Following on from our last post “Why Bother with SEO“, which got a number of you talking with our SEO Guru to increase your traffic, this edition covers a very populare SEO tool – the BLOG, and how is can be used to help your eCommerce business increase its traffic and sales?

» What is a Blog & How can it help my eCommerce business?

Blogs have been the biggest explosive outbreak of information since the creation of the internet and now many businesses have realised what a valuable tool they can be.   Blogging has become an essential part of most businesses’ marketing strategy.  Simply put, blogs give you a unique platform from which you can promote your business and increase your sales.

Blogs allow you to continually keep not just your products in front of customers but also the benefits of those products. They are excellent sales tools and through them customers can find out about your latest news, special offers and new products. In fact Blogs are an alternative and highly attractive method of advertising your business without the expense of using main stream Advertising and PR agencies.

Blogs can contain additional content such as video and music as well as advertisements, articles and features. With a Blog you can:

1. Advertise your products
2. Increase market awareness and build your business credibility
3. Strengthen the SEO of your online presence and increase activity on your website
4. Build targeted traffic (that means visitors to your site who are interested in your products)
5. Increase hits and links
6. Establish your brand
7. Find potential customers
8. Create customer relationships
9. Increase customer loyalty and satisfaction
10. 10. Track responses to marketing campaigns.

» Real Life Case Study

Rather than us just talking about the virtual benefits of a blog, let’s look at a real life case study from a JSWEB client who is using their Blog to grow their online presence and ultimately increase their eCommerce sales!

Bordeaux-Undiscovered Wine Merchants – Nick’s Blog Website: http://www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk Blog: http://www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk/blog/  Nick’s Blog is responsible for driving the majority of traffic to Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s Wine Shop – around 75% of traffic comes from their Blog.  This means that the Blog produces more traffic than Facebook and Twitter combined, more traffic than Adverts and Promotions placed on the web and more traffic than a Google Search. The traffic that is generated by the Blog is targeted traffic i.e. the people reading the blog are interested in wine and related topics such as food, recipes, spirits and cocktails, wine regions and stories.  This means that the traffic is already primed towards a potential purchase.  The average time that a person who reads the Blog spends on Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s Wine Shop is 3.22 minutes and they look at an average of 4.26 pages in the online shop.  This is longer than a person directed from other referring sites and covers more pages. Nick’s Blog also creates links to other wine related blogs and websites which provides a network of like minded people who interact on the web.  They in turn link back to Nicks Blog and Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s Wine Shop, introducing new traffic.  The total number of links to the Wine Shop equals 6819.  This ensures Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s web presence is good and aids Search Engine Optimisation.  The keywords used within the Wine Shop “Buy French Wine Online” and “Buy Bordeaux Wine” are mirrored within Nick’s Blog and the result is that the Wine Shop is on Page 1 of a Google Search for these keywords. Nick’s Blog is also a promotional tool for Bordeaux-Undiscovered’s Wine Shop.  Within 3 years Nick’s profile as a wine expert rose from that of a little known local wine merchant to that of an internationally renowned wine expert with mentions in all the major press in the UK.  Nick is also well respected within France, the USA, the Netherlands, China, Korea and Hong Kong. Blog: http://www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk/blog/

 

This real life case study shows that using a Blog can help improve your business’ presence on the web (and ultimately increase your eCommerce sales)

If you are interested in launching a business Blog then the Social Media Startup Service by JSWeb provides an indispensable solution to not only get your business up to speed with Social Media channels.  For those of you who feel you don’t have time, or wouldn’t be able to write interesting content for the blog, then our skilled copy writer can work with you to create wonderful posts that will interest all readers!

For more information visit our Social media Service at http://www.jsweb.co.uk/zen-cart-help-and-support/zen-cart-social-media – or give us a call.

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» About Me

I’m Jamie, owner of JSWeb and I’m here to help you make your eCommerce website a success! JSWeb is a team of eCommerce experts dedicated to helping provide best in class products, services and hosting (we are a Certified Zen Cart host) that make it possible for eCommerce stores to run a profitable and successful businesses using Zen Cart.

Website: http://www.JSweb.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)845 86 200 12 | +353 (1) 52 62 72 1
Twitter: @JSweb_zencart | Skype: JSWEBHOSTING | Facebook: www.facebook.com/jswebzencart