When it comes to building site authority and generating quantifiable traffic for your website, having a good breadth of pages full of rich and valuable content is essential for successful SEO. This content can include everything from on-page category descriptions to content on your About Us page, and product descriptions. If properly done, engaging content can attract more users to your website and increase your rankings, providing more opportunities to increase brand awareness, secure new leads, and become a brand looked upon as an authoritative voice within your market.
However, this can be challenging to do with just a small amount of copy. Blogs offer something unique when it comes to long-form, valuable content. In this article, we’re breaking down some of the benefits of blogging for Ecommerce businesses and how to easily utilise blogging for your overarching business goals.
Why are Blogs Recommended for SEO in 2024?
In 2024, the search landscape will be changed to include what Google is calling ‘Generative Search’. This way of searching will forever disrupt the search landscape and interactivity of the SERPs, allowing Google’s AI to pull in articles, products and general info from a range of sources to create one cohesive answer. This type of search experience caters to long-tail queries and can understand complex questions to deliver a specific answer.
Moving into 2024, blogs now have even more value than just supporting keyword growth and organic traffic for your site. Writing and publishing user-focused, detailed and SEO-optimised articles, that answer long-tail queries and provide solutions to questions are going to be what separates brands from their competitors. Google will now be putting more emphasis, not on just the types of keywords present within an article, but will be evaluating the depth, quality, uniqueness, and author expertise of the content to enhance Generative Search.
How do Blogs Impact SEO?
There are many reasons why having a blog is recommended for SEO. Populating your website with informative, engaging content is not just for the benefit of the reader but can actually improve your site as a whole.
1. Helps Target Long-Tail Keywords
One of the benefits of having a blog for your business is the ability to target long-tail keywords. As a blog is a type of long-form content, around 700-1000 words or more, there is a substantial opportunity to include words or phrases that are commonly searched by your customers. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to rank well for highly competitive words, especially if you are a small business or don’t have an already established blog.
Targeting long-tail keywords, which includes three words or more, in a blog increases your likelihood of ranking for that searched term. These targeted keywords could include commonly searched questions or phrases about a particular topic that is specific to your customers. As an example, an Ecommerce fashion label could create content around possible wedding outfits for women if they sell bridal or formal wear, or similarly, an automotive parts retailer could write content answering commonly searched questions like “how to change a headlight bulb” to target the broader automotive community.
By dedicating time producing content that is relevant to your consumer base, means your website will be able to rank higher thanks to more people being interested and clicking on your content. A higher CTR and page sessions will make search engines think your content is worth ranking, thereby making your website more visible to new customers, providing new leads and opportunities.
2. Drives Users to Your Website Through Optimised Content
For many of us, we read blogs about topics we’re interested in. If we landed on a blog that was too short, appeared untrustworthy, or didn’t contain any relevant information, we wouldn’t want to look at the rest of the website. Optimising your content is not just about getting people to click onto your site. It can be utilised to acquire new conversions or new leads alongside creating strong awareness for the brand.
One way to optimise blog content is by adding relevant internal links. Linking is something that the Google algorithm pays special attention to because it tells Google that your website is trustworthy. And it is very simple to do.
For example, if you are a men’s clothing brand and you wrote a blog about the different types of men’s ties, there is an opportunity for you to link to product categories on your site, like ties, menswear, shirts, accessories, etc. Not only does this allow readers to be prompted to click the links when reading, but it also tells search engines that the pages your blog is linking to are of high value.
3. Helps Your Website Build Authority Through Ranking
When searching for something on Google, such as ‘where can I buy flowers?’, most users are usually only going to click onto the first couple of websites that they see. This means that those websites which are higher in the search algorithm have the highest rank for the searched term. This is where every website wants and aims to be. Like we mentioned before, blogs allow you to target long-tail keywords, which means that by having a blog, you are more likely to rank for popular search terms and queries.
Not only this but each new blog that is produced and each new page that is created sends a signal to Google and other search engines that your website is constantly being refreshed and updated. This means that search engines will crawl and index each new page more frequently. With content that answers people queries and a site that is continuously updated, Google will see your site as highly authoritative and will show your content to new users, increasing brand awareness and visibility.
4. Showcase Author Expertise
Showcasing brand and author expertise is a crucial way to enhance your authority in the eyes of Google. However, showcasing an author outside of a blog is almost impossible, as adding in “written by XYZ” on a category landing page or an About Us page doesn’t really fit the overall aesthetic of that page. That’s why blogs are such a useful tool for building authority. By combining expert lead information with SEO-lead formatting and keyword research, published articles that include an author bio at the bottom add an extra layer of depth that will provide users the confidence to shop, boosting traffic, conversion and elevating the strength of your site.
5. Build Brand Awareness
Blogs play a crucial role in building brand awareness, allowing brands to showcase themselves as more than just products to sell. By having a blog, ecommerce brands can establish themselves as thought leaders. This helps to humanise the brand and build a loyal following of customers who not only trust the products but also feel a connection to the brand’s values and mission.
Investing in blogs around the brand’s core mission, charity initiatives, employee shout-outs, etc., ensures users don’t just see the brand as commercially focused but help to pivot the brand image, building its awareness in the market and strengthening its perception.
Boosting Organic Performance With a Blog
In 2023, Pattern AU’s SEO Department were announced APAC Search Award Finalists for our work with Strand. Through establishing a blog from scratch, Pattern was able to support the growth of the Strand Edit, increasing Page 1 rankings by +192% YoY.
To read more about our work with Strand, read our case study here.
It’s no wonder blog articles are crucial for SEO success. From supporting the growth of keyword rankings to increasing Google’s awareness of author expertise, blogs are an incredibly valuable resource for brands to invest in, especially for 2024.
To find out about how Pattern can assist with SEO and a 2024-friendly content strategy for your brand, contact us now.
