What is a heat map?

The heat map is a technique that allows the graphical presentation of the most important information about the behavior of users visiting a specific website. Thanks to the use of a wide range of colors, we can check which areas of the website are most frequently visited, for example:
– red – the most popular elements;
– yellow – areas of less interest;
– blue or green – places visited least often.

In some cases, heatmaps are equally identified with clickmaps. According to Paraphrase Online experts, this is the correct reasoning, but to simplify it – it is nothing else than a method of presenting data collected using click tracking, scroll tracking and attention tracking. What do these terms mean?

– click tracking – tracking information related to user clicks using server logs;
– scroll tracking – a rule based on the depth of scrolling, i.e. places where Internet users will reach the farthest;
– attention tracking – research based on the analysis of website elements that attract potential visitors.

Remember not to confuse heat maps with eye tracking. Well, eye tracking tracks the movement of the eyeballs, and the mission of this study is to verify the most popular elements that Internet users look at. For this purpose, we need specialized equipment – dedicated glasses or a monitor equipped with special functionalities.

Heat maps developed on the basis of tools such as Hotjar track the cursor movements, and thus – in this case we use click tracking or scroll tracking technology. Eye tracking is a completely different, more advanced technique used much less frequently than classic solutions.

Heat map implementation – 3 most popular tools

The most popular tools for implementing a heat map include: Crazy EGG, Smartlook and HotJar. With their help, we will implement the tracking code for the website and we will be able to study all the factors affecting click-, scroll-, and attention tracking. Here are 3 heatmap apps!

Crazy EGG
Crazy EGG is a tool that shows the number of clicks and scrolls. Creates heat maps and presents additional statistics of clicks on specific areas, elements and functionalities. You can use it for free for 30 days in the demo version.

Smartlook
The Smartlook application offers click maps, scroll maps, and allows you to record the behavior of potential customers on the website (e.g. clicking between subpages of the website). In the free version, we will generate any number of heat maps, but the data on which our heat map is based will be quite limited.

HotJar
HotJar, a program that prepares click maps and cursor movement recordings. The free version of the application is very limited, but we can use all its functionalities for free for 15 days. In some cases, HotJar reduces site performance (e.g. increases loading time).

Types of heat maps – 5 examples

The different types of heat maps enable a comprehensive analysis of all visitor activities. Depending on our preferences, we can see, among others how far users scroll our website, what they most often pay attention to, and why they do not click on a given link or leave the site. Here are the types of heat maps! – 5 examples.

Click Map
Click Map allows you to carefully analyze all clicks made on our website by potential customers. It works on a simple principle – after the user’s activity (in the form of a click), he marks a specific area on the page with a bright dot. The larger the spot of white, the more active the visitors were in this place. Thanks to the appropriate identification, we can assess whether the guests have clicked on the appropriate space.

Page scroll map
The page scroll map allows you to see how far users are scrolling. That’s not all, because with its help we can also verify the most eye-catching functionalities and places that make visitors leave our site.

Map of the percentage of clicks
The click-through percentage map allows you to accurately count the number of clicks generated by using a specific element (e.g. a call to action) compared to other website functionalities. This is very important because it allows you to find out which areas of the website are most important to users.

Confetti map
The confetti map shows single clicks on the page. It also allows you to verify that potential customers are clicking inactive areas. Some may confuse it with the click percentage map, but the confetti type only demonstrates single clicks, not the click density.

Mouse tracking map
The mouse tracking map shows the most common places your visitors move around. It is a very useful type of map that facilitates the verification of where the user has reached with the mouse, but has not clicked on a given element or has left the site.

Heat maps in internet analytics

Heat maps can be perfectly used in internet analytics, e.g. to improve the visibility of priority buttons and icons or to detect the most problematic areas of a given website. They are also helpful for improving website navigation, moving individual elements as well as analyzing the volume of content. Below we present the use of heat maps in web analytics!

Detection of the most problematic areas of a given website
Appropriate use of clickmaps will allow you to verify which elements are inactive and still attract the attention of visitors. Additionally, you can eliminate places considered to be the most problematic – it is very useful in highly competitive industries (e.g. e-commerce, hosting, gambling).

