In this podcast episode, Trevor talks to Katrina McKinnon from Copysmiths about the importance of quality content for generating natural search traffic.
Is content still important?
Creating great content is still vitally important for merchants as the most successful eCommerce stores get 60% of the traffic from organic searches. It is essential not to put your eggs in one basket by depending too much on organic or paid traffic.
How to create great content
Copywriters research keywords using tools like Hrefs. They then construct posts which include these keywords and publish them on a blog.
The recommended length is 1400 words, broken up with other types of content such as images, quotes, tables etc. Breaking up slabs of text increases dwell rate and reduces bounce rate.
Always write content which is focused on readers and not search engines. Google will track which post are getting read and give these higher search positions.
What are the best kinds of content to publish
Successful types of content include:
- Listicles. E.g. Top 10 lists.
- 101 ways to XYZ. Great for inspiring customers
- Answer to questions
Google likes posts that answer the questions asked in the article title. It also likes multimedia.
How often to publish?
Once a week is the minimum frequency of publishing for which you should aim. Google says in its website guide that sites should write ‘well and often’.
How to create content in-house or find a writer?
Options include:
- In-house writer. Difficult to maintain creativity. They tend to burn out
- Agencies. Have quality processes in place and are good for companies looking to scale.
- AI. AI content creation has its place tends to sound like robots
How to get content read? What are the best places to post content?
Organic social does not generate much traffic anymore. Some companies will have separate organic and paid social accounts as organic traffic may be reduced if paid social is also used on the account.
How to measure success?
A successful article will show up for 200 keywords, an unsuccessful article 20 keywords and a really successful article, 2000 keywords
How long does it all take?
Stores with about 1m+ visitors a year should see content ranking in 2 weeks. Brand new stores will take several months.
