With almost 40 million inhabitants, located right in the middle of Europe, Poland is an interesting market, with a high potential for growth. Its 15 + years of membership in the EU guarantee compliance with European standards and norms.
As more and more companies go online, the country registers an increasing demand for content marketing and SEO services, offered by specialized agencies. Plenty of successful campaigns have been carried out not only for SMEs but for major market players as well. Feel invited to take a closer look.
Poland – country overview
30 years after the iron curtain that used to divide Europe has fallen, Poland is no longer a god-forsaken country under the Soviet domination. In terms of economic development, it has come a long way, and it currently places itself as the sixth-largest economy in the EU. The country is considered business-friendly and its macroeconomic policies are perceived as sound and compliant with the UE recommendations.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has struck the global economy, has undoubtedly taken some toll on the key market indicators in Poland. Unemployment has risen sharply, so has the inflation rate. The interest rates are seeing their bottom levels, the national currency – zloty (PLN) is losing its value. In order to mitigate the imminent crisis, the Polish government has taken a series of measures aimed mainly at employment protection, financial support to companies (SMEs in particular) and consumption stimulation.
Interestingly, both the coronavirus and the related sanitary restrictions have proven quite beneficial for online business. As the traditional points of sales got temporarily closed and consumers were kept under mandatory lockdown, companies have started seeking rescue in online sales. Those who never before had felt the need or understood the gain of creating a website – finally did.
The increased interest in the Internet as a means of doing business has inevitably made everyone turn their head towards SEO services and content marketing. In the midst of an almost unprecedented economic crisis, SEO agencies are seeing their business boom as never before. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining.
Poland – marketing context
When democracy and free-market economy arrived in Poland in 1989, private investment and privately-owned businesses were almost unheard of. Poland was a virgin market, years and years behind its western neighbours. It was time to catch up in almost every aspect, marketing included.
First TV spots and newspaper ads that appeared at the beginning of the 90s – washing powder being their favourite product – were to be laughed at. Yet, they sold. With very little competition on the market and consumers tired of empty store shelves and long queueing, virtually any new business was destined to thrive. Not much marketing was needed back then.
30 years forward, the current market reality is completely different. Poland has nothing to envy other EU members. Modern infrastructure, top-notch technologies, skilled and well-educated professionals, highest business standards. The country has caught up quite quickly. Yet, with the obvious benefits of capitalism and a free-market economy, the now mature Polish market struggles with the same problems as any other western country: fierce competition, demanding consumers, saturation of products.
Marketing has become an indispensable tool to forge one’s way in business. Here’s a quick overview of the current situation.
Consumer behaviour
The majority of Polish consumers take several factors into consideration when making a purchase decision. While a convenient price is still the number-one factor for the bargain loving lower-middle-class, quality and added benefits are becoming increasingly important. Consumers are willing to pay more for better quality, convenient packaging, fast delivery, friendly post-sale service, etc.
Poles are proud of their origin and tend to prefer locally made products and services. However, with the growing popularity of e-commerce and marketplace, this trend is changing. Loyalty to a prefered brand is common, but it is not granted blindly. Poles are becoming more and more self-confident as consumers and enjoy being pampered.
Word of mouth is still a valued advertising tool, so are TV and radio ads. Promotions, competitions and couponing have proven very successful in stimulating purchase.
Demographics
The population of the country is distributed quite evenly throughout its territory. 63% of Poles live in cities, the main metropolitan areas being:
1 Warsaw 1,702,139
2 Lodz 768,755
3 Kraków 755,050
4 Wrocław 634,893
5 Poznań 570,352
Life expectancy in the case of women is 83, while in the case of men it is considerably lower, reaching only 75.5.
People between 25 and 69 represent the largest population group.
Main advertising media in Poland
| Medium | Main examples | Notes |
| TV |
| TV is still considered the most efficient advertising medium, with the highest price level. |
| Press |
| With over 5000 different newspapers and magazines – regional and national – on the market, press is a popular choice for ads. Many successful campaigns have used it as a medium of preference. |
| Radio |
| Radio still performs an important role as an advertising means and 72% of Poles listen to it daily. |
| Internet | The online advertising market in Poland is growing rapidly. In the 1st quarter of 2020, the total expenditure for this form of advertising grew by 2.5% compared with last year and currently accounts for 38.4% of the total advertising spending. |
SEO services in Poland
3 years after the term “Search Engine Optimization” was used at the University of Stanford in 1997, it reached Poland. The first Google Bomb was created to mock the website of a controversial Polish politician, Andrzej Lepper, with the word “kretyn” (Polish for “dumb”). The website soon found itself on the very top of the Google search results for this word.
