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How Long Does SEO Take to Show Results?

Posted on by Phil

One of the most common questions we are asked after What is SEO? is, “How long does SEO take to show results?”

Business owners want to know when they’re going to see the tangible results from their investment (and understandably so). But… SEO isn’t like paid forms of media, where results can be seen almost as soon as ads are turned on. SEO Services are a long-term investment. It takes time to see success. But how long?

SEO-Results-banner

To understand this question, you must first understand SEO itself. There are a number of factors that impact the length of time it takes to see results from an SEO strategy. These include:

What Does SEO Success Look Like?

If you have an understanding of SEO you still need to put in the hard yards. This means an investment in considerable time, analysis, and maintenance. Or an investment in an SEO agency or expert. If you’re prepared to do that, then you Should Expect to See Results From SEO Within 6 to 12 Months…

The Factors That Determine How Long It Takes to See Success From SEO

  1. Your Website’s History
  2. The Competition
  3. Your Resources

What Factors That Determine How Long It Takes to See Success From SEO

To help you to further understand how long it takes to see SEO success, let’s take a look at the factors that determine this.

1. Your Website’s History

Whether you’re working on a brand new domain or not is one of the key factors that influence the time it takes to see results from SEO.
A new domain will almost always take longer to show success than an established one. This is because it hasn’t yet built up any authority or earned any backlinks. In comparison, an established domain will usually have earned at least some level of authority and have some backlinks pointing to it.
A brand new domain should expect to see results within 9 to 12 months, rather than 6 to 12.

However, an established domain doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll see quicker results. You likely won’t see quick results if the domain has previously been affected by a penalty, a core algorithm update, or has had SEO work that goes against Google’s webmaster guidelines.
When working on a new project, it’s always a good idea to build up a picture of the site’s history. While you can get an idea of site performance by looking at impressions on Google Search Console, or similar tools can help you figure this out very quickly.

Estimates on how long it takes to show results are usually given based on a site with no historical issues that need resolving first. Always consider how a site has performed over the last 2 to 3 years to help put projections together.

2. The Competition

Results can be seen far quicker in low competition niches and low competition search queries than competitive ones.
Trying to rank a website for competitive personal finance keywords (e.g., ‘credit cards’)? It could take 2 years or more to earn prominent page 1 visibility. On the other hand, for local or narrower lower competition keywords, it might be possible to show promising results within 3 to 6 months.

Understanding keywords and how to optimise and rank in google search for these can be a lengthy process to get your head around. Ultimately it is worth understanding – or employing/paying someone who does. If your website’s visibility is much higher than your competitors then you are the company your buyers will find.

Take a look at an example of the www.back9.co.nz visibility trend vs competitors below.

back9-website-visibilty-trend-graph

These results are from an in-depth understanding of identifying Keyword Difficulty. This KD% is a percentage from 0 to 100, and the higher the percentage, the more difficult it would be to rank for.
You should expect it to take longer to show results against high KD % keywords. But there’s more to competition than just Keyword Difficulty.

You need to consider how your competitors got to their current position and what they’re doing to maintain this visibility. Your strategy and projections have to consider what you’re competing against, including the aggressiveness of other people’s strategies.

A good starting point to estimate the competitive gap is to use the Keyword Gap Tool to see how you currently perform against up to four other competitors:

You can also use the Backlink Gap Tool to understand the competitive gap from a backlink perspective:

Jeyword-Gap-Analysis-Graphic

3. Your Resources

You can’t control a website’s history nor the competition. But what you can (usually) control is the resources that are allocated toward an SEO project. It’s important to understand exactly how this plays a huge part in the length of time it takes to see results from a campaign. The more resources you’re able to allocate toward SEO, the faster you’ll usually see results.

The most important resource you need is time. Let’s give an example…
Two websites owned by small businesses are competing for the same keyword. They’re both aware that the key drivers of SEO success are technical SEO, content, and backlinks. Both employ the services of an SEO freelancer. For simplicity, we’ll assume that both of these sites start on a level playing field.
Website A engages their chosen specialist for 5 days of time per month, whereas Website B engages theirs for just 2 days.

Of course, website A should expect to see faster results.

Be aware that conversations around the time taken to see an impact must take into account the resources being allocated, understanding that the best way to reduce this (within reason) is to allocate more to the project.
It often makes sense to put together a backlog of action points at the start of a campaign (detailing all of the opportunities and actions) and then prioritize this around the allocated resources. This can help to show the opportunities that are still outstanding that could be brought forward with more investment.

What Do SEO Results Look Like?

To answer the question, we first need to determine what SEO success looks like to ensure that the measures of results are clear.
And when it comes to putting together an SEO strategy, it’s common to put together campaign goals and KPIs.

Let’s break this down.

