How to increase sales in an e-commerce webshop?

It is estimated that by 2026, the value of the e-commerce market will exceed $8.1 billion. These statistics show how competitive the broader online sales industry is. This is excellent evidence of the enormous value of the e-commerce sector from a financial point of view – a matter of proper advertising through the right choice of target group and form of online marketing. In today’s article, we will give you tips on how to increase sales in your online shop. We will present the most popular channels for reaching regular and determined customers who are highly likely to buy your products! Enjoy your reading.

Among the most profitable ways to increase sales in an online e-commerce shop, we can highlight the following:

  1. Positioning,
  2. Google Ads campaigns,
  3. Google My Company business card optimisation,
  4. Social Ads,
  5. Social Marketing,
  6. Influencer Marketing,
  7. Content Marketing.

Please see below for details.

Positioning – the most profitable way to advertise e-commerce online

Positioning, or SEO (search engine marketing), is a way to increase sales for your online shop in the long term. All it takes is for your website to be correctly optimised for search engines according to the principles of on-site SEO (on-page SEO) and off-site SEO (off-page SEO). In this case, it is all about the organic (free) search results just below the paid results.

SEO in practice

Customers type various keywords into search engines. They condition their choice based on these – the better your online shop is matched to user preferences and search engine guidelines, the greater the chance of recording a conversion.

For example, a user is interested in branded menswear. To do this, he enters any key phrase (e.g. “branded menswear”) into Google (or another search engine such as Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo or YANDEX). The interested party is then shown the sites that best match the search results. You can be among these sites if you partner with an agency that takes care of every aspect of e-commerce related SEO.

Source: Google.com

The first page of organic search results can be achieved in a relatively short time – about 6-18 months after implementing a proper SEO strategy. However, we recommend “targeting” the TOP 5 results, as they generate more than 68% of clicks on Google.

Google Ads campaigns – an advertising solution for immediate results in the form of additional e-commerce customers

85% of retailers believe that SEO and paid search results are the most effective in gaining new customers. This is a very pertinent observation, as 40% of e-commerce revenue comes from organic results and literally a few percent less from paid search associated with Google Ads campaigns. The rest (around 20%) comprises the other advertising methods i.e. influencer marketing and paid social media advertising.

By investing in Google Ads you can maximise sales within a week of launching your campaign. Why? Because as soon as you optimise and enable AdWords, you will reach the first search engine positions for any keyword (provided you have a high quality score).

Furthermore, with a Google Ads campaign you have the chance to popularise your offer not only through text-based (paid) search results, but also through sponsored Google Shopping results.

Source: Google.com

Google Ads (AdWords) campaigns are labelled as ‘sponsored’. They appear above the free results and also below them – on the first and second page of Google results.

AdWords can be billed on a pay-per-click basis. This means that we only pay when a customer accesses our website.

Optimising your Google My Business card – a good way to diversify your visibility resulting in more sales

Every online shop can have a Google Moja Firma business card. It is an essential element for influencing sales for your business – 28% of local searches result in a purchase.

With the GMF, customers can give feedback on your offer (e.g. products purchased, quality of pre-sales service and much more). In addition, Google My Business allows you to popularise your stationary shop – if you have one. Then a potential buyer, after typing in any phrase related to your industry (e.g. “furniture shop Kraków”), will see your business card in the local 3-pack.

Source: Google.com

The Google My Business card provides a wealth of information about a business, including:

  1. Name of the business
  2. Address of the business
  3. Telephone number
  4. Opening hours
  5. Email address
  6. Website
  7. Description of the company’s activities
  8. Photos and videos of the company
  9. Customer reviews and ratings
  10. Information on products and services offered
  11. Links to the company’s social media profiles (e.g. Facebook, Twitter)
  12. Questions and answers asked by customers and answers from the company

The above data help customers to contact the company in question and to understand its business profile. They also contribute to increasing the visibility and engagement of buyers.

Social Ads – a method to build brand credibility and develop a competitive advantage and maximise conversions

Despite the fact that SEO generates more than 1000% more traffic than social media, it is worthwhile to diversify sales with this form of marketing as well. Among the most popular advertising solutions in this case, we can mention:

  • Facebook Ads & Instagram Ads (Meta Ads),
  • LinkedIn Ads,
  • Twitter Ads,
  • TikTok Ads.

The choice of a specific marketing channel depends on your individual preferences related to your target group. The e-commerce sector is primarily associated with TikTok Ads (e.g. high-tech and all entertainment-related products) and Facebook and Instagram Ads (clothing, furniture, e-books). Below is an example of a sponsored Facebook Ads campaign.

Source: Facebook.com

Paid social media ads can also appear in video form. They are created to improve a brand’s online image, sell products or offer specific services. Billing in this case is per view.

How can sales in an e-commerce webshop be increased by means of skilful marketing activities?

Skilful marketing activities (e.g. social marketing, influencer marketing and content marketing) allow you to create an image, build trust with your audience and engage them in the ‘life of the brand’, and consequently develop a competitive advantage.

Social marketing – the solution for creating an online image and acquiring valuable leads

Social marketing includes the most important social media activities, such as

  • communication with customers (e.g. in comments under a post);
  • creation of engaging events,
  • building a community around the brand (e.g. in the form of Facebook groups) by creating valuable content.

These types of activities not only maximise sales, but also any activities involving micro conversions i.e:

  • newsletter sign-up,
  • entering a product sub-page,
  • playing an instructional video,
  • filling out a contact form,
  • downloading the guide in PDF format.

It could also be writing a message to ask for a discount on a bulk order.

Influencer marketing – more sales by working with well-known personalities

Influencer marketing works well in many e-commerce sectors, namely:

  • Fashion and beauty – influencer marketing is particularly popular in the fashion and beauty sector because customers like to take advice and recommendations from influencers. Consumers trust their hints for skincare, make-up, styling and shopping.
  • Food and drink – celebrities can help promote new products and healthy lifestyles. Influencers related to diet and healthy eating have many followers who want to know how to eat properly, so investing in advertising to a carefully targeted audience can result in a huge return on investment.
  • Electronics and technology – technology and electronics influencers typically have hundreds of thousands of followers who are eager to listen to their advice. Advertising in this area is a very good option in terms of promoting new products and pointing out specific benefits, allowing customers to make a more informed purchase decision.
  • Fitness and health – celebrities who specialise in fitness and healthy lifestyles tend to have a large audience who willingly attend their training sessions and take their advice (e.g. on the selection of dietary supplements).
  • Travel and tourism – influencers related to travel and tourism can help promote various travel destinations and travel-related amenities.

Content marketing – a method to engage your audience to interact with your brand and get them to take action

Content marketing is a method to engage your audience to interact with your brand and get them to take action. Companies most often use content to promote themselves online such as:

  • articles,
  • videos
  • podcasts,
  • infographics,
  • rankings,
  • reviews,
  • tutorials.

In this way, you can attract the attention of potential customers and build a lasting relationship with them.

Content marketing in e-commerce – 3 examples

Examples of content marketing in e-commerce:

Dollar Shave Club

Source: Youtube.com

Dollar Shave Club is a company that sells razors and cosmetics for men. The marketers of this company create entertaining and creative commercials that capture the attention of customers. In them, they talk about the company’s products and show how easy it is to shop on their website.

IKEA

Source: Ikea.com

IKEA creates valuable content such as guides and videos to help customers furnish their home. By doing so, it builds customer engagement and increases its sales.

Sephora

Source: Sephora.co.uk

Sephora offers a lot of valuable content, such as make-up tutorials, product reviews, skincare tips, articles on make-up and beauty trends, as well as video tutorials. Individual content is available on the website, on the blog and on social media channels.

How to increase sales in an e-commerce online shop? – summary

You can increase sales on an e-commerce webshop in a number of ways. However, given current standards, we recommend investing in SEO and possibly combining it with Google Ads campaigns (text or Google Shopping). Paid social media campaigns prove to be a good (but additional) solution.

Content marketing is also an absolute must-have. As an e-commerce owner, you should take care to provide valuable content that is useful to internet users. This does not necessarily have to be blog posts (although we recommend them the most, as they are an excellent support for SEO). You can also produce professional videos (e.g. on YouTube) and podcasts. These are a good option if the use of specific products (e.g. care products or roofing accessories) requires additional subject matter expertise.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions and answers

What are the most common questions and answers about increasing sales in an e-commerce webshop?

1. What is the fastest way to increase sales in an e-commerce webshop?

E-commerce sales can be increased the fastest with Google Ads campaigns (text or Google Shopping). Provided that AdWords is properly optimised, your online shop will become visible for the most valuable words in terms of sales within a maximum of a few. You can also opt for Facebook Ads – this is particularly useful in the cosmetics and clothing industry.

2. What is the most cost-effective way to increase sales on an e-commerce webshop?

The most cost-effective way to increase sales in an e-commerce webshop in the long term is through SEO on Google(Google owns up to 91% of the search engine market). The results of SEO are visible after 2-3 months in the form of additional website hits. Roughly 6-18 months are needed to dramatically increase sales and maximise e-commerce profits. Furthermore, the effects from SEO are visible up to several months after the end of cooperation with the SEO agency. In the case of Google Ads – once the payment is discontinued, the entire visibility of the promoted shop in the search engine disappears.

What is international SEO?

International SEO is an effective way to increase your website’s visibility beyond national borders. It is ideal for companies that want to reach foreign customers and promote their services or products in international markets.

In Poland, we search for information on google.pl as standard. However, if we search for a specific phrase in a different language version of this search engine, for example google.co.uk, we get completely different results. This is why it is important to develop an SEO strategy that takes into account the differences between search engines in different countries and languages.

How does the overseas SEO process work and where do I start?

1. Choosing your target country

When starting SEO activities abroad, it is always important to determine under which country’s characteristics the activities will be carried out. It is advisable tooptimise your activities separately for each market in order to reach your target group effectively .

2. Analysis of competition on the foreign market

Regardless of whether web positioning is carried out on the Polish or foreign market, a thorough competition analysis is always an obligatory step .This analysis concerns the actual competition, i.e. most often the one provided by the company interested in positioning, as well as the competition in the organic results, i.e. the sites appearing in the organic search results. During the analysis, special attention should be paid to the strength and potential of competing websites – analysis of the content they publish or the number of links leading to them. Thanks to the analysis of the competition, it is possible to estimate how much work needs to be put into the respective positioning activities in order to bring about the desired effect and in what time it is expected to be achieved.

A foreign market competition analysis consists of, among other things, elements such as:

  • keyword analysis
  • quality of the website
  • quality of content, topics covered
  • external linking
  • traffic generated by competitors’ websites

It may also be useful to know the local market, the habits and trends of the country and the needs and preferences of the target audience.

3. Choosing the right domain name

When positioning abroad, using the “.pl” domain will definitely not be sufficient and will not bring the expected results.

So what domain should be chosen to make SEO abroad effective? There are several possibilities:

Top-level websites for the selected country (ccTLD)

The first option is to buy a country code Top-Level Domain or domains (ccTLDs).

In Poland, we use the “.pl” suffix – this is the country (Polish) top-level domain assigned to Polish websites.

In the simplest terms, these two letters placed after the domain name and the dot are intended to indicate to the system to whom the website should be displayed.

For example, in other countries the ccTLDs look as follows:

  • .de – Germany
  • .co.uk – UK
  • .al – Albania
  • .at – Austria
  • .bg – Bulgaria
  • .cz – Czech Republic
  • .es – Spain
  • .dk – Denmark
  • .fr – France
  • .gr – Greece
  • .nl – Netherlands
  • .ua – Ukraine

If you know that you only want to position your website in a maximum of 2 or 3 countries in the future, it will be beneficial to opt for separate top-level domains for these selected countries.

Why? Separate sites provide better international SEO results, and you can use different types of communication and personalise content on the site for your audience.

Another advantage is that users also trust the country domains more. However, sometimes it is not easy for nationals from other countries to obtain a national domain, so this way will not work in every case. In addition, it is much more expensive than creating one website with different language versions due to the need to purchase several addresses and then renew the licence.

Sub-domains to an existing site

If you are not interested in buying separate domains for each country in which you want to position your site, you can opt for subdomains that are part of the main domain. This will allow you to distinguish between the different language versions. This solution is cheaper, but less effective for SEO. However, it is worth opting for if you already have a unique, very high-quality website.

Main domain sub-directories

For international SEO, sub-directories of the main domain can also be used as one method of adapting the website to different countries. Each subdirectory can then correspond to one language version.

This is also a cheaper and faster solution than separate country domains, but the SEO effects may not be fully satisfactory in the long term.

If you want to reach customers in multiple markets abroad in the future and are thinking about different language versions, but are not sure whether you want to invest in separate domains at the beginning of your journey with international SEO, the most favourable option would be to create one site and place the individual language versions in subdomains or subdirectories.

4. Technical optimisation

Technical optimisation of the website is another important step to take care of when planning SEO abroad.

