Internet advertising is currently the best way to reach potential customers. It allows you to use many channels that can be tailored to your needs and expectations. Nothing prevents you from investing in several forms of Internet advertising at the same time – such a multifaceted approach may increase the chance of achieving sales success and allow you to optimize your activities.

SEO – a way to reach the top of the search engine

Advertising for an online store begins with the presence of a website in the search results. Statistics show that web users choose mainly those websites that are on the first page of the search engine, less often on the second. If the online store is located on other pages, it is practically non-existent. That is why it is so important to reach the top – preferably TOP 10.

SEO helps in achieving such effects – a number of activities related to the optimization and positioning of the website. The first step is to optimize the store, which includes, among others meta tags, category descriptions, product descriptions, content.

The key activity in positioning is providing valuable links – in line with the chosen strategy. It is also no less important to create a friendly structure of the website itself for Google’s web robots that index the page. Moreover, many positioners believe that content is of key importance – its high quality, intriguing content and responding to the needs of the customer group we are interested in. Such a thesis makes sense considering the fact that the foundation of the Google search engine is the fact that it feeds on content and responds well to content that is attractive to its users.

You can take care of website positioning yourself. However, since positioning takes a lot of time and training, many companies decide to entrust work on improving visibility in the search engine to specialized agencies or freelancers.

It is also worth bearing in mind that positioning is a long-term process and requires attention. Of course, situations in which the website climbs upwards are common (a lot depends on the budget and competitiveness), but more often you have to wait at least a few months for the results. A lot of companies, however, invest in positioning because in the long run it is the cheapest method of advertising their website and also increases the value of the website itself.

Google Ads – the perfect advertisement for an online store?

Positioning an online store is a long-term process, so you have to wait for the results. To speed up customer acquisition, you can opt for Google Ads – it’s a paid advertisement for an online store.

The most frequently chosen form of Google Ads are sponsored links. It is about displaying the ad above the organic results after the user enters certain phrases (and sometimes also under). By clicking on the link, the internet user will be redirected to the online store or website with the service offer.

The Google advertising platform also allows you to run campaigns on external websites. Advertising for the online store will appear in the form of banners which, after intriguing the Internet user, will transfer him to a given page. This is the so-called Google advertising network, which basically brings together all relevant websites or blogs.

The third option – especially eagerly chosen by online stores – is Google Shopping. It is a tool that allows you to promote specific products directly in the search engine. How does it look in practice? When the user enters the name of the product in the search engine, your store’s offer will be displayed in a special box – along with the price and photo.

Paraphrase-Online.com customers are more and more willing to invest higher and higher budgets there, which speaks for itself – businesses invest where it is most profitable.

Google Ads also allows you to run Youtube ads that replace traditional TV ads. They offer much cheaper reaching better defined groups. Thanks to them, you can also create very wide-reaching campaigns and still save a lot of funds compared to other forms of brand advertising.

Okay, why is Google Ads the most-chosen form of advertising on the Internet? And why is it considered to be basically perfect?

First of all, it allows you to target your audience very well. The better selected group, the more effectively invested funds. If you spend $ 100 in a wrong group, you can get, for example, one client. Similarly, $ 100 spent in a group potentially more interested may result in acquiring, for example, two or 3 customers, which will reduce the cost of acquiring a customer by 50 or 66% – each optimization change of this type allows therefore to allocate the budget more sensibly, and Google Ads thanks to detailed options to reach it allows it.

Second, Google Ads is measurable. You know exactly how much it cost you to acquire a given client and you know where he came from and what led him to do so. Thanks to the connection with Google Analytics, you can even know how he traveled the page to finally decide to buy.

The third feature that makes Google Ads so valued is the form of settlement – most often in the CPC model, i.e. per click. Therefore, you do not pay for the fact that someone saw your ad, but for the actual click and redirection to your website. Honest.

Advertising on Facebook

While there are many social networking sites out there, advertising for an online store on Facebook – especially in certain industries – is the most popular. Thanks to it you can:
– conduct image communication with recipients – this allows for building and maintaining long-term relationships,
– acquiring leads – obtaining data from potential clients,
– advertise products directly.

The basis is to create a fan page, but even the best and most interesting entries will not allow you to reach a wide group of potential customers. Paid campaigns, which are distinguished by considerable flexibility, can be of help.

You can choose from:
– sponsored posts,
– Messenger ads,
– remarketing banners.

An interesting option is the so-called collection (carousel) going to the main section of a potential customer. Thanks to it, it is possible to present many specific products. Among them, there are often those that a potential buyer was looking for.

Facebook is attractive to advertisers because, like Google Ads, it allows you to reach selected target groups, but also allows you to interact with users. Ultimately, it can engage more than Youtube.

Content marketing – for better recognition

Content marketing is marketing activities that focus on different content. This is not a typical advertisement for an online store, because it most often complements other promotional channels and, for example, is an important element in the process of website positioning.

The essence of content marketing is to provide valuable content – useful from the point of view of the recipient. These are most often expert articles published on external websites, but also articles published on the company’s blog.

Such activities help build a positive image and increase brand awareness. In addition, they help in obtaining valuable links, which is important in the context of positioning.

In fact, however, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When thinking about content, we must have a huge range of possibilities at the back of our heads that are not only based on content but also form. The task of the content department may therefore be to create webinars, guides, trendbooks, lookbooks, infographics, books for children and whatever your heart desires. Each form used should be adapted to the expectations of a given group.

