The term real-time marketing is mainly used to describe the concept where the brand actively tracks social media and the entire network for the possibility of interacting with the audience by talking about current events and popular topics. Brands that have already decided to implement RTM practices refer to this concept as a true performance lever, thanks to which they generate better sales results and increase their publicity. Before we look at the concept from the practical side, let’s take a look at the definition of real-time marketing.

Real-time marketing – what is it?

RTM is a strategy that uses real-time data, on the basis of which marketers create content for the benefit of a given brand. Rather than creating an advance marketing plan and executing it on a schedule, real-time marketing creates a strategy focused on relevant, relevant trends and immediate customer feedback. The use of such a method in communication allows:
– arouse the interest of Internet users,
– gain publicity,
– increase the dissemination of published content,
– establish direct communication with current and potential customers,
– get greater audience engagement.

The essence of real-time marketing is not to create content that will suit the nature of your business, quite the opposite. This strategy relies on the company’s ability to use new and popular non-industry news for its own benefit.

Real-time marketing – How does it work in practice?

RTM can be compared to marketing that takes place every day in physical stores. When you step over the threshold, the seller greets you and tries to understand your needs, then offers you the item that best meets them. The household appliances stores operate in a similar way, offering TV sets at promotional prices during the FIFA World Cup.

In the first case, the seller tries to understand your needs in order to present you a product that will satisfy you immediately and encourage you to buy. In the second, the store uses a very popular event to awaken in you the desire to buy a TV that will make sports emotions unforgettable. Each time the store directly adjusts the current promotions, advertising or the way of communication to real time in order to finalize the sale. Moreover, this strategy tends to build consumer loyalty, because if the seller offers a product that is perfectly suited to his needs, the customer will be satisfied and come back to him. Real-time Marketing works just like that, only on the Internet, where the customer is not physically standing in front of the seller.

How to prepare for real-time marketing?

Implementing real-time marketing doesn’t mean managers have to spend their entire lives staring at phones 24/7 and alerting you every time something happens. RTM requires a much greater degree of organization and appropriate preparation. New processes and work approaches should be designed, tested and implemented. It is not an easy matter. A brand should be ready to implement methods that will allow it to respond to a global trend or the needs expressed by a local customer in just a few minutes.

Before applying real-time marketing, it is also essential to thoroughly study online customer profiles and shopping paths. Companies must follow consumer habits as well as know their sociodemographic, behavioral and geolocation data. Only after arming yourself with such key information, you can start developing an effective RTM strategy.

Planning of RTM

The real-time marketing strategy is based on news. It is therefore important to be up to date with the latest news, information or trends. First of all, it is worth establishing a yearly publication schedule, taking into account holidays or other celebrations. This can be extremely helpful. Of course, it is impossible to predict in advance what will happen throughout the year, so the RTM campaign plan should be as flexible as possible.

If your company decides to implement real-time marketing, it is important to regularly research the most popular hashtags or topics covered on the Internet. In addition, you also need to be prepared to engage with audiences who are likely to react to your content. When sharing an article on a topic, you need to be ready for questions from consumers about the material you have published. Only a quick answer will allow you to build trust between the brand and its recipients and will use the potential of RTM.

Time is money, i.e. the faster you react, the more you gain

RTM requires you to distribute your content at the perfect time. Publishing too late exposes you to the fact that no one will pay attention to your post or article anymore. Real-time marketing needs to be immediate in order to impress audiences by causing laughter, comments, reactions, and responses, both pleasant and less affectionate. However, it’s worth remembering that publishing too early can cause yours to be forgotten before they gain visibility. Knowing when to publish will come with practice.

Advantages of real-time marketing

Real-time marketing is a powerful lever for sales and publicity. Consumers love to be close to events and information, and in particular to express their opinion on them. Therefore, a company that starts the RTM game and gives its audience something to comment, think about, or a reason to smile has a chance to:
– build a closer relationship with consumers, overcome barriers through brand humanization,
– gather a committed community around the brand,
– generate interactions, arouse curiosity in recipients,
– increase competitiveness, demonstrate expert knowledge and become a key player in the industry.

According to a survey by Paraphrase-Online.com, brands using real-time marketing can increase their conversion rates by 26%.

Can RTM be harmful?

Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. RTM can also do harm if the brand only uses this strategy. When reacting to current events, there is no room for planning, which may reduce the quality of the content. Moreover, in the case of RTM, it is difficult to predict the reaction of Internet users. The published content may be received very well or the opposite. This may be due to too hasty publication, or simply the content will not appeal to the audience. That is why it is so important not to rely only on RTM and, above all, to create content that will be valuable to the recipients.

Good examples of real-time marketing

Some brands quickly realized the importance of creating ads that reach their audience and get immediate responses. Let’s take a look at the most interesting examples of real-time marketing:

OREO REAL-TIME MARKETING – SUPER BOWL
Oreo is a great example of successful real-time marketing. In 2013, the brand made a hype on Twitter, addressing Super Bowl XL VII viewers who had been plunged into the darkness for 34 minutes. The message “You don’t need light to bite your cookies” has sparked the enthusiasm of millions of football fans, both inside and outside the stadium.

STAR WARS REAL-TIME MARKETING
Loyal Star Wars fans who purchase tickets and plan their costumes months before launch inspired marketers around the world to harness their creative potential and surprise audiences with stunning marketing gimmicks. The popularity of Star Wars was perfectly used by the Japanese airline ANA, which prepared for the premiere, equipping the crew with quite unusual outfits and accessories:

Duracell also capitalized on the popularity of Star Wars by creating a Duracell Star Wars ad, then stoking the emotions of audiences with the announcement “the most powerful alkaline battery in the universe”.

REAL-TIME MARKETING: BANKSY
The loud event, which was the deliberate destruction of the painting “The Girl with a Balloon” just seconds after the work was auctioned in London, was also not overlooked by the masters of real-time marketing. It didn’t take long for the brands to react.

RTM rebounded with hiccups

Sometimes an idea presented in a conference room may sound great, but when the moment of implementation comes, it turns out that even if carefully thought out, it turns out to be a failure. One of the most devastating failures is Pepsi, which in 2017 wanted to advertise to make their product a symbol of cultural unification. The idea was not bad, but the film in which Kendall Jenner by handing a policeman a can of soda tries to resolve the stalemate between the protesters and the police in the Black Lives Matter turned out to be a scandal. The spot was ridiculed on social media, parody on SNL and quickly removed.

Another RTM mistake on social media concerns the Cinnabon brand, known for its confectionery products. After the death of the late Carrie Fisher, Cinnabon decided to pay tribute to the actress on Twitter by posting an artwork of a Star Wars character made of famous cinnamon rolls. The tweet received a lot of negative responses and was labeled “tacky” or “shameless self-promotion.”

Can RTM help with SEO?

A conscious RTM strategy in social media can support SEO by generating organic search results. By tracking popular topics that are relevant to your brand communication and publishing content that relate to them, you can effectively drive traffic to your site. Real-time marketing allows you to build a closer relationship with users, and thanks to a bit of creativity and humor, it will warm up the brand image. In addition, RTM allows you to create content that is eagerly shared by Internet users, and this will not be indifferent to search engines. As a result, real-time marketing allows you to expand the reach and gather new recipients.

There is no doubt, however, that creating a good RTM combined with content marketing requires in-depth analysis and knowledge of the target group. There is no single recipe for successful real-time marketing. Successful brands are those that make the most of their consumer knowledge and multi-channel marketing strategies combined with constant observation of what is happening on the internet. It’s worth experimenting and drawing conclusions to be successful and build effective real-time marketing.

In what order should the information be arranged? – is one of the most common questions about writing expert articles. There are many answers. Unfortunately, none of them will ever be the only right one. Because what we want to say affects how we arrange the content.

