How to combine SEO with Email Marketing

In this article, we look at 4 powerful ways to combine SEO with email marketing to enhance your eCommerce business's profitability.

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You may think that marketing channels operate in isolation from each other working towards separate KPIs. Not true. In this guide, I’ve teamed up with Go Amplify agency owner Josh Daniels to show you how to combine the forces of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) alongside email marketing to move your eCommerce business towards profitability.

If your agencies aren’t working cross-collaboratively like the 4 strategies we’ve shown you below, then insist on getting them on a brainstorming session together at least once per quarter to harmonise efforts.

Now let’s dive into the strategies.

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‍1. Create event specific landing pages

‍‍Josh: We can all agree that eCommerce brands need to keep their SEO tactics agile and effective, especially given the evolving algorithms and competition.

The integration of event-specific landing pages is not just a nice to have but an essential aspect of a comprehensive SEO strategy for brands that offer seasonal discounts.

So let's dig deeper.

We'll explore how these seasonal landing pages amplify your SEO by allowing for focused keyword targeting, adapting to seasonal consumer behaviour, and enhancing your partnership opportunities.

How to rank for e-commerce shopping events

Ever wondered how to rank your eCommerce page to the top of Google during peak shopping events?

Well, it’s not rocket science, but it does require some strategic manoeuvring.

Choose your events wisely, then analyse the search engine results page (SERPs) to study what top-ranking brands in your industry are doing for similar shopping events.

For example, let’s say you sell supplements.

If you are planning a BF/CM promotion, simply go to Google and search for “supplements black friday”.

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How to combine SEO with Email Marketing | Magnet Monster

As you can see, Myprotein ranks 1st on Google.

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But here’s what’s interesting.

Their BF/CM page has no supporting FAQs or product / category recommendations.

Instead, they have a very basic page with a sign-up form to encourage users to sign up to the waiting list for their early anticipated Black Friday promo, 2023.

So it raises the question, how does My Protein rank 1st with a blank page?

Well, it’s due to a few reasons

They’re an authoritative supplement brand in the eyes of Google
This page has been live since 2015
This page has 16 referring domains from sites such as popsugar.co.uk and multiple discount/promo code sites

But, this doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t outrank Myprotein for Black Friday related keywords.

In fact, it’s actually a low-hanging fruit for lesser authoritative supplement brands to outrank Myprotein with a well designed landing page that showcases top supplement categories, best selling products and supporting FAQ copy.

Take the ASOS BF/CM page for example.

Here’s a breakdown of the structure of their page.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2022 (H1 heading)
Intro copy
CTAs for women’s outlet and men’s outlet
Women’s new in & Men’s new in supporting visuals & CTAs
4 x sliders promoting men’s and women’s brands and top categories
600+ words of FAQ copy
Gifts for him / Gifts for her visuals + supporting CTAs

The result?

Over 2.1k keywords ranked on Google.
5,000+ monthly organic traffic throughout the year
Peaking to over 83,000 organic traffic in November during BF/CM period

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Not bad, right?

This is why it’s important to study not only direct competition, but also other industries to take inspiration from who’s leading the pack in Google.

Then, once you have decided on the structure of the page, completed the design phase and pushed it live, remember to

Include an internal link somewhere in the footer or main navigation: this sends a clear signal to Google that this is an important page and it distributes link juice to the seasonal landing page to improve its rankings.
Update the META title & description: ensure to include the seasonal event, year and product category within the META data.

Here’s a META data example from Adidas for the search term “men’s clothing black friday”.

Finally, it’s important to dedicate some resources to link building once the page is live.

Ever heard of HARO (Help A Reporter Out)? Sign up for free and respond to timely journalist requests.

This can be your golden ticket for some quality backlinks, as some journalists are on the lookout for brands that are offering discounts on BF/CM. Make sure to request a link if they feature your brand.

You can also reverse engineer your competitors' links. At Go Amplify, we use Ahrefs for competitor analysis, and this allows us to easily audit competitors backlink profiles and replicate their best links.

Also, remember to share this page on your social media channels, and consider teaming up with bloggers and influencers to promote your seasonal events to increase visibility & the probability of landing additional links.

Finally, after the shopping event ends, don’t just kill the page.

Keep the page live and invite subscriptions for future sales.

You've already got this highly targeted audience at your doorstep, why not invite them in for future deals?

Adam: Capturing more email & SMS subscribers on event-specific pages

To build upon Josh’s excellent strategic advice, don’t forget to take full advantage of these structured sales events by capturing as many leads as humanly possible and funnelling that traffic into dedicated nurture sequences.