Tags Hreflang

Hreflang tags are used to inform search engines about the language versions of a website. They effectively indicate which version of a website is to be displayed to a user based on their location or language preference.

In cases where a website has multiple language or regional versions, hreflang tags are very important to ensure that users have the correct version of the website.

Fragment dokumentacji Centrum wyszukiwarki Google o pozycjonowaniu stron wielojęzycznych

Excerpt from Google Search Centre documentation on positioning multilingual websites – https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites?hl=pl

Default x-default tag

The x-default tag is used in the HTML code to specify the default language version of a page that should be displayed to users who do not meet the criteria specified by other hreflang tags.

Structural data

Structured data (or structured data) is code placed on a web page that helps search engines understand the content of the page and better index it.

If you run a website offering products or services to customers from different countries, structured data can help a search engine to distinguish the different language versions of a page. In this way, search results can show the correct version of the page for a user’s query in a particular language.

5. Website language and content translation

Another important step of international SEO is to properly translate the content on the website. These cannot be a faithful copy of previously prepared content, as there are different colloquialisms or phrases in each language that will not be found in another. Always remember also to translate page titles, URLs or alts in graphics properly!

6. Keyword research

Closely related to the previously mentioned translation of content into the target language is also keywordanalysis. Often, it turns out that keywords after being “simply” translated into another language do not have much potential and are not readily searched for by users in the target country. This is why it is important to carry out keyword research using appropriate SEO tools and to take into account the most frequently typed phrases by the inhabitants of the selected country.

The problem is that sometimes there are different varieties of the same language and therefore completely different-sounding keywords and messages. It is therefore always necessary to pay attention to dialects and regionalisms in order to make the website understandable to the chosen audience and valuable .

7. Other signals – company addresses and Google Business Profile

It is worthwhile for the website to include theaddress of the branch in the target country, if there is one, and for foreign telephone numbers to be entered as well. Itis also advisable to create a GoogleBusiness Profilebusiness card . This way, the search engine will be able to associate the website with the target group and country, and the website itself will be more credible from a user perspective.

For more on how to properly optimise your Google business card, see our article: https://www.seogroup.pl/pozycjonowanie-wizytowki-google/

8. Building a link profile, or link building

In addition to the above-mentioned steps, which should be taken into account before starting the actual activities, an extremely important issue is the acquisition of local links, i.e. links that originate from websites of a selected country. This is one of the signals to search engine robots that a page is directed to the selected area. The more links leading to a domain, the greater its visibility in the search engine.

However, it should always be remembered that links must be of high quality. Algorithms are able to “catch” too many of them on random websites.

9. Creating content for international SEO

An integral part of any SEO, whether in Poland or abroad, is the creation of high-quality content. We must always consider the number of key phrases, as well as thenaturalness of the message and the ability to provide the user with the information they are currently looking for.

What distinguishes positioning abroad?

  • Targeting different languages,
  • popularity of keywords, which will vary depending on the country/location
  • popularity of search engines
  • local competition for each country and region

Is offshore SEO for everyone?

International SEO can be effective for larger companies and businesses that have already achieved some success in the local market and want to expand into a market abroad. However, international SEO will not be a good choice for smaller, local businesses that are not yet generating much profit or are struggling to attract customers.

Is there such a thing as overseas local SEO?

Foreign local SEO is nothing more than positioning a website in a particular region using foreign SEO techniques. If you are running a company operating in a foreign market, it is definitely worth betting on local SEO for your chosen region. This solution can sometimes be very beneficial due to the high level of competition in larger countries.

Can foreign positioning take place in Poland?

Positioning of websites abroad may be successfully performed both abroad and in Poland. A huge advantage of cooperating with an SEO agency specialising in international activities is, for example, the lack of a language barrier and thus better and more efficient communication. Another advantage is that, due to the absence of the aforementioned language barrier, it is possible to build closer business relationships and to meet ‘on the spot’ to discuss the details of cooperation.

Moreover, SEO rates on the Polish market may be lower, which, of course, does not mean that activities will be of lower quality. In order to effectively position your website abroad, it is definitely worth using the help of specialists. In SEOgroup, we provide our own service SEO360® based on a full customer journey and conducted with the support of a network of quality partners in all European countries.

So if you’re interested in positioning your website abroad, contact us – we’ll be happy to create an individual strategy tailored to your needs and help you achieve success.

Find out more about the SEO360® service: https://www.seogroup.pl/seo360/

Is an English-language version of the service sufficient for SEO?

Although English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, there are also countries where it is used less or not at all. Furthermore, in many cases, having an English-only version of a website can discourage potential customers who are not fluent in the language and do not fully understand it. It is for this reason that any company that wants to conquer a market abroad must ensure that an appropriate language version is developed.

Is positioning abroad expensive?

Positioning abroad tends to be more expensive due, among other things, to the need to translate existing content, commissioning the writing of texts in a foreign language or, finally, gaining links through publications on foreign, high-profile portals. However, the final price always depends on the chosen market and competition.

Summary

In order to conduct international SEO effectively, it is important to understand the differences in language, culture, search preferences and the way users browse websites in different regions. It is also important to take into account, among other things, the differences in search engine algorithms for different countries and to choose the right domain, optimise the site and conduct keyword research.

If, with our help, you want to achieve success in foreign positioning, fill in the brief or contact us.

    Marketing agency – what does it do and how to work effectively with it?

    For many companies, especially smaller ones, working with a marketing agency still remains a mystery. If you want to find out what a marketing agency actually does, how to work effectively with one, what the results of this collaboration can be, and what the differences are between a marketing agency, an SEO agency and an interactive agency, read today’s article.

    Marketing agency – definition

    A marketing agency is a company that specialises in creating marketing strategies and implementing them. Its primary objective is usually to bring about an increase in sales and improve brand image. Marketing agencies offer a wide range of services and usually have a team of specialists from different fields, such as marketing, advertising, graphic design or programming, which enables them to take a comprehensive approach to marketing activities for clients.

    What does a marketing agency do?

    A marketing agency deals with the creation and implementation of marketing strategies to increase sales and improve brand image. The range of services offered by marketing agencies can be very broad and depends on the individual needs of the client.

    • Creating marketing strategies: Based on the results of market research and competitive analysis, marketing agencies create marketing strategies to help their businesses achieve their goals.
    • Creating advertising campaigns: Agencies design advertising campaigns in a variety of media, such as television, radio, press or internet.
    • SEO/SEM activities: Marketing companies also deal with search engine optimisation of websites.
    • Graphic and web design: Some marketing agencies offer graphic design and website development.
    • Market research, audience analysis: Marketing agencies conduct market research to study consumer preferences and behaviour and identify market trends.
    • Social media marketing: Marketing agencies carry out activities on social media to build brand image and create a relationship with the audience.
    • Email marketing: agencies design and send email campaigns to help acquire new customers and build relationships with existing ones. It is worth mentioning that nowadays marketing agencies have also developed marketing automation competencies to a large extent.

    What should a marketing agency be like?

    A marketing agency should, first and foremost, be characterised by high quality service, effectiveness of activities and features such as:

    1. Knowledge and experience of specialists: the marketing agency should have a team of specialists from various fields who have knowledge and experience in the field of marketing. Their knowledge can be confirmed by obtaining certifications in a specific area, such as Google Ads, Meta (Facebook) Blueprint or DIMAQ Basic and DIMAQ Professional. It is also worth reviewing the agency’s case studies and finding out what projects it has had the opportunity to work on.Find out more about what a case study is: https://www.seogroup.pl/case-study-czym-jest/
    2. An individual approach to the client: a marketing agency should approach each client individually and offer solutions tailored to their needs and business objectives – there is no ready-made recipe for success.
    3. Flexibility: a marketing agency should be flexible and adapt to the changing needs and requirements of the client and the market. In a word, it needs to be constantly “up to date”.
    4. Transparency: a marketing agency should be transparent in its operations and allow clients to see the processes and costs of marketing activities.
    5. Effective communication: the marketing agency should maintain effective communication with the client to ensure a continuous flow of information and effective collaboration.

    How to work effectively with a marketing agency?

    1.Take your time to carefully fill in the brief, present your business profile, describe your problem and expectations.

    2. Reflect on your answers to questions such as:

    • What does your business do?
    • What products and services do you have on offer?
    • What is your target audience?
    • What are your competitors?
    • Have you carried out any marketing activities to date, and if so, which ones? And have they had the desired effect?
    • What differentiates your product/service?
    • What are your marketing objectives?
    • What budget are you able to allocate for marketing activities?
    • When do you want to start?

    3. Think about which activities you want to entrust to the chosen agency.
    4. Think about whether you are sure you have chosen a trusted marketing agency and whether you will be prepared to give it access to your social profiles (if necessary to carry out the chosen service) and the necessary access to analyse your activities, for example access to your Google Analytics account.

    5. Don’t be afraid to ask about the details of the contract and let them know if anything is unclear to you.

    6.Arm yourself with patience and do not jump to conclusions after the first few days of cooperation. Don’t expect the impossible either.

    7. Be open to change.

    8. Try to cooperate and treat the agency as a partner, not an enemy. In many cases, results depend not only on what the agency does, but also on what the client does. Keep to the agreed deadlines and rules, for example in the context of delivering graphics or implementing improvements to the website, and activities will be much more efficient and produce a much better result.

    Marketing agency and other types of agencies – a comparison

    The main difference between a marketing agency, an interactive agency and an SEO agency is the different range of services they offer.

    Marketing agency

    A marketing agencydeals with many aspects in the field of marketing, with the primary objective usually being the promotion of the brand. A marketing agency can design and create a website, implement content marketing, carry out video campaigns or arrange a photo shoot. In summary, a marketing agency is an umbrella term for a company that promotes a brand in a number of selected ways.

    SEO agency

    AnSEO agency focuses its attention primarily on the positioning of a website in search engines and it is in this area that it specialises. These types of agencies offer services related to Google visibility, website optimisation and off-site activities. However, these are not the only activities undertaken by SEO agencies, as they often choose to implement services such as handling Google Ads or Meta Ads campaigns. An SEO agency is thus a marketing agency, but one that specialises in a specific field.

    Interactive agency

    We can also classify an interactive agency as a marketing agency. Interactive agencies deal with brand promotion with an emphasis on online activities, and are composed of specialists in various fields of e-marketing. Such companies usually offer website positioning, social media advertising campaigns or copywriting services.

    Performance marketing agency

    Performance marketing, or performance marketing, is a set of activities aimed at persuading a user to perform a specific action. This could be, for example, clicking a banner, links or submitting a contact form. Performancemarketing agencies focus on paid advertising activities in systems such as Google Ads (search engine advertising, ad networks or YouTube), Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger), LinkedIn, Pinterest and even TikTok .

    Integrated agency

    An integrated agency is one that combines expertise in SEO, Performance Marketing / PPC and Content Marketing.

    Working with an integrated agency is comprehensive. So there is no need to employ specialists separately or to move from one agency to another. The employees of an integrated agency are constantly communicating with each other, so that the campaigns run are consistent. It also becomes easier to implement any changes, as the problem of informing each specialist or agency about the desire to implement them is to some extent eliminated.

    Source: thundertech.com

    In 2021, SEOgroup emerged as the second best agency of its kind in the world, taking 2nd place BEST GLOBAL SAMLL INTEGRATED SEARCH AGENCY in the 2021 Global Search Awards.

    Effects of working with a marketing agency

    Increased brand recognition

    A marketing agency can help build a brand’s image through website positioning activities or the implementation of paid marketing campaigns and the creation of relevant advertising. This allows the client to gain greater recognition and stand out in the market.

    Increase in sales

    An effective marketing strategy developed by a marketing agency can increase sales of products or services.

    Increase customer engagement

    A marketing agency can help you build a relationship with your customers by creating engaging content and building engagement on social media.

    Summary

    The role of a marketing agency is to help clients achieve their business goals through the use of marketing tools and strategies.

    Marketing agencies act as external advisors with specialist marketing knowledge and experience to achieve better results in less time.

    Are you looking for a marketing agency? Feel free to get in touch with SEOgroup:

      WooCommerce SEO: Guide to in 2023

      Positioning and optimising your shop on WooCommerce is a task that requires knowledge, web development experience (e.g. to work with technical SEO) and at least basic analytical skills. This will enable you to properly scout your competitors and select the right key phrases (valuable in terms of sales). If you want to learn how to position and optimise your WooCommerce shop – read this article.

      What is WooCommerce?

      WooCommerce is one of the most popular plugins used to build online shops. It is based on the WordPress CMS platform and is used to seamlessly integrate a website with an online shop.

      According to Similartech‘s ranking, the WooCommerce plugin is currently the most widely used e-commerce solution. More than one million online shops are based on it. The second place goes to Shopify (640,000 online shops) and the third place to Squarespace Commerce (382,000 online shops).

