How we started?

Our client operates in the medical industry, which is a special challenge from the point of view of positioning activities. It often requires content containing a large amount of specialist knowledge that only experts in their field have. Therefore, the positioner is not able to act only on his own, and regular contact with the client becomes a necessity. In this case, however, we could – and still can – count on our client’s full cooperation.

We started positioning in March 2017, taking over a website with an already established opinion and relatively good visibility under our wings. However, we still had a lot of room for optimization. Initially, we implemented standard technical changes to the website: we added meta title and meta description, applied redirects, fixed 404 errors etc. At the same time, the client was also working with us. Knowing the importance of content, he created texts, taking into account the key phrases recommended by us, to supplement the website with even more valuable content that will increase the visibility of the site.

At the same time, we also operated in the off-site SEO field, i.e. we took care of a regular flow of external links. We placed texts with hyperlinks on our back-end, but we also created a dedicated back-end for the client, which allowed us to increase the results even more. Thanks to the compilation of activities, in 3 years we increased website traffic by 394%.

In May 2020, the brand already had 1206 phrases in TOP3, 3472 phrases in TOP10 and almost 18,000 phrases in TOP50. It generated monthly traffic at the level of 46,492, and more importantly – it improved its own records every month – so the progress was not only noticeable, but also constant.

Website migration – a critical moment in the SEO process

A little over a year ago, the client made a move that may have far-reaching consequences for the visibility of the site on the web – it is about website migration. Why is this a dangerous process? An improperly carried out transfer may result in a drastic drop in search results, and thus the loss of many months of work on website positioning. For this reason, it is very important that the positioner knows in advance about the planned migration.

However, in the case of this client, far-reaching SEO effects were avoided. It happened thanks to the fact that we received information about the migration plans from WordPress to the proprietary platform several months before its implementation. Moreover, we had access to the design of the new website, we were able to provide our recommendations, many of which were eventually introduced. We also had time to prepare a list of recommendations on how to safely carry out the migration so as not to lose the earned positions.

The cooperation during the transfer of the website went very smoothly, we managed to reduce the impact of this process on the website’s position to the absolute minimum. As you can see in the chart, there has been a temporary movement in the position during this period, but there is no drastic drop in visibility. After the first weeks, a significant rebound is visible, and the upward trend continues until today.

In opposition to this case study, it is worth showing an example of how the results can change when the agency does not receive information about the planned migration in advance. Then the decline is visible. Therefore, we were unable to redirect at the right time and prepare a plan for a “painless” transition to the new platform. As you can see, the web robots quickly caught the change, which immediately affected the visibility of the website. This shows that it cannot be emphasized too many times how important good communication is between the agency and the client.

Results after four years

But let’s get back to the summary of our activities. Since the beginning of cooperation, i.e. for about four years, we have managed to increase the average traffic on the website by 5046%. If you compare the year-on-year results from 2020 and 2021, you can also see high increases – by 480% in the number of phrases in TOP3 and by 318% in the number of phrases in TOP10. The ambitions of both our client and ours, however, reach even higher, which is why we do not give up our arms and we fight for even better results. And these, thanks to the combination of the client’s extensive industry knowledge with expert SEO knowledge of our positioner, are at your fingertips.

SEO on YouTube – why do it?

More and more marketers invest in YouTube, but most often it concerns ads on this channel generated with the help of Google Ads. Meanwhile, YouTube can also provide a brand with a significant increase in visibility thanks to organic inputs – guide videos, materials from the company’s life, reports from industry events, video instructions on how to use products – all this content thanks to which brands gain interest and trust of customers. Of course, there is a catch though. According to statistics, videos with a total length of about 500 hours are uploaded to YouTube every minute! There are billions of videos on the platform, uploaded by users from 88 countries. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that it is enough to upload a recording to the Internet to become the king of YouTube – according to our report, almost 90% of YouTube videos do not exceed 1,000 views. So, as with Google, you have to make an effort to get high in the results ranking and get noticed. This is where YouTube video positioning comes into play.

SEO of YouTube videos – what is it all about?

Positioning is still mainly associated with the optimization of the websites themselves and the texts that are on them, while this concept has a much broader definition. SEO activities (Search Engine Optimization) concern not only written content, but also all other materials posted on the Internet – such as photos or videos. Therefore, also on YouTube, we can take appropriate steps to optimize published materials and thus increase the number of views. And it is definitely worth doing, because YouTube is the world’s largest search engine for entertainment content. According to a 2019 study by Ahrefs, a few basic SEO activities, taking no more than 5 minutes, are enough to increase the organic reach of a video by 30%. If we decide to spend about 15 minutes on optimizing and enrich the video with all elements of positioning in the YouTube search engine, we can increase the reach by as much as 400%! First things first. Let’s tell you step by step what needs to be done to make our video visible on YouTube.

Step one – analysis

The basis of any orderly and effective YouTube positioning activity is an in-depth analysis of the channel and individual videos. Thanks to it, we can see what the current visibility of videos is, what works best, but also where there are problems and room for optimization. Specialized tools such as vidIQ help in this.

vidIQ is a Chrome plugin, thanks to which we can measure our YouTube positioning results and increase the organic reach of video materials, but also check the results of competitors or similar channels. What is most useful in the program is the algorithm that determines the optimization score, i.e. the estimated SEO score for each YouTube video. It analyzes all factors related to the video and determines the likelihood that the material will be high in search results or in a side list with similar videos. Thanks to the plugin, we can also conduct a channel audit or check the actions taken by the competition. It is a basic knowledge tool with which you can move to SEO on YouTube.

Step two – movie title and filename

The title is one of the first things a user sees when choosing what content to watch. However, it is also one of the elements taken into account by the YouTube algorithm when matching results to the query entered by the recipient. Therefore, it is important that it describes well what the movie is about, but also contains a properly selected keyword.

A keyword is a term that users enter into a search engine on the platform to find a video on a given topic. Its selection is very important and should be based not on gut feelings, but on hard data on the monthly number of searches for a specific phrase. In search of the best keywords, tools available on the Internet, such as the aforementioned vidIQ plug-in or Ahrefs – a keyword explorer providing results for all the most popular search engines in the world, help. The easiest way to find useful phrases, however, is to check suggestions in the YouTube search engine.

The title of the video should explain as much as possible what the user will find in the video, but it is worth remembering that in the list of similar or recommended videos, the too long name may be cut off. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we should create a title of no more than 60 characters, including spaces. However, you can also use the so-called Zeigarnik effect, which says that people feel the need to complete a process that has already begun. So when the title is too long and gets cut off, there is a chance that the user will open the video to see the rest of the name, but it’s important that it breaks off in an interesting place.

