Strategies for Competing with Amazon in SEO: Insights from Ted Kubaitis

Table of Contents

1. Key Highlights
2. Introduction
3. Seo Landscape: An Evolving Challenge
4. Competing Against Giants: The Power of Backlinks
5. Content Marketing: Avoiding Common Pitfalls
6. Tools for Success: Leveraging Technology
7. Conclusion: A Path Forward for Ecommerce Retailers
8. FAQ

Key Highlights

• Ted Kubaitis, an experienced SEO strategist, reveals how even small ecommerce retailers can effectively compete against giants like Amazon with a targeted backlink strategy.
• The changing landscape of search engine result pages (SERPs) emphasizes the need for ecommerce businesses to conduct thorough keyword analysis and adapt their content marketing strategies to avoid keyword cannibalization.

Introduction

Imagine a small retailer that dreams of competing in the vast digital marketplace dominated by colossal giants like Amazon. The mere thought seems daunting—until you discover a striking reality: many of Amazon's product pages have little to no external backlinks. Ted Kubaitis, a seasoned SEO expert, faced this very challenge when he managed organic search for a large retailer. His breakthrough moment came when he realized it took just 25 backlinks to gain a competitive edge against even the most formidable foes in the ecommerce landscape.

Kubaitis shares his journey and learnings from over two decades in ecommerce SEO, including practical strategies that any retailer can implement to improve their search visibility and effectively compete with the likes of Amazon. This article delves into his insights, the evolving nature of SERPs, and actionable strategies that can help retailers navigate the complex maze of SEO.

Seo Landscape: An Evolving Challenge

The internet landscape evolves constantly, and search engines like Google are at the forefront of this shift. In recent months, search engine result pages (SERPs) have undergone significant changes. The introduction of blended results—integrating ads, product information, local packs, and various featured snippets—means organic search results often sit far below the fold, making it increasingly difficult for users to access them without scrolling.

Understanding SERPs

Ted Kubaitis emphasizes the importance of understanding where your listings appear among the various SERP elements. He notes that, increasingly, the highest-ranking organic results are not as visible as they once were. This shift means that retailers need to assess not just their organic rankings but also how they fare against other pagination aspects. The incorporation of advertisements and features like “People also ask” signifies a more competitive landscape for rankings.

The Importance of Effective Keyword Targeting

When competing in this environment, keyword choice is paramount. "If the targeting is wrong, the SEO is wrong," Kubaitis asserts. This statement underscores the necessity for retailers to conduct exhaustive keyword research to ensure that their chosen terms have sufficient search volume and relevance.

Often, retailers misidentify or poorly label their product categories. For instance, a category dubbed “Gifts and Delights” may receive no traffic compared to a term like “Unique Gift Ideas.” Recognizing high-value keywords that correspond with consumer searches is key.

Practical Strategies for Keyword Research

To identify effective keywords, consider the following steps:

1. Utilize Google Trends: This tool can reveal trending terms and opportunities within your market.
2. Examine Competitor Links: Analyze the links in SERPs, as they often correlate with targeted search strings.
3. Add Variants and Typos: Incorporate different keyword variants or even common misspellings on product pages to capture additional traffic.

Competing Against Giants: The Power of Backlinks

One of the most compelling revelations from Kubaitis’s experience is the underestimated power of backlinks. Many assume that competing against Amazon requires a massive marketing budget or extensive SEO campaigns. However, Kubaitis found that gaining just 25 relevant backlinks could make a significant difference in a retailer's ability to rank competitively.

Why Backlinks Matter

Backlinks serve as endorsements, signaling authority and relevance to search engines. A product page with quality backlinks can often outperform Amazon’s pages, which, despite their vast inventory, frequently lack this element. Smaller retailers should focus on:

• Forming relationships with bloggers and influencers in their niche.
• Offering genuine value through their products to encourage organic linking.
• Participating in community conversations and forums that link back to their information-rich content.

Content Marketing: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

As retailers pursue content marketing strategies, they often face the challenge of keyword cannibalization—where multiple pages compete for the same keywords, ultimately diluting their effectiveness. Kubaitis warns that many online retailers fail to strategically manage their content, leading to undesired overlaps between blog posts, product pages, and home pages.

A Better Approach

For effective content marketing, Kubaitis suggests a multi-domain strategy where:

1. Separate Domains for Blogs: By maintaining a separate blog domain, retailers can focus on niche-specific content without overlapping keywords that compete with product pages.
2. Targeted Topics: Each blog can explore topics that resonate with potential customers, redirecting them to relevant products organically.
3. Testing Keywords: This method allows merchants to experiment with keywords that may not directly align with their ecommerce shop, thus broadening their reach.

Real-World Examples

Consider a retailer selling high-end poker tables. Instead of lumping all information together on one site, they could create a dedicated blog about poker strategies, rules, and events. This not only enhances visibility for search terms related to poker but also effectively drives traffic to their product page without direct competition for the same keywords.

Tools for Success: Leveraging Technology

Ted Kubaitis’s insights also extend to the digital tools available for ecommerce businesses to hone their SEO strategies. His company, SEO Tool Lab, has developed a primary tool known as Cora, which employs statistical analysis to assess what factors on both a retailer’s and competitors’ pages influence keyword rankings.

Advantages of Using Cora

• Data-Driven Insights: Cora helps narrow down thousands of potential factors to a few dozen that genuinely impact performance, enabling focused SEO efforts.
• Adaptability: As search engine algorithms change, businesses can adapt their strategies more quickly using comprehensive data.

This approach not only empowers retailers with practical insights but also allows them to stay ahead of the curve in the competitive landscape.

Conclusion: A Path Forward for Ecommerce Retailers

In a landscape dominated by giants like Amazon, it’s essential for smaller retailers to remain innovative and strategic in their approach to SEO. Ted Kubaitis’s experiences and insights offer a roadmap for navigating these complexities. By leveraging the power of targeted keywords, backlinks, effective content marketing strategies, and state-of-the-art tools like Cora, retailers can carve out a niche for themselves in the highly competitive ecommerce sphere.

As the saying goes, “Don’t be afraid to compete.” With the right strategies, any retailer can turn the tide in their favor and thrive, even in the shadow of ecommerce giants.

FAQ

1. How can I start improving my ecommerce SEO?
Begin by researching effective keywords that correspond with your products. Use tools like Google Trends to identify high-volume searches, and optimize your product titles and descriptions based on real data.

2. What is keyword cannibalization, and how can I avoid it?
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your site compete for the same keywords, diluting your SEO efforts. To avoid this, clearly define keyword targets for each page and consider maintaining separate blogs or microsites for broader topics related to your products.

3. Are backlinks still important for SEO in 2025?
Yes, backlinks remain a vital element for improving your site's authority and ranking. Focus on quality over quantity, securing relevant and credible sources to link back to your site.

4. Is maintaining a blog on my ecommerce site beneficial?
While it can be beneficial, having a blog on the same domain as your ecommerce site might lead to keyword overlap. Consider creating a separate domain to explore niche topics that can drive traffic without competing with your core product pages.

5. What tools can help analyze my current SEO performance?
Tools like Cora from SEO Tool Lab can provide valuable insights into your SEO performance, highlighting which areas to improve for better ranking outcomes. Other popular tools include Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs, which offer comprehensive SEO analysis and reporting features.