Help with keyword research

8 years ago

If I wanted to start an ecommerce site, I'd google

shopify
woocommerce

as well as some of your keywords, because I have put woocommerce on sites for clients, and I have seen so many ads and heard about shopify here and there.

I'd want to read about shopify and woocommerce, and why I'd want to use them or not. Perhaps you could have a page saying why yours is better than those (and others) or a comparison page of several products (and of course you'd have the most checkmarks, so yours would be the best

)

Thanks
2 replies

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Chris646 8 years ago

Thanks Amber

Yep. Shopify definately is the main player in this segment. Considering your background I can understand your search choice. What do you think a 'novice' would search for?

As for the comparison page. It's a somewhat agressive marketing strategy that doesn't really suit our style. Also 'Shopify' / 'Shopify review' / etc. will be tough ones to rank on. So we probably won't be doing that.
- Thanks
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DABK

8 years ago

Amber is right. When they search something by name, they're pretty advanced in the buying cycle.

how do you start an ecommerce site
is at the beginning of that cycle

buy ecommerce site platform
is far ahead.

If they google names of platforms or talk about buying or costs, they're about to buy.

Think of it this way:
first, you want to know how.
then, you want to know which approach is best (best ecommerce platform, ecommerce platform reviews)
then, you want to know which of the good approaches you can afford (platform name; cheap ecommerce platform; how much does it cost to set up an ecommerce site, expensive ecommerce site setup... you know, anything about the amount of money involved, no matter how it's expressed).

Google: list of buying keywords... read some of the results... You'll see a pattern, apply to your itch.

The lines are not that clear cut... some people's idea of best implies cheap, inexpensive too.

Originally Posted by AmberJB

If I wanted to start an ecommerce site, I'd google

shopify
woocommerce

as well as some of your keywords, because I have put woocommerce on sites for clients, and I have seen so many ads and heard about shopify here and there.

I'd want to read about shopify and woocommerce, and why I'd want to use them or not. Perhaps you could have a page saying why yours is better than those (and others) or a comparison page of several products (and of course you'd have the most checkmarks, so yours would be the best

)

[ 1 ] Thanks
1 reply

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Chris646

8 years ago

Thanks a lot DABK. I realize my question is a bit simplified.

Doing SEO for our national brand for a long time, I have a pretty good insight in how people in my country search when they're thinking about selling online.

And though I know there are different stages in the buying cycle that will trigger different search queries, I found that it is not always that black and white.

(In my country) A lot of starters in ecommerce (those we mainly target, instead of people already knowing a lot about selling online) don't really know where to begin. So they could type in a variation of queries such as 'start online store' , 'create online store', 'online store solution' or even just 'online store' (these are local queries, directly translated).

So, even though we might put these queries in different 'boxes' of search intent, in reality, a lot of these folks are just looking for a solution to sell online with. Plain and simple.

I'm not saying all these queries show exactly the same CTR, bounce rate, conversion rate, etc. But they are all very valid and will bring highly relevant leads to our website.

Now, first thing to know is. Is this the same in the U.S? Or will starters there use a more elaborated search pattern, as in your examples?

Also, I would like to know if popular solutions such as Shopify, woocommerce, etc. are that well known that even complete newbies to ecommerce will start their search with them?

Then, for example, I'm interested in knowing how queries such as 'shopping cart' and 'online store' are interpreted. Both show an enormous number of searches. Are (nearly) all people searching for 'shopping cart' looking for an a platform to sell online with? Or are some of them looking for a shopping cart addon for i.e. their Wordpress site? Or are some looking for an online store to buy something? Or maybe some of them want to know something about the fysical shopping cart (nothing to do with online), etc.

As you can see, for a non-native, these terms can bring up a lot of questions. Even if I know what they mean and my English is pretty decent (I like to believe

)

So help in interpreting those main keywords and the way starters in ecommerce will probably search for a ecommerce solution is very welcome.

Thanks again so far!

Thanks
1 reply

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DABK

8 years ago

I agree buying intent, stages on the buying curve are not clear cut.

One extra reason to have more than one page ranking for the same keyword... Page 1 would be for people who're just ready to buy... Page 2 for people who're still searching for the best solution (content will be different... the action you'll ask them to do different...).

