Sep 5, 2022 7878 reads

What is Client-Side Rendering (CSR) and Server-Side Rendering (SSR)?

All of the work done for search engine bots to better understand, crawl, and index sites written in Javascript is called Javascript SEO. Analyzing the complete crawlability of text, image, and video content is a top priority for SEO professionals. With the increase of websites written with Javascript, Javascript SEO studies have also started. Modern front-end libraries (React JS, Vue JS, Angular JS, etc.) have paved the way for a new study here.If we go much more fundamentally, as we know, web pages consist of 3 main parts.1. HTML – We can think of it as the skeleton and content area of your website. A page consisting entirely of Html can give you information but does not offer an attractive design.2. CSS – CSS files that add visuality and design to HTML. Thanks to CSS, we can access the web page design we are familiar with.3. Javascript – It is the programming language that enables movable or changeable areas on a website. When you hover over an area, its color changes, or when you scroll the page, new content is loaded at the bottom thanks to javascript. According to the user's movement, Javascript files are run in the background and the final structure to be shown to the user is presented.With the developments on the software side, websites have recently started to be coded only with JS. Code lines are not presented individually in HTML, but are given directly over JS files.So, how well could Google adapt to these developments?Google & Javascript RelationshipGoogle Javascript sites have started to understand and make sense of it much better in recent years. However, crawling sites written directly in JS is very costly for Google. Compared to a normal site, it both spends more time browsing and exhausts its servers. So what is Google doing to optimize this expense?Google uses a method called 2-stage crawling to crawl pages written in Javascript. In the first stage, Googlebot enters your site, scans the HTML and CSS, and adds it to its index. It also sees the Javascript files here but leaves it to the 2nd time to scan and understand them. In the meantime, it starts to show the results as far as the user sees in the first stage. It puts your site in a row within itself for 2nd wave scanning. This can take hours or days. It evaluates your site in order of its own priority based on its value and authority. When it comes to the 2nd wave, it also scans the Javascript files and adds them to the index. Thus, it starts to show the user the final version that you actually planned.How Is Javascript Different From Other Languages For Google?The browsers we use parse HTML, CSS, and JS through render engines. Therefore, it must be rendered first. Languages such as PHP and Python stand out as languages rendered on the server side. Alternatives such as Angular and React from languages coded with JS can be rendered with both Server Side Rendering (SSR) and Client Side Rendering (CSR) methods.How Does GoogleBot Crawl Javascript SitesThere are 2 different methods for the correct crawling and indexing of sites written in Javascript by search engine bots.Client Side Rendering (CSR) (Including Dynamic Rendering)Server Side Rendering (SSR)Client-Side Rendering (CSR)The user or the browser of the search engine makes a request to your address.The server accepts the request and returns the response.The browser downloads the content and accompanying JS files.The browser executes JS files to view the content.The content becomes interactable by users and bots.Pros and Cons of CSR(+) Faster processing after first-page load(+) Puts less load on the server(+) Provides rich site interaction(+) Provides fast website navigation (fewer HTTP requests to the server as it doesn't have to be re-downloaded for every page load)(-) Slower loading of the first page (due to loading of assets required for multiple pages)(-) Delayed loading on devices with low processors.(-) Late loading when the internet connection is weak.(-) It negatively affects SEO if not implemented properly. (The page will appear blank until the Javascript codes are run and the content is created at the opening of the page)(-) External libraries are needed very often.Risks of CSR SEOYour page, which you have prepared using the most modern technologies, may appear as a blank page for Google. If you have a site written with modern Javascript libraries, frequently check how Google understands your site via the "Show Crawled Page" button in the URL Checking tool via Google Search Console. If your page is still not in the Google index, you can also test it on the live URL.Dynamic RenderingDynamic Rendering is a method used for websites created in CSR to be SEO compatible. The main difference lies in offering different rendering formats to GoogleBot and users. When the server request is made, it is understood whether the request is made via GoogleBot or by the user on the server side. If rendered by GoogleBot, it returns an HTML response that will be rendered on the server. Users continue to view your site as CSR.Server-Side Rendering (SSR)The user or the browser of the search engine makes a request to your address.The server accepts the request, renders the entire HTML and returns the response.The browser downloads the generated HTML and JS files.The content becomes interactable by users and bots.Pros and Cons of SSR(+) Improves user experience by making pages load faster.(+) It is advantageous in terms of SEO.(+) It is a much more ideal structure for sites that offer static content.(+) Fewer JS dependencies are available.(+) Also ideal when the user's internet connection is slow.(-) When the server has a large number of visitors or the site is large, it can cause significant slowdowns in page rendering. (TTFB time may be affected)(-) It has to reload the whole page on each navigation.(-) Server costs will be high to provide higher performance.

