Online shopping runs 24/7. Your e-store is one among thousands, and you need customers to buy from you instead of your competitors. It can be a tough challenge, unless you master the way people search for what you sell.

Breaking Ground: Start by Questioning 

I’ve seen too many store owners burn weeks building enormous keyword lists without a plan. Don’t fall into that trap. Start with questions that matter:

“What words would someone use if they really wanted my product right now?”

Write down whatever comes to mind – unfiltered, unedited. Sell handcrafted jewelry? Your list might begin with “handmade necklaces” and “artisan earrings,” but push further.

Think about your last customer conversation. What specific language did they use? What problems were they trying to solve? A customer rarely says, “I require jewelry accessories.” They say, “I need something that won’t turn my skin green” or “I’m looking for something that makes a statement in meetings.”

This initial brainstorm isn’t about volume – it’s about authenticity.

Insider Insight: Keep a small notebook handy in your workspace. When customer inquiries come in with interesting phrasing, jot it down. These real-world search terms often outperform anything we could dream up.

Tools of the Trade: Beyond the Obvious

Google Keyword Planner? Yes, use it – but it’s just one tool in your workshop.

My favorite research technique costs nothing: typing partial search phrases into multiple search engines and seeing what auto-suggestions appear. These suggestions aren’t random – they’re based on actual search behavior.

Try these underutilized sources:

• The Q&A sections of Amazon listings similar to your products
• Customer reviews (especially the critical ones – they reveal unmet needs)
• Specialized forums where enthusiasts discuss products like yours
• YouTube search suggestions (particularly valuable for visual products)

I recall a boutique kitchenware store that discovered their customers weren’t just searching for “wooden spoons” but “heat-safe wooden utensils that won’t scratch non-stick pans.” This insight from Amazon reviews transformed their product descriptions and drove a 40% increase in organic traffic (from the SERPs).

Competitor Research: Smart Borrowing, Not Copying

Your competitors have already spent money figuring out what works. Learn from them.

But here’s where most go wrong: they simply copy competitors’ keywords without understanding the strategy behind them.

Instead, ask these questions:

• Which keywords are they deliberately NOT targeting? (Could be an opportunity)
• What questions do they leave unanswered? (Content gap)
• Are they missing seasonal or regional variations?

There was this home décor store struggling against larger competitors. The competition focused entirely on product-specific terms but ignored style-based searches. By optimizing for “Scandinavian minimalist home décor” rather than just “throw pillows,” they carved out a profitable niche with much less competition.

The Long and Short of Keywords

Here’s a truth the keyword tools won’t tell you: sometimes the most valuable keywords have the lowest search volume.

Short keywords (“women’s boots”) bring traffic but rarely bring buyers. They’re like casting a wide net hoping to catch something valuable among the seaweed and driftwood.

Long-tail keywords (“waterproof leather boots with arch support”) attract fewer people, but those people know exactly what they want – and they’re ready to buy it.

A tactical gear brand tried for months with generic terms like “tactical equipment,” but just couldn’t make progress. They switched things up and started using specific phrases like “MOLLE sling shoulder tactical backpack.” Conversions rose almost 25% within weeks.

Does this mean ignoring short-tail keywords entirely? No – but it means being strategic about where and how you use them.

Search Intent: The Secret Sauce

Without understanding intent, ‘keywords’ are just random words with stats. It’s like having ingredients but no clue what dish you’re making.

Here’s how ecommerce searches typically break down:

Informational Intent: “How to clean silver jewelry without damaging it”

• What to do: Create helpful stuff that subtly shows how your products solve problems. Don’t go for the hard sell—these folks aren’t there yet.

Navigational Intent: “Blundstone women’s shoes”

• What to do: Make sure your brand pages are dialed in. If someone’s looking specifically for you, don’t make them hunt.

Commercial Investigation: “Best waterproof socks for wide feet”

• What to do: Create comparison content that (surprise!) shows why your product rocks for specific needs.

Transactional Intent: “Buy memory foam pillow with cooling gel free shipping”

• What to do: Get straight to the point with optimized product pages and a friction-free path to purchase.

Here’s an interesting example: A skincare brand was killing it for “anti-aging creams” rankings but barely converting. Turned out, most people typing that phrase were in research mode, not buying mode.

They pivoted and created super specific content like “how retinol works on combination skin” and “peptides vs. hyaluronic acid: which works better for deep wrinkles?”

This gave researchers what they wanted while subtly guiding them toward product pages. Their conversions jumped about 40% without any additional ad spend.

Building a Relevant List: Quality Over Quantity

You’ve got 5,000 keywords? Cool story. But if they’re just sitting in a giant spreadsheet, you’ve built yourself a digital junk drawer nobody wants to open.

Try this approach instead:

1. Primary Keywords: The obvious stuff directly tied to what you sell
2. Secondary Keywords: The features and specs people care about
3. Tertiary Keywords: The weird, specific stuff people actually type (questions, comparisons, etc.)

For each keyword, track:

• Search volume (how many people actually look for this)
• Competition (how hard it’ll be to rank)
• Relevance score (on a scale of 1-10, how perfectly does this match what you offer?)
• Intent type (are they researching, comparing, or ready to buy?)
• Content match (where should this keyword live on your site?)

Harsh truth: That massive keyword list might impress your client, but if half those terms have zero buying intent, you’re just wasting time. Your revenues don’t grow from spreadsheet rows.

Real-World Example: The Leather Goods Fiasco

Picture this: A premium leather goods shop goes online. The founder, a third-generation leatherworker, knows everything about the craft but nothing about search behavior.

Their first keyword strategy? Basic terms like “leather wallet,” “handmade leather bag,” and “leather belt.” Traffic came in, but conversion stayed at a measly 1%.

After some digging, they realized most visitors were price-shopping—not looking for artisan-quality goods with corresponding prices.

Their revised approach targeted people who already appreciated quality:

• They used insider terminology: “full grain leather wallet” instead of just “leather wallet”
• They tapped into functionality concerns: “minimalist front pocket wallet with RFID”
• They addressed comparison searches: “why full-grain leather develops patina”
• They answered maintenance questions: “how to condition leather bags during winter storage”

Fewer visitors showed up, but those who did actually pulled out their credit cards. Conversion nearly tripled to about 3%.

Where they missed opportunities: They completely overlooked the gift market (“groomsmen leather gifts” or “3rd anniversary leather gift ideas”) and the sustainability angle (“ethically sourced leather alternatives”). Those could’ve been goldmines with less competition.

Beyond Basic Research: Next-Level KW Tactics

Once you’ve covered the basics, here’s where you can step up a notch:

Semantic Clustering: Instead of organizing keywords by volume, group them by related concepts. This mirrors how search engines actually understand topics.

A women’s athletic wear store might group “moisture-wicking running shorts,” “breathable running clothes,” and “chafe-free marathon shorts” together—regardless of search volume—because they serve the same customer need.

Question Mining: Dig into the exact questions people ask. A home coffee equipment retailer discovered that “how to clean coffee maker with vinegar” got decent traffic, but “will vinegar damage coffee maker sensors” was a high-converting question because it revealed specific concerns that their products addressed.

SERP Spying: Don’t just research keywords—study what’s currently ranking. If the top results for your target keyword are all 3,000-word guides with videos, your 500-word product description isn’t going to cut it, no matter how well-optimized it is.

This isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it deal. Markets shift, language evolves, trends come and go.

The shops that stay ahead revisit their keyword strategy regularly—not because some SEO playbook says so, but because customer behavior is constantly changing.