Advertising in VOD

Video on demand is a huge amount of content available at any time. On VOD websites, we can find premiere films and classics from years ago, series, sports events, guides, entertainment programs, political commentaries and hundreds of other types of video content. Petabytes of data, which viewers spend millions of hours of attention each year is a great option for advertisers. Marketers can display engaging video ads before or during the video, or graphic overlays on the content. It is also enormous possibilities of more and more precise targeting of advertisements. We can target our message to a specific group based on location, demographics, devices used or – as part of remarketing – to people who have previously had contact with our brand.

The evolution and boom of VOD services took place relatively slowly over the years, mainly due to limitations in broadband access to the Web. High-quality movie transmission requires high speed and stability of the Internet connection, which has only become relatively widespread for a while.

The second reason for the moderately fast gaining of popularity was also the dominance of traditional television as a medium, especially in the general consciousness. Of course, after many years, television companies have “made friends” with this form of distribution, launching their own internet platforms and unifying them with solutions offered by digital television in various forms.

VOD and OTT technology

It is worth making a distinction between VOD and OTT. These services are very similar, but may have different content delivery mechanics. In short, VOD is simply a service that allows you to play content at the moment you choose – most often via the Internet, but satellite broadcast also fits this definition. Meanwhile, OTT requires internet transmission, but it does not have to allow “play” to be pressed at any time. An online streaming of a live match that only takes place at a certain time will therefore meet the OTT definition, but cannot be classified as VOD. The difference between the terms is nevertheless minimal and usually the abbreviations VOD and OTT are used as synonyms.

VOD – monetization models

First of all, VOD brings together many distribution models that use different monetization schemes. They can be divided into several main categories.

SVOD – Subscription VOD

An option that is used by, among others, Netflix, HBO GO or Amazon Prime is SVOD, i.e. VOD based on the subscription model. In this case, as part of the monthly amount paid, we have access to the entire library of the platform. Another option within the same model is to set different subscription levels – this way, on the cheapest plan, ads will be shown before the movies, and only more expensive subscriptions will be devoid of spots. The US service Hulu uses this option.

Due to the specificity of this type of solutions, the advertising possibilities are very limited – in the classic subscription model, in the absence of advertising before or during the video, the only available option seems to be product placement in a given work.

TVOD – transaction VOD

Another model is TVOD, i.e. transactional VOD. As part of it, the consumer buys access to a specific product – film, live broadcast or any other digital work. The TVOD model is, for example, the purchase of a PPV (pay-per-view) broadcast from a boxing gala or the purchase of one episode of the series.

They can be classified into two subgroups:
– DTR (download-to-rent) – temporary access to the file, for example for 24 or 72 hours from the date of the transaction.
– EST (electronic sell-through) – theoretically unlimited access to the file, sometimes with the ability to download the product to disk.

AVOD – a model based on displaying advertisements

The third option is to give users free access to the platform’s library. This is called AVOD, or advertising-based video on demand. In this case, starting playback is usually associated with a set of advertisements before and during viewing. We can see it, for example, on the largest streaming service in the world – YouTube. This solution is also used by a large number of horizontal portals that combine content in the form of text with video in the presentation of one issue.

VOD ads in this form are usually not to be missed by the viewer, although it is not a rule. In the most “aggressive” solutions, when playing advertisements, the user cannot even switch the tab in the browser and do something else – the advertisement cannot be played in the background, it must be displayed in the active tab. Inevitably, this guarantees high viewership of the broadcasts.

Ads can also appear in the video itself in the form of text and graphic overlays placed directly on the video. They do not cover the entire screen and can be easily closed, although they are certainly noticeable. This option occurs, for example, on YouTube as overlay ads.

VOD: mixed model

In many websites we will meet a mixed model, in which some content is available for free, but only purchasing a premium account limits or completely blocks the display of ads, adding other options, such as the ability to download the movie to disk and later watch it offline. This connection is used by YouTube – as users, we have access to the entire library, but only buying YouTube Red disables advertising. We can also find a model that works in such a way that the account gives you access to some movies without VOD ads, but the ability to watch others requires an additional fee. There are many options – the AVOD, SVOD and TVOD models can be combined with each other in various configurations.

VOD with advertising – disadvantages

It cannot be denied that the ads before and during the movie are very burdensome for the user. They are often repetitive and play louder than the base video, making content consumption difficult. According to research by Paraphrase-Online.com, the level of annoyance with advertising is 61% for YouTube and 63% for other VOD services, while traditional television “reached” 62% and advertising in cinemas 46%. The duration of displaying advertisements in VOD, although still lower on average than in traditional television, is inexorably approaching the level of television standards. The bittersweet marketing truth is, however, that it does not have a particularly negative impact on the effectiveness of advertising activities.

Other disadvantages arise from possible technical issues on some platforms – for example, when the mandatory ad won’t play, preventing you from seeing the main video, requiring you to refresh your card and watch the entire ad bundle again. Fortunately, such situations happen less and less due to the constant adaptation of platforms to new standards.

From the marketer’s perspective, issues related to ad blocking seem troublesome. Internet users are very eager to use browser plug-ins that help to get rid of ads – also on VOD platforms. Even at the end of 2017, almost every second Internet user over the age of 15 used at least one ad blocker. Most websites, however, deal well with such situations, forcing you to temporarily disable a given plug-in to allow the movie to play. As usual in the world of technology, each day is a constant race between advertisers and users.

VOD advertising as an effective marketing tool

However, this does not change the undeniable fact that a well-executed VOD campaign is very effective, offering low conversion costs and enormous brand exposure.

Considering the reach, the largest platform that allows you to display ads on various VOD services is Google Display 360 & Video. It allows you to place advertisements while omitting the commission that we would have to pay to intermediaries, i.e. media houses.

Cosmetic Store Advertising: How To Get Started?

Advertising activities should never be a coincidence – unless you want to waste the budget you spend on them. This principle is especially important in the cosmetics industry – whether you run a drugstore that offers a very wide range of mid- and low-priced products, or an eco-friendly or professional store. Each of these niches has to face a lot of competition. And that’s a real challenge – especially if you’re starting from scratch.

So the question is: what to do if your advertising budget is not unlimited and at the same time you expect quick results? First of all, choose the most promising sales channel, i.e. the Internet. There is even the slightest doubt that it is in the Internet that you can get the best ROI from promotional activities. Why? Because this is where your potential customers are present, and you can reach them through many channels.

Before you start thinking about starting a particular campaign, stop for a moment and think… if you really want to take these actions on your own. If you do not have too much experience in the advertising industry and you have never set up a campaign on Google before, you may waste a lot of time, energy and money learning the basics.

Meanwhile, cooperation with a digital agency, although it involves a slightly larger investment, can be a really effective way to reach a wide range of customers. Specialists know how to make the best use of the budget entrusted to them and act according to a precise plan. It takes into account:
– clearly defined campaign goals,
– precise definition of target groups of customers to whom promotional communication is addressed – it must be remembered that a different form will be advertising a cosmetics store addressed to a person who does not know what products he needs, and a different message for a customer who is looking for specific cosmetics,
– careful selection of communication tools and channels – so that your advertisement is where your customers are,
– clearly defined budget.

If you want, you can of course go through all these steps yourself. However, think about whether it will pay off for you.

And what elements should a cosmetics store advertising include? Here they are.

Paid ad for a cosmetics store, i.e. Google Ads

Google Ads is a very wide set of tools that allow you to take precise promotional activities – those that will be targeted at carefully selected recipients. What does this mean in practice? It’s just that you will be able to reach people who are potentially interested in buying the cosmetics you offer.

What is the secret of success? The fact that Google ads are not displayed to random people. They appear on the screens of computers and smartphones of those people who have shown interest in your industry and offer. See what tools will be useful in particular for a cosmetic store.

Sponsored Links
Where are you looking for the cosmetics you want to buy? Perhaps you are just visiting a stationary drugstore, but a lot of people go to the web. Especially that on the Internet, products can be even several dozen percent cheaper. And if so, the Google search engine is the first source of information. The truth is that a website user will click on one of the first search results and … often stop there or even make a purchase.

Finding yourself at the top of the organic results are a real challenge. This is because the cosmetics industry is extremely competitive. However, you can jump over others by presenting your proposal in sponsored links. These are the ones that display over the results obtained by Google algorithms. And while they’re fairly clearly labeled as advertising, they’re eagerly clicked on by your audience. This means that sponsored links will allow you to quickly build more traffic on your website, which will translate into all other goals of the promotion: sales results included.

Product Listing Ads
… that is, advertisements displayed in the Google Shopping system. It is a form of promotion that will allow you to effectively present individual cosmetics and reach the recipient directly with a specific offer. If you use this tool, the link to the specific product related to precise customer search will be in the section above the organic results or on the side. It will be accompanied by a photo of the goods and the price. Therefore, it’s a good place to compete when you offer items cheaper than others. But not only. Being in this section also helps build your store recognition and brand strength.

Google Display Network
I am talking about contextual ads that are displayed to the user on external websites he visits – e.g. with news, lifestyle or any other websites that cooperate with Google in the display of advertisements. Their ranges are very large, and promotional messages are displayed to people with a specific range of interests, passions and demographic characteristics. Remarketing is particularly effective, i.e. activities consisting in displaying advertising banners to users who have already visited your store, e.g. those who have abandoned their shopping carts. An advertisement showing the products they are watching may prompt them to return to shopping.

