E-commerce SEO Masterclass: Part 5 – Blog Optimization 📝

Welcome to the final part of our E-commerce SEO Masterclass! In this section, we’re focusing on an often-underutilized tool for driving organic traffic: your blog. 

A well-optimized blog on your Shopify store is a goldmine for attracting potential customers, boosting SEO, and establishing your brand as an industry authority.

Here’s how to make the most of it:

1. Understand What’s In It For You 

There’s a lot to learn from how Be Still Farms, used the steps above to 4x its Shopify store organic traffic. 

While fixing the issues identified by Plug In SEO, the store strategically used its blog to answer customers’ questions while guiding them to its products and here’s how that worked out.

Informational blog pages like “is short grain rice healthy” (dated March 2022) brought in 90% of the top organic search positions that Be Still Farms occupied.

By writing relevant, SEO-friendly blog posts, you too can:

• Rank for a variety of long-tail keywords that your product pages may not cover.
• Showcase your expertise, which builds trust with your audience and boosts conversions.
• Drive organic traffic to your store by providing value beyond just selling.

Think of your blog as a bridge between your products and the interests of your target audience.

2. Blog Topic Ideas (Relate Content to Your Products & Industry)

When choosing blog topics, focus on how your content can connect to the products you sell. Here are a few ideas:

• How-to Guides: Write posts on how to use your products effectively. For example, if you sell skincare products, create a guide like “How to Build a Oily Skincare Routine.”
• Industry Trends: Write about trends in your industry. If you sell streetwear, a post like “Top 2024 Fashion Trends You Can’t Miss” attracts readers who are looking for fresh styles and could lead to product discovery.
• Product Comparisons: Help your audience make decisions with comparison posts. For instance, “The Best Jackets for Fall: A Complete Guide” could highlight different jackets you sell.
• Seasonal Posts: Align your content with upcoming seasons, holidays, or events. A post like “Back-to-School Essentials for Vegans ” could feature products that suit the occasion.

🔑 Pro Tip: Use your keyword research (from Part 3) to guide your blog topics. Turn non-product-related long-tail keywords into blog posts, adding links to your product pages.

3. Content Optimization for SEO

To ensure your blog is SEO-optimized, follow these steps:

• Include Focus Keywords: Each blog post should have a primary keyword (e.g., “best fall jackets”) and related keywords. Place your main keyword in the title, headers, URL, and throughout the text (without keyword stuffing).
• Write Engaging Meta Descriptions: Just like with product pages, meta descriptions for blog posts help increase click-through rates. They should be informative, contain your focus keyword, and entice readers to click. Example: “Discover the top fall jackets of 2024, from cozy bombers to lightweight parkas. Style tips included!”
• Use Internal Linking: Like Be Still Farms, link to relevant product pages or collection pages in your blog posts. This drives traffic to your products and helps search engines crawl your site more effectively. For instance, if you’re writing about “Fall Fashion Trends,” link to your “New Fall Arrivals” collection.
• Optimize Images: Blogs with visuals perform better. Include images and ensure each one has keyword-rich alt text to improve accessibility and help with image search rankings.
• Mobile-Friendly Formatting: Make sure your blog is optimized for mobile. With many users browsing on their phones, ensuring fast load times and easy navigation on mobile is critical for SEO.

4. Post Consistently

Consistency is key to building authority in your niche and boosting your search rankings. Aim to post new content regularly—whether it’s once a week or biweekly. Search engines prioritize fresh content, and the more frequently you post, the more opportunities you create to rank for new keywords.

🔑 Pro Tip: Consider creating a content calendar to ensure you stay on track with posting. Align posts with product launches, holidays, or key dates in your industry.

5. Measure Success & Refine Your Strategy

Once your blog is up and running, track its performance using Google Search Console and tools like Ahrefs to monitor traffic, keyword rankings, and user engagement. This will help you identify what content is working best and refine your strategy for future posts.

That’s it – everything you need to get 

Resources: Search Console | Merchant Center | Plug In SEO | Google Business Profile

Missed previous lessons? Recap here: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Need the heavy lifting done for you? Get 50% off the Quickstart Service using code “dtcdaily50”