Facebook Ads Stopped Working, Do This Instead NOW!

Facebook Ads Stopped Working, Do This Instead NOW!

Jan 3, 2025

Jan 3, 2025

Facebook Ads Not Working? Try This SEO Strategy Now!

Facebook Ads Not Working? Try This SEO Strategy Now!

Are you feeling the strain of rising ad costs and less effective targeting with your Facebook ads? You're not alone. Many e-commerce businesses have been grappling with these challenges since the start of 2024. The uncertainty of election years only adds to the pressure. But there's a solution that can bring relief.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) offers a more reliable solution. This post will show you how to build a strong e-commerce brand with SEO in the next six months. This plan will help you get off the Facebook ads roller coaster for good.

Month 1: Build a Strong SEO Base

This month is all about setting up your SEO foundation. It might take some effort, but it will make the following months much easier.

Technical SEO Audit

You don't have to be a coder to do technical SEO. Numerous free resources, including Shopify forums, YouTube videos, and blogs, can offer valuable guidance. Utilize tools like Screaming Frog and Click.so to identify any issues on your site. These tools are either free or low-cost. A Shopify SEO audit video can also help you find problems that these tools might miss.

Depending on the number of issues your site has, this process could take a few days. If you focus, you might even finish it in one day.

Keyword Research

Gather all your product and collection page URLs in a spreadsheet. Then, use a keyword research tool to find a bottom-of-funnel keyword for each page. Google Ads Keyword Planner or Click.so are good options. They are cheaper than tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Google Ads Keyword Planner is free, while Click.so costs $25 per month.

If you have fewer than 300 products and collections, you should be able to finish this in one to two days. If you have more than 300 pages, focus on the most essential products and collections first. Some products that sell for less than $10 may not be worth the time spent optimizing them.

Optimize Your Money Pages

This step is simple but essential. Take the target keyword you found for each page and add it to these places:

  • Page title

  • Meta title

  • Meta description

  • URL slug

  • Image alt text

  • First sentence on the page

  • Naturally, throughout the content

Repeat this for every product and collection page. It might feel repetitive, but it works.

Month 2: Expand Your Keyword Research and Build Links

By the end of month one, smaller sites may be ready to move on to month two. Larger brands with multiple collections may require more time to complete their tasks.

More Keyword Research

This time, you'll research middle- and top-of-funnel keywords for your potential customers. A 'funnel' here refers to the customer journey, from initial awareness to final purchase. Think of each collection or product as its funnel.

For example, a skincare brand that sells face sunscreen and face lotion has two different audiences. Each product needs its funnel. Find out what keywords customers are searching for within each funnel. Use tools like Click.so, Google Ads Keyword Planner, the "People Also Ask" section of Google Search, AnswerThePublic.com, and Reddit.

Put all these keywords in a spreadsheet and prioritize them. Start with the middle of the funnel and work your way up, or begin with the least competitive or highest-volume keywords. Choose a method and stick with it.

Launch Backlink Campaigns

There are several methods for building backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. Aim to get links from high-quality websites. A press syndication campaign, which involves distributing a press release to multiple news outlets, can also help boost your link-building efforts. Platforms like King Newswire, Press Advantage, and 38 Digital can help you with this.

Blog Content Creation

Blog content serves three primary purposes:

  1. Drive middle- and top-of-funnel traffic to your store.

  2. Act as a landing page for your high-authority backlinks.

  3. Help you build topical authority to rank your money pages higher.

Start with the first keyword in your spreadsheet and write your first blog post. Use an AI writing tool like Kaa to help you write faster. However, be sure to edit the content to add value and make it sound more human. Use keyword-rich headings and build internal links.

A good starting point is to write four to eight blog posts per month. This gives you time to create valuable content. It's better to publish consistently than to publish a large amount of content at once and then stop.

Month 3: Keep Creating Content and Building Links

This month is simple. Keep publishing relevant blog posts for each of your funnels. Continue building high-quality backlinks.

Month 4: Improve Your Product and Collection Pages

By now, Google should have had at least 60 days to look at your optimized product and collection pages. Your traffic and rankings should have started to grow. If not, something is wrong.

To speed things up, revisit your product and collection pages. Use Google Search Console to see which queries each page is getting impressions for, but not many clicks. Update the content on each page to include those queries. Focus on:

  • Headings

  • FAQs

  • Body content, especially the introduction

After you make these updates, you should see your pages rank higher and drive more traffic and sales.

Month 5: More Content and Backlinks

This month mirrors month three. Publish more blog content and build more backlinks. Remember to continue building internal links, which are links from one page on your site to another, as you add blog content.

Month 6: Content Updates and Evaluation

As you approach the end of the year, review and update your content and evaluate your SEO strategy.

Content Updates

Review the performance of your blog content. Are they ranking on page one? If so, how much higher can you get them? If not, you need to update them. Add more internal links, update your introduction, and consider adding an FAQ section. Also, compare your heading structure to that of your competitors.

Link Building

Run another press syndication campaign. Evaluate your link-building budget. If you've been spending only $500 to $1,000 a month on links, consider increasing it to secure an extra one to two links a month.

Months 7 and Beyond

Continue publishing relevant blog content, building more backlinks, and making minor changes to your money pages based on Search Console data.

With consistent effort, you cannot only improve your rankings on Google but also reduce your business's dependence on unpredictable ad costs. This SEO strategy offers a hopeful path to a more stable and prosperous online presence for your e-commerce brand.

Ready to Ditch Facebook Ads?