      Source: https://www.similartech.com/categories/ecommerce-platforms

      It should also be mentioned that WooCommerce is an open source platform (based on open source code). This allows you to comprehensively optimise your online shop in terms of, among other things:

      • performance

      • interactivity

      • responsiveness and visual stability.

      The specifics of WooCommerce allow HTML and CSS code to be modified and JavaScript to be minified. In comparison – SaaS systems (e.g. Shopify) are based on modules that cannot be fully optimised. This often results in poorer usability of the website and less scalability.

      WooCommerce and SEO – what does it look like in practice?

      WooCommerce is a very SEO-friendly solution. All thanks to hundreds of optimisation possibilities and dozens of practical plugins (often free), which can be used, among other things, to automate individual processes (e.g. adding meta tags to product pages).

      How to optimise a WooCommerce online shop for SEO in 7 easy steps?

      Here is how to optimise your WooCommerce online shop in 7 easy steps.

      1. Install the Yoast SEO plugin

      Installing Yoast SEO is the first step to start optimising for search engines. It makes it easier to optimise and add an XML sitemap, identify the meta tag structure and implement any changes more efficiently. It is also a good solution in terms of implementing crumb navigation (breadcrumbs) and automatic editing of canonical tags.

      To download the above plugin, enter the phrase “Yoast SEO” in the WordPress directory. It can also be purchased via this address: https://pl.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/.

      The paid version of the plugin is not required for basic SEO optimisation. An alternative to Yoast SEO can be the All in one SEO Pack.

      1. Ensure correct URL structure

      URLs should be user-friendly, i.e. short, with the relevant keyword for the subpage (but this is not a rule), without unnecessary characters. It is best to use the following formula: “website.com/category/category-name”.

      To edit the URL structure, go to “Settings” → “Direct links”.

      1. Add SEO-optimised titles

      The page title, a.k.a. the row one (H1) header, is now one of the most important on-site (inside the website) elements influencing SEO. Include the most relevant keyword in terms of sales for that sub-page. Do this for each subsequent page.

      Settings for product titles can be found under “Search engines” → “Entries” → “Entries”.

      To set category and tag titles, go to “Search engines” → “Archives” → “Archives”.

      1. Complete the meta description

      The meta description is the page description that appears in the search results (under the page title). It should be concise, compelling and contain the most important information about the content of a particular sub-page.

      The recommended length of the meta description is 120-156 characters including spaces. It is advisable to include keywords in order to better match the search intent of internet users. The meta description has no effect on SEO (the meta title does). The page description should additionally encourage action. You can use a call to action phrase for this (e.g. “Click here”, “Check out”, “Read today”).

      1. Implement sub-headings (H2-H5)

      The implementation of sub-headers (H2-H5) is also important as the optimisation of the H1 header. A keyword must be inserted here as well. This activity can be somewhat automated by filling in the headings from the following formula: product name + price/reviews/application and much more.

      Remember that the H1 is the most important. The lower the headline, the less it means in terms of SEO. Use the right keyword (one or two words) in each one. As for long-tail phrases (consisting of a minimum of 3-4 words), these can be used in the content (not recommended for headings).

      1. Secure your online shop with HTTPS

      An SSL certificate is one of over two hundred ranking factors (source: webfx.com). But that’s not the only reason why it’s worth implementing HTTPS into WooCommerce. It’s primarily to improve the user experience by reassuring users that the site they want to purchase from is secure. The Really Simple SSL plugin can be useful in this case, which causes a so-called green padlock to be displayed, but does not indicate that HTTPS has been implemented. You have to do this yourself by installing it on the server hosting your WooCommerce shop. Afterwards, go to “Settings” → “General” and then define the primary URL for WordPress and the site.

      1. Add the sitemap in XML format

      The sitemap in XML format (sitemap.xml) can be enabled by going to “Yoast SEO” → “General” → “Features”. The generated link to the map must be added to Google Search Console. With a correctly implemented sitemap, Google robots (so-called crawlers) will be able to index extended sub-pages more efficiently.

      WooCommerce positioning – tips

      If you want your online shop to be aligned with the latest SXO (Search Experience Optimisation) standards, i.e. SEO and UX, you should first and foremost:

      • optimise it for Core Web Vitals;
      • ensure the performance of your website
      • only use the necessary plug-ins;
      • add ALT attributes to images
      • optimise the path to purchase;
      • use long-tail phrases
      • ensure the responsiveness of the website
      • build external links
      • monitor results.

      We discuss the details in the following paragraphs.

      Core Web Vitals

      By optimising WooCommerce for Core Web Vitals, your site will become more efficient, interactive and visually stable (then there will be no shifting). To achieve full site performance, pay attention to the core metrics: LCP, FID and CLS.

      • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – this indicator measures the time it takes from the moment a user clicks on a link to a page until the largest element (usually an image, headline or text) appears on screen. An LCP of less than 2.5 seconds is a good result.

      • First Input Delay (FID) – a measure that examines the amount of time that elapses from when a user makes the first interaction on a page (e.g. clicking a link or button) until the browser responds to that interaction. The FID should be less than 100 ms.

      • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – determines the extent to which elements on a page move or reposition themselves as the site loads. The lower the value of the indicator, the less unpredictable the shifts, thus improving the user experience. A CLS below 0.1 proves to be a very good result.

      The above metrics are very important to improve the quality of the page loading and increase usability for users. To measure LCP, FID and CLS, use a Google Chrome add-on (e.g. Web Vitals) or opt to perform a comprehensive Google PageSpeed Insights test.

      Remember!

      The results from Core Web Vitals measurement tools are based on the device of the person taking the test. They turn out to be dependent on the speed of the internet connection, the performance of the processor and the amount of RAM. If your customer has a weaker smartphone or computer, they may have a negative experience using your website. To avoid this, optimise Core Web Vitals as best you can.

      Website performance

      The performance of a website depends, among other things, on its level of technical optimisation. In this case, we recommend compressing the HTML and CSS code of the website – the code then takes up less space on the server, allowing specific data to be sent to users more quickly . This process will be facilitated by tools such as HTML Minifier or CSS Minifier. A good programming solution is also Gulp or Grunt (these are mostly used during the website building process).

      We also recommend minimising the number of HTTP requests to the server by combining CSS and JavaScript in a single file and using browser caching. All of these measures can improve website performance, which will have a positive impact on user experience (UX) and SEO.

      Responsiveness of the website

      Based on statista.com research, more than 50% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Consequently, making sure your website is responsive is an absolute must-have in order to reduce the bounce rate and dramatically improve conversion rates. By choosing to create a responsive website (adapted to phones and smartphones as well as tablets and laptops), you can start selling more in a short period of time. The micro conversions associated with a properly responsive website will manifest themselves in, among other things:

      • newsletter sign-ups,
      • completed contact forms,
      • shared content on social media
      • product pages viewed,
      • products added to a shopping basket.

      WooCommerce plugins

      If you don’t use a particular plugin – simply remove it. Otherwise you will reduce the performance of your site.

      ALT attributes

      ALTs have an impact on SEO (if they have a keyword), but they also have an impact on UX, as they provide support for the visually imp aired who can understand the content of the image with the right tool.

      Purchase path

      Once customers enter your online shop, they should have an easier buying process. To achieve this, take care to eliminate unnecessary elements that “distract” the internet user from the main goal (i.e. maximising conversions). As far as contact forms are concerned – simplify them as much as possible and do not request sensitive data from users. The fewer steps to the goal, the greater the likelihood of completing the conversion.

      Long tail phrases

      Long tail expressions are very important from a sales perspective. With their help, you will attract regular and determined customers. Long tail SEO keywords have more than a 5% higher click-through rate compared to general phrases (consisting of 1-2 words) (source: smartinsights.com).

      A good solution for increasing the number of long tail SEO phrases is a company blog, as well as category and product descriptions.

      External link building

      If you want your website to be visible in organic (natural) search results, you should take care of every detail – both content optimisation, technical optimisation and link acquisition, otherwise known as link building.

      Building a link profile allows you to increase the value of your site from the point of view of crawlers. The most common ways of link building include:

      • creating viral content – which will interest and excite users, prompting them to share the content or comment on it;

      • providing contributions to articles from the trade press – if you are an expert in a particular field, create a post in collaboration with another creator and then ask them to link your shop next to the author’s signature;

      • creating sponsored articles – in this case, go for the highest quality combined with high content value (a sponsored product with a link in the content should take up the smallest part of the article).

      Given current standards, relinking is also an excellent option. This is nothing more than verifying your competitors’ links (e.g. using Majestic SEO) and then linking to similar sources that appear valuable.

      Monitoring results

      Successful SEO of a WooCommerce shop should be supported by regular monitoring. This will help us find out whether a particular strategy is delivering the expected results. To verify the effects of optimising your WooCommerce shop, use any SEO tool (e.g. Senuto) and then check the achieved positions in the organic (natural) search results.

      If, on the other hand, you want to verify conversions, go into Google Analytics 4 and select “Events” or “Goals”. This will provide you with the most important information on the actions taken by internet users. It is also worth tracking the percentage of scrolling using Google Tag Manager. With GTM, you can check whether a customer has reached the “Offer” or “Contact” section. If not – it is likely that the purchase path has been incorrectly optimised.

      Shop optimisation on WooCommerce – summary

      Optimising and positioning your WooCommerce shop is quite a demanding task. Remember that your efforts must not “go to waste”, so in addition to applying all the tips mentioned in this article, you should develop a proper SEO strategy that takes into account keywords (general and long tail phrases), as well as the frequency of SEO audits, based on which you will determine the effectiveness of your efforts. Also plan link building in order to acquire valuable links – among other things, you will be able to establish yourself as an industry leader in the future.

      It takes time to achieve high positions in the organic (natural) search results – often as long as 12-24 months. After this period, on the other hand, WooCommerce SEO will have a high return on investment, which will certainly make you happy and guarantee motivation for months or even years to come. Thank you for reading this post and we wish you the best of luck in optimising your WooCommerce shop!

      FAQ – the most common questions and answers

      What are the most common questions and answers about optimising your shop on WooCommerce?

      1. What is WooCommerce SEO about?

      WooCommerce positioning is an optimisation effort that includes on-site SEO and off-site SEO. By implementing individual changes, you can achieve a more responsive, efficient, interactive and intuitive online shop that will rank on Google (and other search engines i.e. Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo or Yandex) for many relevant key phrases for your business.

      2. What plugins will make WooCommerce optimisation and SEO easier?

      Among the most popular plugins, we can highlight Yoast SEO (for comprehensive SEO optimisation), AMP for WP (a plugin that improves the performance and responsiveness of the website), and Really Simple SSL (a plugin that facilitates the implementation of the ‘green padlock’), among others.

      3. How much does it cost to SEO a shop on WooCommerce?

      Positioning a shop on WooCommerce usually costs no less than £1,000 net per month. A lot depends on the competitiveness of your industry, the specifics of your business, the type of key phrases to be positioned, as well as their ‘caloricity’. The length of the SEO contract is also important. The most cost-effective contracts are 12- or 24-month contracts.

      4. Why invest in optimising your WooCommerce shop?

      Optimising your shop on WooCommerce is primarily associated with the possibility of higher visibility in organic (natural) search results. This, in turn, results in more traffic to your site and additional recognition for the brand you own. WooCommerce positioning also allows you to develop a competitive advantage (even within 6-12 months) and acquire only regular and determined customers distinguished by a high probability of purchase.

      5. Who should opt for WooCommerce positioning?

      WooCommerce shop positioning is beneficial for businesses selling their products through online shops based on the WooCommerce platform. It’s also great for owners of local stationary shops who want to expand their offerings nationwide or internationally, while promoting the local location.

      If you want the SEO activities for your Woocommerce-based website to be handled by professionals contact SEOgroup:

        SEO specialist – who is it, how much does it earn and how to become one?

        When most businesses are online, SEO is becoming increasingly important. One of the key factors influencing a website’s visibility in search engines is SEO optimisation, and the SEO specialist plays a central role in this process. It is a profession that originated in the marketing industry and is becoming increasingly popular.

        Who is an SEO specialist?

        SEO specialist is a person who deals with website positioning. In a nutshell, the main task of an SEO specialist is to ensure that the websites he or she deals with are placed and maintained in the highest possible position in the search results when a user types in a specific phrase. However, this is only about organic results – the SEO specialist does not deal with sponsored search ads.

        The SEO specialist deals with the optimisation of websites for various search engines (Bing, Yahoo), however, the most commonly used search engine is Google.

        Responsibilities of an SEO specialist

        The responsibilities of an SEO specialist are very broad and require SEO knowledge and experience, analytical skills and creativity.

        An SEO specialist performs a range of tasks such as:

        Keyword analysis: the SEO specialist analyses which keywords are most frequently searched for by users on a given topic related to the client’s area of business. He or she then determines which of these should be implemented on the website to increase its position in search results.

        Analysis of website visibility and competition: the specialist carries out a competitive analysis to find niches and opportunities to improve the website’s position in search results.

