Organic traffic and the costs of its acquisition

Many people associate organic traffic mainly with huge publishing expenses for several thousand dollars a month for the purpose of obtaining links. Link building is important, but it is not the only thing you should do. Many things can be done inside the website, and link building itself does not always have to be associated with huge expenses. What is certain is that if we neglect the onsite factors – link building itself may not give the desired effect.

Content creation and optimization

When generating organic traffic, the main costs are:
– our time (I assume that with the current slowdown of the economy and lower turnover of companies, there is more of it to be spent),
– content cost (you can send specific guidelines to a copywriter or write content using resources in your company).

If we are able to create content ourselves, it is a huge saving. We know that content is worth building and that it can be done at a lower cost. But what to write about? How to plan the created content? You can use many tools, including free ones.

Content creation – where to get ideas?

Before we start creating content, we need to plan it skillfully – that is, develop the subject, structure of the document and create a list of keywords that must be in the content. A common problem is the lack of ideas for generating content. I will not elaborate here on how to research competition in paid tools or on graphs and keyword relationships. After all, the intention of this article is to indicate ways that do not involve expenses.

Google Search Console

A huge treasury of free knowledge is Google Search Console – a tool that can be implemented for free and collect data on the visibility of our website.

How can this tool be used? You should analyze the data in the “Effectiveness” tab and search mainly for:
– phrases that, despite the far position, have quite a lot of views,
– phrases that have a lot of views and are located just outside TOP10.

We can narrow down the data to words that contain a specific word or string of characters. Thanks to this, we can both create content (in a situation where we mentioned a certain issue alongside other content – it is worth building a dedicated content that describes it accurately) and optimizing the current content.

Regardless of whether we are creating new content or trying to optimize the current one – remember about the most important elements:
– carrying out a TOP10 analysis for a given word (context of the content already created, length or optimization method),
– title meta optimization,
– appropriate keyword saturation,
– including the most important keywords in the first paragraph.

But what if we have not written about a given topic and there is no mention of it in GSC? One of the cheap, but unconventional ways, is to use customer inquiries or industry knowledge.

The client will also help you with SEO

It is worth carefully analyzing our clients’ questions and taking note of the latest trends in a given industry. During my work, when I send clients suggestions for topics (which were generated in a paid tool based on a keyword association), I often get a response that clients actually mentioned it during their inquiries. A real challenge for a person who does not have access to paid tools is to verify which queries have search potential.

In the case of reducing the costs of activities, we can use, for example:
– keyword planner (when we have an active Google Ads campaign – we have access to information on the number of monthly searches),
– a free counterpart, which usually has limits on the number of polls per day.

Or maybe take advantage of the knowledge of others?

One popular way to create content on your site is to provide guest posting. It is worth looking for people in the industry who have knowledge and would like to share it on the pages of another portal. We do not have to take money from the author for the possibility of publishing content with a link to the website – often it is enough to pay in the form of a substantive article, which can also generate traffic from search results.

Another factor influencing our visibility may be the author’s reach in social media and broadly understood popularity. If a recognizable person publishes content on our website and it reaches many recipients – recipients can start looking for information about the portal, which also increases organic traffic from brand traffic.

Link building – not always expensive

The subject of link building itself is very extensive and highly dependent on a given industry and the competitiveness of phrases. Nevertheless, at the beginning of cooperation with a client, I always try to be alert to the great potential of such inexpensive and unconventional linking methods. There are many methods for such cheap linking, and these are just a few of them.

Check your previous publications

Customers often mention that they published substantive content on the most famous industry portals or used the services of a PR company that published content on behalf of the client. If you have a list of such publications, for each of them:
– check if there is a link in the publication (preferably without the nofollow attribute),
– if there is no link, add to the “contact” list,
– write a request for the possibility of placing a link to the URL of the page.

Some websites may refuse, some will demand payment for the link, but in many cases it is enough to develop a list and one template e-mail.

Guest articles – sharing knowledge pays off

The scheme of operation in this case is the same as in the previously described sharing of space for experts’ statements. The only difference is that this time we express ourselves on external websites and share our knowledge. In return, we receive a link and potential brand traffic. If the portal on which we publish our content has a large group of recipients – some of them may search Google for information about the author and search for his website.

A unique offer is also a chance for a link

As a business owner, you know your offer perfectly well and know the target group. If your potential customers form communities and have associations or clubs – it is worth establishing not only offline cooperation, but also asking for a link. One example of a tailored offer is schools that offer driving lessons for people with disabilities. All it takes is a quick research and we find a page where driving school websites with such an offer are available.

Internal linking – often untapped potential

Many people hearing the phrase “linking” associate it with acquiring links from other websites. The techniques of cheap external linking have been discussed above, but there is also information about the potential of internal linking. Through internal links (where we have full control over the anchor text of the links), we can also influence the position of keywords.

