Running an online store is exciting, but getting customers to notice you can feel impossible. You’ve got incredible products, but customers just scroll right past. 

That’s where content marketing comes in!

However, it’s not about flashy ads, rather, it’s about creating content that actually helps people. By making awesome content, you become the expert they trust, and those clicks turn into loyal customers of your store.

As we move forward, we’ll show you exactly why content marketing is the key for e-commerce stores and give you strategies to take your business to the next level. 

From getting noticed to making more sales, we’ve got you covered!

Why is E-commerce Content Marketing Important?

E-commerce content marketing is incredibly important for any online business looking to thrive today. In fact, a 2023 study by Semrush found that an impressive 96% of e-commerce and retail companies that focused on their content marketing strategies saw positive outcomes.

Additionally, more than half of these marketers (54%) feel confident in their content strategies, rating their efforts as either excellent or satisfactory. This confidence reflects the impact well-planned content marketing can have on a business’s performance. 

Remember, though, that each business must find its own way to implement these strategies effectively.

Now, let’s see why content marketing is so important for your e-commerce success.

Building Brand Awareness

Before creating a loyal customer base, you need to make sure people know your brand. A well-executed content marketing strategy can —

• Improve your brand’s visibility via social media and email campaigns.
• Set your brand apart from competitors by creating unique content.
• Attract potential customers to your brand with exciting promos.

With a solid content marketing strategy, you can increase brand awareness, guide users through the sales funnel, and convert them into customers (possibly a recurring one!).

Informing Potential and Current Customers

There are tons of ways to create content that informs people about your products and convinces them they’re the perfect solution. No doubt about that!

Imagine your website as a journey for your customers. Content at the top of the “sales funnel” (like blog posts or social media tips) is like meeting someone for the first time. You want to be friendly, helpful, and show them why you’re an expert.

Here’s how informative content helps you win customers:

• Become their go-to source: Educational content positions you as a trusted advisor. People trust experts, so they’re more likely to buy from you when they need what you sell.
• Solve their problems: Great content answers their questions and solves their pain points. This builds trust and makes them see your products as the perfect solution.

Increasing Customer Loyalty

Since you’re running an e-commerce business, you know that building a strong customer base is important. You know the feeling – a customer buys something once, then disappears.  Content marketing can change that!

By consistently providing valuable information and services, you turn one-time customers into recurring ones. Your store will become people’s first choice.

Here’s how it works:

• Keep the contents going: Content is a great way to stay connected with your customers. Regular blog posts, emails with helpful tips, or engaging social media content remind them you’re there and keep your brand top-of-mind.
• Show you care: By offering valuable content, you show your customers you care about more than just a sale. This builds trust and makes them feel like they’re part of something bigger.
• Make them your loyal fans: The more people learn from and trust you, the more likely they are to recommend your store to others. This kind of word-of-mouth marketing is pure gold!

Improving Your Website’s SEO Performance

When people use Google to find answers, you’d obviously want your brand to be the first one they find. Well, a big part of it is SEO! 

That’s because 51% of content consumption comes from organic search. So, it’s a worthwhile strategy. By using relevant keywords to optimize your content, you can —

• Show up on the search engine results page (SERP).
• Draw relevant organic traffic to your site.
• Effectively answer users’ questions.
• Increase leads and sales.

Raising Conversions and Revenue

A strong e-commerce content strategy can greatly increase conversions and revenue over time. Successful content strategies—

• Guide customers through the sales funnel in a natural way.
• Offer educational content at each stage.
• Lead customers to the final purchase of your products.

Top 14 E-Commerce Content Marketing Strategies to Stand Out

The e-commerce game is fierce! To stand out from the crowd, you need a content marketing strategy that packs a punch. Here are 14 proven tactics to pull in customers, boost brand awareness, and skyrocket your sales:

1. Audit Yourself and Your Competition

Conducting a detailed competitive analysis is key. This step lets you see how you stack up against your main competitors. Pay attention to their blogs and consider these important questions —

• What blog posts are traffic magnets? This reveals the type of content your audience craves.
• Which content converts best? These are the posts that turn visitors into loyal fans.
• What gets shared the most? Shares and backlinks boost your website’s authority and search engine ranking.

With tools like Ahrefs, SEOptimer, Small SEO Tools, or SEMRush, you can see which pages are the most successful and which keywords lead to them. Based on that, you can see what topics your competitors cover and decide whether you can write better articles on them.

Finally, make a list of keywords that you can use to create more detailed, informative content. It’ll form the basis of your content strategy.

Bonus Tip: Don’t just copy! Analyze what makes their content successful and use that knowledge to create unique and informative pieces that showcase your brand’s voice.

