Boosting Your Bottom Line with Ecommerce Keyword Research

Keyword research for ecommerce is a critical component of any successful SEO campaign for online businesses. It involves identifying the most relevant and high-performing keywords that your target audience uses when searching for products or services online. By conducting thorough keyword research, you can optimize your website’s content and structure to improve its visibility and attract more organic traffic, which can ultimately translate into more ecommerce sales.

However, performing ecommerce keyword research correctly is no easy feat. This is why it’s essential to understand the process of ecommerce keyword research thoroughly and use the best available tools to make informed decisions.

With the right set of keyword research tools and techniques, you can gain valuable insights into your target audience’s search behavior, identify relevant and high-performing keywords, and create an effective SEO strategy that drives results. So, whether you’re just starting with SEO or looking to refine your existing strategy, investing time and effort into keyword research is vital for ecommerce success.

How does Google process keywords today?

Back in the old days, SEO was a very straightforward process. All you needed to do to rank well was to find the right keywords, to insert them within your page content, and to add some backlinks.

The search results, however, were far from perfect. Keyword-stuffed websites received higher ranking than quality content providers – and that sucked.

That’s why in the past years Google has made several big changes to its algorithm, to enable it to better rank quality and relevant content, and punish SEO spammers.

With the introduction of Hummingbird, Google is heading in the direction of Semantic Search by interpreting both the searcher’s intent behind the keywords and their meaning when used on websites, and then how they are related to each other.

A great example would be the situation when you type into the search engine “convert usd to euro”. In this case, as you can see, Google understands your real intent (you want to know how much $X are worth in euro) and offers to give you the answer in the search result.

This means that when you’re performing your keyword research, you should think about which words are related to your main keywords, and how to use them in your content. To do that you must understand the different types of keywords according to SEO.

Types of keywords

Search-engine marketers most often divide keywords into three main categories depending on their length and the difficulty of ranking for them.

• Head: These are most often one-word keywords with large amounts of search volume and insane competition. They are also not very specific, and as such they don’t convert as well. These are words like “notebook”, “watch”, “t-shirt”, etc. They don’t express if the user wants to find out products from that category, or just the meaning of the word.

• Body: These are two- or three-word phrases that get decent search volume (2,000+ searches per month). They almost always have lower competition, and are more specific than head words. Some great examples of such words are “summer vacation offers”, “notebook promotions”, and “shipping services”. You can see how they express the intent behind the search better.

• Long-tail keywords: These are really specific phrases, usually composed of four or more words. Single long-tail keywords typically have fewer searches per month; but if you combine them, you’ll be able to rank for the majority of the searches in your niche. These are words like “Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook”; “Where to buy books online” and “Flights from San Francisco to Buenos Aires”.

Your main goal with keyword research should be to find as many long-tail and body keywords as you can, as they are easier to rank for and have higher buying intent. This is how to begin.

Step 1: Understand your customers

Start your keyword research by first understanding your target customers and their search intent, so you can find keywords that will attract them to your site. The best way to start is by creating buyer personas and mapping out your customer journey.

Extracting keyword ideas directly from your clients: To do this effectively, you need to listen to and observe your target customers. What are the words they’re using when they’re talking about your brand, company or products?

The most effective ways to find this out are to:

• conduct interviews or run surveys.
• check out recorded sales and customer-support calls.
• read customer-support emails.
• read product reviews on yours and your competitors’ sites.
• read posts and comments on your brand’s social media channels.

After you’re done with extracting keyword ideas from your customers and ready for the next stage, separate them into groups. Each group must represent a different perspective and angle on the products and services that you’re offering.

Step 2: Think about how keywords are related to each other

Once you have extracted keywords from your customers, think about how they are related to each other. Put them into different groups, and brainstorm about other words you could include.

Read this post to learn more about How to use mind mapping to organize keywords.