        Content optimisation: the specialist indicates which content on the website should be optimised so that it complies with SEO rules and is as attractive as possible from the user’s perspective. Sometimes he also implements the changes himself.

        Link building: the SEO specialist also builds links to the website to increase its popularity and position in search results.

        Estimation and monitoring of results: the SEO specialist regularly monitors the position of the website in the search results and performs ongoing data analysis using the tools available.

        Collaboration with copywriters: the expert provides information on the keywords that should be included in the content. Copywriters then create texts that incorporate these keywords. The SEO specialist also adjusts the structure of the website to help improve search results, and the copywriters prepare content that takes these requirements into account.

        Implementing new technologies: the SEO specialist needs to keep up to date with new technologies and trends in SEO and put them into practice to ensure that the website performs at its best.

        SEO specialist – where does he or she work?

        SEO specialists can work in a variety of places, including:

        • In marketing agencies: many marketing agencies offer SEO services and employ professionals to work on projects.
        • In e-commerce companies: companies with online shops are particularly interested in SEO for their websites and often decide to hire their own in-house specialists.
        • In marketing departments: Companies with an internal marketing department may hire SEO specialists to work on their websites.
        • As freelancers: In addition to the above jobs, specialists sometimes decide to work on their own, offering individual services.

        What does the career path of an SEO specialist look like?

        The career path of an SEO specialist can look different depending on individual experience and career goals.

        Examples of the career development stages of an SEO specialist:

        1. SEO apprentice/intern

        A person who wants to start a career in SEO may start as an intern or trainee at a marketing agency, e-commerce company or interactive agency. During this period, basic skills related to keyword analysis, content optimisation and link building are learned.

        2. Junior SEO specialist

        After learning basic skills, the SEO specialist usually works on specific projects to help clients. He or she usually works under the guidance of more experienced SEO specialists.

        3. Independent SEO specialist:

        This is a person who is able to carry out a comprehensive SEO analysis of websites on their own, propose optimisations, implement them and further analyse the results. An independent SEO specialist is able to work unsupervised and manage SEO projects within a company or agency.

        4. Senior SEO specialist (senior):

        This is usually a person with several years of experience as an SEO specialist, who has extensive knowledge of SEO and is able to manage SEO campaigns for larger clients or projects.

        5. SEO manager:

        The SEO manager is responsible for the overall management of SEO projects, including strategy development, action planning, managing teams and reporting results to clients.

        The actual career progression of an SEO specialist can look different, depending on experience and career goals.

        How much does an SEO specialist earn?

        The average salary of an SEO specialist depends on factors such as level of experience, location and company size.

        Based on data from salary.co.uk collected in January 2023. However, it can be estimated that:

        • Beginner SEO specialists earn on average between PLN 4,000 and PLN 5,000 gross per month.
        • SEO specialists with intermediate experience can earn between PLN 5,000 and PLN 7,000 gross per month.
        • Earnings senior SEO specialists or experienced SEO project managers range from PLN 7,000 to PLN 11,000 gross per month.

        Source: https://wynagrodzenia.pl/moja-placa/ile-zarabia-specjalista-seo

        How to become a SEO specialist?

        To become an SEO specialist, it is worthwhile first of all to acquire knowledge and skills in this field by:

        Completing courses and training in the field of SEO

        There are many courses and training courses on the market to help you gain knowledge and skills in SEO. The choice is huge – from free introductory courses available online to professional training courses organised by experienced SEO agencies, for example.

        Want to receive professional SEO training and get a certificate to prove your participation? Take a look at the SEOgroup Academy’s range of training courses: https://www.seogroup.pl/szkolenia/

        • Reading blogs and industry articles: Regularly reading SEO-related blogs and articles from both Polish and international sources is one of the best ways to expand your knowledge and keep up to date with the latest trends and techniques in SEO.
        • Being active on social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram: In addition to the obligatory reading, it is also definitely worth following posts and comments from people in the industry and reading about new developments, in short, always “staying up to date”.
        • Studies related to internet marketing: Studying related to internet marketing can help you gain knowledge and skills in the field of SEO. Students learn website optimisation, traffic analysis and content optimisation, all of which are essential in the work of an SEO specialist. However, this is only an introduction to career development, as learning by doing is important in this profession.
        • Internships and apprenticeships: The best way to gain experience in SEO is through an internship. For example, you can set up your own site or apply for an internship to gain valuable practical experience.

        Summary

        If you’re interested in the topic of SEO and want to learn more about what SEO actually is, take a look at our comprehensive guide to the most frequently asked questions: https://www.seogroup.eu/effective-seo/

        Ecommerce SEO: Online shop positioning guide

        According to the National Court Register – more than 51,000 online shops were registered in Poland in autumn 2021! Such a huge number of entities operating in the e-commerce sector means only one thing – great competition and the difficulty of reaching new customers. Today, the attractiveness of a shop’s assortment or low prices are not enough to succeed. What counts above all is online visibility, which can be guaranteed by an efficiently implemented shop positioning strategy.

        What is e-commerce?

        E-commerce is, simply put, e-commerce, in which all (or most) processes take place over the Internet. Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a clear growth in this type of business, which is a direct response to the needs of modern consumers.

        E-commerce makes use of a wide variety of marketing strategies, while it can itself take the form of an online shop, an ad portal or any other platform that allows online shopping. It is also being embraced by stationary brands that want to reach more customers.

        There are many advantages to running an e-commerce business, which can be seen from the perspective of both customers and business owners.

        The benefits for the first group include:

        • the ability to find out about products and services from anywhere in the world and at any time,
        • saving time and, most often, money,
        • greater choice of goods,
        • easier contact with sellers.

        The advantages of e-commerce for retailers include:

        • reduced expenses related to hiring staff and renting office or warehouse facilities,
        • the ability to offer a greater range of products,
        • simplifying the way they communicate with their customers,
        • building brand visibility and reputation,
        • the ability to reach a wider range of customers.

        Today, it is difficult to imagine an e-commerce business that is not supported by SEO activities. This is especially true in industries that are characterised by considerable competitiveness.

        What is search engine positioning for an online shop?

        Search engine optimisation is nothing more than a variety of activities aimed at placing a link to a shop in the highest possible position in search results.

        As we know – search engines such as Google are the first tools we use when we want to get answers to our questions, check the weather forecast, get information on topics that interest us or buy specific products online.

        From the point of view of online shop owners, search engines are one of the main channels for reaching customers – after all, they are used by millions of users every day. However, it is only effective if the online shop appears high in the search results – above all on the first page. It is no secret that the vast majority of search engine users choose the top-ranked online shops, both to save time and because they believe that the top-ranked sites are the most trusted, have the widest range of products and are popular with other customers.

        Contact us – we will perform an SEO analysis for you. This is the first stage for conducting effective SEO for your online shop.

         

        The range of activities that make up the general concept of SEO for an online shop is wide and is divided into on-site and off-site activities. And we can include, among others:

        • an audit of the online shop’s website in terms of SEO and UX – i.e. an examination of the online shop’s current position, its technical condition, the adaptation of the interface to users’ needs or the attractiveness of the content – both for the audience and for search engines,
        • technical optimisation of the shop – i.e. a series of works aimed at better adaptation of the online shop’s website to the requirements of search engines, such as refinement of the technical layer of the shop, creation of friendly content, use of key phrases, creation of subpages for individual product categories of the shop, generation of a site map, validation of the site code, use of internal linking or optimisation of URLs and meta tags,
        • effective link building – i.e. acquisition of attractive links leading to the shop from other valuable websites by means of content marketing,
        • development of theshop’s website – i.e. creation of new content, pages, industry blog, etc,
        • as well as regular analytical activities, which make it possible to monitor the results of positioning and to design new strategies or redesign existing ones.

        Online shop owners decide on positioning for various reasons and at various moments of their existence. Activities are carried out both for online shops that have been operating for years, but have aspirations to obtain better results (or even become the leader in their sector), and for new shops, which owners would like to effectively promote and build a solid brand from scratch. However, the benefits of positioning an online shop are much more numerous.

        Benefits of online shop positioning

        With the move of many businesses to the Internet – including shops to the e-commerce formula, the demand for services such as online shop positioning has increased. An effective strategy can bring many benefits. It is worth remembering that increasing the turnover of a shop is a goal in itself, alongside which additional benefits coexist.

        The most important benefits of correct positioning of an online shop include:

        • appearing in the TOP search results – and thus in the top of the best players, which can equate to great prestige for the shop – but it is worth remembering that reaching the top positions is not always successful due to the great competition,
        • increase in thenumber of visits to the online shop – which also means an increase in the number of transactions made,
        • increased recognition of the online shop – its name is fixed in the minds of search engine users, so they are more likely to return to it,
        • brand recognition drives other branches of our online presence and the shop’s marketing channels – very often potential customers, after seeing the shop in the search results, check other traces of its online presence – they visit social media, subscribe to newsletters and talk about the brand with family and friends,
        • optimisation of the online shop’s conversion rate – which is crucial for the brand’s sales performance,
        • increasing the attractiveness of the online shop – not only in terms of Google search position, but also in terms of UX and content that reaches customers,
        • increasing trust in the brand among users – there is a perception that shops appearing highest are characterised by the highest customer trust,
        • and most importantly (and the main goal of positioning) – increasing the online shop’s revenue.

        Keywords for e-commerce

        Keywords (or key phrases) are one of the most important elements of online shop positioning. Among other things, they are the basis for the entire strategy of activities – both those related to SEO optimisation of the shop’s website and link building. They are both a starting point for the work to begin, as well as an end in themselves.

        Keywords are – in the simplest terms – the phrases with which you would like your online shop to be found in a Google search. Basic keywords are indicated by shop owners. They know very well in which spheres of competition they operate and which products they would like to promote in Google search. However, the final keyword lists that marketing agencies work on are much longer. This involves the work of specialists who use professional analytical tools (e.g. Senuto or Semstorm) to create sets of phrases with which to more effectively build a shop’s position in Google search.

        Keywords are used in two main channels of action – during the SEO optimisation of the shop’s website and during the creation of content marketing content for link building.

        In the case of on-page SEO optimisation, keywords will be used in category, subcategory and product descriptions, as well as in blog articles (if the online shop has an industry-specific blog). It is very important that the keywords appear in natural proportions to the overall text. In order to maintain their power, it is also worth keeping an eye on their original grammatical form. It is also good practice to bold key phrases appropriately and justifiably. These measures, combined with valuable content, will strongly contribute to making the website more attractive in the eyes of search engines and users.

        In the case of content marketing, it is also advisable to adhere to the above principles. In addition – in both cases it will be important to use keywords in titles, subtitles and headings, the presence of which in articles is strongly recommended.

        We can divide keywords into several types. The main distinction will be in their length. Thus, we have:

        • short-tail – or “short tails” – these consist of phrases built from 1-2 words. They relate to more general terms, which makes it more difficult to use them to knock an online shop upwards (the most successful short-tail phrases are the biggest players). An example of a short-tail phrase would be “women’s trousers”,
        • long-tail phrases – or ‘long tails’ – will consist of a greater number of words and will therefore specify more precisely what users are looking for. As you might expect – detailed terms will generate a higher likelihood of visits to a shop’s website. An example of a long-tail would be the phrase “grey women’s checked trousers”.

        Source: semrush.com

        There are other typologies of keywords. Thus, there are keywords related to location (e.g. “gabinet weterynaryjny gdańsk wrzeszcz”), related to a specific brand (e.g. “adidas running trousers”), or related to a specific industry and using specialised nomenclature (e.g. “EFS flexographic machines”). Their use should be justified and included in the chosen strategy.

        Contact us – we will carry out an SEO analysis for you. This is the first step for successful SEO of your online shop.

         

        Technical optimisation of the online shop

        As already mentioned – one of the main areas that SEO deals with – is the technical optimisation related to the correctness of a given website with respect to SEO. Before this happens, however, SEO specialists carry out an audit of the site in order to have the broadest possible picture of its condition.

        This type of audit examines, among other things, the current visibility of the website in search engines, the structural condition of the website, the presence of internal and external linking, the selection and use of keywords, the correct indexing of the website, the speed of loading the website and its usability in terms of UX, the presence of SSL, the uniqueness of the content, as well as a competition analysis of the shop.

        After obtaining the audit report, you can proceed to the creation of a positioning strategy and move on to the technical optimisation of the shop.

