The vast majority of brands, when they “enter the Internet”, start by starting their own website. It is almost always a sensible choice – your own piece of the Web allows you to present your brand, products or services to customers, offering freedom in form and content, without limiting the reach, as in social media.

When designing and publishing the brand’s official website on the web, it is difficult to do without SEO. SEO advertising is a long-term investment, but this marathon usually pays off! Moreover, it fits well with other online promotion methods such as Google Ads.

SEO as an advertising channel

But let’s start with what exactly is SEO advertising, otherwise known as website SEO. SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, i.e. website optimization in terms of their visibility in search engines.

Pages displayed in the search results of individual phrases in the engine (for example, Google or Bing) are not accidental – their set and order is the work of an advanced and constantly updated selection algorithm. It is based primarily on the so-called keywords, i.e. keywords. So when we enter any phrase, the engine returns a list of results that in theory best match a given query – that is, Google tries to limit the time spent by the user on searching and redirect him to the desired destination as quickly as possible.

On the part of the algorithm, such page ordering to actually shorten the search time to the absolute minimum is a huge challenge. The search engine has to “guess” what type of information the user is looking for – are these the products they want to buy? Or maybe he wants to broaden his knowledge on a given topic and collect specific data? Teaching the algorithm a sensible “understanding” of the user’s intentions is the greatest difficulty – and although the search system is still far from ideal, thanks to updates the algorithm becomes slightly better at fulfilling this function every day.

SEO – what it is all about

The algorithm largely takes into account the content placed on the page, i.e. its length, quality and presentation, but content is only one of over 200 factors analyzed by the algorithm. Below, we will describe the most important elements that make up the position of the website in search results – their refinement can, under favorable conditions, bring amazing results when it comes to SEO advertising.

However, before we get into the SEO advertising guidelines and rules, let’s start with how to prepare for SEO. The first step should always be an in-depth analysis of keywords – what phrases are entered by users into the search engine if they want to find products, services or data contained on competing websites? What keywords are related to the industry in which you operate?

Many programs and services that analyze key phrases and positions of specific pages come to the rescue. It is worth paying attention to free Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner, as well as various paid solutions: Ahrefs, Semstorm and Senuto, among others. In the case of positioning, your intuition must give way to the collected data – if you think that a certain keyword will attract valuable (i.e. converting) traffic to the website, but the analysis suggests something exactly the opposite, probably in 99% of cases the program will be right.

It is worth remembering that from the point of view of the business owner, the value is only the user who converts – buys a product or service or performs another action that we have planned (e.g. watching a video on the website or downloading a PDF file). This means that your keywords must be related to your image or sales goals. You can easily attract many users to your website, but the wrong choice of keywords will bring people who are not interested in the topic to the website, without having a positive impact on important business indicators.

Without meaningful keyword analysis, SEO is an internet wandering in complete darkness – sometimes you can attract a client, but you have no real chance of competing with someone with night vision. If you haven’t had anything to do with SEO before, perhaps in your case you should consider outsourcing an SEO audit to an SEO professional who will check the keywords with the greatest potential and suggest necessary changes to the website.

There are many tools on the web that allow you to perform an independent SEO audit. This is a good start to understanding what a page is missing and worth paying attention to. Automatic audit, however, will not replace an analysis made by a specialist, taking into account the specificity of the website, industry and other aspects that the machine is not able to properly develop.

SEO advertising starts with content

When adapting your website to the requirements of the algorithm, it is worth starting with the content. It has to be – of course – user-engaging and encouraging to buy, but also search engine-friendly. This means that the content should be:

– Full of keywords – so that it does not obstruct reading as much as possible and does not give an unnatural impression. The potential customer will reflect on the inauthentic and simply strange-sounding text. The same will be done by an algorithm that better and better recognizes “junk” content.
– Long enough to comprehensively describe the topic – the user can learn more (and your brand gains an expert image). It also enables collision-free interweaving of more keywords.
– Properly formatted – divided into paragraphs (nobody likes a compact wall of text – neither does the Google algorithm), decorated with graphics and written in a readable font. It is also good practice to include your title and subheadings, possibly with keywords, in the form of H1, H2 and H3 headings.

If you don’t have a site where you can post more content, it might be a good idea to start a corporate blog. This gives you basically unlimited possibilities – you can strengthen the expert image of the brand, show off your successes, present your know-how and specialists, and at the same time, thanks to the publication of content, attract valuable traffic from the search engine to the website.