For example, the rule of the inverted pyramid (consisting of the fact that we start with the most important information and end with irrelevant details) will work in the news, but it is unlikely to be useful in the scientific text in which the most important conclusions are drawn at the end.

In the “Writing about knowledge” series I stick to the assumption that an expert article resembles a lesson. Therefore, knowledge should not only be clearly laid out, but also easier to remember. If so, it is good to know a rule governing memory that can affect both the structure of a good lesson and a successful expert article.

What effect on remembering takes place in a row

Almost 150 years ago, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus began researching memory. He created over 2,000 meaningless syllables (such as RUL or HAL) and created lists of them, consisting of 7-36 elements. Then he memorized each list by heart and wrote down how many times he had to repeat the syllables to flawlessly recreate the whole.

He came to the conclusion that it is easier to remember the items beginning and ending the list than those inside.

For example, if the list contains 9 words, a person will remember on average 70% of the first three words, 40% of the three middle and 60% of the last three words.

But the order of reminding will be the reverse. Now, if someone would give you a list of vocabulary to teach, and then ask you to say or write down the words you recall, you would probably be the first to think of the words at the end of the list. It’s an effect of freshness. Then you recall the words that appeared at the beginning. This is a priority effect.

Why does the place in the row affect the ability to remember? There are many explanations.

We devote more attention to what is at the beginning, and therefore there is a greater chance that we will repeat this information and transfer it to long-term memory. However, the last words for a moment after reading the content remain in short-term memory and can be quickly extracted from there.

Please note that what is at the beginning and at the end is not remembered the same. The difference is in how you remember. The priority effect benefits from the benefits of long-term memory, while the effect of freshness – short-term.

Conclusions for writers?

What will appear at the beginning of the text has a chance to be saved permanently in the memory of the reader, while what at the end may briefly, but strongly, influence him. The effect of freshness appears just after reading the content and does not last long.

It’s good to start the expert text with the most difficult issues and end with an effective punch line or emotional appeal.

How to start with what is most important

Suppose you are writing a text about motivation. To emphasize the main thought, you can start e.g.

Motivation consists of two feelings. First of all: the belief that what you are going to do is useful. Second: faith that you can do the job.

Specialists from the Nielsen Norman Group, an organization that has been dealing with user experience for over 20 years, advise you to start the online text with a summary of the most important information.

Articles on nngroup.com are preceded by a short paragraph, announced by the word highlighted in red. An example summary reads, e.g .:

Users expect the “About Us” page to be transparent, authentic and understandable. They compare its content with the opinions of clients to create a full opinion about the company before proposing business cooperation or applying for a job.

Even if you fail to formulate the lid in this way, you still have the chance to take advantage of the priority effect. Why? Because the most important beginning for the reader is not the beginning.

The authors of one study divided the articles into 5 parts and checked in which of them the focus is on the most. In the case of articles considered later useful, the participants devoted the most attention not to the exact beginning of the text (0-20% of the content), but to the next part (20-40%).

Readers expect to find the most useful content here. To convince the reader to read, it is necessary to get to the point as soon as possible (but not immediately), and not just to tempt and encourage.

The beginning influences which pattern is arranged in the mind of the recipient, and therefore what he will expect. So, if the beginning of the article is not very substantial, the reader will be afraid that the rest will also not meet his expectations.

In the article you are reading now, I devoted the beginning of the text to research because, in my opinion, they are the most difficult part of it, and they are also supposed to convince the reader that the text is reliable.

The priority effect applies not only to the beginning of the entire text, but also to specific paragraphs or sentences.

In one study, each of the two groups received one sentence about Steve’s traits. The features were the same in both cases, but in a different order. How would you rate Steve if you found out he was “smart, urgent, critical, impulsive and jealous,” and how would you know that he was “jealous, impulsive, critical, urgent and smart”?

Does he seem more sympathetic after reading the first sentence, and more antipathetic after reading the second? Although the results of this study are more complex, one of the experiments proves the existence of a priority effect, resulting from the place of the word in the sentence.

How to manage the rest of the text

We’ve established that we start with what is most important and the most difficult. And what about the part that most often escapes memory, i.e. the middle of the text?

After what is important and difficult, go to what is simple and less new (in this article this is the part you are reading now). Then a cutscene may appear, e.g. a movie, an image.

Remember to always place captions under the pictures in the expert text. Many studies confirm that we read them several times more often than the main text. In addition, which is unique in online reading, we read them carefully, and some even start reading from the signatures.

As you approach the end of the article, you can take advantage of the freshness effect and move on to more difficult information (in this article it is a part about interlacing). It is best to close the expert text with a summary. I ended the article with bullets, but if you want to suggest something more original to the reader, you can, for example, draw a mind map.

Of course, you will not always be able to arrange the information in this way. Anyway, the division into easy and difficult is a subjective matter. An easy-to-follow passage does not have to be such in the reader’s eyes.

Fortunately, you don’t always have to act in line with the row effect. You can also … work around it. To do this, you need to know its limitations.

When the effect of a place in a row loses meaning

The priority effect is less pronounced when the individual elements are presented to the reader quickly. So it may not occur when you scan quickly. We also feel it less when the text is long.

Limited effect also has a freshness effect. If something distracts the reader’s attention right after reading it, this effect may not appear at all.

Unfortunately, the priority effect also makes it difficult to remember later messages. This is because we reject information that is not consistent with the information presented previously.

In other words, if the recipient accepts the first message, he will reject the next ones that contradict him. He finds it unreliable. So if you want to present different points of view, announce it early enough. So I did in this article:

There are many answers. Unfortunately, none of them will ever be the only right one. Because what we want to say affects how we arrange the content.

Above all, however, the effect of place in a row occurs most often when information is not varied. So, to get around it, you need to take care of diversity.

Why interleaving helps to understand

The creators of one study wanted to find out whether interlacing can affect the ability to better recognize the artist’s style. Study participants viewed the paintings of 12 more and less known artists. Half of the students watched the works gathered in blocks, i.e. for example 6 Braque landscapes, 6 Cross and so on.

The other half watched mixed landscapes, so one image of Braque, then one of Cross and others. Then, the subjects were to see other landscapes of the same artists and subordinate them to their names.

The results of the study were surprising. Well, the group that studied mixed works came out a lot better. How is this possible?

“Interleaving examples, skills or concepts helps us, it seems, not only to see the differences between them, but also to better capture each thing individually.” – Benedict Carey.

According to Carey, interlacing, thanks to the element of surprise, prepares the brain for the unknown. It is an adventure. The moment we see something unrelated to the rest, our brain begins to work harder to answer the question Where did it come from?

There is another reason why those who saw mixed images passed the test with a better result. Well, the test questions are usually mixed up. So if we recognize different types of tasks while learning, it will be easier for us to match the solution to them when they appear during the knowledge test. Interlacing teaches you to choose from various problems.

The meaning of interlacing is easier to refer to, let’s assume mathematics, but can this be the way to learn history? Of course! Instead of an outline of the city’s history, you can offer the reader a collection of secrets associated with it.

Let’s say you run a Facebook page dedicated to the history of French cinema. Your subsequent entries do not have to relate to chronologically arranged events. What’s more, you can mix trivia about actors with fragments of reviews or film riddles. The more content types you mix, the better.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the popularity of Facebook pages is precisely that they actually force the author to such interlacing.

How to use interleaving in an article

However, if you want to use the benefits of interlacing in the article, you must first of all provide diversity to the reader. Just like Neil Patel does. His article on how to optimize the link description could consist of text only.

And Patel is different. About once every 400 characters, an image appears in the article. The graphics are varied. These are diagrams, diagrams, charts, screenshots, fragments of infographics. In almost each of these paintings we see a trace of the author’s interference, and thus arrows and explanations.

To make the content even more attractive, you can go a step further and prepare a visual note.

If you place the movie more or less in the middle of the text, it will act as an interlude.