        SEO optimisation includes on-site activities, i.e. those carried out within the online shop’s website. It consists of issues such as:

        • TAGS – which include titles (<title>) and meta descriptions (<description>. These are short business cards of our site that appear in search engine results next to the link to our shop and its pages. Tags should be short, but informative and encourage visitors to the site. It is advisable to use keywords in them – of course, in a natural, grammatically justified and substantive way,
        • URLs – check that they are correct and describe well what they represent. Random strings of letters and numbers are not a good showcase for a website,
        • TITLES AND HEADERS – it is very important to have titles and headers (H1, H2, H3, and so on…) in the texts published on the shop pages (be they descriptions or blog articles). It is a good idea to include keywords in them. The presence of tiers of text divided by titles and headings is well perceived by search engine robots,
        • INTERNAL LINKING – this is nothing more than a network of links operating inside the shop window, which will refer back to its various locations. For example – internal linking is used in advice articles, from which we can directly refer the reader to product categories or specific products that we want to sell. Internal linking is important not only for a proper SEO process, but also for a well-developed UX infrastructure of the website,
        • CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES – their presence is a signal to search engines that the shop’s website is well thought-out, organised and intuitive for the user, which will result in a favourable approach of search engine robots,
        • KEYWORDS – their use is even obligatory in optimisation activities. Keywords are placed in titles, meta tags, product and category descriptions, URLs and any content appearing on the page (e.g. blog articles). Naturally occurring keywords will act as a magnet for phrases typed into the search engine window,
        • GRAPHICS AND PH OTOS – should also be well optimised. Descriptions and even the names of files uploaded to the shop platform should be carefully prepared and include key phrases.

        Although the technical optimisation of online shops is carried out on a one-off basis on the basis of the obtained audit, it is important to analyse the website on a regular basis, which can point out potentially occurring errors and determine new courses of action that will have a positive impact on the entire process of positioning the website in the future.

        What does the shop positioning process look like?

        The successful process of positioning an online shop is long and complex, and begins as soon as the shop owner decides to cooperate with a marketing agency in this regard.

        In the initial phase of the process, a thorough and detailed briefing is crucial, i.e. articulation of all goals, plans and information important from the business owner’s point of view. A professional briefing – which most often takes the form of a document completed by the owner of an online shop – should contain such data as, for example: the shop’s desired business objectives related to its position in Google search (e.g. increasing the number of visits to the website or increasing sales of a given product), the specificity of the industry in which the shop operates, an indication of the brand’s main competitors, as well as a preliminary list of key phrases for which we want to position the website. The briefing is usually conducted by account managers.

        Once all the information has been obtained, SEO specialists conduct an audit of the shop’s website to learn about its current situation – both that related to the condition and visibility of the shop in search engines and the internal operation of the e-commerce platform. On the basis of the audit report, they will be able to prepare a strategy of action, which, in a specific time perspective, should bring the assumed effects, and they will make a full list of keywords used in many aspects of positioning work.

        In the positioning strategy we will find activities of various types. We can divide them into on-site and off-site activities. At this point, other specialists also come into play – such as programmers (whose task will be to optimise the website from the technical side) and copywriters (who will be responsible for correcting or creating from scratch any content required both during the shop’s SEO optimisation and link building activities).

        SEO optimisation of the shop – as the next step in the process of positioning the online shop – will be carried out in several stages and in multiple paths. This will consist of activities such as adjusting metatags, arranging categories and subcategories of the shop, editing the HTML layer, adjusting the SSL network protocol, activating tools such as Google Search Console, generating a sitemap, adjusting URLs, or creating content for category and product descriptions of the shop. The optimisation strategy adopted should be continued and monitored regularly.

        Once the online shop has been optimised for SEO, it is time to expand the activities to include effective link building. Good cooperation between SEO specialists and Content Writers is important here. The former will be responsible for the proper acquisition of valuable links from strong websites and for controlling the results of redirects. The latter will be responsible for creating valuable content (e.g. in the form of articles) that includes predetermined keywords. Link building activities should be carried out regularly – preferably on a monthly basis. Then it is possible to systematically accumulate links and thus strengthen the shop’s position in Google search.

        In addition to off-site activities, to which link building belongs, it is also good to focus on on-site activities, i.e. those carried out inside the shop’s website. These mainly include the creation of quality content and internal linking. Content contained in product category descriptions and product descriptions will be viewed well from both a SEO and UX perspective. It is worth remembering that its main objectives are twofold – to strengthen the shop’s position in Google search and to encourage site visitors to make a purchase. In addition, a good way to enhance an online shop is to maintain a blog. Although not everyone chooses to do so, blog articles prove to be very useful – as they provide an ideal space to apply internal linking and use key phrases.

        However, the SEO process does not have a specific end point. In order for it to be effective all the time, it should be carried out continuously and monitored regularly in order to check the current results, correct any potential mistakes and create further strategies taking into account the changing coefficients. It is worth remembering that the process of online shop positioning involves specialists in various fields. It is supervised by account managers, SEO specialists, copywriters and even programmers!

        They summarise the entire process as follows:

        1. Strategy

        It is the starting point when it comes to online shop positioning activities, individually priced and created on the basis of the client’s needs and expectations, previously included in the brief filled in by the client. As part of our conceptual work, we establish the KPIs necessary for the successful implementation of further stages of the project, in particular analysis and estimation, which are the components of the strategy.

        2. Analysis

        In this step, we carry out all the activities verifying the current state of the selected site in terms of SEO and its potential in a given country compared to its competitors. At the same time, we analyse the full user path based on the customer journey The result of the analysis is the collection of a substantial amount of data, which will be used to implement further steps related to shop positioning.

        3. Estimation

        An extremely valuable and at the same time final component of the strategy, in which we estimate the individual values related to the visibility of the website in the most popular search engine of a given country, taking into account the increase in traffic and, more importantly, the increase in conversions over a specific period of time.

        4. Technical SEO

        When embarking on the actual SEO activities, one of the activities necessary for final success is technical SEO, also known as technical analysis or technical SEO optimisation, i.e. the part of optimisation that does not concern content. It consists of all the activities that affect the architecture and code of a website in such a way as to make it as friendly as possible to the most stringent search engine requirements and, at the same time, to stay one step ahead of the competition.

        5. Content optimisation

        Part of optimising a website for SEO alongside technical SEO is content optimisation. Valuable content for the user is one of the key elements that will help achieve high search engine visibility as well as increase conversions.

        6. UX + CRO

        As part of our online shop positioning service, we provide analysis and optimisation of User Experience metrics with a particular focus on heuristic experiments and A/B testing, as well as Conversion Rate Optimisation. In this way, we analyse consumers’ activities at each stage of their purchasing process, increasing sales efficiency.

        7. Link building

        Link building is carried out using the highest quality permanent links, acquired from external sources or services, from reliable publishers with a guarantee of their maintenance even after the cooperation has ended. As part of this process, we ensure that the link profile is correct and ultimately beneficial.

        8. Ongoing Data Analysis

        In the web shop positioning service, through advanced tools supervised by the Client Success Manager, we constantly measure progress related to the evaluation of actions carried out, on the basis of which our clients have access to extensive reports 24/7.

        9. Increase in traffic and revenue

        The ultimate value of SEO360® is the increase in brand awareness, traffic, conversions and revenue generated from this service, significantly more than with ‘regular SEO’.

        Contact us – we will perform an SEO analysis for you. This is the first step for conducting effective SEO for your online shop.

         

        Link building for online shop – CM

        Optimising an online shop for SEO is an example of on-site activities. However, off-site activities are also important in the SEO process of an online shop, i.e. activities that are carried out outside the website, but have a great impact on it and its condition.

        The most important of these activities is link building – i.e. the acquisition of links from other websites. Link building is carried out by means of Content Marketing – i.e. an advanced type of content marketing. Examples of content marketing products are articles of various types – whether in light, informative or more specialised forms, or even sales, opinion and persuasive articles.

        Link building is, however, unequal to link building. It is worth remembering that not every action in this area will bring us the expected benefits. When preparing an effective content marketing strategy, various factors need to be taken into account and adjusted accordingly – in order to obtain the most valuable links.

        These factors are primarily:

        • thestrength of the linking site – it is important to remember that strong sites with a long history, rich content, a large number of users and a positive search engine rating will provide us with much better quality linking. This acts a bit like a recommendation to search engine robots – the moment a strong site refers viewers to our shop, it is a sign that it is worth placing it higher in the search results,
        • thequality of the content – i.e. its uniqueness, relevance and correctness in terms of language. Search engine robots rank duplicate and unattractive content less favourably, so it is worth investing in good quality content. Articles should not be too short. Care should also be taken to include titles and headings. Keywords are important and should be used thoughtfully and not too much,
        • correct linking – this should be done in accordance with good practice, which places so-called valuable dofollow links high. When including a link in an article, remember to do so as naturally as possible. Also, do not exaggerate the number of links in a single text. This is because such a practice may be met with rejection by search engine robot filters.

        Responsible and rational link building, supported by the positioning strategy, may bring many benefits to the website, contributing to the promotion of the online shop in search results.

        Shop CMS

        Not insignificant in the context of the position of an online shop’s website in search engines is the type of CMS used by the shop’s administrator.

        ACMS – i.e. Content Management System – is a system-platform which can be used to manage the entire infrastructure of an online shop. The CMS is a kind of control panel for the entire shop. Among other things, we can use it to add new content to the shop page, add products to the shop, control the purchasing process, apply internal linking and much more.

        The choice of CMS for an online shop should not be random and dictated only by financial conditions. Comfort in using the system and whether it is favourable to SEO and positioning activities are key parameters to be taken into account.

        Examples of ecommerce CMSs:

        • Woocommerce (extension to WordPress)
        • Magento
        • Prestashop
        • Shoper
        • Shopify
        • IAI Shop
        • SOTE

        When we talk about CMS in the context of SEO activities, it is primarily a question of whether the chosen system gives us the possibility of unlimited optimisation of the shop pages. Unfortunately, some CMSs are difficult to use and not very intuitive. In addition – they may require us to spend a lot of money when we want to make various types of changes. A user-friendly system will not require specialised knowledge of optimisation or HTML, and modifications to content, page layout or meta tags can be carried out without problems.

        It is also good to pay attention to the issue of security guaranteed by the chosen CMS system. The presence of an SSL certificate, responsible for data security, is also positively perceived by search engine robots.

        Among all available CMSs, it is worth taking a closer look at the most popular ones – such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, PrestaShop or BigCommerce.

        How long does it take to position an online shop?

        Certainly, those who would expect top results after a few weeks of work may be disappointed. Unfortunately, the process of positioning takes a relatively long time, and its effects and the final time to obtain them depend on many factors, such as:

        • thecondition of the shop’s site before the start of the activities – if the site has a long history, the audit has gone quite well, and the shop does not display very low in the search results, it is very possible that the set goals can be achieved more quickly,
        • theneed for technical optimisation of the shop – i.e. whether a complete optimisation of the shop will have to be carried out before moving on to link building, or whether small changes and improvements will suffice,
        • theindustry in which the shop operates – some industries are more difficult in terms of SEO because they are more common. One of the more difficult industries to position is the clothing industry,
        • thesize of competition – this is driven by the very idea of SEO, which is to outperform competitors in search results,
        • financial outlay – the intensity of activities such as publishing articles with external linking will depend on these.

        Which marketing agency an online shop cooperates with is certainly important in terms of time and effectiveness. However, even the best agency should not be expected to deliver immediate results. The effects of positioning are the result of long, many months (and sometimes even years) of work. One should also remember that the competition is working at the same time.

        Importantly – once positioning results are obtained, they do not stay with the website forever. Positioning of online shops is a long-term and continuous process. If we want to maintain the results – we should not give up on it.

        Contact us – we will perform an SEO analysis for you. This is the first stage for effective online shop positioning.

         

        How much does online shop positioning cost – price list?

        The prices for the positioning of an online shop vary. Their amount depends on individual agency price lists, but also on the agencies’ ability to manage the budget rationally. In addition – the period for which we decide to buy a package of positioning services is also important. The type and size of business represented by the agency’s client is also important. The so-called large e-commerce is accompanied by great efforts and considerable challenges, which will certainly translate into how much positioning of an online shop costs.

        Today, it is reported that the monthly price for the positioning of an online shop is, on average, several thousand zloty. Some shop owners may pay £ 3,000, while others may even pay £ 12,000.

        A good way to save money is to browse package offers, which many agencies have. We are talking about marketing packages that combine various internet marketing services – such as SEO, social media handling or Google Ads campaigns. Then you can count on more attractive prices than if you buy the services separately.

        FAQ – Frequently asked questions

        Is it possible to position an online shop on my own?

        In theory, yes. However, in order to do this, you need to have knowledge of SEO and positioning, have access to specialised analysis tools, know how to create quality content and… have a lot of time and patience.

        To be sure of the results, it is better to entrust this task to a professional marketing agency.

        Is ‘buzz marketing’ a good way to position an online shop?

        At one time, buzz marketing was one of the most commonly used forms of support for link building activities. Although it is still being used successfully, sometimes search engine robots do not look favourably on links from it – mainly when posts are created in an unwise manner, resembling spam activities. Buzz marketing is still a good way to build brand awareness and reputation online, which in turn can indirectly affect a shop’s visitor count and increase its popularity, which will give a positive sign to search engine robots.