Why Google Ads?

Advertising a cosmetics store in Google Ads is a natural and very sensible solution, because this promotion system allows you to very precisely reach people in the target group.

Google Ads is:
– quick building traffic on the website,
– support for short-term seasonal campaigns, e.g. aimed at selling specific products,
– strengthening the store’s brand,
– the ability to effectively monitor the effects of advertising activities – Google Ads campaigns provide a lot of analytical data that allows you to improve the conducted activities with a view to increasing their effectiveness,
– strict control over the budget – fees for displaying advertisements are charged in the PPC system, which means that you pay for impressions or clicks on the banner, and therefore for effective interaction with the recipient.

However, the question is: can such an advertisement of a cosmetics store be conducted on its own? In theory, yes. After all, all you have to do is reach for the tools commonly available on Google and pay for the campaign directly, right? However, in practice, the correct configuration of the campaign, as well as its testing and monitoring, are activities that require extensive knowledge and extensive experience. This is the only way not to waste the promotion budget. Therefore, it is better to invest in running a campaign with the help of specialists. You should also be aware that the effects depend both on the budget allocated to the promotion and on the competitiveness in the industry.

SEO of the cosmetics store

Cosmetics store advertising is one side of the coin. The second is SEO activities. Equally important, if not more important, because they bring the most long-term effects. How to run them? The goal is to get the best possible position in Google’s organic search results. To get this result, you need to take care of:
– page code optimization – so that it is friendly to all browsers and devices and displayed quickly and without difficulties,
– increasing the functionality of the website – e.g. its transparency, ease of passage through the shopping route or the possibility of searching for products,
– correct saturation of the content on the website with keywords – in the case of a cosmetics store, you will probably need “deep” positioning, i.e. penetrating the structure of subpages belonging to the website,
– improvement of page meta tags, URL structure and sitemap – so that they are more friendly to Google algorithms.

However, in order to start most of these activities, you need to very clearly define which keywords the positioning will be for. It’s not as easy as it sounds. In the case of a cosmetics store, it is not enough to choose keywords directly related to the main product categories, such as “shampoos”, “body gels” or “anti-wrinkle creams”. Yes, they are very important, but … your competition also promotes such slogans. This means that you need to invest in long-tail positioning. It is especially important for stores that offer hundreds or even thousands of products. By choosing to use the “long tail“, you have the chance to significantly increase your position on many queries.

Remember: positioning brings long-term results. Although you have to wait a few months for them, it’s definitely worth it.

Advertising of a cosmetics store on Facebook – is it worth it?

Facebook, as well as other social media like related Instagram or Pinterest, is also a great place to promote yourself. Facebook in particular offers wide possibilities of communication with recipients – both by running a fan page and contextual advertising, which are accounted for and monitored on the basis of similar principles to those offered by Google Ads. Likewise, Instagram offers a space to give your products a certain ‘entourage’ and character to your brand. All of this – especially in the cosmetics industry, is very important.

Internet advertising – what is it all about?

The Internet is now basically a separate world that functions alongside the real world. Due to its vastness and diversity, it is more and more difficult to exist in it in a completely natural way. That is why Internet advertising is so important, as it allows many companies to mark their presence and gain customers. There are many ways to promote online, and it’s not an easy nut to crack – especially for newbies. Also, specialists in this area must constantly learn, because virtual space is changing very dynamically – what only yesterday was very effective, today can be counterproductive.

There are many advertising channels and methods used on the Internet. The most popular are:
– SEO,
– Google Ads campaigns: sponsored links, product campaigns,
– campaigns in social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram),
– YouTube video campaigns,
– banner campaigns on Google Display Network,
– re marketing,
– e-mail campaigns,
– influencer marketing,
– publication of sponsored content,
– word of mouth marketing.

Of course, this is not all! New promotion channels are also constantly being created – incl. thanks to new websites or applications being created.

Basics of Internet advertising – settlement models

Internet advertising costs should be considered based on the applicable billing models. There are also a few of these. Most often they are imposed by a specific system and service. When buying an advertisement, the client should assess (or consult it with specialists) which billing model will be the most profitable for him. The most popular forms are:
– CPC – cost per click (or PPC – pay per click) including payment for each click on the advertisement (banner, link, etc.);
– CPM (cost per mile) – settlement for every 1000 ad impressions (regardless of conversion), used most often in the case of image campaigns;
– CPV (cost per view) for payment for each display of an advertisement, used primarily on YouTube and similar websites; payment is valid only when the user watches at least 30 sec. Ads (or all, if shorter);
– CPL (cost per lead) – settlement for each user registration or obtaining contact;
– CPA (cost per action) – settlement for specific actions performed by the user on the website, eg “liking” a post;
– CPS (cost per sale) – settlement based on the number of sales transactions finalized through advertising; characterized by high commissions.

As you can see, there are many different ways to calculate ad bids. For this reason, the price lists of various promotional channels differ significantly, and comparing the profitability of specific campaigns can be difficult, especially for a layman.

What else does the cost of advertising on the Internet depend on?

The method of settlement or the place and time of publication is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the cost of online advertising. It is worth remembering that in most cases campaign prices are set individually. Much depends on the selected channels, but also on the target group or area of operation and, of course, the cost of acquiring a customer that a given company can afford. One nail american company might say you can get customers for $ 0.2 and another for $ 1, and in both cases it can be a successful and profitable campaign.

Of course, the necessary advertising expenses will also depend on whether you decide to act alone or choose experts. The second option is of course more expensive, but it is worth remembering that it usually translates into much larger and faster noticeable profits – acting “blindly”, without the necessary knowledge and experience, it is very difficult to allocate the advertising budget to allow for the achievement of the intended goals and getting the max out of a given channel.

Internet advertising – start with positioning

Online advertising often means only paid links, banners and videos, but its real foundation is positioning. It is through SEO activities (search engine optimization – content optimization for search engines) that the brand image is built, and at the same time the traffic on the website is increased, gaining new customers. Search engine optimization requires months or even years of consistency and implementation of carefully designed strategies. This is one of the reasons why it is often overlooked or regarded as the least effective form of advertising. In fact, quite the opposite is true – it is SEO that produces the most distinct and, above all, lasting results. However, you have to wait for the effects. Of course, keep in mind that SEO is not justified in all cases – if you operate in a competitive industry and you do not have the budget enough, you may just waste money – which is why it is so important to consult specialists who will assess which channel has the greatest make sense in terms of budget and industry.

You can carry out SEO activities on your own – there is no shortage of literature or courses on this subject. It is worth knowing, however, that the best results are achieved by professionally prepared and implemented plans. How much does it cost to work with an SEO agency? From several hundred dollars a month to even several or tens of thousands of dollars. As a rule, however, most companies’ SEO budgets are between $ 2,000 and $ 10,000.

Google Ads, the most popular form of advertising on the Internet

When talking about online advertising, many people mean Google Ads campaigns (formerly Google AdWords). This is the most obvious and at the same time quite complex form of promotion, which when properly applied can also be extremely effective. The most common is the so-called sponsored links – these are CPC text ads visible above the search results of specific terms (keywords) or in the lower parts of the page.

Prices for advertising in Google Ads are based on auctions. This means that individual companies that want to advertise on the same keyword determine how much they are willing to pay for a click on a sponsored link (maximum CPC bid). On this basis, the positions of links in the search results are determined. The cost of advertising is therefore inextricably linked to competition in a given industry and the advertising budgets of individual companies conducting similar activities. Google provides an approximate rate for placing a link at the top of the page, as well as the competitiveness of a given phrase. Specific? It happens that the CPC will be a few cents. Sometimes it is several dozen dollars. It all depends on the area where you want to promote yourself.

Diversifying the cost of your Ads ads is one of the reasons why running a profitable campaign is not easy. It is best to trust professionals in this matter who will distribute your budget in a way that allows you to obtain optimal results.

How much does online advertising cost – Google product campaigns

Google Ads also offers Product Listing Ads – PLA for online stores. In this case, a specific product and its price appear above the search results instead of a separate link to the page. The costs per click are then noticeably lower – on average they range from tens of cents to several dollars – although their amount also depends on the promoted products and competitiveness in this area. It is also worth remembering that product advertising is quite narrow, so promoting the entire assortment can cost you quite a lot. Therefore, it is recommended to start with individual categories in this regard.

Image advertising on Google Display Network

Google Display Network is a tool that allows you to reach new recipients with your message. Campaigns conducted within this network allow you to place banners, films or multimedia content on websites that meet the criteria specified by the ordering party. In this case, the cost per click is usually a few or several dozen cents. This type of advertising is considered less effective, but it works well, for example, in image and reach campaigns.

Remarketing – Another type of image ad

Remarketing is a more effective and at the same time more popular form of display advertising. It consists in displaying advertising content (usually banners) to people who have previously visited your website or, for example, have visited your store but have not made purchases. Such promotion allows you to remind potential customers about the offer that has already aroused their interest and often allows you to protect yourself from losing them to the competition. Remarketing campaigns are also billed based on clicks. CPC is on average a few dozen cents. Importantly, these types of ads are divided into two types:

– static – the same banner for all recipients,
– dynamic – banner content based on products or categories viewed by a given user.