Content volume analysis
The content volume analysis is possible thanks to the scrollmap – then we will be able to check whether the user reads the entire text available on our website. If, on the other hand, we conclude that visitors only roll over half of the article, we should choose a different SEO strategy focused on, for example, shorter but more substantive content.

Improving the visibility of priority buttons and icons
Thanks to the click map, we will find out which functionalities of our website attract the most attention of users. If we come to the conclusion that individual elements in the current form (e.g. a subscription button or a basket icon) are not effective enough – we will be able to make significant changes.

Moving items within the site
Moving items within the site is a procedure performed primarily by online stores. What is it exactly about? Well, using scroll and attention maps, we will get to know the buttons that attract the special attention of visitors. Thanks to this, we will find out which of them should be moved higher to interest other Internet users.

Improving site navigation
The use of heat maps in web analytics is primarily the continuous testing of the functionality of a given website. Exactly the same is the case with improving the navigation on the site.

For example – if we provide our clients with two versions of the menu (vertical and horizontal), we should test which of them is used more often. We can then notice that the side navigation does not arouse any interest, and thus – we will insert additional buttons, banners or icons in its place.

Summary

Heatmaps are excellent SEO tools that improve website analytics. They look very effective, are transparent, and most importantly – they increase conversion and make the website more useful. Remember, however, that the necessary skill is to draw appropriate conclusions from the obtained maps, and then make well-thought-out and correct changes to the selected site.

FAQ

When to use heatmaps
Heatmaps are worth using to measure audience engagement in the context of your articles. According to Semcore experts, they can be additionally used to verify what elements attract the attention of recipients and check what Internet users click on most often.

What can be deduced from the heat map?
The heat map requires a careful analysis, thanks to which we can conclude, inter alia, where should we place the most important content, where visitors leave the website, and how to increase the effectiveness of priority functionalities and properly present your product or service.

Who should use heatmaps?
Heat maps are especially useful in highly competitive industries (e.g. e-commerce, gambling, hosting), where even the smallest details count. This does not change the fact that the so-called The heat map is useful in every field, for example to increase conversion or meet the requirements of Internet users (UX aspect).

To be completely honest – most of the problems include a high bounce rate and even too few entries from mobile devices compared to stationary devices can be solved by correctly implementing the improvements that we have developed based on the data from the heat maps.

How to implement a heat map to your business?
The heat map should be implemented using appropriate applications (eg Crazy EGG, Smartlook, HotJar) that will facilitate the implementation of the tracking code on our website. Thanks to this, we will be able to study the elements affecting click-, scroll- and attention tracking.

My conclusions are based on cooperation with nearly three thousand clients that we have had or have had the pleasure to run from the very beginning of
Paraphrase Online. As an organization, we meet dozens of business owners every day and exchange hundreds of emails with people responsible for marketing. We also know everything about budgeting in most industries and about the ratio of marketing expenses to revenues in general. Ultimately, we have a preview of how certain types of activities work, and how others hinder scaling or the ordinary communication flow.

Sin # 1: Marketing specialist

The proverbial marketing specialist is a dinosaur who does not know yet that an asteroid is flying towards him. Once upon a time, a marketing one man show was possible. The competition was smaller, advertising and analytical systems easier to use and offering very limited possibilities. Ba! There were simply fewer advertising channels we needed to know about. Therefore, in many companies, several people could take care of everything and possibly replace each other. Also, hiring someone was much easier due to relatively general market demands. Someone obtained approval from the Management Board, someone launched a prom on FB with a discretionary budget, someone else ordered leaflets or started cooperation with an influencer. There was usually no time for analytics in such a system. Everything was going forward anyway, so for several years no one asked any questions, and marketing departments were covered in a spider web of stagnation.

It ended, however.

Today we are dealing with a completely different battlefield. Every team member must specialize, be well paid, and be good at what they do. It does not have to be a social media ninja or a content visionary of the decade. However, he must be a solid craftsman, which – contrary to appearances – is really difficult to do.

Everyone wants to have everything “here and now” without a minimum of persistence and without working on themselves. Finding people who know Rome wasn’t built in a day is insanely difficult.

Given the current complexity of marketing tools, it is currently not possible to be good at everything. You have to test, search, read and experience to get to know a given platform inside out. And sometimes this is not enough, because there is, for example, an algorithm update or a new company policy and … you have to do it all from scratch, and using old schemes will result in reduced effectiveness.