To better understand related keywords, look at this example:

Say I am running an e-commerce store that sells Air Jordan basketball shoes. I can start with the main phrase “Air Jordan”. I can then step into their shoes and start brainstorming other words/phrases they might search for, such as:

• J’s
• Michael Jordan
• Nike
• basketball drills
• how to dunk

Remember, you will only come up with great new keyword ideas if you put in the time to get to know your customer.

Prioritize Your Keywords

Once you have your initial list of keywords, it’s important to prioritize them based on their potential impact on your business. One way to do this is by using a framework called the “Keyword Effectiveness Index” (KEI).

The KEI is a metric that helps you determine which keywords are worth targeting based on their search volume and competition level. To calculate the KEI for a keyword, you simply divide the keyword’s search volume by its competition level.

Here’s the formula:

KEI = (Monthly Search Volume)^2 / Competition

The higher the KEI, the more valuable the keyword is for your SEO strategy. Ideally, you want to target keywords with a high search volume and low competition, as these keywords have the potential to drive a significant amount of traffic to your website.

To prioritize your keywords using the KEI, simply calculate the KEI for each keyword on your list and sort them in descending order. Focus on targeting the keywords with the highest KEI first, as these are the keywords that are most likely to have a positive impact on your business.

It’s important to note that the KEI should not be the only factor you consider when prioritizing your keywords. You should also take into account factors such as relevance, user intent, and business goals when deciding which keywords to target.

Step 3: Expand your keyword ideas

Once you’re done and happy with the mind mapping, it’s time to investigate further for new keyword ideas.

Find keywords with Google Keyword Planner: Login to your AdWords account, then go to Tools and Settings> Keyword Planner.

Click on “Keyword ideas”. Type in your desired keyword. For this example, we’re going to use Air Jordan.

Click on “Get results” to see a result list of keyword ideas.

Try to find some long-tail keywords with lots of search volume, such as “Nike Air Jordan”.

Find keywords with Google Autocomplete: Start typing keywords into Google, and you’ll see that the search engine will give you suggestions for completing your search. This is a great way to generate new keyword ideas.

Find keywords with UberSuggest: This tool uses the power of Google Autocomplete without the need to type the words manually.

These are the suggestions that we get for “Lenovo”.

Find keywords with Site Search: Optimize for the keywords that your visitors are already using on your own website’s search engine to find products or services that you offer.

To find them, simply go to Google Analytics > Behavior > Site Search

You’ll then see the keywords you want to rank for in search engines.

Check them out to see which ones are worth ranking for by reviewing their average monthly search volume and competition in Google Keyword Planner.

Find keywords with Google Search Console: Sometimes your site will be getting organic traffic from keywords that you don’t even know exist. You might not be ranking on the first page, but you’re still getting traffic. If these keywords are worthwhile, it makes sense to optimize for them – you just need to find them first. This is how you do it.

Go to Google Search Console -> Search traffic – > Search analytics

Then you’re going to see all the keywords your eCommerce site ranks for, including the number of impressions and clicks that you get.

Find keywords on Wikipedia: The largest free encyclopedia is a great resource tool for finding new keyword ideas. Here’s why:

• It is one of the best ranking websites on the Internet (for almost all keywords).
• You can find information on the site about almost anything you want.

This means that if you check out a page about a brand or product that you’re offering on your eCommerce site, you’ll probably get tons of keyword ideas.

Here’s what we find when we visit the page of Air Jordan:

We find keywords like: “Michael Jordan”, “basketball player”, “Jordan’s , “Nike”, “Footwear”, “Clothing”, “Athletic clothing”, etc.

Find keywords on Amazon: the king of eCommerce ranks well for almost every product being sold online. Take advantage of this by learning which keywords they are using.

For example, if you’re selling GoPro Digital Action Camera. Go to Amazon and find the product page. This is where to search for keywords:

We find words like: “Electronics”, “Camera & Photo”, “Action Video Camera”, “Sports”, etc.