As part of remarketing activities, you can also reach people with ads who, for example, watched videos from your YouTube channel or visited your website, and then searched for further information on Google. The type of activities carried out can therefore be adapted to very specific needs, which affects the profitability of this solution, as long as it is, of course, wisely implemented.

Ads on social media

Another popular channel for advertising is Facebook. The largest social network in the world offers many paid promotional solutions. The most common choice is promoting posts. Thanks to this, specific content can reach a much wider audience. The promotion of posts generates much greater reach and makes more people reach your Facebook profile, and often also your website. The cost of such ads can be calculated based on the number of impressions (on average a few dollars per 1000) or clicks on a link (on average from 1 to several dollars, not counting very competitive industries).

Facebook also allows you to set targeted ads for gaining new “fans” of a specific profile. In this case, you have to pay from several tens of cents to several dollars for each new liking of the page. Costs vary, among others depending on the target group established.

Similar advertising mechanisms are also offered by Instagram, which belongs to the Facebook empire, but the promotion is slightly cheaper there.

YouTube Ads

YouTube is a very popular advertising channel recently. The huge number of users who use the website every day is certainly noteworthy. This is the best place to post your video content – but remember that it doesn’t have to be long or complicated. Advertisers have the option of using a variety of video ad formats. The most popular are the so-called TrueView In Stream ads displayed before, after or during video playback. These are longer format clips that can be skipped by the user after 5 seconds. Payment is in CPV format, and only applies to impressions of at least 30 seconds of ad (or all of the ad, if longer). The cost in this case is on average a few cents per view.

The so-called Bumper Ads – short, several seconds long ads that cannot be missed. They are billed in the CPM format. Typically, the cost of 1,000 impressions ranges from a few to several dollars. However, there are many more possibilities for advertising on YouTube!

Advertising on the Internet – is it worth it?

As you can easily guess, the best results are achieved by Internet advertising carried out through multiple channels simultaneously with a well-thought-out positioning strategy. Activities can be carried out both on a small scale, which is most often used by local companies, and very widely. Their cost depends largely on the range, but also on the competitiveness in a given industry or target group. So how much does online advertising cost? It depends, of course. A small company can run effective operations for as little as several hundred dollars a month, while large stores or corporations often have advertising budgets of tens of thousands of dollars. Is it worth it? Without a doubt! However, remember that if you want to advertise effectively, it is worth trusting professionals.

Video content is the future

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about content marketing and its great importance in promoting brands, products or services. Many people equate the term primarily with text material, but the reality is that video and audio files are increasingly important – especially YouTube videos and podcasts. This is how more and more people most readily absorb information. Hence, the optimal environment for advertising is also changing. Today, more and more companies are taking advantage of paid content on YouTube – including small and local businesses. Reason? It is simply a very effective promotion channel. What’s more, YouTube, thanks to its advertising policy, makes it possible to publish even without a large budget.

Advantages of advertising on YouTube

The portal has enormous power, it is used by over 90% of Internet users. Advertising via YouTube is more and more often described as more effective than television advertising, especially as it allows you to target the message only to specific recipients. What are the main advantages of promotion on the site?

– Broad coverage – the already mentioned over 90% of Internet users who may find your ad! The website has overtaken Facebook when it comes to the popularity of social media and is increasingly serving as a search engine for users. Thanks to this, the advertisement can have a really wide range of impact. It is also an ideal place to reach young people in the 18-34 age group, who most willingly spend their time using YouTube.
– The ability to precisely define the target – this is something that makes many methods of Internet advertising much more effective than spots published on TV or e.g. billboards on the streets. You can precisely select the viewer profile to which your video will end up. YouTube provides criteria such as age, place of residence or interests. Also, your ad may only appear on videos from certain creators or in a specific category. It also supports remarketing activities – the spot can reach people who have previously visited the advertiser’s channel or website.
– Effect control – in the case of many types of advertising, it is impossible to check how many people actually reached. By acting on YouTube, you can get detailed analytical reports showing how many people watched your ad and how many of them interacted with your business through it. This is extremely valuable information that helps to refine the promotional message and check the return on investment in marketing. Affordable prices – despite many advantages, publishing a spot on YouTube is still much cheaper than on TV. In addition, in this case, you only pay for the actual impressions of the ad, and not for the mere placement of the ad before or during the video. This makes it possible to get much better promotion results.
– Possibility to share – a creative, surprising, funny, touching and interesting advertising film can work for you for a long time, even after the end of the paid promotion. It can be shared just like any other YouTube content. This in turn allows you to reach even more people. That’s why it’s worth creating ads that engage the viewer!

Types of YouTube Ads

YouTube allows advertisers to use several methods of displaying their content. The selected type of promotion affects its visibility as well as the price. It is worth knowing all the possibilities to choose the right one for the character and goals of a given campaign. There are:

– display ads – standard banners, on YouTube displayed under the video or on its right side; do not interfere with video playback, which increases the chance of clicking;
– advertising overlays – displayed on the watched movie, have a graphic or text form; they take up about 20% of the area of ​​the window in which the film is displayed and can be turned off at any time
– TrueView In-Stream – a negligible advertisement displayed before, during or after the video; attractive due to the pricing model – if a viewer skips the ad, there is no fee for the impression;
– In-stream advertising without the possibility of skipping – lasting from 15 to 30 seconds, usually less perceived by Internet users;
– ads in cutscenes (Bumper Ads) – cannot be skipped, lasts about 6 seconds; usually shown before the movie, sometimes also during and after the movie;
– mid-movie ads – may or may not be negligible; are published only in films longer than 15 minutes;
– sponsored cards – shown in the movie viewing window; they most often present film-related products, allowing the viewer to expand the card.

What to choose? Much depends on the type of content presented, but also on your budget. In the case of using longer, negligible spots, it is necessary to ensure that their first few seconds encourage the recipient and present a specific message. Interesting advertising will certainly help you get much better results, so it is worth taking care of its careful planning and implementation.

How much does advertising on Youtube cost?

Many advertising formats have different billing models. The most commonly used is Cost Per View (CPV) – you pay for each ad impression in full (or at least 30 seconds, if longer). In image campaigns, Cost Per Mile (for every thousand views) is also sometimes used – primarily in relation to non-negligible TrueView and Bumper Ads videos. In the case of ads that are primarily aimed at encouraging the viewer to interact, the CPI (Cost per Interaction) model is used – fees for each click resulting in a redirect. Importantly, YouTube allows you to adjust the billing model to the advertiser’s needs. Therefore, with specific types of paid promotion, it is possible to use the selected scheme. As you can see, however, the answer to the question of how much does advertising on Youtube cost is not obvious and unambiguous.

So how much does advertising on YouTube cost? The good news is, as much as you choose to pay for it. The advertiser can set the budget himself. How much do you have to invest to make it pay off? Here the answer is much more difficult. It all depends on the type, model and target of the campaign. It is worth noting, however, that advertisers are often positively surprised by the relatively affordable costs of publishing on YouTube. It’s hard to look for specific numbers – even on the website itself – without providing specific data, but you can assume that a single ad impression costs about $ 0.01 – $ 0.3. Considering that most billing models are based on real impressions, that is, you don’t have to pay for missed spots, this is a very good result. It is also worth remembering that thanks to precise targeting, the ad can go exactly where you want, which further increases its effectiveness.

Effective advertising on YouTube – choose your target carefully!

The effectiveness of any ad depends on who it will be shown to. As an advertiser, you want it to reach your target group – people who should potentially be interested in a given product or service. Therefore, the return on investment in the promotion depends on precise targeting. In the case of YouTube, the whole machine works similarly to Google Ads campaigns. However, your ads can be targeted even more precisely. What criteria can be considered?

Demography
This is the basic criterion by which you can significantly narrow down the audience of your ad. There are specific age ranges to choose from, identical to those proposed by Google (18-24; 25-34; 35-44; 45-54; 55-64; 65+), as well as an interesting “unknown” category including both users under 18 life, as well as other people who have not been classified into any age category. It also appears when choosing the target gender (of course, next to women and men). In addition, you can decide on the parental status of your ad audience or your household income.

Geotargeting
Geotargeting is an important category, especially for local businesses. Thanks to the precision of Google Maps, you can only direct your promotional message to YouTube users located in a specific area or at a specific distance from a point designated on the map. You can also exclude specific locations from targeting, which creates a very wide range of precise messages.

User information (interests)
Thanks to the information collected by Google, it is possible to create a profile of the user’s interests. Thus, you can only target your ads to people who have visited websites on a specific topic or watched videos devoted to it. The frequency and intensity of interactions with a given topic are taken into account in order to obtain the most reliable data. There are many categories available to cover various areas of life. It is also possible to select a more specific, narrow group of recipients in which, for example, there has been a significant change recently (e.g. wedding, moving house, graduation, etc.). Google also divides into market audiences (people who are in the purchasing process and focused on searching for information about specific services and products) and non-standard recipients with similar intentions who actively search for information on the Internet using a search engine. This allows you to determine the most current interests of users.

YouTube video themes
YouTube videos are divided into thematic categories. This makes it easy for you to assign your ads to a specific topic. It is an easy way to reach users interested in specific issues, regardless of their age, gender or other behavior on the Internet.

Keywords
The ad can also be placed on videos whose titles or descriptions contain specific keywords.

