CDN – what is it?

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. Otherwise, it is a distributed system that is responsible for delivering website content to users in the shortest possible time, based on their geographic location. Thanks to it, a large amount of content can reach specific people quickly and without any interruptions. CDN is believed to be a very simple solution to speed up the performance of websites. Users don’t have to wait too long for data to load from the site they’ve decided to visit. Such a network of servers is dispersed in many places, and content resources are displayed to specific people from the points closest to them.

Higher page loading speed thanks to the use of the CDN system can be seen especially in the case of those site elements that are considered to be heavier. This, for example, graphics. There is a lot of potential in CDN, which is why it is talked about more and more often, for example in the context of increasing the efficiency of websites or their effective SEO. Thanks to it, the physical distance between the server and the user is reduced.

How does the CDN work?

When opening a website that uses CDN, the request is sent to the server closest to the specific person. Thus, it does not have to wait long for all the data to be loaded. In short, the CDN consists of several elements:
– source server,
– distributed internet infrastructure points,
– routing system.

The process of the CDN system operation is invisible to us, as website viewers. Everything is done in the background. When a user enters the address of a site that uses CDN, the so-called process begins. mapping. The network selects the appropriate server in terms of the user’s location and responds to his request by displaying the previously cached content. POPs, i.e. data centers located all over the world (often referred to as points of presence) play an important role here. Their task is to download, save and store in their cache “copies” of the page content. What if there is a problem with processing data from the server closest to a given person? The network then searches for another nearby point. If the real server becomes unavailable due to a failure or similar factors, the CDN will act as a proxy and display the previously processed content despite the problems.

Due to the specificity of operation, the CDN system is somewhat associated with internet clouds. However, there are some differences between these areas. Thanks to the cloud, the data is stored on the server, not on the computer’s hard drive. It can be compared to an internet flash drive. The user has unlimited access to his files, he can view and download them via various devices from anywhere in the world. CDN is an extensive network of internet infrastructure points. Responsible for the distribution of content from the so-called starting server to others. If necessary, i.e. when sending the request, information is transferred to the user from the CDN server closest to him.

What is the CDN for?

The CDN system is used primarily to increase the efficiency and speed of loading a website. Using it means that the user’s request travels a shorter physical distance than when the content of the site is located on one server. You can illustrate this with a practical example. A person living in the United States wants to open a website based in the UK. If this one doesn’t use CDN, it won’t load fast enough because the request has to travel a very long distance, including the Atlantic Ocean. In the case of a content distribution network, this is faster because the data is sent from a server closer to the person, for example in a specific US state.

You should be aware that nowadays internet traffic is mostly handled by CDN. This solution is used both by the websites of the largest companies in the world (including Amazon) and small enterprises. The content distribution network is very popular, in particular among providers of online streaming services and other multimedia services. It allows for greater comfort of using streaming services and reducing the risk of long buffering of content. The CDN is also used by companies dealing with cloud computing and e-commerce websites. The system in question is willingly implemented also due to the increased security. Due to the fact that most of the traffic is not handled by a hosting provider, but only by CDN servers, the risk of cybercriminals attacks is reduced.

CDN system – advantages

There are several benefits to using a CDN, one of the most important being performance gains. It can be said that thanks to a distributed network of servers, the content of the website is closer to the user. At the moment when he wants to open a website, the content does not have to cover a very long distance (in the physical sense), therefore it is displayed faster on the device screen. This is due not only to faster website loading times. This way you can also minimize packet loss. The CDN system works especially well when the website is visited by people living on different continents.

Reliability of access should also be mentioned. Each time you try to open your site, the request goes to the location closest to the user. Even if one server is temporarily unavailable, it will automatically redirect to another one nearby. In this way, the so-called automatic redundancy. The use of the CDN system makes it possible to guarantee constant network availability, regardless of the operation of the main server and those making up the network. What happens without this solution? Users see an error page on their screen, and this discourages them from revisiting the site. Thus, the CDN allows you to improve UX.

It is also believed that the content distribution network often plays an important role in the SEO process. It shortens the website loading time and prevents unnecessary failures, which affects its position in the search results. In addition, the issue of security must not be forgotten. When using a CDN system, traffic is mostly handled by the servers and not by the hosting provider. As content distribution network providers usually apply additional security, the risk of attacks, especially DDoS blocking access to services using network congestion, is reduced. In addition, many servers offer the option of using an additional SSL protocol.

Big enterprises can find out about what CDN means in one more area, which is costs. The use of a content distribution network is less expensive than rebuilding the entire infrastructure, when it will be necessary to use a larger number of servers.

Is it worth choosing a CDN?

In many cases, the CDN turns out to be a very good solution. Nevertheless, the decision to use a network should always be thought out and carefully analyzed. If the majority of website users live in the same region as the hosting, a CDN system is often not necessary. It even happens that implementing it brings more harm than good. Due to a non-essential connection point between the visitor to the site and a nearby server, performance may be degraded.

However, in a situation where the website is popular among users from different parts of the world, CDN is the right choice. There are many providers of this type of service, including:
– Fastly – a commercial CDN network used, for example, by BuzzFeed, The New York Times and Pinterest. It gives many configuration options, provides a high level of security, and at the same time increases the efficiency of websites.
– Cloudflare – one of the largest global networks with data centers in Europe, the United States and South America, as well as in mainland China and Oceania.
– Akamai – one of the largest enterprises in the world, handles approx. 30% of Internet traffic. His clients include BNP Paribas, Honda, Douglas or Ubisoft.
– KeyCDN – a network suitable especially for beginners without much experience with CDN. Supports 6 continents and ensures easy integration.