Phrases like 'shopping cart' are used by people who're looking to add one for free to their site, by people who're doing research for a paper, by people who want to start an online commerce site.

'Shopping cart' is vague and there are two starting points:
1. People who have a site and wonder if it could be converted into a store
2. People who want to open a store online.

The 2nd group would look for 'shopping cart' after they've decided what platform to use.

People don't type 'online store' when they want to buy something online. They do it because they want to know how one works, how to build one, who sells one. When they want to buy something online, they type the product name or amazon.com, wallmart, bestbuy.com in the search bar. Or, maybe, the product name/type and a store name: vizio tv walmart.

At one point, I looked into the feasibility of creating an online store. I had two reasons: (a) I had a wordpress site that was selling 8 items and thought there's got to be something better than what I did and (b) I thought if it's not too complicated, I might learn how to create them and get clients to create them for.

My search started with: "create online store" and "create ecommerce site" and a search for the same on warriorforum.

Some people might be more advanced than me when the idea hits them, and start with "create ecommerce site."

The searches people where you live use would be searches utter beginners use...

As to which ones are popular here, I can only names of the top of my head woocommerce, shoppyfy, and magento. I don't know what other people know. So, I did a search and the top results all recommend these 3 as some of the best, so, probably a lot of people search for them by name.

Originally Posted by Chris646

Thanks a lot DABK. I realize my question is a bit simplified.

Doing SEO for our national brand for a long time, I have a pretty good insight in how people in my country search when they're thinking about selling online.

And though I know there are different stages in the buying cycle that will trigger different search queries, I found that it is not always that black and white.

(In my country) A lot of starters in ecommerce (those we mainly target, instead of people already knowing a lot about selling online) don't really know where to begin. So they could type in a variation of queries such as 'start online store' , 'create online store', 'online store solution' or even just 'online store' (these are local queries, directly translated).

So, even though we might put these queries in different 'boxes' of search intent, in reality, a lot of these folks are just looking for a solution to sell online with. Plain and simple.

I'm not saying all these queries show exactly the same CTR, bounce rate, conversion rate, etc. But they are all very valid and will bring highly relevant leads to our website.

Now, first thing to know is. Is this the same in the U.S? Or will starters there use a more elaborated search pattern, as in your examples?

Also, I would like to know if popular solutions such as Shopify, woocommerce, etc. are that well known that even complete newbies to ecommerce will start their search with them?

Then, for example, I'm interested in knowing how queries such as 'shopping cart' and 'online store' are interpreted. Both show an enormous number of searches. Are (nearly) all people searching for 'shopping cart' looking for an a platform to sell online with? Or are some of them looking for a shopping cart addon for i.e. their Wordpress site? Or are some looking for an online store to buy something? Or maybe some of them want to know something about the fysical shopping cart (nothing to do with online), etc.

As you can see, for a non-native, these terms can bring up a lot of questions. Even if I know what they mean and my English is pretty decent (I like to believe

)

So help in interpreting those main keywords and the way starters in ecommerce will probably search for a ecommerce solution is very welcome.

Thanks again so far!

[ 1 ] Thanks
2 replies

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Chris646

8 years ago

Thanks a lot DABK! That was very useful

For the keyword 'shopping cart', can you give a rough estimation of the percentage that would fall in category 1 and 2?

I agree on the 'online store' keyword. It is too broad to be generally used for online shopping purposes (although I have no doubt some people will do it anyhow). Thanks for confirming this!

Thanks also for showing how you searched. My findings:
I would have totally expected people to search for terms as 'create online store' or 'create ecommerce site' as well. But, when looking at the Keyword Tool. The number of searches is very small compared to the no. searches for terms as 'shopping cart' or 'online store'

To give you an idea:

shopping cart [110.000]
online store [74.000]
ecommerce website [8.100]
sell online [3.600]
create online store [720]
create ecommerce website [110]
create web store [20]
create ecommerce site [10]

As you can see, no. searches for the specific terms pale in comparison to those for the more generic terms. Way more then we see here. Taking in regard the number of newly started online stores each month, I infer that in the U.S. a lot of starters choose the broad search approach.

