How to Gain Organic Traffic when your E-Commerce Site Isn't at the Top of Google.
But that was my reality for the first five years of NebraskaBison.com. I'm happy to report, that as of this winter, my site suddenly began making massive headway -- knock on wood -- and has been inching it's way up Page 1 on Google -- and the organic traffic has been great.
But in those first five years, paid traffic got expensive and there has to be other ways to get traffic to your site without the Almighty Google Search, right?
I will be honest, I did -- and still do -- rely a lot on Paid (cost per click) Traffic for my site. But I did earn traffic in other ways as well.
Getting your website to the top of Google is a long process... with NO guarantees. The path to gaining solid organic traffic (traffic you don't have to pay for) can leave you wanting to pull out your hair, bang your fist into the wall or yell randomly in frustration.
As I said, there are NO guarantees when it comes to ranking in Google or earning Organic traffic and if your experience is anything like mine, you'll read lots of articles that offer the same few pieces of advice over and over again.
Now, there is a reason that those pieces of advice (reputable backlinks, quality content, reaching out to bloggers and influencers) are re-iterated again and again and that's because they are proven. However, a lot of these tips and articles seem to be slanted to industries outside of e-commerce, so I wanted to write a post specific to e-commerce that can help you move your site up in the rankings AND get organic/earned traffic before you get to the top of Google.
1. Content! Content! Content!
This is the number one thing you should be working on when your site isn't at the top of Google yet. It is the number one thing that will help you gain traffic and help push your site up. Once you're confident in the usability and design of your site to convert traffic, creating strong content is your next move.What kind of content?
Using a variety of mediums in your content creation strategy is important to help you gain traffic. Make videos. Write blog posts. Create charts and infographics. Start a podcast or guest appear on an established one. Don't waste your time in places that your demographic doesn't spend time – but find the mediums that will work for driving your quality traffic.Posting and promoting your content
Post your content everywhere you can. Post your videos on both YouTube and Facebook. Then, post the YouTube copy of the video on Pinterest. Share your blog posts, charts and infographics on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Put your content in places where people will share it and then encourage them to do so.
Pumping out crummy content won't help you gain traffic. You need to make sure that the content you are creating is worth your time and worth your audience's time. Think of problems or questions that your audience has and use your content to address them.
A single blog post that I wrote several years ago – "12 Great Recipes for Cooking Ground Bison Meat" – reached Page 1 of Google for several keywords long before my actual website did, but this certainly drove significant traffic to my website in the meantime. The reason it reached the first page of Google so much easier than my main site is because it met each one of the points above:
1. It answered a question for my audience: How to Cook Bison Meat".
2. It targeted my main keyword of "bison meat".
3. I posted it on all my social channels where it could be shared and passed around.
Just because you can't get your home page or product page to the top of Google right away, doesn't mean you can't get your other content up there faster.
Including videos in your product descriptions is great for your user to see another aspect of your product, but it's also great for search engines to see that you are providing a great experience and content for your user.
Quality
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| This is one of my better performing videos - which performs well in search and is popular among my customers for helping them enjoying my product. |
Keywords
The title of your content should contain your target keyword phrase. If your content is text based, such as a blog post, the body of your work should also use your keyword phrase a handful of times.A single blog post that I wrote several years ago – "12 Great Recipes for Cooking Ground Bison Meat" – reached Page 1 of Google for several keywords long before my actual website did, but this certainly drove significant traffic to my website in the meantime. The reason it reached the first page of Google so much easier than my main site is because it met each one of the points above:
1. It answered a question for my audience: How to Cook Bison Meat".
2. It targeted my main keyword of "bison meat".
3. I posted it on all my social channels where it could be shared and passed around.
Just because you can't get your home page or product page to the top of Google right away, doesn't mean you can't get your other content up there faster.
2. Product Descriptions
Your home page may never make it to the top of Google, but that doesn't mean you can't make it there. Product and Collection pages are far more targeted and much more likely to bring you the organic search traffic you've been working so hard for. And your product descriptions are the way to help you get there.
The worst thing you can do is use the manufacturers description or an otherwise poor and short description of your product. You should look at your product descriptions and your collection descriptions (if applicable) as part of your content strategy.
So many sites use standard text here without getting original or creative. By going a few extra steps, you can really work on earning your extra traffic.
Length
There is no need to ramble, and ALWAYS keep the end user top of mind, but don't cut yourself short on product descriptions. Try to use 500-750 words in crafting your product descriptions.
Keep it easy to read by using sub-headers with main points and bulleted lists instead of paragraphs.
Keywords
It is very important you use your targeted keywords throughout your product description. Use them in your sub-heads and in your text.
Video
Including videos in your product descriptions is great for your user to see another aspect of your product, but it's also great for search engines to see that you are providing a great experience and content for your user.Image Alt Tags
Since they aren't something you generally see for yourself on the site, it can be easy to forget about or ignore your image alt tags. But making sure these are accounted for on your product pages is just another step in proving to Google that your site is the real deal.
Product Reviews
It is imperative to have product reviews on your site. This not only shows your trustworthiness to the end user, but it also creates rich content that the search engines will love. When installed correctly, it will add star review ratings to your link on the search engine itself, making users more likely to click your site over a competitor, plus it adds additional content to your page that will be indexed by search engines.
3. Referral Traffic and Influencers
This tactic requires a little more luck, a little more work and a little more planning than the two above.
Connecting with influencers can be tricky, as you don't want to invest your time or money with "influencers" who don't actually connect you to future customers. It's important to find one who will drive meaningful traffic to your site.
A good way to start, is by encouraging your current customers to become referrals for you. Word of mouth from people who are already passionate about your brand / company / product is the best sales tool you can have.
However, connecting with people who already have a platform can help increase your traffic as well.
Referral Traffic and Influencers may not be completely organic / free traffic, as you may need to pay for a placement or partnership (or send free product), however, it will likely be cheaper than Pay Per Click and should hopefully lead to continuous traffic long after your initial payment, especially if you are working with a blogger or YouTube channel rather than someone on a social media network where posts are only seen for a short window of time.
Connecting with influencers can be tricky, as you don't want to invest your time or money with "influencers" who don't actually connect you to future customers. It's important to find one who will drive meaningful traffic to your site.
A good way to start, is by encouraging your current customers to become referrals for you. Word of mouth from people who are already passionate about your brand / company / product is the best sales tool you can have.
However, connecting with people who already have a platform can help increase your traffic as well.
Referral Traffic and Influencers may not be completely organic / free traffic, as you may need to pay for a placement or partnership (or send free product), however, it will likely be cheaper than Pay Per Click and should hopefully lead to continuous traffic long after your initial payment, especially if you are working with a blogger or YouTube channel rather than someone on a social media network where posts are only seen for a short window of time.
4. Social Reach
Leveraging social media may be an easier task than getting your site to climb through the rankings. Working hard and smart on social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Reddit by connecting with your audience in a meaningful way can be a great way to increase your brand awareness, engagement and site traffic.
This means more than posting advertisements, product pictures and links to your site throughout these networks. It means actually learning these platforms, providing meaningful content and posts that will engage your targeted followers. The ability to share messages on these platforms can really expand your reach when you post engaging content.
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