Importantly, the use of this type of service does not have to be associated with a very large expense. Some providers give you the opportunity to try their offer first in a demo version, and you can easily find free plans with basic functionality. It is worth thinking about CDN especially if you want to acquire new users from other countries or even continents. Thanks to the content distribution network, it becomes easy to optimize your website in each geographic zone. Its use is recommended in particular:
– online stores,
– services with nationwide coverage,
– large, popular websites and those that store valuable data (due to the increased risk of attacks),
– multilingual websites,
– parties with a pronounced foreign movement.

In fact, any website that, for specific reasons, is to operate faster than before, can decide to implement the CDN system. The content distribution network makes sense not only in the case of foreign traffic. Since it affects the site loading faster, it helps it to gain a higher position. Of course, you have to bear in mind that the CDN requires skilful implementation. Only then can you notice all the advantages of this solution.

What is a domain in the simplest words?

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

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

What does a domain consist of?

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

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

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

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

Domain and website

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

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

How much does a domain cost?

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

How to choose a domain name?

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

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

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

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

In the past, in order to perform targeted surveys, it was necessary to hire specialist interviewers or those that did non-participant observation to study consumer behavior, which was thoroughly laughed at in the Swedish movie “Kitchen Stories”, for example. Currently, you can also cooperate with various types of research institutes that support the business world, but instead of spending a large portion of funds on it, it is better to use generally available knowledge and specialized tools that are available for free or for a small fee. With a dose of self-denial, anyone can become an expert in determining the target group.

Target audience – it all depends on the size of the business

When you run a small business, you often know your customers and their needs very well. In this case, questions like – “how to determine the target?” or “how to reach the target group?” they don’t make much sense. However, the matter becomes more complicated when the company is of a considerable size and most of its potential clients are completely anonymous. And how to convince people you don’t know?

This will only work if you properly target and create models of customers (so-called personas) who may be interested in your product or service. A teenager with crazy internet marketing has completely different needs and a middle-aged woman who prefers calmer advertising content. A solid, personalized message can hit the recipient’s sensitive points, evoke emotions and encourage him to engage, which is a necessary part of the relationship between the company and the client, which is what content marketing is based on.

Persona

No, we won’t talk about another well-known Swedish film here, but about the basic issue related to defining the audience. Persona is a model of our ideal recipient, its characteristics, which include such matters as gender, age, level of education, place of residence, preferences, worldview, marital status, life practice, current needs or level of life satisfaction. The company cannot afford to create content (such as SEO-compliant articles, video content marketing) that completely falls short of the expectations of the recipients who would be interested in the products or services you propose.

You should think about your personas as close friends who you want to meet, offering them to fulfill the most secret consumer dreams and make their lives a bit happier. Everyone lives in their own fairly closed world of beliefs, thoughts, visualizations, which is often referred to as being in their bubble, in their tunnel, so young people will not be interested in maternity-related content, and their parents will find the rebellious advertising campaign just plain.

That is why it is so important to always be a few steps ahead of your audience, trying to anticipate potential trends. For this purpose, it is worth continuing education, reading the industry press and portals, following the content placed under the hashtags important from your point of view, reading comments on social networks and opinions, and of course using tools to define the target audience.

Target audience – two basic tools

Thanks to individual, specialized analytical tools, you can learn about the characteristics of your target group in great detail. The most popular tools to help target audiences are:

Facebook Audience Insights
Virtually every modern company uses social networks, because this is where they can meet and establish close contact with their customers, presenting the latest promotional materials. Facebook gives you great opportunities to look behind the curtain and check the data on people who have received your company posts and how the recipients reacted to this content (whether it was hidden, liked or shared).

In addition to basic information about the target group, such as gender, age, place of residence, thanks to this system you can also check the relationship status of your fans or websites that are close to them. This helps you plan your strategies and collaborate with famous people or companies with whom you share your fans.

However, when publishing video content marketing on Facebook, it is worth paying attention to whether the material is viewed in its entirety or whether it is abandoned by viewers at some point. Such information helps in better targeting of content and allows you to create content that will please, amuse or evoke emotions in your recipients.

Google Analytics
Thanks to this platform, you can check what type of people the people visiting your website are. What are the characteristics of customers who quickly run away from it, and what are those who stay a little longer or make a purchase? Google Analytics allows you to examine, among others the age, gender, interests and industries they are close to, as well as how they navigate around your site. It is worth setting your promotional activities for the type of people whose visits to your website usually end with a purchase or the desired action. At the beginning of your business path, it is worth playing with targeting your target group by making a series of marketing tests. Sometimes you can opt for advertising texts written in a looser, more direct style, and other times you can choose more serious content (although even funeral services can be advertised cheerfully). The recipients of your marketing strategies will show you the right way by their positive or negative reactions or, for example, lack of them. Reality can surprise you sometimes and you may find that your target audience is completely different than you might have expected.

CMS = Content Management System

CMS stands for Content Management System. It is a type of software used to publish content on websites, as well as organize or modify them. CMSs were created primarily to facilitate the use of websites – especially those that are constantly updated and supplemented or contain a lot of content. These types of programs do not require knowledge of programming languages from users, and getting to know their functions is usually much easier than learning HTML or CSS. In principle, their operation should be intuitive and relatively easy.

