How to start a blog for your BigCommerce store with SEO in mind

Are you looking to drive more organic traffic to your BigCommerce store but not sure where to start? A well-optimized blog can be your secret weapon for attracting potential customers and boosting sales. In fact, ecommerce stores with active blogs often see significantly higher visitor engagement and conversion rates compared to those without content marketing strategies.

Let’s walk through everything you need to know to create and optimize a blog that generates real results for your BigCommerce store.

Why your BigCommerce store needs a blog

Before diving into the how-to, let’s quickly cover why blogging matters for ecommerce:

• Builds organic search visibility for non-product keywords
• Establishes your brand as an authority in your niche
• Keeps customers engaged between purchases
• Creates opportunities to showcase products naturally
• Drives traffic throughout the sales funnel, from awareness to decision

Think of your blog as the friendly salesperson who educates customers before they’re ready to buy. While your product pages close the sale, your blog content opens the conversation with potential customers who may not even know they need your products yet.

Setting up your BigCommerce blog

Using the native BigCommerce blog feature

BigCommerce includes a built-in blogging platform that’s straightforward to set up:

1. Log into your BigCommerce dashboard
2. Navigate to Storefront > Blog
3. If disabled, toggle the blog feature on
4. Click the + button to create your first post
5. Add a compelling title, content, and optional author information
6. Include tags relevant to your post topic and product categories
7. Upload a summary thumbnail image for visual appeal

BigCommerce automatically generates URLs for your posts (e.g., /blog/post-title), but you can customize these for better SEO. For instance, if you’re writing about summer fashion trends, a URL like /blog/summer-fashion-trends-2023 would be more effective than a generic auto-generated one.

Third-party integration option

For more advanced blogging features, consider a third-party solution like DropInBlog:

1. Go to Apps > Marketplace in your BigCommerce dashboard
2. Search for and install DropInBlog
3. Configure web pages and enable visibility settings
4. Enjoy additional features like multi-author support and content scheduling

This option is particularly valuable if you plan to scale your content marketing efforts with multiple contributors or need more sophisticated publishing tools.

SEO optimization strategies for your BigCommerce blog

Keyword research for ecommerce blogs

Start by identifying keywords that:

1. Relate to your products but aren’t direct product searches
2. Address customer pain points or questions
3. Target different stages of the buyer’s journey

For example, if you sell kitchenware, instead of just targeting “ceramic cookware set” (a product-focused keyword), also target phrases like “how to care for ceramic cookware” or “best cooking methods for ceramic pots” (informational keywords).

Pro tip: Mine your BigCommerce sales data to identify product-related topics customers are interested in. Look for patterns in product questions, customer support inquiries, and review comments. These real customer questions often make the best blog topics because they address genuine information needs.

On-page SEO essentials

For each blog post, optimize these elements:

• Title tags: Include your target keyword naturally near the beginning
• Meta descriptions: Write compelling summaries that encourage clicks
• URL structure: Keep URLs clean and descriptive (e.g., /blog/how-to-choose-running-shoes)
• Headings: Use H1, H2, and H3 tags with relevant keywords
• Images: Add alt text that describes images and includes keywords where natural

Remember that search engines reward content that satisfies user intent. If someone searches “how to clean hiking boots,” make sure your article thoroughly answers that question before mentioning your boot cleaning products.

Technical SEO considerations

• Mobile optimization: Ensure your blog displays properly on all devices by using responsive design. Test your store’s mobile-friendliness through the “View Store” preview in your dashboard.
• Page speed: Compress images and minimize unnecessary scripts
• Schema markup: Implement article schema to enhance search visibility
• XML sitemap: Verify your blog posts are included in your site’s sitemap

Mobile optimization is particularly critical since Google now uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your content for ranking and indexing.

Creating compelling content for your BigCommerce blog

Effective content types for ecommerce blogs

1. How-to guides: Step-by-step tutorials related to your products (e.g., “How to Style a Leather Jacket” for a fashion store)
2. Buying guides: Help customers make informed purchase decisions
3. Product highlights: Showcase new arrivals or seasonal collections
4. Customer success stories: Share testimonials and use cases
5. Industry news: Cover trends and developments in your niche

Each of these content types serves a specific purpose in your marketing funnel. How-to guides build trust and demonstrate expertise, while buying guides help customers in the consideration phase compare options.

