SEO Ecommerce Keywords

[Will_Craig]

Hi guys got a question regarding ecommerce seo

do you think its a better idea to target more long tail terms and try get links directly to product pages, brand pages and categories.

Rather than focus on short keywords that do bring in good traffic but are very broad, i will prob do both, but i would like a second opinion please about other users strategies

thanks

[odegi]

Hi,

I am having the same difficulty trying to find a good strategy for long tail SEO for our ecommerce clients, considering that it is difficult to have long content on our product pages as it is not recommended, as well as the fact that it is quite difficult to compete with the likes of amazon, walmart, and even your own distributors! As such, I am thinking that to target long tail keywords, it would best be wise to create a blog consisting of different content and media that targets your specific keywords AND within an article for example, link back to your product page within the long tail anchor text your targeting to the product page everytime. In addition, you could also take advantage of testimonials and reviews for targeting long tail keywords on your product page. Hope that helps.

Thanks

[AWCthreads]

We have a retail store and ecommerce performance is judged by the month, quarter year etc.

I focus on local long tail first followed by the short tail with goals of winning the 1-3 spot (lots of 1's) for both.

Then I want to win long tail national followed by short tail national (national meaning nationwide outside of our state).

Shorter tail (category) type keywords are difficult for us to rank for but we are gaining on it over time as our domain authority improves.

Link building is high on our agenda for 2013.

[DHS_SH]

I personally try to ensure that my product pages are up to date and are showing up in Google Shopping and for specific product name searches.

I then try to gear my main category pages up for more generic key words searches so I can try and capture customers looking to browse at the first point of the buying cycle. Ideally you would capture everything but I guess if starting from a standing start you have to prioritise.

For reference, I initially prioritised the specific product pages over general category pages as these were more likely to bring in an immediate sale. If these product pages weren't ranking properly but generic broad searches were doing ok, people may do their research on my website but when it comes to buying would find one of my competitors.

I'm finding E-commerce SEO quite tough due to the broad amount of products we sell - its difficult to go after everything. I guess consistency and utilising white hat techniques on everything you do is the way forward.

[Marcus_Miller]

Hey Will,

It's a broad question, can you give an example as there are really no general answers here.

Long tail generally is easier and more specific (likely to convert) but at lower volumes

Broad keywords are weak with regards to convert and competative but do the numbers

Usually, you could start with the broad and work out the long tail:

• Widgets
• Green Widgets
• Cheap Green Widgets
• Buy Cheap Green Widgets
• Buy Cheap Green Widgets Online
• Buy Cheap Green Widgets Online Free Delivery
• etc

Often, long tail or related keywords are better suited to another post that is intended to provide information but also funnel users to your product page. Likewise, it is a damn site easier to get links to that kind of informative, blog content than it is to product pages.

Drop in some examples, happy to run off a few ideas.

Cheers!
Marcus