If you're running an e-commerce site one of the hardest things (beyond the obvious architectural issues) will usually be getting people to actually link to your site. If you've a great site with great products you might get the odd mention in a forum somewhere (typically a no-follow link) or if you're really lucky you might get a link from a blogger who advocates your products. Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting these aren't useful and they happen naturally so that's always nice but actually getting enough links to boost the value of your domain can be hard.
Start a Blog
It doesn't matter what the product is from camping and outdoor survival gear to chocolates or sex toys any product can be written about at length in detail in a way that people want to read. This has two advantages, it gives you an opportunity to cross-link your own content - linking blog articles to product pages with valuable anchor text - but more importantly it gives you an opportunity to link environmentally from guest posts externally and it increases the likelihood that people will share to or even link to. One caveat, while longer, more regularly updated content is good there is a minimum post rate, a blog that lies dormant for months looks bad, don't start one unless time can be dedicated to it.
Blogging Considerations
On or Off-site
You have a few choices for blogging, both on and off-site. While free off-site options such as WordPress.com or blogger might seem appealing these don't actually get links to your site. You would be boosting the authority of a site to then link to yours. Although this can help a little it is always best if you can to self host.
What Blogging Software
There's a distinct possibility that your CMS already supports - or has the functionality to support a blog. Take Magento for example, with a simple plugin and a few tweaks you can incorporate a full WordPress site into your existing theme, likewise Drupal can easily add a blog. If this option exists and you have a limited budget then take it. It may limit some functionality and plugins but it will massively cut the cost of theming your blog to match your site. If this option doesn't exist don't worry there are multiple platforms available such as
WordPress - It's the worlds favourite for a reason, it has a 5 minute set up time, comes with thousands of free plugins and themes and is incredibly easy to manage. For the less tech Savvy business owner this is the way to go. It has had a range of security issues but a competent Webmaster should easily be able to beef up the default. Inkthemes offer a excellent security guide.
Movable Type - It's powerful and simple to use but the support for it is non-existent when compared to WordPress so you will need someone familiar with the platform.
ExpressionEngine Core - ExpressionEngine's free (Core) offering is somewhat limited but will be sufficient for most small sites, the premium upgrade takes this to a new level making it ideal for businesses looking for more functionality. However this has a steep learning curve.
Habari - In a few years this may well replace WordPress as the Standard Blogging Platform. Elegant and technically up to date but for now it's still not mature enough to pick up the mantle for less code savvy. Consequently unless you're from a developer background this could be an issue.
Drupal - Technically more a Website CMS rather than a blogger platform but once you get past the considerably steeper learning curve this offers more power and functionality than WordPress will ever offer.
Writing Your Blog
What you write about will vary wildly from product to product but there should be three forms of content produced.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content that you can promote year round:
If you're selling chocolate content about gifts, chocolate production, production insights, product comparison etc.
Seasonal content
Seasonal content (or time sensitive content) is produced to capitalise on search pick up around pending events such as Fathers day, Valentines, or a high profile event such as the Olympics:
If you're selling car parts, race day updates, new car profiles and general industry news, just remember this needs to be churned fast and pushed quickly because it may be usable once a year but much of it will be single use.
Authority or High Value Content:
This last type of output will be the most time consuming to write and where you pick up the bulk of your links, this is typically data driven but needs to expand universal appeal and belong to the company values:
A great example would be sporting goods, while you can produce one off articles about hiking take the time to write a year round hiking guide, what equipment you need, ideal places to learn, recommended routes etc. This content may get picked up and syndicated by large high authority sites such as a Local trust or council page who are looking to promote the area.
Getting Links
The benefits of having a blog on an e-commerce site are numerous, they offer the opportunity to increase your sites content, keep your site fresh (very important for organic search listings) and give you valuable cross-linking opportunities. More importantly however are the link building opportunities.
Finding Link Opportunities
Guest blogging: A vast number of sites are only too happy to allow links to articles adding value, few will be prepared to link to a sites product pages. Instead of writing an article hoping for a link to an item you want to sell, promote a blog post that links to the article, it wont have as much of an impact but you can now get considerably more links raising the value and potentially bringing traffic to your site.
Mentions Monitoring: Using something as simple as the Moz Freshweb explorer or Google Alerts for mentions of brand or targeted keywords you can then reach out to webmasters advising them that you have content their audience might find useful. If you can sweeten the offering by providing a stock image or even an insight to enrich the article this can increase your chances of getting a natural and valuable link.
