Online shopping has exploded in popularity over the last decade. In 2023 alone, global ecommerce sales is expected to top $6.3 trillion according to Shopify.
With more and more people turning to the internet to purchase products, having an online store can be extremely lucrative if you know how to attract customers.
One of the most important aspects of driving traffic and sales to an ecommerce website is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO helps people find your products when they search for relevant keywords on Google and other search engines.
Conducting keyword research is a crucial first step to develop an effective SEO strategy for an ecommerce business. Properly optimized content centered around high-value keyword terms can dramatically improve your search visibility and website traffic.
In this article, I’ll explore my top tips for conducting keyword research to boost your ecommerce SEO results.
Understand Search Intent
Not all keywords are created equal when it comes to ecommerce SEO. The first step is understanding the search intent behind keywords to identify the best terms to target.
There are three main types of search intent:
- Informational – The searcher wants to find general information about a topic (“what is dropshipping?”). These keywords should drive traffic to informational content like blog posts and guides.
- Navigational – The searcher is looking for a specific website or brand (“nike.com”). Optimizing for branded keywords can help reinforce your domain authority.
- Transactional – The searcher wants to purchase a product (“buy yoga pants online”). These commercial keywords should direct traffic to product and category pages to drive sales.
For ecommerce SEO, prioritize keywords with transactional intent. Terms like “buy,” “shop,” “purchase,” and “order” indicate the searcher is ready to make a purchase.
Identify Seed Keywords
Start your research by brainstorming a list of “seed keywords” that are relevant to your products. These will give you keyword ideas and topics to expand upon.
To generate seed keywords:
- Review your existing site content like product descriptions
- Look at keywords competitors rank for
- Leverage Google’s Keyword Planner and other tools
- Analyze search trends and seasonality
For example, a sporting goods ecommerce site may use “running shoes” and “workout clothes” as initial seed terms.
Utilize Keyword Research Tools
Keyword research tools are invaluable for discovering new keyword opportunities and analyzing search volume data. Here are some of my favorites:
Google Keyword Planner
Google’s free Keyword Planner provides search volume estimates and related keywords for your seed terms. While not 100% accurate, it’s a useful starting point.
SEMrush
For a paid tool, SEMrush offers robust keyword data including search volume, competitiveness scores, and keyword difficulty metrics. It also generates new long-tail variations.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz’s tool lets you compare metrics like volume and competitiveness across keywords to identify low-hanging-fruit targets. Useful for SEOs.
Amazon Autocomplete
Amazon’s search suggestions are driven by real user behavior. Review autocomplete results for keyword ideas tailored to ecommerce.
Spend time playing with these tools to expand your initial seed list into a large collection of keywords.
Analyze Key Metrics
As you build out your keyword list, analyze key metrics to determine which terms make the most sense to target:
Monthly Search Volume
Focus on keywords with sufficient search volume for your niche – at least 500-1000 searches per month. Prioritize terms with higher volumes.
Competitiveness
Gauge how hard it will be to rank for keywords by looking at metrics like SEMrush’s Keyword Difficulty or Moz’s SPAM score. Pursue low competition long-tail variants.
Relevance
Ensure keywords are relevant to your products and brand. No point driving irrelevant traffic that won’t convert.
Commercial Intent
Give priority to transactional keywords with clear commercial intent as I discussed earlier.
Trends and Seasonality
Take search trends and seasonal fluctuations into account when analyzing keywords. For example, “swimsuits” will spike in summer.
By researching these factors, you can create keyword groupings or tiers to target in your SEO campaigns.
Perform Competitor Analysis
Analyzing your competitor’s keywords and content strategies provides useful intelligence for your own SEO efforts.
Here’s some ways you can conduct competitor analysis:
- Browse competitor sites and make note of keywords in their product listings, titles, URLs, etc.
- Use tools like SEMrush to see the top keywords competitors rank for.
- Search your keywords in Google and study their SERP snippets and ad strategies.
- See what autocomplete suggestions come up for competitors in search bars.
Identify areas competitors are missing out on as well as keywords they aren’t optimized for, then swoop in and grab that traffic. Also, take inspiration from keywords and content performing well for them.
Organize Keywords by Intent
Once your initial research is complete, organize your master keyword list by search intent:
- Informational – Group keywords for blog posts and guides. For example, “how to start an online retail dropshipping business”.
- Navigational – Include relevant branded keywords for your domain.
- Transactional – Cluster commercial keywords to optimize product pages for. Terms like “buy pink yoga pants” or “discount running shoes”.
This helps develop a plan for targeting keywords in the appropriate pages and content.
Expand Research Constantly
Keyword research is not a one-and-done process. Search trends evolve constantly, so you need to revisit your research every 3-6 months to identify new opportunities.
Ways to expand your research:
- Monitor clicks, impressions, and rankings for existing keywords in Google Search Console. Double down on what’s working.
- Use Google Trends to analyze seasonality patterns and new trending keywords.
- Check out Google’s Related Queries sections for new suggestions when browsing keywords. These are the eight search results you see at the bottom of the result page.
- Set up tracking in tools like SEMrush to get alerts for high-potential new keywords.
Key Takeaways
- Start with relevant seed keywords and expand your list using paid and free tools.
- Focus on transactional, commercial keywords with high search volume and low difficulty.
- Analyze seasonality, competition, and other metrics to identify keywords to target.
- Group keywords by informational, navigational, and transactional intent.
- Continuously expand your research by monitoring trends and search behavior.
Thorough keyword research provides the foundation for an effective ecommerce SEO strategy tailored to your niche. Optimizing your site for these high-value keywords will help you cut through the noise and attract more searchers ready to buy your products.
By following the tips above and leveraging the right tools, you’ll be able to uncover the best keyword opportunities to drive targeted traffic and sales growth for your online store.