google

Google offers more than just search results.

If you make smart use of Google's free (and paid) offerings, you can make a big impact on your sales.


If you ignore Google, you're not doing yourself any good. You can think what you want about it: Google has the biggest market share in Germany - by far! - and your customers are there, so you have to go there, too.
To be found by your customers, there are many different ways.

1. Analytics

Seeing means understanding. If you can't see your customer flows, you'll never understand why and when customers buy from you. So the first step is always analysis. The free Analytics code snippet is installed and after about 3 months you have reliable statistics. The most interesting statistics I always find are the purchase cancellations: where exactly in the purchase process did the customers drop out? In view of the shipping costs or the payment methods?

2. SEO

You can have great products - if they don't have a good product text, you won't be found and you won't exist. So you need unique product texts, i.e. texts that no other merchant uses.
To anticipate the FAQ on this topic: yes, it is exhausting; yes, it costs either a lot of time or a lot of money; yes, you need a unique text for EVERY product, even in the different variations of the product. And yes, we know that it is difficult to write such texts (a big shout-out to hardware stores at this point).

The goal of search engine optimization is always to get on the first page of Google with the favorite search term - for example, the product with the highest margin e-. It's nice to be at the top, but not absolutely necessary. With so-called Rich Snippets you can send your store ratings to Google. These will be displayed under your search results over time. This way you attract attention even if you are further down.
It is also important that you do not have duplicate content (e.g. with and without www) and that there are no broken links. Old links should definitely redirect to the new links.

3. Google Ads

Google Ads used to be a money printing machine when it first started in Germany - you could just throw a euro in the front and five euros were guaranteed to come out the back. Unfortunately, these times are over. You have to take a close look at whether Google Ads (formerly Ad Words) is worth it in each individual case. In some markets, there are as many sellers as there are cab drivers in New York, so everyone just pays on top. This is true for fashion, jewelry and marketing, for example. However, if you sell a niche product, let's say Mexican delicatessen, or Filipino rum, then Google Ads is worth it. This is especially true if you offer a product that people buy. With Ads you can build up a regular clientele. Even if there is no profit on the first purchase: you have a new regular customer who will not click on the ad the next time.

4. Social networks: Google Plus

Google Plus is a free offer, with which you create your own profile page, with which you draw attention to yourself, possibly publish discounts and promotions, upload photos, get into discussion with customers. Link from your store to your Google Plus page. Or allow your customers to "like" your store on their own Google+ page. That is, the customers themselves also have a Google Plus page and make there free advertising for you.

5. Also free of charge: Google Maps

Nice to be found, but where are you anyway?
Google Maps is too often underestimated. Yet Google Maps results are often still displayed above the normal search results. Ads customers pay a lot of money to get there. With Google Maps you are presented there - maybe - for free. You just have to register. You can even integrate the Google Maps map into your store.

6. Google shopping - the product search engine

With a special export manager you can submit your products to Google on a daily basis. Google then displays them in the "Shopping" section with photo and price. You pay, as with Google Ads, per click. If no one clicks, Google does not charge any fees.

7. Google remarketing: the customers are gone - get them back

Now a customer has found you, looked at your store - and left your site again.
No reason to bury your head in the sand. With Google Remarketing, special ads are now placed that "chase" exactly this customer for 30 days. No matter if he is on Bild.de, Spiegel Online or Web.de, he will see your ads everywhere and be reminded of you. Take the opportunity and offer him a discount in case he returns.