Keywords can make or break success when selling on marketplaces like Walmart. The right combination of keywords in your product descriptions, product titles, and PPC campaigns is a vital part of remaining competitive, especially as an increasing number of sellers work to establish a presence across this platform. Walmart keyword research can help you make the most of your approach, giving you the ultimate edge.

Key takeaways

• Keyword research is a huge part of successful selling on online marketplaces like Walmart.
• Effective keyword research requires understanding the keywords most relevant to your business goals and knowing how to find them.
• Many tools are available to help Walmart Connect sellers determine and implement the right keywords for their products.

Why is keyword research important?

With the critical nature of proper keyword use in organic ranking and paid campaigns, it’s virtually impossible to pick the right combination of keywords by sheer luck alone. With so many terms to consider—and so many ways to use them—research is an essential part of an effective strategy.

It’s easy to tell yourself that a deep dive into keywords isn’t that important or that your operation is small enough it’s not worth worrying about. But this is never the case. Your competitors are using keyword research tools to get ahead, so it’s vital that you do, too. In addition, understanding how keywords work and how to leverage them can help you:

• Identify ways to increase opportunities,
• Find where to shift and improve your strategy,
• Uncover open spaces in the market.

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How do Walmart’s algorithms work?

Every searchable website handles optimization a little differently. Some might make their approaches clear, while others may take a little more guesswork. Luckily for sellers, Walmart is somewhat transparent about how search results are ranked. Walmart’s so-called optimization triangle takes three factors into account: content, offer, and performance.

1. Content refers to the quality of a particular listing. This can include how keywords are used in content but also incorporates the accuracy of a description, any product images and videos, product titles, and appropriate categorization. 
2. Offer relates to the other aspects that can make a listing appealing, like shipping costs and speed, inventory levels, and item price. 
3. The final piece of the puzzle, performance, applies to past history as a seller, like items sold, as well as responsiveness to buyer questions, seller order defect rate (SODR), and adherence to selling policies.

While not all of these criteria are related to keywords, they all indicate the importance of a strong product listing that delivers value to shoppers, of which keywords can play a central role.

What makes a keyword good?

Simply put, a good keyword is one that can ensure your products are as visible as possible; both in organic search results as well as paid placement. Strong keywords and phrases will help you achieve your goals for sales success, regardless of what that might mean for your business.

Here are some essential factors to remember when determining how to find Walmart keywords that best meet your needs:

Search intent

Search intent refers to what consumers want from a particular search. On Walmart Marketplace, the search intent is almost always related to making a purchase as most people go to marketplaces to purchase something they know they need rather than researching products. Think about the type of details someone might reference when they are close to making a purchase. Are there any terms someone who’s gone through a research phase might use? Ultimately, a strong keyword strategy requires keeping the way shoppers search in mind.

Keyword competitiveness

The complexity of a keyword can be both a benefit and a curse. A more competitive keyword indicates its effectiveness and is likely being used by competitors because it converts. To balance out the costs of ranking for such keywords, try incorporating both long- and short-tail keywords— they can modify a keyword so it is more unique to you, making for a cost-effective strategy.

Search volume

Volume refers to how often different keywords are used. High-volume keywords are the most frequently used terms for a particular product or category and are the most likely to be searched for by shoppers looking for products like yours. These keywords can be integral to your strategy—provided they’re used correctly.

Keyword conversion rate

Keywords that don’t convert searchers to buyers aren’t very valuable on more purchase-oriented channels like eCommerce marketplaces. In addition to looking for keywords that are good fits with ample volume, focusing on keywords that convert well is an important part of turning searches into sales.

Types of keywords

Keywords come in a few different forms, depending on the intent, the use, and the function. Knowing these concepts and how to approach their use will ensure a well-rounded keyword research effort.

Branded terms

Branded terms often refer to the use of your own brand name when targeting users. Ensure that your ad shows high up before any competitors trying to take customers away from you. These keywords usually convert at a low cost if your brand name is being used as customers are actively looking for what you offer. Using competitor brand names can be a lot more costly, as you’re trying to sway a user who has almost committed to a specific brand. The good thing is that if your product is better than theirs, and you are direct competitors, it could be a shortcut to finding customers for your product. .