It is important to analyze which subpage is responsible for visibility for a specific keyword and not to mix up internal links in the target addresses. A common mistake in portals’ editorial offices is linking to various thematically related articles using the same keyword. This misleads Google and increases cannibalization by boosting a few similar articles.

You must create a map of internal links:
The keyword in which we insert the link Internal link address
Keyword – 1 / subpage-X /
Keyword – 2 / subpage-Y /
Keyword – 3 / subpage-Z /

Any further internal linking should follow this pattern.

You probably think now that such internal linking and browsing the site is a lot of work, not to mention the cost. There is also a certain way for this. Internal linking can be automated – with the use of related articles modules or through the scheme of inserting internal links according to a certain key.

You have probably seen the module of similar content more than once on many websites, but it is worth making sure that the mechanism of generating these links works according to a certain key – after similar keywords or thematic connections between articles assigned manually in the CMS.

Automatic linking in the content is used less frequently, but it works in a very simple way. We determine that when a specific keyword appears in the content, a specific link to another subpage will be inserted there. It is also worth adding the condition that such a link has not been added higher in the content, which will limit the number of these links on one subpage. Such a solution can be implemented on individual orders from the programmer, or in the case of more famous CMS systems, look for ready-made solutions.

Summary

The Paraphrase-Online.com Team hopes that with this article you already know that there are many ways to increase organic traffic on your website – not necessarily at the expense of a lot of cash. You can use your own and our clients’ knowledge on many levels. In addition, a whole range of activities related to content planning or its creation can be performed within the organization. Therefore, do not hide behind high costs and start working on the website visibility on Google today.

Idea for an online store

At the beginning, an important note: the e-commerce market is very large, so it is worth finding a business niche in which you feel a specialist or… in which you want to delve into. Getting to know the products you will be trading well is absolutely essential. However, you may be wondering what to choose.

Basically, apart from being an expert in what field you are, you can choose between two paths:

A. choose a niche that is not very popular, but has development potential for the coming years
It is a solution that can bring you success in the long term. However, you need to be aware that at the beginning you have to expect small reach and a small number of customers. However, with a properly conducted marketing strategy, you can expect a gradual increase in interest.

If the niche you choose is not popular at the moment, there is a chance that you will be one of the pioneers and that your store will become one of the most important in the industry in the future. However, you must be mindful of the risks – the market is not predictable and trends can suddenly reverse (as shown well by the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020). Therefore, you need to be prepared for this and have a “plan B”.

B. choose a popular e-commerce branch
So, start selling products that are willingly bought on the Internet. The idea for an online store does not have to be fancy. On the contrary – most often it is worth doing what … others do. In this case, with effective advertising, you can start earning good income faster. However, with high competition, it will be more difficult for you to break out – so at the very beginning you may have to invest more in promotion. You will also need to find elements that will make your offer competitive. Something that will make you stand out from dozens or hundreds of stores offering similar products.

What could it be? E.g:
– more competitive prices,
– offering goods of brands so far unknown on the market,
– unusual branding,
– additional services, such as product personalization.

Of course, everything depends on the specific specialization of the e-shop. One thing is certain: going this way, you have to find something that will make your brand stand out and make it more attractive in the eyes of the customer.

What is best selling on the internet?

What products are the most popular on the Internet? What do people buy online? The answer to this question is provided by research, e.g. the E-commerce report prepared by the Paraphrase-Online.com Team. It shows that the most popular product categories that were bought online are:

– clothing, accessories and accessories – the fashion industry is popular with over 2/3 buyers,
– footwear – they are bought by about 60% of people who make purchases over the Internet,
– books, films and CDs,
– cosmetics and perfumes,
– RTV and household appliances,
– cinema / theater tickets,
– Sportswear,
– pharmaceutical products, including dietary supplements,
– GSM mobiles devices and accessories,
– children’s goods and toys,
– travel services.

It is therefore worth navigating in these areas of the e-commerce world if you want to find your place in the internet reality. But be careful! To break through in them, you have to look at them from a different, fresh perspective. Otherwise, you may have a problem “carving out a piece of cake” for yourself.

So how can you narrow down the scope of goods in the context of the above categories? There are many possibilities. For example, you can offer:

– plus size clothes of well-known European brands – there are more and more customers who are interested in larger sizes, and at the same time there are no stores that would offer a wide selection,
– cosmetics of producers not available in stationary sales – e.g. from the Far East (however, take into account the fact that there are quite a lot of stores offering recently very fashionable Korean products!
– ecological children’s toys – although this niche is already quite full, the “eco” trend seems to be becoming wider and wider, so there are quite a lot of people who would like to buy this type of products,
– a specific category of electronic devices – e.g. fashionable drones, electric scooters or VR equipment.