But why is it necessary to be good at something?

Because there are more and more companies like yours on the market. Because advertising budgets are getting higher and there are more of them. Because the number of advertising space or places does not increase as much as the number of companies that want to develop them. This implies competitiveness that requires optimization of its activities. If we rely on the same behavior for several years, we will consistently lose reach among potential customers.

Sin # 2: Budget

We often come across a situation where a company hired someone to handle Google Ads, with a payout of $ 5,000, spending $ 3,000 or $ 4,000 on the advertising budget alone …

In the case of a paid channel like Google Ads or Facebook Ads, it’s completely absurd. It is not possible to hire a specialist for $ 5,000 who, with such a low budget, will become profitable by optimizing such a campaign. Someone with such skills simply has to earn and spend more in the campaign.

With this type of relationship – where the cost of a person for paid channels is, for example, 50% of the company’s total marketing expenses, it is much better to shift the budget to a proven agency or freelancer. Quite simply – a sensibly targeted budget of $ 3,000, say $ 7,000, instead of $ 3,000, will do a lot better for most industries. Servicing this type of budget in marketing agencies is between 20 and 30% of this sum, so you will close to $ 9,000 for the whole, but you will spend twice as much on pure marketing than if you hire an in-house specialist.

Based on conversations with companies and taking over accounts that were managed in this way, I can guarantee that only then you will feel the real power of paid channels (of course, the budgets given here are hypothetical, because they largely depend on the industry).

Sin # 3: We employ the wrong places

Currently, no company can afford a situation where it relies on only one advertising platform. In the case of giants such as Facebook or Google, we must be ready sometimes for the fact that, for example, the possibility of advertising certain products within them will be limited overnight, as has been the case recently, e.g. with masks or sanitary devices.

There are also topics – such as underwear or dietary supplements that can block accounts for up to several weeks. It happens that even advertising accounts in neutral industries are suspended for a week or two, because the algorithm decided so, and the support was just lazy.

Your customers are also present in more than one channel, and marketing must make sure that you meet them wherever possible, not just where… we consider it best. In the case of outbound marketing, the more often they encounter your homogeneous message, the greater the probability that they will finally decide to buy your product or service. Shopping is definitely more impulsive than measured from top to bottom.

That is why most businesses must diversify the channels of reaching a potential customer. Depending on what we do, what budget we have and what we want to achieve, there is a more or less sensible methodology for selecting people for work. Basically, it can be presented simply by answering the question of who is worth having in the company, and what topics are better to be sent to external entities.

I know a company that has an advertising budget of $ 40,000 per month. At the same time, it employs:
– A social media specialist who runs a FB profile and deals with superficial advertisements.
– A marketing specialist who runs instagram and pinterest, orders printed materials and collects invoices from various subcontractors.
– The second marketing specialist who coordinates the filming and basically also acts as a graphic designer.
– SEO specialist who is also a copywriter, but does not have a separate budget for reasonable linking.
– Marketing Manager who embraces them all and reports them higher.

The total monthly cost of maintaining these employees, in this arrangement, is 38,000 dollars. Therefore, monthly, this company spends ~ $ 80,000 on marketing, of which only half of this money goes to advertising channels. Of course, organic work on Insta, FB, or Pinterest can be worth a lot of money. In general, however – the people from the example – do not even know if what they are doing works …

In such a case, it would be wise to reduce employment by one or two people and leave strategic resources within the company, and release the rest of the funds to additional channels that can only be selected after a meaningful audit of the activities carried out so far. You can also decide on a new division of competences and send specific people to specialized training. In this example, they should probably start with a meaningful web analytics course to delineate further axes for acquiring new competences.

In conclusion, in most cases, it will be a good idea to have a mix that will accommodate both internally employed specialists and agencies that can provide selected services. What is most important in this system, however, is the fact that in the end the costs of servicing and maintaining agencies and specialists do not exceed 30% of the company’s total marketing budget. If we hire for a company, remember that it should give us a specific skill due to its presence. The fact that we add an additional person to the project does not mean that the project will speed up and will have a positive impact on its effectiveness. It could, in principle, be the other way around.

What is a domain in the simplest words?