There are different types of CMSs, but most of them are handled through a special administration panel. This type of software works in the network – just go to the appropriate page and log in to the panel to start working. Through the system, you can:
– add and modify articles,
– add and describe products, create categories and perform other activities related to running the store,
– add media (photos, graphics, videos),
– create and change the menu,
– manage the appearance of the website,
– update the offer,
– and even manage the newsletter.

The exact scope of functions and how to use them depend on the selected CMS, but usually these types of programs are similar to each other. Most also allow for the installation of additional modules that increase the functionality of the website (e.g. rating or comments system, maps, contact form, etc.)

CMS types

Content Management Systems can be divided into three main categories:
– Open Source,
– SaaS (Software as a Service),
– original, dedicated.

Open Source systems (eg WordPress), that is based on open source, are free and easily available. Users can create their own plugins, modules or graphic templates for them. Therefore, they usually offer very wide possibilities. Of course, their great advantage is also free access (although add-ons or templates are often paid for). Open Source systems are usually very secure, but you should remember to update them frequently.

CMSs of the SaaS type (eg Shoper) are subscription platforms – usually paid on a monthly basis. Users do not have access to the site code, and the capabilities of such programs are usually quite limited. However, access to basic functions and the lack of possibility to use dedicated solutions affect the ease of use of such systems.

Proprietary (dedicated) CMSs are created for the needs of specific clients. Rather, this solution is used only by large companies because it is expensive. The dedicated system includes an individually developed graphic template and functions selected in accordance with the needs of the customer. It is also usually designed to be as easy to use as possible. However, it also has some drawbacks. First, creating an original CMS is expensive. Moreover, it binds the client permanently with the agency that created it. It also happens that the level of its protection against hacker attacks is quite weak.

How to choose a CMS – the most popular solutions

Choosing a CMS is a completely individual matter. Certainly, you should take into account the security, functionality, performance and stability of a given system. In addition, it is worth checking how its operation looks – whether it is intuitive and comfortable enough. A very important aspect is also the possibility of website optimization. The more possibilities of using SEO tools, the better for the website’s visibility in the search engine, and thus for your business.

If you have specific, exorbitant requirements and the costs do not count for you, you can buy a dedicated CMS. Most website administrators, however, choose ready-made solutions. Read on for their most important features and functions below to make the right choice easier.

WordPress
It is the most popular CMS in the world. It is an Open Source platform that is considered to be one of the simplest (if not the simplest). WordPress has many advantages. One is a huge community that creates countless templates, plugins and add-ons. Thanks to this, the system offers really wide possibilities of use. The intuitive administration panel should also be considered an advantage. This makes WordPress perfect even for people who do not know any programming language and are not familiar with complicated internet tools. WordPress is of course free, although some of the templates and plugins are paid. It is perfect for creating blogs and simple websites. However, in conjunction with WooCommerce, it can also be used to operate an online store. It is possible to use SEO tools – sites based on WordPress usually have no problems with positioning.

Joomla!
Joomla also belongs to the Open Source group. It used to be the first system in this category. It is more extensive, but also a bit less intuitive to use than WordPress. There are many tutorials and other educational materials to get familiar with the tool. Internet users can also seek help on discussion forums, although the number of people using this system is decreasing. It is a good choice for slightly more advanced users who have high expectations of CMS. It is also worth noting that the system has been translated into as many as 64 languages.

Drupal
Drupal is an even more advanced system that works well for complex websites. It has an extensive administration panel and many functions that allow for efficient website management and the introduction of various modifications. Consequently, its operation is more complicated. In addition, it requires at least basic knowledge of HTML, PHP and CSS, so it is not intended for complete beginners.

Typo3
Typo3 is a complex CMS with very large possibilities. It is very suitable for simple pages, although not very simple on its own. Therefore, it is recommended primarily for professionals and advanced users. It takes some time to get to know it well, but it is modular and comprehensive. There are several thousand extensions compatible with the system, which allow you to build exactly the website you dream about.

Quick.Cms
It is a comprehensive system often compared to WordPress or Joomla! It is not very complicated to use and is suitable for creating a variety of websites. It is also suitable for beginners because it is very intuitive and does not require specialist knowledge. However, compared to other similar tools, it has a small number of plugins. It is very good at SEO and allows for effective website positioning.

Blogger
Blogger is simple software designed to create, as you might have guessed, blogs. It is a very good tool for beginners, but its possibilities are limited.

Which CMS to choose? It depends primarily on your skills and requirements, as well as the type of website you are building. The advantage of the above solutions, however, is that you can try them out for free. Familiarize yourself with the administration panel and the possibilities of several platforms, and the decision will be easier!

CMS for online stores

You can also find many CMSs on the web intended solely for creating online stores. They have features that are useful to e-commerce users. They are also often very user-friendly. The most popular solutions include:
– PrestaShop,
– WooCommerce (used in conjunction with WordPress),
– Magento,
– Shoper,
– Shoplo.

Both Open Source and SaaS platforms are available with varying levels of complexity. Therefore, everyone has a chance to find a tool that will satisfy them.

Advantages of CMS systems

Is a CMS necessary to create or run a website? Of course not. However, the popularity of this type of platform speaks for itself. Their main advantages are:
– facilitating work on creating, updating and modifying the website,
– intuitive operation, which means that you do not need experience or specialist knowledge to create websites, especially knowledge of programming languages,
– availability – most of these types of platforms are free,
– open code – most CMSs are Open Source platforms, which means you can use many plugins, templates and add-ons (as well as create your own!),
– the possibility of comprehensive management of the website content,
– the ability to take care of aspects related to SEO,
– the ability to create accounts with different permissions in the system,
– flexibility – the ability to create various types of websites, from one-page, through blogs, to multi-site portals and stores.