And if you do not plan to include images or movies in the text, because they simply do not match your content? Then you can interweave not so much types of content (e.g. text, image, film) as types of statements (e.g. story, commentary, example).

However, in order for this diversity not to overwhelm the reader, you need to prepare something for him …

Prepare a cream cake

A strange headline, right? But because it stands out, you will probably remember it better than the others. I do not mean dessert, but the most effective way of reading on the internet.

Well, internet readers have long discovered that scanning can be as beneficial as reading, although it costs less time and effort.

And it is not at all cynical, as it may seem. Well, reading on the internet usually serves to perform a task. One reads carefully online, not so much because of laziness but because of the need for efficiency. Recipients want to complete the task quickly and efficiently.

The internet reader is very busy. He wants to get an exhaustive answer and knows that he probably won’t find it in one place, so he opens several pages at once. Yours is one of them. The challenge for you is to facilitate this search.

And what does this have to do with the cream cake?

Well, the most effective way to read from the screen is not at all like the notorious letter F, but a cream cake. The headings are layers of cream, and the text between them – a cake.

The reader’s eye focuses on the title and subheadings. Sometimes the eyes glide over the text below, until you can locate the content you are looking for. From this moment the recipient reads carefully.

Yes, there is also careful reading on the internet. Recipients read carefully when they believe they are in the best place to get information.

To enable the reader to read in the style of cream cakes, you should write concise and encouraging headlines. They cannot announce too much or too little. The headlines should also stand out graphically to increase the functionality of the site.

Summary

– What is at the beginning of the text has a chance to be saved permanently in the memory of the reader.
– What is at the end may briefly, but have a stronger impact on it.
– The most important beginning of the text is not the very beginning, but the content within the first 20-40%.
– From the most difficult it is good to go to what is simple and less new, then serve the reader a break, then take up more difficult issues and end with a summary.
– To bypass the effect of space in a row, take care of diversity and use the interlacing principle.
– You will make it easier for the reader to complete the task if you enable him to read the cream-style cake.

Meta description – what is that?

Description is part of the meta tags that are located in the source code of the page in the <head> section.

<meta name = “description” content = “Short description of the page.” />
Meta description on the home page and subpages, you can also easily and quickly edit on most content management systems (CMS).
The <description> tag together with <title> is the first contact for the user with the page to which the phrase entered in the search engine leads.

It is the meta tags that often influence the final decision of a user whether he considers a given site worth clicking. The title and short description of the page should therefore answer the questions that are searched for using the keywords entered in Google.

Impact of meta description on positioning

Some time ago, the meta description tag had an impact on website positioning in search engines. Unfortunately, it did not fully fulfill its function, because instead of a neat description of the content of the page, there were – often after the decimal point – keywords related to given issues contained in the content of the site. The multiplication of phrases – yes – was beneficial for the site, which – from the current perspective – a spammy procedure, climbed up. This phenomenon began to be aptly called keyword stuffing. These practices, however, involved so-called Black Hat SEO, so in 2009 Google decided to change the algorithm, as a result of which the meta tag description was excluded from direct impact on positioning. Currently, meta description does not affect the position of the page, but it is important for the click rate.

Therefore, the meta description has an indirect impact on positioning, as it is a kind of showcase of the site. A brief description may interest a potential user, because the information and key phrases contained in it show that a given site will be a potential source of knowledge. Therefore, description must attract attention, contain words that will be important for a given page and subpage, and – what is important – this short description should have a certain number of characters that is visible in the search results. The meta tag description does not affect positioning, but has a positive effect on CTR, or click rate.

What should a good meta description look like?

Meta description should refer to the substantive values ​​of the page or subpage to which it was assigned. As with all content on the site, short descriptions for each tab should be unique so that the content does not duplicate and not duplicate. The description content itself is also very important, as it must answer the question asked by the user, so it cannot be general and devoid of substance. If you type “what is meta description” in the search engine, then both the title and description of the pages displayed in the SERP should lead to the answer. It is good when the meta description in its content will have a question you asked. However, it may not be general, referring to all content that a user can find on the site. It is good practice to include call-to-action in the description, which may encourage clicks. Always before creating the description, think about what information you would like to find in it and what would make you enter a given website.

The length of characters is very important for both title and meta description. In this case, more is not better – quite the opposite. A good headline of the page displayed in the search results should be between 55 and 60 characters, and description between 155 and 170 characters with spaces. How can you check it? The length is easily determined with almost any text editor, but in the case of title and description it is worth using the available tools.

In addition, the page view and meta descriptions can be seen in the page code using the CTRL + U keyboard shortcut.

To sum up, a good meta description is one that:
– is unique,
– answers user questions,
– is substantive and encouraging,
– has a key phrase,
– it is 170 characters including spaces,
– contains call to action.

No meta description – what happens then?

Even if you don’t create a description, this space is not left empty. Description downloaded by the search engine from the page content that best responds to the user’s query. This description is then far too long, and the information it contains is not necessarily substantive and valuable. Lack of meta descriptions can result in a high bounce rate.

The description mat, together with the title, is an important message for the user about what content he can find on the page. If the meta description is consistent, encouraging and contains relevant answers, then there is a high probability that the site will be attractive to him and decide to click on it. Description has no direct impact on positioning, but it can definitely affect the user’s decision to search for information on a given page, which will significantly increase its CTR.

What is a conversion?

A conversion is an action that converts a passive user into an active one. Conversion occurs when he makes a purchase, is interested in the service, clicks on the link or subscribes to the newsletter.

Properly selected and implemented conversion ultimately translates into profit, not only for stores and websites, but also online training conducted by specialists who want to make contact with a potential customer and sell their knowledge via the Internet.

What is conversion then? It is a process that occurs when you manage to attract the user’s interest – through entries, the appearance of the page, text, graphics, newsletter. The idea is to attract recipients who will stay for longer and become not only temporary visitors to the site, but active users and clients. If you expect such effects at home, then take care of proper optimization and positioning of websites.

What is the conversion rate?

A conversion rate or indicator is a term that describes the number of conversions that have taken place on the number of visitors to a page. The result helps determine the page’s effectiveness and the number of visitors who have made purchases or otherwise responded to the conversion goal.

Conversion Goals

Goal conversion is an important strategic element that will allow you to create website or online store assumptions and optimize your website. It will help determine the strategy of action targeted at the given target group. Set conversion goals will help turn users into active customers.

Conversion goals can vary – depending on your company’s business profile. The goal in the online store will be to finalize the purchase, for websites – the customer using the service or simply establishing a relationship with the company (e.g. by contact or newsletter). The goal of the conversion is not just a one-time visit. We want the user / client to remember the page, stay on it as long as possible, use the offered service, but also to come back and make further transactions.

What goals can the conversion have?
– Purchase made by the customer,
– The user will remain on the page as long as possible,
– Returning to the site,
– Registering customer account,
– Subscribing to the newsletter,
– Leaving your contact details,
– Filling out the form, statistics, surveys, studies,
– Clicking on the banner advertising made available on the website,
– Watching the movie on the site,
– Viewing and clicking graphics and infographics, downloading them,
– Going to subpages within the website,
– Customer sharing e.g. of an article or product on social media,
– Downloading free graphics, pdf files or e-books that are available on the website.

Conversion goals are set in Google Analytics, and individual elements are implemented through Google Tag Manager.

Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is all actions on the website that are to improve the overall conversion rate. This will ultimately translate into the purchasing process, contact with the customer and his later return to the site. Conversion optimization should be preceded by setting goals, determining who is the recipient of the content, services or products that appear on the page. Appropriate optimization is to achieve these goals and adapt the appearance and content of the site to the needs of the client/recipient. The final result is to be a satisfactory conversion rate. Conversion optimization is also called the CRO strategy and aims to improve on the website all elements that will help achieve the intended goal.