Advertising for an online store – what to decide on?

It is difficult to clearly identify specific channels that allow to achieve the best advertising results. It all depends on many factors – including your expectations, the needs of potential customers, the way the campaign is run and the industry.

Remember that the effectiveness of advertising for an online store is influenced not only by the type of selected channel, but most of all:
– correct determination of the target group,
– precise specification of the purpose of the campaign,
– systematic monitoring of the results.

The last point is especially important, because based on the results achieved, you can modify the ads – so that they bring even better results. Constant control allows you to simultaneously increase / decrease financial outlays for specific channels.

Advertising campaign – alone or with support?

If you are just starting to carry out activities aimed at promoting your online store, it will be difficult for you to implement the campaign yourself. It is possible as long as you have the appropriate knowledge – it is crucial, among others to precisely define the target group or to correctly configure specific ads.

If you want to be sure that the money invested in specific channels will not be wasted, rely on the support of professionals. Experts in the field of internet marketing will choose the right tools to make the process of promoting your store on the Internet more efficient. This will increase the chances of achieving the assumed goal, e.g. increasing sales, building brand awareness, acquiring leads.

Did you know that as many as 73% of Internet users in the world shop online? This result is 11 percentage points higher than in 2019. This is largely due to the pandemic, which in a way forced consumers to use online channels. Many of them, once tried, stayed longer. There is no wonder – online shopping is becoming more convenient and safer than visiting crowded shopping malls.

That’s why now is the best time to start your online store, especially since the e-commerce market is not saturated yet. However, in order for everything to function as expected, you need to know how to handle it in practice. Calmly. Although it may seem like a challenge at first – especially if you haven’t had much contact with the digital world – all you need is a bit of determination and an open mind to learn the basics and … learn how to run an online store.

How to set up an e-shop?

Before you start running an e-shop, you have to … set it up. What do you need to start? These are the elements that must be taken care of.

A. Business plan
The concept is absolutely fundamental. You need to know what you want to sell, to whom and in what model. For example, the e-shop, which is an extension of the stationary activity, will look different, and the dropshipping model will function differently (when the e-shop does not deal with the physical distribution of goods, and after completing the transaction, it transfers the order to the warehouse that is responsible for sending it to the customer).

At this stage, it is also worth developing:
– brand name – and check if it is already taken in the domain registry. Remember: short domains are the catchy ones. So it’s worth taking this into account when planning your store name. It must be easy for customers to remember;
– visual identification system – and therefore the logotype, fonts and colors to be associated with the brand. This information will come in handy when creating the landing page layout.

Of course, you should also define the budget that can be allocated to start an e-shop. It is worth being aware that the greater the number of products distributed and the more customers you plan to serve, the more advanced (and more expensive) technological solutions will become justified and needed.

B. Logistics
Before an online store starts to appear, it is necessary to specify exactly what the purchasing process will look like. Take care of:

– adequate stocks of products to be distributed,
– a place for their storage (you may need to rent a warehouse),
– completing business formalities (if necessary, setting up a business and a bank account to which payments from customers will flow),
– agreeing on the rules of cooperation with contractors,
– selecting payment methods made available to customers,
– selecting delivery methods.

At the beginning, you may be able to handle the e-shop on your own – especially since the first months will be a time of investment, and the time for profits is yet to come.

C. Technical facilities
These are all issues related to setting up an e-shop from the “digital” side. In this area, tasks such as:

– buying a domain, and therefore the address of an online store – it is also worth investing in related addresses to redirect from them to your e-store,
– selection of an e-commerce platform – you can choose from open-source WooCommerce platforms and a convenient (especially at the beginning) SaaS model, in which you buy a service package that suits your needs,
– choosing a hosting server (when the store is based on an open source platform, not on the SaaS model),
– ordering the design and implementation of an e-shop – so that its appearance is unique for the brand and legible for the customer, and the mechanics are intuitive and helpful to the buyer and you as the seller. It is best to entrust the task of preparing the layout and implementation to specialists who will make sure that everything works as expected.

D. Preparation of products
When your e-shop is ready, it’s time to fill it with products. So you will need:

– content – both on the website’s home page and category pages, as well as product descriptions,
– good product photos.

Do you sell goods from external producers? If so, you probably received promotional material from them. And while the use of product photos will be a good idea, when it comes to content … it is worth thinking about introducing unique ones as soon as possible. Why? Because copies from the manufacturer’s website can potentially reduce the SEO value of your website. And this will translate into poorer visibility and poorer positioning results.

Finally, you should also take care of legal issues – it will be necessary to draw up the store regulations. The e-shop will process customer data, therefore a safe management procedure must be developed. At this stage, it is worth consulting a lawyer or using the help of an e-shop operator. If you choose an e-commerce platform in the SaaS model, you can usually count on support and a rich package of tips in this regard.

Ready? Then you can start your shop.

How to run an e-shop?

Running an online store after fulfilling the basic obligations described above requires constant work to provide customers with the most comfortable shopping conditions. Remember that along with the demand for e-commerce services, their supply also grows. Therefore, to beat the competition, you simply have to be better than it.

What will influence the quality of customer service and the popularity of the website? There are also many elements to take care of.

A. Efficient current customer service
It is important that orders are sent to him at the agreed time, and the flow of information about the status of each of them – transparent. And in this regard, it is worth supporting yourself with appropriate software. It will largely automate the process of handling each order and, as a result, avoid mistakes and delays.