All this means that most of the websites on the Internet are currently created based on CMSs. This is a way for more people to manage published content on their own, and at the same time convenient tools for everyone.

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.

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.

What is a brand?

The word brand can be understood in many ways. In the past, they were identified only with the name and logo placed on the company’s products in order to distinguish them from those from other manufacturers. In the late 19th century, trade symbols began to be registered to protect them. It was then that people began to appreciate the strength of a recognizable and trusted brand. Today, this word has a much wider meaning. A modern brand consists of many aspects. It can be assumed that these are all the tools that help shape the character and identity of the company, as well as its reputation. The elements of the brand include both a characteristic logo and a specific color, sound, name, slogan and public relations activities. It must have a strong personality – something that distinguishes it from the competition, and at the same time determines which target group will be interested in it.

The concept of a brand is associated with branding, i.e. a set of tools used to create a distinctive brand. Combined with marketing techniques, this results in brand marketing, i.e. a field dealing with brand promotion.

Brand marketing – what does it mean exactly?

More specifically, brand marketing is all activities that promote a specific product or service in a way that creates a brand image. Its goal is to create a consistent communication with customers that will reflect the identity and values that describe a given brand. It also cares about acquiring new customers, reaching a specific target group. One of the main tasks of brand marketing is to increase brand visibility and recognition, of course, while taking care of a positive and intriguing image. A successful strategy in this direction should make customers want to interact with the products of a given brand. Importantly, brand building is distinguished by long-term, strategic and perspective action. Short-term goals are of little use in this context.

Why is a strong brand so important?

A strong brand gives you an amazing advantage in the business world. It is primarily an indicator of customer trust, experience and other distinguishing features. Thanks to a strong brand, you can not only reach a much larger part of the market, but also increase the value of your products. Customers are able to pay more for trustworthy, reliable or related to a certain status or lifestyle goods. By offering a unique world of experiences impossible to obtain anywhere else, you gain new customers and multiply your profits. You also create a community around the brand, or even the so-called fandom, i.e. a group of loyal customers.

Apple is a perfect example of a very strong brand with a huge crowd of committed and loyal customers. It is a combination of recognizable style, high quality and unique products positioned as those that use breakthrough technological solutions. Combined with the original style of communication and the sense of belonging and lifestyle promise Apple products seem to make, this creates an unparalleled mix. This is why the brand is not only recognizable all over the world, but also enjoys so much adoration among a large part of its recipients. In addition, other brands try to copy various aspects of its business or style. Are Apple products really the best? One could argue here. However, it is not the most important thing for its recipients – what counts is the remaining elements of the brand that encourage the purchase of new gadgets.

Branding – the most important first step

If you are building a new brand, it is worth spending a lot of time on careful branding at the beginning and then developing a long-term brand marketing strategy. These are not very easy, and at the same time time-consuming and costly processes. Their goal is to build a unique image of the company, as well as evoke emotions in consumers that will be clearly associated with it, create a bond and encourage them to get to know the brand better.

At the first stage, it is worth answering a few questions, such as:
– what is the brand identity,
– what makes it stand out, what it expresses itself,
– how it is perceived,
– what is associated with,
– how to communicate, etc.

This is a good starting point to consider defining the brand and the main aspects of the company’s operations, as well as developing a brand strategy – of course in combination with market research, target group analysis, etc. Then, you should formulate a brand mission that will be understandable and unique at the same time.

Of course, as part of branding, you need to develop a brand name, logo and slogan, which will then appear in every message related to it. In addition, you need to decide on the elements that make up the company’s visual identification system – develop a book of signs and sample graphic templates for various promotional materials. It should not be forgotten that all these elements should be consistent and create an unambiguous and characteristic message for a potential customer. Branding, however, is also highlighting the unique and distinguishing features of the brand and confronting them with the needs of the market. Its purpose is to partially “appropriate” the emotions of customers and reach their awareness.

It is worth noting that although branding is identified with new brands, the already existing ones sometimes decide to carry out this process again, refreshing their image or changing the direction of activities. Such a process is called rebranding and may include both a slight change of the logo or the company’s color scheme, as well as the entire philosophy and mission of the brand. Contrary to appearances, this is a very common practice, and even the best decide on it – this is why they stay at the top, because rebranding allows you to adapt to the current market requirements.

How to build an appropriate brand marketing strategy?

It must not be forgotten that all decisions made in connection with branding and brand marketing must fit into the company’s long-term plans. They should be based on:
– brand mission and vision,
– characteristics of the target group,
– willingness to convey emotions,
– consistency in all the company’s moves.

How to create a successful brand marketing strategy step by step?

Brand vision
Every company should know what it wants to be known for and how it is going to stand out. It is this vision that should be matched with the provisions of the marketing strategy, not the other way around. Therefore, first you should specify which field you want to dominate. Perhaps you want to be a leader in the latest technology like Apple, a source of motivation for athletes like Nike, or a leader in meeting all the immediate needs of consumers like Amazon. There are many possibilities. However, you should carefully specify the way you want to be described, recognized and remembered.

