One of the things I see missed most when new fashion and beauty brands start out is a huge deal…
Search Engine Optimisation (also known as SEO).
While focusing on channels like TikTok, raising brand awareness and influencer strategies are all important, so is search. And sometimes brands don’t really think about it until they’re way down the line.
There are 8.5 billion Google searches every single day. And while they won’t all be for your product (if only), it shows the potential reward that’s out there for getting your SEO strategy right.
So what the hell is SEO anyway?
For the uninitiated, SEO is a way of making a website more visible and helping it to rank on search engine results page to attract organic (i.e. non-paid) traffic. It’s about optimising content, keywords, meta tags and the way your website is laid out in line with algorithms that decide what someone is searching for online. This brings them to a results page, and hopefully your product.
I’ve written a deeper dive on SEO for beauty brands in a previous post, feel free to take a look. SEO can help to drive awareness, sales, conversions and traffic. So why do so many fashion and beauty brands not bother with it initially?
- It feels complicated
- They have a million other marketing bits to focus on
- They don’t understand it
- They don’t get how important it is
- It isn’t always a quick win
- It feels a bit less sexy than making fun TikToks, organising a photoshoot or seeing a print campaign.
5 SEO tips for fashion and beauty brands
Here’s some of my top tips on SEO for fashion and beauty brands:
Technical and on-site SEO both matter
Your website needs to be set up correctly for search, and your content needs to be optimised. One without the other will affect how you show up in search results, however great your content or website looks. You need to make sure your website is set up correctly and that your content is formatted correctly, using the right keywords to show up in search.
Use the right keywords
It isn’t just about using keywords with the highest number of searches, as these are likely to be competitive. Look at low competition, relevancy and long-tail keywords too. It’s about balancing out what your audience is searching for and their intent.
Think about how your customers search
When you’re naming products, categories or pages on your site, do research into how your customers search. If they search “red lipstick”, then include that in your product title, content and descriptions. Even if your product packaging name is something much, much cuter. You can find some tips on naming your beauty brand in my previous blog.
Understand search intent
Search intent is the “why” your customers are searching. Are they looking for information? Navigating? Looking to buy? Researching and comparing? Understanding this will help you to create content that meets the needs of your audience and where they’re at in their purchase journey.
Show your expertise
Google values content that shows experience, expertise, authority and is trustworthy. Original data insights and quotes can all help you rank with this so you need to showcase what original opinions and expertise you have as this can really add to your content.
Need help to create SEO content for your fashion or beauty brand? Get in touch to find out how I can work with you to create content that converts.