Sep 5, 2022 855 reads

Creating Personas and Funnels in Digital Media Planning

In digital marketing—and especially in e-commerce—identifying potential customers and reaching them at the right time, in the right place, is essential.In traditional marketing, the first step to identifying target customers is creating personas and developing individual strategies for each. However, this is not enough to get ahead of your competitors. The tools of digital marketing have introduced an unprecedented level of data and customer insight into the marketing world.This boundless sea of marketing data has made it necessary to create more nuanced personas and develop micro-level strategies tailored to these segments. Undoubtedly, in today’s marketing world, the leading brands are those that can interpret this data most effectively and turn their learnings into powerful strategies.The key to interpreting data and creating strategies lies in understanding the source of the data—in other words, identifying the users from whom the data is gathered. Comparing different customer groups using the same metrics is often the first and most critical mistake made.To put it simply: while strategy creation requires creativity, reading data requires numerical and analytical thinking. Identifying the customer, on the other hand, is a part of marketing that draws heavily from social sciences like psychology, philosophy, and sociology.1. First Step in Defining the Customer: Persona CreationAlthough there are various approaches today, the widely accepted method for persona creation in marketing is based on consumption motivation. Since personas are often associated with demographic details like age and gender, these are usually the first elements considered. But this is a mistake.Potential customers should first be segmented based on the motivations that drive them to purchase. Then, the demographic characteristics of these personas can be examined. In other words, demographics are not the cause—they are the result.Pro Tip: The personas you create may overlap or be interchangeable. For example, imagine you're managing an e-commerce platform that sells stationery products. A 30-year-old white-collar male with a university degree might purchase products for his company, buy colored pencils for his child to use at school, or make a personal purchase simply because he enjoys drawing.These three different purchasing motivations require three different strategies. Therefore, a defined demographic group can include multiple personas (overlap), and the same user can belong to different personas at the same time (interchangeability).2. Second Step in Defining the Customer: Funnel CreationThe persona definition provides a general and static profile of your target customer. However, your communication with the customer is constantly changing and evolving based on actions you take and macro variables. Within the same persona, you may have both potential customers who don’t know you and loyal customers who frequently purchase from you.Trying to reach consumers at different communication stages (brand awareness) with the same ad (message) or the same advertising channel will lower the efficiency you get from that persona. Therefore, you need to define communication stages with your customers on a persona-based level and structure it within a funnel (user funnel).Although standard funnel structures are often used in marketing, digital user funnels based on personas are more complex than basic steps like awareness, consideration, and engagement.Most importantly, when defining funnel steps, it’s more functional to name them based on the user’s current milestone rather than their place in the brand communication journey. Regardless of persona, every target customer will fall into one of the groups below:2.1. New User AcquisitionNote: Users in this funnel step do not include those who have already progressed to later stages. Users who recognize your brand and logo in the context of your industry. Users who know and are convinced of the unique features that distinguish your product/service from competitors. Users who are not actively searching but may enter the search phase when approached. Users who are actively searching for a product/service. Users who have visited your digital sales channel at least once during their active search. (Retargeting begins here and continues through subsequent steps.) Users who have engaged with your platform at above-average levels (e.g., membership, favorites list). Users who have completed at least one purchase (new customers). 2.2. Remarketing Previous customers who were satisfied with their last purchase. Former customers reminded of their positive past experience. Former customers not currently searching but may become active again when approached (by you or competitors). Former customers who might specifically choose you if they re-enter the purchase phase. Past customers who have recently visited your sales channel again during an active search. Customers who have made repeat purchases (loyal customers). 2.3. EngagementWhile engagement is typically defined as strengthening interaction and communication with users who have not yet made a purchase, it also includes efforts to maximize the lifetime value of existing loyal customers.Note: Remarketing and engagement efforts are carried out simultaneously for users who have completed at least one purchase. The main goal of engagement is not just repurchasing, but generating different customer values. Former customers who were satisfied with their last purchase. Customers who have shared positive experiences in digital or social settings. Customers who have decided never to choose another brand (lovemark). Further actions depend on your marketing team’s brand vision. In the media planning phase, applying the approach above with 100% precision may not always be feasible due to the limitations of ad platforms’ infrastructure and content-advertising models. Therefore, when choosing ad platforms, it’s best to evaluate their targeting and data capabilities and decide where your funnel steps can realistically be applied.

