Bloomingdale's is a leader in fashion in the brick and mortar world. But how does a store with history back to the 1800s adapt to the new online world? Let's look at a few tactics Bloomingdale's uses in content marketing to find a few SEO opportunities.
Content Marketing Lessons1. Solve a Problem To Make a SaleFinding the right jeans, for many women, is like finding a diamond in the rough. Bloomingdale's understands its customers and made that search easy with an interactive Denim Seeker feature.
Not only does it describe why each jean was selected, but it uses real women, showing a keen understanding of its customers and the larger discussion of body image in fashion and pop culture.
2. Stay Fresh, Stay Relevant To Customers and Search EnginesBloomingdale's Guide To a Fashion-Packed Life, with interactive features and fun, flirty copy is updated monthly to adjust with the season.
This helpful guide for the fashionista is also fresh content for the search engines. The “What to Wear Where” section shows how product descriptions should be: engaging, personalized, and ending with clear calls to action.
SEO Opportunities3. Finish What You StartBloomingdales put together a long list of fabulous designers. It's the first item in their navigation bar. However, clicking on a designer name leads to a plain results page without any context.
Bloomingdale's SEO opportunity is to include descriptive content about the designer to add interest and weight. Pages like this, if not handled with best SEO practices, could fall under Panda.
4. Look But Don't Touch?Visuals are amazing tools to pique interest and sell clothes. As Pinterest's traffic generating reports prove, images are powerful.
However, usability is important too. If a product is featured in a lookbook or other image on a retail site, adding a link back to that specific item can increase conversions. Here, the retailer hasn't linked images to the items below.
Don't make your customers search harder than they have to for the product you're showcasing. Missing links may be the difference between a sale and wasted traffic.
5. Image Is Not EverythingImages are important, but an image alone doesn't always provide the visitor enough information to seal the deal.
The Denim Seeker highlights why each jean is right for every body. That type of thinking should go into all product descriptions, whether a leather handbag or a Persian rug:
What problem does this product solve?How should a visitor picture themselves with this product?Bloomingdale's falls victim to its large product palette. It doesn't add custom product descriptions to its fast-changing item pages, giving customers an excuse to look elsewhere. Bloomingdale's also misses the boat on video content, which Macy's has already incorporated into their item pages.
Major retailers have the resources to create stunning graphics and beautiful sites, but that doesn't mean they can skip the detail work. Smaller retailers should follow the example of consultative, problem-solving features like the Denim Seeker.
Even without the interactive graphics, the real-world approach can give incremental gains to the site. Because smaller retailers can often move faster or are working with a more focused product palette, they can quickly capitalize on any flaws or opportunities the big brands have left open.
Bottom line: There's always room for improvement, even for a big brand.
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