Intro

Are you, just like us using Facebook to bring traffic to your website? The low cost and high volumes certainly make it very attractive. Unfortunately, we see in Google Analytics that the quality of that traffic is not always good. Bounce rates tend to be high and people spend almost no time on your site. You can bring your Facebook traffic campaigns to the next level by choosing to optimize towards a micro conversion. Using a simple action on your website to optimise towards, still allows the Facebook algorithm enough room to bring new traffic at a low cost while simultaneously bringing you people that show actual interest in your offer. 

 

Is your Facebook traffic qualitative?

In your well thought off holistic Facebook strategy you most likely have a campaign that is dedicated to bringing traffic to your website. Facebook is awesome for that. You can easily bring many people to your website at very low CPC’s using the “Landing page views” optimisation that Facebook offers. If your goal is to do just that, driving traffic to your website, and nothing else, perfect, no need to read the rest of this article. But, if you are like us, also interested in the quality of traffic, you might want to reconsider the way you optimise. 

Because optimising for “Landing page views” does just that, it brings people to your website and that is the end of the story. Whether they bounce immediately or browse your entire website, is not taken into in the optimization. This can result in seeing some very low traffic quality in Google Analytics. 

 

Optimise for a micro conversion

With a few small tweaks, you can have a traffic campaign that brings you quality traffic while keeping a good CPC. You do so by optimizing towards an appropriate “micro conversion”. Instead of optimizing toward “Landing page views” you chose “Conversions”. For your conversion event you don’t go for your normal conversion that you use in the conversion campaign. Instead, optimise towards a micro conversion.

A micro conversion is a simple action on your website. It is something a user does on your website that shows a genuine interest in your offer. Some examples are: spending 5 seconds on your website, clicking on a button or scrolling through a certain part of the page. 

Now, you are not simply bringing people to your page, you are bringing people that have truly the intentions of discovering what you have to offer. Choosing the micro conversion with care is important in the success of your campaign. Don’t choose a conversion that is unrealistic if your goal is to bring new people into your website flow. 

 

Quick-Step Floor Explorer case

Together with Unilin we put this theory to the test for their brand Quick-Step. Before our traffic campaign optimised towards “Landing page views” and had a lookalike audience of website visitors. Although we had a lot of inexpensive traffic, almost all of them bounced immediately. They did not spend time on the site and hardly visited any pages.

To change this we started optimising for a micro conversion of people going through the Floor Explorer tool. This tool helps people easily discover what floors they might like in a playful way. We believe this to be a conversion that is “light” enough that new users will complete it while still indicating a strong interest in the brand. We also opened up our audience by adding an ad set with limited targeting (open audience) next to our lookalike audience.

This was very successful as we managed in bringing very high quality traffic at a low cost to the website. Of course CPC’s increased but the increase was limited and in return we had many qualitative sessions coming from new users. People discovered the Floor Explorer tool, spent longer on the website and went through multiple pages. Using the open audience was really effective as it allowed the Facebook algorithm a lot of room to find our quality audience. The open audience was our best performing audience.

 

Conclusion

This campaign shows that optimizing for conversions is the way to go when you want to bring quality traffic to your website. This approach, combined with broad targeting, gave the Facebook algorithm a lot of room to find quality people at a low cost, making the campaign very successful. You can find more information on this case on the Facebook for Business website.

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Omnichannel importance is nothing new. Most of today’s customers are not buying either online or offline but both. In Europe, the vast majority of the sales are however still happening in brick and mortar shops. But one should not forget that the influence of digital on these offline sales is extremely significant, and it even continues to grow every year. Developing an advertising Local Strategy is therefore crucial if you want to help your local shops to acquire even more customers, by providing them ultra relevant & personalized experience depending on their location. 

Launching a local strategy is nevertheless always a challenge. It may come in different forms depending on the client’s specifics, but for all the ones possessing a great amount of stores to report to, we can guarantee you that the reporting process will not be a piece of cake. While it actually should.