Content strategy alignment

Align your content with your buyer personas and sales funnel:

• Awareness stage: Educational content addressing broad industry topics
• Consideration stage: Comparison posts and buying guides
• Decision stage: Product-focused content with clear calls-to-action

For instance, a furniture store might create awareness content about “Creating a productive home office environment,” consideration content about “Ergonomic vs. standard office chairs compared,” and decision content about “5 signs it’s time to upgrade your office chair.”

Incorporating products naturally

Don’t turn every post into a sales pitch. Instead:

• Mention products contextually within broader educational content
• Use product images to illustrate points
• Include “related products” sections at the end of posts
• Link to relevant product pages where it adds value to the reader

The key is subtlety. If you’re writing about “summer skincare routines,” it makes sense to mention your SPF products. The reader gets valuable information first, with product recommendations as a helpful addition rather than the main focus.

Promoting your BigCommerce blog content

On-site promotion

• Feature blog posts on your homepage
• Add blog widgets to product pages
• Include blog post links in your navigation menu
• Cross-link between blog posts and relevant product/category pages

Cross-linking is particularly powerful as it guides visitors through a logical journey from informational content to product pages, improving both user experience and SEO.

Off-site promotion

• Share blog content across social media channels
• Include blog excerpts in email marketing campaigns
• Repurpose blog content into other formats (videos, infographics)
• Consider partnerships with complementary brands for guest posting

For example, a blog post about “10 Essential Camping Tips” could be transformed into a shareable infographic for Pinterest, a video tutorial for YouTube, and snippets for Instagram stories—maximizing the reach of your original content investment.

Measuring blog performance

Track these key metrics to evaluate blog effectiveness:

• Traffic: Monitor page views, sessions, and traffic sources
• Engagement: Analyze time on page, bounce rate, and pages per session
• Conversions: Track blog-to-product-page journeys and purchases
• Rankings: Monitor keyword position improvements
• Backlinks: Track which content attracts external links

Pay special attention to conversion paths that begin with blog content. This data helps you understand which topics actually drive sales, not just traffic.

Common BigCommerce blog questions

How do you add featured blog posts to the homepage?

1. Navigate to Storefront > Web Pages
2. Edit your homepage template
3. Use the drag-and-drop editor to add a blog widget
4. Select featured posts or configure automatic selection

Featuring your best-performing or most recent content on your homepage increases its visibility and provides fresh content for returning visitors.

How do you customize site search for blog posts?

1. Go to Settings > Search
2. Configure which blog content elements (title, body, tags) are searchable
3. Adjust weighting to determine how blog posts appear in search results

Proper search integration ensures customers can find relevant blog content when researching products on your site, creating more opportunities for engagement.

Taking your BigCommerce blog to the next level with automation

Creating and maintaining a high-quality blog requires consistent effort. For BigCommerce store owners looking to scale their content marketing without the manual effort, AI-powered solutions like CrocoAI can automate SEO content creation while maintaining quality and relevance.

With features like product feed synchronization, smart category mapping, and conversion-focused internal linking, automation tools can help turn your blog into a powerful traffic and sales driver for your BigCommerce store. These solutions are particularly valuable for stores with large product catalogs that would benefit from extensive content coverage but lack the resources for manual content creation.

Getting started today

The sooner you begin blogging for your BigCommerce store, the sooner you’ll see results. Start with these steps:

1. Enable your blog functionality (native or third-party)
2. Conduct keyword research for your first 5-10 articles
3. Create a content calendar with publishing deadlines
4. Write (or outsource) your first blog post
5. Optimize for SEO using the strategies above
6. Publish and promote across relevant channels
7. Monitor performance and adjust your strategy accordingly

Remember that consistency matters more than perfection. A regular publishing schedule of quality content will gradually build your organic presence, even if you start with just one post per month.

By consistently publishing optimized, valuable content for your audience, your BigCommerce blog will become a powerful engine for organic traffic growth and, ultimately, increased sales for your store.