2. Identify What Types of Content to Focus On

Not all content is created equal. To truly dominate the e-commerce battlefield, you need a diverse arsenal. Here are 3 content categories to target specific goals and propel your business forward:

• Awareness Content
• Sales Centric Content
• Thought Leadership Content

Each type targets a specific goal to help your e-commerce business thrive.

Awareness Content

Awareness Content is designed to drive traffic and increase brand recognition. It educates them on topics related to your products, drawing in a broad audience who might become future fans.

Example: An outdoor gear store might create a blog post titled “The Ultimate Guide to Backpacking Essentials.” While not everyone reading will buy a backpack today, the article positions the store as a valuable resource for outdoor enthusiasts.

Sales Centric Content

Sales Centric Content helps to increase conversions and revenue. It directly addresses customer pain points and positions your products as the perfect solution.

• Product highlights: Showcase how your products solve specific problems and make life easier.
• Comparison campaigns: Stack your offerings against the competition, highlighting your unique advantages.
• Customer testimonials: Let satisfied customers sing your praises with real-life stories and case studies.
• User guides and FAQs: Offer valuable support content like tutorials and frequently asked questions to improve user experience and encourage repeat purchases.

Example: Following up on the outdoor gear store, they could publish an article titled “Backpack Buying Guide” to help customers choose the perfect one. This directly addresses their concerns and positions the store as the ultimate backpack resource – leading to more sales.

Thought Leadership Content

Content that shows thought leadership mainly seeks to gain the trust and respect of your peers in the industry. It features unique insights, predictions, and strong opinions based on your experience.

If you share this content with industry leaders, you can increase your credibility and get more social shares.

Example: The founder of an eco-friendly clothing company might write an article titled “Sustainable Fashion: The Future of Clothing.”  While not a direct sales pitch, it positions the company as a leader in sustainable practices, generating positive PR and indirectly attracting eco-conscious customers.

3. User Generated Content (UGC)

Content generated by users is a potent e-commerce content marketing strategy because it features real customers using your products. It serves as both word-of-mouth marketing and social proof, as people usually trust the opinions of other customers.

Here are some ways to promote UGC —

• Organize a contest where customers submit photos or videos of them using your products.
• Encourage reviews after purchases.
• Create a branded hashtag for social media and encourage customers to use it.
• Regularly share UGC on your social media channels.

4. Incorporate Images of Your Products in Your Content

Don’t underestimate the power of pictures! It may seem like a given, but it’s better to include images of your products in your content. 

Research from eBay’s lab supports this approach, revealing that listings with more product images are more likely to build confidence among potential buyers, leading to higher sales.

So, as a seller, make sure you’re not just using great photos on your product pages, but also on your social media posts and blog articles. 

Showcasing high-quality images consistently helps highlight what you have to offer and draws more attention to your products, making it easier for customers to decide to buy from you.

5. Make Your Content SEO-friendly

If you want more people to visit your website, your content must appear in the top 10 of the SERPs. Well, it’s not as hard as it sounds—only if you know!

Look, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be broken down into two main parts —

On-page SEO 

It’s all about improving the content of your website. Start with keyword research to understand what your customers are searching for, then use these keywords in your content. You should also speed up your site and optimize your existing content to solve your customers’ problems better.

Off-page SEO

On the other hand, off-page SEO is about creating content on other websites to increase brand awareness, establish authority, and drive traffic. You can write guest posts on other blogs, engage in affiliate marketing, and build links back to your site.

Here are some easy tips to help you get started with off-page SEO —

• If you’re focusing on a local market, get your site listed in local directories to improve your local SEO.
• Collaborate with blogs to create product guides and holiday shopping guides.
• Get reputable online publications to review your products.
• Partner with influencers to produce user-generated content and videos, which can help improve your rankings, especially on Google.
• Find influencers among your loyal customers and work with them.
• Launch your products on Google Shopping to make them more visible in searches.

Tools and Tactics: Use SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to make both your on-page and off-page SEO efforts more efficient.

6. Create Your Content Hub

Building a content hub is one of the top strategies for e-commerce content marketing. Well, consider it a central location on your website that collects and organizes content related to a specific topic. 

This content can range from blog posts and videos to social media content and printable checklists. Here, the main idea is to arrange all this content around one core theme.

For instance, if your business sells supplements, you could set up a hub focused on topics like the best pain relievers, energy boosters, and general health supplements.

Here’s why building a content hub can be hugely beneficial:

• Boosts Organic Search Traffic: By centralizing your content on specific topics, your hub can rank higher in search engine results, drawing more visitors to your site.
• Increases Engagement: A content hub keeps visitors on your site longer as they navigate through related articles and resources, improving engagement.
• Encourages Social Shares: Comprehensive and informative hubs are more likely to be shared on social media, increasing your content’s reach.
• Showcases Your Expertise: A well-organized content hub demonstrates your knowledge and authority in your niche, building trust with your audience.

