Traffic But No Sales: How To Optimize Your eCommerce Store For High-Intent Search

So, your eCommerce store is ranking well with the targeted keywords. You even go the extra mile in optimizing your blog page with many resourceful product reviews and guidelines. However, while your online store gets plenty of traffic, you're not seeing the sales you hoped for!

It seems like visitors just aren't buying from your catalog. What's the deal? Don't worry. You're not alone.

Many eCommerce merchants struggle to turn their website’s traffic into sales. One of the leading causes of the notorious “high traffic but no sales” is that your website is not optimized for traffic with high commercial intent.

Optimizing your eCommerce store for sales through commercial and transactional searches means attracting visitors more likely to buy what you're selling.

But how can you ensure you're drawing in the right traffic? Let's dive into some tips to help you optimize your website for high-intent traffic.

Understanding commercial search intent and high search intent keywords

What is a high-intent search?

When you search for something on the wild web, there's usually a reason behind it. That's called search intent.

Search intent is the reason that motivates you to type in your search terms. When running an online store, you must understand what your customers are looking for and the reasons behind their searches (aka, their search intent) to optimize your website to speak to their needs.

Basically, there are four types of search intent, which you might already be familiar with (it’s SEO basics, after all).

High-intent traffic refers to your website visitors actively searching for a product or service and are ready to convert (for example, Add to Cart, Book a Demo, or Purchase).

They're the "qualified leads" because they will likely become your customers. High-intent keywords are search queries these visitors use to search and land on your website.

High-intent traffic and commercial search intent are closely related because visitors with commercial intent are typically part of the high-intent traffic group. They have already researched and compared different options and are actively searching for the best products to fulfill their needs.

Types of high-intent keywords

Aiming for high commercial intent keywords can drive higher click-through rates and ignite conversions better on your eCommerce store. You'll need to understand what they are thoroughly.

Not all commercial search intent keywords - or commercial keywords for short - are the same. Some commercial keywords have a stronger desire to buy than others.

• Investigative commercial intent keywords:

These are search terms in the research phase of a user’s buying journey. These keywords indicate that the user wants information about a product or service to educate them to buy later.

Users using these keywords are solution-aware and have a specific product in mind. They look for more information on the possible options to make the final decision.

• Transactional-like commercial intent keywords:

Technically, these commercial keywords can be transactional.

Your potential customers who use these keywords are ready to buy or make purchase decisions immediately. They're just looking for the most attractive offers that meet their expectation.

• Local commercial intent keywords:

These search terms suggest a user is looking for a product or service in a specific geographical area.

• Branded commercial intent keywords:

These keywords are also known as product or service keywords which can convert highly, although they are competitive.

Where can you analyze and find high-intent searches?

A keyword research tool can give you a list of all four types of search terms and phrases. You can specifically look for high-intent keywords with these tools:

• Google Keyword Planner (free)
• Google Search Console (free)
• WordStream Keyword Tool (free)
• Ubersuggest (free)
• SEMRush (paid)
• Ahrefs Keyword Explorer (paid)
• Moz Keyword Explorer (paid)

How to optimize your eCommerce store for high-intent search?

It is essential to understand potential customers' goals and shopping patterns when they visit your store. This can be achieved by conducting user research and designing your website’s content to cater to those needs.

To tailor your website to customers’ specific goals, you must optimize its navigation, search functionality, and product pages to ensure they are user-friendly and intuitive.

Addressing any pain points or challenges customers may face when using your website is just as important.

Best practice #1: Make sure your website content matches commercial search intent

It’s in the textbook: to attract more qualified leads, you must understand how to provide high-quality and relevant website content that addresses your user's search intent.

Your eCommerce website has different content types. Each type is suitable for a specific search intent.

Articles and blog posts are often optimized for informational search intent. Landing, product, category, and comparison pages best represent commercial and transactional intent.

To gain traffic AND sales instead of “traffic but no sales”, you need to focus on attracting high-intent search via your landing, category, product, and comparison pages.

Best practice #2: Create dedicated product guides to match commercial queries

Creating dedicated product guides, categories, or comparisons is ideal for targeting high-intent searches. These types of content can increase conversions by giving your potential customers the information they need to make an informed purchase decision.