On-site SEO

Content optimization is one of the elements that make up the so-called on-site SEO, i.e. activities that can be performed directly on a positioned website. In addition to refining the content, other important aspects of the website are also important for Google and it is worth bearing in mind for seo advertising to be as effective as possible.

Google also places great emphasis on technical issues, such as:

Page loading speed
The faster your site loads, the better – it’s obvious. If the entire process takes more than a few seconds, a large number of users simply give up their visit and turn to the next page in search results. Google knows this, so loading time is an important ranking factor. How can the waiting time be shortened? Actions include JavaScript minification, image compression, server migration with faster response times, and more. Google PageSpeed Insights can help you find out what you can improve on a page.

Responsiveness
Users browse pages on a variety of devices – desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphoness, TVs and many more. This means that your website must display properly and allow comfortable viewing on multiple screen resolutions. The algorithm pays attention to, among other things, whether the text is readable (for example, whether individual characters do not extend beyond the screen).

SSL certificate
Encrypted communication is absolutely essential today – Google knows it too. The correct installation of the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is indicated by a green (or gray in some browsers) padlock next to the website address.

Friendly URL’s
The URL has a specific structure, but the form of the URL may vary depending on the administrator’s actions. Friendly addresses are much more intuitive for the user, and at the same time allow network bots to better “understand” the content of the subpage.

Internal links
We have devoted a separate section of this text to links, but it is worth mentioning internal links here. These are the links in which you redirect to subpages within your own domain, making it easier for both the user and the bot to navigate.

Picture descriptions
Each picture can be provided with a title and the so-called alt attribute, i.e. an alternative description. They are not usually visible at first glance, but they are in the code, which makes them well understood by web crawlers.

These are just some of the actions that should be performed on the website to improve its position in search results as part of on-site SEO. However, SEO is much more than just the methods presented above. In addition to other ideas for adapting the website to the requirements of the algorithm, it is also worth taking an interest in the second SEO department.

Off-site SEO – the power of linking

Off-site SEO can be simply called all activities that focus on obtaining links from other pages pointing to a given domain. This is largely what a page’s rank is based on – often referred to as (digital) social righteousness. The algorithm assumes that if many other pages of high “value” link to a given page, the linked page is also considered valuable – so it is probably worth raising its position.

However, it is not that simple. The key is getting quality links that will often be worth much more than a few hundred links from a zero-reputation microsite.

It is also worth paying attention to the attribute of a given link. There are several types, the most important of which at the initial stage are:
– Dofollow – a link that “opens the door” to a web crawler – encourages him to go to the linked page, ergo has a clear positioning value.
– Nofollow – a link that the bot theoretically does not pay attention to – i.e. sees it, but does not go any further. This includes links from social media such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as Wikipedia.

However, it is not that every nofollow link is meaningless from the point of view of SEO advertising, and each dofollow link will bring a specific value. The natural link profile is important for the algorithm – suspected spam may result in the imposition of a filter that will limit the website’s visibility in the search engine.

Where to get the links? Valuable content will organically diverge to some extent, but this is usually not enough. So you can arrange an exchange of links with the owner of another website or simply buy them. There are many websites on the Internet market that allow you to buy space for a given domain, but the selection of the “linking area” must be supported by thorough research – otherwise you can burn out the budget allocated for it, and in extreme situations, severely damage the painstakingly built position of the website.

SEO Advertising – What Should You Remember?

SEO of websites does not bring immediate results – you have to wait up to several months for the first noticeable changes. The power of SEO inertia is considerable, especially when compared to PPC systems (Google Ads or Facebook Ads), where a well-configured campaign brings profits right away. For this reason, positioning should be planned in the long term – only this approach provides meaningful results.

SEO – the basis for advertising a furniture store

It is impossible to hide – nowadays, in many furniture stores you can find very similar or even the same goods at very similar prices. Even if you propose something unusual, it will be very difficult for you to break your offer among a huge number of products and sellers. How do customers find furniture stores? Often via Google. Sometimes they search on the basis of very general terms (eg “Los Angeles furniture store”), other times more precisely (eg “modern New York furniture”, “Boston-sized kitchen furniture” or even “eared armchair with a footrest”). Usually they click on the first few search results, rarely (only about 25% of the time) looking at their second page. Therefore, a high position in Google results is something every seller should strive for!