Remember that while this traffic is likely to be high-intent, a high majority of any organic traffic is likely to bounce quite quickly (check Google Analytics for specific time spent on page to optimise your signup forms).

To mitigate this opportunity cost, I recommend creating strategic embedded signup forms within promotional pages offering Early Bird access for email & SMS subscribers.

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You can take this one step further by encouraging influencers on social media to share unique signup links via social media using features like Klaviyo’s new SMS subscribe links.

NOTE: I actually recommend analysing your top ranking pages quarterly to see whether you can optimise listings with strategic signup forms. Do not understate the incremental list growth and revenue opportunities you may be missing out on by not focusing here!

2. Construct pillar and cluster pages

Josh: If you truly want to take your SEO to a whole new level, consider the pillar and cluster framework.

Think of a pillar page as your central hub.

Take Yoga Journal, for example.

Their pillar page serves as an A-Z guide on yoga poses and attracts over 247,000 organic visitors per month.

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How?

It links to multiple in-depth cluster pages for specific yoga poses.

Looking for yoga poses for your knees, your hips or lower back? Yoga Journal has it covered.

They categorise their content deep into Pose Library, Pose Types, Pose Benefits, and Pose Anatomy.

This structured approach with subfolders helps distribute link equity effectively between the pillar and the clusters, making the entire setup a search engine dream.

Their subtopics go 4-levels deep within the website hierarchy which signals to Google that it’s a comprehensive and authoritative website on the topic of Yoga & related poses.

For example:

https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/ (pillar page)
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/ (supporting cluster page)
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/anxiety/ (supporting cluster page)

But not only is it structured perfectly for SEO, but it provides a stellar user experience.

Adam: Use Contextual Lead Magnets to Increase List Growth

Whilst lead magnets are the forgotten man of eCommerce these days and have been replaced by easier, quicker incentives more directly tied to sales (discounts & free shipping), they still have their place on highly contextual pages like referenced in Josh’s strategy above.

Hubspot is probably the best example of using contextual lead magnets over the years and it’s been a powerful inbound engine for their business.

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If you’re worried about resource allocation and the time it takes to create these lead magnets, fear not: the key is to pick your battles and choose high-ranking pages where the content is likely to be evergreen.

Want to really be efficient? Email a cohort of your customers asking them to contribute to a new ebook you’re building and make them the hero of your story!

Don't Miss: How to master DTC Email/SMS Marketing like Duradry

3. Repurpose evergreen newsletter content

Josh: Newsletters are nuggets of gold that can be repurposed into evergreen blog posts.

Here are some examples of how you can repurpose newsletter content to accelerate SEO your performance.

Buying Guides

Remember that newsletter you sent out featuring the "Top 10 Skincare Products for 2023"?

That's content begging for a longer shelf life.

Turn this list into an evergreen buying guide on your blog.

Highlight the unique selling points, ingredients, user testimonials, and even behind-the-scenes manufacturing processes for each product.

Industry Trends

Industry trends make for stellar newsletter content.

But these should graduate into full-length articles that offer in-depth insights, stats, and expert quotes.

Let’s say your newsletter touched on the rise of vegan leather in the fashion industry.

You can create an in-depth article exploring this trend, perhaps titled "The Unstoppable Rise of Vegan Leather: What You Need to Know."

Include market statistics, quotes from fashion experts and ethical organisations, and examples of big brands moving towards vegan leather.

Make sure to link this article to your own range of vegan leather products, if applicable.

How-to Guides

How-to content is incredibly versatile.

It provides value, shows off your expertise, and if done right, is evergreen.

Those step-by-step instructions in your newsletter on how to select the right running shoe based on arch type?

That’s a blog post waiting to happen.

With this example, you could create "The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Running Shoes for Every Arch Type."

Include detailed steps, supported by infographics or even video content.

Discuss the science behind each archetype, how the wrong shoe could lead to physical ailments, and obviously, showcase your range of running shoes tailored to each need.

Customer Success Stories

Your newsletters likely feature customer testimonials or success stories, which make for some of the most engaging blog posts.

When you highlight how your product or service has made a significant impact on someone’s life, you’re effectively building brand trust.

In summary, those newsletters you’ve been sending shouldn’t be considered a one-and-done deal.

They’re your long-term assets.

Repurposing them into evergreen blog posts not only amplifies their reach but also enhances your SEO.