CRO should be combined with SEO optimization, because organic traffic and increased activity on the part of the recipients increase the chance of conversion. In addition, Google’s crawlers take into account behavioral factors when indexing a page. Conversion optimization combines with SEO and web analytics, User Experience (UX) and SXO, so these aspects should be taken into account when implementing goals.

The site’s appearance and functionality adapted to the recipient

User experience – the first impression is important. The appearance of the page, its intuitiveness, accessible functions and general design affect the positive user experience, which allows you to decide on the purchasing process. Pages that do not have interesting graphics, their service is unclear, they do not display well on mobile devices – they will generate a low conversion rate. Therefore, it is important to work on optimizing user experience (SXO) that affects conversion.

Clear and intuitive page – each of the elements on the page should work properly, the purchasing or contact process must be clear and concise. Users may not be distracted by pop-up advertising windows or functions that are out of order. Even if he made a choice and put products in the basket that interested him, he will not complete the purchasing process if the site in the last stage is suspicious for him. The website must be useful, well-structured with a clear menu and appropriate navigation. The clear interface makes the user want to stay on the site.

Minimalist look, clear messages – a page that contains too many graphics, screaming banners or bright colors will cause overstimulation, and a potential customer will not want to stay on it. It is worth using clear messages, e.g. about discounts, promotions, new offers that are striking. Website design trends show that websites that are transparent and intuitive, with bright colors and concise messages work best.

The target group – the appearance of the site, offer, content, graphics or photos – all these elements must in terms of content and design reach a specific target group. If customers’ needs are not specified correctly, it will negatively affect the conversion rate.

Page loading speed – a site that takes a long time to load or does not display some subpages will generate a bounce rate and thus will not convert. There is a risk that an impatient user will leave the site if he doesn’t see the home screen quickly.

Safe, fast and convenient shopping

Encrypted SSL protocol – security certificate definitely improves the comfort of staying on the website, and in the case of SSL online stores it is even necessary. This element also affects trust in the brand and affects the sense of security of the user who is to leave his data on the site.

Online feedback – positive feedback increases reliability and trust in the company. The user is more willing to use the services of an enterprise that has good opinions on the web.

Cross-selling and up-selling – cross-selling and complementary sales are other factors that are designed to maximize profits. It is worth introducing such an option in the online store and proposing additional or similar items to the customer, but for example with a higher and lower price range.

Simplified purchasing method – a user who already decides to buy should go through this process as soon as possible. The icons that tell the client how many steps he will have to complete to complete the transaction work well.

Expert position, building brand reliability and efficient communication with the user

Industry content – the position of an expert increases credibility, but also helps the customer make the final choice. Expert blog content not only builds the content that is needed for website positioning, but also provides industry knowledge, dispels doubts, enriches with new issues and enables you to make a choice (e.g. through an article on the topic on which saw to choose). It is worth sharing knowledge on your website. Users can get to the site through keywords and queries that have been included in the content, and if they like the text, they are likely to share it, e.g. on social media. Content can greatly increase the conversion rate.

Unique content – content cannot be copied from other sites. Content on the page must be unique. It is important to know how to write SEO texts so that they are accessible to users and search engine robots. This is an important element not only of conversion, but also positioning of the page. A site with an internal and external duplicate will lose the trust of users as well as crawlers. Create consistent and targeted content, share knowledge, and personalize product descriptions. Think about what content the recipient can expect and what knowledge to gain from it.

Optimization of photos – it is important to have good photo titles, especially to correctly describe the alt attribute. In addition, photos should be encouraging and allow a thorough view of the product from all sides. At the same time, the graphics must be optimal in size so that they do not slow down the page loading speed.

Video – a short film about a company, product, assembly or how it works, is another factor that affects website conversion. Video placed on the site with some products may affect the final purchase decision.

Header optimization – not only for valid h1-h3 markings, but also for naming. Do not use summary information in product titles and names. Article, category or product description should be properly written using key phrases, long tail and product specification.

Communication – a quick and comprehensive answer to customer doubts helps to increase the conversion rate. In addition, real-time communication (live chat or Messenger) generates a greater number of satisfied customers who return to the store. According to research conducted by Paraphrase-Online.com, as many as 79% of customers prefer live chat because it offers an immediate response. However, as many as 92% of users are satisfied with the level of service, and 63% of consumers return to the store that provides such a way of communication.

There is no one good way to optimize and thus increase the conversion rate. Each time you need to adapt it to a given page, think about what the potential customer expects from it, what can interrupt it in making the final purchasing process and what to do to change it.

How to measure the conversion?

Google Analytics is an indispensable tool for creating goals and measuring conversion effects. Through this tool you can analyze whether the implemented optimization elements give the desired results in the form of new customers and completed purchasing processes. Measuring conversions should include analyzing user needs, implementing them, and correcting what is not working properly.

With the help of this tool you can specify:
– how many people went to the homepage,
– how long they stayed on the site,
– what and how many pages the user viewed at that time,
– what actions did it perform on the site.

Reports from Google Analytics will allow you to analyze the quality of the page and tell you if you will need to implement new facilities on it that will interest the user and lead to a conversion resulting in the purchase or use of the service.

A / B tests

This is another way you can see if your conversion rate is increasing. The A /B test involves creating two versions of the page, in which the interface, layout of graphic elements and content as well as the overall design are different. Then it is measured and analyzed which version attracts more recipients. A/B tests can be performed in Google Optimize, which allows you to edit and correct HTML code, Javascript rules or cascading style sheets (CSS) – without the help of programmers. This tool allows you to later test different variants of the page. The conversion of A and B pages is also measured via Google Analytics or tools that track customer traffic on the website (heat map website).

How to increase the conversion/conversion rate in the online store and on the website?

The basis for increasing the conversion rate is setting goals that minimize the effect of empty traffic (i.e. short visits to the site that are not profitable). What is the reason for this situation? That the customer did not find what he was looking for on the page. He could have been addressed to her via keywords, but the content and products ultimately did not match his expectations. Work on every detail of your website – headers that will reach a specific target group, a category tree that should be legible with overall consistency and credibility. Find out what other ways are there to increase conversion on your website or online store.

Newsletter – it is worth encouraging the user to subscribe to the newsletter. A good way to convince him of this is a bonus, e.g. a discount for first purchases or a free e-book with practical knowledge. It’s worth using the tool to create personalized emails here.

Choice of payment and delivery – customers have their own preferences regarding the choice of payment and delivery methods. It is worth providing some of the most popular options on the site.

Call to action – visible buttons calling to click work well. They can be placed directly on the page or in the text (also in the form of internal linking).

Graphics and infographics – illustrating the purchasing process, graphic category tree, photos that make the product seem more tangible – these are the elements that affect the conversion.

Banners promotions and sales – clear and legible messages about discounts and promotions available on the site encourage potential customers to click on them and take advantage of the promotion.

Social media – consistent actions on social media (matched to the business profile), builds reliability and increases the brand’s position in the eyes of the customer.

Web push – web push notifications are small pop-ups that engage the user. It is also a way to generate leads.

Countdown clock – countdown clocks, which, for example, counts down the time to end the promotion, increases the user’s sense of uniqueness and transience of an attractive offer, which speeds up the purchasing process.

Exit Pop-up – a pop-up window appears when the customer wants to leave the site. The banner that appears at the time of exit should arouse interest and keep the potential customer for longer, e.g. through a discount on purchases, if he subscribes to the newsletter.

Regardless of whether you run a clothing store, an automotive parts store, a gardening equipment store, a health food store, you have one specific goal – for example, getting customers and increasing sales. An online store advertisement comes in handy, thanks to which you can reach a wide audience. This is the beginning of the road, but you are not far from success.

Online store advertising – possibilities

Wondering what online advertising options you have? Internet marketing is a very broad concept, thanks to which you will choose solutions adequate to your needs and expectations. Importantly, online store advertising should not focus on just one tool at all. To increase your chances of success, it is worth acting on many levels. Many forms of online advertising complement each other perfectly, thanks to which a larger group of potential customers can get to know you.