Target group
Specifying your target group is an extremely important step for any company, regardless of the industry and its scale of operation. Many budding businessmen have a problem with this, claiming that they want to hit “everyone.” It’s a straightforward path to unsuccessful and ineffective marketing efforts. Meanwhile, a strictly defined target group, at the same time divided into the so-called personas, i.e. the main types of customers, will greatly help in adapting brand communication to the needs of potential buyers. Specify the gender and age of your people, define what they are guided by when making purchasing decisions, what values they have and what are their habits in this regard, as well as where they work, who they live with and what they expect from a product like yours. Only by knowing who you are talking to can you do it well. Therefore, the stage of identifying the target group should certainly not be taken lightly.

Brand history
Every brand has a history. It can be used to build an image and create a bond with the consumer. This story does not have to be dramatic, full of emotions or twists and turns. However, it is worth ensuring that it has several elements characteristic of good film scripts or books – heroes who are easy to like and a certain progression, preferably indicating a problem or difficulty, and then solving it. This will allow customers to get involved in the history of the brand and want to be part of it.

Competition
It is also worth taking a few moments to get to know your competition. Only then will you know what you can do better. Remember to then focus on what makes you stand out and include that in your marketing message.

Coherence of actions
Effective brand building is largely based on consistent communication. You have to make sure that the interactions of the brand with customers are always characteristic and recognizable – this is how you build trust and gain consumer loyalty. The point is that the first contact with the message allows you to find out which company you are dealing with, and preferably immediately evoke pleasant associations related to a given brand. Perhaps you know the feeling when driving on the freeway, you suddenly see the characteristic golden arches in the distance and you immediately feel like a fries or a cheeseburger. This is how it should work!

However, you do not have to act with a flourish, like the biggest players on the market. All you have to do is start with consistent online communication. It is worth investing in online marketing because it can offer very good results with little financial outlay. Bet on a carefully maintained website and social media profiles, take care of the continuity and integrity of the message, interact with consumers. Provide them with valuable content, be it in the form of articles, videos, infographics, short information, etc. Use consistent language and visual elements to evoke clear associations about the nature and identity of the brand. At the same time, you will build credibility, authority and trust.

Don’t make false promises
False promises and the discrepancy between the marketing message and the facts are one of the fastest ways to sink a brand. If your emphasis is on the quality of your product, make sure it is flawless. If you create the image of a friendly brand that puts the customer’s good and satisfaction first, take care of their impeccable service both before and after the purchase. It sounds obvious, but some companies still have a huge problem with it. Of course, in order to be successful, it is important to ensure quality in all aspects of your business. However, keeping the promises you make in your marketing communication should be your highest priority.

Do you know Volkswagen? All over the world, her cars are associated with something safe, practical, reliable and trustworthy almost “always”. In 2015, however, it became known that the results of laboratory tests of exhaust emissions of diesel engines used by the brand were falsified. It found that Volkswagen had programmed the engines to reduce emissions only during testing. Within days of the scandal’s outbreak, the value of the company’s shares fell by a third, the CEO resigned and several other high-ranking employees were suspended. The scandal was also publicized in the media, and public confidence in the company has clearly decreased.

Arouse emotions
Currently, the biggest brands base their image on emotions. If you want yours to be included in this group, you need to make sure that it is desirable and associated with consumers. Creating an emotional bond between a brand and its customers is possible even without the multi-million dollar budgets at the disposal of global concerns. Creativity and grassroots work is what counts.

Effective brand marketing – what to avoid?

There are many pitfalls that you can easily fall into when developing your company’s brand marketing strategy. However, a few errors appear most often. At the same time, they are classified as the most severe. What are these mistakes?

No analysis of competitors’ activities
Imagine that you create a vision of your company and develop a complete marketing strategy. Then you start creating campaigns and promotional materials. However, during the distribution it turns out that your competitors have already done something very similar … A nightmare! Contrary to appearances, this happens quite often, and the only way to avoid this problem is thorough research. Before putting anything on the market, you need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the past activities of companies operating in the same industry.

Inconsistent message
The so-called creation should always be consistent with the brand image and its activities so far. Using completely different treatments with each new product may seem interesting and original, but in reality it only introduces chaos and deprives consumers of the opportunity to create deep, lasting associations with your brand. Thus, her strength is weakening! Choose a uniform style for all promotional messages and make sure that they always speak with one voice. The language and tone of speech should also be unique to your brand.

Lack of a long-term vision
As mentioned at the beginning, brand marketing is all about long-term goals. Without the signposts of the brand’s mission and goals, it is very easy to blur the direction in which the strategy is headed. As a result, you create an ineffective, inconsistent message and waste the resources and time used.

Brand marketing – a way to success in business

Nowadays, the concept of brand is of great importance. It is she who sells a certain lifestyle, sets trends and creates a world to which consumers want to belong. If you want to be successful, it is worth putting special emphasis on brand marketing. Regardless of whether you want to conquer the world, the largest concerns, or you want to dominate the local market, it is a strong brand that will help you achieve these goals. The more you put into creating and developing it, the easier it will be for you to achieve new successes.

Unlike analogue directories, Internet search engines have the ability to catalog information in more detail. With the help of web robots – programs that absorb information about websites – they are able to collect data on the structure of the site and its content. Thanks to the knowledge accumulated by the bot, the search engine is able to choose the answers to the queries of its users. The library equivalent of a search engine would be its employee, manually (thanks to knowledge and experience) searching for books for the reader.

What is website positioning in search engines?

Search engine positioning aims to show robots that it is our site that best answers the question, and at the same time is convenient for the user. The SEO process is primarily about adapting the website to the rules set by search engines – an algorithm that determines the order of results in SERPs.