Dedicated product guides can also build trust in your brand and credibility with potential customers by providing accurate and unbiased information about the product they're looking for.

Best examples of dedicated product guides to learn from

Bellroy: Slim your wallet collection page

Everyone hates a thick wallet, whether he or she is sitting on it or carrying it in a bag or purse.

Bellroy’s collection page starts with a clear headline, "Slim your wallet," to effectively communicate the purpose of the page and the pain point it addresses. Plus, it’s a score in optimizing for informational intent.

Following up is the wallet slider to visually compare the difference between Bellroy’s and other ordinary wallets.

The page also offers multiple product options, catering to different customer preferences and needs, which can increase the likelihood of a purchase. Bravo, another score for high-intent search optimization!

The page goes further, including interactive features such as the "wallet finder" tool and video tutorials that engage users while successfully providing a personalized experience.

It doesn't forget to add reviews and ratings, which can help build trust and credibility with potential customers.

This creative and highly-converting collection page solves potential customer's pain points and helps them immediately buy the wallet they need.

Chewy: Chewy Picks

Chewy - an online pet supply retailer - turns Chewy Picks into a resourceful product guide for pet owners and those who want to find gifts for pet owners.

Overall, Chewy's Gift Guide page effectively addresses the user's pain point of finding the perfect gift for their pet and pet-lover friends by offering a range of products that cater to different needs and preferences.

The store divides different product categories by pet types or product types and gets creative in separating collections into seasonal, trending monthly themes (Pride month!), purposes, and occasions.

With so much information, the page is straightforward to navigate, with a clear layout and intuitive design that makes it easy for users to find the information they need.

Not to mention all the urges to encourage users to make a purchase: Save 35% on auto-ship, New customers get $20 off, 50% off on health & wellness auto-ship, Virtual vet consult, etc.

The Gift Guide page may also easily rank for information keywords such as “gift ideas for pet lovers” or high-intent keywords where they find “perfect gift for pet lovers”.

Best practice #3: Optimize onsite search with high-intent searches

You can optimize your onsite search results by applying what you analyze in high-intent search keywords in SEO in previous practice.

With the terms your potential customers use, you can identify what products are trending and in high demand. Then, you can update your site search and catalog accordingly.

In high-intent searches, highlight brand names, sizes, materials, colors, product lines, etc., and any common product specifications in your niche.

Best practice #4: Personalize shopping experience to convert high-intent visitors

It’s well-known that today’s customers don’t want to be sold to; they want to be connected.

Just like when they walk into a brick-and-mortar store, they want personalization, context, relatability, and want to be engaged emotionally. With high-intent searches, you can also better personalize your onsite search experience.

High-intent keywords reveal insights into the specific products, categories, or features customers seek. Hence, they can improve your store’s shopping personalization.

One fundamental way to improve search personalization with high-intent searches is through product recommendations. By analyzing customer searches before landing on your site and their purchase history, you can create targeted product recommendations highly relevant to each customer.

Best practice #5: Nudge high-intent visitors to purchase with enticing offers

When people shop with a purchase intent in mind, they often have a short product browsing time and are looking for extra incentives to make a final decision.

This is why it's important to provide a variety of appealing mini-treats to persuade them to complete their purchase. These mini-treats could include:

• Free shipping or shipping discount
• First-time discounts and promotions
• Seasonal or themed-collection promotions
• Freebies

Mavi US with free shipping and payment discount offer

Let's make an example. A high-intent visitor may be looking for a new laptop and has narrowed their options to a few different models.

They may still hesitate to decide after reading product reviews and comparing prices. To persuade them to complete their purchase on your website, you could offer a free accessory, such as a laptop bag or a mouse, with the purchase of the laptop if they make the purchase within the next hour.

The key to converting high-intent visitors is to provide a seamless, personalized, and enjoyable shopping experience. Let your site search, navigation, and product page optimization do the former. Strategic promotions can nail the latter perfectly.

In closing

The devil is in the details because there’s a lot of work necessary to do when making sales from searches.

High-intent keywords are goldmines for increasing conversion rates. Optimizing your eCommerce site for high-intent keywords is necessary if your final goal is converting traffic into sales.