Free tool will show online retailers whether they are losing customers

Google's algorithm can be compared to the composition of Coca Cola. The manufacturer has never revealed the recipe for the drink, but some of the ingredients are guessed by observing how it tastes, smells or reacts with other substances. The workings of Google's search engine have also been learned by trial and error, editing the content of pages so that the algorithm rates them as valuable and the link to them is displayed as high as possible. This is called SEO (search engine optimization) or positioning.

- There are at least dozens of rules for creating and maintaining websites so that they rank well. They range from the obvious, such as a page title that matches its content, to the lesser known, such as how fast it loads on mobile devices. Some store owners using Shoper software are much more familiar with commerce than with SEO, so we decided to give them a simple online tool that allows them to examine in two minutes whether they are doing everything in line with the art. For those who want to improve their store's search engine visibility, we also created an additional SEO service Shoper, where our professionals take over the positioning of the store ," explains Jacek Zientkiewicz, Business Development Director of Shoper, who is responsible for the new SEO audit service for stores.

For the past few days, at audseo.shoper.pl a free tool is available for stores, determining how friendly their sites are to search engine algorithms. Just by entering the store's address, the SEO report can be generated in two minutes.

Where do stores get customers from?

Only one in ten visits to an online store is made in the "classic" way, i.e. by typing the store's web address into a browser, according to data from Shoper. Although it remains an important source of traffic with a relatively high conversion rate (2.4 percent), it is becoming increasingly important to invest in external, including paid channels, which are growing every year. By far the largest number of customers come from Google search, with 33 percent of visits coming through organic search results and 30 percent through advertising results.

- Admittedly, there are individual businesses or entire industries where Google does not have an overwhelming advantage. For clothing stores, for example, Facebook and Instagram account for an average of one in four visits by a potential customer and organic search results for one in five. However, the importance of traffic from Google is so great for all retailers that they should adapt to its guidelines if they don't want it to direct their customers to competitors, advises Jacek Zientkiewicz, "The search engine's algorithm checks the general parameters of a given site, which can be examined with our tool, including the sufficiency of content on the site. To improve search engine visibility for specific queries, such as for phrases like "athletic shoes" or "phone cases," an audit by professionals will already be necessary. It helps improve a store's position in Google within three months, says an expert at Shoper.

Good SEO sells

The Shoper data also shows that people coming to the e-store through different routes have a different propensity to make purchases. Among visits finalized with a transaction, the share of niche traffic sources like social media and direct inputs has increased by a few percent compared to the overall. The share of organic search engine results remains at a similar high level at 32 percent.

This means that Google search positioning for stores is not only the most important source of traffic to the site, but is also becoming crucial for sales. Analysis of e-commerce revenue also shows that one in three zlotys is spent by customers who came to the store's website thanks to Google's organic results.