This is what website positioning is all about. It is a set of activities aimed at improving the visibility of the website on the Internet. Positioning is carried out on the basis of a well-defined list of keywords and a carefully developed strategy. These words should be skillfully placed in the content of the page, its meta tags and attributes. It is also worth making sure that links to it from other websites, preferably reputable and thematically related to it, are directed to it.

Keywords (phrases, queries) should be selected in a specific way. Although the company’s main goal may be to be in the first place in the search results for the phrase “New York furniture”, positioning your site only for this phrase will not bring you tangible results. Long tail keywords work much better, i.e. detailed, several-word queries similar to those mentioned above. They are much less searched, but at the same time much less competitive. This in turn means that it is easier to get to the top of the results. The positioning strategy for long tail phrases has one more benefit. They are entered in the search engine mainly by people determined to buy, including those looking for specific products. Therefore, if you can offer them a favorable offer, there is a high probability that they will take advantage of it.

It is best to hire specialists to conduct positioning. You can create a new position in the company or decide to work with an agency. It is worth remembering that the latter solution is usually much cheaper. However, it is important to carry out all activities systematically and thoughtfully – positioning is definitely not something that can be done “by the way”, especially in a serious company. How to make your website more visible? It is a combination of different types of activities. However, an important role here is played, among others, by content marketing, i.e. content marketing. The website of a furniture store is an ideal place to run a blog about interior design, trends, popular materials and their properties, arrangement styles and other related topics. It is quite easy to smuggle in many keywords in published articles, which affects the position of the page in the search results. One should only make sure that the website does not contain duplicate content, which will disqualify it in the race for good visibility on Google. In order for the advertising of a furniture store to be even more effective with this method, it is worth keeping your finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest trends and topics that interest customers. Thanks to a variety of online tools (including, for example, the free Google Trends service), you can check which topics and terms are most frequently searched for.

In addition, the very structure of the website is of great importance for positioning, so it should be constantly optimized, including in the field of code order, structure, appearance and content. You should also not forget about the exhaustive descriptions of categories and product descriptions in the online store (if any) and internal (between individual subpages of the website) and external linking.

SEO for a furniture store – why is it worth it?

Taking care of SEO should be a priority for every store and company that cares about a good image and attracting new customers. Positioning also plays an important role in advertising a furniture store. It is worth taking care of seriously mainly due to:
– the ability to reach customers looking for specific information and products,
– increasing brand recognition and prestige, which can be extremely important in the marketing of a furniture store,
– long-term effects – a well-positioned website helps to constantly acquire new customers,
– side effects in the form of a well-structured, optimized and user-friendly website and valuable content on the website and company blog.

Thanks to positioning, you will build a strong brand and reach your potential customers. It is now a primary marketing tool and a foundation for other activities that we will discuss below.

Google Ads – effective advertising of a furniture store on the Internet

Google Ads is another good solution for advertising a furniture store. The platform offers a number of paid promotion opportunities that are useful for both stationary and online activities. What tools can be used?

Google text ad (sponsored links)
Ads that appear just above or in between and look very similar to organic search results are sponsored links. Placing such a link in the search engine costs nothing in itself. However, you will pay for each redirection to the store’s website – i.e. for clicking the link. This is called Pay Per Click (PPC) settlement. The price of a single click varies greatly – it depends on the competitiveness of the keyword, i.e. how many people want to advertise within a given query, but also on e.g. your ad quality score. The advantage of a text ad is the possibility of obtaining immediate results comparable to those provided by careful positioning.

Product Listing Ads
Sometimes, ads for specific products along with a photo, name and price also appear in the search results. This is called Product Listing Ads (PLA). It is worth using them to promote specific goods from the offer. In this case, you also pay in the PPC settlement, and the customer redirected to the store often makes a purchase, which is why PLA campaigns can be very beneficial. In fact, it is currently the fastest growing advertising channel for online stores.

Graphic ad (display, banner)
When browsing various websites and websites, you often come across graphic ads, often related to your interests or previous Google queries? This is the banner campaign. Advertising of a furniture store conducted in this way may prove useful in the context of building brand recognition. Campaign settings allow you to refine the target audience of your content, which increases its effectiveness.

Remarketing
Remarketing is similar banners targeted at those who have already visited the store. Depending on the selected settings, they can show up to former customers or only to those who have not made a purchase. If you run an online store, you can use dynamic banners. Then, the recipients of the advertisements will be shown previously viewed products or other similar products (e.g. from the same category).

Google Ads in advertising for a furniture store – why is it worth it?