  • Goals = The end outcome that you want to achieve
  • KPIs = Metrics that demonstrate progress towards your goals
  • These are both important measures of success and, ultimately, results from your efforts. Commonly, the reality is that these goals and KPIs look something like the below:
  • Goals = To achieve an increase in revenue by a set amount over a 12-month period.
  • KPIs = Growth in organic traffic, visibility, impressions, or rankings.

Of course, setting goals is all about putting in place measurable yet realistic targets. To answer this question, we’re going to focus on the length of time it typically takes to see results across core KPIs, understanding that goals are typically far more unique to a business and change significantly based on several factors.

Get Your Free SMART Goal Template

Primarily there are 3 Parts of SEO Success. Let’s take a look at what these are, and how they Impact the Time to See Results…

There are 3 key parts to SEO success, and each of these can impact the time that it takes to see results. Let’s take a look.

Technical SEO

If technical SEO issues exist on a site, they will need to be resolved before you can experience the growth you’re looking to see.
Technical SEO relates to things like:

  • Crawling and indexing
  • Site speed
  • Canonicalization
  • Structured data
  • Duplicate content
  • XML sitemaps
  • Hreflang
  • and more

Resolving issues around some of these areas will have a bigger impact than others, but the fact remains that any technical problems should be fixed.
You can identify technical SEO issues with your site using the Site Audit Tool below and see a list of areas that need your attention:

 



However, technical SEO on its own isn’t going to be enough. Think of resolving these issues as removing the brakes on your project and allowing your site to compete against others.

Content

You’ve may have heard that content is king, and the fact is that content remains one of Google’s top 3 ranking factors.

Google’s goal is to return the very best results for a given search query, so why would poor content perform well on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)?
It’s important that you place a high priority on creating great content that matches a searcher’s intent. Equally, you should take the time to understand what’s currently ranking. And figure out how to create something better. You can learn a lot from studying the content that already performs.
Poor quality (or even average) content can mean that it takes longer to see results, while great content that’s carefully planned out and adds something new to a topic can help your site to rank faster.

Alongside content, backlinks are also one of Google’s top 3 ranking factors. These are indicators of trust and popularity and have the ability to supercharge a website’s rankings.
After all, links are essentially votes of confidence between two sites. But you need to understand that there’s rarely any shortcut to earning quality backlinks.
It takes time and usually involves creating great content that other people want to link to. And when there’s a sizeable link gap with competitors, this can take time to close.
That said, not all links are created equal, and higher quality links ultimately have the ability to drive rankings faster than lower quality links.
You can work on building up your backlink portfolio but be aware that the need to close a sizeable link gap can mean that it takes longer to see results.
How Long Does Google Say It Takes to See Results From SEO?
So just how long does Google say it takes to see results from SEO?
In most cases, SEOs need four months to a year to help your business first implement improvements and then see potential benefits.

Other Considerations

After you’ve implemented your strategy, it’s imperative to monitor your site to ensure it sees results. SEO is not a one-time tactic; a good strategy requires frequent reporting and maintenance.

SEO should involve ongoing work, and seeing the channel as a long-term, the continued tactic can help to justify the investment. The more resources you can allocate, the faster you’ll typically see results, but every website is a unique scenario. It’s important to pay close attention to the technical issues, quality of the content, and the strength of the link profile before projecting when success could be seen.

You Should Expect to See Results From SEO Within 6 to 12 Months…

SEO should show results within a 6- to 12-month period. By results, we mean a measurable increase in traffic and associated leads or conversions.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have achieved your goal by this point, but any business that is investing in SEO should expect to be able to see progress within this timeframe.

It’s impossible to give a figure that applies to all websites, and the best guess will be based on analyzing a website’s current performance and the proposed strategy.

There’s no getting away from the fact that SEO takes time. Google (and other search engines) want to show the best result for any given search query, and it takes time for you to deserve to rank well. You’ve got to earn authority and top search visibility.

But with the right strategy in place, we believe 6 to 12 months is a long enough period to be able to see the impact of SEO efforts and to be able to justify ongoing investment into growth.

Free-Ebook-Download-WebSite-Maintenance-Back9-Creative

Payment Methods for Selling Online

Posted on by Phil

While getting your customer to choose you is a huge step, you can still trip at the finish line if your checkout experience doesn’t work as expected. There are a few steps to this including shipping that can cause a customer to reconsider. Most people ask What is the best eCommerce platform for my business? That is definitely important! However, one that sometimes gets overlooked is payment methods. In this article, we cover some of the most popular payment methods in New Zealand so you can decide which ones would be best to include for your site. Keep in mind that in order to accept these payment methods, they must be compatible with your payment gateway.