By offering a one-stop-shop for all the best information, a content hub makes it easy for customers to find and engage with your content, enhancing their overall experience on your site.

7. Use Video to Create Your Brand Image

Video is a powerful way for you to show off your products. Research by Semrush found that in 2023, video became the most popular way to present products in retail and e-commerce. 

By using videos, you can clearly show how your products work, highlight their best features, and answer any questions your customers might have. This makes it easier for customers to see the value of your products and helps them make confident buying decisions.

Some of the impactful types of video content are —

• Product demos: Show and tell how your products work.
• Customer testimonials: Share stories from satisfied customers.
• Live shopping sessions: Engage with your audience in real time.

Remember, the length of your video should fit the platform. Longer videos are good for YouTube, while shorter clips are better for Instagram and TikTok. 

Think about teaming up with someone who has a compelling personality to help create and share these videos. That way, you’ll increase engagement, views, and customers with this person.

8. Plan Your Short-Term and Long-Term Ranking Objectives

When you start working on SEO for your website, remember that you won’t instantly rank for every keyword you target. That’s because Google uses hundreds of factors to decide rankings. 

For tough keywords like “weight loss,” which big sites like WebMD and MedicalNewsToday dominate, consider targeting less competitive ones first, like “how to lose weight fast without exercise or diet.” 

These keywords are easier to rank for and can still attract plenty of visitors.

In the beginning, focus on these easier keywords. As your website grows and gains more credibility, you can then aim for more competitive terms. Here are a few tips to help you along:

• Backlinks are key: To achieve high rankings on search engines, you need backlinks to demonstrate your site’s trustworthiness.
• Utilize Ahrefs and SEMRush: These tools can help you estimate the number of backlinks required to surpass your competitors.
• Don’t buy backlinks: This practice goes against Google’s policies. Instead, invest in ethical link-building services.
• Choose your keywords carefully: Use main keywords on your primary pages, while niche terms are more appropriate for blog posts.

9. Upload Tutorial Videos

Tutorial videos are all the rage these days, with more and more people heading to YouTube to pick up new skills. You can tap into this trend by crafting videos that show how your products can tackle specific problems or challenges. 

These videos serve a dual purpose – 

• They educate potential buyers about the benefits of your product. 
• They help existing customers maximize their use. 

Tutorial videos are practical and build trust with your audience. When viewers see you as a dependable source, they’re more likely to purchase when ready.

10. Create Buying Guides

For e-commerce businesses, buying guides are a fantastic strategy. They provide a subtle way to showcase your products to potential customers, who often compare products and look for information when deciding on a purchase. 

Besides, buying guides provide important details like price, features, and functionality. You can create guides for nearly any product and even craft seasonal guides for holidays like Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day.

11. Make Shareable Content 

Once you’ve created engaging content, your next goal is to make it shareable. Content that can be shared easily can naturally spread, bringing your brand and products to more people’s attention with little effort from you. 

This not only increases visibility but also helps you earn valuable backlinks. These backlinks are key for SEO as they improve your rankings and credibility on search engines. 

Over time, your content can keep attracting backlinks, offering continuous benefits.

12. Assess Your Performance and Adjust for Better Outcome

Regardless of the content you upload, you must analyze your performance. You should use tools like Google Analytics to track traffic and conversions and SEMRush or Ahrefs to monitor keyword rankings. 

Plus, you must track and measure regularly, and you should review your results every month.

During your analysis, think about these questions —

• What was the main objective of each piece of content you created? 
• What metrics should you monitor to determine success? 
• Which types of content (videos, infographics, blogs, etc.) yield the best results? 
• How did your e-commerce store’s performance this month compare to last month? Or to the same month last year? 
• Which pages improved? Which pages saw a decline? 
• How are your priority keyword rankings progressing?

Based on your findings, adjust your content strategy. Ad spend less time on underperforming initiatives and more time on working ones.

13. Create a Comparison Page

A comparison page is a smart strategy for your e-commerce content. These pages compare your product with a competitor’s, which can help draw in potential customers. 

When customers are nearing the end of their buying journey, they often look for comparisons like 

• “[competitor product] vs. [your product]” or 
• “competitor product] alternative.” 

By providing review and comparison pages, you can capture this search traffic and emphasize why your product is the better choice. You can also link these from your product pages to further convince potential buyers of your product’s advantages.

14. Provide an FAQ Page or Help Center

An FAQ page or Help Center is a must-have for e-commerce brands. While it might not be the most thrilling type of content, it’s incredibly effective and helpful. 

You don’t want potential customers to leave your site for a competitor’s because they couldn’t find the answers they were looking for. 

FAQ pages do more than just answer common questions; they — 

• Build trust.
• Improve site navigation.
• Increase search engine rankings.
• Strengthen your brand’s authority. 

To make your FAQ page more effective, provide creative answers, thorough explanations, and links to category pages and useful articles. 