What affects position? Initially, the keywords and the number of links to the page were relevant. With the growing page base and changing user expectations, the number of factors affecting positioning has begun to increase. In the case of Google, it is estimated that as of today, robots analyze about 200 different signals on the basis of which they determine the site’s ranking position. To limit the possibility of manipulation of results, some of the factors are kept secret and Google employees provide rather evasive answers on this topic. Information on what helps websites climb search results is obtained not only from official search engine guides, but also from external tools and tests, the results of which are positioned by positioners in industry media and forums. The experience of a specialist also plays an important role here, as he has survived more than once!

Positioning is primarily talked about in the context of Google. It is this search engine that is the most frequently chosen way to search for information. However, this type of services is provided by:

Yandex – a Russian search engine of great importance in Russia and its neighbors. Yandex holds a 50% market share in this region. It works on a similar principle as Google – page indexing can be controlled through the equivalent of Google Search Console, here called Yandex.Webmaster. The search engine also has its own set of rules according to which pages should be created. The income comes primarily from advertising.

Baidu – a browser created for the needs of the Chinese user.

Bing – a search engine created by Microsoft. It is much more popular in the US than in other countries. Its market share in the US is around 30%.

Yahoo – another search engine whose importance is noticeable primarily in the US. It owns 10% of the market, which places it in the 3rd place in the poll of the most popular search engines in the United States.

In addition, there are also Ask, DuckDuckGo and AOL on the market, but the number of searches through these services is a small percentage of the total.

Search engines and the state of your business

Statistics say that the average person performs about 3-4 searches per day and, according to another source, about 93% of internet experience begins in the search engine. Both information is valuable from a business point of view and can only lead to one conclusion – a search engine is a place where customers need to be found.

Business in 2020 without the Internet and Google does not exist. The search engine is the basic source of knowledge of the average internet user – most of us are looking for information for private use, some – also for the needs of our work and company. Wishing to open up to new customers and increase your income, it is worth playing with Google and try to adapt to the rules imposed by the search engine.

The skilful use of the search engine allows you to expand the advertising space in which your business may appear. A properly prepared and positioned website can not only inform about the services offered by the company, but also support the process of building the position of an expert in a given industry and increase brand awareness. Website positioning is compatible with other marketing activities and brings results not only directly during the campaign, but also when a potential customer needs it.

First steps in the Google world

It is not difficult to appear in the search engine, and Google willingly shares knowledge about taking the first steps in its environment. Guidelines and tips can be found not only on the support pages, but also in the courses. In the materials prepared by Google and partner companies, basic knowledge of Internet marketing – SEM, SEO and an introduction to tools provided by a search engine, e.g. Analytics, is provided in an accessible way.

General knowledge about the search engine environment helps to understand how search works, why you should set up a map and how the prices of ads in search results are shaped. Understanding the terms used in the Google context and the capabilities of the search engine help in setting marketing goals. Even basic knowledge of the search engine also facilitates cooperation with a positioner or an Ads specialist.

Where to start? First of all, putting up a modern, secure and fast website. The size of the website and the technologies used on it should be chosen according to the industry and the goals to be met by the website. And then…

A. Invite robots – sharing a page with web robots is tantamount to agreeing to appear in the search engine. The crawl program analyzes the structure, content and links coming to your site, allowing it to appear in search results.

B. Find out how they see you – the data collected by web robots can be controlled on a search engine – in Google, this is Google Search Console. This is where statistics about site indexing, search, and alerts about errors or problems detected by other tools. Controlling the status of the page in the Google index allows you to quickly respond to problems in the event of a breach of data security on the page and when the movement within the domain ceases.

C. Take care of the content and convenience of using the site – only and up to. The content of the page is important not only from the point of view of gaining high positions in search results, but also because of the end user – potential customer. It was he who asked the search engine the question that she is looking for the best answer. Preparation of content that will introduce him to the world of services offered and explain all the complexities of the industry in an accessible way, usually meet with a very positive response from customers and robots. They also help in building the right image of the company and increasing brand awareness.

Positioning on steroids

Positioning is a process that requires time, knowledge and experience. While in the case of small, local and sole proprietorships, activities on their own can be effective, the increase in coverage and more effective activities would require the extension of the day by another “day”. Do you prefer to reserve some time to rest? Take advantage of the professional help of a Paraphrase-Online.com specialist who will properly choose the methods and actions to increase the visibility of the site, and thus – traffic and sales!

Knowledge of Google search meanders saves a lot of time and money – the experience accumulated for years allows you to arrange a strategy tailored to the type of business and use methods that are effective in the fight for better places in search results.

The positioning of a website or online store in virtually every search engine begins with choosing the right set of keywords – passwords after which the user goes to the appropriate page of the site. Key phrases can be divided into so-called:

– short tail – phrases consisting of one or two words. They are characterized by a large number of searches and high competitiveness;
– long tail – phrases consisting of more keywords, with fewer searches and less competitiveness.

The words from the “short tail” look attractive at first glance – after all, any shoe store would like to be in the first position as a response to the query “shoes” … These types of slogans are usually occupied by large websites with adequate financial resources, allowing extensive actions for the highest positions. Interestingly, the phrases like “shoes” are not as effective as the slogans from the “long tail”, which more often lead to the purchase of the right model. Why is this happening? A specific question means a desire to know answers with similar characteristics, such as “pink children’s sports shoes”. Search results direct users to subpages containing the products they are looking for. The customer saves time and if he finds a matching shoe model – he will probably make a purchase.

