One thing a lot of newer eCommerce sites sleep on is having a good blog, or just having a blog in general. This is because it doesn’t make much sense when you are initially building an eCommerce site to create a blog.
However, I’m here to tell you that a blog is an essential part of any website, especially an eCommerce one.
There are a variety of reasons that every site should have a blog attached to it. And most of them will lead to increased traffic and sales. So, the quicker you start, the more money you will make.
Today, I will share 9 of the most important reasons you should start a blog on your eCommerce site.
1. A Blog Will Boost Your eCommerce Site’s SEO
One of the biggest issues a new eCommerce site will face is gaining traction on search results. The truth is that while there is plenty of room for more eCommerce sites, it’s really hard to compete with the established ones.
Unfortunately, if you are not in the first few spots on Google, that’s a sale lost.
And this issue has only gotten more severe over the last two years of the pandemic. Think about it; businesses of all sizes quickly scrambled to create an online presence so they could continue selling to their customers.
This has created some extreme competition for the top search results. However, having a blog can change this because blog content can help your site rank higher in general. But do not take my word for it.
According to Hubspot, websites that contain a blog get 55% more visitors. And that directly translates into generating more sales.
So, I know what you are thinking, what would I actually write a blog about?
Anything related to your business. For example, let’s say you run an eCommerce site that specializes in movie memorabilia. Well, you can start writing blog posts about those films and even create links directly to the items you are selling.
The best advice I can give you is to answer your customer’s questions in a blog post.
2. Blog Content Is More Sharable On Social Media
When it comes to marketing your website, social media may just be the most important aspect of it. However, it’s not easy marketing an eCommerce site on platforms like Facebook or Twitter.
And that’s because the majority of users go to these platforms to unwind and interact with friends or family.
They don’t want to see an account that just contains products. They want to see enjoyable content that they can show to a friend to make them laugh. And that’s exactly where blog content can come in.
Looking back on our last example, if you are creating blogs about movies and television shows, that’s content people will want to read on a lunch break. Readers will be willing to share that with others.
That will translate into a ton of traffic for your website if you can promote it on these platforms correctly.
However, keep in mind that each platform is different. Facebook may be a jack of all trades, but a platform like Pinterest or Instagram specializes in image sharing. Whereas YouTube focuses on video content.
You need to make sure you are reaching the target audience in the way the platform is intended. The good thing is that platforms like Facebook have amazing tools to aid in your business marketing.
You can usually try some of these services for free to get a feel for them.
3. Blogs Help Grow An Email List
I’m not sure who started the idea that email is dead, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, email has over 4 billion users every single day, with the majority of them on smartphones.
Thus, email marketing is still going to be the bread and butter of any marketing strategy.
And if you want to build an effective email marketing strategy, that means building up a huge email newsletter. Yet, getting people to sign up is becoming harder every year. Users are simply becoming more selective.
Thus, the most important aspect of getting customers to sign up is to make sure that it offers value. Just to be clear, this doesn’t merely mean monetary value. Being entertaining or informative is just as valuable.
So, how does a blog actually help build an email list?
Well, they give you a better chance at getting people to sign up. A good blog should have new content on a weekly or even daily basis. Every blog post you release is another chance to get people to sign up for your email list.
And if you create really engaging content, readers will be sure to sign up so they don’t miss the next release.
4. Blogs Help Drive eCommerce Sales
Blogs can be about anything and find success. And in the case of eCommerce, creating buyer guides for events, seasons, holidays, or just about anything else can help drive sales.
With 52% of buyers switching from retail to online commerce, driving sales is more important than ever.
So, what does a buyer’s guide include?
Well, in short, a buyer’s guide will include all of the information a shopper needs to make a purchase. For example, let’s say your store needs to sell more mattresses, a buyer’s guide can help with that.
You could create a blog post detailing when it is time to buy a new mattress, how much of an impact a new one can make, and include any special offers to help drive sales. And this works for just about everything.
In fact, you probably have already seen some of them pop up in your newsfeeds.
For example, with Fall right around the calendar, you might already begin seeing ads for new clothes. Staying ahead of the competition can really make a difference. Generally speaking, people remember the first thing they see.
Take advantage of blogging to upsell products directly from your blog posts.
5. Blogs Help eCommerce Sites Look Like Experts
One of the biggest advantages of having a blog is that it makes you look like an expert. And, as I’m sure you know, people like to read expert opinions before they purchase a product.
In fact, 85% of consumers look for content that contains an expert’s opinion before making a purchase.
Instead of having your customers go somewhere else for that expert opinion, they can find it right in your blog. A great example of this is actually Lowes. They have a great selection of DIY blogs for their customers.
Not only does this help them promote their own products, but it also builds brand loyalty. After all, you are able to get an expert opinion on how to improve your home, and also buy the necessary supplies from that expert.