Finally, good to see what brands you are familiar with. Since you have some experience in ecommerce and only know those 3, I assume most people that are totally new to ecommerce start out pretty much blank.

Thanks
1 reply

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DABK

8 years ago

See my answers in bold.

Originally Posted by Chris646

Thanks a lot DABK! That was very useful

For the keyword 'shopping cart', can you give a rough estimation of the percentage that would fall in category 1 and 2? No, I cannot. It probably changes from day to day too.

I agree on the 'online store' keyword. It is too broad to be generally used for online shopping purposes (although I have no doubt some people will do it anyhow). Thanks for confirming this!

Thanks also for showing how you searched. My findings:
I would have totally expected people to search for terms as 'create online store' or 'create ecommerce site' as well. But, when looking at the Keyword Tool. The number of searches is very small compared to the no. searches for terms as 'shopping cart' or 'online store'

To give you an idea:

shopping cart [110.000] Broad terms, includes lots of types of searchers.
online store [74.000] Same here
ecommerce website [8.100] These are more likely to build one.
sell online [3.600] They mean business, but not necessarily that they want to build an ecommerce site, they'd more likely join amazon.com or some other affiliate site.
create online store [720] They've decided they like the idea... want to know how and is it feasible for them
create ecommerce website [110] They've decided they want it; the question is how they go about it
create web store [20] same as above
create ecommerce site [10] same as above

The bigger numbers are bigger because they include lots of types of searchers, including students doing a paper for their English 101 class. The more likely they're to be used by people who're meaning business, the fewer you have.

I'd be targeting the latter first, then add content for the ones with the larger numbers, giving away some freebies that will make them self-select into useful to you or not useful to you.

If they download, you can email market to them and/or send them to pages that have more advanced info.

As you can see, no. searches for the specific terms pale in comparison to those for the more generic terms. Way more then we see here. Taking in regard the number of newly started online stores each month, I infer that in the U.S. a lot of starters choose the broad search approach.

Finally, good to see what brands you are familiar with. Since you have some experience in ecommerce and only know those 3, I assume most people that are totally new to ecommerce start out pretty much blank.

Good assumption.

[ 1 ] Thanks

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Chris646

8 years ago

One more thing I forgot: The keyword 'cart' leads with no less then 135.000 searches each month.

Do you think this is mostly used as short for 'shopping cart' (with the same intent) or for other purposes as well?

Google prefers to diversify the search results here, with amonst others a Wikipedia page, a productpage from IKEA along with some popular shopping cart systems.

Thanks
1 reply

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DABK

8 years ago

I can't think of how cart would be short for shopping cart.

Originally Posted by Chris646

One more thing I forgot: The keyword 'cart' leads with no less then 135.000 searches each month.

Do you think this is mostly used as short for 'shopping cart' (with the same intent) or for other purposes as well?

Google prefers to diversify the search results here, with amonst others a Wikipedia page, a productpage from IKEA along with some popular shopping cart systems.

Thanks

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yukon

Banned 8 years ago

Originally Posted by Chris646

Ok, this may be an odd question.

We're going abroad with our e-commerce platform and I am doing keyword research for our international website. It will mainly target U.S. based users, though our product can be used anywhere in the world.

My question is simple: What would your search queries be when you are planning on starting your own online store?

So basically, your intent is:

to find a suitable ecommerce solution
to find information about how to sell online

Of course I have already checked the rankings on various queries in Google, analysed compititor websites for the words they try to rank for and did extensive research in the Google Keyword Tool.

But still it is not always easy to infer search intent from the keywords found if English is not your primary language.

For instance, the Google Keyword Tool gives the following relevant keywords:

shopping cart
online store
shopping carts
ecommerce website
sell online
how to sell online
ecommerce software
shopping cart software
ecommerce solutions
online retail
webshop
ecommerce site
etc.

Help is appreciated a lot. Of course I'm specifically looking for advice from native U.S. people

Also, an explanation of the differen interpretations of similar keywords and insights in common variations of keywords are very welcome!

The first thing I would do is look at your competition.