        Should the content on the website be extensive or should it be short and concise?

        There is no clear answer to this question. Some topics allow you to elaborate very broadly, giving you the opportunity to create an extensive article, others the opposite. When creating long texts, however, it is worth remembering to segment them correctly – dividing them into paragraphs, using headings and titles. It is also worth noting that longer content gives us more opportunities to incorporate keywords.

        Is it possible to position a shop for a specific location?

        Of course. Positioning online shops and other types of local businesses that target a specific customer is possible. To do this, more focused keyword phrases are used, in which the locations we care about appear. It is worth knowing that local positioning is often much easier than general positioning. However, for online shops whose core business is mail order, local positioning is rarely used.

        What are the chances of a newly established online shop ranking well in a search engine?

        It depends. Certainly, it will be more difficult for new sites to be pulled up into the higher search result positions. However, it is not impossible. The industry in which the shop operates and the competition it faces will be of great importance in this case. If the industry is specialised and niche and the competition is small – you can achieve satisfactory positioning results faster.

        Do paid advertisements help the positioning process?

        No. According to information coming directly from Google, paid advertisements do not affect the organic traffic to the online shop resulting from the position of the website in the search results. This means that you do not need to spend extra money on Google Ads to have good SEO results.

        Can a shop owner influence the positioning process?

        Yes, but this influence is most relevant in the initial phase of the work, the so-called briefing phase. This is when the shop owner determines what goal they would like to achieve, who their biggest competitors are and which keywords are relevant to them and their shop. It is worth remembering that the online shop is still under the owner’s control and that he or she can make comments – for example on the content created by the copywriters.

        Is it possible to take a break from using the positioning service?

        Online shop positioning is a process that can be interrupted at any time. However, taking breaks is not cost-effective. If you decide to pause the work for, for example, 2-3 months, when you resume it, you will have to reckon with drops in ranking, the need for a new investment and a longer time to wait for results.

        Is blogging necessary?

        Of course, no one can demand that a shop owner launch a thematic blog, but SEO specialists will certainly encourage it. An online shop blog is a good way of enriching the site with quality content containing keywords, and is also an ideal place to apply internal linking. It is worth thinking about maintaining it. Qualified copywriters can help with content creation.

        Our awards and distinctions

        If you are interested in positioning your online shop, please contact us using the form below.We will performan SEO analysis for you. This is the first step for conducting effective SEO.

          WordPress website positioning and optimization [SEO]

          The WordPress platform is now considered to support more than 70% of all websites on the internet. WP is easy to use, customisable and has many options for website development. Today, we will look at the topic of conducting SEO activities of sites based on this CMS.

          What is WordPress?

          WordPress is one of the most widely used content management systems (CMS) in the world. It is estimated that up to 30% of all websites are based on this service, which in practice means a really huge number of sites. The system was created in the popular PHP programming language and, what is more, it is free to use. No wonder it is so successful.

          However, the advantages of WordPress do not end with the above features. The advantages of this CMS are also:

          • ease and intuitiveness of use;
          • large number of free plug-ins and add-ons;
          • possibility of independent modification of any aspect of the website;
          • pleasant interface;

          possibility to add multiple users managing a particular site; large availability of free and paid templates, which are adapted to use on mobile devices.

          The system is a great choice for both beginners who simply want to write their blogs, and experienced webdevelopers who require full access to the site’s code and features.

          What is website positioning?

          Web positioning is a process that aims to improve the position of a website in the organic search results of search engines. Positioning involves the use of website optimisation techniques such as content creation, external linking, HTML code optimisation and other techniques to improve a website’s position in search engine result listings. The aim of SEO is to increase the visibility and reach of a website, which in turn can attract more traffic, interest and potential customers.

          SEO-friendly WordPress – what does this mean?

          SEO-friendly WordPress is a platform that is optimised for indexing and ranking websites on search engines, such as Google. This means that WordPress has built-in features that help optimise your site for search engines, making your site more visible and therefore generating more traffic. WordPress offers features such as convenient tools for creating meta tags, page titles and descriptions, fast page crawling, easy internal and external linking and much more.

          Basic changes under SEO are quite easily implemented in WordPress without the need for coding in PHP or HTML files. Many changes can be implemented by administrators without making changes to the source code and simply by adding the appropriate plugin. Of course, a plug-in will not solve every problem, but they can be a solid basis to start working on an issue.

          WordPress allows simple implementation for people without any experience and is an ideal starting point but also a great platform for experienced people.

          Comparison of organic traffic for WP and WIX. Source: https://ahrefs.com/blog/wix-seo/

          How to prepare a website on WordPress for SEO?

          The following are the first steps you should take after installing WP and launching your site. Importantly, it is worth doing this even before your site is indexed for the first time in Google search.

          1. Enable indexing of your WordPress site in Google search

          Poproś wyszukiwarki o nie indeksowanie witryny

          In order to appear in search engines, Google’s robots must reach our website. For this to happen, the “noindex” directives from the page code, which are responsible for informing Google that they want to block indexing, must be withdrawn. To do this, access for search engine robots must be unblocked under Settings => Reading.

          2. Install a lightweight and SEO-friendly theme

          When choosing a theme for WordPress, you should be guided by the principles listed below:

          • The site needs to be fast to use therefore the theme must be lightweight. We do not recommend the use of so-called “page builders”, which are attractive for WordPress beginners, but in the case of SEO cause the loading of unnecessary scripts that overload the server,
          • It is worth looking out for themes described as “SEO frendly”. However, it should be remembered that this preparation is only a technical issue, which still needs to be configured accordingly in the theme options. Without content preparation, information architecture and tag optimisation, the page will not be optimised by default.

          3. Check the speed of your current website

          A faster website means a higher chance of conversions, a lower abandonment rate and an additional factor for the website’s position in search results. From the perspective of running Google Ads, we can also count on a better quality factor when our website is evaluated by the algorithm. As you can see from the graphic below, a page that loads for an average of 5s results in an increase in the likelihood of a user abandoning the page by as much as 90%.

          https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/app-and-mobile/mobile-page-speed-new-industry-benchmarks/

          4. Set friendly url addresses

          In the menu bar on the left, select Settings and then Direct Links.

          The best option is to select ‘Entry name’ or to set your version through variables. The second option is mostly used if you have multiple post types and taxonomies.

          5. Install an SSL certificate on your website and WordPress shop

          For some time now, one of the factors influencing a site’s position in Google’s search engine has been the presence of a deployed SSL certificate on the site. We can get the coveted ‘green padlock’ in several possible ways.

          For smaller sites (e.g. WordPress blogs), the free Let’s Encrypt certificate will work well. However, it may be the case that our hosting does not support its “seamless” implementation and even encourages us to purchase a paid option. In such a case, we can use a third option – the free ‘universal certificate’ service offered by Cloudflare (the so-called SSL Flexible). It is this third option that I will focus on today and describe how to implement such a certificate on our site. However, before I get to that, I would like to point out one rather important point that distinguishes the SSL certificate offered by Cloudflare from other security certificates.

          6. Cystom post types and taxonomies – an important role in WordPress SEO

          When constructing a WordPress site architecture, there are two types to consider: page or post. Basically, posts and pages are simply the default in WP post type, and adding more is a matter of knowing how to use WordPress code or using a dedicated plugin. Each post type can contain individual categories (taxonomies), which equally have their own url. Thanks to the post type, we are able to divide our content into, for example, user reviews, portfolio or glossary. However, you should keep in mind that you should have control over all post types – you can do this with the Yoast SEO plugin.

          7. Google Tag Manager

          The operation of Tag Manager is based on several elements: tags, rules and variables. The first are small pieces of code that belong to external services (e.g. Google Analytics or Facebook Pixel). They define what the Tag Manager actually has to do when a user performs an action defined in a rule. Variables, on the other hand, are additional information that may be necessary for the tool to function properly.

          How can this service help in marketing activities? Tag Manager allows you to record and track activities such as:

          • the submission of a contact form,
          • a visit to a specific page,
          • clicking on a link, email address or telephone number,
          • downloading a file,
          • interacting with a specific element on a page.

          There is no doubt that this type of data can be an indicator of the effectiveness of the activities carried out.

          Importantly: with the correct implementation of GTM, we are able to add and verify Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

          Choosing keywords for positioning – where to start?

          In order to know what keywords your audience is using, you should not go by intuition or gut feeling. Fortunately, there are a number of tools on the market to help you choose topics with potential. Choosing a specific one depends on your preferences. Remember that most tools only offer estimates. Below will be some suggestions that you can use: Keyword Planner, Senuto, Ahrefs or Answer the Public.

          WordPress optimisation

          Below are some guidelines to help you further optimise your WP CMS-based site:

          1. WordPress site map

          A site map is – from an SEO point of view – one of the key documents located on the server hosting the website. Such a file, usually called sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml, is placed by default in the root directory of the domain. The extension of the document is precisely XML.Specially for indexing robots, Google has launched the functionality of reporting the sitemap directly in a tool created by the giant – Google Search Console.

          The Yoast SEO plugin and most ‘SEO combos’ also have this function. You can read more about them in the article: https://www.seogroup.pl/wtyczki-seo-wordpress/

          2. Hx header optimisation in WordPress

          A header is one type of HTML markup language element. Its function is to organise the structure of a website, which is also important from the point of view of its search engine optimisation. In addition, the correct handling of headings (e.g. subtitles) makes the content more readable and presents it in a more attractive way.

          HTML distinguishes between several types of headings, which are implemented on the page using the following tags: <hx> opening tag and </hx> closing tag. In this case, the letter x is followed by a number (from 1 to 6) which indicates the hierarchy level of the element. The higher it is, the less relevant the heading is and by default it is displayed in a smaller font.

          Headings in WordPress are edited via the text editor / builder and the PHP code editor of the theme.

          3. Redirects (30x) on WordPress

          A 301 redirect is one of the methods used by webmasters (when creating websites) and SEO specialists (when optimising). The often-used ‘three hundred and one’ is a way to redirect a user from one page to another – this applies to entire domains as well as individual pages. To be able to do this, the relevant formulas must be included in the portal’s .htaccess file. If you are using a CMS, it is also possible to automatically draw up rules using the relevant plug-ins.

          Over time, 301 redirect pages disappear from the search results.

          A 302 redirect works on a similar principle, but should only be used as a temporary measure, i.e. in cases of temporary technical problems with the website or during site upgrades. The “three hundred and two” setting does not cause the redirected pages to be de-indexed, so it is a method that every SEO specialist or webmaster must be familiar with.

          4. Structured data (rich snippets) in WordPress

          Structured data (also known as rich snippets) are code snippets that are placed within web pages to make them stand out in search results. For a user searching for any keyword, these data are visible as additional information below the title and above the site description.

          Pages displayed in this way can be enriched with messages such as the average rating of a product, its price, availability and, if we are talking about food, preparation time. However, implementing structured data is not only a good idea for online shops. It can be just as good an idea to introduce them into the structure of non-e-commerce sites or those that provide recipes.

          Why is opting for rich snippets a good idea? As it turns out, this type of additional information effectively distinguishes a portal in a search engine and, consequently, increases the CTR. As Google’s algorithm creators suggest, structured data can have an impact on a page’s position in search results in the future.

          5. Image optimisation in WordPress

          An important aspect when optimising on-page graphics is the compression of image files. Admittedly, a high image resolution is more pleasing to the eye, as it can slow down the loading process of a website. And this is a guideline that has a huge impact on search engine positioning. For this reason, it is advisable to equip yourself with image compression applications or to select images with a lower resolution.

          The name of the graphic file is also an important issue. It is worth putting key phrases in it, however, one should be careful and match the words to the content of the image. A good method is to name images as the viewer sees them.

          A key factor of an image file for search engine robots is the alt attribute. It defines the name that is visible to the algorithm, thus allowing the content of the web page – the alternative text for the image file – to be read correctly. As with a regular image, it is important to create a unique and keyword-related alternative name.

          6. SEO WordPress plugins

          SEO plugins had their heyday at a time when WordPress had many SEO issues. They solved key problems such as url control and resource indexing. Today, WordPress natively allows many settings that are sufficient from an SEO perspective. The problem only arises when we want to implement additional / custom solutions.

          SEO plugins are solutions for site owners who are not proficient with the PHP programming language, cannot handle HTACCESS and robots.txt files or simply want to implement a solution. The technical side of SEO has a relatively high entry point in terms of coding. The main disadvantage that SEO plugins have is that they are overloaded with features that we will never use. On the other hand, there are also SEO plugins that are simple and quick and modular, so you can choose the SEO features you need.

          You can read more about SEO plugins for WP here: https://www.seogroup.eu/free-seo-wordpress-plugins/

          7. Take care of implementing canonical links

          Also referred to as the canonical tag, the canonical is a kind of suggestion to the search engine, whose job it is to tell its bots which page within a domain is ‘more important’ relative to a particular subpage. In practice, the canonical tag is primarily used in cases of search result generation or filtering or when, for example, we have different variants of a particular product in an online shop.