A long time has passed since then and today the SEO service in Poland is as modern as in most developed countries. Local SEO agencies offer a wide array of services and employ true professionals who know their job very well. On the other hand, local companies have long understood why SEO is important for business and how beneficial it can be.
SEO companies in Poland – main players
When it comes to agencies specializing in SEO services, www.clutch.co mentions the following 10 top companies:
- Delante from Krakow
- QBurst from Bialystok
- Tango from Krakow
- Onely from Wroclaw
- Neadoo Digital Ltd from Poznan
- MiroMind from Warsaw
- Strategiczni.pl fom Poznan
- Quick SEO Help from Wroclaw
- MTA Digital from Poznan
- Skalski Growth from Krakow
Poland and SEO – services offered
SEO involves a set of specialized services and tasks whose ultimate goal is to increase the visibility of the client’s website in Google search results, attract new visitors and consequently increase sales.
A service portfolio of the majority of Poland’s SEO agencies includes:
- SEO audit
- competitor analysis
- Google analytics setup
- On-Site optimization (title tag, meta tag, content, URL, headings, image, etc.)
- Off-Site optimization (link-building, social media accounts, Google my business profile)
- International SEO
- Local SEO
- Multi-location SEO
- SEO for industries (SEO for healthcare, IT&Tech, e-commerce, law, etc.)
- Enterprise SEO
- B2B SEO
- SEO for small business
- Google Penalty removal
A once common belief that SEO is a waste of money and doesn’t really bring tangible results is long forgotten. Not only is the national and international demand for SEO services in Poland growing, but also customers are gradually understanding that successful SEO requires patience, consistency and an educated approach.
Cost of SEO in Poland
Every website is different and requires a personalized approach and a tailored promotion strategy. Hence, the cost of the related SEO services varies according to each client. The final price will also depend on the Poland SEO specialist experience, their location and the service duration. Let’s take a closer look at the pricing reality of SEO services in Poland.
A Polish SEO specialist charges approximately 100 PLN (25 USD) per hour. The bigger the website, the higher the cost.
Agencies often offer service packages with fixed monthly fees. For instance:
| Type of client | Includes | Net monthly fee |
| Local website |
| 800 – 1500 PLN |
| Countrywide website |
| 1500 – 2500 PLN |
| B2B countrywide website |
| 4500 – 9500 PLN |
| Small internet store with several dozens of products |
| 4500 PLN |
| large internet store with hundreds or thousands of products |
| individually quoted |
Job opportunities for an SEO specialist in Poland
As the demand for SEO services is growing in Poland, so are the job opportunities in that industry. Content-writers, link-builders and other Poland SEO specialists have their hands full. Whether as freelance or working for an agency or a media company, SEO experts are in high demand.
Here are a few interesting facts about the SEO labour market, based on Senuto survey:
- 28.8% of the specialists work in Warsaw
- 46.3% of them are employed by SEO/SEM agencies
- They change jobs 2 times every 5 years on average
- 78% of them work 8 + hours a day
- Their net salaries range from 3-4 thousand zlotys to 20 thousand zlotys
- The big majority uses Google Search Console and Google Analytics
- Only ⅓ works remotely
Poland and SEO – 2023 trends
Latest SEO trends in Poland seem to go hand in hand with what’s going on globally. Here’s a short summary of the things that most definitely should be taken into consideration:
BERT
This year Google has made a major update in its algorithm, which is expected to affect 1 in 10 queries. With the use of a modern language processing technology, BERT is aimed at improving the search results for complex long-tail phrases and more natural questions. Polish version of the BERT model is already available.
Voice search
With the growing use of smartphones, voice commands to access information on Google and other search engines are becoming more and more popular. It is particularly important for local searches, therefore local websites should focus more on conversational key phrases.
Content marketing
Not only is it here to stay, but it is gaining importance rapidly. More and more companies are investing in this form of promotion, knowing that in a market which is saturated with direct advertising, content marketing represents a much subtler way to reach the customer. High-quality content is more important than ever before.
Influencers
Their influence on purchase decisions has never been higher. Polish customers rely heavily on the recommendations of their favourite actors, singers, celebrities or sportsmen – both national and international.
Featured snippets
They are the so-called “position 0”, appearing above #1 organic search results. Almost 55% of total clicks in Google originate from them, so if you want to increase the number of visitors on your website, make sure to provide CLEAR answers to commonly asked questions related to the topics you feature.
On the final note, even though Polish is the official language in the country, many Poles speak very good English. They often search content in that language and are opening up for making purchases on foreign websites.
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As you can see, Poland is a full-fledged player in terms of SEO services, both as a client and a supplier. With skilled and experienced specialists and ever-competitive prices it definitely is an option worth considering. If you are looking for professional SEO services on this market, we will be delighted to assist you. Contact us!