Product terms

As the name implies, product terms describe an item in a way that goes beyond brand. These usually relate to a product type, what it’s made out of, or what it can do. For example, “fabric laptop case with storage.”

Substitute product terms

Substitute product terms are similar to product terms but use a synonym or additional qualifier instead. For example, a substitute keyword for “coat” might be “parka.”

Complementary product terms

Complementary product terms often have low conversion rates but can still be valuable. These terms can accompany more relevant product terms, like “coat rack” for a seller of coats.

Audience terms

Audience terms are the broadest of options and effectively refer to all other keywords a target audience might use. If your search turns up keywords that seem appropriate but can’t be classified by any of the above terms, they likely fall into this category.

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Walmart keyword research (step-by-step guide)

Now that you know how to determine a good keyword and the different types, you might think you’re off to the races. But there’s a lot more that goes into keyword research. Below, we’ve put together a general approach you can take when researching how to use Walmart keywords.

1. Create a seed keyword list

A seed keyword list is effectively a list of potential keywords that can be determined by anything from creative imaginings to best guesses to independent research. Put yourself in a customer’s shoes. What kinds of words would you use to search for products like the ones you’re selling on Walmart Marketplace?

Keyword tools can make this process much easier because users can input a specific term—for example, “wool coat”—and the keyword tool will automatically create a list of related short-tail and long-tail keywords. This might return results like “wool coat for men,” “wool peacoat,” “winter coat,” and “wool winter coat.” This likely won’t be necessary for every keyword you’re considering but can be a good way to determine other relevant terms.

2. Check competitor keywords

It’s hard to remain competitive without knowing what the competition is doing. Checking the keywords competitors have in use is a good way to see what’s working for them, especially if their products are highly rated or have positive reviews. This can also point you in a new direction if they’re using a term you hadn’t considered. 

The best way to do this is a combined approach of manual review and running competitor pages through a keyword tool. This dual perspective can help better determine where and how keywords are implemented.

Read More: How to Get Reviews on Walmart

3. Build a large keyword list

Once you’ve built a seed list and checked out competitor’s terms, you can start to build a broader keyword list. This can involve creating groups and leveraging tools to identify other keywords that might be a good fit. At this stage, you should include as many options as possible, even those that may not seem like a good fit on the surface. Don’t exclude anything until you’re ready to start refining in the next step.

4. Refine your list

A long list of keywords is a solid starting point, but refining those keywords down to the most useful and viable options is the best way to find terms and phrases for your product content. Otherwise, you risk using keywords that are irrelevant or have too low a search volume to appear on enough results pages.

To refine your list, research tools can help you gauge the strength of keywords and keyword groups, providing information like:

• Search volumes across chosen sites,
• Products that rank the highest for the keywords you’re planning to use,
• The potential cost of keywords when bidding for PPC campaigns,
• The competition for keywords.

Walmart keyword research use cases

Use case #1: organic keywords

Organic keywords are integrated throughout product content and guide search engine results without paid promotion. Ranking organically can be hard for sellers who are new to working with keywords due to the focus on content quality, keyword placement, and sales history.

For example, let’s assume your company sells high-end coats. First, you should start with seed words pertaining to coats and then expand the pool from there using keyword research tools, including analyzing competitors’ descriptions and product titles. The research process will result in a curated list of both long-tail and short-tail keywords, which will then be used to:

• Optimize product titles based on Walmart SEO best practices.
• Optimize metadata with target keywords.
• Incorporate keywords that target product features in bulleted lists.
• Confirm search intent aligns with the keywords and product in use.

Once in place, you can analyze conversion rates and performance against similar companies and refine any necessary strategies based on results over time.

Use case #2: paid keywords

Paid keyword strategies target positions in SERPs based on tactics like PPC campaigns.