If we decide on longer titles, the most important thing is that the first three words should match the attractive key phrases as possible. Then there may be the so-called long tail phrases, CTA or clickbaits. However, the use of clickbait names works only if they really fully refer to what is in the movie. Ultimately, it is the user’s involvement in the video that determines whether the YT algorithm will continue to display this material on a given query as interesting content. If a lot of people watch the video and don’t abandon it in the first few seconds, the content is valuable – this is called fulfilling the user’s intent.

Positioning a video on YouTube will be more effective if we also include the keyword in the name of the file that we intend to upload to the platform. This is a very important step in positioning as algorithms can read the name to determine the subject of the video. The meaningless original filename reduces our chances of getting on the search results list and the recommended movies bar.

Step three – movie description

The description of the film is a place where we can include all the most important information about the material – data of the creators, place and time of production, etc. However, it is also a space that allows you to use the potential of keywords. An SEO-optimized description should include phrases thematically related to the video material, but placed in a natural way – artificial saturation of the text with any slogans we can think of will not only increase the organic reach, but may be counterproductive.

Why is setting the right description so important from the point of view of YouTube positioning? The content placed in this field is one of the elements taken into account by algorithms when categorizing videos, so including keywords in it increases the likelihood that the video will end up in the sidebar with suggested videos on similar topics. This one is an important source of views for most YouTube channels.

The character limit for the description is so high that we can allow ourselves to thoroughly discuss each material. It is worth taking advantage of this potential and creating an exhaustive description (at least 450 characters) – this is an important element of SEO on YouTube. It is important, however, that most users will only see its beginning, which is around 100-150 characters. To see the full text, it is necessary to click the “show more” button, which is chosen by a small percentage of Internet users. Therefore, the first sentences should contain the most important information about the movie and the most important keywords.

Step four – tags

The selection of tags is one of the most important steps in SEO on YouTube. They should best show users what they will find in the material, but also help the algorithms to link the film with other videos on the platform. To a large extent, it is the tags that determine which videos will be sidelined with similar content suggested by YouTube. However, it is worth choosing tags for your video carefully – too many unrelated tags may be considered spam by algorithms and result in a penalty from YouTube. The aforementioned vidIQ tool will help you choose the best tags. It can be used in two ways. If we add the first tags to the video, the algorithms will show us similar tags with great potential. However, we can also search for them manually, checking in the vidIQ program the activities of the competition that is best at positioning on YouTube. It is worth adding niche keywords in the tags, such as the name of the channel or exact phrases from the title of the movie, but also popular, though not very broad, terms. If we have a chicken stew recipe video, a better tag would be #cassersauce than alone #recipe.

Step five – adding a custom thumbnail to the video

Next to the title, the thumbnail is the most visible element on the list of results, therefore it largely encourages or discourages users from clicking the link, and thus has a significant importance in positioning the page on YouTube. Therefore, it is worth taking care of positive visual impressions of our recipients and preparing a special board that will inform about the subject of the film and attract the eyes of Internet users. It is true that we can choose one of the automatically generated thumbnails by the platform, but YouTube itself states that 90% of the most effective videos are those that have a custom thumbnail. It is important that the image is of very good quality and is legible on the list of films also on smartphone screens – after all, about 70% of YouTube users use the website via mobile devices.

The parameters relevant to the thumbnail are:
– thumbnail size: 1280 × 720 pixels,
– format: .jpg, .png, .gif or .bmp,
– file size: maximum 2 MB.

When creating thumbnails, it is worth using, for example, the Canva graphics program – it has not only a YouTube-sized creator, but also ready-made templates that we can use.

Step six – movie subtitles

Videos published on YouTube should also be enriched with subtitles. They will be useful when the user is watching video with the sound muted, and will facilitate reception for deaf people. In addition, they are very important for the positioning of videos on YouTube – the platform’s algorithm likes films with subtitles, preferably in several languages. We can add captions in various ways. The easiest way is to put a regular text transcript in the description of the movie. Then the user can read the content, but will not be able to view the material at the same time. However, we can use a simple editor on YouTube and add subtitles to the video directly on the platform. On the available timeline, let’s mark there when a given part of the text should appear on the screen and how long it should remain on the screen, thanks to which it is easy to synchronize the subtitles with the sound. However, we can also use an external tool and export the file to YouTube in the .srt format. In the case of the most important films on our channel, it is worth trying to add both a transcript in the description and subtitles in the material itself.

Step Seven – Cards and End Screens

Cards and end screens can be compared to linking in texts to various tabs of a website or external services. They encourage recipients to see other video materials, subscribe to a channel or go to an e-shop website, but also allow them to conduct a survey.

Cards are well-formatted notifications that can be set at different points in the movie using the timeline editor. When we turn on the cards on YouTube, the so-called snares which, when clicked, take the user to another movie, channel, etc. – depending on the implemented link. You can enter up to five cards in one movie. The end screens work in the same way, but appear as a full-surface element after the movie ends. You can set a selected photo as a background and place visually attractive links – for example, when we decide to enter a link to another movie, its thumbnail will appear on the screen.

By taking advantage of the end-screen cards and screens, we greatly increase the chance that a user will reach for other content we publish – especially when combined with the appropriate CTAs in the video. So it is a very important element of SEO on YouTube.

SEO on YouTube – a simple way to increase your visibility

Initially, positioning videos on YouTube may seem difficult and time-consuming, but with a little practice, it does not take more than a few to several minutes (of course it will take longer to create a transcript, but it’s really worth adding). Compared to the time needed to prepare a video, this is very little, and it can make the effort to make a recording worthwhile. Importantly, the correct positioning of a video on YouTube builds a more engaged group of users, and thanks to it, the material often scores a better average rating (the ratio of paws up to paws down) than paid-promoted videos. Could there be a better reason to start SEO?

Shopify store SEO – what does it do?

Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce platform that allows you to quickly create an online store, adapt it to your needs and start selling. This system gives you access to many plugins and extensions that allow, among others, integrate the website with the Amazon platform or selected payment systems. A well-configured store is user-friendly, and the sellers allow for efficient execution of orders. However, in order for customers to show up, you need to position your Shopify store.

What exactly is Shopify store positioning? This is the process by which your website is visible to Google. As a result, when the customer enters phrases related to your offer in the search engine, he will see a link to the store high on the list of search results. How high your website will appear depends on how valuable your website is. Therefore, the e-shop must be adapted to the requirements of the search engine and “prove” that the information it contains is valuable for potential customers.

How well your Shopify e-store positions itself on Google is influenced by many factors, which we’ll cover a bit later. However, it is worth knowing that thoughtful SEO activities can significantly increase its sales potential and make acquiring one customer much cheaper. Positioning will make:
– you will hit high places on the list of search results for phrases related to your business,
– you will increase traffic on your store’s website, which will give you a better chance of convincing the customer to your offer,
– you will strengthen your brand on the web, which will allow you to compete better with other e-stores offering similar products,
– you will get long-term results – you will stay in high positions in SERPs for a long time, and the cost of acquiring a client will regularly decrease.