Remarketing
Remarketing is a very popular and effective form of promotion consisting in displaying advertising content to users who have already expressed interest in the company’s offer (e.g. visited its website). Thanks to data integration with Google, remarketing is also possible for advertising on YouTube. It gives the opportunity to reach e.g. to people who watched a specific video or subscribed to a specific channel.

Extensive targeting options affect the effectiveness of YouTube ads, and thus also their profitability. A wide range of options allows you to reach every target group, regardless of the device on which the website is used. Ads are displayed on the YouTube website, in the mobile application, as well as in applications on game consoles and Smart TV.

Is YouTube advertising right for you?

Is it worth being interested in the advertising possibilities of the most popular streaming service? Of course! Among other things, thanks to precise targeting, it is a solution for both large and small companies, including local ones. Precise definition of the target group allows you to reach only people interested in a given topic, and at the same time reduce the costs of the campaign. If you want to reach a very wide audience, it is also worth betting on YouTube – after all, it is used by over 90% of Internet users!

Advertising on this site can be particularly beneficial for new brands that want to increase their recognition, as well as for completely new products. Presenting your business as a movie can also be a great idea when it comes to innovation, hard-to-understand mechanisms of action, or business models. In fact, anyone can benefit from the promotion on YouTube.

Many people decide to operate in the area of e-commerce, and the number of online stores is growing. However, you must be aware that strong competition also means that only the best will survive on the market. Although a good idea for a business in the virtual world is the foundation, you also need to know how to set up an e-store and how to run it. This is a serious challenge and it means a lot of work. However, if you put in enough effort (and invest your energy the right way), you’ll find a way to generate long-term and stable income.

What do you need to run an online store?

The online store is unequal to the online store. You have to be aware of this. What does this mean in practice? It’s just that the functioning mechanisms of this business are largely dependent on this:

– what do you sell,
– on what scale do you operate,
– how do you advertise?
– what is the UX of your website like,
– whether you sell only in your country or on the international market,
– do you store the offered goods yourself or do you use the dropshipping model.

However, no matter how your online store works, you need a few basic components. It will not work without them. What exactly are we talking about?

Domain

It is the name of your store, and at the same time the address that customers must reach to be able to use your services. Choose it wisely – so that it is unique, easy to remember, and at the same time related to the industry in which you operate. Contrary to appearances … it’s not as easy as it seems. This is because in almost every market niche there are a large number of online stores. Therefore, you cannot afford to follow the “obvious” path, because there are already others on it.

How to solve this problem? For example, you might think about starting your store on a non-standard domain. Alternative and unusual endings can become a characteristic part of your brand name, but they can also slightly reduce the credibility of the domain in the eyes of the recipient. You can also reach for an expressive and “flashy” word that may not seem related to the area in which you operate, but at the same time will allow you to create a strong brand.

E-commerce software

Every online store works on the basis of it. It is a kind of “machine”, which is responsible both for presenting goods on the website and for handling the ordering process. Thanks to the use of an appropriate e-commerce platform, your customers can:

– adding a product to the basket,
– placing and confirming an order,
– making the payment and selecting the form of sending the goods.

All this information reaches you in real time, and you can react efficiently and set the logistics process in motion.

Here, too, you have a choice of several solutions. The two most popular are open-source platforms and SaaS software. The first one is suitable for intermediate users who want to have full control over the functioning of the store, and at the same time are not afraid of investments related to the configuration and implementation of the system.

The second model, based on SaaS platforms, is a good solution for beginners. Following this path, you don’t have to worry about complicated configuration or the need to invest in hosting. You will get everything in the subscription package. However, such a system is less flexible – you will not adjust it perfectly to your business model, and when you stop paying for services, you will lose access to the e-store.

Which solution to choose? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you have no experience at all, SaaS platforms seem to be a better course of action, as they reduce the number of implementation tasks to a minimum. However, if you want to run a larger store and need a more advanced system – take a closer look at the possibilities offered by advanced software.

Products

The obvious obviousness? Apparently so, but you have to choose the model of running a warehouse for goods. Modern e-shops usually operate in two ways.

The first is to run your own product warehouse. This is a solution that you will reach for, for example, when the e-shop is an extension of your stationary activity. It also works well if you are the manufacturer of the items you offer and sell them in small quantities. In such cases, a small home warehouse that you can handle yourself is usually enough.

But what when the number of processed orders begins to increase? Then you can either hire a larger team to handle parcel shipping, or think about the fulfillment model, i.e. renting a warehouse with service that will take care of the logistics of shipping goods. You deliver products to it and supervise their flow, but the rest of the tasks rests with your contractor from the logistics industry.

The second, typically outsourcing solution is becoming more and more popular. However, you need to carefully select the subcontractor – so as not to lose control over the efficiency of sending parcels. Remember: today, the time when the shipment will be made is one of the main competitive advantages. The sooner the better!

The second solution is to run a shop in the dropshipping model. This solution is chosen by beginners in the world of e-commerce, as well as those who want to treat the e-shop as an additional source of income. How it’s working? You take care of the technical facilities of the e-shop (the page where you can order products), as well as activities related to marketing and customer service. On the other hand, you transfer orders to a wholesaler, which fulfills them with its own resources. So you de facto act like a “sales department”, but you are not physically involved in sourcing, storing or shipping products. It is a faster, cheaper and easier to implement solution. However, it should be remembered that in this business model you can count on a lower percentage of the revenues generated than when using your own warehouse.

Staff to handle

For starters, if you run a small online store in the dropshipping model, and this activity is the most important element of your professional work, you can handle the service yourself. Especially in the first few months, when you take your first steps in the world of e-commerce, this may be enough. And over time, when your website begins to gain popularity, you will be able to think about expanding your team.

However, it must be remembered that the appropriate number of employees is a guarantee of efficient customer service. You will need them, e.g. to handle customer inquiries about specific products, order fulfillment status, as well as accept any returns and complaints. Remember: some of these tasks will help a well-planned IT system that uses artificial intelligence. For example, chatbots can be a support, as well as the automation of e-mail messages sent to customers (the latter solution is provided by most e-commerce platforms).

With your own warehouse, you will also need a team for picking, packing, shipping and shipping. So measure your intentions and hire as many people as you really need. Efficient customer service at all stages is extremely important. Mistakes when sending orders or long delays in their implementation will be a clear signal to the customer that a high standard of service should be sought … from others.

Payment acceptance system

In theory, it would be enough to provide the customer with the account number to which he would make a transfer for the ordered goods. Exactly, in theory. While about 10 years ago such a solution would have “passed”, today – not necessarily. It is simply not very comfortable, and at the same time slows down the payment accounting process.

Think for yourself: how do you pay for goods ordered online? You probably prefer simple and quick methods, such as Pay Pala or Google Pay. Your customers too!

But be careful! Fast electronic payments are not all payment methods that should be implemented in your e-store. Remember that:

– there is a large group of customers who are skeptical about online shopping. They may only want to pay for the goods upon receipt, and therefore in the “cash on delivery” option. It should also be made available, in agreement with the courier company or postal operator,
– if your e-shop sells quite expensive products, it is worth giving buyers the option to purchase them in installments or by using the deferred payment option.

How to choose the best payment system for your e-shop? Take a closer look at all available options and check both the scope of service and the commissions charged by transaction websites. The lower they are, the more favorable prices you can offer your customers.

Ensuring efficient shipment of products

As with the payment method, your customers will expect flexibility when it comes to shipping method. The modern market gives it, and you, as a seller, can cooperate not only with courier companies, but also with those that deliver goods to collection points. The latter solution becomes more popular from year to year – it is often cheaper for the customer, and at the same time more convenient. By using it, you do not have to wait at home for the courier, and the package can be picked up at any time.

For you, as a seller, this will mean establishing business relationships with several suppliers. When executing large quantities of orders, you can negotiate its terms and get more favorable rates. This is another way to make your offer more attractive to buyers, for example by offering them free shipping.

How does the online store work in the dropshipping model?

The elements described above are key for a store that operates in a traditional model with its own warehouse. But what if you decide to operate in dropshipping mode? Then the functioning of the e-shop looks a bit different.

Your duties as an e-shop operator focus on:
– customer acquisition,
– providing them with a platform on which they can make a purchase,
– order handling in terms of communication with the customer and the warehouse of the warehouse.

On the part of the wholesaler, there are obligations related to the handling of the entire logistics process – i.e. with completing the order, packing it, addressing it and sending it to the buyer.

If the customer returns the products, you are again responsible for direct contact with the buyer and for sending information to the warehouse about the returned products and further steps in customer service.

In this model, the scope of your duties focuses mainly on sales.

What to do to make the e-shop work well and be popular?

The very opening of an e-shop is only the first step in a long process. You should be fully aware of this. Your store will be one of tens, hundreds or even thousands in the industry. Therefore, you need to provide it with adequate visibility and build customer trust. What elements to pay attention to in this context?

Service quality is essential
The features that influence positive opinions about your store are, first of all, the efficiency of communication with the customer and the speed of delivery. The more effectively you inform buyers about the status of their order, the greater the chance for full satisfaction with the established cooperation.

That is why it is so important to use solutions that automate the process of basic communication with the client. E-stores that opt for transparent messages tend to be perceived as more credible and customers are more likely to trust them again.

Attractive terms of cooperation
Offer your customers more than your competition. What? For example, free shipping when placing an order for a certain amount. If you develop good cooperation rules, e.g. with a courier broker, you will not incur high costs for it, and the client will perceive your offer as more attractive. You can also extend the statutory time limit for returning products – provided the product range you trade allows it.

