Ecommerce Content Marketing: How to Attract and Keep Customers

Ecommerce content marketing means publishing useful content that helps people find your online store, choose a product and come back to buy again. That includes buying guides, comparison pages, product and category copy, care and how-to articles, reviews and the emails you send after a sale.

This guide explains what to publish at each stage of the buying journey, how to plan it, how to measure it and which mistakes to avoid. It is written for store owners and marketers, and it uses Google’s own advice on helpful content where it can.

What ecommerce content marketing is

Content marketing is the practice of attracting and keeping customers by publishing things they find useful, instead of only advertising to them. In ecommerce, the content sits around the product: the information a shopper needs to decide, the help they need to use it and the reasons to come back.

It is not the same as filling a blog with posts. A store can have strong content and no blog at all, if its category pages, product pages and guides answer the questions shoppers actually have. Some people call this approach content commerce, because the content and the shop are part of one experience.

What counts as content

• Pages that help someone choose. Buying guides, size guides, comparison pages and “best for” pages.
• Copy that describes products. Product descriptions, category introductions and filter labels.
• Help after the purchase. Setup instructions, care guides, FAQs and replacement part pages.
• Proof from other customers. Reviews, photos and questions and answers.
• Messages you send. Welcome, abandoned basket and post purchase emails.

Why it matters for a store

Paid ads bring shoppers when you pay for them. Content can keep working after you publish it, and it also helps your ads, emails and product pages do their jobs.

• It reaches shoppers who are still deciding. Many people search for help before they search for a product.
• It answers objections. Sizing, delivery, returns, materials and compatibility are the usual reasons people hesitate.
• It supports search. Pages that answer real questions give search engines more to show.
• It lowers support work. A clear guide answers a question once instead of many times by email.
• It builds repeat sales. Customers who learn to use a product well are more likely to return.

Content does not replace a good product or fair prices. It helps good products get found and understood.

Types of content a store can publish

Content for each stage of the buying journey

Shoppers do not arrive ready to buy. A simple way to plan is to cover four stages, and to start with the ones nearest the sale.

Stage 1: Discover

The shopper has a problem but not a product in mind. They search for ideas or answers, such as “how to keep a small kitchen tidy”. Content here is broad: ideas, inspiration and explainers that lead to your range.

Stage 2: Compare

The shopper knows what kind of product they want and is weighing options. Buying guides, comparisons and “best for” pages help most here, along with honest notes on who each option suits.

Stage 3: Decide

The shopper is close to buying and looking for reasons to trust you. Product pages, reviews, size guides, delivery and returns information matter most.

Stage 4: Keep

The shopper has bought. Setup help, care guides and useful emails encourage a second purchase and reduce returns.

If you are short of time, start with stages 3 and 2. They are closest to revenue, and weak pages there cost sales that other content cannot recover.

How to plan it in seven steps

1. Write down the questions. Collect what customers ask in emails, chats, reviews and returns notes.
2. Find the words shoppers use. Our guide to what SEO keywords are shows how to check search terms with free tools.
3. Pick the products that matter. Start with items that have good margins and steady demand.
4. Map content to stages. For each product group, list one guide, one comparison and one care article you could write.
5. Set a simple standard. Decide what every piece needs: a clear topic, real detail and a link to the related products.
6. Publish in order. Fix the pages nearest the sale first, then add guides.
7. Review and update. Check the pages every few months, and update prices, stock and facts.

How much to publish

There is no ideal number. A store with 50 products can do well with ten strong guides and well written category pages. Quality and relevance matter more than how often you publish.

Buying guides and comparison pages

Buying guides are often the best content for a store, because they meet shoppers while they are choosing. A good guide helps someone decide even if they buy elsewhere, and that is why it earns trust.

What a good buying guide includes

• The decision in plain words. What the shopper is choosing between and what matters.
• Clear criteria. The two or three things that really separate options, such as size, material or use.
• Honest recommendations. Who each option suits, and who it does not.
• Links to products. Natural links to the items you sell, not a wall of buttons.
• Evidence. Measurements, photos and your own testing where you can.