Google Ads is used by both novices and the greatest representatives of the industry – including those who managed to achieve the highest positions in search results. Why? Because it just pays off. In addition, advertising for a furniture store with Google is:
– several types of campaigns,
– immediate results,
– the ability to reach a well-defined target group and customers looking for specific products,
– favorable settlement model – Pay Per Click,
– the ability to analyze the effectiveness of the campaign thanks to statistics and conversion path tracking.

These types of campaigns can produce really good results. Condition? Consistent and skillful actions. Therefore, advertising for a furniture store via Google should be supervised by professionals.

Advertising of a furniture store via Facebook Ads

Facebook is a very important medium, but still remains underestimated by some companies. Your competition is definitely there, so it is definitely worth joining. Importantly, users often look there for information that is relevant to them. The company profile on the platform is a tool for communicating with customers and a determinant of its authenticity, so it is certainly not worth giving up.

Your own Facebook page can be used to publish news, present specific products and collect opinions or suggestions directly from customers. In addition, it enables paid advertising of a furniture store. You can use it to direct users directly to the store or to your fanpage, as well as gain new “fans”. There are many possibilities, also in terms of targeting. Thanks to this, promotional content can go exactly where you want.

Facebook Ads for a furniture store – why is it worth it?

Facebook Ads allows you to reach millions of potential customers. It is perfect for advertising a furniture store, as well as many other types of business, mainly due to:
– several campaign formats,
– affordable prices and no minimum budget for advertisers,
– the possibility of precise targeting, i.e. reaching a specific target group,
– various billing methods – e.g. for clicks or impressions,
– the possibility of creating the company’s image.

Facebook ads can be very effective, especially when done wisely. In addition, being on the platform will be useful for establishing and maintaining relationships with customers and increasing brand awareness.

What is UX?

UX (User Experience) is a concept based on the concept of usability used primarily to evalsuate websites and applications. Useful websites are websites where you can easily find the information, products or services you need and quickly convert, such as a purchase. The concept of usability is also related to intuitiveness – the website should be easy to use and unambiguous.

The term User Experience is used to define the user experience and their impressions while using the website. It boils down to determining the friendliness of the internaut’s interaction with the website and its accessibility. UX consists of many factors: from design and aesthetics, through navigation, to the quality of information. This is an issue that has received more and more attention recently, mainly due to its impact on the effectiveness of websites or applications. Taking care of UX (User Experience) usually translates into higher conversion, as it makes the website meet the expectations of visitors.

In addition to User Experience, it is worth paying attention to the concept of User Interface. It means the user interface – it is all the elements that allow interaction with the website (including page layout, graphic design, typography, colors). UX and UI are sometimes treated as the same concepts, but more often they simply appear next to each other, playing a significant role in the perception of the website by Internet users.

UX audit – what is it?

Even if you think that your website is friendly, sensible and intuitive, it does not have to appear this way to random internet users who come across it. So how do you check user experiences? UX audit will be the best way.

UX audits consist in checking websites or applications in terms of meeting the expectations and needs of their visitors. This requires knowledge of, inter alia, habits of Internet users, trends and issues related to the clarity of the message. UX audit is quite a complicated procedure, but it can bring many benefits:
– allows you to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of a given website,
– indicates the mistakes made and their potential impact on the conversion,
– also indicates opportunities and threats for the future,
– suggests what actions should be taken to develop and improve the effectiveness of the website.

The tests carried out during the audit should concern, inter alia:
– website structure and navigation between individual tabs,
– page views, especially in terms of readability,
– the clarity and unambiguity of the information provided,
– usability of the website – the possibility of obtaining the necessary information, placing an order, contacting the company, etc.

They are carried out in various ways, but it always requires expert knowledge and experience.

UX audit – what does it look like?

UX audit is carried out using various methods. The most reliable results are obtained when combining several of them. The first step should be expert analysis, that is, in-depth research of the site by UX experts – equipped with the appropriate knowledge and experience. In this case, several developed UX methodologies are used. What kind?

Heuristic evalsuation
It consists in checking websites for heuristics, i.e. specific rules and guidelines. The most common is the so-called Nielsen heuristics covered in 10 points. They constitute very general guidelines for the functionality of a given website or application:

– Show system status.
– Maintain compliance between the system and reality.
– Give the user full control.
– Stick to standards and be consistent.
– Prevent mistakes.
– Allow you to choose instead of forcing you to remember.
– Provide flexibility and efficiency.
– Take care of aesthetics and moderation.
– Provide effective error handling.
– Take care of help and documentation.