Skillful advertising and SEO activities
Without a good advertising campaign, your offer will disappear among hundreds of others. Therefore, it is worth taking care of optimizing the e-store itself for the purposes of positioning (e.g. website responsiveness, speed of its response to online inquiries, as well as the quality of content present in the e-store), as well as the use of advertising tools are important. Which and how? There are many possibilities. However, well-targeted Google Ads are the most effective, as well as campaigns on social media.

To this should be added activities related to inbound marketing, e.g. obtaining leads, running a newsletter related to a company blog or a fanpage on FB or Instagram. There are plenty of possibilities. However, it is important that the campaign is conducted consistently and that it is aimed at achieving specific business goals.

Remember: promotional activities are an indispensable and PERMANENT element of running an online store. Marketing tools are your foundation in communicating with customers – current, past and potential. The more you invest in well-run ad campaigns, the higher ROI you can expect. However, you have to remember that you have to wait for really good results – this is understandable, because a potential customer has to go through the entire marketing funnel to make the final purchase decision.

Campaigns aimed at generating potential customers is one of the increasingly popular advertising targets in social networks. Standard forms on the website in many cases turn out to be much more expensive than lead gen campaigns. The main reason why people choose contacts from social media platforms is the ease of filling them out. Automatically collected data made available on websites shorten the time of filling in forms, which makes them more pleasant and easier to receive.

However, campaigns with this goal are not without flaws. By keeping clicking to a minimum, in many cases the quality of the leads obtained significantly decreases.

Do you operate in the B2B industry and are you looking for new customers on Facebook? Anyone “own boss” and the nobility who do not work can also become one, and you will pay for it in the Advertising Manager. This is where LinkedIn comes in handy – a clear leader among lead generators.

How much does a Linkedin campaign cost on average?

If you use other advertising channels and start your adventure with advertising on LinkedIn, it may turn out that the budget you set is too small to effectively carry out your first campaign. The minimum daily budget that can be set for one campaign is $ 10.

Of course, you might find your first choice of target, audience, and placement a bull’s eye, but you will need to increase your budget to test other options and setups. Even though the advertising efforts on LinkedIn require a larger investment to start with, you’ll quickly find out that this is probably the best platform for generating leads for you.

LinkedIn forms

If it is relatively difficult to find the contact form on your website or the website is easy to use, it does not allow you to add additional functions, for example, to download materials by the interested person, or you simply want to shorten the customer path and without having to do it after clicking on the advertisement on the website website, you want him to download a given material or contact you – this ad in the form of a lead generation form is for you.

What does the form on Linkedin look like?

Forms on Linkedin allow you to get the most important contact information of potentially interested people in our product or service. They can also be used in campaigns with a more educational purpose, in which we offer something in return for each contact, e.g. a guide, newsletter, report or catalog, etc.

What data can we collect via the Linkedin lead generation form?

There are many possibilities. Starting from personal data, to company contact details, and non-standard questions aimed at collecting specific information about subscribers and their classification in the lead collecting system.

The form also gives us the opportunity to select the necessary conditions to submit the form (e.g. acceptance of the regulations or privacy policy).

Nevertheless, when creating a form, it is always worth bearing in mind good practices taking into account UX, i.e. limit the mandatory fields to be completed to a maximum of 3. The great advantage of Linkedin forms is their automatic filling, thanks to which the user interested in the material can easily and quickly receive interesting content, without having to fill in the fields yourself. Of course, some fields can be reserved as necessary to be entered or unchecked by the user and thus pre-verify the quality of leads and their level of interest in a given material.

The process of creating an ad and the Linkedin campaign

As with any LinkedIn Ads campaign, you start by choosing the goal that best describes what you need. Your goal is to get new leads, which means that you choose the ‘Lead Generation’ target in the conversion group. To run a Lead Generation Campaign, you need to associate your Advertising Account with a LinkedIn Company Page.

The process of creating a campaign is no different from other goals. We start, of course, by identifying the audience. Despite the much smaller possibilities of targeting audiences than in the Facebook Ads Manager, it is much more likely that you can reach a specific target group that is actually built mostly of the audience the advertiser is looking for.

Ad formats in the lead campaign on Linkedin

The ad formats available for creating a customer acquisition campaign are the standard single photo, carousel, video ad, and two types of campaigns with ad placement in audience inboxes. Which format you choose is entirely up to you, there are no suggested formats that work best for your industry. For this reason, it is so important to test different ad placements. Some LinkedIn ad campaigns will perform much better than a mostly text-based Sponsored Message campaign with an attention-grabbing banner, and vice versa.

Advertising creations available in the lead campaign on Linkedin

The next step is to prepare the ad creative and set the detailed content of the ad, which, depending on the format you choose, has different options to complete and select. However, all goals are united by creating a leads form.

Privacy policy in lead campaigns on Linkedin

The form has standard settings and content to be completed. It is very important to have the content of the validation policy on the same domain as the page. You can choose from many data options that you need to obtain from potential clients. Creating the form ends with a confirmation window for sending contact details with a thank you.

Campaign on LinkedIn – case study

Due to the pandemic at the turn of February and March, many companies were forced to introduce radical changes in their activities, for some of them a new path was opened to reach their recipients. One of our clients dynamically used the current situation and predicted that cooperation in the field of advertising activities on the LinkedIn platform may bring tangible benefits. The main goal of our client was to reach the departments of specialists and HR leaders in order to promote the webinar on best practices in the coming period. We took a campaign to the fore with the goal of generating leads in the form of sponsored messages that go straight to your LinkedIn inboxes.

In the first week, the campaign started with great intensity and it was possible to acquire the assumed number of potential customers very quickly. By the end of the first month, the initial cost of acquiring a client had dropped by 18%. Ultimately, after 3 months of advertising activities, the campaign was completed with a cost-per-result 22% lower than in the initial period.

We were also positively surprised by the CTR (Sponsored Message Openings Rate) of over 70% during the entire campaign. The key here was the first “meeting” of the recipient with the ad in their inbox, which is influenced by the appropriate headline of the ad.

First of all, we tried not to attack potential customers with another advertisement, but to encourage them to read the entire message in a friendly way.

One of the first tests we did in the campaign was based on bid changes. LinkedIn suggests the suggested bid value at the level of creating a campaign group. This value is influenced by your chosen goals, placements, and audience selection. The starting bid of $ 0.15 turned out to be much worse than our optimization bid, which was $ 0.30, which we eventually held for most of the campaign.

Customer support for the advertising campaign on Linkedin

The client obtained support from us also at the level of advertising texts. The goal was to encourage LinkedIn users to leave personal information in exchange for invaluable knowledge and guidance. The client shared his experience in his industry with us, after all, he knows his potential recipients best, and based on the knowledge obtained from many other campaigns, we added the best strategies that we learn through testing in campaigns. Thus, several versions of messages reaching the recipients were created, which we analyzed and finally chose those whose results were in the lead.

In the meantime, we conducted a few more advertising campaigns for this client, which, thanks to the correlation, had a positive impact not only on building brand awareness, but also on a noticeable gradual reduction in costs for results.

Linkedin lead campaign – Summary

We know from our own experience that the costs of running advertising campaigns on LinkedIn can initially be a deterrent. If you operate in the B2B industry, however, you should know that it is currently the best platform for acquiring valuable customers. However, the lead-generating campaign is the final stage of the sales funnel and it is worth supporting these activities through advertisements building brand awareness, as well as through other advertising channels.

Of course, we make a reservation that not every type of business is suitable for advertising on Linkedin. It is worth conducting a preliminary analysis to check whether our clients are on Linkedin and whether they spend their time there looking for content / services or products that our company offers. It often happens that our clients are really there, so we start the campaign, but after a given period of time, we notice that the campaign does not achieve the intended results. This is often caused by the lack of a preliminary analysis of the Purpose for which our target group uses Linkedin. It may turn out that he is looking for more business solutions here, and he leaves lifestyle options for Facebook, Instagram or simply uses the Google search engine.

The Internet is the most promising sales channel – there is no doubt about it. Regardless of the field in which you operate, the ability to reach the customer without location restrictions gives you a huge competitive advantage. It is worth using it – especially since setting up an e-shop today is simpler than a few years ago.

But be careful! If you think it will become like the snap of a finger… well. It’s not that good. To move from idea to implementation and then successfully build your market position, you need to know how to do it step by step. So see what you need to open a well-functioning online store.

Step 1: refine the business concept

Before getting into the technical details of your own e-shop, you need to go through some basic business tasks. They are the foundation of your investment. Remember: when setting up an e-shop, you invest in the long term. Therefore, you have to be prepared that the development of your business will not happen from month to month, and you will have to wait for the results.

So the question is: how to start? It depends on several factors. Consider: should an online store be a way to develop a stationary business or is it the first step you take on the market? If you already deal with the production and distribution of certain goods via stationary channels, you probably already have appropriate mechanisms developed, including with transport and storage of products, as well as marketing facilities. You already have a customer base and you know who your solutions are addressed to.

However, if you start completely from scratch – the first step is to find an industry. Start with in-depth research. Check what is the economic situation at the moment and consider in what area you are an expert or you can quickly become one. There are two approaches to this topic: either targeting a niche or building an exclusive brand, or vice versa – relying on proven and common material goods.