Efficient customer service also means quick response to incoming inquiries. This process can also be partially automated, e.g. with a chabot that will answer frequently asked questions.

B. Treating Customers Fairly
Reliability and honesty are features that are extremely appreciated by modern consumers. What to do to be seen in a positive light? First of all, it is very important to inform customers about the features of the offered products and their properties – promising stars from heaven will result in disappointing the buyer and a negative review.

Secondly, the way you deal with customer objections, complaints and returns is important. If there is any mistake on your part in the handling process, do not hesitate to apologize personally and offer the buyer, for example, a discount on subsequent purchases or a shopping voucher. This will erase any negative impression and build the image of the e-store.

C. Joining the Opinion Network
When looking for information about a given e-shop, customers very often refer to portals with opinions. Positive reviews in such a place strengthen the credibility of a given website and serve as “social proof” – the more there are, the greater the trust of new customers.

That is why it is worth encouraging customers to leave reviews on review portals – this can be done through mailing. For issuing a short review, it is worth offering the client an additional bonus, e.g. a discount code to be used during the next visit.

D. Brand
Remember that customers are more and more often prompted to buy not so much by the product itself as by what it communicates or what values are behind a given brand. You can shape it freely.

Marketing is important, that is, get noticed!

Good customer service that leads to more and more positive reviews is just one side of the coin. The second is the promotion of the website on the Web. Remember: your online store is not the only one on the web, but one of many. Therefore, you need to increase its visibility. Necessarily as part of a coherent marketing strategy, but implemented through several channels. What can you do to strengthen its position in search results on the one hand and increase conversion on the other?

Website optimization for SEO

Optimization and positioning of the website is the first important issue that should be taken care of. If you think about your business in long-term terms, then this issue is definitely worth looking at. In this aspect, elements such as:

– optimization of the website code and mechanisms of its operation – so that the website opens quickly, works without delays and barriers,
– content optimization and meta-content – again, let’s remind you about the unique content of products, but above all about the content on the category and subcategory pages, written in accordance with the SEO principles (including headings, keywords, bullets, and above all substantively!),
– website responsiveness – and therefore the possibility of using it also on mobile devices,
– good User Experience, i.e. a convenient store service mechanism that guides the customer through the entire purchasing process and … will make the user stay longer on the website,
– URL optimization – so that they contain keywords adequate to each of the categories and subcategories.

You have a very wide range of advertising tools to choose from. What to use? The most popular solutions are:

– Google Ads- including sponsored links that will appear in shopping suggestions after the user enters specific queries or product ads – that is, those mini photos with products and prices that you sometimes see next to or above the search results,
– remarketing advertising – banners displayed to recipients on various websites (both on the Google advertising network and, for example, on Facebook), referring to the products they saw during the previous visit to your store,
– advertising in social media – you can use, for example, various forms of promotion available on Facebook.

Also, do not forget about acquiring leads for the newsletter – it can become a good tool that will allow you to be in constant contact with customers and make them come back to your store from time to time. To subscribe to the newsletter, it is worth giving a benefit in the form of a discount code or free shipping at the entrance.

Image-building activities

It is good for your online store to have a fan page on Facebook and profiles on other social media relevant to your target group. For example, a shop with beauty or fashion products may appear on Instagram, and a shop operating on the B2B market, e.g. with spare parts for professional gastronomic devices – on LinkedIn.

Articles published on valuable external websites with linking to the e-shop can also be a good idea about the image and SEO potential. Larger online stores also increasingly cooperate with influencers. It’s also a good way to increase interest.

A lot of everything? On the one hand, yes, but on the other … in many cases you can use the help of experts. Professional support will allow you to automate many processes, including marketing ones, and thus – leave a lot of time for the development of your business.

We answer right away that the costs of an advertising campaign on the Internet depend on many factors. Therefore, it is impossible to define them precisely without analyzing a specific situation. However, it is worth knowing what influences the scale of expenses and how to plan your budget well for this purpose.

What is the price of an online advertising campaign?

An advertising campaign on the Internet can cost as much as you want.

After all, it’s up to you what budget you plan for it – a few hundred dollars, or maybe a dozen or tens of thousands? You decide. The problem is that determining how much you spend on a campaign shouldn’t be a coincidence, and neither should you plan what exactly the money will go to.

Nevertheless, the great advantage of the Internet – especially campaigns carried out in social media or via Google Ads – is the ability to precisely indicate spending limits: both on a daily or monthly basis, and for the entire campaign.

What are you paying for?

When it comes to displaying typical online advertisements, e.g. banners or sponsored links, the costs most often depend on:
– the number of impressions of the message – in this system you pay for each view, regardless of whether the recipient has decided to interact with the ad,
– the number of clicks on the ad – then the costs are generated only after the recipient clicks on the link to your website.

This is obviously a very general explanation, because it all depends on the type of campaign being run and the specific tools that will be used in it.

What affects the cost of the campaign?

The method of calculating payments by systems such as Google Ads or Facebook ads is not the only factor that translates into the final amount of costs that the advertising campaign will consume on the Internet. So what else is important for the budget?

A. Whether you run the campaign on your own or with the help of an agency
At first glance, the independent configuration of Google Ads campaigns or Facebook ads seems to be a very simple task. After all, service interfaces are easy to use, so just click through the options and you’re done, right? Theoretically yes. In practice, however, especially if you do not have any experience in the world of online marketing, you can expose yourself to very high costs that will not translate into the expected conversion and ROI, and thus return on investment. You can also expect that you will probably wait a long time for the ad’s effects, if they appear at all. So the question is: can you afford such a risky expense?

