Digital Marketing tactics change and evolve on a monthly or even daily basis it seems, but one thing has remained consistent for several years—content marketing. If done right, it is effective at helping businesses increase their organic search visibility through search engines.

Here are just a handful of reasons why having a solid content Strategy is important for eCommerce businesses:

• Content marketing costs 62 percent less than outbound marketing, but it creates more than three times as many leads.
• Site conversion rate is about six times higher for content marketing adopters.
• Annual site traffic growth is 7.8 times higher for content marketers.
• After reading their unique content, 82% of consumers have more positive feelings about a company.

Content marketing is also a way to improve communication and build trust with consumers. This is done by answering consumers basic questions, which leads them through the sales funnel by answering additional questions along the way. That means it is critical for a business to understand the pain points of its customers, then address those pain points through content on the website. This enables consumers to choose who, when and what type of content they interact with.

If you’re looking to boost organic search traffic and sales, here are three tips to consider in your content marketing efforts.

Tip 1: Have a blog, maybe?

When some businesses hear content marketing, they first (and sometimes only) think about a blog. While having a blog is great—82% of those who blog see a positive ROI from their efforts—they’re not right for every eCommerce business.

So how do you know if one would be effective for you? Here are some things to consider:

• Is your audience expressing a need for useful information that you can deliver on a regular basis?

In order to know if there are questions being asked about your products simply turn to Google for help.

Example: A simple search for “what makes good workout clothes” reveals a Google Answer Box. For tips on how to shop up in Google’s answer box check out this post by Moz.

• Do you have a unique angle on the information you are able to offer users?

This should be a large factor that plays into your content strategy. For example, there are thousands of sites that talk about fitness tips, help, how-to’s etc. In order to stand out from the rest you would need to take a unique angle or stance on the topic to attract an audience interested in what you are doing. Mammoth Hunters did that by using a mobile app to provide a simple training program that only takes 15 minutes, 3-4 days a week and is done at home with no need for equipment, just your body is enough.

[image source: Mammoth Hunter App Page)

If the answer is yes to both of these questions, then a blog could be right for you.

Tip 2: Improve product page info.

Product pages are the best and easiest way to educate customers about your products, about what makes them different and why consumers need them. Chances are, though, your product pages aren’t up to par. But they can be.

Besides photos, a short product description and price, the following is good to include on every product page:

• Product videos: Four times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.
• Product reviews: These consumer reviews help build trust and loyalty to your business, and 82% of U.S. adults say they usually read online reviews before purchasing a product.
• Star reviews: The star review system is big on Amazon, and like them, your customers will like easily seeing at the top of a product page that customers rate your product 4.5 out of 5 stars instead of reading through numerous customer reviews.
• Product FAQs: With these you can answer common customer questions, such as how to assemble this item, how to clean it, etc.
• Product features: In order for customers to think your product is unique and they need it, briefly list its best features.
• CTA: A thoughtfully placed call-to-action, like an “Add to cart” button near the product description and price, makes it convenient for customers to add your product to their shopping cart and allows you to direct them where you want them to go.

Example of a well built out product page is Rogue Fitness.

Tip 3: Implement an email marketing strategy.

If you don’t already, part of your content marketing strategy should include Email Marketing. Email is a highly effective form of content marketing. For every $1 that is spent, companies get an estimated $38 in ROI. That’s a great return on investment for a such a cost-effective form of content marketing.

Email marketing is also great because it has the ability to reach a wide array of customers and lets you send personalized and targeted content straight to your customers. From discount codes to new product releases, helpful industry content and more, there’s plenty you can email your customers about to keep them loyally buying from you. Just make sure to follow eCommerce email marketing best practices so you get that great return from your email efforts.

While seeing these types of results from a content marketing strategy takes effort and more time than other forms of marketing, in terms of ROI, it produces a more reliable climb.

The post eCommerce Content Marketing: Define and Own a Content Strategy appeared first on STRYDE.