Look at it like this, your established competition has already been through the bad times (struggling startup). So, piggyback off your competition longtail keywords, those are usually the easier niche keywords (usually, not always).

The list of keywords you've posted are root keywords for your niche, I guarantee you will not rank for those keywords anytime soon If you're new to SEO. Again, target the realistic longtail keywords so you see positive results sooner. Struggling with strong competition root keywords will only stress you out when first starting a new site.

Thanks

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visimedia

8 years ago

hope google wonder wheel to come up again .lol

Thanks
1 reply

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Chris646 8 years ago

@DABK, thanks for the elaboration on the keywords. Especially with 'sell online', we need to keep in mind that those people may very well be looking for selling on Ebay, etc. and not through an online store.

Your help has been very valueable!

@Yukon, I started my research by looking at the competition. I definately agree that long tail is the way to go, but we should not forget high traffic keywords for the longer term. We have a strong domain name and I do believe we can actually rank for broader keywords after some time.
- Thanks
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gametalk

8 years ago

Keywords research can be stressful at times ...LOL

Thanks

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Chris646

8 years ago

Yea it can be a hassle sometimes. But most of the time, it's pretty fun to do

Earlier I pasted these results from the Keyword Tool:

shopping cart [110.000]
online store [74.000]
ecommerce website [8.100]
sell online [3.600]
create online store [720]
create ecommerce website [110]
create web store [20]
create ecommerce site [10]

Now, just today I realized these are the results with Google Search partners included. The results without them (just Google) are:

shopping cart [22.200]
online store [5.400]
ecommerce website [6.600]
sell online [2.900]
create online store [720]
create ecommerce website [110]
create web store [20]
create ecommerce site [10]

That is really much, much less then I expected. In fact it almost compares to our local numbers. And the U.S. is approximately 16 times as large.

Confusing, as you would expect people to pretty much use the same search behavior, wheter they search on Google, AOL, Ask.com, etc.

Anyone with an explanation for the huge difference in search behavior? And the small number of searches for these keywords.

Especially for 'online store', for which somehow the no searches on Google is verrrry small compared to that on Google & Partners.

Thanks
1 reply

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DABK

8 years ago

Might be because they're more fragmented, so to speak:

They search by these keywords too:

online shopping websites
online shops
onlinestore
shopping websites
what is ecommerce
online boutique
online shopping site
shopping carts
ecommerce platforms
online selling site
online shipping website
wordpress shipping cart
online store builder
selling art online
ecommerce website
how to start an online store
ecommerce web development
cheap online stores
ecommerce software
online fashion store
online shoe store
online book store
best ecommerce platform.

Originally Posted by Chris646

Yea it can be a hassle sometimes. But most of the time, it's pretty fun to do

Earlier I pasted these results from the Keyword Tool:

shopping cart [110.000]
online store [74.000]
ecommerce website [8.100]
sell online [3.600]
create online store [720]
create ecommerce website [110]
create web store [20]
create ecommerce site [10]

Now, just today I realized these are the results with Google Search partners included. The results without them (just Google) are:

shopping cart [22.200]
online store [5.400]
ecommerce website [6.600]
sell online [2.900]
create online store [720]
create ecommerce website [110]
create web store [20]
create ecommerce site [10]

That is really much, much less then I expected. In fact it almost compares to our local numbers. And the U.S. is approximately 16 times as large.

Confusing, as you would expect people to pretty much use the same search behavior, wheter they search on Google, AOL, Ask.com, etc.

Anyone with an explanation for the huge difference in search behavior? And the small number of searches for these keywords.

Especially for 'online store', for which somehow the no searches on Google is verrrry small compared to that on Google & Partners.

Thanks
1 reply

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Chris646 8 years ago

You're right. Also, I have a feeling that search is used in a different way on (most) of Google's search partner websites. That would explain the huge difference for broad keywords such as 'online store' or 'shopping cart' and the small (or zero) difference for keywords as 'online store builder'
- Thanks
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paververisgroup

8 years ago

I would use Google.com ad-words analytics. It gives you information from Google.com and its search partners. Login to your Google account, go to Google adwords, and then go to tools. You can do the research like that. I have, and it is pretty cool stuff!

Thanks

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Help with keyword research

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