Sep 5, 2022 976 reads

How to Integrate Virtual Page with GTM Element Visibility

In this blog post, you'll find answers to the question above and gain detailed insights into what a Virtual Page is, its advantages and disadvantages, and how to manage this process without developer support by integrating it with GTM Element Visibility.In cases where the page URL does not change but the content does, you may sometimes need additional page tracking and more detailed analysis. To conduct in-depth funnel analysis in such scenarios, let's explore what these definitions mean and how you can implement them via GTM without developer assistance using Element Visibility.What is a Virtual Page (Single Page Application)?A Virtual Page, or SPA (Single Page Application), which helps your site perform faster, is a type of web application that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page instead of loading entire new pages from the server.In a SPA, all the source code loads at once when the site opens, and new pages are displayed by running frontend scripts, using the preloaded code. The advantage here is that when users navigate to a different page, they don’t have to wait for the code to reload. In short, Virtual Pages improve site speed and enhance the user experience.For example, imagine browsing an e-commerce website and opening various products. In a traditional structure, each product click sends a new request to the server, which reloads the entire page. While this may seem fine, during high traffic periods, it can significantly slow down your site.In a SPA scenario, since all source code is preloaded, user actions are managed through existing code, and page speed isn’t affected. When a page is clicked, it changes—but isn’t reloaded.However, alongside the speed advantages, SPAs can also negatively impact your site. One issue is broken source tracking, known as rogue referrer. The referrer data, which tells you where your users came from and how long they stayed, may be disrupted in SPAs.Additionally, SPA applications can pose disadvantages for SEO. Since SPAs are seen as a single page, it can hinder proper indexing by search engines and lower your page rankings.Advantages of SPA (Single Page Application): Speed / Performance: As mentioned, SPAs dynamically update the content without reloading the whole page, allowing users to take action quickly within the site. UX (User Experience): SPAs provide an experience similar to mobile apps by preventing interruptions during navigation, offering a smooth and practical experience. Caching: SPAs enable faster caching, allowing the use of local data and connection flow effectively—even during internet issues—ensuring continued usability. Disadvantages of SPA (Single Page Application): Rogue Referrer: Tracking sources may be disrupted, making it difficult to detect where users came from, which hinders detailed funnel analysis. SEO: Since SPAs appear as a single page, they may prevent your site from being indexed properly, affecting search engine rankings. The “All Pages” trigger in GTM is fired on full page loads, so it doesn't work on Virtual Pages. This becomes a limitation when detailed funnel analysis is required.To solve this, first, identify where Virtual Pages are used on your site, then see how integration is done using GTM Element Visibility.Areas Where Virtual Pages Are Used Virtual Cart Pages: These are side panels showing cart/summary without navigating to a new page. Lead Generation Pages: Often used in SMS or consent pop-ups. Common Examples of Virtual Page Use: Gmail Facebook Twitter Google Drive Google Maps Netflix How to Integrate a Virtual Page?The first method is pushing events via developer support—either natively or through GTM. While this may seem easy, relying on developers can slow things down or prevent fast intervention in case of issues.The second method—covered here—is using GTM Element Visibility. This allows fast implementation without developer involvement and supports detailed funnel tracking.Virtual Page Integration with GTM Element VisibilityWe'll use GTM for virtual cart and lead generation examples. Your website must have GTM installed. Then, you can configure the Element Visibility trigger. First, let’s understand how this trigger works.When you select “New Trigger” in GTM, you'll see the screen below.Clicking on “Trigger Configuration” asks you to select a trigger type.When you choose “Element Visibility,” the following screen appears:The Element Visibility trigger can be fired in 3 ways: Once per page: Trigger fires only once per page load—ideal for limiting duplicate hits. Once per element: Trigger fires for each instance—useful if a user reopens a pop-up multiple times. Every time an element appears on screen: Trigger fires each time the element appears according to the specified visibility threshold. Percent visible defines how much of the element is visible, while minimum percent visible is the threshold to trigger. Default is 50%.With minimum on screen duration, you can also set a minimum time (e.g., 1000 ms) before triggering.If the element loads after page load, use observe DOM changes to detect it properly.GTM Element Visibility for Virtual Cart PagesSelect your target element using browser inspector tools (Inspect > Elements).Use the most minimal and stable selector—for example:document.querySelector("box-flex. cart-summary")... Validate that the element exists only once on the page by running:document.querySelector("box-flex. cart-summary")Once the trigger is set, proceed to tag configuration. To push data as a pageview, configure it in GA and override the default page URL via More Settings > Field to Set, customizing the page name and title fields.GTM Element Visibility for Lead Generation PagesIn some cases, SMS confirmation is shown via pop-ups, not new pages. Without tracking these, it's hard to know when users exit the SMS funnel.By tracking SMS modals with Element Visibility, you can push virtual pageviews to GA and gain detailed insights.With these examples, brands using virtual cart pages or lead generation pop-ups can perform Virtual Page Integration using GTM Element Visibility—without developer support—allowing more accurate performance measurement and analysis.See you in the next post…