As you can see, specialization can be the real key to success. It is enough to search for an unusual area in a popular niche and offer your audience something completely new!

Is the best selling always the best choice?

What is the most popular is – as you already know – both an opportunity and a threat in the world of e-commerce. The most important thing is to find, on the one hand, an area where you can offer customers something new, and on the other – something that will respond to their needs. Remember: at the beginning you don’t have to aim very high, with huge ranges and large sales volume. You can also achieve good income by operating on a smaller scale. So your business may revolve around less popular goods, but those that have a specific audience. What could be a good idea?

Online handicraft store
Do you have a hobby in the field of handicrafts? Maybe you, for example, crochet or are passionate about decoupage or creating DIY decorations? What if you start selling them online in your store. Setting up a small e-shop, e.g. on a SaaS platform, does not require many formalities or high costs. If you also invest in advertising on social networks and prepare properly optimized content, you have a chance to stand out!

Online store with articles for disinfection
… as well as other products that are useful in the context of the current coronavirus pandemic. Although this is a topic that is popular periodically, it still seems like a good time to offer something new to customers. We are still eager to buy designer masks (which have become part of styling), as well as disinfectants that do not irritate the hands.

Online store with pet food
It is a market niche that is currently developing very dynamically, mainly due to the growing interest in a healthy diet of animals. Dog owners are looking for ecological, well-balanced meals for dogs and cats, made of the highest quality ingredients. If you have access to such products, you have a chance to attract a large group of customers.

Store with ecological accessories
Living in harmony with nature and making ecological choices is a trend that is currently rising. It can be expected to “float” for the next few, if not more years. Therefore, it is worth considering setting up a store that will offer accessories that leave a small carbon footprint. Example? Metal or paper straws, disposable plates and cutlery made of biodegradable materials, linen shopping bags, reusable nets for fruit and vegetables … you can multiply this way indefinitely. You can easily attract a large group of customers for this type of accessories.

Barber shop
The fashion for well-groomed male stubble and visits to barbers began a few years ago. Today, more and more men are looking for professional beard care products, so … it’s worth offering them. A store that specializes in the distribution of pomades and beard oils, as well as classic razors and other vintage shaving accessories, may attract the attention of the market!

Educational toy store
Science in a modern version? It is the one carried out by play that arouses curiosesity about the world. Do you subscribe to this statement? It is like many parents! They are looking for interesting and inspiring toys that will allow their children to broaden their horizons. Do you want to help them with this? If so, think about looking for interesting educational toys and selling them. Such a store can have great potential!

Seasonal products – a good idea for an online store?

Some of the goods that are offered in online stores are willingly bought only at certain times of the year. Good example? Oh, even air conditioners and fans. The demand for them begins just before the hot summer comes and ends with the first cool evenings. So is it profitable to create an e-shop that would sell only such devices? Not completely. However, you can supplement the basic assortment of the store with such seasonal products and carry out positioning on related phrases. You can also choose several groups of seasonal products, popular in different months of the year, and change the main sales profile depending on the demand for individual goods. In such a business model, however, you need to use your own warehouse and, most often, be ready that some of the goods will remain there until the next high season.

Are you missing an idea of what to sell? Check out dropshipping!

If you are still not sure which direction your e-commerce business should take, look for inspiration … in wholesalers that specialize in dropshipping. It is a ready-made solution for those who are looking for quick solutions.

How exactly does dropshipping work? In this business model, your store acts a bit like a “sales representative” of a wholesaler. More precisely, your task is to sell products that are in the assortment of the selected contractor and then transfer the order for execution. Therefore, you only deal with the e-shop promotion process, customer acquisition and customer service. However, all logistics issues rest with your business partner. It is he who takes care of the continuous supply of goods to the warehouse, as well as its shipment to the end customer.

The dropshipping model is becoming more and more popular because those running this type of e-shops:
– operate under their own brand, which means that the wholesaler sends products to the end customer, stating the company that took the order as the sender,
– can be opened with great ease – you can even find ready-made packages that you just need to configure and start working,
– they give great freedom of action and investment without having to deal with all logistic challenges.

This, of course, does not mean that the income from such a business is effortless.

Regardless of the model in which you run your online store and with what assortment, the key to success is ensuring its high visibility and good reputation. Proposal? A good idea of what to sell online is only one side of the coin. The second is how you will run and promote your business. In this regard, it is worth using the help of experts. They will take care of about:

– SEO optimization of your e-store,
– planning a coherent and well-thought-out promotional campaign in appropriately selected channels (e.g. remarketing, advertising in social media, e-mail marketing, etc.),
– building a positive image of the website.

So if you already have an idea of what niche to operate in, it’s time to implement it, and then … promote and patiently wait for the results.

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 mobiles 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.