Why a Shopify store needs a blog
Product pages answer one question: what is this and how much does it cost. Shoppers have many more questions before they buy.
Which size should I pick? Is this material good for sensitive skin? What is the difference between these two models? What makes a good gift for a runner?
Blog posts answer those questions. When your post is the one that answers them, the shopper meets your store at the exact moment they are deciding.
Product pages alone rarely rank for these questions. Helpful posts can, and each one can send readers straight to your products.
Buying guides
A buying guide helps a shopper choose. For example, how to choose a hiking backpack, or how to pick the right coffee grinder for your kitchen.
Buying guides attract people who are ready to buy but not sure what. Walk them through the choices, explain what matters and link each choice to the right product or collection.
These are often the best selling posts a store can publish.
Comparison posts
Shoppers love clear comparisons. Leather versus canvas bags. Gas versus electric grills. Your two best selling models side by side.
Keep comparisons honest and simple. Explain who each option suits best, and link to both.
Honest comparisons build trust, and trust turns into orders.
How to and care guides
How to clean suede shoes. How to store fresh coffee beans. How to wash a wool sweater without shrinking it.
These posts help people who already own the product, or are thinking about buying it. They build trust and bring repeat customers.
Link care guides to the care products, accessories or refills you sell.
Gift guides
Gift guides work very well before holidays and big days. Gifts for new dads. Gifts for home bakers under fifty dollars.
Publish them a few weeks before the season, so they have time to be found. Link each idea directly to the product.
Problem and solution posts
Many shoppers search for a problem before they search for a product. Why do my feet hurt after running? Why does my coffee taste bitter?
Answer the problem fully and honestly. Then show the products that help solve it.
These posts catch shoppers early, before they have picked a brand.
Size and fit guides
Returns cost money. A clear size guide reduces returns and helps shoppers buy with confidence.
Explain how to measure, how your sizes run and what to do between sizes. Link the guide from your product pages too.
Link every post to products and collections
A Shopify blog post that does not link to products is a nice read and nothing more.
Each post should link to the products and collections it talks about, in the text where the reader wants them.
- Link the first mention of a product type to its collection
- Link specific recommendations to the exact product page
- End with one clear next step, like "Shop the collection"
Also link related posts to each other. A reader who finishes a buying guide may want the care guide next. Our guide to internal link SEO explains the basics.
Keep links working
Products sell out and collections change. Check older posts now and then, and update links that point to products you no longer carry.
A broken link in a buying guide is a lost sale.
Write like a helpful shop assistant
Imagine a friendly expert in your store helping a customer choose. That is the voice your posts should have.
Use simple words. Answer the question near the top. Use headings, lists and short paragraphs so shoppers can scan.
Do not oversell. Honest advice, including when a cheaper option is enough, makes shoppers trust your recommendations.
Use the words shoppers search
Shoppers do not always use your product names. They search in everyday words.
A store may call it a "technical shell". A shopper searches "waterproof rain jacket for hiking".
Use the shopper's words in your titles and headings, and use your product names in the links.
Add helpful images
Clear images help shoppers picture the product and understand your advice. Each post should have at least one image that fits the topic.
Add short alt text that describes the image in plain words.
How to tell if your posts sell
Readers are nice, but buyers pay the bills. Look past page views and check what readers do next.
In your store reports, look at which blog posts send visitors to product pages, and which of those visits end in an order.
- Posts that bring visitors but few clicks to products may need clearer links or a stronger next step
- Posts that bring clicks but few orders may link to the wrong products
- Posts that bring no visitors may target words shoppers do not search
Give new posts a few months before you judge them. Search engines need time to find and trust new pages.
Refresh your best posts
When a post starts to bring buyers, keep it fresh. Update prices, swap out sold out products, add new models and answer new questions shoppers ask.
A buying guide that stays current can keep selling for years. A guide full of old products slowly loses trust.
Before each big season, look over your gift guides and seasonal posts and bring them up to date.
Shopify blog mistakes to avoid
- Writing store news nobody searches for, like "We moved our warehouse"
- Copying the manufacturer's product text into a post
- Posts with no links to products or collections
- Publishing a few posts and then stopping for months
- Writing for search engines instead of for shoppers
How often a store should publish
Most stores do well with one or two posts a week. Seasonal stores may publish more before their busy months.
Steady matters more than fast. A store that publishes every week for a year builds a library of posts that keep bringing buyers.
Publish Shopify blog posts on autopilot
Writing, formatting, adding images and linking products takes hours for every post. For a busy store owner, that time is hard to find.
AutomatedBlog connects to your Shopify store once. It looks at your products and collections, finds topics shoppers search, writes buying guides, comparisons and how to posts in your brand voice, adds images, links each post to the right products and collections, and publishes on schedule.
Your blog keeps working while you run the store. Learn more on the Shopify blog automation page, or see how stores use it on the ecommerce page.
The short version
The Shopify blog posts that sell are the ones that answer shoppers' questions and lead them to the right product. Write buying guides, comparisons, care guides, gift guides and problem posts. Link every post to products and collections. Keep a steady pace, and your blog becomes a quiet salesperson that works every day.