How to build content for your ecommerce website

Are you looking for a failsafe way to create engaging ecommerce website copy?

Engaging content is the bedrock of any good online store, so Aspiring Panda have put together a quick guide to creating web copy. As if that wasn’t enough, we also asked our Twitter followers to share their top tips too!

From visual sitemaps to SEO optimisation, check out these handy tips to get your ecommerce site content ready for go live.

Your ecommerce website content should be useful and practical to help convert visitors into customers. If this is your first time creating an ecommerce website, we recommend building a content strategy.

Make it easier for your team to collaborate during the content creation process with a shared folder on G Drive. You can store all the web copy for each page and easily comment and feedback on content created. Often teams depend too heavily on dummy content at the start of the design process. This may actually delay your website launch as lack of web content is usually one of the main reasons a website misses a go live deadline.

Looking for a more painless way to plan and organise your ecommerce copy?

We love the Jumpchart tool which helps with website architecture and visualisation. It gives all stakeholders a birdseye view of the sitemap, which acts as a blueprint so you can effectively plot your content.

After your website content planning comes content creation. If you are using one of the popular ecommerce platforms, there may already be SEO functionality built in.

Whether creating content from scratch or doing a content audit, ensure your web copy is SEO optimized. This is vital for ecommerce websites which can often have hundreds or thousands of pages.

SEO consultant Yanis Zisis stresses the importance of keyword research for your products or services. ‘Use Google Keyword Planner to identify what items visitors are looking for and create helpful content.’

Once you have established your keyword sets, you can begin creating engaging content for your target audience. Establish your tone of voice and brand guidelines to ensure your content appeals to customers.

Content should always purposeful and help visitors to make purchasing decisions, so consider tactics that will drive conversions. Graphic design marketplace 99 Designs, believe conversions are imperative.

‘Optimize through A/B testing of everything on-site including design, positioning of adverts and navigation,’ the designers say.

A large ecommerce website can typically have thousands of product images, so it’s important these are professionally shot. Invest in high quality photography of all your products as well as promotional images of the products in use.

Take the advice of Wine Cellar Door founder Elisabeth Else and develop ‘how to videos and behind-the-scenes imagery.’

This may sound like a large financial outlay, but is cost effective in the long run. You should now have a bulging image library for all collaborators to quickly access, particularly for press and marketing materials.

If you are working to tight time constraints, hire a freelance copywriter who can produce keyword relevant product descriptions. Emotive product copy and glossy images are much more likely to inspire customers to make a purchase.

A sign of a well executed ecommerce website, is lots of rich content from the customers themselves. Use your website as a platform for customers to share reviews about your products and services and help drive increased conversions.

By leveraging social proof, prospective customers are more likely to purchase a product if reviewed by a previous customer. Online retailer Evercreatures recommends rewarding customers for submitting user generated content (UGC) as this boosts customer loyalty.

Customer reviews are not the only source of rich content for ecommerce sites though. Customer queries and even complaints provide great opportunities for creating useful blog content.

‘Use customer FAQs as blog post topics. If they are wondering how to use your product then others will be thinking that too. Offer answers, inspiration and innovations through your posts and link to them each time it pops up. This answers them, increases website traffic and helps SEO,’ says Smoothie PR founder Charlotte Moore.

Creating content for your ecommerce website may at first appear to be a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be if you plan wisely. Implementing a content strategy that is SEO optimised is the first step to building a successful ecommerce site.

Contact the experts at Aspiring Panda to learn about some of our previous Services projects and how we can help you launch your store online.

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.