The concept of a domain is quite complex, but the easiest way to explain is that it is a website address on the Internet. After entering it, the associated website is displayed in the browser bar. Therefore, the terms “domain” and “website address” are often used interchangeably. Domains are used to make it easier for users to navigate the Internet – just like physical addresses in a city are much easier “to use” than, for example, the geographical coordinates of a given place.

Domains are served by the Domain Name System (DNS) service. It translates user-understandable domain names, consisting of specific words and phrases, into an IP address that is understandable by devices that support the network.

What does a domain consist of?

The domain consists of several elements. Primarily:
– domain name,
– extension e.g. .com

To get the full website address, you must add the protocol (http: // or https: //) and optionally a subdomain (usually www.).

The domain name can contain letters, numbers or the sign “-” (hyphen). Upper and lower case letters are not distinguished. Diacritical marks can also be used recently, but in practice they are rarely used. They are sometimes even considered bad practice.

It is also worth mentioning the extensions. There are many types of extensions that can be divided into several groups:
– national (ccTLD): .nl, .de, .sk, .fr, co.uk, .ru,
 – top-level global (TLD): .com, .net, .org, .info, .eu,
– functional (gTLD): .edu (for educational sites), .org (for organizations), .gov (for government sites), .net (for internet access services), .biz (for business), .mil (for military agencies),
 – functional second level (SLD): .com.de, edu.fr, .net.sk, .biz.nl,
– regional (SLD).

Domain and website

A domain is not the same as a website – it is just the address of a specific place on the web where it can be found. Registration of internet domain names usually requires a fee and is renewed annually. This means that if you stop paying for the domain, you will lose your internet space and it can be very difficult to recover it. In practice, therefore, each specific address on the network is rented (leased). It is not possible to acquire it indefinitely. However, the right to use the domain can be resold. Some people take advantage of this and buy out “abandoned” domains (that is, addresses for which someone stopped paying) as soon as they pass the quarantine period and return to the free market, and then resell them to the original owners or competitors for a much higher price.

There are also free domains, but they are usually very restrictive and not suitable for building “serious” websites. However, that’s not all, because hosting a website is also necessary. It can be likened to a building plot – it is a server space where all the files that make up the website are stored, i.e. those responsible for its appearance and content.

How much does a domain cost?

As already mentioned, there are free internet domains available. Usually, however, they do not have attractive extensions, and certainly not easy to remember addresses with the ending, for example: .com. Usually, when using a free domain, it is very difficult to reach a wider audience. Sometimes you can get an address for free with a fixed-term hosting subscription, but you usually have to pay the domain fee when extending your contract. How much it costs? Prices depend on the domain name and its extension, as well as the Internet service provider – the offers of individual companies may differ slightly. Often the price of domain registration is attractive and ranges from a dollar to several dozen dollars. However, be careful because, as a rule, its extension (which usually takes one year) is much more expensive. Then the costs (for the domain itself, without hosting) range from several dozen to several hundred dollars.

How to choose a domain name?

Not everyone attaches importance to it, but the domain name is very important – after all, it will be a showcase of your business, regardless of whether it is a corporate or personal website.

In the past, domains directly related to the profile of the website’s activity were selected in order to positively influence the positioning of the website in search engines (e.g. bus rental, website-positioning, etc.). Nowadays, however, it is not necessary, because Google does not distinguish addresses constructed in this way in any way.

Therefore, a much better solution seems to be an address with a unique brand name. In order to obtain good results in the field of positioning, it is worth carrying out successive branding activities, using the company’s name in various places on the web. Thanks to this, it becomes more credible, and thus appears higher in the search results. For this reason, it is sometimes worth buying a second-hand domain. If there are many valuable links leading to it on the Internet, it will definitely support SEO activities, especially if it has a meaningful background history.

However, the users must not be forgotten. The domain name should be easy to remember and write down. Short addresses work best, without or only with single hyphens or numbers and without complicated words or words, e.g. of foreign-language origin, which create doubts as to the correct spelling. Most often, American websites use .com extensions which are considered the most reliable. When operating on many markets, it is also worth choosing the global (.com) extension or creating separate domains with country-specific endings (e.g. .de, .co.uk., .fr, etc.).

Striving to occupy the highest possible search results for specific phrases is a real chance to expand the interest in the offer among new users. It is enough to look at the statistics prepared by Paraphrase-Online.com Team – over 43% of Internet users click on the link in the first place, over 37% of recipients click on the link from the second position, and with each lower position the click-through rate decreases – only 3% of users are interested in the link in the last position.

