Throwback: E-Commerce Growth 101 - Keyword Research and Competitor Insights

In this episode, host Josh interviews Eric Kooymans, an online marketing expert with 18 years of experience. Eric shares actionable strategies for e-commerce growth, including in-depth keyword research, competitor and paid ad analysis, and cost per acquisition estimation. He emphasizes the importance of product bundling, expanding sales channels, and leveraging tools like SEMrush and Facebook Ad Library. Eric offers practical tips on using Google and Facebook Shopping integrations and provides advice for building sustainable, scalable e-commerce brands that attract long-term investment.

Chapters:

Introduction to Eric Kooymans and His Expertise (00:00:00)
Eric’s background, experience, and notable clients in e-commerce and online marketing.

Starting a Growth Strategy: Self-Audit & Audience Analysis (00:01:34)
Initial steps for developing a growth plan: self-audit, understanding target audience, and identifying customer problems.

Keyword Research and Demand Analysis (00:02:05)
Using tools like Keyword Keg, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner to analyze search volume, demand, and seasonal trends.

Building a Demand Growth Strategy (00:02:56)
Translating keyword research into a demand-driven business strategy, considering seasonality and cost per acquisition.

Evaluating Cost per Acquisition and Product Bundling (00:03:52)
Assessing average order value, cost per acquisition, and the importance of bundling products for profitability.

Keyword Research Tools and Competitor Analysis (00:04:41)
Comparing keyword research tools and introducing competitor analysis using SEMrush for deeper market insights.

Deep Dive into Competitor Analysis (00:05:36)
How to audit competitors, analyze their strengths, weaknesses, and identify cost-effective keyword opportunities.

Paid Advertising and Ad Analysis (00:06:52)
Conducting paid ad research using SEMrush, SpyFu, and Facebook Ad Library to understand competitors’ ad strategies.

Estimating Cost per Acquisition with Industry Data (00:08:50)
Using WordStream and industry benchmarks to estimate cost per acquisition and conversion rates before launching campaigns.

Optimizing Product Assortment and Bundling (00:11:24)
Developing product bundles and assortments that increase average order value and align with customer passion.

Actionable Takeaway 1: Activate Shopping Channels (00:12:37)
Quick win: Turn on Google Shopping, Facebook Shopping, and use plugins to expand product reach.

Actionable Takeaway 2: Focus on Product Bundles (00:13:49)
Group winning products into bundles or seasonal packages to improve ad ROI and scale growth.

Actionable Takeaway 3: Expand to New Marketplaces (00:14:44)
Leverage platforms like Faire and other marketplaces to increase exposure and test new channels with bestsellers.

Closing Remarks and Resources (00:15:58)
Eric thanks the host, offers to answer questions, and mentions show notes with additional resources.

Links and Mentions:

Keyword Keg: "00:02:05" 
SEMrush: "00:02:05" 
Google Keyword Planner: "00:02:05" 
SpyFu: "00:07:14" 
Facebook Ads Library: "00:07:14" 
WordStream: "00:09:48" 
Sales and Orders: "00:13:19" 

Transcript:

Josh 00:00:00  Today I am super excited to introduce you to Eric Kooymans. Eric is an online marketing expert with over 18 years of experience in e-commerce development, search engine optimization, Facebook ads, influencer marketing and much more. With a portfolio boasting over 180 different companies including the American Cancer Society, passion, passion, City Church and Chris Tomlin. Eric's specialties include WordPress, Shopify and Magento e-commerce, as well as various marketing automation tools like Activecampaign and HubSpot. Get ready to learn from the best of in this business on today's podcast. So with that introduction, welcome to the show, Eric.

Eric 00:00:42  Thank you for having me. I appreciate your time.

Josh 00:00:44  Every single listener is going to want to hear, like, what are those growth strategies that you implement? Right? What are those the tactical things that you do that help diversify, provide comfort. But I think it's not even just the aspect of diversification. I think it is building a comprehensive brand that private equity truly would be hungry to acquire, right? Because they don't just see you as a fly by night Amazon seller.

Josh 00:01:14  You had success on that, but you can't repeat that success anywhere else. so Eric, let's let's dive into those strategies. Somebody comes to you, you know, how do you work them or how do you start to develop that 6 to 24 month, you know, growth strategy? I guess ramp up for them.

Eric 00:01:34  Sounds good. Yeah. So the first off, before we do it, we basically have we want to ask the basic questions and we kind of we normally have a little questionnaire that we have that we'll provide in the show notes. But the big question that you always want to kind of do a kind of little self audit. And we need to be able to understand, you know, who you are, who is the target audience? You know, what specifically is their problem or what are they looking for? Like what's their big, you know, when they're looking for your products? Kind of. What is that? What are we think of that is kind of what's the keywords, what's the what's the the symptom or the problem that they're hav