          The canonical tag is placed in the <head> section, where it should point to the URL of the subpage to be prioritised. Correct implementation of the tag minimises the risk of duplicate content problems within the site. It is worth knowing, however, that there is always a danger that a search engine will ignore the clues placed in the canonical tag.

          In the case of a shop based on Woocommerce (WP extension for the shop), it is worth taking care of the canonical tags on the filter/sorting sub-pages with parameters.

          8. Site navigation

          Irrespective of the CMS used, it is necessary to take care of links spreading from the home page to the most important sub-pages. To this end, we can use the main menu, breadcrumb navigation and mid-text links.

          Source: https://moz.com/learn/seo/internal-link

          9. Change PHP version and choose hosting

          WordPress is developed using an open source programming language called PHP. At the time of writing this article, it requires at least PHP version 7.4 or later. The current stable version available for PHP is 8.1.9.

          Each version of PHP improves performance by running processes more efficiently and reducing memory usage. This affects the speed of your WordPress site, speeding it up and reducing server load.

          Remember, start by choosing good hosting. It is a good idea to choose offers dedicated to WordPress.

          10. Take advantage of caching

          Google’s search engine cache is nothing more than a cached copy of all indexed web pages. This solution is a kind of lifeline for sites that are temporarily out of business, but which plan to continue to have a presence on the web. This is because the use of Google’s cache allows not only a quick display of basic page data such as title or description, but also to see the last version of the website that was saved by the search engine.

          Summary

          WordPress positioning can help to increase your website’s visibility in search engines and thus increase traffic to your site. To successfully position your WordPress site, you should focus on several key factors, including content optimisation, backlink building and visual optimisation. On-page optimisation tools such as Yoast SEO or All in One SEO can also be helpful to help you get a better ranking and increase traffic.

          1. Is it possible to SEO a WordPress site?

          Yes, it is possible to SEO a WordPress site. There are a variety of WordPress SEO tools that will help optimise your site in search results.

          2. What are the most important factors in SEO for WordPress sites?

          The most important factors for SEO of WordPress sites are content optimisation, internal linking, technical optimisation and trust building. You can technically optimise your WordPress site by using performance optimisation plugins such as W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache, and by performing an SEO audit.

          3. How long does it take for a website to get SEO?

          The duration of SEO can vary depending on a number of factors, including the competition for a given keyword. Most SEO efforts take time to see results, but depending on how difficult the keyword is, the time it takes to reach the number one position can range from a few months to several years.

          4. What does on-page optimisation involve?

          Page optimisation is the changes made to the content and structure of a website to make it more search engine and user friendly. On-page optimisation can include changes to HTML code, content, loading speed, internal linking, optimisation of

          If you want SEO activities for your WordPress-based website to be handled by professionals, contact SEOgroup:

            Graphic ads in Google Ads – formats, dimensions, sizes [2023]

            The Google Ads system stands for words, but graphics and creation are no less important areas. Google gives us the opportunity to use various graphic formats in several variants – starting with the Google Display Network, which, according to research, reaches up to 90% of Internet users worldwide, through ad campaigns such as Google Discovery, which use Google’s extensive eco-system (YouTube, Gmail, Discover cards in smartphones – nearly 3 billion potential recipients) to reach users at the right time and place. In order to reach users with a message in graphic form, we need to know what formats are available to us in order to prepare appropriate creatives.

            Google Display Network

            Google’s advertising network reaches more than 90% of internet users, as it uses a variety of locations where internet users often spend their time. Using this network, we can display our display adverts to people browsing their favourite websites, watching a video on YouTube, checking Gmail or using mobile devices and apps. In addition, the ad network offers the possibility of contextualised ad targeting which ensures that our advertising message can reach the user at the right place and time.

            Ad network ad types

            • flexible display advertising

            This ad format is created from elements you prepare yourself. All you need to do is upload your own logo, photos (or use the image bank available within Google’s system), add advertising texts and Google’s systems will automatically put together different variants of your ad from these elements, adapted to the place where they will be displayed and, in time, also optimised for the most effective combinations of individual elements.

            • uploaded graphic advertisements

            This advertising format gives us full control over how our advertising creations will look. In this case, we prepare the graphic banners ourselves, in the appropriate format and size.

            In some cases, we can also use the HTML5 ad format option – this, however, requires the preparation of creatives according to strict guidelines and preferably using Google Web Designer, as well as certain requirements with respect to the ad account itself, which must have been in operation for at least 90 days, the total expenditure since the start of using the Google Ads system must be more than $9,000 (sometimes you can start when the expenditure exceeds $1,000), and the account’s compliance history and payments must not be objectionable. While all of this may present some difficulty in some cases, the advantage is the ability to create dynamic, animated creatives.

            Currently in 2023, the vast majority of traffic (impressions and clicks) is generated by flexible display adverts, and it is these that we recommend focusing on the most. Uploaded display adverts are mostly static banners and can only complement the activities carried out in Google’s ad network, while they should not be expected to generate more than a few percent of the total pool of impressions and clicks. In addition, display adverts have far fewer opportunities in terms of reach and display in different locations and do not have many of the interactive advantages of flexible display adverts.

            Flexible display ad specifications

            • images
              • square in the aspect ratio of 1:1, must have a minimum of 300 x 300 pixels, but it is better to prepare a larger file size; maximum file size is 5 MB, file format – JPG or PNG
              • rectangular with aspect ratio 1.91:1, horizontal layout, minimum size: 600 x 314; maximum file size is 5 MB, file format – JPG or PNG
              • the text on the photos may take up no more than 20% of the image area; however, we recommend using graphics and photos without advertising text
            • logo
              • square in the aspect ratio 1:1 with a minimum size of 128 x 128 pixels, but we recommend preparing a file with sides exceeding 1,000 pixels
              • rectangular, horizontal orientation, aspect ratio 4:1, minimum size 512 x 128 pixels, but we recommend that the longer side is more than 1,000 pixels
              • the maximum file size in both cases is 5 MB
            • texts
              • short headline – minimum 1, maximum 5, maximum 30 characters
              • long headline – minimum 1, maximum 90 characters
              • advertising texts – minimum 1, maximum 5, maximum 90 characters
            • company name

            can be the name of your company or brand; maximum 25 characters; remember to spell it correctly and avoid unnecessary punctuation marks (like !)

            • logo

            maximum of 5 files, two formats available: 1:1 and 4:1; maximum file size is 5 MB; recommended size is 512 x 128 pixels (4:1) and 1200 x 1200 pixels (1:1)

            • video (optional)

            maximum of 5 clips; preferably material up to 30s in length; video should be uploaded to YouTube channel in advance

            Dynamic flexible ads with data file

            Flexible display adverts also show their possibilities and potential when used in remarketing campaigns, i.e. when they return with our advertising message to users who have already had contact with our website or online shop. In such a situation, we can create dynamic flexible adverts with a data file, which need all these components we have just mentioned and, in addition, link to our product feed from Google Merchant Center and thus access the range of, for example, our online shop. In this way, graphic advertisements will be created automatically, which will show users specific products with price and photo that they have seen before in our webshop, but have not yet bought.

            Specifications for animated and non-animated graphic ads

            File types: PNG, JPG, GIF

            Maximum size: 150 kB

            Sizes (in pixels):

            Square and rectangular
            200 x 200 Small square
            240 x 400 Vertical rectangle
            250 x 250 Square
            250 x 360 Triple wide screen
            300 x 250 Intra-text banner
            336 x 280 Large rectangle
            580 x 400 Netboard
            Skyscrapers
            120 x 600 Skyscraper
            160 x 600 Wide skyscraper
            300 x 600 Half-page advert
            300 x 1050 Vertical
            Long banner
            468 x 60 Banner
            728 x 90 Long banner
            930 x 180 Top banner
            970 x 90 Enlarged long banner
            970 x 250 Billboard
            980 x 120 Panorama
            For mobile devices
            300 x 50 Banner for mobile devices
            320 x 50 Banner for mobile devices
            320 x 100 Large banner for mobile devices
            Ad sizes available regionally – Poland
            750 x 100 Billboard PL
            750 x 200 Double billboard EN
            750 x 300 Triple billboard EN

            We have marked in red in the table those banner ad formats that are most frequently used and the preparation of these variants is sufficient to present our adverts in the majority of available advertising network locations. We call this set of 6 formats (+ possibly 3 dedicated to the Polish market) the so-called minimum plan. This is important information when it is necessary to commission a graphic designer and we want to optimise the amount of work that will go into preparing the relevant creations.

            Animated advertisements in GIF format:

            • the duration of the animation must not exceed 30 seconds
            • animations may be looped, but after 30 seconds their display must stop
            • animated GIF advertisements must be displayed at less than 5 frames per second

            Discovery campaign ad formats

            In Discovery-type campaigns, we can create adverts with single images or so-called carousels, which consist of up to 10 cards, each of which can contain different graphics and text. As a general rule, ads in Discovery-type campaigns consist of the following elements:

            • headline

            is the first line of the ad, it may be up to 40 characters long and a maximum of 5 can be created

            • the text of the advertisement

            complements the headline to encourage action, may be up to 90 characters long and here too you can create a maximum of 5

            • image

            a maximum of 20 images can be used within one creative, the graphics must be in 3 variants:

            • aspect ratio 1:1, minimum size 300 x 300 pixels, recommended 1,200 x 1,200, maximum file size 5 MB, preferred formats – JPG or PNG
            • aspect ratio 1.91:1, minimum size 600 x 314 pixels, recommended 1,200 x 628, maximum file size 5 MB, preferred formats – JPG or PNG
            • aspect ratio 4:5, minimum size 480 x 600 pixels, recommended 90 x 1,200, maximum file size 5 MB, preferred formats – JPG or PNG
            • company name

            can be up to 25 characters long and should correspond as closely as possible to your actual company or brand name you are promoting

            • logo

            square, it should be in proportions 1:1, it may be rounded in the view and in some variants of advertisements, recommended dimensions are 1,200 × 1,200 pixels, minimum – 128 × 128; the best is a transparent background, as long as the logo is centred on it; preferred format – PNG, maximum file size is 5 MB

            Ad formats for Performance Max campaigns

            The newest type of ad campaigns that Google introduced in 2022 are Performance Max campaigns. These are campaigns that make the most of automation, machine learning and solutions based on algorithms and artificial intelligence. Despite these advanced solutions, they are not able to produce valuable ad creatives on their own to help achieve our business goals.

            We deliberately say valuable creatives because Performance Max campaigns are able to generate advertising resources on their own, but past experience shows that they are usually of low quality and have poor effectiveness. Therefore, it is worth preparing the materials ourselves, from which Google’s algorithms will then be able to create meaningful and valuable adverts to promote our business. Performance Max campaigns operate in all areas of the Google Ads system, thus also in the ad network. The requirements of Performance Max campaigns in terms of the resources needed to create adverts in the ad network are very similar to those of flexible display ads, and will therefore be needed:

            • horizontal images (side ratio 1.91:1, size 1200 x 628 pixels, 3 units)
            • square images (aspect ratio 1:1, size 1200 x 1200 pixels, 3 images)
            • vertical images (side proportion 4:5, size 960 x 1200 pixels, 1 image)
            • logos (aspect ratio 1:1 and 1.91:1, size 1200 x 1200 and 1200 x 628 pixels, total max. 5 variants)
            • video (max. 5 pieces; the videos must be at least 10s long and must also be uploaded to YouTube beforehand; IMPORTANT – if we do not add our own videos, Google will automatically generate videos from other materials after some time, and these automatically created creations have so far usually turned out to be of low quality and I have no possibility of resigning from them, which is why it is so important to provide the system with own, valuable and attractive video creations)

            The maximum file size is 5 MB. Recommended formats are JPG or PNG (we recommend PNG). In all cases, the minimum resolution is 300 pixels on one side of the image/graphic, but we recommend that you stick to the quality and recommended values rather than the minimum. It is also a good idea to ensure that the important content on the photo / graphic is placed in the central 80% of the image (in other words, to keep a small margin on each side).

            Videos for Performance Max campaigns should be created in two format variants: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal are longer creatives (over 10s) with a 9:16 aspect ratio, while vertical (1:1) creatives can be shorter and will then display as YouTube Shorts. This is also a general point to bear in mind when creating graphic and video content, to remember to prepare it in different formats and layouts so that it can ultimately be used in as many locations as possible.

            Marketing objectives – definition and examples

            Marketing objectives are specific, measurable, time-bound and achievable goals that bring profit to our business. They are essential for creating a good plan and strategy – they play a key role in marketing. They enable us to plan activities and campaigns properly and optimise them later.

            Corporate objectives can be divided into non-marketing objectives and marketing objectives. The former describe the overall value system adopted by the company, while the latter relate to sales, profit and buyers. They should be defined for each market or segment using full knowledge of the relationship between market share and price, distribution and product awareness.