Authority Content
High value content tends to garnish shares, links and visibility all its own so this isn't always necessary however if you put together some valuable content that just isn't picking up traction consider sponsoring it. It might sound counter intuitive but by using sponsored Facebook, Twitter and stumbles you can get your content in front of an audience who'll start to link to it. Spending time, or even a few pounds promoting your site through your various social channels might not sound like a bargain but those links your content earns may mean the difference between a page one listing and being relegated to page 2, to say nothing of the potential traffic.
Start a Blog
Blogging Considerations
On or Off-site
You have a few choices for blogging, both on and off-site. While free off-site options such as WordPress.com or blogger might seem appealing these don't actually get links to your site. You would be boosting the authority of a site to then link to yours. Although this can help a little it is always best if you can to self host.
What Blogging Software
There's a distinct possibility that your CMS already supports - or has the functionality to support a blog. Take Magento for example, with a simple plugin and a few tweaks you can incorporate a full WordPress site into your existing theme, likewise Drupal can easily add a blog. If this option exists and you have a limited budget then take it. It may limit some functionality and plugins but it will massively cut the cost of theming your blog to match your site. If this option doesn't exist don't worry there are multiple platforms available such as
WordPress - It's the worlds favourite for a reason, it has a 5 minute set up time, comes with thousands of free plugins and themes and is incredibly easy to manage. For the less tech Savvy business owner this is the way to go. It has had a range of security issues but a competent Webmaster should easily be able to beef up the default. Inkthemes offer a excellent security guide.
Movable Type - It's powerful and simple to use but the support for it is non-existent when compared to WordPress so you will need someone familiar with the platform.
ExpressionEngine Core - ExpressionEngine's free (Core) offering is somewhat limited but will be sufficient for most small sites, the premium upgrade takes this to a new level making it ideal for businesses looking for more functionality. However this has a steep learning curve.
Habari - In a few years this may well replace WordPress as the Standard Blogging Platform. Elegant and technically up to date but for now it's still not mature enough to pick up the mantle for less code savvy. Consequently unless you're from a developer background this could be an issue.
Drupal - Technically more a Website CMS rather than a blogger platform but once you get past the considerably steeper learning curve this offers more power and functionality than WordPress will ever offer.
Writing Your Blog
What you write about will vary wildly from product to product but there should be three forms of content produced.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content that you can promote year round:
If you're selling chocolate content about gifts, chocolate production, production insights, product comparison etc.
Seasonal content
Seasonal content (or time sensitive content) is produced to capitalise on search pick up around pending events such as Fathers day, Valentines, or a high profile event such as the Olympics:
If you're selling car parts, race day updates, new car profiles and general industry news, just remember this needs to be churned fast and pushed quickly because it may be usable once a year but much of it will be single use.
Authority or High Value Content:
This last type of output will be the most time consuming to write and where you pick up the bulk of your links, this is typically data driven but needs to expand universal appeal and belong to the company values:
A great example would be sporting goods, while you can produce one off articles about hiking take the time to write a year round hiking guide, what equipment you need, ideal places to learn, recommended routes etc. This content may get picked up and syndicated by large high authority sites such as a Local trust or council page who are looking to promote the area.
Getting Links
The benefits of having a blog on an e-commerce site are numerous, they offer the opportunity to increase your sites content, keep your site fresh (very important for organic search listings) and give you valuable cross-linking opportunities. More importantly however are the link building opportunities.
Finding Link Opportunities
Guest blogging: A vast number of sites are only too happy to allow links to articles adding value, few will be prepared to link to a sites product pages. Instead of writing an article hoping for a link to an item you want to sell, promote a blog post that links to the article, it wont have as much of an impact but you can now get considerably more links raising the value and potentially bringing traffic to your site.
Mentions Monitoring: Using something as simple as the Moz Freshweb explorer or Google Alerts for mentions of brand or targeted keywords you can then reach out to webmasters advising them that you have content their audience might find useful. If you can sweeten the offering by providing a stock image or even an insight to enrich the article this can increase your chances of getting a natural and valuable link.
Authority Content
High value content tends to garnish shares, links and visibility all its own so this isn't always necessary however if you put together some valuable content that just isn't picking up traction consider sponsoring it. It might sound counter intuitive but by using sponsored Facebook, Twitter and stumbles you can get your content in front of an audience who'll start to link to it. Spending time, or even a few pounds promoting your site through your various social channels might not sound like a bargain but those links your content earns may mean the difference between a page one listing and being relegated to page 2, to say nothing of the potential traffic.
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