SEO describes everything that you do to make your website more appealing and identifiable for search engines such as Google or Bing. These efforts, in turn, make those search engines more likely to present your web pages in search results – bringing you that all important website traffic.
With an eCommerce site you are not advertising the website, you are advertising the products it contains. Many of the channels that you might use to promote a brochure site are simply not going to be as cost effective for online retail activities, because you are likely to have a substantial and ever-changing selection of product pages.
For example, for an eCommerce site with hundreds or even thousands of products, building inbound links for each and every product page would be an insurmountable task! In contrast, this endeavour would certainly be a valuable contribution to the SEO of a brochure site. There is, of course, some crossover. An eCommerce site may well choose to invest in some of the same types of SEO as a brochure site as a means to build brand identity and establish a rapport with their customer base. However, digital marketing efforts will see greater rewards by placing the focus on increasing product visibility.
A certain tack for social media marketing is also important. A brilliant social media strategy for a brochure site is likely to come in the form of posts that boost the brands authority and demonstrate its value. For eCommerce, posting endless links to your individual products is likely to push your audience to hit the unfollow button! In this area, similar brand authority building, interspersed with new product lines and promotions, is more likely to keep your audience hooked and waiting for more.
Email marketing is the last cornerstone digital resource that cannot be passed over. Teapot Creative partner with Mailchimp, because of its excellent facilitation for automation and audience partitioning. For brochure sites, regular updates that incorporate riveting content and your most recent successes or showcases can work sales-increasing magic. That kitchen website we mentioned may partition their email marketing to reflect those who prefer modern or classic design, or perhaps those who have already become customers, and those who have not sealed the deal just yet. For the eCommerce site, email subscribers might be partitioned depending on which product categories they tend to interact with, and whether they are a new subscriber, or a loyal customer, to name just a few!
Fundamentally, analysing your SEO and marketing needs, and focusing your energy and investments accordingly is the surest path to success.