In the present case, we will present how we created a fully custom solution for Atol Les Opticiens to address that problem. We have built a platform which allows them to manage and send individual reports containing the store specific results of all the digital activities to their 700+ shops every month. And that, in only a couple of clicks.

 

Setting up the scene

In a previous case, we already presented how we developed an extensive Local Strategy for Atol les Opticiens and their more than 700 shops. For the ones who didn’t get the chance to read it yet, I will briefly summarize it below but I still strongly encourage you to have a look at the full case if you want to have a complete view on what we have put in place.

Atol les Opticiens is a cooperative with more than 700 shops across France. These shops are the core of their business since they are the ones generating most of Atol’s revenue. As it is a cooperative, shop owners are independent and can decide whether or not they want to invest in marketing activities. 

For all of these reasons, we were convinced that developing a Local Strategy for Atol was a must. We indeed wanted to give shop owners the possibility to invest some of their own money to improve their local digital visibility, without any prior knowledge requirement. On top of making the shop owners happy (which is already pretty good), we were actually also making Atol happy as the fact that local shop owners started investing more in digital channels also helped the cooperation as a whole to grow its digital visibility and image.

We encountered many challenges along the way during this journey, but one of the biggest one was without any hesitation the reporting process. As a matter of fact, creating, updating and sending the 700+ reports every single month was everything but a picnic. After a couple of iterations with Google sheet’s semi-automated solutions, we decided to go all the way to the development of a fully customized platform which would help them to do exactly what they needed, in the most efficient way possible.

 

The solution

As already mentioned, we needed to create a platform to report on the results of our local digital campaigns (running on both Google and Facebook) to the shop owners. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Atol also wanted to include some other shop specific results coming from external sources (not managed by us) into these reports. As all of them didn’t possess an API, we made sure that importing the data into the platform via simple excel documents was also an option. 

Once all the data is gathered within the platform, the only action needed is to select for which month we want to create the reports, and then click on one button to generate all the reports. The visual of these reports is of course also customizable and was created specifically for Atol les Opticiens.

 

When all the reports are created, two options are offered to Atol. They can either download them all (and send them by themselves later on), or even automatically send them directly to all the shop owners. This was made possible by the fact that all shop owner email addresses were stored into the platform, in order for the platform to know exactly which report to send to which email address.

 

But of course, the amount of stores, their information as well as their contact details can logically evolve over time. We really didn’t want Atol to be stuck and to need to pass by us every time adaptations were needed. We therefore added an extra feature allowing Atol’s digital team to add, remove or change any detail of a store directly on the platform. 

 

This personalised platform was a real game changer for Atol and us. As from that moment, we were finally able to report to more than 700 stores on a monthly basis in a custom and time efficient manner. 

But we don’t want to stop there. We are convinced that we can make this platform evolve even more to solve even more problems that it currently does. We also strongly believe that it can be proven useful for other companies also looking for solutions to report efficiently to their local store. 

 

Conclusion

Developing local strategies can be a challenge. But we at Semetis strongly believe that there is no problem for which a customised solution cannot be found. Through this case, we presented how we managed to create a customized platform to solve the “reporting for more than 700 shops” issue. This was a great journey. And we are already looking forward to the next challenge. If you feel that such a customized tool sounds like one your company needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to us in order to discuss the opportunities together.

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Client Overview and Challenge

The Skateroom, a B Corp Belgian-based company, became known worldwide for placing famous works of art on responsibly made skateboard decks that can be displayed as art in our homes. The Skateroom believes that for-profit companies share a moral obligation to use their power for the greater good. With a growing environmental, humanitarian, and economical crisis, the modern world requires sustainable solutions to conducting business.