– Google Ads
This is a paid online store advertisement that gives quick results. Therefore, it will be great when you are just starting a business and your brand is not yet known.

As part of Google Ads, you can use, among others from sponsored links. They are displayed in the search engine – above the organic results – after entering specific keywords. After clicking the user is redirected to your store. This is a very effective method of advertising because for the average user Google Ads do not differ from organic results. It is also worth adding that they are well-matched to the client’s queries and thus get what he expects.

Another option is given to banner campaigns, which are implemented with the participation of portals cooperating with Google Ads. The banner is displayed on the given website – after clicking on the graphic the user is redirected to the online store.

The third option is Google Shopping – a tool with which you can promote specific products in the search engine. The user entering the product name receives the results in a special box – a link to the product appears along with the name of the store, price and photo.

– Advertising on Facebook
Statistics show that most people use at least one social networking site. Facebook is the most popular and, among other things, you should mark your presence there.

One of the forms of advertising is your own fanpage, through which you can establish long-term relationships with customers and engage in dialogue with them. It is also a good way to build brand awareness.

The fanpage itself is not enough – especially if the store takes its first steps. Facebook campaigns come in handy to help you adapt to your needs. The form of advertising can be, for example, sponsored posts appearing on the board of potential customers or in Messenger. There are a lot of advertising formats on Facebook, from static to carousels and movies.

– Content marketing
Content marketing is not direct advertising. It is a series of activities on the Internet that primarily allow you to increase brand awareness, build an image of an expert or gain leads.

These activities can be carried out in many ways, however, the publication of thematic articles on external websites and the publication of articles on a company blog plays a major role. These are content activities that we know widely, but there are many more and they can also be much more sophisticated. Let store actions serve as an example. A simple loyalty mechanism (stickers = reward) was turned into a content self-play. Such action provides a lot of sought after content. Thus, a powerful envelope of content is created around the programs.

Online store advertising – why is it worth it?

The need to incur financial expenses for advertising on the Internet raises many questions – including those related to profitability. Although it’s hard to get a clear answer, one thing is certain: online store advertising has many advantages and is extremely measurable. So you can make budget transfers to the most promising channels in real time!

– Wide range
Internet advertising is distinguished by a very wide range. It allows you to reach hundreds of thousands of recipients – not only in your country, but also in the world. This is especially important if you are considering selling products also abroad. A wider reach means reaching more users with more potential customers among them.

– Unlimited access to the offer
Unlimited access to online stores means that an online store ad does not have to be displayed at certain times. It reaches the recipient virtually 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

– Precise targeting
Online store advertising – regardless of the tool chosen – allows you to precisely identify the target group and then reach it. This increases the chances of the recipient carrying out a specific action, e.g. placing an order, subscribing to the newsletter.

– Speed of campaign launch
An online advertising campaign can be launched very quickly. What’s more, it is possible to reach a wide audience as soon as the campaign starts. This works great for online stores starting out, which – in the case of offline advertising – would have to wait much longer for results.

– Affordable costs
Traditional forms of advertising can cost a lot – unlike online advertising. It is much cheaper, which allows you to achieve your business goals with a lot less money. Thanks to this, every online store has a chance to appear on the web – regardless of its scale.

– High flexibility
Online store advertising is characterized by great flexibility. You can modify the parameters of individual campaigns – so that they bring the expected results. And all this without having to increase advertising expenditure.

– Possibility of constant monitoring of effects
Internet advertising is fully measurable. It is possible to systematically monitor effects using various tools. Thanks to this – if a given form of promotion does not meet expectations – it can be modified or completely eliminated.

Online advertising of an online store is a profitable investment. Compared to other forms of advertising, it provides the best ratio of campaign costs to results.

SEO migration is possible?

Let’s keep uncertainty and start by answering. Yes, it is possible to change the website or completely rebuild it during the positioning contract. Sometimes, it is also strongly recommended or simply necessary to be able to effectively position such a website. The last case does not mean surprises for the customer. We inform you at the stage of inspecting the website before signing the positioning contract that you need to change the website. In individual cases, such a recommendation regarding the site only appeared after signing the contract and transferring access to the site. At that time, the analysis of the website’s construction, possible thanks to the access received, showed that even basic optimization or removal of errors in the website’s construction was not possible (most often it concerned websites built on wizards or proprietary CMS). In our opinion, there was only one fair solution – informing the client about the condition of his website, indicating what can help the website and how it should look new (what should include a good site adapted for positioning), as well as enabling the client to decide whether we are finishing positioning agreement (without contractual penalties, notice periods, etc.) or are we trying to act with current focus, e.g. on external works, hoping that this will bring an effect.

What does website change mean for results?

In this case, a lot depends on what stage of the positioning process we are in and what positions the website to be changed. Here we will present several situations and discuss them in more detail in terms of what the change involves and how it affects the work of a positioning specialist.

The site is high in the results – presence in the top 10 or close – will SEO migration hurt?

This is a situation in which the customer will be particularly interested in whether the change of the website and SEO migration will not cause permanent decreases in position. Unfortunately, no one can guarantee that this undesirable process will not occur. A lot will depend on how Google evaluates the new website. Therefore, we are happy to advise you already at the stage of building a website and indicate what is worth making sure that this “shock” associated with the change is as low as possible. The risk of falls always occurs, it is important that this period of decline is as short as possible, and the site jumps as quickly as possible to the positions occupied by its predecessor (and of course improved its achievements) – this is the task of the positioner. Changing the website each time means the likelihood of a decrease in its visibility and traffic.

It is worth noting here that we are talking about a website that will be available at the same address as the previous version of the website. The new domain – even with a properly made redirect from the previous one, which is high in the search engine results – will not inherit its visibility.

In the case of websites with earned positions, it is worth paying attention to the following issues when changing pages:

– Is the new website similar to the previous one, which was successful in search results – is it similar in structure, is it similar in size or even larger (moving from an extensive website to one page is not a step in a good page in terms of SEO) or category names , subpages etc. are similar. It is worth identifying (with the help of an SEO specialist) in the old website those elements that had a positive impact on the positioning process and include them in the design of the new page. These can be category names containing keywords, including space for text on the home page, blog or news that are an integral part of the website, etc.

– Are the content of the new website containing keywords and an offer that matches the phrases to which the website is clearly visible in the search results? If not, then you can’t expect the new webpage to be clearly visible in the search results for these keywords, as was the case with its predecessor. It happens that the new website appears under the pressure of major changes in the company and its offer, in this case a lot of activities related to the website are basically work from scratch.

– Has the existing content been moved to the new website, is there more or have it been cut off for the needs of the new website, or is it missing at all? The positioners’ attachment to valuable content on the website and their suggestions to place it on the main page or in the descriptions of the categories can only be compared with the zeal of an English teacher speaking to the final grade. If the new website in terms of quantity and quality of content is similar to the previous version, then there is a growing chance that the decreases will not be so severe. Of course, if the offer, the scope of the company’s activity or other important issues have changed, even the best SEO supporting text from the previous version of the page is no longer necessary and must be replaced with something corresponding to the current state of affairs.

– Is the new website available for network robots? This includes issues related to whether the site is running (or how long it has been down), the contents of the robots.txt file, meta robots, or cannonical settings. Even the best new website, which has been sensationally prepared for SEO, will remain invisible if it is not available to Google web robots. As a curiosity, one can give the fact that sometimes (although in very rare cases) it is enough to unblock the availability of the site for network robots to enjoy being in the top 10.