Yes, internet marketing agencies charge for their work, which can increase your initial investment. However, the actions taken by experts most often hit the spot and allow to achieve satisfactory results at a lower cost. In practice, therefore, an advertising campaign on the Internet carried out by professionals will most often cost much less and bring measurable, clear profits.

B. Experience of an interactive agency
The longer the internet marketing agency’s experience, the higher the chance that its planned campaign will be measurable. However, in the wake of many years of practice and extensive specialist knowledge, the stakes are higher. Therefore, you can expect that using experts’ services will be more expensive than working with beginners in this industry. Contrary to appearances, however, the rates of the former do not have to be “out of space”, and a slightly higher investment may bring greater profits.

C. The scope of cooperation with experts
In order for an advertising campaign on the Internet to translate clearly into the achievement of the set marketing and sales goals, it cannot be carried out without prior preparation. Therefore, the agency will certainly offer you a package of preliminary analytical services – the more precisely its specialists verify your current market position, technical possibilities, business environment, competition and promotional potential of various strategies, the higher the costs will be. Such an investment, however, usually means that the implementation of the campaign itself brings a higher ROI and gains the response you expect. Therefore, this is another issue to consider and discuss with a specialist.

D. The size of your company and the scope of its activities
If you operate on a local scale – e.g. in cities – you need a campaign with a much narrower scope than a corporation operating on the international market. Therefore, you will have to spend less on promotion. It is worth knowing that ad spend is also influenced by competition in your industry, the type of recipient to whom the messages are directed, and the duration of the campaign.

E. Selected communication channels
Advertising on the Internet is a very broad concept. You can put a lot of promotional tools into this bag – starting with sponsored links and banners on external websites, ending with promotion in social media, and even content marketing or SEO activities, which also translate into branding and conversion. The price of the campaign will depend on which of them you choose and how many you include in your campaign.

Summary

Of course, these are not all the pieces of the puzzle that must be taken into account when calculating the budget for online advertising. So as you can see, estimating how much an advertising campaign will cost on the Internet without looking at the specific situation, needs and goals of the company is like reading tea leaves. If you want to get specific information on how much your company should spend to see the results of investment in promotion – contact us. Our specialists will make a valuation and present you with various variants – from very economical to slightly more expensive – so that you can consciously choose what you need.

The e-commerce industry is developing dynamically, and the number of people who decide to buy online is growing every year, and the pandemic has only accelerated this process. Clothing and accessories are among the goods that we buy most often on the Web. This is good news for you, but you also need to remember that along with the demand to buy outfits online, so does the supply. That is why it is so important – apart from an interesting, unique offer, good prices or well-thought-out brand building – an effective advertisement for an online store with clothes.

Advertising of an online clothes store – what does it consist of?

The world of on-line advertising is extremely vast. That is why there is a lot of tools waiting for you with which you can promote yourself. What can you choose from? The key solutions are:

… And therefore advertising conducted mainly in the Internet search engine. If you are not on Google, you do not exist. If you want to increase your reach quickly, you can invest in advertising on this site. Its key aspect is the so-called sponsored links, i.e. those displayed to recipients above the organic search results, at the very top of the page.

But that’s not all. The Google advertising platform also gives you the possibility of conducting campaigns on external portals – a link to your website will appear there in the form of a clickable banner.
A hellishly effective form of advertising clothes is also Google Shopping – a tool that gives you the opportunity to run product campaigns directly on the search engine page. When the customer enters the name of the product you have in your assortment, your store’s offer – with a photo of the product – will be displayed directly to him, along with the price. It therefore increases the likelihood of conversion.

Advertising of the online store with clothes in social media

Fashion is a topic that arouses wide interest among Internet users. That is why it is worth reaching them, for example, through promotion on Facebook or Instagram. First of all, use the basic and free promotion tools – run your store profiles in key social media and present interesting styles there. You can also actively contribute to groups related to fashion topics. This way, you will increase your organic ranges step by step.

Paid advertising tools offer equally many interesting options – in social media, just like in Google, you can precisely define the target audience and the purpose of advertising. Regardless of whether you want to increase the visibility and awareness of your brand, or support a specific promotional campaign and increase conversion – you can choose the form of communication that will bring the best results – e.g. remarketing.

Content marketing

Content marketing will work especially in the context of image advertising and website positioning, but also as a supplement to other promotional channels. For example, by running a blog on your e-shop’s website, you can present your own valuable content on social media profiles, and at the same time support long-tail positioning. But that’s not all. It is also worth remembering about sponsored articles – posted on fashion portals will allow you not only to build valuable links with references to your e-store, but also increase the visibility of your offer.

SEO

Activities related to increasing “organic” visibility in search engines are a complement to classic advertising campaigns and one of the key elements of effective e-store promotion on the Web. In this context, it is worth taking care of the optimization of the online store for search engines – i.e. supplement it with valuable descriptions of categories, subcategories and, if possible, the products themselves, or build a strong link profile and optimize images.

Effective advertising of an online clothes store, i.e. what?

Just learning about the tools with which you can promote yourself on the Web is only the first step towards making your online clothing store advertising a real success. It is important both where and how you run the campaign.