You can even turn these questions into short videos. FAQ pages are a great way to guide visitors to helpful content and then to category and product pages.  

Common topics to cover include —

• Return policy
• Contact methods
• Shipping policy
• Customer service options

And more.

10 Examples of Effective Content Marketing for eCommerce Sites

Content marketing is a strong strategy for eCommerce websites to connect with their customers, build trust, and increase website visits. It displays their knowledge and improves the customer experience by sharing useful information.

That said, let’s look at some eCommerce websites that are great at content marketing.

MADE

MADE is a leader in designer furniture and home decor. On its website, it has an “IDEAS” section filled with helpful posts that give design tips and style advice. One of its standout pieces is a comprehensive buying guide for wall art.

It includes a variety of styles, tips for choosing, how to hang them, and how to take care of them.

Relax The Back

Relax The Back offers ergonomic and back care products. Its product pages provide detailed information, including descriptions, specifications, warranty details, reviews, and videos. 

They also share many health and wellness posts with useful tips and advice.

Beardbrand

Beardbrand has made a name for itself with its high-quality beard care products and adept content marketing. The company first built its audience using platforms like blogs, YouTube, and Tumblr, focusing on creating in-depth articles and videos that resonate with their community. 

One standout example of their content is an exhaustive article on beards and ingrown hairs, which spans over 12,000 words. This piece not only delivers valuable information but also drives significant traffic to their site due to its depth and usefulness.

Insperity

Insperity collects emails by providing a free eBook on HR outsourcing. They focus on the keyword “hr outsourcing guide” to attract visitors looking for more than just basic information. 

By exchanging the eBook for email addresses, they ensure these visitors are potential customers interested in HR outsourcing services.

Au Lit FineLinens

Au Lit FineLinens offers everything you need for a restful sleep. 

To add value, they run a blog with useful posts on how to improve sleep quality. As most people can’t sleep while traveling, they even have a blog titled “How to get a good night’s sleep while traveling”.

This strategy not only provides helpful information to their customers but also enhances their shopping experience.

Wayfair

Wayfair makes your shopping experience smoother by providing clear, detailed product guides. These guides include key details about size, configuration, and storage, helping you find exactly what you need.

This proactive approach not only simplifies your decision-making but also strengthens your connection with Wayfair. By answering your questions upfront, Wayfair ensures you feel confident and informed throughout your shopping journey.

Thirdlove 

Thirdlove uses interactive content like quizzes and informational posts to address its audience’s main concerns. They have a guide on bra styles that helps customers understand the differences between various options. 

The guide is valuable and includes links to related products.

Birchbox 

Birchbox is a subscription-based provider of beauty and grooming products. Their product pages are detailed with descriptions, reviews, and usage instructions. 

Also, they have a blog filled with useful advice and articles on beauty and wellness, which enhances the customer experience.

Nine Line 

Nine Line, an online clothing store, really knows how to grab attention. They use quick, 30-second videos filled with humor to show off their products. 

This fun and engaging approach has made them stand out on YouTube and other social media, pulling more visitors to their online store and helping them carve out a bigger piece of the market.

DockATot 

DockATot sells versatile docking stations for babies. Their blog is rich with content, including gift guides, customer stories, how-to articles, and product-buying guides. 

Their gift guides are unique because they recommend products from other brands, focusing on providing value to their readers.

Final Words

To sum it up, content marketing is key to the success of your e-commerce business. It not only builds your brand visibility but also educates your potential customers, builds their loyalty, and credits your SEO. 

Luckily, you can simplify this process with Dashboa by improving your SEO and content management, making it easier for you to lead your audience through the sales journey.

As you progress, make sure to focus on creating high-quality, insightful content to stand out in the competitive market. In e-commerce, you have to maintain growth and success by constantly fine-tuning your approach.

Remember, the time and resources you invest in content marketing are crucial—they can significantly impact the performance of your online business. Make sure you invest wisely in these efforts.

FAQs

What is ecommerce content marketing?

E-commerce content marketing is supporting customers through their buying journey to increase online sales. It involves providing valuable content at every stage, so potential buyers have access to the information they need anywhere.

What are the 5 C’s of e-commerce marketing?

The 5 C’s framework (Company, Collaborators, Customers, Competitors, Context) helps businesses understand their market position and develop winning marketing strategies. It considers your brand, who you partner with, your target audience, the competition, and the overall market landscape.

What kind of content is used in content marketing?

Content marketing encompasses a wide range of informative and engaging content formats, including blog posts, email newsletters, white papers (in-depth reports), social media updates, engaging videos, and targeted email campaigns.

What is content based e-commerce?

Content-based e-commerce is all about making the online shopping journey more engaging. It does this by combining eye-catching visuals, in-depth product details, feedback from other customers, customized suggestions, and elements of social media.