How to position the website – setting keywords

The user arrives at the website based on individual keywords or entire phrases entered into the search field. Therefore, the choice of phrases is one of the main aspects of SEO. It is with their help that the Internet user determines his needs, counting on precise feedback from Google.

You – as the website owner – must understand the user’s expectations. This will allow you to choose the right keywords – those that can be used by your potential recipient. However, you should not focus only on the main and very general phrases – they are very popular, as a result of which it is difficult to “stand out”, and besides, they usually do not allow you to reach users who are actually interested in the offer. Effect? You may notice an increased number of visits to the website, but the conversion will be low. And yet you care about generating traffic that translates into high sales, right?

Keywords can be divided into several categories:
– brand phrases – related directly to the company or a specific product that the user is looking for, e.g. Rolex watches,
– local phrases – relating to the company, industry, location, e.g. Miami dentist, dog hairdresser in Las Vegas,
– long tail phrases – not appreciated by everyone yet, but they have great opportunities; are especially recommended for the e-commerce industry, because they allow you to narrow the field of search, e.g. quilted autumn jacket without a hood,
– guide phrases – reflect the queries entered by the user; are recommended primarily in articles published on the blog, e.g. what cosmetic treatments for pregnant women, what book for a gift for a teenager.

Do you know the types of phrases and what’s next? How do you know which of them have high potential and which are completely let go? If you care about effective positioning, you cannot rely solely on your intuition. Public tools can help you choose the right keywords.

Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is one of the most popular phrase selection tools. Although it is ultimately used to plan Google Ads advertising campaigns, it also supports activities related to positioning. With this tool, you can search for phrases with potential, and analyze them, taking into account the frequency of searches or competitiveness.

Answer The Public
It is a tool that allows you to search not only for popular phrases, but also related queries entered into the search engine. Thanks to this, you can reach not only the main keywords, but also the long tail phrases and tip phrases.

You can also search for keywords using paid (more advanced) tools. The keyword database available in them allows you to find specific phrases with high potential. You get not only a list of words, but also information about the average number of monthly searches, trends, and seasonality. There are also phrases in the form of questions, dependent words, and even word groups. Thanks to such extensive functionality, you have a chance to create an appropriate set of keywords.

SEO audit – introduction to positioning

If you want to perform effective SEO, you need to know the health of your website. Why? For a website to be liked by Google robots, it should meet their expectations in terms of many aspects. These include such issues as:
– proper construction,
– speed of operation,
– user-friendliness,
– content,
– correct link profile.

An SEO audit is an introduction to positioning that will allow you to create a specific action plan that increases the likelihood of being in the top positions in search results.

There are several necessary elements that should form the basis of the audit. These include information on:
– website construction,
– site speed,
– indexing options by Google robots,
– the correctness of the website code,
– content analysis – also in terms of duplicates,
– competition analysis,
– keyword analysis,
– link profile.

A properly conducted website audit and the implementation of the changes recommended by it will help to increase:
– site visibility,
– movement within it,
– sales potential.

This means that you will get even more benefits from it than just positioning support. There is only one condition – it must be carried out reliably, preferably by industry experts. Specialists know what elements should be especially paid attention to in order to get as close to the operation of Google algorithms as possible.

Perform on-site activities

The results of the audit are an excellent and huge source of knowledge about the condition of the website and how to position the website. They are the starting point for further activities – first of all within the site itself. Here are some important aspects.

Correct internal navigation
The website must be friendly to both users and Google robots. An important role here is played by e.g. appropriate internal navigation – so that every visitor can easily reach the right place.

As part of the positioning activities, all activities aimed at improving internal navigation should therefore be carried out. This is what reflects the correct website architecture.

The most important element is the website menu with the most important main tabs. They should direct to individual subpages – categories, and they, in turn – to subcategories, etc.

If you want to check if the website architecture is correct, check it using the so-called 3-click rule. This means that a user wishing to reach the selected place should only make 3 mouse clicks. Of course, this rule will not apply to very complex websites or e-shops. However, it is worth thinking about building such an architecture that will require the least number of clicks from the Internet user.