That is why positioning your store on Shopify is a basic SEO strategy worth investing in.

Is it worth SEO a shop on Shopify yourself?

The Shopify platform itself offers a wide range of possibilities when it comes to planning SEO activities. The website provides, among others possibility:
– automatic generation of links with SEO-friendly addresses,
– generating a sitemap and a robots.txt file, which are important from the point of view of indexing the page on Google,
– editing meta tags and their automatic creation,
– optimizing ALT attributes when uploading photos to product pages.

These functionalities can be additionally extended by using appropriate extensions and additions – such as, for example, All In One SEO and similar. It must be admitted that all these tools can make your positioning work much easier. However, the question is whether they will be enough for the results of all the activities carried out to bring measurable effects.

Keep in mind that the tools that increase the functionality of Shopify alone are not enough to effectively position your store. You still need to know how to use them. Effective SEO activities consist of many elements that must be coherently combined within one strategy – this is the only way you have a chance to achieve the expected success.

That is why, especially if you have no experience in positioning Shopify stores or any other website, it is better to entrust this task to specialists. Although service by a digital agency is associated with costs, in fact … it can bring you huge savings. The reason is simple: the budget you have for positioning your store on Shopify will be used wisely, and experts will skillfully refine the strategy to translate into more effective customer acquisition.

How to SEO your shop on Shopify?

First things first: positioning your Shopify stores is a multi-step process that takes a lot of time. Don’t expect the results to come a week or two after placing the order for SEO activities. What it comes from? Positioning requires, first of all, refining the website of your store – both on the technical and content level. In addition, it begins with an in-depth audit, which is the foundation of the work carried out.

It is during the audit that specialists define:
– what the current state of your store looks like and what needs to be changed in order to match SEO requirements,
– how your direct competitors are positioning and where there is a potential to overtake them,
– what keywords can be well positioned – it is worth remembering that those promoted by many stores in the industry at the same time will be more difficult. This means that entering the TOP 10 or a higher position in the ranking will take longer and will be associated with a higher financial investment. To reduce the level of these expenses, you can choose slightly less popular phrases at the beginning, and broaden their scope, by selecting Shopify store positioning in the long-tail model,
– how to modify and expand the content in the store so that it allows for better positioning results.

The more precisely such an analysis is carried out and the better the experts understand the sales process and the specifics of the industry, the better the subsequent SEO activities will be “set”.

What about after the audit? See what exactly you need to take care of in order to successfully position your shop on Shopify.

Fast loading of the store and its flawless operation

What do you do when you want to visit a website, but the website, instead of loading in the blink of an eye, opens endlessly? Nobody likes to wait these days. That’s why most people just close that page and move on to the next one. Your clients would do likewise. Google algorithms, which determine the position of individual pages in SERPs, are designed to present the user with the most precisely matched and most accessible results. Therefore, if your e-shop on Shopify is loading slowly, do not count on good positioning results. Google will lower your ranking.

What can make your Shopify store run slow? Shopify is a SaaS platform, which means that you are not responsible for hosting the servers – although the service itself ensures their high performance and reliable operation. But not only they translate into the loading efficiency of the website. Equally important are issues such as:
– the number of installed plug-ins and add-ons – if there are really many of them, it may turn out that some will “clash” with each other, delaying the opening of the website,
– image file sizes that have been posted on product pages – if they are “heavy” and there are a lot of them, they will download slower.

Various types of errors can be an equally big problem – for example, looping redirects between tabs or many subpages with the error code 404. These elements cause discomfort to the user, and thus, they look bad in the eyes of Google.

That is why the first stage of preparing a website for positioning is to look at all the technical aspects of its operation. It also includes security issues – it is important that the website uses an appropriate SSL certificate, which eliminates the risk of data leakage. You should also update the software and other elements that are responsible for the operation of the e-store on the web.

Correct site map

How are the products in your Shopify store organized? Positioning requires a very clear division into individual categories and subcategories. If all goods are simply thrown into the store “just like that” and only the general catalog on the home page leads to them – there is no question of the effectiveness of SEO activities.

All goods should be divided into categories and subcategories – so that their structure is as ordered as possible. This is important both for the positioning of the Shopify store and for the convenience of the user himself. A well-designed sitemap will make it easier for him to find interesting products, which will increase the chance of a purchase.

Improving the site map and organizing information and product pages in general is also one of the first steps to take when positioning your store on Shopify.

Content tailored for SEO

It is in the texts on the store’s website that you can include important key phrases, which will translate into a better position in the ranking. But be careful! Good content for store pages on Shopify is not one that is filled to the brim with keywords. Yes, they should be included in the texts, but in reasonable saturation, so that the texts are natural. In addition, SEO-specific content is the one that:
– have the optimal length – currently Google prefers longer texts, provided that they have actual substantive value and meet the requirements of positioning the store on Shopify,
– contain precisely selected key phrases – should be selected through SEO analysis using advanced tools, not “by eye”,
– are clear and easy to read, and therefore contain, inter alia, H2, H3, and sometimes even deeper headings, and use content highlights,
– they are unique – you absolutely cannot afford to copy them from other websites, even if you have the right to do so. Why? Because Google considers such copies of the content to be of little value, which will translate into a decrease in your position in the SERPs.

And what are the types of texts that are expected to appear with Shopify SEO in mind? He mainly judged:
– descriptions of categories and sub-categories of products, containing keywords that are related to them thematically – if you provide accesses with budget or news, and then introduce the main ones, then add more,
– product descriptions – one will also be an addition and expanded. In the store you want them to run, or even how you want them to continue,
– content on the main page – it is worth inserting a fragment that will also present the text of the store and will be the next page that will be the sale from the service point of the website.

In the longer term, it is also worth considering a company blog that allows you to combine SEO activities with typical content marketing. By choosing the right topics of the content and taking care of regularly publishing new ones, you can significantly increase and expand the SEO potential and maintain the results achieved at the beginning.

Linking matters

The content – both in the store itself and on external portals – should contain properly created links referring to individual sub-tabs of the website. Why is it so important? Because such links also affect the efficiency of positioning your store on Shopify. The more of them, the more valuable your e-shop is in a given context by Google. So let’s fight for it.

Links can be added both in the content of individual tabs with categories and subcategories, as well as in blog articles and in texts prepared for external websites – e.g. in sponsored articles.