However, you can also use the 8 golden rules of expert Schneiderman, 30 rules of Connell’s utility or the 9 cognitive rules of Gerhardt-Powals. These guidelines all convey similar content, but are worded slightly differently. Which rules will be applied for the audit does not really matter.

Cognitive walkthrough
This method is also known as the Cognitive Walk. It consists in testing scenarioses of a potential user’s journey on the website. In this case, the expert plays the role of the user who visits the site for the first time. The adoption of various scenarioses allows you to examine each path of the “walk” through the website and allows you to catch many problem areas or obvious errors in UX or UI.

Usability checklist
It is a method of checking the website according to specific points from the so-called checklists. The list is usually quite detailed and sets out the guidelines according to which the website should be constructed. It is also objective, which is certainly its advantage, but at the same time it is rarely tailored to a specific site, which may make it impossible to detect certain errors. The checklist procedure is fairly simple but often time consuming.

User tests can also be part of the UX audit. These are procedures that allow you to check how “ordinary” Internet users navigate the site. The survey can be moderated (led by a specialist) or unmoderated (the user freely moves around the site). After its completion, the participant is asked to fill in a questionnaire and comment on the website. This type of test can be combined, for example, with the analysis of eye movement, clicks, scrolling and other data, on the basis of which the so-called heat maps. This allows you to recognize not only the biggest obstacles faced by site visitors, but also the most important points of their interest.

UX audit results

The result of a UX audit is usually a comprehensive report, which should accurately indicate, above all, the mistakes made, areas for improvement and recommendations. By standard, errors are divided into three categories:
– critical errors – have a significant impact on the functioning of the website and require immediate repair;
– average errors – important, but to be corrected second;
– basic errors – details noticed during the research, which, however, do not have a significant impact on the functioning of the website.

It is also common to classify errors by type (e.g. communicative, visual, logical, etc.). Thanks to this, they can be immediately assigned to the appropriate teams and the necessary changes can be implemented faster.

It is also worth remembering that the audit report should contain both quantitative data (e.g. statistics) and qualitative data obtained e.g. through user research. The more information contained in the website analysis results, the more complete and objective the image can be obtained. Thus, the introduced amendments have a greater chance of having a real impact on the conversion rate and user satisfaction.

What after the UX audit?

After the UX audit, it should be time to implement its results and further usability tests that will allow you to check how effective the changes are. It is worth trying to prepare UX mockups presenting elements that require improvement, and then conduct A / B tests. This is a procedure during which two groups of users are presented with different versions of a page – and preferably they differ in just one element. Then, the behavior of the study participants is monitored and it is checked which version allows for higher conversion. After completing the website modification, you can re-audit to check its effectiveness.

The most common mistakes in UX – what should you pay attention to?

Every website is different, but there are some mistakes that recur too often. If you want to do some basic self-analysis of your website, be sure to check out our list and see what to avoid!

Interface not adapted to the user’s needs
First of all, the website should be legible and easy to navigate. Difficulties in this respect, especially those encountered at the outset, can effectively discourage the user from staying on the site. It really matters! For a website to be simply friendly, the first thing you need to know is what you want to achieve by publishing it. It is worth asking yourself questions about what the page is about and how the user should navigate on it, bearing in mind that the conversion should not take too many steps.

Some websites even throw their users more obstacles, making it difficult to find basic information about a product or price list, and then dragging the conversion procedure indefinitely (for example, requiring “clicking” through several subpages before hitting the registration or purchase tab). It is also worth remembering that the interface should enable the website to be expanded in the future, e.g. with new categories, products, services or language versions.

Triumph of form over content
A related error is the excess of form over content. This is primarily the result of an overly ambitious approach to design or the willingness to present your skills as a developer. The result may be a site that looks great at first glance, but definitely loses the next time you “get to know”. Too complicated structure, lack of readability, animations and other visual “tricks” only really distract from the main message of the page. The simple is sometimes the best – especially when it comes to usability.

Failure to adjust to reading patterns
The human eye usually “scans” the presented image according to one of several so-called reading patterns. The three most popular are Gutenberg’s diagram, Z pattern and F pattern. They tell about how the human eye travels. Knowledge of these rules allows you to place important elements (e.g. buttons leading to registration, purchase, etc.) in places where the user’s eyes will almost certainly fall. Meanwhile, many creators ignore them completely and opt for solutions that may look good, but they certainly do not provide the desired conversion.