They even have an online option that allows readers to chat with an expert. It’s a really well-designed blog experience for their eCommerce site.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that it is possible to have the opposite effect. If you consistently release low-quality content on your blog, instead of looking like an expert, you might get a bad reputation.
That, by itself, can tank an online business model. So, make sure you release quality content. Otherwise, it could do more damage than good.
6. Lifestyle Blogs Can Build A Community For Your Brand
Some of the most successful companies are linked to certain lifestyles, and in today’s online climate, that starts with blog posts.
For example, what do you think about when you hear Red Bull?
Well, if their marketing works right, you should be thinking about extreme sports. In this regard, Red Bull is highly successful.
They make sure a large portion of their advertising efforts has athletes from extreme sportswear their branding. In fact, they were able to brand an entire space suit!
Now, not every business can do this, thus, blogging is a better starting point.
For instance, take GreenGeeks. We are a green web hosting company, which means we attract a lot of environmentally conscious customers that are interested in the environment and looking for help with their website.
For this reason, we offer a lot of content to help you start a website, perform specific tasks on multiple content management systems, and cover environmental news. Thus, we strive to create content that matches our audience.
If done correctly, people will come just for the blogs and eventually, if they decide, will buy something from you.
7. An eCommerce Blog Can Highlight A Positive Workplace
If your business is growing fast, you might not have enough employees to maintain it, which is why you need to hire more. Talented staff members are looking for positive work environments, and you can highlight yours with a blog.
This not only helps attract talent but makes customers feel better about the company as a whole.
And yes, even this can be done with a blog. Many corporations will spend time highlighting the everyday activities of their staff to show the world that they take care of their employees.
A great example of this is PetSmart. They do a great job of highlighting the training their staff receive to take care of a wide variety of pets. It showcases a positive work environment for potential employees, and that the staff members are happy to be employees.
This isn’t exclusive to larger corporations, either. Small businesses often have a “meet the staff” section with short blogs for members.
And let’s not forget the most obvious advantage, you can create a blog post when you are hiring new members. Creating a post detailing that your business is growing and you are eager to find new talent, gains traction faster than a “help wanted” ad.
8. A Blog Makes It Easy For eCommerce Sites to Create Backlinks
While this may be a subset of the SEO benefits, I think it’s important enough to get it’s own point. One of the factors a search engine uses to rank pages is the quality of the backlinks found.
For instance, a site that links to a Google blog is probably going to rank higher than a site that links to a blog that gets 3 views a day.
While eCommerce sites can link to their business partners’ sites, a blog gives you the opportunity to link statistics.
For example, did you know that the number one search result on Google typically has 3.8x more backlinks than the 2-10 results?
These things really do matter, and being able to casually link to them in your blog posts is a surefire way to boost your own site’s credibility. After all, many users take the time to check facts.
If yours are coming from a website they trust, it earns their trust too. Of course, there is also the opportunity for collaboration.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “Guest Blog,” which is where a writer not affiliated with your site writes a post. Many times, these guest blogs are paid handsomely for their efforts or are offered lucrative collaborations.
Not having a blog means you can’t take part in this practice, which can hurt ability to reach customers.
9. Your Blog Can Help You Be A Trend Setter
One of the biggest problems most businesses face today is being a trend follower instead of a trend setter. Many businesses today just focus on following the latest trends.
And to be fair, that is a perfectly viable business strategy, at least when you are at the top of your industry.
However, if you are an emerging business, trend following doesn’t always work out well. That is unless you are really creative with it.
Instead, you need to try and become a trendsetter, but how does one do this?
Well, honestly, there’s not a viable how-to guide for this. It’s probably 50% creativity and 50% luck. Let’s face it, trends come and go on an almost weekly basis. Some last longer than others, but it really depends if people like it.
Does anyone remember the ice bucket challenge? It was so popular that nearly every public figure was taking part in it. It was all thanks to how viral it became on social media.
Not to mention that it supported a great cause. But the point is that anything can become a trend, you just need to be creative enough.
Nonetheless, just be mindful to not create a trend around something dangerous.
Create An eCommerce Blog Today
As you can see, blogging can be extremely effective for eCommerce sites. It offers the business multiple advantages from SEO to being able to attract more talented workers.
Blogging is by far the most effective business marketing tool you can take advantage of. And unlike most forms of marketing, it won’t cost you a dime.
Well, unless you start hiring SEO teams and writers, which may be necessary as your website grows.
However, while there are numerous advantages to becoming an eCommerce blogger, it’s worth noting that producing a low-quality blog can have some serious repercussions.
It can hurt your brand, which is sometimes not recoverable unless you rebrand entirely. So, make sure whatever you release is high quality.
Has starting a blog on your eCommerce site helped improve sales? What did you make your blog about?
The post 9 Profound Reasons Your eCommerce Site Absolutely Needs a Blog appeared first on GreenGeeks Blog.