Don’t forget about the metadata

The metadata is primarily the title and description parameters. What are they for? In a nutshell, they are displayed in Google search results. Therefore, they fulfill marketing roles, but most of all SEO. Therefore, these metadata should:
– have the appropriate length so that they are displayed well – in the case of title it is about 60 characters, and in the case of description – about 160. It is worth sticking to these values,
– be unique – they cannot be the same for individual subpages, because it will be problematic for Google, and thus unfavorable for the positioning of the Shopify store,
– contain appropriate keywords, preferably similar to those used in H1 headers on the subpage they refer to.

While Shopify allows you to automatically create your metadata, it’s a good idea to edit it for each tab and make sure it’s unique. This will bring many benefits when it comes to website positioning.

Also, be sure to add ALT attributes to your photos – especially those posted on your product pages. These parameters are also important for SEO, and in addition, they are important from the point of view of better accessibility to published content for people with disabilities.

How long does it take to position Shopify stores?

Wondering how long will you wait for your Shopify store SEO results? Be patient as this process can take up to 6 months. However, it is worth waiting calmly – the effects of good SEO activities will last for a long time.

But be careful! A one-time “setup” of positioning is not enough. At later stages, it is worth adding new content to the e-store and updating current texts with a focus on positioning for specific phrases. All these tasks, along with monitoring the effectiveness of positioning, will be performed by a good digital agency – so that you can be sure of visible results. What if you need your store’s advertising effects on Shopify faster? Then you can invest in solutions such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads. Paid campaigns, especially those using remarketing elements, will allow you to quickly attract the attention of buyers. However, they are relatively expensive, and their effects, although immediate, are short-lived. Therefore, it is best to combine SEO and paid advertising activities into one, well-thought-out and coherent strategy. Thus, problems can be avoided and a synergy effect can be achieved.

Advertising in VOD

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

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

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

VOD and OTT technology

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

VOD – monetization models

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

SVOD – Subscription VOD

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

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

TVOD – transaction VOD

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

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

AVOD – a model based on displaying advertisements

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

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

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

VOD: mixed model

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

VOD with advertising – disadvantages

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

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

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

VOD advertising as an effective marketing tool

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

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

Machine learning – what is it?

Machine learning is an area of research on algorithms that can learn themselves thanks to the analysis of collected data. For example, self-learning machines can gather information about certain behaviors of Internet users and reduce them to general patterns, and on this basis, estimate with high probability how they will behave in the future. So you can say that algorithms learn from their own experience.

Let’s explain it in a slightly simpler way. Suppose we have an algorithm that should distinguish photos of dogs from photos of cats. To teach him this, we give him the so-called test data, i.e. a database of photos of both animals, of course with an indication of which of them is in the photo. The algorithm analyzes these photos and learns which features are characteristic for a cat and which are for a dog. Once he knows it, he can get a completely different photo, from outside the test base, and he will be able to indicate which animal is on it – because experience will tell him.

Of course, however, the algorithm must have a lot of information to avoid making mistakes. If we give him 10 photos of rottweilers and 10 photos of dachshund cats for analysis, he may not be able to correctly indicate what york is. There is simply no data on the basis of which he could conclude that the dog can be smaller, built differently, etc. However, if there are millions of photos of various breeds of dogs and cats in the database of the self-learning machine, its “experience” will be so great that it will be able to catalog subsequent photos with almost no mistakes.

Machine learning in everyday life

Such algorithms surround us in everyday life in many situations. Almost all of us use them, although we often do not even realize it. An example would be e-mail. Every day we get important messages, notifications from applications and websites, as well as completely junk e-mails. It is these machines that, on the basis of a lot of data, determine which messages are to be sent to the main mailbox, which to the community tab, and which simply to spam.

Uber, for example, also uses self-learning machines. By analyzing previous trips in a given time period, day of the week, city, etc., the algorithm predicts where the interest in the service will most likely be the highest in the near future. The system then sends vacant drivers to these places to reduce the waiting time for a ride and increase the number of journeys. Uber also uses algorithms in other aspects, such as estimating arrival time or price for a service.

Another giant that uses machine learning is Facebook. Algorithms based on our behavior in social media show us the ads and posts that we are most likely to be interested in. At the same time, they take into account even those reactions that we may not be aware of ourselves – even a slightly slower scrolling with a specific material.

Where else do self-learning algorithms work?

We also see the operation of self-learning machines on a daily basis, for example on Netflix, when the platform offers us movies and series to watch. Algorithms analyze descriptions of video materials, grouping them into micro-categories, and then, based on our previous choices, propose the next items that are probably the best for us. The recommendations are shown not only on the basis of the productions watched, but also our behavior on other websites – including Facebook (e.g. likes).

American Express, on the other hand, uses machine learning to keep its customers safe. Algorithms are used to analyze the transactions and detect anomalies among them, i.e. fees differing thematically or in terms of amount from others. Whenever a disturbing activity occurs on the account, they report suspected fraudulent activity to prevent any further abuse.

Automatic optimizations in Google Ads

Machine learning is also used by, for example, the Google Ads system to provide customers with the highest possible profit from the campaign. How it’s working? When we set up a campaign, the algorithms learn how the audience behaves, when they are active, which ad texts bring the most conversions. They draw regularities from the collected data and optimize the ads to bring the best effect. Their performance manifests in the use of Enhanced CPC, Smart Bidding Strategies, and Responsive Advertising on the Search Network. For example, if for some reason there is a sudden increase in interest in your product or service, they can adjust their bids almost immediately to maximize your benefit. Likewise, in a responsive ad, algorithms select the best-working headlines and ad text to maximize conversion.

Self-learning machines monitor all your ads non-stop and bring you tons of optimization daily. Each of them, even a very small one, means that the budget is better used, thanks to which more customers can be acquired for the same amount. The more data such a machine has a chance to collect, the better it forecasts future events, and thus refines the campaign. Such algorithms make their own decisions and introduce changes, which is why they give advertisers more time for other promotional activities, not related to AdWords / Google Ads campaigns.

What can you use machine learning for?

Machine learning can be used in business to improve many processes. Using algorithms, you can, for example, track business trends and set up action strategies. On the basis of the collected data, you will find out when your products are gaining popularity and plan your advertising campaigns or other marketing activities according to these trends. An appropriate self-learning system also allows, for example, to create a list of the company’s best customers. Based on the interaction with the website or other communication channels, it is possible to determine to which group of recipients it is best to target sales messages.

Machine learning can also measure how effective the company’s employees are and how changing conditions (such as remote work) affect individual performance. Some entrepreneurs also use artificial intelligence to plan their business development. Based on the collected data, machines can estimate the probability that it will be beneficial for the company before taking a new initiative.

Types of self-learning machines

The example described above with pictures of dogs and cats shows the learning of supervised machines. In this case, the algorithms know what the effect of their actions is supposed to be – for example, that they are to distinguish a cat from a dog. In this model of operation, they check which features of both animals will be useful in comparisons to achieve this goal. This type of machine learning can be used to classify images, recognize speech, or even segment corporate customers.

