"E-commerce sites can be particularly challenging for search-engine optimization (SEO) because they tend to lack unique, relevant content," writes Adam J. Thompson in an article at MarketingProfs. "Most e-commerce websites contain mostly navigational pages (with little content) and product pages (with mostly duplicate content)."

So how can you improve results for your e-commerce site? Thompson offers recommendations like these for creating content that's valuable to customers—and search-engine optimized to boot:

Create content for category pages that tend to be heavy on images and links. "[W]rite descriptions or introductory copy for each category, to be displayed above or below the product listings," he recommends. "Zappos.com, for example, places a lengthy description (more like an article) at the bottom of category pages."

Rewrite product descriptions, especially those written by your suppliers. "Although category pages may be the focus for primary keywords," he notes, "product pages offer a wealth of longtail keyword opportunities. The challenge, of course, is that in many cases product pages use manufacturer-provided descriptions, which are duplicated across many other e-commerce websites."

Write expert reviews for the products and services you sell. "Those in-depth product reviews could include images, video, detailed product testing and analysis, and other value-added content that shoppers would find useful," he says.

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