8 Best Practices for Ecommerce Keyword Research

“The first organic result on Google typically captures a significant portion of search traffic, often around 30%. However, as you move down the search engine results page (SERP), the click-through rate (CTR) diminishes rapidly. By the 10th position, the average CTR can drop to as low as 5%”.

Why Does Ranking Higher Matter?

• Increased Visibility: Higher rankings make your website more visible to potential customers.
• More Organic Traffic: Improved visibility attracts more organic traffic, driving more visitors to your site.
• Higher Conversion Rates: Top-ranking websites often have higher conversion rates, as they’re perceived as more credible and authoritative.
• Enhanced Brand Awareness: Consistent high rankings build brand awareness and recognition.
• Cost-Effective Marketing: Organic search traffic is a cost-effective way to acquire new customers.

By optimising your website for search engines, you can significantly improve your visibility, attract more qualified traffic, and ultimately boost your online business.

Why Keyword Research Matters?

• Enhanced Visibility: You can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results by targeting relevant keywords.
• Increased Organic Traffic: Higher rankings lead to more organic traffic, which can drive sales and revenue.
• Improved User Experience: Keyword research helps you organise your products and content so customers can easily find their needs.
• Competitive Advantage: You can gain a competitive edge by identifying niche keywords your competitors may overlook.
• Informed Marketing Strategies: Understanding search intent helps you tailor your marketing campaigns to resonate with your target audience.

How to Conduct Keyword Research for Your Ecommerce Website?

Keyword research is crucial in optimising your ecommerce website for search engines. Understanding your target audience’s keywords can improve your website’s visibility, increase organic traffic, and drive more sales.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to conduct effective keyword research:

1. Understand Search Intent

Understanding the intent behind user searches is fundamental to effective keyword research. Search intent can be categorised into four main types: navigational, informational, commercial, and transactional. Aligning your content with the appropriate search intent enhances user experience and improves your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

“61% of all clicks go to the top three organic search results. This emphasises the importance of understanding and aligning with search intent to improve rankings”.

Example: 

• A user searching for “best organic face moisturisers” is likely comparing options (commercial intent), while a search for “buy organic face moisturiser online” indicates readiness to make a purchase (transactional intent).

How to Target Search Intent

To effectively target search intent, consider the following:

• Analyse Top-Ranking Pages: Review the top-ranking pages for your target keywords to understand what type of content satisfies user intent. For instance, if you search for “best organic face moisturisers,” the top results may include comparison articles, product reviews, or lists of top products.
• Create Intent-Specific Content: Develop content matching the search query’s intent. Optimise your product pages with clear CTAs and detailed descriptions if the intent is transactional.
• Use Intent-Specific Modifiers: Incorporate keywords like “buy,” “best,” “review,” or “how to” to capture users at various stages of the buying process.

2. Leverage Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that typically have lower search volumes but higher conversion rates due to their specificity. These keywords often need to be more competitive, providing an excellent opportunity for ecommerce businesses to capture niche markets and attract highly targeted traffic.

Example Data: 

• The keyword “organic skincare” has a search volume 40,500 with high competition. In contrast, “best organic face moisturiser for dry skin” has a search volume of 1,000 and lower competition, making it a viable target.

Finding Effective Long-Tail Keywords

To find effective long-tail keywords, consider the following strategies:

• Keyword Research Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to identify long-tail variations of your main keywords. For example, entering “organic skincare” might yield suggestions like “organic anti-ageing serums” or “best organic moisturisers for sensitive skin.”
• Customer Reviews and Q&A Sections: Analyze reviews and Q&A sections on your website and competitors’ sites for common phrases and questions. If customers frequently ask about “best organic moisturiser for acne-prone skin,” this could be a valuable long-tail keyword.
• Question-Based Keywords: Utilize tools like AnswerThePublic to uncover question-based long-tail keywords related to your products. For example, you might discover questions like “What are the benefits of organic skincare?” which can guide content creation.