No responsiveness
According to the global Digital 2020 report, more than half of all visits to websites are made from a smartphones. Meanwhile, some sites are still not adapted to users of a few inches of screens! If the page is unreadable on your phones, it’s no wonder you can’t boast a satisfactory conversion. Importantly, it is not only the presence of the mobiles version of the website that counts “as it does”, but above all its quality. Content and functions from the desktop version copied in the smaller version will not work. It is worth considering the placement of individual elements carefully, and if necessary, give up the less important ones to obtain a clearer and more friendly design.

Ignoring the fold line
This is a point that somehow relates to the previous one. A fold line is a line that marks an area of your website that is visible without scrolling down. Above all, it should be encouraging. Some people, not wanting to risk that the Internet user leaves the website before reading the most important information, put the majority of content here. However, this is a big mistake. It is also worth remembering that the fold line is in a completely different place on the screen of a computer, tablet or smartphones. Therefore, the amount of information above it and their graphic representation should be adjusted separately for each screen size. Remember – often less is more.

Content overload
Content is king – at least that can be deduced from the wise analyzes of marketing specialists. However, this does not mean that website users should be bombarded with information. Long, detailed descriptions of products or instructions related to the services provided may be your advantage, but they must also be properly presented. Otherwise, nobody will read it, and many people will leave the site and never return to it.

Use short paragraphs and bullets instead of huge blocks of text. Highlight the most important elements with appropriate graphics or pictograms. Add buttons with CTA (call to action). If there is too much content on the page, why not break it down into several tabs about individual services, products or offer aspects? It can also be beneficial for SEO if you use the right keywords.

Confusing forms
Forms are a minefield, especially for inexperienced web developers. If you expect website users to fill out a form (e.g. registration, quote, contact), make it as simple as possible! The rule in this case is quite clear-cut – the more fields, the less chance they will be filled. Labels, additional comments and buttons must convey an unambiguous message. If a date is required when filling in, please specify the format in which it should be entered. For weights, measures, etc., be sure to specify which unit applies.

After creating the form, take a close look at it and remove any fields that are not necessary. Use checkboxes and radio buttons where possible. It is also absolutely necessary to mark the errors accurately. If, after completing and confirming all the fields, the user receives feedback saying that an error has occurred (without indicating which field and which field), he will most likely not only give up on further actions, but also become irritated.

Incorrect placement of important components
The most important elements of the website should be placed in visible places – so that the user does not have to guess “what to do next” or look for the right button (eg allowing to add a product to the basket). There is probably nothing more daunting than a page that arouses interest and then makes conversion difficult. It is worth remembering that there are some unwritten rules on the Internet – all approval buttons (“OK”, “Next”, “I agree”) should be on the left, while those with negative actions (such as “Cancel”, “Delete” etc.) – on the right. It has also been assumed that the button for adding a product to the basket is located near the price. It really doesn’t pay off in making your users’ lives difficult – even if it makes you think your site is genuine.

Take care of UX, and success will come by itself

Building effective websites is really not as easy as it may seem. Success is a combination of many factors that must perfectly harmonize with each other. However, taking care of User Experience will certainly pay off. A functional website means greater conversion and a better brand image – and therefore both short and long-term benefits.

What is a brand?

The word brand can be understood in many ways. In the past, they were identified only with the name and logo placed on the company’s products in order to distinguish them from those from other manufacturers. In the late 19th century, trade symbols began to be registered to protect them. It was then that people began to appreciate the strength of a recognizable and trusted brand. Today, this word has a much wider meaning. A modern brand consists of many aspects. It can be assumed that these are all the tools that help shape the character and identity of the company, as well as its reputation. The elements of the brand include both a characteristic logo and a specific color, sound, name, slogan and public relations activities. It must have a strong personality – something that distinguishes it from the competition, and at the same time determines which target group will be interested in it.

The concept of a brand is associated with branding, i.e. a set of tools used to create a distinctive brand. Combined with marketing techniques, this results in brand marketing, i.e. a field dealing with brand promotion.

Brand marketing – what does it mean exactly?

More specifically, brand marketing is all activities that promote a specific product or service in a way that creates a brand image. Its goal is to create a consistent communication with customers that will reflect the identity and values that describe a given brand. It also cares about acquiring new customers, reaching a specific target group. One of the main tasks of brand marketing is to increase brand visibility and recognition, of course, while taking care of a positive and intriguing image. A successful strategy in this direction should make customers want to interact with the products of a given brand. Importantly, brand building is distinguished by long-term, strategic and perspective action. Short-term goals are of little use in this context.