After having assisted The Skateroom with the configuration of their website tracking (Google Analytics) we identified a consistent drop-off happening in the checkout. We flagged two potential bottlenecks:  

1. Nearly half of the visitors, after initiating the checkout, drop out of the funnel before completing their personal details 
2. 2 out of 3 users does not finalize their purchase order after filling out their personal details 

These numbers show that people were struggling in closing down their purchase, making The Skateroom missing out on a significant number of potential transactions in the longer run. 

The approach: Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) via Google Optimize

In order to improve the success rate of purchases made by these users, we started a Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) project where we planned to optimize the blocking points in this checkout funnel. The objective of the project is to drive potential customers more efficiently through the funnel and having an impact on the bottom line: business revenue. 

First, an in-depth analysis of the visitor’s behavior going through the website and the checkout flow was made in order to identify bottlenecks. The focus was on both the checkout funnel and the pages leading to the initiation of the flow in order to pinpoint blocking factors in the funnel itself, but especially also before entering the funnel. In the second phase, all the identified bottlenecks were mapped on a testing roadmap and further assessed based on their scale of impact, timing and resources required before assigning priority levels for testing.

 

1. Analysis of checkout flow performances 

In the analysis conducted, we made extensive use  of three tools to be able to identify the bottlenecks. These tools were the following:

• Google Analytics: At first the tool was used to spot bottlenecks and significant drop-off points. Secondly, Google Analytics was used to highlight the impact of device usage on those blocking points. The quality of both desktop and mobile pages was assessed by examining their page performance on factors such as exit rates, time spent on pages and the site speed performances.
• Hotjar - Heatmaps: Allowing us to identify where people interacted (clicked) with our website on both desktop and mobile.

Concrete example of use: As The Skateroom’s ecommerce website delivers worldwide, we noticed that a lot of people were trying to calculate their shipping costs on the cart page. Which as we knew from the beginning was one of the major drop off points. Yet, the text under shipping is actually not clickable which led to frustration and in turn causing people quitting their purchase process.

• Hotjar - Feedback polls: We actively made use of the feedback polls on the website allowing us to gather user feedback focusing on information that was missing, information that was unclear, and which experiences/pages were slow and blocking user experience  (See image 4). In addition, we allowed users to comment on what precisely  they found blocking. (See image 5)

 

Concrete example of use: From those feedback forms it became obvious the information around shipping details was not clear as user were doubting how many days it would take and what the cost would be. 

2. Creation of testing roadmap and plan

In a first instance, we assessed different A/B testing tools that would allow us to run any tests on the website in a fast, efficient and cost effective way. Multiple tools were assessed but in our case the choice went to Google Optimize as The Skateroom is already present on the Google tool stack using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for both analytics and tagging needs. In a second instance, based on the outcome of the bottleneck analysis, a priority level was set on each of the tests based on different factors such as:

• Complexity of the test variation creation: High - moderate - low scale used to identify how complex a test is to set up. This level was assessed based on the aggregation of time and resources required to do the implementation.
• Overlap testing on the same page: In order to achieve the most accurate test outcome, we considered not to run multiple tests on the same page at the same time. This isolates the testing to happen on one variation test and removes potential influence of another test. 

Based on the phase 1 analysis, 12 tests were identified and documented. This was then afterwards further translated into the testing roadmap which is still in current use by the team to continue improving the overall flow of people towards purchase. 

 

The implementation

In the setup of the test variations we opt to highlight 1 test out of the test roadmap to elaborate on. However, the implementation of experiment variations has been done for the vast majority of the test as was defined in our testing roadmap. The test in our case looked deeper into the clarification of shipping information during checkout. A short summary of the test can be found here below. 

• Challenge: In this test, based on the results of the hotjar feedback polls and user heatmaps we noted that people were having questions on the shipping details. Here it was not always clear how long it would take for an order to be send out and how long it would take (days) to arrive to its destination. 
• Objective of the test: To clarify the shipping information in order to improve the finalisation of purchases made. This by adding detailed info on the average shipping and delivery timing into the shipping/payment step.
• Variant put in place: The variant adds an extra information text block, here below displayed in the orange box, whereas before there was only the text available directly to the right of the orange box (“Enter your address to view shipping options”) which can be seen in the 2nd image. 

