Why your WooCommerce store should have a blog

If you are managing an online store you may have considered whether including a blog will add value to your site. Although the main objective of your online marketing is to drive people to your product pages, there are a plethora of reasons which justify adding a blog to an ecommerce store.

1. Search Engine Optimisation

Both time and resources go into driving traffic to a WooCommerce store and a blog is another way to achieve this for free. Blogs increase the amount of content that your website has. The more content that is on your website, the more that your website will be indexed by Google. It’s a good idea to seed your blog posts with relevant or trending keywords. The more your posts are shared on social media platforms, the more backlinks you will generate which will further support your SEO strategies.

2. Positions you as an authority

It’s common for ecommerce blogs to be used as a method of branding the business as a leader in their industry. Your posts may contain tricks and tips that your customers are looking for, tutorials or latest news in the industry. You are able to add sales information to posts but it’s more important to focus on adding value for your customers.

3. Creates engagement with customers

Rather than merely setting up a store which users visit only to purchase from, a blog can be used to engage customers on a continuous basis. There are a lot of ways to achieve this and below are some ideas.

Share a story. Any story you tell could be about something inspirational and relevant to your industry, stories your clients have contributed or the story of how your business came together. A weight loss product store might share success stories of its clients.

Photos or Videos. Real life videos about the products (how to assemble or use them) are insightful for customers. A pet store might also share funny animal videos and photos.

4. It’s the place to make announcements

Even if you use newsletter marketing for announcements or have a News area on your site a blog is an ideal place to post latest updates. This might be about new products, addressing frequently asked questions, promotions and anything else that you would like to share.

5. Enhance conversion rates

Your WooCommerce blog will inevitably drive more traffic to your site but it will also have the effect of increasing your conversions. Your blog will build your authority in the industry and will serve to build trust in new customers.

6. Creates a virtual community

A lot of online stores allow customers to post comments which allows them to feel as if they are involved in a larger community. Similar to social media, it is important to respond to comments and messages.

Blogs can be configured so that you can approve comments before they are put live.

7. Improves brand loyalty

If you do not cultivate brand loyalty, your repeat sales will be quite low. As an online-only store it’s important to find ways of developing this.

Even though a blog on it’s own will not build brand loyalty, it is a valuable component in the process. If the posts are appropriately balanced with elements of fun, professionalism and information they will aid in building brand loyalty. Note any charity & community work in your posts as customers favour businesses that align themselves with meaningful pursuits.

8. Opens up the potential of viral marketing

Your blog posts should have buttons which allow users to share content on social media or to email them to friends. When you post content that has an engaging story or photo – the chance that people will share it with the online masses presents the opportunity for the post to “go viral”. Even if the post doesn’t reach millions of shares, it can circulate amongst your online community if you continue to publish relevant and unique blogs.

9. Helps with social media marketing

Your blog posts each have a unique URL which can be included in your social posts. You can add sharing widgets so that customers can like or share your posts which is essential for extending your reach.

10. It’s free marketing

Immaterial of your marketing budget, a blog is an extremely effective form of free marketing. Though you may choose to pay for some channels of advertising, each post will earn a perpetual stream of organic visitors. Some posts will be current for many months and others might be current for years to come. This yield needs nothing more than an initial investment of time to create the post itself.

Blogs are highly beneficial for a WooCommerce store. Although the effect may not be immediate, it will start to prove itself within the first few months of its use.

Published on Wednesday, 8 May 2019 under eCommerce.