Monitor social media platforms for mentions, reviews, and discussions related to your brand and products. This social listening can uncover valuable keywords that reflect real conversations within your target audience.
Encourage customers to share their experiences and tag your brand, creating a pool of authentic content that can inform your keyword choices. Additionally, consider leveraging hashtags popular in your niche to expand your reach and connect with a broader audience.
Monitoring and Iterating
Keyword research is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that requires monitoring and iteration. Regularly check the performance of your chosen keywords using analytics tools to assess their impact on your website traffic and sales.
If certain keywords are not performing as expected, consider tweaking your content or trying new variations. Similarly, keep an eye on emerging trends and adjust your keyword strategy accordingly. Flexibility and adaptability are key in the dynamic world of fashion e-commerce.
Conclusion
Mastering keyword research for fashion e-commerce SEO is a multifaceted process that involves understanding your audience, analyzing competitors, and staying attuned to industry trends. By investing time and effort into a comprehensive keyword strategy, you can significantly enhance your online visibility, attract a more targeted audience, and ultimately drive sales for your fashion brand and e-commerce business.
Remember, effective keyword research is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. Tailor your approach to the unique characteristics of your brand, products, and target audience. Stay proactive, stay informed, and let the power of keywords propel your fashion e-commerce business to new heights in the competitive online landscape.
If you are looking for an SEO consultant to help with your Fashion SEO, we offer full service done for you SEO and SEO consulting. Contact us for a quote today!
My guest today is Tiffany Wong, Co-Founder & Brand Director at The Ordinary Good.
Tiffany leads brand strategy and marketing at The Ordinary Good, a mission-led creative agency building and scaling sustainable and social impact e-commerce brands. Women led and operated. She has a brand building background layered with integrated marketing management for the past 7 years mostly in responsible fashion, beauty & wellness. Her favorite part of the job is working with early stage brands making our world better.
In this episode, Tiffany offers invaluable advice for emerging sustainable fashion brands looking to establish a strong brand presence and make an impact.
Tiffany explains the core concepts of sustainable fashion branding and why it's important in today's conscious consumer market. Learn how sustainable fashion brands can stand out in a competitive market by creating a distinctive brand identity.
Tiffany shares expert insights on leveraging email marketing to build strong connections with customers and communicate sustainability values.
Tiffany provides practical tips on using paid advertising platforms like Meta to promote sustainable fashion brands while upholding their values. Gain valuable advice on how sustainable fashion brands can maintain their commitment to sustainability without compromising on profitability.
Get a sneak peek into the future of sustainable fashion branding and discover upcoming trends and innovations.