Also, remember that you have to decide whether you will sell goods under your logo (e.g. by cooperating with the manufacturer to create your own brand) or redistribute it.

It is equally important to ensure a suitable place for running an e-shop. While at the beginning, with small orders, you can manage by storing products, e.g. in a home garage, over time you will need professional storage space.

You can also decide to work in the dropshipping model, which means that you will work with the supplier of products, and you will only deal with the entire sales process until the order is finalized. This solution is good for completely novice entrepreneurs, but of course it also has its downsides, such as limited impact on the shipping process or checking the quality of products.

So, as you can see, if you are a complete beginner, you need to start by developing the business foundation. When they are ready and you know:
– What do you sell,
– to whom your products should go,
– what are your “processing capacities”,
– what budget do you have to start with,

you can start setting up an online store from the technical side.

Step 2: branding

If you already run a stationary business and have developed a brand recognizable by customers, the best solution is to promote it also as part of e-commerce activities. Remember, however, that if your market niche is highly competitive, an expressive, easy-to-associate brand may be one of the factors that will affect your business success. So developing a good branding strategy right from the start is the best you can do. Changing the name later can be time-consuming, costly and, above all, risky.

How to create a good brand? Before you start:
– precisely define the group of customers to which your products will go – assess their needs, expectations, problems, challenges,
– indicate the key values with which your store (and products) is to be associated – which will be more important: prestige and very high quality of products, or maybe their designer character?

Once you know how you want to communicate with the market, you can go to the next step: choose the brand name and its visual identification system.

Especially in the latter aspect, it is worth using the help of professional graphic designers and web designers – they can perform this order on their own or as part of cooperation in designing the e-store layout. It all depends on how you want to “put it up”.

At this stage – when you develop a store brand – it is also worth buying a website domain. Remember that you have at your disposal not only com domains, but also .eu or .co.uk, but also many unusual ones. Nevertheless – these 3 mentioned just now give you more credibility. If you have the option, choosing a domain:
– buy a few “endings” of the address at once – you can then redirect them to the correct store (yours!),
– avoid dashes and other elements in the domain name that may make it difficult for the user to enter the address “by finger”,
– remember that the domain name itself has no impact on positioning – it should be easy to remember and of course be associated with a given business.

Step 3: choosing a platform

At this stage, a very important decision awaits you – which technology will be used in your e-shop. You can go several ways.

A. Commissioning experts to develop your store “from scratch” – it is the safest solution, which at the same time can be fully adjusted to your business needs. However, you must remember that the costs of creating a dedicated platform can be high (and unnecessary), and the time to prepare the website can be very long. That is why this solution is chosen by investors who can afford a one-off spend from several dozen or even several hundred thousand dollars.
B. Take advantage of the e-commerce platform.

When choosing an online store platform, be guided primarily by how large-scale you plan to operate – also in the perspective of many years. Also consider your budget.

When it comes to e-commerce platforms, you have two basic types of services: subscription platforms and open source platforms. How are they different?

Open Source Platforms
This is software that you must install on your own server. They are suitable for people who care about high independence, the ability to adjust the e-store to specific expectations, and above all for medium and large-scale stores. Running them may require previous e-commerce experience or technical support (especially at the beginning).

Usually the platform itself is available for download free of charge, but its operation and extension of the store’s functionality may require investment in paid plugins. It must also be remembered that it will be necessary to implement it on the server and integrate the selected graphic layout with it (own or selected from the available ready-made templates).

Open-source platforms:
– provide the possibility of a very wide “customization”,
– they are friendly for the positioning of online stores,
– they have enormous technical support – especially the users themselves, who are constantly developing this technology

When you choose one of them, you will experience additional costs of implementation, hosting, administration, as well as challenges related to adapting the platform to legal requirements (including developing store regulations).

If you choose an open source platform, you will also need to purchase hosting at this stage. The hosting server should:
– be well secured – so that it is not vulnerable to attacks, and that your clients’ data is safe,
– be adapted to the requirements of the e-commerce platform that you have chosen,
– provide you with sufficiently fast data transfer.

You can choose from shared, inexpensive and suitable for small stores, and dedicated servers – more expensive, but also easier to configure individually. They are suitable for larger and more advanced e-shops.

When choosing an open source platform, you also have a greater impact on the appearance of your e-store. So you can implement it on a template prepared by a computer graphic – so that it fits best into your brand’s visual identity system. You can also take a look at the ready-made templates that are already available.

Subscription platforms (SaaS)
Subscription platforms usually operate in the SaaS model, i.e. Software as a Service. This includes such platforms as Shoper, Shopify or Shoplo. On them you get access to the software in the form of an accessible panel – and this is what your e-shop is based on. In their case, there is no need to “upload” the store to your own server – you use a ready-made system. Fees for using the platform in the SaaS model are charged in the form of a subscription – e.g. monthly or annual, and you, depending on your needs, can choose a specific scope of services and possibilities offered by the website. The costs of such a solution range from several hundred to several thousand dollars per year.

Who are the subscription platforms for? Primarily for beginners who want to run a small-scale online store, especially in the dropshipping model. The use of this solution is the simplest, but it poses many limitations – related to e.g. with limited functionality or the need to choose one of the ready-made graphic templates. Some SaaS platforms are also not perfect in terms of positioning online stores and are burdened with various barriers.

If you are in doubt as to which e-commerce platform to choose, get advice from experts. Analyze your business model with them so as not to make a mistake. Changing the platform later can be costly and time consuming.

Note: Your online store should be responsive. This means that it should be displayed in a fully functional way on various devices – both on computers as well as on tablets and smartphones. Sales via mobile channels are also growing very dynamically, so you cannot afford to lose customers from this source!

Step 4: e-shop integration with ERP

Although this is not a necessary requirement, it is worth considering integrating the online store software with the one that controls warehouse resources. Why? The reason is very simple: if it turns out that a customer orders a product that you do not have in stock, you will face trouble. This single situation can happen. However, if such problems become widespread, you will quickly lose your reputation, and with it – your customers.

That is why the best solution is to use the option of integrating the online store with the ERP system. The immediate flow of information will eliminate the possibility of a mistake and make your task easier.

Step 5: selection of payment methods and their integration with the e-shop

In order for customers to be willing to shop in your e-shop, you need to give them the ability to conveniently pay for goods. Of course, a standard bank transfer is not enough. That is why you must decide on a convenient, yet safe and easy-to-use payment method. There are many trading platforms to choose from. When choosing, consider both available payment methods, as well as commissions and other fees, and flexibility in accessing funds.

Step 6: choosing the delivery methods for the products

This is a matter that you need to take care of primarily in the model in which you handle the shipping of goods yourself. If you have decided to dropshipping, your contractor has probably specified the shipping methods.

However, if not, make sure your customers receive convenient forms of receiving products – apart from courier services, pay attention to the increasingly popular options for delivering goods to points, e.g. shops or parcel machines. On the other hand, however, remember that the more options there are for a customer, the greater the logistical challenge. Therefore, it is worth keeping the golden mean.

Step 7: Add Products

Many e-commerce platforms allow integration with wholesalers and automatic updating of product data. However, if you sell your own assortment, you have to describe it “by hand” in the store. When adding products to ready-made subpage templates, it is worth taking care of two key issues: on the one hand, the attractiveness of the presentation of the product range for the client, and on the other – the fulfillment of SEO requirements.

Therefore, both a good and unique description as well as attractive product photos count. If you sell an assortment of other manufacturers, you can usually get ready-made materials. If you distribute your own products, have professional product photos taken.

In the content area, make sure that:
– were written in the language of benefits – so that they presented not only the advantages of the products, but their translation into the customer’s needs,
– were written in a style adapted to the characteristics of the potential client,
– are in line with SEO requirements – care should be taken, inter alia, o the use of appropriate keywords, headings and bullets. You should also take care of entering metadata and generating friendly URLs.

Step 8: Marketing

Once your store is up and running and you start serving customers, it’s time to increase its visibility to customers, and thus – its popularity. In order to promote your e-store, you can take a number of activities – from paid links, PPC advertising, through social media activities, to positioning your online store and using inbound marketing tools.

It is also good to think about a blog in an online store, which will strengthen the potential of positioning and the image of the website. As you can see, the recipe for setting up your own online store is a methodical step-by-step operation based on a well-thought-out strategy. This is the best way to achieve long-term business success.

What is a site heatmap?

The heat map of the website is a visual representation of user behavior. It is a tool that shows which areas of the website are “hot”, and therefore more eye-catching, and which are “cold” – much less interesting from the visitor’s point of view.

The heat map can be produced in various ways and based on several types of data (more on that later). Prepared for a given website, it is in the form of a screenshot with marked spots in different colors. Deep red signifies the greatest interest, orange, yellow and green are intermediate colors, while blues and purples denote the “coldest” places that are the least popular among Internet users.

Heat maps tell you if users:
– reach the most important information,
– they can easily find links, buttons and other links on the website,
– focus their attention on unimportant elements,
– face obstacles to the free and comfortable use of the website.

The analysis of the data collected in the form of a heat map allows for a much better adaptation of the website to the expectations of users and increasing its functionality. The knowledge gained in this way can also significantly help in increasing conversions, i.e. the number of orders, inquiries or other forms of contact with the company.

How are heat maps made?

