6 Ways to Sell More Online by Content Marketing

Online entrepreneurs have a problem. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores that compete with other retailers on their block or region, they compete against stores all around the world and Amazon. This is a daunting task.

You have to do a lot more to get attention for your product than you would if you were selling in a neighborhood. While brick-and-mortar stores must get people to come to their place, they can choose a number of ways to do that, but online stores have to get people to choose their site over the other millions of sites available. Content marketing is the key to selling online. Here are some tips to improve your content marketing.

  1. Understand Google

Before you can open your online store, you have to be found. That means that you want your store to be picked up in search engines. You must have to understand how Google and other search engines work. Each company has its own algorithm to determine which website is on the first page. Basically, Google is looking for keywords relevant to your industry. The more specific you are, the more likely you will be found. You don’t want to be penalized for keyword stuffing and irrelevant keywords. Therefore, your content should use your keywords naturally and have meaning to most people as related to your store. 

  1. Use Amazon

Why compete with Amazon? Open your store on Amazon and let Amazon help market your store. For example, book authors can have an author page that includes all your books, video, blogs, and pictures. Amazon also offers free promotions for authors. For its affiliates, Amazon offers ways to promote your store. You can post content on your Amazon page. Because of Amazon’s authority, stores on its site are found more often by the search engines. 

 

  1. Make Blogs Interesting and Relevant 

Although you want certain keywords in your content so Google will find you, you also want content people will read. For example, if you sell hunting boots, you are not likely to attract the right person with blogs about summer getaways at the beach. However, you could attract the potential buyer with summer getaways at hunting lodges. You can use seasons to help you figure out what your blogs should be. In the summer, people are searching for vacations, pools and fun things to do. Combine this with what you sell, and you should get potential buyers to your site.

 

  1. Proofread Your Content 

You don’t want grammar or spelling mistakes in your content. To Google, misspelled words might signal fraud or spammy site, which will drop you in the rankings. To the average reader, it would lower your credibility. Although your store doesn’t sell writing, people might believe that if you don’t have quality on your website, you don’t have quality in your product. Proofread all your content before you post. Hiring a professional writer and editor to handle your content is even better.

 

  1. Do Something Different

If your store sells something similar to others, you should consider doing something different with your content. You could hold a special contest. Answer specific questions that others aren’t. Write tips that others are not doing. For example, if your competitors are writing content about the advantages of writing quality content, you might want to write about content marketing strategies for explosive growth. Or you could hold a contest requiring people to take pictures of landmarks that require a lot of walking.

 

  1. Use Video and Pictures

Video and pictures rank higher in search engines. Therefore, you want to use them regularly in your content. However, the pictures might be grabbing people’s attention, but the video descriptions are what Google uses to find those pictures and videos. Therefore, when you post a video, make sure you write an attention-grabbing video description and headline. 

Also, make the video be distinct so that it is different from your competitors. For example, the store selling hunting boots might want to have a video with tips on what to do if you come across a bear, moose or snake instead of a video on footwear. The store with healthcare products might want to do a video on the hiking trail and visiting landmarks in town.