– Access to the website for a positioning specialist. The new website means that the positioner will have to find time to audit it, determine which optimization actions should be implemented first and which may be introduced later. Even a website prepared in accordance with the guidelines of an SEO specialist may require work and corrections, e.g. in optimizing meta tags or redirections. the latter is important because of the links obtained so far. Links to dead pages do not support the site. If these non-working subpages are redirected to subpages that are part of the new site and are available to web robots, then these links are again gaining importance in the context of positioning. The sooner a positioning specialist receives the necessary access to the new page, the sooner he will be able to implement his changes.

The site is in distant positions in SERPs

In the event that the “old” website did not have specific results and was not in the lead, it is important to improve those issues that blocked growth in the past. It is important to identify them as early as possible and indicate what can be improved during the work on the new site (if these were issues that could not be corrected earlier for various reasons). It is also worth pointing out what was valuable in the case of the previous version of the page and ensure that this asset is also used in the new version of the website. This case is devoid of as much result pressure as the website, which is already present in the top 10. It is important here to create a new strategy that takes into account the changes that have occurred within the site.

The source of very low positions (100 positions visible in the report) may also be a penalty from Google on a given website. Changing the website does not mean automatic abolition. An exception may be a situation in which the new version of the website no longer contains an error that responded to the imposition of a penalty. Such situations are, for example, the old page was a threat to the safety of users (a site hacked) or was punished for texts (hidden text, dramatically low quality content, etc.). If the new site does not commit those sins (respectively – it is safe for people visiting it, has good quality text content, etc.), then there is a chance to remove the manual penalty. Manual punishment can be detected using even Google Search Console.

The site has been positioned for a long time

The case of a site that has been positioned for a long time and obtained a large number of links at that time is special. As we mentioned, links leading to dead pages do not support the positioning process. The way to “save” them is to make redirections correctly. This is especially important in relation to naturally obtained links, e.g. in the case of entries recommending on forums and containing a link to a subpage, the positioner cannot edit them and enter a new – correct URL. The link to the redirected subpage is less valuable than the link directly, but it is better than the link to the down page, which does not present value.

The effect of longer positioning can also be an extensive blog section (with internal linking) or a large amount of content added to the page. It’s worth moving them to a new page. If the content was used to perform internal linking, it is worth continuing to use it, but remembering about any corrections in the URLs of the links.

What exactly does the SEO (search engine optimization) service that Paraphrase-Online.com provides to its clients? Do you have to pay extra for something extra for additional SEO activities? Why positioning is not an instant service and the SEO contract itself lasts up to 12 months? We take a closer look at popular questions that our account managers meet.

SEO: Positioning – what are we dealing with?

Website positioning service is more than just a one-off website review – audit, even in the extended variant combined with the preparation of optimization recommendations. The positioning performed by SEO specialists from Paraphrase-Online.com begins with an audit of the website itself and the links. The information obtained during them becomes the basis for preparing a positioning strategy including elements such as:

– website optimization, e.g. in terms of speed of operation,
– optimization of meta tags for the keywords entered in the contract,
– preparation and implementation of unique, optimized and appropriate length content on the website,
– linking divided into stages and diversified in terms of type and source of links,
– redirection,
– introducing improvements and changes suggested by Google Search Console.

The above list of works is not closed, but contains only examples of activities. A set of positioner works is created for a specific case – the individual needs of a given site. The type of access to the page at the disposal of the SEO specialist is also significant. Full access to the website is very useful for the comprehensive provision of SEO services.

The positioning strategy may change during the contract period. This is due to, among others from observing changes in the algorithm, the website’s response to actions applied by its SEO specialist, or the quality of competing websites. If the positioner observes that the competitors of the website they are dealing with increases the amount of content on their websites, they may, in response, recommend the introduction of larger pools of text also on the website which is under his care. It may also propose the creation of new subpages, e.g. a blog on a website, which will serve as a space for systematic publication of new texts supporting the positioning process.

SEO activities – what do we have in the price of the service?

We are aware that surprising additional expenses during the term of the contract is not what our customers want. To spare them such unpleasant surprises, already at the stage of presenting the offer and packages for SEO activities, we indicate what activities fall within the scope of a particular package. If our client is interested in a selected package, but would like to add something extra to it that is included in another package, then it is worth contacting the client’s representative who will provide a quote for this additional activity. Our goal is to offer SEO services tailored to the needs of our clients as much as possible.

We follow a simple rule that if something has a direct impact on the positioning service, it appears in the package of activities performed as part of the service. That is why we prepare new content for subpages directly related to keywords – this happens as part of the service. However, if our client would like to have texts written by the copywriter for all subpages, including those not affecting positioning, it will be treated as an additional service and as such an extra priced.

It is not possible that we will do some additional work on the website, and only after a while we will inform the customer that this is an extra paid item.

Why can’t SEO services be called instant?

One of the main differences between Google Ads and positioning is that in the case of the SEO service comes to wait for the results (on the other hand, they are more durable than in the case of Google Ads). Depending on the website we are working on, the existing link profile, the extent of optimization, competition, selected keywords and many other factors, we have to wait for the results for several weeks, several months or even a year. Unfortunately, positioning is not an exact science and there are no simple and guaranteed “10 added links = 5 positions increase in results”.

It happens that the very introduction of optimization brings satisfying results in the form of an increase in position. In practice, we can also deal with situations in which e.g. the next round of links brings results and increases occur. This does not mean, however, that previous actions were unnecessary – it is more about the cumulation effect. Due to this certain unpredictability inscribed in the reality of the positioner’s work, we avoid unequivocal declarations and assurances that the client will have to wait 5 weeks for results.

Just as certain actions translate into position increases, so removing them can mean declines. One of the most common cases in this category is removing meta tag optimization. The introduction of appropriate meta tags is one of the foundations of the positioning process.

During the duration of the positioning service, there are necessarily changes in the Google algorithm. Given the dynamics and frequency of their implementation, there is no way that a 12-month positioning contract would not come across them. Positioners don’t know about these changes in advance about the algorithm. Only after a while they can react to them and implement changes on the website adapting them to new realities. The changes in the algorithm should not be associated only with declines in position. It happens that such an update is a chance for quick promotion in search results (and it does not have to be only a temporary increase). The changes in the algorithm are generally geared to supporting high-quality websites – extensive, interesting content, user-friendly (see e.g. the issue of page speed). If our website falls under this trend, then updates can be its ally.

CEO basics – what do they include?

Can you talk about a kind of SEO primer, something that contains the basics of SEO in relation to each page? Certainly, it is something like a website audit, which we presented in more detail in the section “SEO: Positioning – what are we dealing with?” Of this blog article. This meticulously performed SEO audit provides solid foundations for SEO strategies. While the SEO audit is focused on examining a certain pool of “necessary” (it is difficult to imagine SEO activities in this area, e.g. without evaluating meta tags, the presence of various types of duplicates, the amount of published content or the possibility of indexing the site by Google network robots – these are absolute SEOs basics for internal auditing), then SEO strategies may differ.

SEO strategies – why these differences?

There are many sources of differences when it comes to SEO strategies. In this case, we will focus on a few basic and common ones. Of course, there is also the fact that the SEO industry is not exact science. How SEO services are provided by individual positioners depends on their experience, know-how, tools used, etc. SEO strategies will vary depending on whether:

– we are dealing with a new page or history – a good website history is an undoubted advantage when it comes to SEO services;
– if the page has already collected links, and if so – what are the links, where do they come from, in what quantities does the website have them etc .; the current link profile is important when it comes to preparing an SEO strategy;
– SEO optimization – has it already been made, is it the correct optimization, or the desired changes can be applied safely and without problems to the website; the time spent on website optimization for SEO must be included in the SEO strategy;
– whether the page has not been punished by Google (we are talking here first of all about manual penalties – we are able to act to remove such a penalty from the website by appropriate actions).

It is also worth considering that SEO strategies are spread out over time and divided into stages that are performed in a logical order. SEO optimization, and thus its internal improvement, is usually done before linking. Similarly, even the best optimization will not produce results if the website continues to be penalized by Google.

