„Global SEO: Think Global, Act Local“ : interview with Matthäus Michalik Managing Director Claneo

We’re more than happy to introduce some speakers of our upcoming E-commerce Berlin Virtual conference.

Today, we decided to invite Matthäus Michalik from Claneo for a virtual cup of coffee to talk about “Global SEO: Think Global, Act Local” topic. Enjoy!

You’ve been running Claneo since November 2017. How did your journey begin?

I founded Claneo with two work colleagues who are now good friends. With the knowledge and  experience gained from working at one of the leading search agencies in Europe, we decided to  branch out and start our own agency to work with the people and brands we love. 

What are your responsibilities on a daily basis and how big is your team?

Currently, one of my main roles is consulting with companies on ways they can improve their  business in terms of generating more traffic and sales over different digital marketing channels like  SEO, SEA, Paid Social and Content Marketing. I want to continue doing that as long as possible  because I love what I do. I am also responsible for agency marketing and new business initiatives. Our  team now consists of 65 international digital marketing experts and continues to grow from month  to month. 

What makes Claneo stand out from the crowd of agencies?

We do not see ourselves as a service provider, but rather as an equal partner that supports businesses exactly where they need us – be it in terms of know-how or resources. We are a  completely independent agency and offer our customers tailor-made solutions. Due to our large  international team, we are able to offer our digital marketing services in over 14 languages.

What is Claneo’s role in helping businesses succeed online?

With our broad international experience, we support our clients in international SEO, SEA and  Content Marketing. Depending on the client’s needs, we help to determine the best first steps to  take in Digital Marketing or how to get the last 20% out of the existing team and budgets.

What are your professional goals – both for yourself and Claneo?

My goal is to shape Claneo into one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Germany and Europe,  while becoming one of the best employers in Berlin to ensure we attract the right talent to our  teams.

What are typical e-commerce marketing mistakes made by business owners?

We see again and again that eCommerce companies can be very focused on themselves and  sometimes lose sight of the entire customer journey. The customer should always play a central role  in all marketing activities and just as eCommerce companies are unique, their customers are too. It is  important to know one’s target group in detail in order to enable tailored communication across all  marketing channels. 

Your presentation is titled “Global SEO: Think Global, Act Local”. What are you going to  cover?

We set up a great project with Henkel for their brands Pattex and Loctite, using the brand website for  customer communication in different countries. In our master class, we will show the complete  process – from the initial idea to the implementation, and the key results we gained with our  international SEO approach. We will show how to analyze customer needs in detail, how to build a  content strategy to answer all questions and problems and how to come up with inspirational  content for specific topics. By owning the entire funnel of the customer journey, you can generate  valuable traffic that would normally have to be purchased via paid marketing. You will learn how to adapt this framework for your business and what steps you should take if you want to leverage your  brand website for SEO and free organic search engine traffic.

What should e-commerce owners focus on in the upcoming years?

E-commerce companies should be aware that customer needs change and you certainly always have  to question whether you are offering customers what they expect and also communicating with  them via the channels they consider relevant today and tomorrow.

What are the e-commerce marketing trends to watch for? 

I still see AR and VR as key technologies to better present products, but also classic topics like photo  and video as very relevant. Live shopping and broadcasting can also be a good way to present your  products in the right light.

Marketing new products and services is becoming increasingly important in competitive markets, so  Digital PR can help place your company with relevant journalists and get important media mentions.  In doing so, companies should take creative paths to stand out from the crowd. 

When it comes to marketing for eCommerce, marketplaces continue to play an important role and  companies should always look at the latest marketing channels, such as TikTok. As a rule, new  advertising networks are still very cheap, and you can be an early adapter and benefit from the  favorable click prices. 

Even if current trends remain important, you should still make sure not to lose sight of your actual  goal. Marketing efficiency and the associated conversion rate optimization (CRO) can help use the  traffic already gained even more efficiently and to increase sales or the repurchase rate.

Hungry for more e-commerce tips?

Register for free ticket to see Tom’s speech —> Click here