Another type of machine learning is unsupervised learning. In this case, the algorithms do not get the “goal” from the human serving them, which they should achieve after processing the material. They analyze the collected information and look for relations and patterns between them and draw conclusions based on them. The man taking care of this system is not able to predict the result of the machine’s work, because it simply resembles human observation of the environment. This machine learning system can be used, for example, to detect anomalies or irregularities.

The intermediate version is partially supervised learning, which consists in the fact that machines receive and marked data, assuming what the machine has to learn, and unmarked, where it has to find common elements and draw conclusions from them.

Are the algorithms wrong?

Self-learning algorithms, of course, can make a mistake in their predictions and make a bad decision – just as it can happen to a human. However, this usually only happens at the beginning of the machine operation or when the algorithm has very little data at its disposal. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the effect of the “young” algorithm will be spectacular in the first phase. The more time it takes to gather information, the better the results, which is easily seen with many applications, websites and search engines on the market.

Algorithms can therefore be unreliable, but less so than a human who has many limitations, such as subjectivism, fatigue or distraction, when analyzing data. So when you think about developing your business nowadays, you cannot ignore the role played by modern self-learning machines – they are an element that may decide about the success or failure of the enterprise.

Theory, or what is this creation – JavaScript?

The website is in the form of code that is read by browsers and rendered as indicated. The next elements of the website are added via HTML tags. The appearance of the page requires adding an additional file, written in css. The most common styles are located in the style.css file.

Websites built on HTML and CSS are relatively simple. Creating complex websites requires the use of more technically advanced solutions, allowing for dynamic content delivery, HTML rendering at the server level, and processing information from users and saving them in a database. The use of additional technologies also makes the form of providing information on the website more attractive.

Building dynamic applications is possible thanks to a wide range of programming languages, extending the functionality of websites. One of the most popular programming languages in recent years has been JavaScript. This is confirmed, inter alia, by The 2020 State of the Octoverse report summarizing the activities of developers within the GitHub platform.

JavaScript was created in late 1995. Initially, it was used primarily to validate information entered by the user (e.g. the correctness of an e-mail address in a form), today it allows you to build dynamic websites. Thanks to the scripts, the website “lives” and reacts to the user’s actions – the image gallery becomes interactive, pop-ups can be closed, and Google Analytics collects information about the traffic on the site. JS is also responsible for other elements without which websites do not seem to meet modern standards:
– infinite scroll (i.e. loading subsequent elements, e.g. products without reloading the page),
– comments and ratings,
– internal linking,
– “the best” lists of products or articles.

The choice of JavaScript as the technology on which the website will be based allows you to place on it elements downloaded from external sources, for example the Google Maps API or API from social networks.

JavaScript code is in a file saved as .js (usually script.js) – a link to it is inserted in the head section of the page or immediately before the final body tag (which is recommended). However, some code fragments are also placed directly between html tags (e.g. the script responsible for Google Analytics), which allows the code to be executed (i.e. the appearance of a specific action on the page) before the entire HTML and CSS structure is loaded. Unfortunately, such treatments usually have a negative impact on the rendering speed of the website – so it is worth using this option to a limited extent.

Within websites built according to this standard, at first the HTML structure is loaded, which is then supplemented with CSS code. Finally, the JS code is executed according to the sequence of the following items in the file – top to bottom.

Client-side Rendering or Server Side Rendering?

JavaScript is a specific language – it can be executed on the server side (server-side) and on the browser side (client-side). Both options allow you to build a modern web application that is attractive to users and web robots.

Server-side rendering (SSR) is the most popular method of displaying web pages. The browser sends information to the server, which sends the response in the form of rendered HTML, which is displayed on our screen. The response speed depends on, among others:
– internet connection,
– server location (distance from the computer from which the query was sent),
– traffic on a given page (how many inquiries are sent at the same time),
– from website optimization, e.g. cache and the possibility of storing some files in the browser cache).

Each subsequent click causes the necessity to reload the page – the server sends a response containing HTML with the same elements as the previous subpage.

Client-side Rendering allows you to render responses on the client side – most often the web browser. In this case, in response to the browser request, the server sends a JavaScript file, which is responsible for creating the HTML structure and adding content to it. In the case of moving to the next subpage, the website does not have to be reloaded – JS downloads the necessary content from the server and complements the previously rendered HTML skeleton. The server response is faster and the Internet connection is less loaded.

Client-side rendering is usually faster, but due to the need to execute all JS code, the first loading of the website may be longer than with SSR. Client-side rendering – rendering a view only for a given browser may cause problems with effective website positioning.

Google vs. JS – a bumpy road to success

The possibilities offered by JavaScript code had a significant impact on its popularity. JS allows, among others to create dynamic pages, based on a template written in html + css, supplemented with data downloaded, for example, from databases. Moreover, the potential of this language allows you to manipulate templates, create additional elements and render the page “on the fly” – while the program is running. On this principle, in the first years of its existence, Wix site builder – rendered websites based on JS code.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned above, this solution is not conducive to ranking high in the Google search engine. Network robots from the Mountain View company for many years were not able to analyze JavaScript pages well, which in turn resulted in the inability to compete in SERPs. In recent years, Google has declared to improve its capabilities in this area, but the effectiveness of reading the code files is not always satisfactory.

SEO JavaScript pages requires, first of all, to know how Googlebot processes JS code. For static pages, the robot’s flowchart is quite simple.

Google checks if it can enter a given address (access for robots can be blocked in the robots.txt file or tag in <head>), then downloads the page data – HTML structure and at the same time checks what is on all links in the code. Then the CSS files are read and the page is sent for indexing. This process is different for JavaScript pages.

As you can see, the path that Googlebot has to travel is much more complicated. After downloading the HTML file, it downloads the CSS and JS code which is necessary to render the page. It then supplements it with resources from external sources (if any) and renders the page. The appearance of the page and the necessary elements of its structure are contained in the JS code, which allows you to manipulate individual fragments and adapt them to the user’s needs.

Rendering the code before it is indexed may take a long time and Google does not guarantee that it will get all the information we wanted to include on the page. It has to do with with the number of URLs the robot scans during the day – the so-called “Crawl budget”. Taking into account the needs of Googlebot allows it to effectively crawl under the page, which translates into the visibility of the site in search results.

Drawing a Googlebot path gives a clear overview of the complexity of positioning JavaScript-based pages. Unfortunately, it does not inform about the risks and problems that may arise during the next steps.

JS pages – what does Google see?

Websites based largely on JavaScript code have always been a big challenge for Google robots. Their indexation level is increasing, but they are still not as high as we could wish for.