Let’s take Hims for example.

Hims focuses on men’s health products, including, hair loss, skincare and more.

They have accumulated over 1000+ positive reviews and created a dedicated landing page with their customer success stories.

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Subsequently, this page occupies the top spot when someone searches for "Hims reviews.".

Remember, SEO isn’t just about non-branded traffic.

It also plays a role in safeguarding your brand reputation.

A crucial aspect of your SEO strategy should be aimed at securing the number 1 spot on Google for all relevant brand-associated keywords and frequently asked questions.

Adam: Ask your audience for content ideas

I love Josh’s ideas here and have several examples to show that we’ve successfully implemented with our clients in the past.

Let me show you how we were able to lean into influencer marketing to create highly contextual content for a brand we managed last year:

In the first email, we simply asked our audience what questions they wanted a brand ambassador to answer related to their supplements.

In the subsequent send, we hand-picked the most popular questions and repurposed the content in the email.

But why stop there? Get this on your website and enrich it with video content and transformation stories if possible!

Take your customers with you on your journey and lean into them hard to build as many content assets as possible to improve the whole business.

I cover more examples of leveraging your customer database to create masses of UGC and content assets in my course, Monster Email Marketing.

4. Ask for reviews

Josh: Customer reviews are an underestimated powerhouse that can substantially up your SEO game.

Let's dig into why customer feedback isn't just beneficial, but essential for amplifying your e-commerce SEO.

Reviews casts the net wide for long-tail keywords

Firstly, reviews aren't just testimonials; they're user-generated content that's rich in keywords.

You may think you've got your product description nailed, but let's be real, your customers speak a language that you might not even be aware of.

They're using phrasing and descriptors that are way more aligned with how potential buyers search.

When these reviews get indexed, you are essentially casting a wider net in the keyword ocean, which means, yes, you guessed it, more organic traffic + revenue.

Reviews improve Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Let’s say you’re Googling for a new espresso machine.

You see two similar products; one has star ratings right below the link, and the other one doesn't.

Which one do you click? The former, right?

Rich snippets, including star ratings, give potential customers a preliminary assurance that others have bought and liked the product.

This often sways click-through rates in your favour.

Reviews Boost E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness & Trustworthiness)

Google's algorithm is practically sentient these days.

One thing it highly values is E-E-A-T.

Now, if your eCommerce site continually accumulates positive reviews, it signals trust to Google.

Google identifies trust as the most important factor within the E-E-A-T framework.

For eCommerce brands, being trustworthy signifies secure online transactions, reliable customer support, and authentic product reviews.

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By facilitating a constant inflow of positive reviews, you're essentially sending smoke signals to Google saying, "This is a legit, trustworthy business right here."

Reviews Earn Google's Favour for Fresh Content & Positive Feedback

Google is like that friend who always wants to know the latest gossip; it loves fresh content.

The more frequent this fresh content is, in the form of reviews in our case, the more often Google’s bots will crawl your page, leading to more favourable indexing & rankings.

Plus, a slew of positive reviews sends out positive user signals, making Google more inclined to present your product as the ideal solution to a user's search query.

Adam: Amplify your UGC strategy by thinking outside the box

Don't just ask for generic reviews. Send customers to Typeform surveys and collect comprehensive UGC, offering them publicity on your website in return.

Transformation stories can also be incredibly effective here as well and in the below example, you can see how TOMMI Skin even built a dedicated page exclusively for reviews!

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You can even run competitions and court ambassadors by incentivising them to share their stories, repurposing the content across your blog and in ad creatives.

Here’s a couple of examples that we implemented for one of our clients, Duradry to pull of this exact strategy:

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First, we created a competition email that was sent out to their existing customers.

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We then repurposed the best videos to experiment in ad creatives.

The sky is the limit with this strategy so make sure to go wild!

Combine SEO with Email Marketing to Skyrocket Performance

Hopefully this article gives you a taster of powerful ways to combine SEO with email marketing.

Get the right agency by your side to work collaboratively and you can start to unlock limitless opportunities for your business.

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Follow Josh on LinkedIn

Visit the GoAmplify website

Follow Adam on LinkedIn and Twitter

Besides, don't forget to join 2,000+ hungry D2C enthusiasts who lap up our weekly insider insights on eCommerce email marketing.

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If you'd like to learn how to master email, SMS & Klaviyo, our Monster Email Marketing course covers everything you need to know with over 54 video lessons and countless PDF guides and email design examples - OUT NOW.