I know this is a dated topic, but one that really interests me. I know many in the IM world try to sell information based products, but for me personally I like selling stuff. I think in terms of SEO.. stuff is really easier.
The first thing you need to really look atis HOW and more importantly WHY a person is searching for an item. There are 4 phases in a buyers cycle that can be focussed on and targeted.
There is the information gathering phase. These are people that say hmmm I want a whatever... I will go out and see what there is,and they are simply reading to get a better understanding of the product and gain some knowledge.
Next is the compare / review stage. From the above stage they have made some amount of determination of what it is they are going to buy, and now they want to confirm / reaffirm their choice. They want to compare a with B they want to read reviews the good the bad and the ugly. they will goto social sources to see what others have said etc. At this point it is very easy to draw this category into the next
With that, the next category is the buyers. This is the category that most will tell you to target. These people are specific in what they want and are simply looking for a place to get it. Price and shipping at this point play a major role.
The last and probably least utilized aspect of the buyers cycle is the after sale support aspect. I bought a thing..how do I set it up? how do care for it? this happened how do I fix it? I just bought this theme how do i modify it? Why i say this phase is underutilized is because you are primarily working with people that have bought, been proven to buy and will buy again.
So how does all of this play into SEO. In all 4 cases the reader is wanting different things,even tho it is the same product,they are asking for and looking for different information. A good commerce site will target each of these segments.
Lets use say blenders as an example. The first category you can write about blenders in general. Break down the different types there may be and maybe how one is used etc.. general overall information.
Next you want to get more specific. Blender A vs Blender B and maybe C and D IF you are writing reviews... you do NOT want every item you review to be a winner. From a readers perspective your reviews are no longer honest and you are simply trying to sell stuff. Call a lemon a lemon and you will gain trust from the reader - and dont try and point towards the most expensive item either.. you will lose the trust factor again because you are trying to sell.
The buyers phase you want to focus on model numbers, brands, colors, sizes etc. How would you look up something you wanted to buy? If your product page is detailed enough that should grab this aspect of traffic.
After the sale support.. I am a fan of this one... for a person to consider buying from you, would it not help in that decision if there was some kind of after purchase support? If someone has already bought, and they have questions and come to your site, you answer their question and also sell after sale add ons.. they already bought, wouldn't increase your odds of selling to them at this point?
Because a commerce site tends to be a bit on the large side. I develop common pages to start and as the site develops I will pay attention to Google Analytics to see where the most interest is in my product line. I then start developing the many stages of contact from there.
Like anything to do with sales, the more times you can make a touch with a buyer the more inclined they will buy from you. In the 4 stages it could be real easy to make 4 points of contact, and really even more. If they are looking for a red thing, they goto your site, they go back and decide they want a blue thing,again back to your site. They now want a discount on a blue thing.. again to your site.