It is worth remembering that:

Clearly define the target group to which the advertising message will be directed. It will depend on what clothes you offer – e.g. women’s or men’s, youth-style or rather business-style. It is worth outlining specific customer personas so as to personalize the messages prepared for them.

Clearly define the purpose of the conducted advertising campaign – the ultimate one is, of course, the improvement of sales results, but … the marketing funnel is much longer. Therefore, image-building campaigns that build brand awareness or aimed at acquiring leads also work well – e.g. in order to be able to run a mailing campaign later.

Configure ads correctly – although advertising panels on Google or Facebook seem quite easy to use, in fact an inexperienced user may set the campaign parameters incorrectly, and as a result – waste the communication potential. The subsequent optimization of the campaign is extremely important in order to invest money as effectively as possible.

Observe the results of ongoing promotional activities on an ongoing basis – monitoring with the use of analytical tools will allow for possible corrections or drawing conclusions for the next campaign.

This article, of course, only generally answers your question about the preferred forms of advertising for an online clothes store. However, take a look around our blog – you will find here a lot of inspiration and knowledge on various areas of marketing that will allow you to make an informed decision.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO is defined as a series of onsite and offsite activities aimed at increasing the visibility of a selected set of keywords, but only within a specific area, e.g. a city or district. The essence of this solution is based on displaying information to the potential customer about the place where he is currently located.

For example: imagine that at the moment you are in a strange city, but you need to use the service of a hairdresser. In the past, you would ask local people and based on the first or most common answers you would choose the best provider. Nowadays, in a much shorter time, using a search engine, you can find a specialist in a given industry in the closest area and read opinions about it. So, as you can easily guess, an effectively conducted local positioning process combined with a good-quality product or service can bring a number of benefits for regional businesses.

What are the benefits of local SEO?

A well-planned and conducted SEO strategy at the local level brings unquestionable benefits for the business. First of all, it is worth realizing that competing with the competition on the domestic or global market is much more difficult, and also requires spending more time. On the other hand, positioning at the level of a specific region or city is not such a complicated process, and at the same time brings the intended results much faster (both in terms of a higher position in the rankings and financial profits associated with it – potential consumers are located nearby and are usually ready to take advantage of the offer on the same day).

Additionally, a less complex SEO process usually requires less money, especially in areas with low competition. This is also supported by the fact that optimization activities within local websites or catalogs are much cheaper. Local positioning of your website can also bring much better results if you also decide to implement a Google Ads advertising campaign or promote in selected social media.

Who should benefit from local SEO?

As you can easily guess, local website positioning works well for companies that operate in a certain area, e.g. in a given city or province. Very often, this solution is used by gastronomic establishments (restaurants, cafes, etc.) and health and fitness centers (private doctors, gyms, etc.). Local positioning is also used by companies that provide their services at the clients’ homes (e.g. hydraulic emergency, repair crews, locksmiths, etc.), as well as by premises where customers have to drive themselves (e.g. hairdresser, law firm, car service, etc.).

Of course, this method can be used by companies from various industries, so it does not have to be limited to the examples mentioned. However, those who opted for this solution should be aware that most local searches are done via smartphones. Their websites must therefore be responsive, and therefore adapted to users of mobile devices.

Geolocation and the impact on SEO

Geolocation, which allows to determine the geographic location of a given website user, is a very important factor affecting the search results. Previously, the displayed results were also dependent on the national search engine domain. This means that by entering a given phrase via google.com, you were getting exactly the same page ranking, no matter where you checked it. Currently, the results are localized to make it easier to find information from the user’s perspective. Of course, he does not have to fully rely on the search engine and he can specify the area for which he wants to receive information. It is enough to use the so-called Geolocated such request. “New York pizza.” Regardless of whether the user is currently in Boston or another city, Google should present a ranking of this type of restaurant from New York.

It is worth adding, however, that the geolocation performed by the search engine is so precise that in large agglomerations it may show websites of companies located in a specific district. The fact that many Internet users still enter the phrase + area in place of the bar may result from their habituation or earlier planning of their stay in another city. Nevertheless, this type of personalization of results is a very important SEO factor over which the person responsible for positioning a given page does not have much control.

As a website owner, however, it is mandatory to create a Google My Business listing and thus ensure visibility on Google Maps. Additionally, apart from XML sitemaps, you also need to equip yourself with a KML file (so-called geositemapa), which is used, among others, by by the Google Earth app. Thanks to it, you have a guarantee that your company or premises will be properly located in the search results. In addition, you also need to take care of local positioning through other activities: internal (proper website and content optimization), as well as external activities (acquiring links and encouraging customers to add opinions).

How to create a business card in the Google My Business service?

As it was emphasized above: setting up a business card in the Google My Business service is an absolute must if you care about local positioning of your company. Such action not only enables the company to be displayed in standard search results and maps, but also increases the credibility of your business from the point of view of Google.

Setting up a business card is not a complicated process, but it requires verification with a special PIN (in most cases sent via post in order to check the real address). When this stage is successful, you will have your own Google ID, where users will be able to check the address, phone number, opening hours, as well as see available photos and previous customer reviews.

When providing contact details (and therefore all information that can be used by your clients to contact a representative of the company), you must also be consistent. It is worth that the same address, telephone number or e-mail name should appear on the “contact” subpage, in the appendix with the regulations, and in all external sources. Then the algorithms will easily associate contact details with your business, which ultimately has a positive effect on local search results.