Google renders pages differently than the average browser, and uses the page in a different way than the user. The algorithm of operation focuses primarily on the elements that are necessary to render the website. It may omit those it deems less important and, as a result, ignore them during indexing. This is problematic especially in a situation when these fragments contain the content of the page, which was intended to become a ticket to high positions in search results. Data dependent on cookies are particularly exposed to the risk of remaining invisible – if the content is served on their basis, Google will probably not reach it. Additional issues are also the speed at which the code is executed – bad optimization may extend the entire process and cause the robot to abandon it.

The second problem is the lack of Googlebot activity when visiting the website – Google does not scroll the page, does not click where the user is and blocks automatic video playback. Unlike other visitors to the site, it may not reach all the prepared content and not have a complete picture of the site.

Information on how Google renders our site can be obtained using the Mobile Optimization Test. After entering the address, Mobile Test will download the subpage indicated by us and return information about the rendering process – including messages about problems. A preview of the rendered page will also appear on the right.

You can also check the page in Google Search Console – “URL Check”. Both forms of site rendering control allow you to obtain the data necessary to introduce any changes and improve the indexation of the site based on JS.

Single Page Apps – React, Vue.js and other frameworks

Strong emphasis on the speed of data delivery and the popularity of technologies used in mobile applications has resulted in the growing popularity of Single Page Apps websites. This type of website has one html file, which is used to render subsequent subpages. The content is downloaded dynamically from the server through JS requests.

SPAs are fast and well received by users. During the visit, the browser downloads all static elements, the remaining content is read during the visit. Transitions between successive fragments of the page are dynamic – we avoid the moment of reloading the page. From the user’s position, it looks the same as in the case of more traditional pages – e.g. links in the menu have a familiar form, but after clicking on them, the browser does not download data from the next html file – in fact it remains in the basic index.html, and the content is downloaded are from the database and rendered with JS.

To build Single Page Apps, the AJAX model is used, which allows communication with the server in an asynchronous manner, which does not require the document to be refreshed with each user interaction with the site. Pages are built with what Wikipedia refers to as the “application framework” framework. The framework is responsible for the application structure, mechanism of operation, components and necessary libraries. The most popular frameworks include React, which is used to build application interfaces. Vue.js and Ember.js are also frequently used. The framework developed and promoted by Google is called “Angular”. The most popular frameworks allow for server-side rendering of websites (which is recommended from the perspective of easy page crawling by Googlebot) and take into account the requirements of mobile browsers.

As we mentioned earlier, Google is not always able to deal with these types of sites, which makes the positioning of some Single Page App based on JavaScript without proper optimization may be impossible. A good example is the website. The website provides a lot of historical information (taken from Wikipedia), but Google does not see its potential.

While in the case of a website of this type, the lack of presence in Google is not that significant, in the case of a store it can significantly affect the interest of customers. Pages created using popular frameworks – React, Vue.js or Angular, allow you to introduce elements necessary to appear in the Google index and serve content in a way that allows you to compete in terms of position.

SEO and optimization of JS pages

The solutions enabled by the JavaScript code have a positive impact on the speed of the website and its reception by users. However, seeing the page by potential customers is only half the battle – most of them reach our URL only when they find it in Google search results.

Optimizing web pages with a lot of JavaScript code requires changes that seem obvious to static pages.

Access for network robots
As mentioned earlier, Googlebot will first check if the URL it encounters is accessible to it. This applies to all resources within it – including JS and CSS files. Google’s rendering of JS pages requires full code access, so avoid blocking these resources in your robots.txt file.

Urls
One of the problems that can be encountered when optimizing a site based largely on JS, is the lack of “traditional” links to subsequent pages of the site. Googlebot focuses only on the links placed in the href attribute, in the <a> tag.

Another problem with URLs typical of sites with lots of JS is the use of URLs with “#”. The cross allows you to avoid the need to scroll through the document and move directly to the selected fragment.

One solution to these problems is to use the HTML5 History API. It allows you to manipulate the browser’s history – e.g. change the address in the browser’s address bar and change the content, without having to reload the subpage. The API is built into most frameworks (including React Router), which makes it much easier to build websites that allow for positioning in Google. Note – such solutions will not be effective with old versions of browsers.

Among other problems with URLs, it is also worth noting quite a lot of potential for duplicate pages, with addresses that differ in case of letters or slash at the end. Placing a canonical link in the <head> section fixes this problem. The address they contain will be unambiguous information for Google.

Sitemap.xml
The element that makes indexing the site much easier are files containing links to all addresses within the domain – sitemap. The sitemap is a list to which all addresses to which we want to invite the bot should be included.

Redirects and the problem of apparent errors 404
One of the important elements of the website optimization process is catching broken URLs and directing them to new, correct ones. Redirects 301, 302, etc. are performed within the server. However, in the case of the Single Page App, this solution cannot be applied. As the Google Help Center suggests, and as proven by Search Engine Land’s testing, proper use of JS code will work in a similar way.

Redirecting JS will allow you to redirect the address to the next subpage, but it will not give the answer typical for redirects made on the server. However, from the point of view of presence in search results, this is not a problem. Redirecting effectively replaces the old address with a new one that may go further in the ranking.

window.location.replace replaces the current document with the one at the given address. The address and contents of the original document will not be cached. This type of procedure is another example of the effective use of the previously mentioned HTML5 History API.

Other important server response codes for network robots include 404, “Not Found”. In the case of JS pages (although this problem also occurs with badly configured static pages), the lack of a document at the given address will be read by the server as a correct 200 answer. As a result, the search engine index may find non-existent addresses with no content. In order to overcome this problem and inform robots about the need to look at other subpages, it is worth supplementing the code with a fragment that allows you to get the desired answer from the server.

Loading delay
Page speed is one of the factors contributing to good website visibility. The optimal speed of content delivery and other content elements allows for comfortable use of the website without overloading the user’s internet connection. One of the most effective solutions is lazy loading – delaying the loading of certain website elements. Note – incorrect implementation may block access to important website resources and, as a result, prevent Googlebot from accessing key content for positioning.

When loading, priority should be given to the HTML structure that allows you to “build the page” and its content. Next in the queue are the graphics, which most often have the greatest impact on the amount of data downloaded to load your site. The use of lazy loading allows you to render successive elements visible on the screen in the first one, allowing for later loading of fragments available after scrolling below.

Titles, descriptions …
You can’t do effective SEO without optimizing your titles and descriptions. In the case of Single Page App pages, based on frameworks such as React, Ember or Angular, it is worth considering adding a module or library that allows for any modification of these tags. In the case of applications built on React, the most frequently chosen library is React Router and React Helmet. The Gatsby framework based on React is also becoming more and more popular.