 

 

Results & Business Insight

The results of this A/B test were seen to be quite successful as, with statistical significance, we could say that by providing extra information on the shipping details:

• Modeled improvements on transaction volumes were seen to potentially go up by 36% to 289% 
• The modeled percentage of people finalising their purchase from the shipping and payment page went up by 91% 

Thanks to the success of the Google optimize experiment, we saw that our modeled conversion rate went up by 91% during the testing period. This of course impacted the bottomline business and revenue which is the most direct impact that we can generate with the experiment. Based on this positive outcome of the test, the extra information has been put in place on the page of the checkout step permanently.

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At Semetis, we have done plenty of SEO Audits over the years. These audits have been state-of-the-art, extensive and important. However, SEO becomes exciting and truly impactful when the audit and the strategy are brought to life.

Generally, an audit and a strategy result in concrete recommendations. These recommendations need to be implemented. This implementation has always been more challenging.

Although you might have mastered the skill of creating an SEO strategy and conducting an SEO audit, the true key to success lies in what comes after: implementation consulting.

In this article, we are sharing a successful SEO case.

As mentioned before, the key to success has been our involvement in every single step of the way. This implied being in sync with SEO marketeers, content-creators, web developers and others.

We were in the driver's seat for the SEO Audit, Strategy AND Implementation. This case proves the undeniable added value of managing the full scope in terms of SEO.

Results

Over a period of 6 months, we doubled the volume of organic traffic to our clients’ website:

We have been able to bring most of your target keywords to top positions in Google’s Organic Search Results.

Over this period, the query in the example below went from position 12.2 to 1.8.

We are ranking in the top 5 for most of the queries ranked on click volume (non-brand).

We are ranking in the top 10 for most of the queries ranked on impression volume (non-brand).

Methodology

We have shared with you the results.

Now it is time to share the methodology.

As mentioned above, the difference lies in the implementation consulting. So let’s focus on that while going over the methodology. How has this case been different from others?

The Methodology

• The SEO Audit - You already guessed it
• The strategy
• The keyword research
• The context creation
• Getting discovered
• Monitoring and steering the ship

 

The SEO Audit

We are not going to go into much detail on the audit part. We have mastered SEO auditing over the years. It encompasses everything from basic on-page best practices implementation to advanced technical SEO recommendations.

 

The Strategy

This part is important. Not all businesses can use the same angle to approach their SEO Strategy.

In this case, we went for a blog format but with a transparent selling intent.

Not your typical blog in which you discuss the opening of a new store, hiring a new employee or the latest team building you did. Not a newsletter type of blog.

An educational blog, with a selling intent.

 

We REACH relevant users by focussing on high-volume queries.

We drive CONSIDERATION by creating relevant and engaging content.

And finally, we CONVERT by presenting and positioning our offering.

 

For example:

• ‘We know you are looking for X (a very popular product), but have you considered Y (your product).‘
• ‘How to choose the best ... ‘

Giving truthful information, but steering the reader towards your offering.

 

The keyword research

The keyword research is probably one of the most important steps.

We defined our target queries based on:

• Search Volume
• Business Impact
• Competition

You might want to rank for everything, but you have to ask yourself the question: For which query could our website be an authority? For which query can we really bring a valuable story? Nevertheless, generally you can be ambitious.

We specifically chose to limit our focus to 10 top queries. 10 queries which scored highest in our formula search volume x business impact x competition. Knowing that the implementation part is most challenging, we advise to have this strong focus.

Based on data from Google Search Ads, Google Search Console and the Google Keyword Planner, we identified our 10 target keywords.