Customers opinion

A very important factor influencing the ranking of local search results are opinions about the company. This should not come as a surprise since Google always puts the well-being of the search engine user first. In turn, the opinions of existing consumers about a given service provider provide a lot of valuable information about his offer and customer service, and thus often help an undecided internet user to make a decision. Therefore, positive reviews about your company are read favorably by both Google robots and potential consumers.

For this reason, you need to ensure that your customers share their opinions (especially on the Google My Business listing, but also elsewhere), as their quantity and average are valuable guidelines for robots when determining local ranking. Additionally, it happens that Google displays selected ratings and reviews as part of presenting your business in search results. Thus, unflattering comments may result in your offer being quickly excluded by users.

Correct optimization of the website for local positioning

Of course, if you want to achieve a high position in local rankings, you shouldn’t forget to optimize your website properly. It includes a number of the same actions as in the case of SEO for general phrases, i.e. correct website structure and internal navigation or unique content. Website optimization for local positioning, however, provides for several additional, mandatory actions:

– placing a Google map (indicating the company’s seat) in the “contact” tab,
– company name, address and telephone number in the “contact” tab and in the footer,
– describing contact information using structured data,
– natural placement of the name of a given area in the website content, headers and meta descriptions.

Additionally, you cannot forget about external links to the website, which play a very important role in both general and local positioning. In the second case, it is worth taking care of links from local websites, e.g. regional advertising portals or local newspapers.

Local SEO can bring a number of benefits to your business in a short time. However, it requires the site owner to meet several conditions, including correct website optimization, effective link building or encouraging customers to leave ratings and opinions. There is no doubt, however, that such an action may result in reaching a wide group of customers in the area, and thus quickly monetizing the effects.

Permission Marketing – What Is It?

Both newsletters and PUSH notifications are forms of the so-called consent marketing. What is this? Associate requests for permission to send notifications that are displayed to you on various websites? Until you confirm that you want the information … the website cannot send it to you. The same applies to the newsletter – to receive it, you must enter your e-mail address and confirm that you are interested in receiving messages from a given brand.

This “consent” factor ensures the sender is confident that it is reaching initially interested audiences. They may be at different stages of the marketing funnel, but contact with each of them is valuable and may sooner or later bring benefits.

There is one more important advantage, the psychological one. Since the recipient himself agreed to receive the message – he performed some action. Consequently, he is to some extent involved in the communication process. Such a peculiar “foot in the door” also increases the probability that the established relationship will result in a purchase.

However, it should be remembered that consent marketing also brings challenges: first of all, it requires building a database of people who have decided to subscribe to messages on their own. Nevertheless, the results are worth the effort, and skillfully planned and targeted campaigns bring good results. Therefore, it is definitely worth going in this direction.

PUSH newsletter and notifications: how do they work?

Before we answer the question about the advantages of individual consent marketing tools, it is worth taking a closer look at exactly what each form of communication looks like.

PUSH notifications

PUSH notifications are short pieces of information that appear on the screen of the user’s device with his prior consent. They can be generated, among others through applications installed on the phone, however, the most important role is played by sms and web-PUSH messages, i.e. those displayed by web browsers.

These notifications:
– are small – contain literally 1-2 sentences of text and small graphics,
– they appear spontaneously at the moment selected by the advertiser,
– are enriched with a CTA element, which most often refers to a website with more information.

Newsletter

A newsletter is a form of communication via e-mail. It is about sending new messages to the interested group – be it with information about new products and current promotions in the store, or with interesting entries on the company’s blog.

Newsletter:
– it can take various graphic and text forms – it can be very simple and minimalist, and it can contain a long message,
– also most often includes CTAs pointing to a website.

What are the similarities between these tools?

Apart from the similarity discussed earlier, in which in both cases messages are sent after receiving consent from the recipient, other similarities can also be indicated.

Both forms of communication:
– they can be used at every stage of the marketing funnel – to build brand visibility, arouse interest in products or the desire to buy immediately,
– they must be attractive for the recipient to be willing to interact,
– can be used in conjunction with marketing automation tools, which in turn improves the entire communication process and reduces service costs in this area.

The cost of sending both types of messages may also be similar, especially when you calculate the cost per click.

Newsletter vs PUSH notifications: the most important differences

Despite significant similarities between the discussed forms of communication, there are also many differences. Here are the most important ones.

A. The time it takes to plan your campaign
PUSH notifications work a bit like Google ads – they contain little content with a very high CTA saturation. As they are displayed by the browser, there is no need to design their graphic layout or make other tedious preparations. All you need to get started is a catchy, short text that will encourage action and small graphics.

In the case of a newsletter, you may need a much broader strategy – think about the layout, content, communication pattern and much more. Therefore, the preparation of an email campaign may be more time consuming.

B. Shipping time
Even automated mail sending to a large subscriber base can take a long time, with gusts of up to several hours. Such delays can cause the mail to be delivered to the inbox late and… ignored. PUSH notifications are displayed in real time.

C. Ease of Delivery to Addressee
PUSH messages in the browser are not blocked neither by AdBlock nor by other systems. The only limitation is whether the given user has the browser enabled when the message is sent.

In the case of a newsletter, it is not always so rosy – overly sensitive spam filters can intercept such an email. It can also get stuck in the less visited “offers” tab or remain invisible among dozens of other e-mails.