When choosing keywords, you should consider words from both groups. It is also worth remembering that during the positioning process, the website casually begins to rank in search engines for other phrases. A whole set of activities is responsible for this, the main purpose of which is to improve the condition of the entire site. The positioning of websites in search engines resonates much more widely than you can imagine basically.

On Page – site from Google metro

On Page activities are the abovementioned “adapting to Google game rules”. Website optimization has a technical dimension, which includes:

– improved page rendering speed,
– Website display and indexing control on all devices,
– choosing appropriate titles and descriptions for subpages,
– adapting headlines to the requirements of Google’s art and guidelines,
– adjusting friendly links,
– selection and implementation of structural data.

The strategy and set of optimization actions are selected individually, according to what works a given page requires.

On Page activities also include work related to content creation and optimization. During the process, the positioner indicates places that should be supplemented with additional content or saturated with keywords.

Off Page – all roads lead to your site!

Off Page activities are everything that aims to get links directing to your domain. Sounds easy? In the olden days – yes! Today, however, links, link is not equal. Here you also need a strategy that allows you to collect links of different types and from different sources.

Off Page activities include, for example, creating sponsored entries, exchanging links with contractors, adding services and companies to catalogs, and obtaining reviews and opinions. Off Page activities are also indirectly linked to social media activity – a well-run Facebook profile is a great support for SEO and another source of traffic.

Website positioning – be the first in search engines!

In the first paragraph we mentioned what connects the library with the search engine, now let us pay attention to the differences between them. Suffice it to say one word – “change”. The order of library drawers is not subject to constant changes and modifications, the Google index and its equivalents in other search engines, yes.

The search engine algorithm is constantly being improved, and Google is changing its approach and putting more emphasis on other factors. A few years ago, there was talk primarily about “mobilegeddon” and “Mobile First Indexing”, and today UX issues are very important. Added to this are various smaller and larger changes, monitored on an ongoing basis.

Due to these changes, trends in user behavior and other factors, positioning websites in search engines should be treated as a process. Once done, the optimization will not last the test of time – especially during “hot” periods. To gain high positions and increase traffic it is necessary to keep the “mouse on the pulse”, monitor the results and, if necessary, modify the strategy.

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.

What is the bounce rate?

The bounce rate also known as bounce rate tells you what actions and behaviors Internet users take on a given page (www subpage). Bounce rate is primarily interested in what percentage of users leave the subpage without performing any action, e.g. switching to a product card, blog, to the next article. The bounce rate is calculated for both the entire site and its individual subpages. Users’ actions that are included in the bounce rate are:

– Closing the card / page / subpage as soon as you enter it,
– Clicking the back button, i.e. back to the previous page,
– Clicking on the outgoing link,
– Entering a new URL after leaving the page,
– No activity on the site for 30 minutes after turning it on.

Where to check the page bounce rate?

The bounce rate is calculated using the formula. Self-calculation is not the best of ideas, however. To get to know him, it’s best to enter Google Analytics. It will show the bounce rate in different shots, e.g. traffic sources, paid campaigns, country or Internet device type. In Google Analytics, you can check the bounce rate for the entire site, as well as the most popular landing pages.

What should the bounce rate be?

The amount of bounce rate spends sleep on both website owners and SEO specialists. One of the most common questions is when the rate is too high, how much should it be, and is the bounce rate a situation that requires intervention?

Certainly the high bounce rate is not interesting for the site. It shows that the website or subpage is not interesting, encouraging for Internet users, and most importantly, it does not find the content they were looking for. A high bounce rate is a signal that you need to look at the website and make changes to it. What bounce rate should alarm and encourage corrective action? You definitely need to work on a page if your bounce rate is 80-90% for all sites or key subpages.

So what should be the correct bounce rate? There is no universal answer here. A different result will be a success for each site. Help in determining whether it falls in the “range”: may be the results published by Google, and telling about the average value of bounce rate for individual industries.

However, it is worth remembering that the bounce rate cannot be minimized to zero (if the bounce rate is actually around 0%, it is worth checking if the Google Analytics installation is not incorrect). Even in the case of the best websites, it has a level of 30-40%. It should also be borne in mind that a worthless visit to the website is not always included in the bounce rate. When measuring bounce rate, you always need to consider when you left the site. If, for example, an Internet user left the page after reading the blog article, then, as a rule, it should not be included in the bounce rate, even if then he did not make any other move. It is a desirable and expected action. Therefore, bloggers, news and current affairs websites may have a high bounce rate, despite the content they are interested in.

Therefore, measuring the ratio should be approached with great care. The recommended solution is to set the time in Google Analytics after which BR will turn on after e.g. 30 seconds.

In summary, bounce rate is an important parameter, but it is not the only determinant of page value. Analyzing it, it is also worth looking at other parameters, e.g. dwell time and on the basis of complete data giving possible corrective actions.

How do you reduce the bounce rate?

To reduce your bounce rate, you can do a number of things. Before you start, however, you must do an analysis of your site. At the beginning it is worth to select subpages that actually have a high bounce rate and analyze why a low bounce rate is recorded. This can be due to various reasons for specific subpages, e.g. home page – too low frequency of adding new content; product card – non-intuitive purchase process, contact subpage – no further way forward.

Knowing what causes a high bounce rate, you can plan and implement specific actions to counteract it. There are many possibilities here and you must always adapt them to the individual situation of the site.