You may also want to check out the reviews for additional keywords.

Find keywords on Quora: This great community allows users to ask, and receive answers to, all types of questions. When there’s so much content, it’s always a good idea to search for keywords.

The way to do it is simple: just type your main keyword into the search engine. For our example, we’ll use “air jordan”.

You’re now going to see a list of search results. Check out different questions related to your product – such as this one: “What are the best-selling Air Jordans?”. This is a long-tail keyword in its own right that you can use for your blog.

Inside the questions and answers, you can find additional keywords which you can use for your SEO strategy.

Find keywords with SEOquake: This is a great free tool that lets you analyze your competition and find out which keywords they’re using to rank in search engines.

Go to your competitor and his product page – in this example: Amazon.com and Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones

Click on your SEOquake bar and select “Page info”. The following information will be displayed:

Now you can see the title, description, and meta-keywords of the page.

More Keyword Research Tools

In addition to the tools above, Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool that provides insights into keyword rankings, backlinks, and organic search traffic. With Ahrefs, you can see what keywords your competitors are ranking for, track your own keyword rankings, and identify opportunities for new content.

SEMrush is another popular SEO tool that provides insights into keyword research, site audits, and backlink analysis. With SEMrush, you can identify new keyword opportunities, track your website’s search performance, and analyze your competitors’ SEO strategies. Moz also has Keyword Explorer which is a keyword research tool that provides insights into search volume, and keyword difficulty.

Expanding Further

In addition to the tools and methods discussed earlier, there are several other strategies you can use to expand your keyword ideas:

1. Look for related keywords: Once you have a list of primary keywords, try to identify related keywords that you can target. For example, if your primary keyword is “running shoes”, related keywords could include “trail running shoes”, “marathon running shoes”, “lightweight running shoes”, and so on.
2. Use keyword research tools: In addition to the tools mentioned earlier, there are several other keyword research tools available, such as Google Trends, Keyword Tool, and Wordtracker. These tools can provide additional insights into search volumes, related keywords, and competition levels.
3. Analyze your competitors: Another strategy is to analyze the keywords that your competitors are targeting. You can use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to identify the keywords that your competitors are ranking for and use this information to inform your own keyword strategy.
4. Use customer feedback: Finally, you can use customer feedback and reviews to identify potential keywords. Look for common themes or phrases in customer feedback and use these to identify potential new keywords.

By using a combination of these strategies, you can create a comprehensive list of relevant and high-traffic keywords to target in your SEO strategy.

Step 4: Refine your keywords

When you’re happy with the keyword ideas you’ve generated and expanded, go back to the Keyword Planner tool and examine their average monthly search volume and competition.

Remove all keywords that: 

• are not related to the products you sell.
• have low search volume.
• have high competition.
• are not specific enough.

Instead, focus on words that:

• are related to your core business and products that you offer.
• have high search volume.
• have low competition.
• are long-tail and more specific.

Go to Google Trends, and see whether the search volume for the keyword is increasing and decreasing with time.

As you can see, the trend for Running shoes is definitely upward, so the market for these shoes won’t bottom out anytime soon.

Step 5: Design your keyword strategy for revenue, not just traffic

Don’t just use keywords with high search volume and less competition – optimize your eCommerce site for revenue.

To better understand how to choose highly profitable keywords for your business, we’ll group them into five categories depending of how deep the desire of the searcher to purchase a product or service is:

Buy-now keywords (Buy, Coupon, Discount, Deal, Shipping): These are most likely to convert at the first visit, so that’s why they should be in the highest priority on your list.

Product keywords (Review, Best, Top 10, Specific brand name, Specific product, Product category, Cheap, Affordable, Comparison): These have less chance of converting from the very first visit, since the buying intent here is much lower.

Information keywords (Review, How to, Best ways to, Ways to, I need to): These have a lower chance of converting than buy-now and product keywords; but they are still important, because at this point the user is still researching the niche. He might not buy now, but there is a chance that one day s/he will become a customer.