D. The speed of growth of the recipient base
In the case of PUSH notifications, 2 clicks are enough to start receiving messages. What’s more, the recipient does not have to provide any personal data or register anywhere. Subscribing to the newsletter requires at least an e-mail address and confirmation of willingness to receive the message by clicking on the activation link received.

These features translate into the effectiveness of acquiring new customers. As you can guess, the number of PUSH notifications subscribers arrives much faster than those subscribed to the newsletter.

E. Read / convert probability
PUSH messages usually assume an immediate response and require quick action. It could be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the user, for example, if he is overwhelmed with too many such messages, can reject them without looking. On the other hand, it may click instinctively, e.g. if it finds out that a quick sale in the store ends in 30 minutes.

E-mails are most often viewed at most a few times a day, but if the recipient decides to look at the newsletter message, they usually look at it more closely than quick notification. Something for something.

Does this mean that the newsletter should be replaced with PUSH messages? Not necessarily. The newsletter is part of any good inbound marketing strategy, and the effects of its conduct can bring long-term effects. Web-PUSH works more in the short term. So these tools are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary – they can complement each other.

Our statistics

We have recently decided to perform an internal audit regarding the SEO services we provide. This study aimed to see what percentage of customers are not staying with us for longer. So we took to the workshop a little over 200 recently signed page positioning agreements. Our analysis showed that in the last year, 4.8% of clients for various reasons did not decide to continue cooperation with our agency. To check this statistics, we also examined the period of the last two years. The result showed that only 4.04% of customers left us at that time.

Why do customers resign?

The percentage result (4%) presented in the previous paragraph was an impulse to take further actions. Inside the agency, we asked ourselves the most probable reasons for clients giving up cooperation with us. Our audit brought the following conclusions:

A. No payment (10.18%) – this group includes customers who have not paid their debts, and we terminated the contract in these cases.

B. Lack of cooperation on the client’s side (25.66%) – in each case of cooperation with us, cooperation on the client’s side is an obligatory record. Its intensity is always dependent on the type of website, the access, rights and authorizations provided to us, and the number of guidelines that are sent at the very beginning of the contract for many projects. Therefore, this group includes clients who for various reasons did not want to cooperate with us, did not implement the suggested changes or did not provide us with the legitimacy to take certain steps. Therefore, it can be concluded that in this case the client did not give us the opportunity to implement the intended activities, which meant we had to terminate the contracts signed. Our work cannot be carried out when we do not have the tools to do it. Often, clients belonging to this group stop talking themselves. In such situations, we usually wait patiently and try to act, but if there is no response from the other side (and often it is even required) despite repeated attempts, we terminate the contract.

C. No work results (33.19%) – our industry is often unpredictable and everyone who has ever dealt with SEO knows about it. It should be emphasized that it is 33% but only with 4% of clients who terminate contracts, i.e. about 1.3% of all clients who signed contracts with Paraphrase-Online.com during the period. In this case, customers were not satisfied with the results of the work. This allegation most often relates to monitoring the position of selected phrases. It is worth adding that often this problem is the result of customer expectations regarding the inclusion of phrases in monitoring (it is a permanent element of every contract) for which the given page already has high positions. Some customers are very attached to this model of work analysis and it is difficult to argue here the positioner’s actions by increasing website traffic or visibility in global terms. There are also customers who have positions in the top 5, but terminate the contract because they want to have the top 1-2 themselves, which is not always feasible due to the search engine. Many of the clients qualified for this group also did not fully follow the guidelines we sent or simply refused to develop content on the site. Such cases constituted up to ⅗ of this group. Also noteworthy is the fact that 5% of all customers who resigned from working with us return to us years later.

D. Too high costs of the service (9.73%) – customers often stated that despite good positions, they are not fully returned from the investment incurred for the development of this channel and, however, prefer to spend their budget on testing other solutions. In this case, as the history of all contracts implemented by us shows, clients from this group often come back to us after several years of attempts to develop their e-business through other channels.

E. Closing of the site, change of management, bankruptcy of the company, end of contract (21.24%) – this is a group that indicates other reasons for leaving. The most common of them include situations in which the customer removes the page, the company declares bankruptcy, the owner or management board changes, which is focused from the beginning on cooperation with another entity. We have also qualified to this group in which the client after the end of the one-year contract decides not to extend the cooperation with us without giving a reason. This is most often associated with the reasons presented above or with the company’s strategy of testing the effects of cyclical change in positioning agencies.

Sweet kiss of the positioner – bitter kiss of the client

In our experience, the most important stage of cooperation is the time shortly before signing the contract and the first weeks of cooperation. Before signing the contract, the client receives from us all information regarding the implementation of SEO activities in the scope of the contract. He is also notified of what we will need from him to make the cooperation run smoothly. The first weeks after signing the contract are extremely important. During this time, we examine the site in detail and send precise guidelines to the client. Usually, after this initial stage, the client accepts our strategy and thanks to structured cooperation we operate in accordance with the assumed strategy. Unfortunately, as it happens in life, not all situations are perfect. There are clients who at all costs do not want to take certain steps or accept our guidelines or the changes we introduce. Such events limit or completely prevent us from taking effective action to increase website visibility. In our cooperation model, such a tug of war can end with us terminating the contract with the customer. The key is to understand our strategy at the negotiation stage, because our goal is not to sign contracts and unilaterally benefit from them. Cooperation is extremely important in our concept. If the customer does not want to make our changes, and there is no other way to achieve success, then this agreement does not make sense.