The 3 most important things that reduce bounce rates

If you want to fight a high bounce rate, first of all you have to bet on 3 things. They significantly affect whether the site is friendly and attractive to the recipient.

– The first is good content, i.e. content placed on your website or blog.
– Another is to respond to users needs.
– The last is navigation intuitiveness.

If the first two points pose a problem with high bounce rates, then you need to correct the content and ensure better content. If the third point is a problem, then your site’s technical facilities will need to “fix”.

11 ways to reduce bounce factor

A. Simple and intuitive navigation
An Internet friendly website is the one on which it will be able to navigate simply and easily. It is worth remembering that what seems to be creative navigation for the creator, for the user can be an impulse to quickly leave the site and without getting acquainted with its content. The main menu, site map (larger websites), search engine, navigation buttons, call to action and other navigation elements should be designed so that the user does not think about the next step, but performs it automatically and moves to the next subpages.

B. Service readability
Even the best content or good quality product cannot be defended if it is presented carelessly. Lack of readability means that most Internet users leave the site faster than they appeared on it. So if you want to reduce the bounce rate, you should make sure that the content on the page is readable (large blocks of text are thrown away) – divided by headers, bulleted, bolded, written in clear font. Multimedia (movies and photos) should support the message. Readability is not only content, but also visual hierarchy, so-called whitespace (free space), consistent colors, adequate contrast, the right amount of information and CTA, consistent message delivery, detailing the most important information, e.g. purchase conditions.

In terms of page readability, it’s best to follow the KISS principle and remember that if the readability of the page is bad, all the rest doesn’t matter. It is also worth remembering that readability is closely related to design. And it’s not just about making the site look nice. Designing on a website should focus mainly on emphasizing the most important content, data, information, graphics and products.

C. Fast website loading
Today, nobody likes to wait – Internet users open their websites even more. You can check the page loading speed using Page Speed Insights. You should strive to make the tag as fast as possible, especially for mobile devices. If the tool shows that the speed of the site is unsatisfactory, then you will need, among others image compression, reducing the number of scripts or using the browser cache.

D. Compliance of website content with promises
Do you promise the client that he will go to the site, where he will find his dream vacation in France, and when he enters the site, he gets a vacation in Bali? Most likely, this means that it will leave the website quickly and thus be included in the bounce rate. To avoid this, you should work on matching your landing pages to search engine and keyword search queries. It is also worth suggesting immediately alternative articles / products on similar subjects and give the user a chance to make the next move, not to leave the site immediately.

It is worth mentioning here that in the title and meta description of a subpage, content should not use phrases that are readily searched, but have little in common with the content on the subpage. Even if a customer enticed by finding out something that interests him, enters such a subpage, it is almost a 100% guarantee that he will leave it quickly.

E. A large amount of practical information
Very often the reason for leaving the website quickly, if it lacks the most important information for the user. To help him find them, it’s worth including
– create a FAQ subpage,
– make sure the product card contains current and most important product information; the use of generalities is not recommended;
– is the website lacking information on how to order a service / product, price list, directions.

F. CTA leading to subsequent events
The CTA buttons are intended to persuade the Internet user to perform further actions on the website and move to its next parts. They should be designed and arranged so as to create a clear and legible path, e.g. for product purchase, contact form, quote. Call to action on the site can appear in the form of buttons, banners or external links. It’s best to mark them with a different font color that will stand out from the rest of the texts. On a site without CTA, the user will have to look for subpages to which he must go in a given order. This lack of help may result in you leaving the site quickly.

G. Social evidence
One of the conditions for staying on the website by the Internet user is its credibility. If he finds that the site does not inspire trust, he will deny the content on it in advance and leave it quickly. To avoid a high bounce rate, it’s a good idea to social evidence. Thanks to this, users will be shown from a good side. References, opinions, reviews, customer photos are considered social evidence.

H. Lack of intrusive advertising and pop-ups
Pop-ups, video gadgets and consent messages can effectively discourage you from staying on the site for a long time. If at the very beginning the user is attacked by various messages and cannot reach the information he is looking for, he will quickly leave the page.

I. Responsive website
It would seem that today you do not need to talk or remind anyone about responsiveness. However, it turns out that still many sites are not adapted for mobile devices. Meanwhile, much of the traffic comes from them – on average 70%. The user who browses the pages on the phone will almost certainly leave those that display incorrectly.

J. Accompanying events
There are subpages that naturally don’t generate any further activity. These include, for example, a subpage with a blog article or contact tabs. The user, finishing reading the article or checking the phone number, closes the subpage and leaves the website. However, there are ways to extend his presence on the site and encourage these activities. How to do it? It is enough to attach accompanying events to a given subpage. Behind this concept is, e.g. subscribing to the newsletter, completing the form / survey, clicking on the phone number or reading the product cards.

K. Regularity of content
If you run a blog, regular delivery of new content will affect your bounce rate. Most readers follow social media entries and reach their destination from there. Permanently sharing and redirecting to one and the same article means that the reader will quickly leave the text he has already read. Providing up-to-date content is not just important on a blog. If, for example, the data from the 2000 landing page is given, the customer may be discouraged and look for fresh information.

Summary

Many bounce rates are awake at night. Taming him is often not as difficult as it seems. The ground is a good analysis of the reasons for high bounce rate. In some cases it may turn out that it is not a bad thing. However, when the bounce rate is high, it’s worth starting to act. And then verify if the actions bring results. This is best done using A / B testing. They consist of saving the bounce rate for a given page, then implementing change (one) and verifying whether the bounce rate has decreased.