Google’s page on writing high quality reviews suggests showing that you know the subject, sharing measurements about how something performs and explaining what sets it apart from its competitors. The same advice works for guides and comparisons.

Product and category page copy

Product and category pages are content too, and for many stores they matter more than any blog. Google’s page on structured data for ecommerce sites lists product markup as a way to tell Google more about your products, and good copy gives that markup something accurate to describe.

Product pages

• Write for the question behind the click. Size, fit, material, compatibility and what is in the box.
• Do not copy the supplier text. Many sellers use the same text, which makes your page one of many.
• Use real images and short video. Show the product in use and at scale.
• Be clear about delivery and returns. Put the short version near the buy button.

Category pages

• Add a short introduction. A few lines saying what the range is and how to choose.
• Label filters in shopper words. “Waterproof” and “fits wide feet” help more than internal codes.
• Link to related guides. Send undecided shoppers to the help they need.

Our ecommerce SEO service covers category and product page work in more detail.

Reviews and customer content

Reviews are content that shoppers trust because other customers wrote them. Photos from buyers, questions and answers, and short “how I use it” notes add detail you could not write yourself.

• Ask after delivery. Send a request when the customer has had time to use the product.
• Make it easy. A single link, a few questions and the option to add a photo.
• Show the good and the bad. A page with only five star reviews looks less believable.
• Reply to concerns. A calm, helpful reply shows how you treat customers.

Check the rules of your country and of each review platform on incentives and disclosure before you offer anything in return for a review.

Content after the sale

Content marketing does not stop at the order. Setup guides, care tips and “how others use it” emails help customers get value, and satisfied customers buy again.

• A thank you with the next step. What to expect, and where to get help.
• A care or setup guide. Sent when it is useful, not on day one.
• A review request. Sent after the customer has used the product.
• A related product suggestion. Only when it really goes with what they bought.

Our guides to ecommerce email marketing and targeted email marketing explain the flows and the rules.

Getting the content seen

Publishing is half the job. Content needs a route to the people who want it.

• Search. Give each guide a clear topic and a descriptive title, and link it from related products and categories.
• Email. Share new guides with subscribers who showed interest in the topic.
• Social and communities. Share the parts that help, and join conversations where you can be useful.
• Your own site. Link guides to products, and products to guides.
• Customer service. When someone asks a question, send them the guide.

How to measure it

Measure the effect on sales and on shoppers’ behaviour, not only visits.

• Visits to content pages. Where they come from and how many keep browsing.
• Orders that start on content. Look at orders from sessions that touched a guide.
• Search visibility. Impressions and clicks for the topics you cover, from Search Console.
• Conversion on key pages. Did product and category changes lift the share of visitors who add to basket?
• Support questions. A fall in repeated questions shows a guide is working.
• Repeat purchases. Compare customers who read after sale content with those who did not.

Be careful with attribution. A guide often helps a sale that is credited to another channel, so look at the whole journey, not one click.

Four examples

These examples are made up, to show the idea. They are not results from any store.

A coffee equipment shop

A comparison of pour over and espresso machines for beginners, with one clear recommendation for each type of drinker, links to the machines and a follow up email on cleaning.

An outdoor clothing shop

A guide to layering for cold weather, a size and fit page with measurements, and category copy that explains which jacket suits which activity.

A pet supply shop

Care guides by pet type and age, a comparison of food types and a “what to buy first” page for new owners.

A home furnishings shop

A room planning guide, a materials comparison and product pages with dimensions, care notes and short videos.

Common mistakes

• Publishing for search engines only. Google asks whether a reader will leave with a satisfying experience, so write for shoppers.
• Copying supplier text. It gives you the same page as every other seller.
• Ignoring category pages. They often matter more than the blog.
• Writing about topics with no link to your products. Traffic that cannot buy is of little use.
• Never updating. Out of date prices, stock and facts hurt trust.
• Measuring only traffic. Visits do not pay the bills.

Ecommerce content marketing FAQ