Jump to quick compare tables now 

Payment Gateways vs Payment Methods

What’s the difference between a payment gateway and a payment method? Payment gateways are the systems that securely process transaction data. They allow payment details to be sent safely between you, the customer, and the financial institution. For more information on Payment Gateways and a comparison of top options in New Zealand, see our article Best Payment Gateways for Selling Online.

Payment methods are where the funds come from. It’s where the money resides so that you can get paid as a merchant. There are a few main payment methods in use. Debit cards, credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, and third-party. When choosing a payment gateway, one of the most important parts is ensuring it takes the payment methods you plan on having.

We’ll break down some of the most popular payment methods so you can decide if they’re important to include on your e-commerce website.

Debit and Credit Cards

Debit cards link directly to a financial institution like a bank or credit union. Direct Debit pulls funds directly from the account linked to a debit card and transfers the payment to the merchant. Since New Zealand banks phased out traditional cheques in 2021, debit checks have taken their place and now support millions of transactions nationwide every day.

Credit cards let users borrow money to make a purchase. Merchants receive payment immediately, while the cardholder repays the amount over time—usually in instalments—with interest. Because nearly everyone uses either a credit or debit card, all major payment gateways support them by default.

In New Zealand, Mastercard and Visa dominate the market and are accepted almost everywhere. American Express (Amex) also sees widespread use. Some banks and providers offer specialty or private-label cards, but most of them still operate on one of these three major networks.

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets let you transfer money to an online account. You can then use the funds in that account to make purchases when the payment method is accepted. Digital wallets are a cash alternative that are gaining in popularity. One of the biggest advantages of digital wallets is their fast pay option, where someone can buy a product directly from the product screen and skip checkout altogether–as long as the option is put in place by your web developer.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a replacement for physical cards that works only with Apple devices. Using Apple Pay lets you add a debit or credit card directly to your device and works where Apple Pay is accepted or where touchless payment like Paywave is an option. You can also add limited funds to your wallet if you prefer. Online, Apple Pay speeds up checkouts because it has all of your information stored so you can pay in seconds instead of minutes.

Google pay

Google Pay is Google’s answer to Apple Pay and works on both Android and Apple devices. It works similarly by allowing you to add cards or add a specific amount of money to use. The Google Pay API lets you create and add a Google Pay button easily to your website if you want to include it as a payment option.

PayPal

PayPal works both as a digital wallet and a payment gateway. As a payment method, PayPal can connect to your bank or you can add limited funds to a PayPal wallet.

There are other digital wallets available that aren’t as widespread. Samsung Pay lets you add credit, debit, gift cards, and membership cards with a photo. Masterpass is Master Card’s version for Westpac accounts. Some Fitness Trackers also have payment options without the need of a phone or wallet, like FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay.

Buy Now Pay Later Payment Methods

A buy now pay later payment method works similarly to a credit card. You authorise the purchase at the store and then a company pays the cost immediately. Then, you pay back the company instalments over time. These payments may include interest or may be interest-free depending on the specific payment method you choose.

Afterpay operates as a major provider of this service in New Zealand. When a customer makes a purchase using Afterpay, the merchant receives the full amount upfront. The customer then repays the total in four fortnightly instalments. As long as those payments stay on track, the customer pays no interest or fees.

Retailers, however, do incur a cost. Since Afterpay doesn’t charge the customer interest, it earns revenue by applying a fee to the retailer. This fee usually includes a flat charge of about $0.30 per transaction, plus a percentage—typically between 4% and 6%. To get the exact rate, you’ll need to contact Afterpay directly.

There are several other NZ companies with a similar business model. Genoapay breaks down the cost over 10 weekly payments. Laybuy and Zip both do it in 6 weekly payments. None of these companies charge any interest upfront, meaning the retail pays a small charge when the payment method is used.

Direct Bank Transfer

Direct Bank Transfer is when the payment is taken directly out of a bank account. There are no debit cards, wallets, or anything else needed. Because the funds come directly from the account, transfer speed is quick and only works when there is enough in the account. Refunds can also go directly into the account.

Polipay is a popular option for direct transfer in New Zealand. When customers use PoliPay, they log in to their internet banking account through a secure window. They then select the account they want to pay from, and PoliPay processes the payment instantly by withdrawing the funds to complete the purchase.Merchants have three pricing schemes to choose from, with costs ranging from $0.50 to a maximum of $3 per transaction.

Account2Account offered by Windcave, provides a similar payment option. It works as an alternative to credit or debit cards and is perfect for one-off payments where users need to deposit funds quickly without using a credit card. Supported banks include ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB, and Westpac. Account2Account charges 1.2% per transaction up to a maximum of $3.