Example of Long-Tail Keyword Strategy

• An organic skincare ecommerce store might initially target the keyword “skincare products.” Still, they can expand their reach by creating content around long-tail keywords such as “best natural serum for oily skin” or “moisturiser for sensitive skin with organic ingredients.”

3. Conduct Thorough Competitor Analysis

Analysing your competitors’ keyword strategies can provide valuable insights and help you identify gaps and opportunities in your approach. 61% of marketers say competitive analysis is crucial for their SEO strategy. Gaining insights from competitors can lead to improved keyword targeting and content creation. Understanding what keywords your competitors rank for allows you to refine your strategy and gain a competitive edge.

How to Conduct Competitor Analysis

• Identify Main Competitors: Determine your primary competitors in the organic skincare space. Brands like The Ordinary, Drunk Elephant, and Tatcha could be key players.
• Use SEO Tools: Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyse competitors’ organic keywords and backlink profiles. For instance, a competitor may rank for “best organic face cream,” allowing you to gauge keyword viability.
• Find Targeted Keywords: Look for keywords that your competitors rank for, but you are not targeting. Analysing a competitor’s success can reveal opportunities for your strategy.
• Identify Content Gaps: Discover areas where you can create more comprehensive or valuable content than your competitors. For example, if a competitor has a blog post on the “benefits of using organic skincare,” you could create an even more detailed guide that includes user testimonials and product recommendations.

4. Utilise Keyword Research Tools

Effective keyword research relies heavily on using the right tools to gather data and insights. For example, using Keyword Tools, you can find that “organic face serum” has a search volume 2,400 and a keyword difficulty of 35. This suggests that while it’s somewhat competitive, it’s still within reach for a well-optimized product page or blog post. 

Some of the most popular and effective keyword research tools for ecommerce include:

• Google Keyword Planner: A free tool that provides insights into keyword search volumes and trends, useful for discovering new keyword ideas.
• SEMrush: An all-in-one digital marketing tool offering comprehensive keyword research capabilities. Its Keyword Magic Tool generates thousands of keyword ideas from a seed keyword, while the Keyword Gap Tool identifies keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t.
• Ahrefs: Known for extensive backlink analysis, Ahrefs also offers a powerful Keyword Explorer tool that provides metrics such as keyword difficulty, search volume, and traffic potential.
• Moz: Offers keyword research tools that provide data on search volume, keyword difficulty, and organic click-through rates. Its user-friendly interface allows for tracking keyword performance over time.

When using these tools, prioritise the following metrics:

• Search Volume: Understand how many people are searching for a particular keyword. For example, “best organic face moisturiser” might have a monthly search volume of 5,400.
• Keyword Difficulty: Assess the challenge of ranking for a keyword. A keyword with a difficulty score of 30 might be easier to target than one with 70.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): Gauge the commercial intent behind a keyword. High CPCs often indicate strong purchasing intent, making those keywords valuable for ecommerce.

5. Focus on Keyword Relevance and Intent

While search volume is an important metric, it’s crucial to prioritise the relevance of keywords to your specific products and target audience. Highly relevant keywords, even with lower search volumes, can lead to higher conversion rates and more qualified traffic.

 To maintain keyword relevance:

• Group Keywords by Themes: Organize your keywords by product categories to maintain focus and relevance. For example, if you sell organic skincare products, group keywords into categories like “moisturizers,” “serums,” and “cleansers.”
• Align with the Buyer’s Journey: Target keywords that align with different stages, from awareness to consideration to decision. For instance, “benefits of organic skincare” targets awareness, while “buy organic face moisturizer” targets decision-making.
• Use Semantic Keywords: Incorporate related terms to provide context and improve content relevance. For example, if you target “best organic face cream,” you might also include related phrases like “natural moisturizer” and “paraben-free cream.”

Example of Relevant Keyword Targeting

If you’re selling organic skincare products, you might target keywords like:

• “natural anti-ageing creams” (consideration stage)
• “organic face moisturizer for dry skin” (decision stage)
• “cruelty-free skincare brands” (awareness stage)

These keywords are specific to your niche and more likely to attract users interested in your offerings.