Typically, a heat map is cumulative data collected through several studies. Sometimes it is identified with the so-called eye tracking, i.e. tracking the movements of the eyeball, another time with the map of clicks. In fact, it is a combination of several types of information collected in different ways. Most often, when creating heat maps, the following are used:
– click analysis – clicktracking,
– page scrolling – scrolltracking,
– examination of elements that attract attention – attentiontracking,
– tracking cursor movements on the screen – movetracking.

They can be presented in the form of a combined report or separate analyzes. This is data that allows you to accurately understand the behavior of Internet users, and thus adapt the website to them. This affects not only the already mentioned increase in conversion, but also the friendliness of the website itself, and therefore the satisfaction of its users.

It is worth preparing separate heat maps for the desktop and mobile websites. This allows you to compare how users of different devices behave and see if your website offers a similar level of conversion in different variants.

Heat maps and eye tracking

Eye tracking is also a popular method of measuring the engagement of website visitors and testing its usability. Its results are often presented in the form of a heat map, but it is a separate analytical tool. Eye tracking allows you to track the movement of the eyeballs. The research is used in many areas, it works well, among others in the case of website usability analysis.

During the procedure, a device that analyzes the eye movement is connected to the computer. Then a focus study is performed. Its participants are asked to perform specific tasks within a given page. Thanks to this, you can check, for example, how easy it is to find the necessary information or carry out activities such as making a purchase or registering on the website. While the data provided by eye tracking can be very valuable, heatmaps should not be equated solely with this study. It may be part of the website analysis, but more often a variety of tools are used to study the previously mentioned parameters.

It should also be remembered that the eye tracking research is carried out in created conditions, on a selected group of participants. So it does not necessarily have to be representative. Meanwhile, heat maps are usually created on the basis of data obtained from real site users in natural conditions.

Heat map – who needs it?

Are you wondering if creating a heat map will pay off? Do you need this type of solution at all? This is a very useful option – provided, however, that the results obtained in this way are properly analyzed, and the conclusions drawn will translate into activities aimed at adapting the website to the expectations and needs of users. The benefits of preparing a heat map will primarily affect people who:
– despite the SEO activities carried out, they do not enjoy a satisfactory conversion;
– are worried about the high bounce rate of the page;
– they achieve good results in terms of organic inputs, but significantly worse among mobile users;
– want to adjust the website template to the user’s needs;
– they have no idea for functional changes within the site;
– want to find out if the mechanisms used are working as intended.

In short, heatmaps are for anyone who wants to improve their website and make it more effective. A user-friendly, functional website more and more often translates into real benefits. However, keep in mind that analyzing the heatmaps is only one step in improving your website. SEO, competition monitoring and other activities cannot be forgotten. Only a holistic approach to creating a website can bring clear results.

Heatmap of the site – how to use it?

A reliably prepared heat map is a great source of information for website administrators. The only question is: how to use them? There are many possibilities. Let’s check what the heat map data says and how it can be transferred to a more functional and, more importantly, more effective website design.

Content analysis
It has been known for a long time that texts on websites are scanned rather cursily, not read by visitors. The heatmap can tell you which elements grab your visitors’ attention and therefore where to put the most important information. Thanks to scrolltracking, you will also find out where on the website its users usually reach. This may suggest that you need to shorten the content or divide it. It is also worth taking care of the form of their presentation – short paragraphs and bullets containing concise information will bring a much better effect. Also, don’t forget about your headlines – they should be attractive and enticing, while still containing your most important keywords. At the very bottom of the page, you can include texts that are less important from the user’s point of view, but they will help in positioning the page.

Improving site navigation
The heat map analysis will tell you a lot about the effectiveness of the links on the page. Are buttons and links receiving sufficient attention? Do users have no problem finding the tab with the offer or the icon transferring the product to the basket? The click-through study will also help you check that the links in the text are in the right places. If their effectiveness is unsatisfactory, try to move them to places that attract more interest from website users. It’s also worth checking if those links that actually “click” lead to the most important tabs and increase your conversion rate. If the buttons aren’t performing well enough, it might be worth making them bigger, highlighted, or repositioned. Also, make sure they contain a call to action (CTA) – a slogan encouraging action (eg “Check”, “Order”, “Learn more”).

Thanks to the heat map analysis, it may also turn out that some of the navigation elements are unnecessary. If a side menu, banner, or button isn’t interesting, they may just be taking up valuable space where something else would be worthwhile.

Detection of problem spots
Broken or invalid links, especially in the “clicked” area, is a huge wasted opportunity. A user who is “framed” in this way can often get irritated and not return to the site anymore! That is why it is worth checking all links for operation and fixing them as soon as possible – especially if they are very popular among Internet users.

More effective suggestions
Many online stores have sections with other recommended or similar offers on their product pages. It is worth checking with the heatmap that this suggestion actually works. If not, it may be worth changing the form or position of the section. Seemingly it is a small thing, but it can significantly affect the time spent by the user on the website and, more importantly, the conversion.

Improving responsiveness
Responsive design is basically a “must have” of any website. It should be properly displayed on various devices and should be functional and easy to use, regardless of the size of the user’s screen. However, a website that is responsive in theory does not always offer the desired functionality in practice to mobile users. Making a heat map can be very helpful in evaluating the template and adapting it to the user’s needs. If it takes endless scrolling to get to the most important functions and information, some elements hide others, and buttons are not where they should be, the visitor will quickly lose patience and leave the page. These are unacceptable errors that can significantly affect the number of users on the website, as well as the conversion.

Effective website

An effective website allows you to achieve the intended goals, and thus – also profits. Creating such a website requires a lot of work, focused not only on the correct coding of the website, but also on adapting it to the user or the requirements of internet search engines. Each of these elements undergoes many changes – in a given period, users will focus their attention on some subpages, and a few months later – on others. The same applies to the rules governing search engines.

Analytics allows you to effectively catch places where traffic is higher or where it drops. By locating these “hot spots” you can improve them and increase the chances of conversion. Correct counting of conversions in Google Analytics also makes it easier to determine the level of fulfillment of a given goal and to mark its measurability.

Goal types in Google Analytics

In internet marketing, “goal” is quite a broad word. Underneath it, however, there are more specific slogans, characteristic of different types of websites. No wonder – in fact, the goals related to the operation of the online store will be different than those on which the blogging activity focuses.

In Google Analytics, the goal is the performance of an action, i.e. conversion. Actions can include going to a specific page, spending a certain amount of time on it, displaying a specific screen or performing the desired action.

Target – The goal is for the user to reach a specific URL, such as “thank you page”. The target related to a given URL facilitates the analysis of data related to free bonuses or trial accounts, filling out a form or subscribing to a mailing list. These types of targets are also used to count transactions.

Duration – amount of time spent on the website. This goal allows you to analyze the involvement of users on the website and is often set on pages such as support or FAQ. The target allows you to study two groups of users – those who stay on the site longer than the time set for the purpose and those who quit faster from being at a given URL.

Pages / screens per session – this goal allows you to check how many subpages the user saw during a single visit to the site.

Events – specific interaction with the website, eg clicking the “download” button, turning on the video. Before setting the goal, it is necessary to define the event.

Are you looking for other solutions? Smart Goals are based on a traffic analysis performed by a machine learning algorithm that finds the events most likely to convert. The algorithm evaluates the session and assigns an intelligent target to those it deems “best”.

Not only one goal

Analytics allows you to set multiple goals for one website. Thanks to this, we can observe user behavior on many subpages, each of which plays a different role.

Each of the goals can have a specific value – expressed in the currency you use. Based on the number of goals achieved and the related transactions, it is possible to determine the value of each conversion. Example: Every 10th contact from the site ends up selling about $ 100. The value of one conversion – contact via the website – can be estimated at about $ 20.

If it is difficult to specify the specific amounts assigned to a given conversion, the value may play a different role – the weight of the given goal. Their value will depend on how important they are for a given business – the more important higher value can be assigned, and the less – lower.

The goals set in Analytics can also be used in Google Ads.

Correct counting of conversions in Google Analytics

Correctly setting goals and using the information they provide allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of the website and marketing activities. Unfortunately, the collected data is not always correct. Errors can have several causes:

A. Incorrect tag configuration – some errors related to data collection result from incorrect tag placement, eg pasting it in the wrong place. The use of an incorrect tag can also cause problems. Some of the problems are due to our inattention or “printing imps”, which sometimes happen when we paste code from a text document. Formatting is implemented in your documents that may cause changes to the code syntax – for example by removing or adding extra spaces – autocorrect has different priorities than keeping the tracking code valid. You can also use the old GA code as a misconfiguration, which is still present on some sites. It is worth using Google’s recommendations and switching to new products suggested by them, which usually bring greater possibilities in the field of website control and analysis.

B. Errors also happen during the configuration of the Tag Manager – Here, the problems are mainly due to incorrect settings of the Exclude / Include filters, the assumption of which is to screen out information about unwanted data in the visit statistics. Too rigorous use of any of the filters can cause problems with proper data collection. Among other common problems with gtag.js, there is no container published (the publishing process is longer, the latest changes may not be available immediately) or problems with handling too large HTTP requests.

C. Using another account – the tracking code is associated with a specific account – in the case of incorrect data, it is worth checking if we are trying to analyze from an account that is not connected to GA.