Correctness of URLs
As part of the activities related to positioning, it is worth checking and – if necessary – modifying the URLs. Changes must be made with Google in mind, so they should be easy to remember, clear to navigate, readable, containing keywords, as short as possible.

Creation of correct metadata
The right meta title and description structure will help generate more traffic on the website. Therefore, it is worth remembering not only to supplement these elements, but also to ensure their correctness – not only in the context of placing the appropriate keywords.

Title should be between 60-70 characters. Make sure it responds to the question you are asking, while attracting attention and encouraging you to click.
The description length changes from time to time, so it’s best to stick to around 160 characters. The description should confirm the accuracy of the meta title – it should be constructed in such a way that it includes a CTA.

Content optimization
The content posted on the website plays a huge role, so it should be properly optimized. The basis is to supplement the content with selected keywords – but with naturalness. The text must be saturated with phrases, but in such a way that it is still easy to read.

The next step is to remove duplicate content – all that already appear in search results on other websites. Duplicate content is one of the elements that can significantly lower the position of a site in search results.

Remember that the content is not only texts, but also graphics. And it should be optimized – described with the ALT and title attribute. Also pay attention to the size of the photos – if they are too large, they will slow down the page loading speed.

Improving page loading speed
Internet users do not like to wait, so they immediately abandon slow-loading pages. If you do not want such a fate to befall your site, take care of the optimal page loading speed. You will not only score in the eyes of users, but also Google. The time in which the website content is loaded not only affects the higher position in the search results, but also … higher conversion.

If the audit indicated the need to improve the page loading speed, this should be changed. For this purpose, you can, for example, reduce server consumption, optimize images, remove unnecessary elements on the page, update themes and plugins, reduce the number of redirects.

Expanding the website content
Adding more subpages filled with content is a chance to naturally weave keywords and carry out internal linking. So think about expanding your site with new subcategories, and start a blog (if you don’t have one).

Take care of off-site activities

If you want to strengthen the position of a website in search results, you cannot focus solely on activities within the website. You have to “go outside” – in order to improve your authority, strengthen your image on the web and… build a natural link profile of the website.

Unify corporate data
If your company details are published on different business card pages, check that they are correct. Keep it up-to-date to help build greater trust and improve credibility.

Completing online business cards
It is worth getting to know the users – it is enough to fill in the information in the online business cards. The necessity is, among others presence in Google My Business. A free profile helps you connect with customers in both search and Google Maps.

You should also make sure that existing customers leave feedback about your company. The more positive, the greater the trust. This will directly help in increasing the traffic to the website, and this in turn will aid positioning.

Publishing expert articles on industry portals
The image of an expert helps to rise to higher positions in search results, so it is worth ensuring the publication of articles on industry websites. However, these cannot be typical advertising texts, and articles with added value for the reader – it is about dispelling doubts, presenting new opportunities, etc.

Publishing sponsored articles
Sponsored articles are content published for a fee. This does not mean that they can constitute intrusive advertising and presentation of own services / products. If they are to attract the reader’s attention and encourage him to visit the website, they should provide a solution to a given problem, etc. How-to articles that present specific knowledge and clear tips useful to the user are great for this role.

Remember! The website for publication should be selected in terms of your target group. If you only operate locally, then focus on such portals.

Positioning – focus only on White Hat SEO

How to position your website without worrying about tomorrow? If you intend to improve the website’s position in the search results and you want to stay at the top of the search results for a long time, do not resort to unethical practices. Act in accordance with Google’s guidelines, because only this will bring the expected results. Build pages with people in mind, not just results.

Follow the White Hat SEO principles, which include aspects such as:
– adapting the website to the needs of recipients,
– improving user experience (so-called User Experience),
– constant expansion of content,
– obtaining external links in a natural or non-invasive way.

Remember! Currently, what matters to Google is the well-being of the user. Therefore, in all activities related to positioning, bear in mind your target group. Thanks to this, you will increase the chance of higher positions in search results and minimize the risk of applying filters to your website.

How to position the website – independently or with support?

Are you wondering how to position your website: on your own or with the agency’s support? There is no one-size-fits-all answer because it all depends on several factors. The most important thing is the current knowledge and experience – you need to know what actions to take in order to gain higher and higher positions in search results step by step.

A common mistake are attempts at self positioning by people who do not have much knowledge. Just “touching” the topic does not help much – because working out high positions in Google is not only about supplementing the content with keywords. The whole process is multi-stage and long-term – taking into account the changing Google algorithms.