1. The first step in creating an effective campaign involves identifying goals, like conversions, clicks, and impression share, and an appropriate budget.
2. Once goals are defined, your business should dig into the keyword research with two key criteria in mind: relevance and cost. Keywords must be relevant to the right searchers without creating an undue burden to win bids.
   1. This may also include negative keywords to avoid wasted spend on irrelevant searches. 
3. When target keywords are identified, they will be used throughout descriptions, headlines, and display URLs. 
4. Audience targeting is often the last step, ensuring sponsored ads get in front of the right eyes.

Once campaigns are running, sellers must monitor progress on an ongoing basis. 

Use case #3: branded keywords

Branded keyword campaigns are similar to PPC campaigns but focus on brand over product. This can be a curious space for some sellers, as they may be placing branded campaigns for items in which they’re already first in organic search results. Visibility is key here; competitors are likely building similar campaigns, which may position them above organic results despite being a less effective result for consumers.

Branded keywords primarily focus on brand name versus product, meaning keyword research is more straightforward, as including a brand name significantly minimizes potential options.

1. Using research tools, sellers should first identify which products or brand searches they’d like to target and determine the Walmart keywords that best align.
2. Campaigns can then be created focusing on the share of impressions, with bidding for the top spot emphasized.
3. Keywords and groups pertaining to products can then be added to a campaign. 
4. Broad-match keywords will be avoided, as there may be words or phrases that sound similar to brands but are irrelevant to results.

Use case #4: product development and market research

While the above use cases can impact current products, this type of research can also influence the future of a brand. By identifying trending keywords related to specific product categories, sellers can gauge consumer interests and preferences, guiding decisions on which products to develop or prioritize.

Additionally, keyword research helps sellers understand market trends and consumer behavior. By analyzing popular search terms and competitor strategies, sellers gain insights into market dynamics, allowing them to adjust their offerings and marketing strategies accordingly.

Walmart keyword research tools

As we’ve mentioned throughout this post, Walmart keyword research, or any keyword research for that matter, is best done with dedicated tools. Here are some to consider:

Trellis

For those who want to master the art of eCommerce success, thorough and wide-reaching tools can be the best way to get ahead. Trellis is a comprehensive AI-driven platform supporting all elements of eCommerce, from a measured approach to keywords to dynamic pricing algorithms. Sellers, brands, and agencies looking to grow their business and optimize performance can have every important need met through our suite of tools.

Though you can accomplish deep keyword research with our tool, this is just one aspect of what our platform offers. We can also lend a hand to sellers who want to integrate their research process with Walmart advertising automation. For companies wanting to move beyond the basics, Trellis streamlines the process of mastering the Walmart search engine.

Keyword Tool Dominator

Leveraging Walmart’s autocomplete feature, Keyword Tool Dominator makes finding popular longtail keywords a breeze. The platform boasts that results are pulled from real Walmart customers, removing the need for extensive research into keyword results. Users can also view the keyword score to determine the most popular terms, download a CSV file with their preferred keywords so they can compare them in another tool, and explore unique words by frequency with a visualized graph.

While there is a free version of Keyword Tool Dominator, it’s limited to two searches per day. Sellers can opt for various paid versions of the platform, with a Max one-year subscription (which includes unlimited keyword searches and suggestions) totalling $78.

Sellegr8

When it comes to Walmart keyword research, keeping an eye on your competition is a crucial tactic. Luckily, Sellegr8 allows you to do just that within their platform. In addition to helping you discover new terms and track them with real-time monitoring of ranked positions, you can look up the keywords making the biggest impact on your competitors’ listings. Plus, if you’re interested in Walmart advertising, the platform can show you whether another seller is advertising or outbidding you on a chosen keyword.

Sellegr8 offers a free subscription option to access a handful of features on their platform; paid plans start from $27 monthly.

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Final thoughts

As you discover your own process for how to find and use Walmart keywords, remember that it’s just that: a process. You’ll need to constantly refine and review your strategies to ensure the right buyers see your products; Trellis can help. Our platform focuses on the 4Ps of merchandising, supporting your journey into eCommerce from product listings to dynamic pricing. Connect with us today and see for yourself the difference our platform can make in achieving your goals.