D. Custom Code Placement – Analytics code should be in the <head> section of the web page. In the case of niche CMSs or less popular plugins for pasting external codes, the final localization may deviate from Google’s guidelines and as a result may not work properly. It is worth taking advantage of the possibility of pasting the code directly into the website template or using proven plugins.

E. Incomplete conversion data may be caused by the lack of code on all subpages within the domain. You can catch missing subpages.

F. Lack of internal filters – clicking on your website or shop may disrupt the statistics – eliminating internal traffic will allow you to obtain information about conversions that will be more reliable.

G. Inaccurate setting of the goal – the conversion is counted at the moment of achieving the goal, however, incorrect setting of the final moment means that it is not valuable, and the intended goal has not been met. Example – the purpose is to send a form, but the code is placed on the “Contact” tab and as a result, the conversion is counted at the moment of entering this subpage. The form is not sent, and the data collected by the tool does not reflect the number of actually sent forms. Putting the code in the right place – for example on the send button, and even better – on the “thank you” page, displaying information about the correct sending of the message, will allow you to collect real data.

Errors that make it difficult to correctly count conversions in Google Analytics can be due to many reasons. Some of them are trivial, and thus – easy to identify and remove. More complicated cases may require changes to the page code – but it is worth investing the extra time and obtaining the correct data.

Objective settings should be checked from time to time and modified if necessary. It is also important to test your settings and proper billing of conversions, especially after making changes to the site, such as modifying URLs that were related to your goals.

Ecommerce Tracking

Tracking movements in online stores may be different to what happens on other types of sites. Analytics allows you to count transactions, their value, and so on. Controlling this data by an external application allows you to fill in “white spots” that may appear in reports from the store engine. In addition, combining this knowledge with other information about the page will allow you to spot the moments when sales are going the best and those where they drop sharply.

Correct conversion counting is the key to analyzing and planning further development of online stores. Google Analytics enables an in-depth analysis of user behavior and the choices they make. It also allows you to evaluate various sales channels and is invaluable when you need to make a decision to develop or eliminate one of them.

Ecommerce tracking should be included in your reports, and code should be placed within your website to collect more detailed data. Due to the more complicated structure of the code, its introduction will require cooperation with a programmer who will take care of its proper implementation. Next, in the Administration tab, in the appropriate data view, there is the E-commerce settings item, which you must enable and save your selection.

The data collected by e-commerce tracking is transaction and product specific.

Information about the transaction consists of a transaction identifier, which allows it to be counted only once per session (the lack of an identifier could result in the same transaction being counted multiple times, e.g. when reloading the thank you page by the user), affiliation – understood as the store where the transaction took place, revenues – transaction amount, delivery – delivery costs and tax.

The product in Google Analytics also has similar values – transaction ID, product name, SKU code (unique product code, assigned in the internal company database), the category in which the product is located, price and its quantity.

In addition to the transaction identifier, and in the case of the Product also its name, the rest of the parameters are collected optionally.

Standard reports can be used to analyze the data collected in e-commerce tracking:
– an overview, which is a general summary of the information collected,
– product effectiveness,
– sales effectiveness,
– transactions,
– time to buy.

E-commerce – data that sells

Extending the sales statistics with data from Google Analytics will allow you to adjust the sales method to the current trends and customer expectations. Detailed analysis of user behavior – incl. analysis of the time that elapses from entering the website for the first time until the moment of making a purchase may initiate the rebuilding of the store and the introduction of improvements that will help him make the final decision.

The online store has much more than just the shopping cart in which the transaction data is collected. Analytics allows you to observe customer behavior across the platform – e.g. checking articles in the blog section – e.g. which ultimately make the customer allow himself to buy a given product. Controlling traffic in the store also allows you to catch problems on the platform – e.g. bugs or places that, for unknown reasons, load slower, causing customer frustration and cart abandonment.

Comprehensive monitoring of activities also facilitates further planning of the strategy and selection of the most effective way to maintain and increase sales in the next period. Using the available tools, their correct implementation and data analysis allow for taking more effective actions that save time and money. Greater knowledge about the movement and steps of customers will allow you to choose more effective solutions, tailored to the needs of customers. Being ahead of the competition and reaching customers effectively also allows you to leave the competition far behind.

Correctly counting conversions in Google Analytics and using all available program options facilitates quick response to trends and changes in the market, which are a natural phenomenon in the case of E-commerce. The knowledge gathered by Analytics allows you to create Google Ads campaigns that sell.

Use pixel

For more experienced marketers it is obvious, but still entering the pages of various businesses is short of this short script that allows remarketing. Of course, not every website on the internet needs a pixel and Facebook advertising, but if we are thinking about this form of advertising or are just starting to operate on this platform, pixel is one of the first things we should be interested in.

Pixel is a tracking code that allows you to create remarketing groups. The script connects the person who enters the page with the Facebook account. Thanks to this, by creating an ad, we can reach people who, e.g. have visited your website within 45 days. These groups include people who know your brand through the website. It is therefore the hottest type of recipients, and not using them and letting them go into oblivion is a flaw for the marketer.

Delving into the technicalities and specifics of this script, you will soon discover that you can add conversion events and parameters to it. What does it mean? This means that you can optimize your campaign for a specific conversion, e.g. purchase or filling out a form. Thanks to event installation, you will also learn how many conversions and values were made after clicking on the advertisement. By combining pixels with a catalog (product feed), you can start displaying dynamic remarketing, in which you will show a personalized advertisement with a specific product to the person who has previously viewed the site.

Use Lookalike groups

The previous point concerned the remarketing group from the site. These are extremely valuable recipients. What about the moment when we want to reach new potential customers with the advertisement?

Of course, we can use the classic method, i.e. directing advertising to groups built on the basis of demographic data, i.e. location, age, gender, interests or behavior. However, we can let Facebook do all the magic for us. Then he will choose those who will most often use our services. Sounds beautiful? Indeed it is. The only thing we have to sacrifice to the platform are our remarketing lists. Of these groups, e.g. 5000 people who visited the site (data from the pixel) within 30 days, Facebook will prepare a list of 200,000 people in the country similar to these people. In the source, each of the 5000 people is hundreds of data that the platform analyzes and searches for profiles with similar characteristics within a given country. You can also create Lookalike based on the list of people who interacted with your Facebook page. Then even the remarketing list obtained from the website will not be needed.

As you can see, at first Facebook Ads are mainly groups of so-called standard, i.e. demographic. Over time, however, as you gain experience, you’ll start to use a combination of remarketing lists and lookalike groups.

Advertising creation

This is the only thing the recipient sees. Not your settings, not the purpose of the campaign, but graphics or video and text are the only point of real contact with the recipient – if this point fails, your campaign will not have a chance of success.

Settle in as the recipient. You are viewing the feed on Instagram or Stories on Facebook. In what form would you like to see your ad? Stock image without an ad slogan and unclear text, unmatched by mobile? Or maybe eye-catching graphics with a slogan in the form of Call To Action, the right button and a short, understandable advertising text? It is obvious. Unfortunately, advertisers often focus on complicated audience settings and bids, and neglect the only thing that the viewer really sees.

To create the perfect creation, I suggest you follow these guidelines:

Ad text – Probably your ad will be displayed on mobile, so try to include a maximally simple message in the first three lines that you will see in the preview of the ad in the mobile feed version. The text can be long and the recipient willingly clicks “view more” to read it, but you need to catch attention through the first, one or two sentences, e.g. to solve the problem of the recipient with the first few words. In the following you can write what you want.

Graphics / Video – does it also stand out in feed / stories? Gets attention? Is it clear and you know what the advertiser meant? Do you know what you, as the recipient, should do after the ad? Is the format adapted to the location? Is the graphics on Stories vertical (sample format 1080 × 1920) and in the feed square (1080 × 1080) which significantly improves the reception? Is the advertisement based on stocks that everyone already knows or maybe on their own interesting graphics / photos?

Ad headline – Short and succinctly, this should be the headline. It can take the form of a call to action.

Button – If you offer the sale of t-shirts, you will not use the “fill in application” button, eg “buy now”. The “more information” button has already taken care of everything, change it!

Test different solutions – audiences and ads

When launching a Facebook Ads advertising campaign, we set the target, audience in the ad set, and the ad itself. Let’s stop for a moment while developing the middle part, i.e. the group of recipients. We usually set up one and publish the campaign. But why not use two or more and give the algorithm some room to work? Almost every group can be divided into two, at least according to age, location or gender. Thanks to this breakdown and the simultaneous use of CBO, i.e. optimization of the budget campaign at the level of setting the advertising goal, we will allow the algorithm to experiment and select a group that converts better, i.e. results, e.g., at a lower cost.

We wouldn’t know about it by broadcasting a campaign with one audience.

The same applies to advertising in a set of ads, i.e. graphic or video creation. It’s worth testing different headlines, other texts or even entire graphics. After a while we will notice which performs better. Then we can stop the emission of the weaker creation and implement another one for testing, which may prove to be better than the one that won in the previous test.

Analyze on a representative sample of data

It happens that after one day we receive information from the customer that, e.g. one campaign or advertisement works better than the other, and that the worse one should be turned off. With a relatively low budget, absolutely one day of issue is not a representative sample of data on the basis of which you can make radical decisions such as suspending an element of the campaign (e.g. audience). Let the ads take a few days, 3-7 days is the right range to evaluate the effect of our actions.