            Examples of marketing objectives:

            Below are some general marketing objectives that should always be refined in the context of your business.

            Building brand awareness

            This is one of the first objectives set by businesses, as the stronger and more recognisable the brand, the greater the chance of consumers associating it with a specific need and the greater the number of customers and the increasing likelihood of referrals from them.

            How do you measure brand awareness?

            • The number of searches for the brand name and closely related keywords: it indicates that the user is already familiar with the brand or has heard about it and is interested in it. Thanks to SEO tools, Keyword Planner or Google Trends, you can find out how many times your brand name has been searched for in a given period, which country the users searching for it come from and which devices they are using.
            • New social media followers: a higher number of observers undoubtedly indicates that the brand is becoming more recognisable. Additionally, a strong community is being built, which can be used to increase engagement, generate traffic and gain new customers.
            • Rejection rate: a drop in instant rejections means that users are spending more time on your site, which can mean that awareness of your brand has increased.

            Increase visibility in organic search results

            Optimising your website for search engines contributes to better visibility in search results. As a result of SEO efforts, the site becomes more popular and the number of page views increases. Websites displaying themselves in top positions are also characterised by greater customer trust. Brand awareness is therefore also built up.

            There are many factors involved in improving search engine rankings. In simple terms, the process consists of three steps: technical optimisation of the website, content optimisation and link building. At the very beginning of the process , however , anSEO auditshould be carried out ,i.e. a professional analysis of the extent to which a page is adapted to the requirements of a search engine .

            How do you measure the increase in visibility?

            • Number of keywords: with the aim of improving visibility in the organic results, it is crucial to constantly monitor the number of words for which a page appears in a search engine;
            • The average position of key phrases;
            • The number of clicks/impressions in the organic results.

            Increased customer engagement

            There are many benefits associated with having an engaged customer community. Using proven tools and best practices, your business can develop a strategy and implement a plan to activate customers that will improve customer relationships and increase loyalty and retention.

            How do you measure an increase in customer engagement?

            • Shares, likes and comments on social media platforms: by keeping an eye on this area, we can analyse how engagement among users with our brand is growing. In addition, tracking which posts are performing best is helpful in prioritising and preparing further content.
            • Improving the quality of website traffic: Improving the quality of website traffic will be indicated by the number of pages visited on the website or by users performing desired actions on the website. This action could be, for example, signing up for a newsletter or downloading a file we have prepared.
            • Rejection rate: is the number of sessions limited to one page, divided by the number of total sessions. This ratio can help you understand whether your content is in line with users’ intentions. A high rejection rate may mean that visitors did not find what they were looking for on the site. If this is the case, it is worth leaning into this aspect to make sure your traffic is valuable.
            • Average session duration: is the duration of all sessions, divided by the total number of sessions. More time spent on a page can mean that users are engaged in a positive way with the content we create. However, you should be careful and analyse this as well as other factors in detail, as this aspect can also mean that the use of the website is not intuitive enough, which can reflect negatively on your company’s image and you will lose a potential customer.

            Customer satisfaction

            This is also undoubtedly one of the most important objectives when conducting marketing activities. A product that users are happy to use, buy and recommend to others will enhance all marketing activities.

            Satisfaction levels are influenced by many different factors. It could be, for example, a well-designed website, short delivery times or even access to a chat bot to answer customer queries.

            How do you measure customer satisfaction?

            • Comments and feedback: It is important not to leave comments unanswered on our part. It is worth responding not only to the positive ones, but also to the negative ones, and explaining why the situation occurred and how it was resolved. In this way, the company is able to continue to build a positive image and potential customers see that, in the event of any problem, the company will always find an optimal solution.
            • Surveys and polls: is one of the most popular ways of measuring user satisfaction on the internet. Surveys can be sent to users after a site visit, sent in the form of emails or posted on a website. For example, a 10-point NPS, or Net Promoter Score, survey contains only one question, so the customer does not have to spend a lot of time filling it out and is more likely to decide to give us their feedback.

            Goal formulation and the SMART method

            According to Philip Kotler – honorary professor of the Department of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, also known as the ‘father of marketing’ – the formulation of goals and objectives should take place as soon as the external environment and internal environment have been examined, and the business unit has defined its message. It is important that the objectives are structured in a specific way: from the main one to further, intermediate ones.

            Knowing what our priorities are, it is useful to focus on the most important one using the 80/20 rule.

            The SMART method (an acronym for five English words), is a helpful concept for formulating and planning objectives, indicating the characteristics that a properly formulated objective should have.

            S – Specific. This is important because people often set themselves too general a goal, which is difficult to achieve without being more specific, due to the difficulty of defining a path to achieve it

            M – Measurable. This means that we should be able to monitor our progress towards the goal and set out the method by which we will measure it. This could be, for example, a given percentage, an indicator or a planned date. This way we will know at what point it will be achieved.

            A – Achievable. We need to be able to determine whether we have the resources and ability to achieve the target set, even the most ambitious one.

            R – Realistic/Relevant. As well as being potentially achievable, the goal must also be realistic to avoid frustration and discouragement. It is therefore important to consider whether we can realistically change or improve processes that affect performance.

            T – Time-bound. A goal needs to be time-bound so that sufficient time and resources can be allocated to achieve it. By setting a specific target date, tasks will not continue to be postponed and employees will become more motivated to act.

            Benefits of goal setting

            When we know exactly where we are going, we are much more motivated to act. Focusing on a set goal makes us able to put more energy into our work and it becomes more efficient. We also find it easier to make difficult decisions during the course of a project. Only when we have set the main goal for our business can we identify areas for improvement – for example, whether our marketing efforts are bringing users to the site, whether they are effective, and what the user path looks like and whether it is optimal.

            Even if we fail to achieve the set target within the specified timeframe, we still have the opportunity to carefully analyse the mistakes made, identify weaknesses and strengths and draw key lessons for later implementation of
            changes andimprovements.

            KPIS

            KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)are individually selected numerical indicators used to monitor the progress of a particular area within a company.

            It is important that they are measured over a defined period of time and evaluated in a uniform manner. On the other hand, employees in individual departments must have a real impact on them. They should also not be overly complicated – everyone in the company must interpret them in the same way.

            https://www.simplekpi.com/Blog/KPI-Reports-Explained-A-complete-guide

            Examples of KPIs

            Marketing:

            • Number of requests for quotations
            • Number of leads
            • Cost per lead
            • Number of newsletter subscriptions
            • Cost per conversion
            • Click-through rate
            • Rejection rate

            E-commerce:

            • Conversion rate
            • Time spent on the website
            • Website traffic
            • Average basket value
            • Basket abandonment rate
            • Customer acquisition cost by channel
            • Sales on a weekly/monthly/quarterly basis
            • Return on advertising spend (ROAS)
            • Return on investment (ROI)

            Customer service:

            • Number of telephone calls made
            • Call duration
            • Quality of call assessment
            • Number of complaints
            • Customer satisfaction rate

            The most important business success indicator is influenced in practice by many different factors. It is therefore important for the company to understand what they are and how they interact with the main objective. In this way, we can define measures of success at different levels of the organisation. We then know exactly who is responsible for what. It also becomes clear what our strengths and weaknesses are and what needs to be improved.

            https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-types-of-Facebook-ads-like-CPM-or-CPC

            Summary

            A good formulation of the goal is the first step towards achieving it. It enables us to better control our actions and those of the whole team. Setting priorities is an extremely difficult task due to the complexity of the world around us and the endless possibilities. Sometimes there are too many main or specific objectives, and as a result the organisation is not as effective as it could be if they were specified in detail at every level.

            The problem with setting and achieving goals is also a lack of belief in their achievement. If we do not believe that we are capable of achieving something, we will never be able to realise our full potential. However, it is worth focusing on what is most important to us and learning valuable lessons from failures for the future.

            CTA (call to action) – what is it? Examples

            Wondering how to make your adverts more effective and increase the conversion rate of your online shop? One quick and relatively simple way is to use the right call to action, or ‘call to action’.

            CTA – definition

            CTA ( call to action) is a term used in marketing and literally translated means ‘call to action’. CTAs are specific elements that encourage the user to take a desired action, i.e. to click on a link or button and, for example, submit a form, make a purchase, download an app, sign up for a newsletter, etc. CTAs usually take the form of a clickable button, icon or linked text and are used in advertisements, websites and online shops. CTAs most often use a verb in the imperative mode (e.g. ‘call now’, ‘find out more’, ‘buy now’, ‘sign up for a free account’), in order to elicit an immediate response.

            Where is it appropriate to use CTAs?

            There are many places and situations in the online space where CTAs can be used and, in doing so, improve the effectiveness of actions and increase conversion rates. Most commonly, call to action is used in the following areas:

            1. E-commerce

            Using the right CTA in an online shop can significantly improve the conversion rate. In e-commerce, CTAs usually come in the form of buttons that tell the user what to do, where to click and what to buy. Call to action allows you to guide the consumer through the stages of the purchasing process – keeping them engaged and making the transaction as easy as possible, through tailored messages.

            2. Websites

            CTAs are worth using on a website to get the user to take a desired action, e.g. submit a contact form, make a phone call, sign up for a newsletter, create an account, etc. It is most often in the form of a button or icon, but often also takes the form of a link in the text or the text itself.

            Also for a blog, it is useful to use a CTA to encourage people to read the next post, follow on social media, add a comment under the post, etc.

            3. Online advertising and email marketing

            A CTA in online advertising is a must have. It is meant to interest and entice the user to click and go to a landing page to perform the desired action there. The content of the CTA used is of great importance, as are the form, colour and positioning. It is worth testing different CTAs in your campaigns to choose the most effective one.

            4. SEO

            CTAs are also used in SEO. We are primarily talking about content that is visible to the user in the SERPs (search results). The use of an effective call to action in the meta description, i.e. a short description of the content of the landing page, can help to increase the CTR (click-through rate).

            How do you create an effective CTA? Good practice

            There are no universal rules that will work in every situation. However, there are a few elements to keep in mind that will significantly contribute to effectiveness:

            Content: the message must be clear and simple. The CTA should inform the user what will happen when they click and where they will be redirected. It is also worth highlighting the benefits the consumer will receive when they click – this can be done above the button or directly in the content of the CTA, e.g. “get 20% off”, “download a free guide”.

            CTAs should be created using dynamic verbs, i.e. verbs that describe a change, process or action. They are most often used in the form of a verb in the imperative mode, e.g. ‘find out more’, ‘sign up’. However, it is also worth testing verbs in the first person singular, e.g. “I’m going in”, “I want to know more” – this often proves to be an effective treatment.

            In addition to emphasising the benefits, effectiveness is improved by adding encouraging words such as ‘today’, ‘now’, ‘only’, which emphasise, for example, the time or quantity limitation of the offer.

            Consider adding an exclamation point at the end of the CTA, which can further spur action and improve effectiveness.

            Appearance and placement: content alone is not enough. The CTA should be distinctive and striking so that a user who is merely scanning the page with his or her eyes pays attention to it. It is important that it stands out from the rest of the page in both design and colour. Its appearance should also suggest clickability (button, bold or enlarged font, underlining, prominent colour, etc.).

            Placement is very important – it is best to situate the CTA where the user’s gaze naturally travels. Typically, the CTA should be placed above the fold, i.e. in the area that is visible when the page/email is loaded, without scrolling. A good solution is for the main CTA to be visible all the time and to follow the user, even when scrolling – e.g. placed in the top menu.

            In the case of a longer email or blog post, the CTA can be repeated several times.

            Source: https://convertkit.com/call-to-action-examples

            Near the CTA, it is worth placing the most important information about the product or service. A user equipped with the right knowledge is more likely to click and move on to the next purchase stage.

            Analytics: there is no universal recipe for a CTA, so testing, measuring and analysing is essential. It is definitely worth conducting A/B tests and checking the effectiveness of different versions of a CTA by analysing the CTR (click-through rate) and CR (conversion rate). Heatmaps, which show graphically (colours) how visitors behave on a particular page, are also an interesting solution. One of the most popular tools for this is Hotjar. We can test different CTA content and colours, as well as placement.

            Examples of CTAs

            The most commonly used and tested CTAs that can be observed look like the following:

            • “find out more”,
            • “add to cart”,
            • “buy now”,
            • “subscribe”,
            • “book now”.

            They are also appropriate in the first person:

            • “I want to know more”,
            • “I’m coming in”.

            They often emphasise the benefit to the user:

            • “try for free”,
            • “join for free”,
            • “get a 15% discount”,
            • “get £40 off your first purchase”.

            Summary

            In summary, the main purpose of a call to action is the click. The CTA should attract the user’s attention in order to turn him or her first into a potential customer and ultimately a customer of the company. CTAs help to navigate e-commerce shops, get the viewer’s interest and engagement, and get them to take the desired action.

            What are your tried and tested practices when creating a CTA?