Of course, a lot also depends on which agency you are going to cooperate with. In this case, you cannot be guided solely by the price. Consider, among others such issues as: knowledge, experience, the effects of campaigns implemented so far, opinions of other companies, and even provisions in contracts.

What is dropshipping?

Dropshipping is slowly becoming a very popular concept and more and more people are looking for detailed information on this topic. It is a specific logistics model used for online sales. It consists in transferring the responsibility for the entire shipping process to the supplier. This means that the online store does not have its own goods and its own warehouses, but only cooperates with an external company that carries out orders transferred to it. Some of the benefits of such a solution are obvious – no storage costs and no need to invest in goods (which may or may not sell), so much lower financial risk. In addition, the transfer of logistics to an external entity makes running a business much easier. Of course, that doesn’t mean dropshipping has only advantages.

Advantages of dropshipping

It cannot be concealed – dropshipping is a very tempting solution that greatly simplifies the process of running an online store and allows you to start earning money on your own account very quickly. You can list many advantages of the system. What kind?

Own business without a lot of capital
Setting up a company usually requires some investments, and in the case of a store they are significant – you need the entire infrastructure to handle orders, as well as the goods and the idea for an online store. Meanwhile, dropshipping allows you to “cut” most of the costs of the project. The only expenses you have to bear at the beginning are those related to the operation of the store’s website and shipping. This means that basically anyone can afford such a business. Moreover, the lack of significant expenses means you can quickly see a return on your investment and start enjoying your profits.

Running your business from anywhere
An online store run in a standard way gives the owner a lot of freedom, but not entirely. It is necessary, among others having a stationary warehouse where goods are stored and where orders are completed and prepared for shipment. Dropshipping is a model that offers much more freedom. You don’t have to have a warehouse that requires inspection at least from time to time. This means you can just work from home and earn money without leaving your home. A trip to another city or even a country is not a problem either. You just need a good internet connection to control your business all the time.

Less responsibilities, less responsibility
By running your own online store in the dropshipping model, you are mainly responsible for collecting orders, acquiring customers and maintaining relationships with them. If the e-shop is integrated with a wholesaler, the inventory and prices are updated automatically. Many companies also offer after-sales service (i.e. primarily returns and complaints). Therefore, the scope of your duties and responsibilities is limited. This means more private life and less stress.

A simple way to do business
The traditional model of running a store also requires much broader knowledge, for example about the logistics process. In addition, it is usually necessary to hire workers, which can also be a challenge. People without experience often find it difficult to enter this world without help. Meanwhile, dropshipping, taking off the most onerous duties from the store owner, means that almost everyone can set up an e-store.

Offer flexibility
If you invest in a commodity, not only do you freeze a large amount of cash, but you also run the risk of it not selling. In the dropshipping model, you can quickly change the assortment if the current one is not popular enough. This flexibility also allows you to adapt to current trends and thus maximize sales. Currently, wholesalers offering cooperation on the basis of dropshipping offer a very wide selection of products from various departments. This in turn increases your options for action.

Fast service = satisfied customer
Reputable dropshipping wholesalers work very efficiently, preparing the order immediately after receiving it. This allows you to offer your customers fast delivery and thus increase their satisfaction!

The disadvantages of dropshipping and the risks associated with operating in this model

As mentioned at the beginning, however, dropshipping also has some downsides like any other business model. However, it is worth knowing that some of them can be minimized or even eliminated. What problems can owners of e-shops operating on the basis of dropshipping face?

Less control over the business
By delegating much of your duties and responsibilities to an external party, you also lose some control over the business. It is the wholesaler who decides how your goods will be packed, shipped and delivered, and you have no right to question it. Therefore, before choosing a partner, you should always carefully check these issues and the rules of customer service (including the return or complaint policy). These are factors that significantly affect the image of the store. If you care about good customer relations (and this is the basis for satisfactory sales results), you cannot ignore it.

Big competition
The numerous advantages of dropshipping and the low entry threshold mean that there are more and more stores operated in this model. Wholesalers also have a limited (though diverse) range. So it’s almost certain that no matter what you choose to sell, someone is already doing it. This in turn means that in order to grab some of the market for yourself, you will have to differentiate yourself. Don’t forget – even a seemingly simple business, such as an e-shop based on dropshipping, requires inventiveness and an entrepreneur’s instinct.

