14 Oct 2013
Even with eCommerce stores, content marketing remains one of the keys to successful customer attraction. The content draws the customers in and it makes them want to know more. Because it then satisfies needs that they have, it also makes it more likely that your customers will feel indebted to you. If they have not made a purchase, they are more likely to make one after they have read valuable content on your site. If they have made a purchase and the experience was good, then they are even more likely to make future purchases. However, setting up the content is not as simple as throwing articles together. Instead, you need to make sure that you follow proper web design rules for organizing your content.
Most Gripping and Valuable Content First
A number of sites choose to organize content based on the date it was either posted or in alphabetical order. While neither of these organization methods are necessarily bad, they aren’t likely to keep your customers coming back to read more. You will want to put together new content at the front, but from there, you should organize it based on the most gripping and valuable. Articles reporting on the general state of the business or press releases should be farther down in the order.
Blog Pages Make Bad Home Pages
For an eCommerce store, a blog as the home page is a bad idea. Linking to the blog on the home page, on the other hand, is a great idea. It makes it easy for your customers to find the content, but it also keeps the front page a clear eCommerce store design. The problem with using a blog as the front page is the fact that it is dynamic and loses that sense of professionalism, among other things. Remember that your content does need to be upfront, but at the same time, you’re running an eCommerce store. Just as you would expect an artist who uses art website templates to keep his art at the front of the website, your customers expect your general storefront to be at the front of the website. Instead, just put a window with a link or a snippet from the blog, making it a tantalizing option for curious readers.
Categories Matter
When you have a lot of high quality content, the organization of the content should be such that people can find the information they’re looking for. Use categories to your full advantage. You don’t have to put all of the categories on the main tabs or even in their own menu. Just make sure that you have a link that connects readers to those categories so that they can quickly browse what items or services you have. You should also make the category titles active. This way they can also click on the links.
When organizing content, your primary goal is to make sure that your customers can find everything that they need. You can make this easier by putting your most gripping and valuable content first. You should avoid setting up the blog pages as your home page. Instead, just include a link or window. And finally, make sure that you provide good categories so that readers can find the information they need as they need it.