Why is a strong brand so important?

A strong brand gives you an amazing advantage in the business world. It is primarily an indicator of customer trust, experience and other distinguishing features. Thanks to a strong brand, you can not only reach a much larger part of the market, but also increase the value of your products. Customers are able to pay more for trustworthy, reliable or related to a certain status or lifestyle goods. By offering a unique world of experiences impossible to obtain anywhere else, you gain new customers and multiply your profits. You also create a community around the brand, or even the so-called fandom, i.e. a group of loyal customers.

Apple is a perfect example of a very strong brand with a huge crowd of committed and loyal customers. It is a combination of recognizable style, high quality and unique products positioned as those that use breakthrough technological solutions. Combined with the original style of communication and the sense of belonging and lifestyle promise Apple products seem to make, this creates an unparalleled mix. This is why the brand is not only recognizable all over the world, but also enjoys so much adoration among a large part of its recipients. In addition, other brands try to copy various aspects of its business or style. Are Apple products really the best? One could argue here. However, it is not the most important thing for its recipients – what counts is the remaining elements of the brand that encourage the purchase of new gadgets.

Branding – the most important first step

If you are building a new brand, it is worth spending a lot of time on careful branding at the beginning and then developing a long-term brand marketing strategy. These are not very easy, and at the same time time-consuming and costly processes. Their goal is to build a unique image of the company, as well as evoke emotions in consumers that will be clearly associated with it, create a bond and encourage them to get to know the brand better.

At the first stage, it is worth answering a few questions, such as:
– what is the brand identity,
– what makes it stand out, what it expresses itself,
– how it is perceived,
– what is associated with,
– how to communicate, etc.

This is a good starting point to consider defining the brand and the main aspects of the company’s operations, as well as developing a brand strategy – of course in combination with market research, target group analysis, etc. Then, you should formulate a brand mission that will be understandable and unique at the same time.

Of course, as part of branding, you need to develop a brand name, logo and slogan, which will then appear in every message related to it. In addition, you need to decide on the elements that make up the company’s visual identification system – develop a book of signs and sample graphic templates for various promotional materials. It should not be forgotten that all these elements should be consistent and create an unambiguous and characteristic message for a potential customer. Branding, however, is also highlighting the unique and distinguishing features of the brand and confronting them with the needs of the market. Its purpose is to partially “appropriate” the emotions of customers and reach their awareness.

It is worth noting that although branding is identified with new brands, the already existing ones sometimes decide to carry out this process again, refreshing their image or changing the direction of activities. Such a process is called rebranding and may include both a slight change of the logo or the company’s color scheme, as well as the entire philosophy and mission of the brand. Contrary to appearances, this is a very common practice, and even the best decide on it – this is why they stay at the top, because rebranding allows you to adapt to the current market requirements.

How to build an appropriate brand marketing strategy?

It must not be forgotten that all decisions made in connection with branding and brand marketing must fit into the company’s long-term plans. They should be based on:
– brand mission and vision,
– characteristics of the target group,
– willingness to convey emotions,
– consistency in all the company’s moves.

How to create a successful brand marketing strategy step by step?

Brand vision
Every company should know what it wants to be known for and how it is going to stand out. It is this vision that should be matched with the provisions of the marketing strategy, not the other way around. Therefore, first you should specify which field you want to dominate. Perhaps you want to be a leader in the latest technology like Apple, a source of motivation for athletes like Nike, or a leader in meeting all the immediate needs of consumers like Amazon. There are many possibilities. However, you should carefully specify the way you want to be described, recognized and remembered.

Target group
Specifying your target group is an extremely important step for any company, regardless of the industry and its scale of operation. Many budding businessmen have a problem with this, claiming that they want to hit “everyone.” It’s a straightforward path to unsuccessful and ineffective marketing efforts. Meanwhile, a strictly defined target group, at the same time divided into the so-called personas, i.e. the main types of customers, will greatly help in adapting brand communication to the needs of potential buyers. Specify the gender and age of your people, define what they are guided by when making purchasing decisions, what values they have and what are their habits in this regard, as well as where they work, who they live with and what they expect from a product like yours. Only by knowing who you are talking to can you do it well. Therefore, the stage of identifying the target group should certainly not be taken lightly.