Navigational keywords (Company and brand names): The searchers use these to find the site of a company or a brand. Such keywords are usually helpful when your business is already popular enough. Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn’t try to rank for your competitors’ keywords – it just doesn’t work well.

Tire-kicker keywords (Free, Torrent, Download, For free, etc.): These keywords have no buying intent in them. The users want to find recent free products or information, and it will be extremely hard to convince them to buy something.

That’s why in your keyword strategy you should focus mainly on choosing a large volume of buy-now and product keywords, along with some information keywords for your blog.

Using Competitive Analysis in Keyword Research

In addition to identifying keywords through customer research, a competitive analysis can also provide valuable insights into what keywords your business should be targeting.

By analyzing your competitors’ websites, you can see what keywords they are ranking for and what content they are creating around those keywords. This information can help you identify gaps in your own content and give you ideas for new content to create.

To perform a competitive analysis, start by identifying your main competitors in the industry. Then, use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to analyze their websites and see what keywords they are ranking for.

Look for keywords that your competitors are ranking highly for but that you are not currently targeting. These could be opportunities for you to create new content and capture additional search traffic.

Additionally, look at the types of content your competitors are creating around these keywords. Are they creating blog posts, videos, product pages, or something else?

Use this information to inform your own content strategy and create content that is optimized for the keywords you want to target.

Incorporating User Intent into Keyword Research

Understanding user intent is a crucial part of effective keyword research. User intent refers to the reason behind a user’s search query and what they hope to accomplish with their search. By focusing on user intent, you can create content that better meets the needs of your target audience and increases the likelihood of conversions.

To incorporate user intent into your keyword research, start by thinking about the types of questions your target audience might be asking when they search for products or services like yours.

Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to see what types of search queries are associated with your target keywords. Look for keywords that suggest specific user intent, such as “buy,” “compare,” or “best.”

Once you have identified keywords that align with user intent, create content that addresses the specific needs and questions of your target audience.

For example, if your target audience is searching for “best running shoes for women,” create a blog post or product page that provides in-depth information about the top running shoes for women and why they are the best.

Pro Tips for Keyword Research

Once you’ve identified your target keywords and optimized your website for them, it’s important to continually monitor and refine your keyword strategy to ensure that it remains effective over time.

Here are some tips on how to do this:

1. Track your rankings: Use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush to monitor your keyword rankings over time. This will help you identify which keywords are driving the most traffic to your site and which ones might need additional optimization.
2. Monitor changes in search trends: Keep an eye on changes in search trends and adjust your keyword strategy accordingly. For example, if you notice that a particular keyword is losing popularity, you might want to shift your focus to a related keyword that is gaining popularity.
3. Analyze your traffic: Use Google Analytics to analyze your traffic and identify which keywords are driving the most conversions. This will help you prioritize your keyword optimization efforts and ensure that you’re focusing on the keywords that are driving the most business.
4. Test and refine your content: Continually test and refine your content to ensure that it is optimized for your target keywords. Use tools like Google Optimize to run A/B tests and identify which variations of your content are driving the most conversions.
5. Stay up-to-date on SEO best practices: Finally, stay up-to-date on the latest SEO best practices and algorithm updates to ensure that your keyword strategy remains effective over time. Attend industry events, read industry blogs, and participate in online forums to stay informed and engaged.

Conclusion

Spending the time performing an in-depth keyword analysis for your eCommerce store will pay off in the long term. Not only will it help you identify profitable niches and generate new ideas, but it will also enable you to create a more effective SEO strategy that drives results.

By utilizing the keyword research methods outlined in this article, you will gain valuable insights into your target audience’s search behavior, identify relevant and high-performing keywords, and optimize your website’s content and structure to attract more organic traffic and increase sales. Only then will you be able to gain top positions in the search engines and compete with other online businesses in your industry!