Quick Compare Tables

Digital Wallets

NameTransaction FeeCompatible BanksFeatures
Google PaySame as Credit/Debit Card connected toANZ, ASB, BNZ, Gem Finance, WestpacConnects to a wide range of debit and credit cards, Can add money manually, Pay in store or online, one click purchase, card number not shared, advanced encryption security
Apple PaySame as Credit/Debit Card connected toANZ, ASB, BNZ, Gem Finance, WestpacConnects to a wide range of debit and credit cards, Can add money manually, Pay in store or online, one click purchase, card number not shared, private purchases, advanced encryption security
Samsung PaySame as Credit/Debit Card connected toANZWorks with most EFTPOS terminals including some without contactless options, Can add gift and membership cards, Fast app checkout, advanced encryption security
FitBit PaySame as Credit/Debit Card connected toANZ, ASB, Gem FinanceWorks with watch at in-person terminal. In-store only. No phone or wallet needed.
Garmin PaySame as Credit/Debit Card connected toASBWorks with watch at in-person terminal. In-store only. No phone or wallet needed.

 

Buy now pay later

NameUser FeeMerchant FeeMax purchase amountPayment TermsFeatures
AfterpayNone~$0.30 + 4-6% per transactionStarts at $500, increases with more usage4 payments every 2 weeks1-5 business days for Settlement, no interest for customers, no fees for on-time payment, downloadable app, in-store and online, API Integration
GenoapayNone4-7% per transaction$100010 weekly paymentsSettlement within 2 business days, no interest for customers, no fees for on-time payment, downloadable app, in-store and online, API integration
LaybuyNone4-10% per transaction$30006 weekly automatic paymentsInstant Payment, no interest for customer, API Integration, No credit or fraud risk for merchant, Merchant dashboard, downloadable app
Zip$6/month if not paid by end of monthNot Stated$10004 payments over 6 weeksNo interest for customers, Daily settlement, Downloadable app, API Integration

Direct Bank Transfer

NameTransaction FeeCompatible BanksFeatures
Account2Account1.20%ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB, WestpacConnects directly with bank accounts, Settlement based on bank times, No customer fees
Polipay1% ($3 max), $10 minimum monthly feeANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB, WestpacConnects directly with bank accounts, Settlement based on bank times, No customer fees, Pay now button, API Integration, Checkout from shopping cart,

Which payment methods should I accept on my site?

Depending on your business, you may want to prioritise some methods of payment over another. You should accept credit and debit cards at a minimum. Nearly everyone has access to one and expects it as an option when shopping online.

We also think it’s a good idea to choose one of the buy now pay later options. These are popular options among kiwis and having at least one as an option can help you increase your average order value.

If you have more payment methods available, you’re more likely to have a customer’s preferred payment method which can simplify check out. A good checkout experience can help you retain customers and get repeat business. If you’re thinking of having a specific payment method on your site, make sure it’s compatible with your payment gateway.

How to Grow Your Building Business

Posted on by Phil

Are you a builder looking to grow your building business?

Whether you’re a seasoned builder or just starting out, the key to success lies in smart marketing. Gone are the days of “getting your name out there.” Instead, it’s all about understanding who your ideal clients are and speaking directly to their needs. This approach is called inbound marketing, and it’s highly measurable and successful. Read on for tips on how to use sales and marketing techniques to boost your business!

Understand Who Your Ideal Client is

Before you can grow your building business or create helpful quality content, you need to know who it is that you’re trying to target. Who are the people most likely interested in the services that you offer? What questions do they have when it comes to building projects? By getting into the head of your potential customers and solving their problems before they even become problems, you can build trust with prospects before they ever consider taking action.

Create Content Based On Their Needs

First, you need to understand who your ideal customers are. Then it’s time to start creating content based on what they may be searching for. And the services that you provide. If your website answers their questions better than your competitors, there’s a far greater chance they will choose to do business with you. You can also create helpful blog posts or videos. These may be things to look for when choosing a building company. Or other helpful tips to help them understand how you’ll solve their problems. This kind of content is highly valuable for DIYers considering tackling a project themselves but not sure where to begin!

Engage With Your Audience

Finally, don’t forget about engaging with your audience once they find you! Social media is an excellent way of maintaining contact with prospects and former customers alike. Ask them questions about their experiences or post polls asking for feedback on products or services – this kind of engagement helps build relationships and creates brand loyalty. Plus, if someone has had a particularly positive experience working with you, there’s nothing stopping them from leaving glowing reviews online – good word-of-mouth advertising goes a long way!

As someone looking to grow your building business, understanding the needs of potential customers is key; solutions-based marketing is essential in creating strong relationships between builders and clients alike. Once armed with an understanding of who these clients are and what problems they face when looking for builders, savvy marketers can craft content tailored specifically towards these issues that will help build trust between parties before any contracts are signed. So don’t wait; start crafting solutions today!