Website optimization for SEO – compulsory driving

One of the first activities in the positioning process is the implementation and implementation of its optimization on the website. Do you dream of effective positioning?

Optimization is the point that cannot be missed. Specific websites need to be optimized at various levels; not all sites allow the same. Let us expand on these rather enigmatic statements.

Not every page requires optimization to the same extent – this means that there are pages that do not have, for example, errors in the head section that make positioning difficult, have a well-built menu and internal linking, do not have problems with duplicates. In this case, the positioner does not force on related modifications – because he does not have to. This site gets points right from the start. Therefore, it is worth consulting a SEO specialist when planning a new website and then positioning it. He will certainly suggest what to look for and implement at such an early stage. If the current website has already worked out results and e.g. positions in the top10 or close to this top, then it is worth moving to the new version of the website so as to minimize the risk of declines in already developed positions (and this risk always occurs). Here also an SEO specialist can help.

Not every page allows you to perform optimization to the same extent – it is related to access to the website, as well as the technology in which it was made. Positioners receive access from their clients to allow different levels of freedom of action. Not every change can be implemented by an SEO specialist in such a situation. You may need help from the client or a statement that we consciously abandon its implementation and the potential benefits of it.

Website positioning – SEO supported by tools

Positioners benefit from the support of various tools that provide useful data in their activities. An overview of popular tools from the positioner’s bag has already been presented on our blog in this entry and this entry is still valid. The list of 8 tools mentioned there is of course not exhaustive. An interesting case among the tools listed there is Google Search Console. They are distinguished by the fact that it is a free tool (just like Google Analytics) and … it was not created for positioners (Google does not create any tool for SEO specialists), but for webmasters. It is worth connecting them to your website. It provides information about website traffic (although not as extensive as Google Analytics), and also detects errors in the operation of the website. These errors are important not only in the context of SEO. The presence of subpages with 404 errors on the site may adversely affect the behavior of potential customers on the website and discourage them from making purchases. It is worth introducing redirects in this case, so that the potential customer had a reason to stay within the website and get acquainted with the product range that is close to interesting.

It is similar in the case of problems with adapting the website to display on mobile devices. Given the growing importance of mobile traffic and the number of transactions carried out in this way, it is not worth discouraging these customers from a hostile website that is not adapted to mobile devices. Google Search Console indicates which problems the website faces in terms of mobility (if any, in its case).

Google Image Search – how does it work?

You can search the image on your computer in 4 ways! Below is a small instruction on how to do it.

The first and easiest way, however, available only to Google Chrome owners. All you have to do is click the right mouse button on the selected graphic and select the “Search image on Google” option while browsing the website. After clicking you will be taken to the results.

By entering Google Graphics we have two very similar options. First, we can upload the image from our folder on the computer. In response, we get websites and similar photos. In addition, the results include information about the size of the photo and other available sizes, as well as about visually similar graphics (having e.g. similar elements, composition or colors). There is also a keyword after which we can find a similar search.

We also have a second and third, very similar option to the previous one., very similar option to the previous one. Just in Google Graphics drag the selected photo from the folder on our computer or drag the image from any browser window.

The fourth method is to search the image by pasting the url address where the graphic is located. So if you find graphics posted on the website, all you have to do is right-click the “copy link address” option and paste it into Google Graphics.

What to do when image search does not work?

If photo search does not work, first of all make sure you are using Google search. Then check if you have the option to use Google Chrome. It is with the use of this browser that you have the most image search options and it should be the simplest on it. As we wrote earlier, the first option “search image on Google” after clicking the right button is only available for Google browser. However, the Safari and Firefox browsers also have image search options.

How do you find a similar image in Google Graphics?

By uploading the photo to Google Graphics the results will appear after a while. No matter which photo search method you use, these results will always look the same. There will be links to websites where you will find a given photo and suggestions for similar graphics. Google also suggests the keyword that is most related to the uploaded image. It happens, however, that with lower quality photos, the system does not recognize the elements and suggests words that do not correlate with the photo.

What to watch out for when downloading a graphic with a sophisticated image? – About graphics for commercial use.

Searching for a similar image may be useful when, for example, you find interesting graphics on a page that is not yours, but you would like to place a similar one on your blog or website. Remember, however, to always check exactly where the photo comes from and whether you have the right to publish it. To see photos that are published and can be used for commercial purposes, use the filter: advanced search. Three options will appear here:

– graphics for free use or sharing
– graphics for use, sharing or modification
– graphics for commercial use – these are the ones that you can easily put on your blog or use in publications.

When searching for images, it’s important to remember about their size and resolution. If you are going to use graphics on your website, make sure that it is saved correctly. Name it and put it in a folder on your computer. Images downloaded from Google very often have names that are limited, e.g. only to a set of numbers, and this will not affect positively e.g. the positioning of this graphic. Also pay attention to image quality and resolution. If you intend to use a photo, e.g. for publication on a blog or social media, check which dimensions will work best.

How are graphics added to Google and how do they affect website positioning?

It is not possible to add graphics directly to Google Graphics. All photos or images appear there after uploading to the website. The fact that a given image will appear higher or lower in searches depends largely on the positioning of the graphics, i.e. the aspects we described above. So if you want your image to be included in the search, take care of its quality and to describe it properly, using, among others, titles, captions, file names and adding text. Graphic positioning will also be affected by the website itself, where you will place it. If you care about valuable traffic that will flow from this graphic, please include its structural data in the description, i.e. Product, Film, Recipe. It often happens that we upload the image to the site without having a clue how important it is for our website and how many positive changes its quality and appropriate description can bring. So, before you upload a photo, read the Google tips!

Is it worth spending your time, energy, knowledge and sometimes money to have a blog on your website or online store. From a specialist’s point of view, SEO is an idea that can be described briefly as excellent. What speaks for having a blog on the site and what is a blog?

A. The presence of a blog means the systematic addition of new content thematically related to the page’s offer, which can translate into better page indexing by Google and, as a result, higher positions. A page with new content is perceived by Google’s web robots as more attractive, more up-to-date, potentially more interesting to the reader. That is why they are ready to reward it with a higher position in the search engine ranking – of course if the texts posted on the blog are unique, correct and valuable.

B. We gain the ability to perform internal linking using blog entries that supports positioning. In blog entries (including those already published) it is worth adding links leading to products or categories that logically relate to the topic of the entry.

C. Properly writing and extensive texts on blogs index well, ensuring good visibility of the website – many a person can get to the website thanks to the text from the blog that they found in the search engine.

D. The saturation of keywords on the page increases. Inevitably, texts added to the blog are often thematically related to products or services, the promotion of which the client is particularly interested in. This is reflected in the use of certain terminology that also includes keywords. As with us, you can find a lot of information on positioning, content marketing or text paraphrases.

E. Blog on a website or online store is a help in positioning on the so-called long tail.

F. Blog can perform the function of supporting the sales process and become part of the conversion funnel. This benefit is unrelated to SEO, but worth noting.

G. Blog helps to shape and strengthen the desired image of the company.

Since we already know why it is worth to engage your funds and have a blog on the site, now it’s time for a few tips on how to run a company blog to work effectively for better search engine positions.

What is a blog – basic guidelines

A. Subdomain or subpage?
A better solution from the SEO point of view is a blog that is part of the website, functioning as a subpage available at e.g. www.company-name.com/blog.

B. Length of texts published on the blog.
The length of the text should be adapted to the subject, so that the text appears complete and exhaustive of the issue. it is also worth considering how it can be perceived by a potential reader – whether it will provide him with the information he needs, and at the same time be understandable and simply enjoyable to read. The length of the entry is also important. We urge you to diversify in this area and adapt to the nature of the blog post. After all, there can be such concise, very informative, in which there is nothing to dwell on, as well as their opposite – topics demanding a comprehensive entry. It can be assumed that the minimum length is 1000-1200 characters (counted with spaces); Of course, this would not apply to an entry saying that the company is not in the middle of a long weekend or that it is changing its headquarters.

