Sophisticated SEO and Beyond
Recently, a client of ours, Domaine Furnishings, asked about how they could get their product pages to bring in more visitors from Organic Search.
Domaine Furnishings has been a client of ours for a few years. We love working with them. They offer interior design services and a variety of wonderful furniture and accessories - indoor and outdoor.
The short answer to their question is SEO. The longer answer is that there are a variety of ways to do search engine optimization (SEO) and some of the more sophisticated techniques take time and energy. Luckily, they have us to help and Michelle to really make things work on a daily basis.
Let me share with you the ways that I suggested, from Easy to Harder.
Option A: Simple
Just add products: heading, description, and image, as you normally would. You can always start here and add other options later.
Option B: Description
Adding longer descriptions is important. Much longer. This gives more content for Google to find and index. Break the description into paragraphs and bullets. Also, add bullet points related to features and "benefits".
Option C: Sophisticated
This technique is advanced and it won't always work but when you have time, try it.
Pick your products carefully before proceeding.
Add keyword phrases in the heading and description that are related to very specific keywords that people are searching for. Be careful when you "optimize" headings. Adding in a bunch of keywords can look awkward. But don't forget the product description; you can always add keyword phrases there.
Use Google Keyword Planner to do more keyword research. The tool is hard to fine. Here's a tip: After you log into your AdWords account, click on Tools and select Keyword Planner.
Now think about this product from the prospective buyer's point of view.
Why would they buy it?
What are they looking for?
What is the product made from? What wood? What material?
And finally, what search terms would they use to find this product on your website?
5. Also look at the product from your point of view as an interior designer.
Why have you selected this product and added it to your inventory?
What colours does it go with?
What other furniture does it go with?
Why should a person buy it?
As suggested by the word, "sophisticated", this is not easy. It takes thought and research. It takes creativity.
Option D: Internal Linking from Blog
Now let's get super sophisticated. This is not for the faint of heart but it works. And by "works" I mean generates more traffic to your website from Organic Search.
Let's assume that you have done Options A, B and C. You have a great heading and a well-written (and long) description but you want this page to rank in the search engines.
The next step is to add all your thoughts and your ideas about this product to a blog post. Then, in the blog post, you added a link back to this product page. You made sure that you added relevant keywords in the visible portion of the link.
You have done "internal linking" - linking from one area of your website (the blog) to another. Google picks this up and says, "Ah, the page about this product is interesting. Let's rank that a bit higher." Google is a bit more technical than this but this is the end result.
Option E: External Linking
Now let's take this one more level. Let's say that you bring into the store an item that is Wow - a spectacular find. You want to sell it. And the world needs to know that you have this item in your stores and the item is for sale.
SEO and AdWords, will help but only if people are searching. Social Media will also help but only with the community that knows you (and a few more). What you really need is a PR campaign to increase the profile of Domaine and this product. Ultimately, what you want is to get the attention of mainstream media and/or bloggers.
The objective is to have professionals write an article about your company, your products and your story. And, of course, we want them to link back to your website. If you can make that happen you will have an "external link".
Summary
We are now really "working the system".
You have a unique page about the product.
You've done your keyword research.
You've optimized the page for search engines.
You've written a blog post and talked about why you love the product.
You've done a PR campaign to generate some buzz about Domaine and the product.
We can now "prime the pump" with ads on Google Search or Google Display networks.
We can also use posts and ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to increase awareness with your target audiences.
These techniques work - very well - but choose your products carefully.
Only spend time on the ones that you really want to promote.
Contact us if you need any help.