Search engine optimization can draw more eyes and attention on your furniture business and improve your furniture sales.
How do I get more visitors to my online store and improve my furniture sales? That’s the question facing the growing number of furniture store owners making the move to e-commerce.
Furniture and furnishings are forecast to be the fastest growing segment of online sales this year as e-commerce sales surge to a new global record of US$4.1 trillion.
Tried and tested search engine optimization (SEO) strategies can help boost traffic to your site and convert more visitors into paying customers.
What is SEO?
SEO is a holistic digital marketing process designed to help businesses improve their rankings on search engines’ unpaid or organic results pages. It involves customer-centric web design, engaging copywriting, compelling visuals, ensuring you show up where your target digital audience is and the effective use of analytics.
Driving organic results is especially critical for furniture businesses. A study by SEMrush shows that organic search accounts for 80 per cent of traffic to online furniture stores.
Fast fact: More than 92 per cent of all global searches happen on Google. The goal is to land as close to the top of the first page of search results as possible. This is what will get you noticed and open the door to more visitors and sales.
Here are the top five SEO strategies Postmedia recommends to improve your furniture sales:
Choose the right keywords and strategically place them on your site
These are the words marketers use to help search engines find companies, products and services. Ideally, they should target potential customers who have indicated they are ready to buy based on the search terms they’ve typed into Google or another search engine.
Do the research to find the keywords that will resonate with your target audience. Amazon is a great source for discovering high buyer intent keywords. Use it to test your ‘seed keywords’ –one- or two-word combinations that are most relevant to your business. You can also use the Amazon Keyword Tool to speed up the process. It offers two free searches a day.
Tip: Amazon isn’t the only free keyword research tool. Google Ads Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool, and Answer the Public can help you research and generate the right keywords for your search campaigns at no charge.
See what your high-ranking competitors are doing. Look through their category and product pages to get ideas for different keywords you can use.
Tip: The more specific you can be with your keywords, the better you’ll rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Implement on-page, off-page and local SEO strategies
On-page SEO is all about optimizing your website for search
Your e-commerce site is your online buyer’s introduction to your business. It’s also what will help Google understand who you are and how relevant and useful your site is to searchers. The better the user experience, the higher the ranking.
Focus on your category and product pages as well as your blog content. Make sure the pages provide the information customers want and need to move through their buying journey. Use high-quality product images and video, and engaging product copy that tells your brand story and explains how the product will help potential customers. Ensure page URLs, title tags and meta descriptions are easy to read, and the pages and overall site are optimized for mobile.
Off-page SEO
Your link profile, also referred to as a backlink profile, is one of the most important ways Google’s algorithm determines quality. The more quality websites your site is connected to, the more likely you are to rank above your competitors on Google.
To build your backlink profile and your brand’s reputation, regularly comment on other blogs, contribute to online forums and write guest posts.
Local SEO is about getting customers to visit your physical store
Also known as local search marketing, this strategy improves a business’s visibility on searches that include a geographic descriptor, such as the city, postal code, service area or term “near me.” Google’s local algorithm relies on three critical ranking factors to provide its top results:
- Distance: How close a business is to the location term used in a search. The closer your business is to a searcher, the higher its ranking.
- Relevance: How well a local listing matches what someone is searching for.
- Prominence: How well known a business is and how much online credibility it has.
Create a blog and post regularly
This is a great way to bring added value to your customers by answering their questions and addressing their pain points. It will also help establish you as a reliable source of information, build trust in your brand and attract people to your site. The more informative and interesting the posts, the more likely it is other sites will want to link to them.
Build your presence and credibility on social media
This strategy complements more direct SEO efforts by giving you another way to engage with customers, build trust and expand your reach. Social media channels make it easy for customers to share photos, reviews and testimonials, and they help drive people to your e-commerce site.
A few fast facts about the power of reviews:
- 92 per cent of consumers read at least one review before making a purchase.
- 88 per cent of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Reviews for local businesses influence up to 10 per cent of the search ranking.
A brief look at the social media channels your customers are using
Instagram: Its focus on striking visuals makes the channel a natural fit for furniture retailers. Ask customers/followers to share photos of your furniture in their homes and to tag you. Repost these images.
Facebook: The world’s first social platform is also the biggest with nearly 3 billion active monthly users.
YouTube: Video is fast becoming an integral part of marketing strategies. To increase sales, create shoppable videos that allow users to click on products and be directed to where they can buy them. To drive traffic to your site, develop training and educational videos on topics like furniture placement, and how to clean and restore wood surfaces. Help people experience your products and encourage them to buy by creating product review and demonstration videos.
Pinterest: This is a popular destination for people to share and find design and decorating inspiration. Link customer photos of rooms with your furniture to your site.
Snapchat: Younger audiences tend to be on Snapchat. Get ahead of your competition and develop a following now.
Monitor and measure organic traffic and engagement
Use analytics to keep track of how and where visitors discover you, and what they do once they’re on your site. This will help you know what’s working and what needs to change. Google Search Console has tools to help you better understand search traffic and performance. And Google Goals measures how effective your website is at meeting your target objectives.
Tip: Use Google Search Console keyword data with common question modifiers to address your customers’ most common questions and concerns. Create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page and provide concise, accurate responses. This will show Google you’re doing your best to provide a great customer experience.
Investing the time and effort in SEO will help your target audience discover your e-commerce site and improve furniture sales.