Testing and troubleshooting JavaScript application SEO

Positioning of Javascript-based websites has not been possible for many years. The development of methods to deliver content to web crawlers is in line with improving Google’s ability to render and read JS sites. However, there is still a significant risk of errors when indexing the content of our website – the solution provided by Google is not perfect.

The guarantee of the appearance in the SERPs is to allow access to the site by Google robots and control the content displayed by them. For this purpose, it is worth not to limit yourself to testing the website, especially with the help of the previously indicated Google tools.

Dynamic rendering – ready for Googlebot

As part of improving the relationship between Googlebot and JavaScript, Google in its documentation suggests using various tricks that allow for better processing of JS code. One of them is dynamic rendering.

Dynamic rendering is based on identifying the client (e.g. a browser or a web robot) and providing him with a response tailored to his technical capabilities. In practice, when the query is made by the user (web browser), the page will be rendered in the normal way – the HTML file will be downloaded and the desired content will be downloaded from the database with the help of a request sent by a JS script. When Googlebot asks for a given URL, the server will send a render of the page containing static HTML, which will enable faster indexing of its content.

An API called Rendertron can be used to implement dynamic rendering, which works as a standalone HTTP server. It renders the contents of URLs readable by bots that don’t execute JavaScript correctly. Rendertron allows you to save the rendered file in the cache, which significantly speeds up the sending of responses to the bot. The data in the cache will be updated automatically at intervals specified by us.

Pre-rendered documents are also useful from the point of view of other clients – they allow you to prepare content suitable for readers used by the visually impaired.

SEO and JavaScript – summary

The growing emphasis on the speed of serving content will certainly result in a further increase in the popularity of the JavaScript language. Google also takes this into account and is constantly working to improve the indexing of the content accessible with the help of JS. Appropriate optimization and the use of bot-friendly solutions are the key to high positions in search results, even for Single Page App and other JS-based sites.

What is a Marketing Strategy?

Every brand should have a marketing strategy, regardless of size. It is a document analyzing the current situation of the company, as well as defining the goals of marketing activities and how to achieve them. It should be quite extensive and indicate the direction of marketing activities to obtain the best possible results. It can be called a guide for the team that will coordinate all activities related to marketing.

More specifically, the marketing strategy should include:
– strengths and weaknesses of the company,
– the goals he wants to achieve,
– how to implement them,
– defining the target group,
– defining the competition, as well as what the company has an advantage over it,
– costs of marketing activities.

Importantly, a good marketing strategy should not only be applied on an ongoing basis, but also verified, updated or supplemented in accordance with the latest market realities, technological development, trends, etc. Thanks to this, it can support the company at every stage of its development and be a signpost for it. It is worth making efforts to create this document, because its professionalism and comprehensiveness will facilitate the management of the company’s activities.

Why is a marketing strategy created?

As already mentioned, the strategy is to determine the direction of marketing activities undertaken by the company. Its main goal should be to define how to conduct communication so that it is:
– better than the competition’s communication,
– adjusted to the needs, expectations and characteristics of the target group.

In addition, it is important to define the target itself, which will help to specify the actions.

The marketing strategy is created in order to avoid acting blindly and incurring unnecessary costs on unsuccessful and not bringing the expected results. It brings many benefits. Primarily:
– allows you to focus on the possibilities to be used and avoid threats,
– enables the identification of tools that will prove useful in fighting competition,
– allows you to recognize the competitive advantage of your company’s product over other similar products,
– helps to save time and money, setting the direction for creating effective campaigns,
– supports effective communication of the company with customers and partners,
– helps to increase sales and maximize profits.

A well-structured document of this type and its enforcement should directly contribute to increasing sales, acquiring new contacts, gaining new customers and retaining those who have already used the company’s services, while increasing their satisfaction.

How to create a good marketing strategy?

Creating a good and complete marketing strategy is certainly not easy. It requires a lot of analysis and reflection, as well as consultation with specialists. The key is to understand your product (what you sell) and the target group (the type of people who may be interested in your offer). You should look at the company’s activities objectively, putting yourself in the position of a potential customer, which is not always easy. It is necessary to extract from the offer what makes it unique and better than the offers of the competition.

You need to consider, among other things:
– what is the purpose of the product or service (e.g. meets specific needs, solves problems, provides unique experiences, etc.),
– how and to what extent the product is better than the competitors’ proposal,
– how it can be useful for a potential client.

It is also important to define exactly who this potential customer is. If you sell children’s goods, your target will be young parents, if you produce shovels and rakes, you will target gardeners, garden enthusiasts or perhaps professional gardeners, orchardists or farmers, if you offer cosmetic treatments, you will be primarily interested in women above a certain age limit. You always need to know who to turn to in marketing communication and adjust its form, content and message to the requirements and needs of a given target group.

The target fragment of the marketing strategy should be as extensive as possible. It is not enough to generally define who is a potential customer of the company. You should also look at the interests, habits, needs or lifestyle of the target people, as well as how they communicate. The target group can also be divided into segments based on various criteria and choose the one that appears to be the most profitable.

Marketing goals – what is it?

Once you’ve dealt with analyzing your offer and its target group, it’s time to define your company’s marketing goals. This is nothing more than assumptions about what you want to achieve through your marketing activities. You might think that there is nothing easier – probably every business owner wants to achieve the highest possible profit. However, for marketing purposes, it is about specifics. They can be related to different criteria. It is important, however, that they are specified in a fairly precise manner so that it is possible to determine whether or not they have been achieved. Marketing goals may include, for example:
– increasing sales,
– increasing awareness,
– acquiring a partner or sponsor,
– number of visits to the website,
– increasing the brand’s reputation (e.g. being perceived as an expert in a given field).

It is also very important to determine the scale of the expected effect and the time frame for achieving it. Marketing goals should certainly not be confused with a vision or wishes. They must be real, feasible and measurable!

How to define marketing goals?

Still not sure how to define marketing goals for your business? The so-called a SMART model that sets a very helpful framework. Each of the letters of the SMART abbreviation defines in this case the feature that the marketing goal should meet. What is it about?

– S (Specific) – specific, specific. The point is that the goal should be detailed enough to be related to real threats or opportunities. An example would be “getting 1000 new customers” (instead of getting more customers).
– M (Measurable) – measurable. The target must have an attribute that allows it to be measured or counted and checked that it has been achieved within the required range. Therefore, most often goals contain numerical data, as in the example above, or also percentages.
– A (Attainable) – achievable. Only work towards goals that are challenging but achievable. “Taking over the world” is not a realistic goal, but being number 1 in the industry in terms of sales is.
– R (Relevant) – important for a given business and related to the overall action strategy. The goal should be consistent with the entire marketing strategy, the realities of the industry, the needs of the target group, etc.
– T (Time-bound) – defined in time. There should be specific dates by which the target should be achieved. Only in this way will you check whether you have succeeded. By setting a time frame for yourself, you will also get more motivation to act. Otherwise, you can put things off “for sometime”.

