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Start-up shows how small businesses can start selling on the internet without having to spend on ads

The start-up Simplex, engaged in solidarity actions against the effects of the pandemic on the economy, gives tips on how to use SEO better; Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques are essential for searchers to find a website among the millions of options on the internet.

São Paulo, May 5, 2020 - Small businesses that had been keeping their distance from the digital world have found that they need to rush into e-commerce to continue to survive during the coronavirus crisis. But opening a website alone does not guarantee sales. The microentrepreneur must take into account several techniques available to have a better chance of seeing their business appear in the competitive Google ranking (or in those of other search engines) and without having to spend on paid ads on the internet at a time when resources are increasingly scarce.

Simplex, a national start-up that focuses on increasing traffic and sales conversion for e-commerces, has been migrating small businesses to the digital environment for free. Now, in the continuity of its efforts to mitigate the effects of the crisis, it recommends a series of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tips for companies in general and, in particular, for businesses that debut on the web. The concept refers to the logical resources that are used to help search engines (such as Google) find a particular website among millions of others. In other words, SEO brings resources to facilitate the happy meeting between the product/service sought and the consumer, without the entrepreneur having to consume his precious - and increasingly smaller - resources with paid ads on the internet.

Specific words to sell

The most important point of SEO is to understand how users' search behavior takes place. Google recommends in its official communications: "think about the words a shopper might search to find a piece of your content...". This is because the online buying process is very similar to what happens in the physical store. A person doesn't walk up to a salesperson and ask for "a 375-liter refrigerator with can compartments". In general, they ask for "a large refrigerator with a separate freezer, preferably on sale".

It is therefore worth remembering that the keywords of the searches are tuned to the linguistic repertoire and aspirations of the consumer. Technical terms that describe products and services can and should be adopted, but only as a reinforcement to the other options to capture searches based on simple and commonplace words in the consumer's everyday vocabulary.

The ideal way to capture the most varied consumer searches is to present a product or service in various ways that qualify it, anticipating all the possible ways the consumer might search for it. For example, one person might search for the product they want as "shaver". Another might simply search for "shaver". Try to use both forms.

Long tail
A 2019 Impact survey provides an important takeaway: more than half of all internet searches are made with four words or more - that is, they are long tail search terms. This means that if you do not pay attention to this aspect, you will throw away half of the possibilities of search and sales conversion. To convert these very specific searches into sales, you need to know a priori what the consumer wants and present results on your website that are as close as possible to what he is looking for. For example, prefer to use "three-wheeled baby stroller" instead of simply "baby stroller". Favor "gold wooden door handle" rather than just "door handle". Chances are that other websites also offer "door handles". But the specific handle your customer is looking for is less. Thus, your site will have a better chance of being "found" by him in his next search.

Still in this line of "long tail", a good SEO precept is to have a website with a category tree ready to mention not only products and services themselves, but a wide variety of attributes of the merchandise such as price, color, weight, shape, dimensions, voltage, capacity, differentials etc.

Organic access

Focusing on content based on the analysis of the search behavior of your target audience is the best option for sustainable growth of online stores in the volume of so-called "organic" hits, i.e. those that did not occur through paid media.

Over the next few weeks, Simplex will give new tips to small businesses that have just arrived in the digital world. The start-up spends around 60 hours a week listening to entrepreneurs for free, diagnosing their challenges of migrating operations to the internet, developing online stores and empowering entrepreneurs to manage them. A solidarity effort that helps small businesses survive the pandemic.