Visit to the dentist

To better illustrate this, let’s imagine that a John has a dental package purchased in a known network of dental offices. It includes monthly dental inspections, stone removal, sealing, root canal treatment and tooth extraction. One beautiful June morning, John’s wife Rachel prepared her husband’s unusual yet beloved seasonal meal – a fresh, peeled watermelon. Due to the fact that for several weeks it was extremely hot, before serving the dish Rachel decided to cool the juicy fruit. As soon as Mr. John sank his teeth into the red pulp, a terrifying moan sounded in the dining room. The reason for this cry was pain – something our hero has never experienced on such a scale before. Immediately after the incident, he went to the dentist, from whom he had a package purchased. He told about the situation and asked for a full oral examination. The dentist immediately stated that the cause of the pain was a small defect in the upper left trio and suggested putting the seal on immediately. John, who had never had dental problems before, refused to perform the procedure, without giving a reason for giving up the routine procedure. Time passed and John, in connection with permanent pain, became more and more unbearable man. He stopped dealing with his wife, whom he blamed for the whole situation, and at work he could not focus on everyday duties. He decided to go to the dentist again and agree to put on the seal. However, during the second review the doctor excluded this procedure. The condition of the tooth deteriorated enough to require root canal treatment. John was afraid of this option again and stated that he was not able to decide at this moment about such (in his opinion) a radical step. Before John left the office, the dentist asked him to rethink the proposal, because the procedure is included in his package and thanks to him he can get rid of unwanted ailment once and for all. The weeks went by, and John’s pain was gone thanks to decoctions of fenugreek and leek. Unfortunately, in December the pain returned with redoubled strength, and there was a huge swelling on the gums. John, contrite and completely deprived of the will to fight for interference in his teeth suit, he went to the dentist for the third time. This time the specialist was ruthless and said that in this situation the only option is to pull out the tooth. This time the patient realized that he had no choice but to submit to the will of the dentist. The tooth was removed, and John, in order not to scare his relatives with his incomplete smile, had to put on an expensive and not covered by the implant package …

Stages of SEO-destruction

So how does this translate into SEO? Unfortunately, quite a lot. Sometimes a customer who has a contract with us, avoids cooperation or refuses to accept even the simplest changes that aim to increase the visibility of the site. This is usually a straight path to problems. Unfortunately, often such situations can have a painful effect on the client’s business. That is why we as Paraphrase-Online.com do not wait until the “teeth” start to fall out. If we see that the customer does not cooperate with us previously agreed, we decide to terminate the contract. Our specialists are not for watching how a given site falls in visibility rankings, and subsequent competitors are ahead of it. We are here to actively work every day to increase the potential of the website in terms of SEO, which is why as many as 96% of customers decide to stay with us for longer.

5 types of customers

Based on many years of observations, we decided to divide customers into 5 types. We classified them in relation to the client’s adaptation to the set goals by accepting the implemented measures.

A. Partner – an ideal customer –This is a very aware customer. He understands that the agency is to help him achieve the given effect by undertaking the agreed actions. He responds positively to every cooperation or development proposal and tries to allow positioners the best working conditions. It should be remembered that he is not a conformist – he requires a lot, but at the same time understands that to achieve something, you need to put a lot of work into it. If you are heavily involved in the project and implement everything as agreed, then know that this customer will be very loyal and will stay with you for many years.

B. Visionary – to the goal at all costs –Customers of this type are only effect oriented. They are not interested in how and by what means you will reach his goals. In this case, you can even use illegal activities to accomplish your task as soon as possible. There is a high risk of contract termination!

C. Official – table and reports –It pushes targets into the background. According to its specificity, the measures we implement are the most important for it. He loves to send (preferably once a week) reports, statements and tables. Through constant verification of the implemented activities, the effects are only a distant mirage for him. It is only important how much and how well we carry out the package actions. Vive la package! Such a person often requires almost impossible reporting and translation from the modification of each line of code, which greatly complicates efficient operation. This customer will terminate the contract only if the agreed tasks are not carried out as agreed.

D. Individualist – everything in its own way –The funds turned out to be unreachable or failed for the client, and the presented goals are not satisfactory, so the client tries to introduce substitute activity, seeking solutions on their own. Sets new goals without informing the agency. His assumptions are unrealistic or do not comply with previous arrangements, and the measures are always considered inappropriate or too stripped down. Cooperation is difficult here, because reaching an agreement occurs only if you accept all customer requirements. There is a high risk of contract termination!

E. Rebel – for no reason rather than by choice –A rebel is a client who usually contests without reason the legitimacy of all actions, and all goals are pure abstraction for him. This type of contractor will not verify the activities carried out or settle you for the effects. In principle, it is not important what you do – at any time the day may come when the client will leave and will not give the reason for his behavior. If it already requires any results, these are the assumptions he invented and the work on the site is pointless and it is not worth wasting time on it.

Can you keep every customer?

In most situations this is possible, but sometimes you need to think about whether such activities should be a priority and whether they make sense at all. This applies to both the client and the agency. The statistics presented by us at the beginning show that a good work and a well-thought-out strategy can be reduced to an absolute minimum percentage of outgoing customers. In each case, partnership and care for mutual benefits are important. The parties appearing in a given contract should have the same goal – the success of the venture. At Paraphrase-Online.com, we try to meet the challenges posed by our contractors every day by implementing our proven strategy. Therefore, only 4% of our clients give up our services. In our opinion, with such statistics and the number of customers, there is nothing to be ashamed of.