 

The content creation

For the content creation, we went beyond what we usually do. Semetis is not a content writing agency. Nevertheless, we do have extensive experience of what needs to be done to create successful SEO content.

The tricky part of the content creation is that you need excellent content writers who are passionate and knowledgeable. This is challenging as content writing is often outsourced to freelancers which have zero affinity with your company and its offerings.

On the other hand, you might have in-house content writers but they often are ‘artists’ with a passion for writing. They don’t like to be ‘forced’ to write about what would work good for SEO. They are creative, and therefore they are free.

In this case, we did look for the writers within the client internally. It was a great success. Not only do these people know their company best, they often also know what is important for the website visitor. They know their stuff, but do they know their writing?

For this they did get help from an internal content writer, but really in a more supportive role if assistance was needed.

So what did we do?

Well, content was created around the targeted keywords. We provided the content writers a set of questions and topics on which they needed to write 1 web page.

 

1 target keyword = 1 web page

 

Highly related keywords were absorbed in the 1 target keywords web page.

 

As an example:

Our target keyword was ‘trampoline’.

We asked the content writer to make sure to cover the following:

• What is a trampoline,
• Different types of trampoline,
• How to choose a trampoline,
• What to take into account when buying a trampoline,
• The best trampoline,
• ...

The scope of this article was defined by our research.

When you are an SEO Marketeer, you will often read: CONTENT IS KING. It is true.

Consider that every time a user is searching on Google a competition starts.

Google wants to show the best piece of content to that specific user’s specific query.

If you are not ranking high, Google believes that your content doesn’t cut it. OR they haven’t found out yet what could be the value of your content. Either way, your content needs to be better than that of competitors.

We guided the client through this content creation phase. The first results have been amazing but even today, we are making suggestions to optimize the content for these top queries.

 

Getting discovered

We focussed on two elements in this phase: link building and on-page SEO.

Link building. While usually we provide the client with best practices on how to approach link building, we went a step further in this case. We were actively involved in identifying relevant external linking opportunities.

Actively being involved in link building is time-consuming but still valuable. Especially in the beginning, it can significantly accelerate your SEO performance.

Besides scanning the links of competitors, we also identified new linking opportunities. All the links that we set-up were coming for domains with a +40 DA (domain authority) and their domain topic was relevant for the web page we were linking to. All other best practices for link building were also taken into account.

On-page SEO. As an extension of the content creation, we reviewed the web pages before publication. On top of providing best practices on how to make sure their page is ‘seo-friendly’ and moved to consulting them on this important topic.

 

Monitoring results and steering the ship

We monitor the results multiple times per week. The most important metrics to monitor change over time. Especially in the beginning CTR is very important. We experimented with different kinds of headlines and descriptions to trigger the best CTR. Including numbers and symbols worked well for us. You need your search result to stand out for it to be clicked on. Only when it is clicked on and users start interacting with the page, Google can properly assess the quality of your page.

Thereafter, metrics such as bounce rate, time on site and dwell time become increasingly important. Pages with an above average bounce rate were re-evaluated, reworked and reviewed.

Time on site and dwell time are also important metrics to take into account. Dwell time refers to the time a user spends on your website before going back to the search results page to find another (better) solution/answer for his query. Obviously, if a user just spends a few seconds on your website before looking for another search result this indicates to Google that your page does not answer that specific query.

The speed at which we could make changes to these pages was amazing. It is an important element for success. SEO is continuously experimenting and monitoring the impact and adapting. You need to be able to modify these pages directly.

 

In Summary

What do you need for success?

• A clear SEO Strategy
• Selective keyword research
• Passionate & knowledgeable content writers
• Easy access to modify website content
• An agency that can guide you from strategy to implementation.

 

The most challenging part of SEO is the implementation. Semetis proves that implementation consulting is key to SEO success.

Yes, SEO efforts take a long(er) time before they show results.

However, we are planting the seed today to harvest in the future.

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