Content is one of the most contentious points in SEO, partly because it is so important.
Let’s just start with this. If you get sold an eCommerce SEO services project for your online store, and it doesn’t include content, in some form or other, you’re not legitimately going to see results.
And if you do, it’s because your website was a technical nightmare. Once those issues are resolved by some eCommerce SEO experts, you might see a slight uptick in online visibility, traffic, and perhaps even conversion rates, but without content as a pillar, you won’t see long-term results.
So it’s clear that content is critical to any SEO process, regardless of the eCommerce SEO agency you hire to drive organic traffic to your store.
But it is an issue for some clients because they feel they can do it better than the agency. Or, in some instances, they feel that their existing content stream is good enough (even if it isn’t, because why would you be looking for SEO services if what you’re doing is currently working?).
At any rate, here’s what breaks down with respect to existing and new copy.
The Deal with Existing Copy
The truth is, if a company has current existing content on its website in the form of page copy, as well as blogs or a public newsletter – if that stream can be adapted to the agency’s keyword research and subsequent strategy, then yes, the agency can probably optimize it without publishing anything new.
Assuming that the eCommerce website’s copy is usable, in most cases, all the agency would have to do is make a few optimizations to the existing copy, add in some keywords, a few answers to frequently asked questions, and adjust the headers and titles. That would improve their current performance in the search engine rankings.
That alone can optimize existing copy. In fact, there is a benefit to optimizing existing copy because it lets you piggyback off the existing authority, and moreover, Google likes to see updates to stale copy.
So in a nutshell, it is in theory possible for an agency to update existing copy for search engine optimization rather than publishing content that’s entirely new.
Why New Copy Helps
All the same, there are a lot of benefits to investing in new, optimized copy to support the SEO campaign.
One of these is that Google likes to see a website that is committed to publishing new copy on the regular.
On top of that, there is another benefit to publishing new copy – it gives the writers (either yours or the agency’s) an opportunity to answer common questions that are trending, as well as to weave in the answers to evergreen queries.
When a copywriter familiar with SEO, content marketing and artificial intelligence writes, their aim is to get their copy to show up in the results. It’s what they specialize in, so new copy from them is designed to produce results in the organic search results.
So, actually, one of the best things an agency can do is optimize existing copy and also publish new, optimized copy. Together, these will deliver results for your landing pages, and drive qualified traffic to them.
Getting Started Hiring an eCommerce SEO Agency
When you’re in talks with eCommerce SEO agencies, don’t let things break down because you’re dead set one way or the other. Chances are, if it’s a reputable agency, they’ll be willing to work with you whether you want to optimize your existing copy, use only new copy, or work with a combination of both. A good agency that offers better customer service will at least.
At any rate, considering that the best time to get started with an organic marketing campaign like SEO was 10 years ago, there’s no benefit in putting it off any longer. Get started with your new initiative today by contacting a few SEO agencies and seeing what they offer.