6. Optimize for Voice Search

With the increasing popularity of voice-activated devices, voice search optimisation has become essential. Voice searches tend to be longer and more conversational, often taking the form of questions. To optimise for voice search, consider the following:

• Focus on Conversational Keywords: Use long-tail, conversational keywords that mimic natural language queries. For example, instead of “organic face moisturizer,” target “what is the best organic face moisturizer for sensitive skin?”
• Incorporate Question-Based Keywords: Include questions in your content, such as “What are the benefits of organic skincare?” This aligns well with how users phrase voice queries.
• Create FAQ Sections: Address common voice search queries on your product pages. For example, a FAQ section for an organic skincare line could include questions like “Are organic moisturizers more effective?”
• Optimize for Local Searches: Include location-based keywords, as many voice searches have local intent. For instance, “best organic skincare store near me” is a common voice search query.

Example of Voice Search Optimization

Instead of just targeting “organic face cream,” you might optimise for voice search queries like:

• “Where can I buy organic face moisturizer near me?”
• “What is the best organic moisturizer for dry skin?”
• “How do I choose an organic skincare routine?”

7. Balance Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume

Finding the right balance between keyword difficulty and search volume is crucial for an effective ecommerce keyword strategy. While high-volume keywords can drive more traffic, they’re often more competitive and challenging to rank for, especially for newer or smaller ecommerce sites. 

The  strategic approach involves:

• Mixing High-Volume and Long-Tail Keywords: Target a combination of high-volume, competitive and lower-volume, less competitive long-tail keywords. For instance, focus on “best organic skincare” (high volume, high competition) alongside “best organic moisturizer for sensitive skin” (lower volume, lower competition).
• Focusing on Moderate Difficulty Scores: Aim for keywords with moderate difficulty scores within your site’s current authority. If “organic skincare products” has a difficulty of 60, consider targeting “best organic face cream” with a difficulty of 40.
• Gradually Targeting Competitive Keywords: As your site’s authority grows, gradually work toward more competitive keywords. Start with niche keywords, build traffic, and aim for broader terms.

Example of a Balanced Approach

• A new online store selling organic skincare products might target long-tail keywords like “natural face wash for sensitive skin” or “organic anti-ageing serum.” As the site builds authority and traffic, it can shift focus to more competitive terms like “best organic skincare products.”

8. Continuously Monitor and Adapt Your Strategy

Keyword research is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Search trends, competitor strategies, and user behaviour are constantly evolving, making it essential to regularly review and adapt your keyword strategy. To ensure your keyword strategy remains relevant:

• Monitor Rankings and Visibility: Use tools like Google Search Console or rank tracking features in SEO platforms to track keyword performance. Regularly assess where you stand in SERPs.
• Stay Informed About Industry Trends: Keep abreast of trends and emerging topics that could influence search behaviour in your niche. Subscribe to industry newsletters, follow thought leaders, and participate in relevant forums.
• Analyze Content Performance: Analyse your content’s performance to identify opportunities to optimize for new or underperforming keywords. For instance, if a blog post on “best organic face moisturizers” is underperforming, consider updating it with new information or optimising it for additional keywords.
• Conduct Periodic Competitor Analyses: Stay aware of changes in the competitive landscape to adjust your strategy accordingly. Regularly check your competitors to see if they are targeting new keywords or changing their content strategies.

Example of Adapting Strategy

• For instance, an ecommerce store selling organic skincare products might notice a surge in searches for “organic sunscreen.” By adjusting their keyword strategy to capitalise on this trend, they could create new content or optimise existing pages for these keywords, positioning themselves to attract more traffic.

Conclusion

Effective ecommerce keyword research is a dynamic process that requires continuous analysis and adaptation. These eight best practices can enhance your keyword strategy, improve search rankings, and increase conversions. Understanding search intent, leveraging long-tail keywords, conducting thorough competitor analysis, and utilising keyword research tools are all vital components of a successful strategy.

Ready to elevate your ecommerce keyword strategy?

Contact upGrowth for a personalised consultation and discover how we can help you optimise your approach for better results. By mastering these practices, you’ll position your ecommerce business for success in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.