Low margins
Strong competition often also means low margins. Thus, generating a reasonable profit requires obtaining good sales results. However, it is worth knowing that the amount of the margin largely depends on the type of goods offered. There are industries where it is quite high.

Problems with order fulfillment
It happens that cooperation with a wholesaler is not as smooth as you might want and expect. Sometimes the system fails and the goods shown in the store as available are in fact out of stock. Other times, the order fulfillment time may be longer due to the order queue. However, you can partially protect yourself against this by concluding an appropriate contract with the supplier.

Unclear return and complaint policy
If the company and warehouse data are different, this may mislead customers who want to make a complaint or legally return the goods. Therefore, you need to remember to put transparent information on the store’s website about where the unwanted product can be sent to. The problem can also be solved by adding ready-made returns forms to the packages.

Insufficient knowledge of the goods
The dropshipping model allows you to sell any goods. Which means that sometimes you can start operating in an industry that you don’t know well. This, in turn, can become a problem when you start getting detailed questions about specific goods or their parameters. Customers also often expect professional advice on the selection of a product from the store. The solution is to limit yourself to operating in the industry you know or to carefully read the elements of the offer, e.g. by ordering samples from the supplier.

Duplicate content
When running a dropshipping store, you can often become a victim of duplicate content, i.e. duplicate content, which results in a lower position of the store in Google search results. Therefore, never rely on copied product descriptions! Prepare your own and it will pay off for sure.

Dropshipping – how to start?

Nowadays, starting a business in the dropshipping model is quite easy, because there are many wholesalers serving customers in this way in the global market. First, however, you need to create your own trading platform. There are many solutions available that operate on a variety of principles. They differ primarily in the possibilities and costs of setting up and running a store. That is why it is worth carefully analyzing the available options to choose the right one right away.

You can create the store yourself, which is very easy, especially in the case of some platforms, or you can commission it to an external company. Note that the latter will usually produce a more professional effect, but will be more expensive. In each case, attention should be paid to the possibility and method of integrating the platform with solutions for dropshipping.

Choosing wholesalers for dropshipping

Subsequently, you can choose a key partner for your dropshipping business, i.e. wholesalers. There are currently many possibilities in this regard. However, be careful as not every wholesaler offers the same conditions to its partners. What to pay attention to? What to ask? The most important issues that should interest you are:

– shipping costs,
– available forms of delivery,
– the possibility of linking product categories between the wholesaler and the store,
– automatic updating of inventory and availability,
– additional fees for providing photos or product descriptions,
– method of packing goods for shipment,
– the ability to attach personalized extras to shipments – e.g. advertising materials, discount codes, gifts,
– minimum order amount,
– the company’s return and complaint policy (including the cost of returning the goods by the customer),
– first orders must be paid in advance (some wholesalers have to do so).

It’s a good idea to check the reviews of the company before deciding on their services or, if possible, try the advice of other shop owners on dropshipping. It is especially worth checking forums, blogs and groups on Facebook, where you can often find a lot of useful information.

When signing a contract with a wholesaler, make sure that all the previously discussed issues are included in it. If you use a special platform, read its terms and conditions. This is because creating an account means its acceptance.

Dropshipping – is it worth it?

Summarizing: is it worth “playing” in dropshipping? The answer, of course, is not clear cut. However, you should bear in mind that, contrary to what you may read in some articles or websites, this is certainly not a “golden deal” that will help you get rich effortlessly. Running a store is always a job that requires time, knowledge and often sacrifice. It should be remembered that due to the nature of the dropshipping model, obtaining high earnings is possible only if you achieve very good sales results. This, in turn, most often means the need to actively acquire customers, conduct advanced marketing activities and care for the highest level of service, including communication with consumers. You will probably need to invest in positioning (so that customers can reach your store at all), marketing or creating an attractive and functional website. It all takes resources.

It is worth noting, however, that dropshipping is an opportunity to create a business from almost nothing and helps to significantly minimize the risk of starting a store. The model also allows you to easily examine the demand for specific products. If used properly, it can turn out to be very effective, as proven by numerous stores operating in this way. Is this a solution for you? You have to judge for yourself!