By following this SEO strategy, you can establish a robust and trustworthy online presence for your e-commerce brand. Take control of your website traffic and get off the Facebook ads roller coaster. It's time to empower your business with a more predictable and sustainable marketing approach.

Are you feeling the strain of rising ad costs and less effective targeting with your Facebook ads? You're not alone. Many e-commerce businesses have been grappling with these challenges since the start of 2024. The uncertainty of election years only adds to the pressure. But there's a solution that can bring relief.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) offers a more reliable solution. This post will show you how to build a strong e-commerce brand with SEO in the next six months. This plan will help you get off the Facebook ads roller coaster for good.

Month 1: Build a Strong SEO Base

This month is all about setting up your SEO foundation. It might take some effort, but it will make the following months much easier.

Technical SEO Audit

You don't have to be a coder to do technical SEO. Numerous free resources, including Shopify forums, YouTube videos, and blogs, can offer valuable guidance. Utilize tools like Screaming Frog and Click.so to identify any issues on your site. These tools are either free or low-cost. A Shopify SEO audit video can also help you find problems that these tools might miss.

Depending on the number of issues your site has, this process could take a few days. If you focus, you might even finish it in one day.

Keyword Research

Gather all your product and collection page URLs in a spreadsheet. Then, use a keyword research tool to find a bottom-of-funnel keyword for each page. Google Ads Keyword Planner or Click.so are good options. They are cheaper than tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Google Ads Keyword Planner is free, while Click.so costs $25 per month.

If you have fewer than 300 products and collections, you should be able to finish this in one to two days. If you have more than 300 pages, focus on the most essential products and collections first. Some products that sell for less than $10 may not be worth the time spent optimizing them.

Optimize Your Money Pages

This step is simple but essential. Take the target keyword you found for each page and add it to these places:

  • Page title

  • Meta title

  • Meta description

  • URL slug

  • Image alt text

  • First sentence on the page

  • Naturally, throughout the content

Repeat this for every product and collection page. It might feel repetitive, but it works.

Month 2: Expand Your Keyword Research and Build Links

By the end of month one, smaller sites may be ready to move on to month two. Larger brands with multiple collections may require more time to complete their tasks.

More Keyword Research

This time, you'll research middle- and top-of-funnel keywords for your potential customers. A 'funnel' here refers to the customer journey, from initial awareness to final purchase. Think of each collection or product as its funnel.

For example, a skincare brand that sells face sunscreen and face lotion has two different audiences. Each product needs its funnel. Find out what keywords customers are searching for within each funnel. Use tools like Click.so, Google Ads Keyword Planner, the "People Also Ask" section of Google Search, AnswerThePublic.com, and Reddit.

Put all these keywords in a spreadsheet and prioritize them. Start with the middle of the funnel and work your way up, or begin with the least competitive or highest-volume keywords. Choose a method and stick with it.

Launch Backlink Campaigns

There are several methods for building backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. Aim to get links from high-quality websites. A press syndication campaign, which involves distributing a press release to multiple news outlets, can also help boost your link-building efforts. Platforms like King Newswire, Press Advantage, and 38 Digital can help you with this.

Blog Content Creation

Blog content serves three primary purposes:

  1. Drive middle- and top-of-funnel traffic to your store.

  2. Act as a landing page for your high-authority backlinks.

  3. Help you build topical authority to rank your money pages higher.

Start with the first keyword in your spreadsheet and write your first blog post. Use an AI writing tool like Kaa to help you write faster. However, be sure to edit the content to add value and make it sound more human. Use keyword-rich headings and build internal links.

A good starting point is to write four to eight blog posts per month. This gives you time to create valuable content. It's better to publish consistently than to publish a large amount of content at once and then stop.

Month 3: Keep Creating Content and Building Links

This month is simple. Keep publishing relevant blog posts for each of your funnels. Continue building high-quality backlinks.

Month 4: Improve Your Product and Collection Pages

By now, Google should have had at least 60 days to look at your optimized product and collection pages. Your traffic and rankings should have started to grow. If not, something is wrong.

To speed things up, revisit your product and collection pages. Use Google Search Console to see which queries each page is getting impressions for, but not many clicks. Update the content on each page to include those queries. Focus on:

  • Headings

  • FAQs

  • Body content, especially the introduction

After you make these updates, you should see your pages rank higher and drive more traffic and sales.

Month 5: More Content and Backlinks

This month mirrors month three. Publish more blog content and build more backlinks. Remember to continue building internal links, which are links from one page on your site to another, as you add blog content.

Month 6: Content Updates and Evaluation

As you approach the end of the year, review and update your content and evaluate your SEO strategy.

Content Updates

Review the performance of your blog content. Are they ranking on page one? If so, how much higher can you get them? If not, you need to update them. Add more internal links, update your introduction, and consider adding an FAQ section. Also, compare your heading structure to that of your competitors.

Link Building

Run another press syndication campaign. Evaluate your link-building budget. If you've been spending only $500 to $1,000 a month on links, consider increasing it to secure an extra one to two links a month.

Months 7 and Beyond

Continue publishing relevant blog content, building more backlinks, and making minor changes to your money pages based on Search Console data.

With consistent effort, you cannot only improve your rankings on Google but also reduce your business's dependence on unpredictable ad costs. This SEO strategy offers a hopeful path to a more stable and prosperous online presence for your e-commerce brand.

Ready to Ditch Facebook Ads?

By following this SEO strategy, you can establish a robust and trustworthy online presence for your e-commerce brand. Take control of your website traffic and get off the Facebook ads roller coaster. It's time to empower your business with a more predictable and sustainable marketing approach.