WordPress vs. Silverstripe – Who Wins?

Posted on by Phil

Sometimes at Back9, we get the question posed: WordPress or Silverstripe? Which of these two open-source options is the best content management system (CMS) for your business website? At Back9, Choosing the right CMS platform can be tricky. Both WordPress and Silverstripe have advantages and disadvantages associated with them. Which can make it difficult to decide which one will fit your needs best. In this post, we’ll help you evaluate each platform by breaking down their features and giving an overview of what each offers. You can then make an educated decision on which one will have the most value for your business’s online presence. Let’s take a look at how WordPress vs. Silverstripe stack up against each other so that you can choose wisely!

Benefits of Using WordPress

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for success. That’s where WordPress comes into play. With its easy-to-use platform, anyone can create a professional-looking website in no time. Not only that, but WordPress offers a plethora of customizable themes and plugins. This allows users to tailor their sites to their specific needs. Compared to Silverstripe, WordPress has a larger support community. It also offers a more user-friendly interface, making it the go-to choice for many website designers. Regardless of your business or industry, WordPress has the tools and features to help you get started and succeed. So why wait? Start building your website with WordPress today!

Benefits of Using SilverStripe

Silverstripe is a content management system that offers a wide range of benefits to its users. One of the biggest advantages of using Silverstripe is its flexibility. With its powerful framework, users can create custom layouts, widgets, and modules that enable them to build unique websites with ease. Silverstripe also provides robust security features, making it a reliable option for managing sensitive data and protecting against cyber attacks. Another benefit is its user-friendly interface. Silverstripe enables users to manage their website’s content, design, and functionality without the need for advanced technical skills. Overall, Silverstripe is a versatile platform that can be tailored to fit a variety of web development needs.

Understanding the Differences Between WordPress and Silverstripe

As website creation becomes easier, it’s not always easy to find a platform that fits your unique needs. This is where understanding the differences between WordPress and Silverstripe comes in handy. While WordPress is immensely popular, Silverstripe is not far behind as a content management system. Both offer similar features such as ease of use, customization options, and SEO friendliness. However, they differ in terms of coding language, community support, and security features. Ultimately, the choice between WordPress and Silverstripe comes down to your website’s specific needs. Understanding the pros and cons of each platform can help you make a more informed decision.

Choosing the Right Platform for Your Project

Choosing the right platform for your project can be an overwhelming task, especially if you’re not sure where to start. One of the most important factors to consider is which content management system (CMS) to use. We also recommend thinking about whether the Platform is Opensource vs. Proprietary.

Proprietary systems often seem easier to use as a DIY option, but they can limit you in the mid-lond terms.

A CMS is a software application that allows you to create, manage and publish digital content, without needing to have extensive technical knowledge. With so many options out there, from WordPress to Drupal to Joomla, it’s crucial you choose the right one for your project. Don’t panic though – with a little research, you’ll be able to find a CMS that perfectly suits your needs and helps your project succeed.

Features of WordPress and SilverStripe – Pros and Cons

If you’ve ever considered creating a website, you’ve likely come across WordPress and Silverstripe as popular content management systems. Both have their own unique features, pros and cons. WordPress is known for its user-friendly interface and plethora of customizable plugins, making it a popular choice for beginners and experienced users alike. On the other hand, Silverstripe’s focus on coding and custom development makes it an ideal platform for more advanced users. However, this can also mean that it may intimidate those without coding experience. In terms of pricing, WordPress has a lower cost of entry due to its vast array of free plugins, while Silverstripe’s pricing can vary depending on the level of customization needed. Ultimately, the decision on which platform to use comes down to personal preference and the specific needs of your website.

Tips for Choosing the Best CMS Platform for Your Needs

Choosing the right Content Management System can be tricky, but it’s crucial to get it right. Your CMS platform is the backbone of your website, so it’s important to choose one that suits your specific needs. There are plenty of options out there, so how do you know which one is best for you? Some things to consider when making your decision are ease of use, customization options, and scalability. It’s important to choose a platform that not only fits your current needs but also has the potential to grow and change with your business. By taking the time to research and choose the right CMS, you can ensure that your website is easy to use, visually appealing, and functional for years to come.

Final Thoughts on WordPress vs Silverstripe – Who Wins Out in the End

When it comes to WordPress versus Silverstripe, the choice can be a tough one. Both platforms offer a plethora of customization options, and are trusted by millions of websites worldwide. However, at the end of the day, it’s hard to argue against the overwhelming popularity of WordPress. With its vast community of users and developers, not to mention an endless variety of plugins and themes, WordPress has cemented itself as a reliable, versatile, and user-friendly content management system. While Silverstripe may have its own set of strengths, ultimately WordPress is the clear winner for those looking for a robust platform for their website.