Brand history
Every brand has a history. It can be used to build an image and create a bond with the consumer. This story does not have to be dramatic, full of emotions or twists and turns. However, it is worth ensuring that it has several elements characteristic of good film scripts or books – heroes who are easy to like and a certain progression, preferably indicating a problem or difficulty, and then solving it. This will allow customers to get involved in the history of the brand and want to be part of it.

Competition
It is also worth taking a few moments to get to know your competition. Only then will you know what you can do better. Remember to then focus on what makes you stand out and include that in your marketing message.

Coherence of actions
Effective brand building is largely based on consistent communication. You have to make sure that the interactions of the brand with customers are always characteristic and recognizable – this is how you build trust and gain consumer loyalty. The point is that the first contact with the message allows you to find out which company you are dealing with, and preferably immediately evoke pleasant associations related to a given brand. Perhaps you know the feeling when driving on the freeway, you suddenly see the characteristic golden arches in the distance and you immediately feel like a fries or a cheeseburger. This is how it should work!

However, you do not have to act with a flourish, like the biggest players on the market. All you have to do is start with consistent online communication. It is worth investing in online marketing because it can offer very good results with little financial outlay. Bet on a carefully maintained website and social media profiles, take care of the continuity and integrity of the message, interact with consumers. Provide them with valuable content, be it in the form of articles, videos, infographics, short information, etc. Use consistent language and visual elements to evoke clear associations about the nature and identity of the brand. At the same time, you will build credibility, authority and trust.

Don’t make false promises
False promises and the discrepancy between the marketing message and the facts are one of the fastest ways to sink a brand. If your emphasis is on the quality of your product, make sure it is flawless. If you create the image of a friendly brand that puts the customer’s good and satisfaction first, take care of their impeccable service both before and after the purchase. It sounds obvious, but some companies still have a huge problem with it. Of course, in order to be successful, it is important to ensure quality in all aspects of your business. However, keeping the promises you make in your marketing communication should be your highest priority.

Do you know Volkswagen? All over the world, her cars are associated with something safe, practical, reliable and trustworthy almost “always”. In 2015, however, it became known that the results of laboratory tests of exhaust emissions of diesel engines used by the brand were falsified. It found that Volkswagen had programmed the engines to reduce emissions only during testing. Within days of the scandal’s outbreak, the value of the company’s shares fell by a third, the CEO resigned and several other high-ranking employees were suspended. The scandal was also publicized in the media, and public confidence in the company has clearly decreased.

Arouse emotions
Currently, the biggest brands base their image on emotions. If you want yours to be included in this group, you need to make sure that it is desirable and associated with consumers. Creating an emotional bond between a brand and its customers is possible even without the multi-million dollar budgets at the disposal of global concerns. Creativity and grassroots work is what counts.

Effective brand marketing – what to avoid?

There are many pitfalls that you can easily fall into when developing your company’s brand marketing strategy. However, a few errors appear most often. At the same time, they are classified as the most severe. What are these mistakes?

No analysis of competitors’ activities
Imagine that you create a vision of your company and develop a complete marketing strategy. Then you start creating campaigns and promotional materials. However, during the distribution it turns out that your competitors have already done something very similar … A nightmare! Contrary to appearances, this happens quite often, and the only way to avoid this problem is thorough research. Before putting anything on the market, you need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the past activities of companies operating in the same industry.

Inconsistent message
The so-called creation should always be consistent with the brand image and its activities so far. Using completely different treatments with each new product may seem interesting and original, but in reality it only introduces chaos and deprives consumers of the opportunity to create deep, lasting associations with your brand. Thus, her strength is weakening! Choose a uniform style for all promotional messages and make sure that they always speak with one voice. The language and tone of speech should also be unique to your brand.

Lack of a long-term vision
As mentioned at the beginning, brand marketing is all about long-term goals. Without the signposts of the brand’s mission and goals, it is very easy to blur the direction in which the strategy is headed. As a result, you create an ineffective, inconsistent message and waste the resources and time used.

Brand marketing – a way to success in business

Nowadays, the concept of brand is of great importance. It is she who sells a certain lifestyle, sets trends and creates a world to which consumers want to belong. If you want to be successful, it is worth putting special emphasis on brand marketing. Regardless of whether you want to conquer the world, the largest concerns, or you want to dominate the local market, it is a strong brand that will help you achieve these goals. The more you put into creating and developing it, the easier it will be for you to achieve new successes.