In general, marketing goals can be divided into several groups. It is worth setting yourself at least a few tasks from each group. We distinguish mainly:
– strategic goals – aimed at increasing sales, revenues or market share, as well as creating and implementing an action plan for the next few years;
– tactical goals – used separately for each product according to the market situation, for example, increasing brand awareness, acquiring sales leads, improving customer service quality, increasing the number of returning customers, etc .;
– operational goals – related to the development of the marketing program, are the most specific, for example, to acquire a certain number of customers or sell a specific number of products.

In addition, a division into qualitative and quantitative goals as well as short-term and long-term goals can be distinguished.

Examples of marketing goals

What can your marketing goals look like? In line with the above principles, examples of well-defined goals include:
– achieving a specific turnover in a specific tax year (or an increase in relation to the previous year expressed as a percentage),
– introducing a new product to the market (specifying the so-called deadline, i.e. the date on which the goal can be achieved at the latest),
– acquiring a specific number of new customers,
– acquiring a specific number of returning customers,
– increasing the number of points of sale by a certain value,
– increasing the number of inquiries by a specific value,
– increasing the inflow of foreign orders by a certain value,
– increase in market share by a certain value,
– achieving a specific sales volume,
– improving the quality of customer service by a specific indicator,
– reducing the rate of abandoned carts in the online store by a certain value,
– Increase of Open Rate newsletters by a certain number.

Various tools help to measure marketing goals. It is also worth using the so-called Key Performance Indicators (KPI), i.e. key performance indicators that allow you to measure the progress of given processes.

What are marketing indicators and why should you measure them?

KPIs are measures that allow you to evaluate the activities carried out by a given company. Thanks to them, it is possible to check whether the solutions implemented so far bring results. Thus, you can locate and fix problems and modify certain aspects of the strategy to increase its effectiveness. Currently, entrepreneurs have access to many methods of measuring their effectiveness in the field of marketing, which turns out to be extremely helpful. However, it is worth remembering that usually it is not worth monitoring the status of all indicators, because there are simply too many of them and they can cause information chaos. So what is worth paying special attention to?

– Traffic on the website – more people reaching it, more potential customers. You can also check who the visitors are and where they come from, and thus better adjust its structure and content to their needs.
– Conversion Rate – If more traffic doesn’t translate into more orders or inquiries, something is wrong. Perhaps potential customers are not finding what they are looking for or are facing technical problems.
– Proportion of sales leads to customers – if not much of the so-called sales leads become clients, it also heralds some problems, e.g. in the area of ​​customer service.
– Cost of acquiring a lead – it is also worth checking how much time and money should be spent to get a single lead. This may indicate insufficient effectiveness of the activities carried out.
– Lead revenue in relation to the source – it is also good to know what revenue each obtained lead brings and compare it with the costs. This indicator will also help you determine which lead source is the most profitable.
– Social media reach and user engagement – this is a good method of checking your brand position and influence, among other things.

These are just a few examples of important data that allow you to check how the implemented solutions in the field of marketing work and to what extent the goals included in the marketing strategy are being achieved. The premise is simple – set goals and start achieving them by monitoring your progress on an ongoing basis. In practice, however, it is difficult. That is why there are not many really good marketing specialists!

What is http?

Http stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which is a protocol that allows data to be transferred to the Internet. It is responsible for communication between the client (browser) and the server where all the files that make up the website are stored. In practice, thanks to it, it is possible to display the requested page to the user.

The http protocol has been used for this purpose since the 1990s. It has been extended in such a way that it is possible to simultaneously send large amounts of data based on various parameters. Thus, it has also become possible to create and display more complex websites. HTTP communication is based on a fairly simple process of sending data between the client and the server. The client sends a query to which the server responds by sending this data to the person concerned.

What is specific to the http protocol? First, it does not store previously transmitted data. This means that they must be downloaded from the server each time the website is accessed, which delays the entire process, but at the same time avoids overloading the servers. That is why a system of cookies (so-called cookies) has been implemented, which collect data and allow pages to load faster. Furthermore, http does not define how information is transmitted from the server to the browser and therefore risks intercepting sensitive information.

What is https?

Https is short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. The addition of the last word means that it is simply http protocol with added security. In this case, the data sent between the web browser and the server are encrypted with an SSL or TLS certificate. This means that they are protected against hitting the wrong hands. Thus, the https protocol protects information about the website owner and its users, preventing their interception or change. Its use is therefore particularly important wherever personal data, payment data etc. are transferred. Currently, however, the https protocol is used more and more often and is becoming a standard for all types of websites. Online security is considered a priority. Thanks to this, users can use various types of services that require data entry without fear of their leakage into the wrong hands.

https – why is it worth it?

Any website owner can go from an address prefixed with http to the one with https in the beginning. It is connected with the necessity to implement the SSL encryption certificate – it costs several dozen dollars a year. For the certificate to work properly, you must also configure the website files and the external tools used, and use appropriate redirects so as not to lose the earned position in the search engine. It is best to entrust all this work to an internet marketing agency that will ensure a smooth and comprehensive process.

But is it worth it? Of course. The current emphasis on data security is not a temporary trend, but a tendency that will not only continue, but even deepen with the development of new methods of data protection. This is something that Internet users pay attention to more and more often. There are more and more aware people, so it is definitely not worth lagging behind. At the same time, changing the protocol to https confirms the credibility of the website and the entire company and has a positive effect on its reputation. It is worth emphasizing on your website the care for the safety of customers to gain prestige and trust. It is also information for business partners or investors who will be much more willing to do business with a company that attaches importance to high security standards.

https and Google – does encryption affect positioning?

The largest search engine in the world, i.e. Google, does not hide its concern for the security of Internet users’ data. Algorithms take into account factors such as credibility and quality of the domain, and this is also related to ensuring the security of users. This means that implementing the https protocol can have a positive impact on the positioning of your website. Thus, it is a profitable investment that will help you get even more customers. It’s also worth knowing that currently Google warns users trying to enter a site that should be using the https protocol (as it collects sensitive data), and it doesn’t!

Of course, the mere use of the https protocol is not enough to get the website much higher in the search results, especially since it is now becoming a standard and more and more companies use encryption certificates. However, this is certainly an important factor that will allow for greater effectiveness in terms of positioning and credibility building activities.

http vs. https – what to choose?

In view of the information presented above, the matter is quite clear: switching to https protocol is a low cost, but many benefits for the website and the entire enterprise. It allows you to make sure that the website will work properly in every browser and will not be blocked by filters ensuring the safety of Internet users. It also allows you to improve your position in search results and increases the prestige and trust in the brand, which is appreciated by both customers and business partners.