Taking into consideration all of the above-mentioned information, it is clear to see that both WordPress and Silverstripe offer a variety of features that make it difficult to choose just one CMS for any project.

It is important to thoroughly research both platforms and consider their pros and cons before making a decision. Additionally, understanding the key differences between WordPress and Silverstripe will help you determine if one platform would be better suited for your project than the other. Understanding the features available on each platform and their strengths and weaknesses is a crucial part of helping determine which option is finest for your specific needs. After deliberating the positives and negatives of these two platforms, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about which CMS you should utilize for your website. Ultimately, when choosing between WordPress vs Silverstripe, take your time in exploring all options available that can best meet your needs. Now go out there and choose the best CMS technology for your project.

Ecommerce shipping solutions for selling online

Posted on by Phil

So you have your products. You have an e-commerce website or are planning to get one. Either way, once you sell your products online, how are you going to get your products to your customers? You have two main options for this; let your customers buy online and come and pick it up from you, or ship it out to them. Finding an e-commerce shipping solution can be one of the most complex parts of selling online, so how can you make it easier for both you and your customers?

In order to get your online store ready for the customers, you need to pick a shipping option and a freight method for actually delivering the product to your customer.


Which-Ecommerce-Platform-Is-Best

Pre-shipping checklist

Before deciding on what to charge the customer for shipping, you need to find out how much shipping will cost the business. This will depend on the carrier you choose. You’ll also need to decide on packaging and labelling.

Shipping costs to the business

Even if you decided to offer free shipping, that free shipping won’t be free to you. There are many options for couriers in New Zealand such as Post Haste, Mainfreight, NZ Post, and New Zealand Couriers. No matter which company you go with, shipping is charged based on weight and dimensions–or what can fit in a package. Most companies will have a shipping calculator to easily calculate rates. Many have it as an API–meaning you can have these costs shown directly on your website if you plan on passing them directly to the customer.

As a business, you’re eligible to get discounts and additional services from many freight companies. They can also pick up your parcels for delivery on a regular schedule at your business. With the right setup, you can have tracking emails sent automatically too.

If deciding on courier options is overwhelming, a freight service like parcelpost or gosweetspot can help. These services have updated rates for their partner couriers and calculate freight fees in real-time. They can help you get the best value company for your specific item based on shipping time, cost, and extras. Of course, there’s an additional cost to use the service but some businesses will save in the long run because of the option to use different companies for different items.

At a minimum, expect to spend around $5 to ship a product to a customer, with increased costs depending on product dimensions.

Save out your product dimensions

When you add a new product to your store, one of the first things you should do is save out the dimensions. If you have a good Inventory Management system you can add them there for easy storage and safekeeping. Some will even calculate shipping for you based on your chosen freight providers.

If you don’t, you’ll need to record these details somewhere and keep them in a database. It will likely take some time to get this done for all your products. But doing it upfront can save you time when it’s actually time to order, since you won’t have to weigh out your products and make sure you choose the right size parcel.

Packaging and labelling

Many freight companies let you get boxes directly from them. As the boxes may be sized according to their pricing model, this is often a strong option for businesses to consider. It’s also the most straightforward option.

However, you don’t have to use boxes from the company. Some businesses have a steady supply of boxes on hand that they can reuse without having to pay for more.

On the opposite end, you can go all in and get custom-branded boxes and packaging. Companies like The Box Business, Fast Printing, and r3pack offer customised boxes and/or packaging you can use when shipping products. These costs can add up quickly, and aren’t ideal for every business, but can be an excellent way to get more branding out there and help your business to look more professional.

Most freight companies have specific instructions on how to label your items for shipping. You’ll need to follow these directions precisely to ensure the package can be delivered properly.

However, you can also add a label for your business if you’d like. You can make these yourself or use a service like vistaprint for custom stickers. These can be used as labels or as a more affordable way to brand your items compared to fully-branded boxes.

What are my options for shipping?

Once you have the costs of shipping for the business, you need to decide how much of that to charge the customer. There are three main types of ways to ship items: You can do free shipping, you can do flat-rate shipping, or you can charge based on the dimensions and weight of the product. Each e-commerce shipping solution has its own advantages and disadvantages and the right option for you depends on the type of business and its goals.

It’s crucial that you take the time to properly decide which option to go with. Nearly half of people will abandon their purchase if unexpected costs at checkout are too high. When people do abandon a cart for whatever reason, almost 60% say it’s because of high shipping costs. While it might make sense to pass on these costs to your customer, it isn’t always in your best interest as you can lose a lot of sales. If high shipping costs are necessary, we’ll cover some ways to make these more expected to avoid sticker shock.