Sep 5, 2022 2556 reads

List of Things to Consider in Blog Posts

You should definitely take a look at this checklist to increase your organic traffic with blog posts tailored to user search intent. With the 13 tips we’ve compiled for you, you’ll ensure search engines understand your content while offering users a great experience.One of the most important channels in content marketing is blog writing.You’re probably familiar with the following advice from SEO experts and content writers: “Create content for users, not search engines.” “Google always rewards high-quality content.” With the 13 recommendations we’ll share, your content can earn respect from both search engines and users.Checklist for Blog WritingYou should carefully review your blog posts. If you want greater visibility and more clicks for a wide range of keywords, certain elements must be considered. Start by checking the fundamentals and then expand your SEO efforts from there. Engaging Content Topics SEO-Friendly URL Structure Create an Author Profile Table of Contents Catchy & Powerful Titles Optimize Your Intro Paragraph Content Headings Ideal Content Length Use of Visuals Summarizing Your Content The Power of Internal Linking Structured Data Markups Display of Related Content 1. Engaging Content TopicsYour blog topics should be engaging for your target audience. When you cover what they’re curious about, they’ll pay more attention to your content and website.Ways to identify engaging topics: Review your site search terms and landing pages via Google Analytics. Ask your sales and marketing teams which questions they frequently receive. Listen to discussions on social media about your industry. You can use these methods or analyze top-performing pages of competitors with tools like Ahrefs to identify the types of content your audience prefers.2. SEO-Friendly URL StructureWe recommend using a simple, short, and memorable SEO-friendly URL for every page on your website.Using dates or long strings in URLs can make them difficult to remember and may negatively affect server response time during crawling.❌ Not Recommended: “https://www.example.com/index.php?id_sezione=360&sid=0108mb202233ah4234”✅ Recommended: “https://www.example.com/seo”An SEO-friendly URL gives both users and search engines a quick clue about the page’s content. Also, remember that uppercase and lowercase letters in URLs are treated as separate pages by Google.3. Create an Author ProfileHaving an author profile for your blog posts is important for E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Google may use this to evaluate content quality.Listing the author’s name and linking to their profile allows users to easily explore more content by the same writer. For YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics, author profiles help build credibility.4. Table of ContentsWe recommend adding a table of contents to your blog post, ideally at the top, left, or right of the article.This helps users and search engine bots quickly understand and navigate the content structure.For WordPress sites, you can use plugins like TOC to add a table of contents. Check plugin reviews and download numbers before installation.Tables of contents can also lead to rich results in Google SERPs by showing sitelink text under the main result.5. Catchy & Powerful TitlesYour meta titles (page titles shown in SERPs) significantly influence click-through rates.Titles are important for both SEO and user attention. Relevant and optimized titles improve search performance.Tips for writing page titles: Review Google’s search result pages. Include your brand name. Use numbers where possible. Optimize for search engines, write for users. Revise meta titles for pages with low CTR. Use questions to spark curiosity. 6. Optimize Your Intro ParagraphMeta titles get users to click—but the intro paragraph gets them to stay.Your intro should clearly explain what the content is about and why it’s worth reading. Include stats if possible, and use your target keyword naturally.7. Content HeadingsUse heading tags (H1 to H6) to organize your content. These help search engines and users understand the topic hierarchy.Use keywords naturally in your headings. H1 is the main title, and H6 is the least emphasized.8. Ideal Content LengthContent quality matters more than length. However, the recommended length for blog posts in 2022 is between 1,500 and 3,000 words.Short content is easier to consume, but Google prefers in-depth coverage. Aim for at least 300 words, but consider going longer if your audience prefers detailed insights.Use “read more” accordion menus or A/B testing to gauge reader engagement and refine your strategy accordingly.9. Use of VisualsInclude images and visuals in your blog posts. Sometimes, a graphic or infographic can communicate better than text—especially for complex topics.10. Summarizing Your ContentJust like in school essays, your post should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. A summary at the end helps reinforce your message.Use a call-to-action in your conclusion—like subscribing to a newsletter or browsing a product page—to encourage conversions.11. The Power of Internal LinkingInternal links are essential across your entire site. They help both users and bots explore your content and boost overall SEO performance.Link high-traffic pages to lower-traffic ones to spread visibility. Think of your site as a web of interconnected content.12. Structured Data MarkupsStructured data gives search engines context about your pages. This can lead to rich results in Google and better visibility.Use schema.org vocabulary—especially for product, category, service, or blog pages. For blogs, use BlogPosting or Article. Add FAQ, HowTo, Breadcrumbs, or Recipe where relevant.13. Display of Related ContentIf a user has finished reading a blog post, don’t let them leave your site—show related posts to keep them engaged.Display up to 3 related posts at the end of your article. This not only reduces bounce rate but strengthens internal linking.ConclusionIn this article, we covered 13 essential tips for writing effective blog content. By implementing these strategies, your content will be better understood by search engines and offer users a more optimized experience.If you'd like us to cover more SEO-related topics like this checklist, let us know. If you found this content helpful, feel free to share it on social media to support us!