C. Frequency of publishing texts.
Fortunately, the blog supporting the positioning process does not require pharmacy accuracy in the publication of texts. There is no requirement to publish texts daily. Entries also do not have to appear in a perfectly even interval. We suggest introducing 4-7 unique texts per month, focusing on their size and quality rather than the frequency of publication. Longer texts, even less frequently published, can bring more SEO-benefits to a website than the often released “serfdom” blog.

D. Use of keywords in texts.
When writing texts for a blog, it is worth using the keywords selected for positioning our website. One text should contain 1-2 keywords selected for positioning. Avoid reaching too often for one word and using it in most of the written texts – in order not to achieve the opposite of the intended effect. The frequency of occurrence of a keyword in a dedicated text should be 1-3 times depending on the length of the text and the possibility of its use – so that the text looks sensible and attractive in terms of language. The keyword should be used unchanged and not split by another word. An exception can be made for the place name. Introducing it in a rigid and unchanged form, such as “cleaning Boston air conditioning” can be stinging in the eye of the reader. In this situation, the text “cleaning of air conditioning” and “Boston” may appear separately. Of course, it is possible to use these changed forms in the text, but they do not have the function of a keyword then. Of course, keywords do not have to be entered in every entry.

E. Division of text into parts.
The preferred form of text placed on the blog is an entry divided into paragraphs, blocks, parts. A good idea might be to use a frame or information box. Blog text should not look like an overwhelming monolith. The title and subtitles should also be used for the natural and logical division of the text. They should be marked e.g. as h1, h2, h3 – depending on the length and planned division of the text. Whenever possible, we’ll enrich titles and headings with keywords. Of course, not every headline must contain them – let’s reach for them in a reasonable way. It is worth using the bold option in the text for phrases containing keywords or for the keywords themselves (the number of bolds – moderate, giving an exaggerated impression). At the same time, there is no reason to use several font types within one entry.

F. Adding graphics to the entry.
The text should include graphics or charts that will also visually divide parts of the text and make it easier to read. Let’s not be afraid of graphics! It is worth noting here that the graphic that illustrates the text can also be used to enter a link to our entry. The link in the graphic can also be used e.g. to perform internal linking within our website.

G. Adding links to the entry – tips & tricks
Blog entries may contain links entered in the text or graphics leading e.g. to specific subpages or products corresponding to the content of the entry. Entering a link to the entry to be effective support for SEO and not harm our site, must be skillful. If we do it, it is worth remembering a few principles of “SEO”:
– the link does not have to be in every entry,
– enter 1-2, a maximum of 3 links to one entry; their quantity is related to the length of the text (more links can be included in longer text),
– if the blog has outbound links that do not lead to our website or other customer-owned pages (e.g. other blogs or online store), then these links should be marked as “nofollow“
– it is very important if we do not want to weaken our website (and since we decided to position it, we definitely do not care about this effect),
– Links to subpages within one site do not have to receive the ‘nofollow’ attribute.

Note: the above recommendations for blog entries can also be used in the context of keeping the news section.

However, in many cases our actions are not everything and despite the application of best practices, a given e-commerce fails. So we have a few insights regarding the success of online stores, which we decided to share, further illustrating our point of view with a fresh case study of one of our clients.

The appearance of the online store – as we see it at Paraphrase-Online.com

Working with such a large number of online stores, we’ve had to deal with more than one website and technology. About those we know really well.

Very often, store owners, having in mind marketing activities that want to conduct in the future, seek our advice on solutions for online stores. Although we know a lot about this, the final decision is up to the customer. Nevertheless, consultation on the choice of CMS or e-commerce platform can save a lot of unnecessary nerves, ill-considered actions and, as a consequence, decreases results.

Consequences of unconsulted changes in an online store [case study]

In cooperation with our clients, we have repeatedly emphasized the importance of exchanging insights and consultation before introducing any changes regarding e.g. the interface of an online store, website or other issues that may have a small impact on the success of Google Ads campaigns or SEO activities. Unfortunately, it also happens that as an agency running a campaign or positioning a website, we are not kept informed of upcoming changes. Consequently, all online sales suffer, which, for example, with an average of $ 100,000 per month dropped to around $ 30,000, while maintaining the same costs for the campaign.

The drop in campaign results in the online store can be seen very quickly, reacting to this drop, but unfortunately not always. In the described case, a complete change in the appearance of the site and certain technical aspects brought unexpected consequences. A more modern look of the site does not always go hand in hand with easier navigation and better customer experience. This is evidenced by the change in time spent on the site by users before and after the modifications introduced. The difference in average session duration was 45 seconds and the number of transactions dropped by 70%.

The best look of an online store – what to consider when changing?

If you want to completely change the appearance of the online store, it is worth basing on the best practices of both UX and SEO (on-page and off-page), as well as analyzing what can affect any major change, e.g. the sales process, returns or marketing activities, e.g. Google Ads or Facebook Ads campaigns.

The optimal appearance of an online store is one that will satisfy the expectations of consumers above all, but also improve the sales process, i.e. allow, for example, obtaining feedback from the customer about the product or improve shipping. Optimal appearance does not always mean the most modern. Of course, a website with a large number of beautiful graphics can convince the customer to buy more, however, it is worth remembering that photos cause a decrease in the speed of loading the website, and may also limit the field to the activities of a specialist in positioning an online store.

In the case of the case study in question, prior to changing the website, consultation with existing store customers was carried out. However, there was no verification of the received insights with proven UX practices, which the industry is talking about. As a consequence, the most important aspects related to the user’s movement on the website were ignored, and only the visual side was taken into account.

What should an online store look like? – best practices.

All you need to do is to check what the largest and most recognizable online stores look like before starting work on a new online store project or before redesigning it. Very often, their appearance is primarily very intuitive. Most of us expect certain solutions and although the modern look attracts us more at first glance, we still prefer shopping on simple pages. The division into product categories, the ability to filter by sizes, colors, etc. have been used for years. Among the more modern solutions it is worth considering the product presentation itself, i.e. the quality of photos or videos showing the product “in action”. By checking the path of users on our website in Google Analytics or based on statistical data collected on the basis of research of other online stores, design the path that the customer should follow from product search to purchase. Most practices say that this process should be as intuitive and short as possible so that the customer can proceed to payment in two or three steps. Optimizing the online store and Google Ads product advertisement will help you bring the customer to the product you offer.

The appearance of the online store and the impact on the Google Ads campaign.

Every major change in the online store can also be seen quickly in advertising channels. Google Ads campaign leads to the online store, i.e. to specific products or their categories, and thus, changing the appearance or certain settings in the store has an impact on the final results of the campaign, e.g. on CPC, number of conversions or other dependent parameters.

The incomprehensible look of the website lengthened the customer’s shopping path and quickly became apparent. In the first two quarters of this year, i.e. before changes were introduced, the average ROAS for the campaign was 1,429.216. Changes on the store’s website occurred at the end of the second quarter. Their effect can be seen already in the third and fourth quarters where the average ROAS was 766.31.

Therefore, we want to warn every store against making drastic changes on the site without prior consultation with any entity that works in our favor and whose actions may be very dependent on these changes. Cooperation between e-commerce and the agency should not be limited to exchanging reports on campaign results or position reports. If you already work together, it is worth using the knowledge and practice of specialists who will gladly suggest what you need to consider and what may affect the success of Google Ads campaigns or SEO activities.

Summary

Many factors contribute to the success of an online store, and any changes should be discussed with us. Not only generated sales, but also customer opinion and experience on the site are involved. The success of Google Ads campaigns or online store positioning activities are also heavily dependent on them. The best appearance of an online store should therefore take into account its functionality and the ability to implement various additional activities that will support sales.