Free Shipping

Free shipping is the customer’s favourite! In fact, one survey showed that for 90% of customers, free shipping was the best incentive you can get when buying online. But if it costs the business several dollars on each sale, those sales can add up quickly–and the business can even take a loss on small-value transactions.

There are a couple of ways to combat this. One way is to increase the item price. You charge more for each item to help cover the shipping costs. On smaller items you may still have to eat some of the costs, but the larger orders should make up for it. While it may seem counterintuitive, one study showed that free shipping (worth $6.99) was considered more valuable than $10 off the product. Keep in mind this is in the US where services like Amazon Prime have made free shipping the norm, but the point remains that many customers see shipping costs as an extra fee instead of something that adds value. However, adding to the cost of the item is only ideal for e-commerce only stores; some customers are sure to cry foul if they find your in-store prices are cheaper than online.

Free shipping with minimum order

Another option is to add free shipping for orders over a certain amount. This works two-fold; first, it helps stop the business from losing money on small sales. Second, it helps persuade some customers to spend more on your store. If their original order is $68 and they can get free shipping over $75, a lot of people will decide to get more from you to qualify for free shipping. And that might be another $15-20 instead of the bare minimum to qualify.

Many e-commerce platforms can handle this for you automatically if you want to go this route. You simply find where to tell it the minimum order amount for free shipping and it will update the cart automatically once an order exceeds that amount.

How do you decide your free shipping threshold?

A major challenge for many businesses is finding the sweet spot for the free shipping threshold. If you put it too low you risk having to absorb those costs. If you put it too high, it won’t be enticing for customers. So how do you find the right amount?

The sweet spot is different for each business. It depends on your average order value, average shipping costs, and your margin. An article from the Fulfillment Lab goes into threshold calculations in more detail, but the formula comes down to this:

  1. Put in a number you think is reasonable for free shipping. Subtract your average order value from that amount ($100 (Free Shipping) – $75 (Average order value) = $25)
  2. Multiply that number by your margin ($25 * 0.50 (Your margin) = $12.50)
  3. Subtract that number from your average shipping cost ($16 (Average shipping cost) – $12.50 = $3.50)

That final number ($3.50) is the estimated cost to your business per order for offering free shipping. Ideally, you would want it to be a few dollars. If it’s a negative value, your minimum order is probably too high; if you start getting near $10 it’s probably too high. It may take some refining, but free shipping can work in your favour by enticing people to buy more!

Flat rate shipping

With flat rate shipping, you charge a flat rate for shipping on every order. There are no calculations required; shipping costs are the same every time and help you make some of the costs back. In New Zealand, flat rate shipping is a tad more complicated. You’ll usually see four different flat rates: Urban on the same island, rural on the same island, urban on the other island, and rural on the other island.

As this is a normal practice in the country, your customers won’t be surprised to see it. But if you want to go that route, how can you make sure your customer chooses the right option? The easiest way is to have this determined automatically. If you’re using or plan to use a WooCommerce website, you can download the plugin NZ Shipping Zones for WooCommerce plugin. This e-commerce shipping solution was developed by Kiwi web developer Daniel Shaw and takes data from NZ Post’s Postcode Listings for Rural Deliveries. It’s a huge time saver, especially when combined with something like the NZ Post addressing API that auto-fills and corrects addresses based on what NZ post has on file. With this combination, customers simply start typing their address and choose it from the autocomplete list, then the appropriate shipping is chosen automatically.

Flat rate shipping is convenient because customers don’t have to worry about calculating shipping costs. As long as you make it clear what the prices are upfront, customers can browse your shop without getting hit with an unexpected charge later on.

How do you decide on your flat rate price?

There’s no question that flat rate shipping is convenient and easy to use for customers. But how do you make it easy for the business and charge an appropriate amount?

If you’ve already found the shipping costs to the business, you’ll be better set to decide how much of the cost to pass on to customers. Some businesses do it so that small, low-value orders actually make money for the business with flat rate shipping. This helps balance out orders with larger items that will cost the business more.

Other companies keep shipping rates lower to cover some of the cost of shipping. This method covers more of the cost than free shipping but customers with low-value orders may go elsewhere if they think shipping is too high. Some do flat rate except for oversized items, which have calculated shipping. Just make sure to let customers know as soon as possible if their item incurs extra shipping fees.

Calculated Shipping

Calculated Shipping is the easiest way to make sure your costs are covered and that the customer won’t pay more for shipping than the service actually costs. While this is a straightforward way of doing it, it’s also the most likely way that customers will abandon their purchase.

Again, this comes down to expectations. With calculated shipping, visitors can only guess at what the cost will be; if it’s too much higher than they think they’ll probably look somewhere else for the same or similar product. If your items are small and light, calculated shipping can be a good option for everyone. It might be cheaper than flat rate for you and you can pass those savings on to the customer.

Likewise, if you have very large items like heavy appliances, customers won’t expect that to be sent over for a $5 shipping charge. You’ll likely need to work with a freight company that specialises in large packages like Mainfreight or FedEx Express. Depending on the item, you may need to reduce the price on these large items for shipping as well–often customers aren’t thrilled to find out shipping costs more than the product!

Local pickup

If you want to avoid shipping altogether, you can have local pickup only. This is a good option if you already have a strong presence in your local area. So why do this at all instead of having people come to the store to purchase?

Selling online with local pickup offers a few advantages. One of the biggest is that people can shop anytime. According to SaleCycle, the peak time for shopping online is between 8 and 9pm. People are at home and settled in, ready to shop. If your business is available to sell products for these hours, you might pick up some sales. Even if they can’t physically pick it up until the next day or later, by being available when people are shopping you open yourself up to more local sales.

Combining local pickup and delivery

Even if you decide to include a delivery option, also having local pickup may be a good decision. One benefit of doing this is that some people prefer to take it slow and go through your inventory at their own pace. Even if you aren’t pushy in person, for some it’s a better experience to search through your inventory at their own pace out of the store.

Some locals might prefer online shopping but would rather stop in and pick up their order instead of paying for shipping. Or they might be looking for a particular item and want to make sure you have it. Checking online is much more convenient than dropping by to see, and some will go with someone else instead of taking the risk. Having the pickup option makes it simple for them, and you can save on packaging and freight at the same time.

While you can get more sales by including local pickup if it’s viable, you’ll greatly limit your potential for reaching new customers if you don’t include another shipping option. You may have people keen for what you have to offer on the other end of the country. And, with tools like Facebook ads and Google ads, it’s easier than ever to reach people wherever they are.

How do I set up shipping on my website?

Once you’ve decided on a shipping method, you’ll need to enable it on your website. This process will be different depending on which e-commerce platform you use. Most of them will have a “Shipping” tab or have options for Shipping within the settings when you log into the website. The best way to set up shipping is to find the resource written by the platform. Here are some instructional guides for the most popular platforms in NZ:

Next steps after setting up shipping

After setting up shipping, make sure that your costs and expenses are well-balanced. The only way to know for sure if you set appropriate charges is to try out your strategy with customers. You might find out that your charges or free shipping threshold are too high. Or that they are too low and nobody ever qualifies. Depending on the results, you have several options you can try. You can try engaging a small base of customers with free shipping discount codes. Or offer a percentage off for regular ordering or subscriptions. Or you might want to consider changing carriers if they aren’t meeting your expectations. Once you get everything working and find the best e-commerce shipping solution, delivery simply becomes a normal part of business–only now you can have customers over 1000km away!

What is Canva and Should You Use It?

Posted on by Phil

.save If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or marketing manager, chances are you’ve heard of Canva. It’s an easy-to-use design platform that allows users to create beautiful visuals for social media posts, websites, and more! But before diving into the world of Canva, let’s take a look at what it is and explore the pros and cons of using this popular design tool.

What Is Canva?

At its core, Canva is a web-based DIY graphic design platform that enables users to create their own graphic design visuals. This can be done from scratch or with one of their pre-made templates. Whether you need an eye-catching logo for your website or a memorable post for Instagram, Canva has plenty of options to help you get started. Plus, it offers plenty of helpful tutorials if you need assistance along the way.

Pros Of Using Canva

For starters, it’s incredibly user-friendly – even those who are not tech-savvy can make stunning visuals in minutes! You can choose to start from scratch or choose from a range of templates. The drag-and-drop functionality and thousands of templates available at the click of a button. Essentially anyone can start designing graphics with relative ease. Additionally, you can save time is money. Well maybe not time, as it will take you some time to sit down and use. But with Canva’s library of stock images (and no licensing fees!), businesses can quickly create visuals without breaking the bank.

Cons Of Using Canva

Despite its impressive features, there are some drawbacks to consider when using Canva. For starters, if you want access to additional features such as animation capabilities and premium fonts & illustrations – they come at an additional cost. Additionally, while it may be easier than ever to get started with graphic design – if you want to go beyond basic designs & achieve truly unique results – then you may need to rely on professional graphic designers instead. Lastly – depending on your business needs & budget – investing in premium software may be more economical in the long run as opposed to paying a monthly subscription fee for access to certain features within Canva Pro.

 

Canva is a good DIY tool for creating visually appealing designs quickly & affordably! Its intuitive interface and wide selection of templates make it easy for anyone. And regardless of their technical expertise – they can produce graphic visuals themselves! While there are some drawbacks… Like limited customization options and extra costs for advanced features. But overall it’s a decent resource for any business with a limited budget. Ultimately though – whether or not it’s right for your business depends on your unique needs & budget – so do your research before committing!