SEO in Italy

Italy is the fourth most populous country in Europe. More than 60 million people live on the Italian peninsula, not only in Italy, but also in San Marino and the Vatican. Approximately 84% of Italians have access to the Internet. The economy in the homeland of pizza and pasta is doing very well; Italy has one of the highest GDPs in the world! Importantly for shops focused on online sales, it is also the 14th largest e-commerce market!

Italians browse the Internet mainly using computers and smartphones. Websites are hardly ever viewed via tablets (data for February 2022):

• desktop (49.1%),
• mobile (48.81%),
• tablet (2.08%).

What do Italians pay particular attention to during the purchasing process? As said in the introduction, they are quite affluent Europeans, which translates into their requirements and preferences. They expect professional service, care at every step of the purchasing process and, of course, quality. Compared to, for example, the French, the English language should be more accessible to Italians. However, for native Italians, especially the older ones (60+), the Italian language offer should not be overlooked, especially when we consider that they like many things, including online shopping, to be effortless.

The typical Mario Rossi (the Italian equivalent of John Smith) enjoys life, is never in a hurry, and doesn’t worry about the little things. This pertains to the approach to life; when it comes to shopping things look a little different. Before making a purchase, almost 60% of Italians check and verify the information about the product they are interested in. They read opinions, comments and reviews of other consumers. At the same time, they like to discuss and bargain, not only in traditional shops, but also on the Internet. By answering their questions, even if only through social media, we will gain their favour, which may ultimately translate into a final purchase decision.

When it comes to social media, although Facebook has lost about 10% of its market share in recent years, it is still the undisputed leader among applications used to communicate, establish contacts, explore videos, photos, etc. (data for February 2022).

• Facebook (64.43%),
• YouTube (22.2%),
• Instagram (4.79%),
• Pinterest (4.23%),
• Twitter (2.88%),
• LinkedIn (0.41%).

It is worth noting, when compared to other countries, the relatively big popularity of YouTube, which is used regularly by 20% of Italians.

As regards browsers, it is similar compared to neighbouring countries, i.e. Chrome is the most used. Safari, known mainly for its use on iPhones, holds second place with a market share of over 18% (data for February 2022):

E-commerce market in Italy

E-commerce in Italy is constantly growing. Currently, nearly 70% of internet users on the Italian peninsula shop online, and the number is growing every year. In 2023, the e-commerce market is expected to reach a turnover of approximately 20 billion euros. The average value of purchases is 85 euros per month. The fact that 40% of online purchases are made from foreign shops is also an encouraging statistic.

The popularity of smartphones for web browsing automatically translates into online shopping. This is a scale worth noting, as so-called “mcommerce” accounts for as much as 33% of the online sales market. Equally important in online shopping is the preference for mobile applications, which are more popular than classic websites. This certainly sets Italians apart from other European consumers.

Let’s put together some more of the most important elements that influence Italians’ e-shopping decisions:

• free delivery (92%),
• free returns (91%),
• transparency – including no hidden costs, clear description, etc. (90%).

As for the last factor above, it has to do with the quality and transparency of the website itself, without which it is difficult to compete for user attention.

Among the most popular e-commerce websites in Italy are:

• amazon.it (USD 2.566 million),
• zalando.it (USD 517 million),
• apple.com (USD 358 million),
• shein.com (USD 296 million),
• esselungaacasa.it (USD 264 million).

The vast majority of orders (92%) are delivered by courier. As for payment methods, their share is divided proportionally between PayPal, bank transfer, payment card and cash on delivery. The former is popular, as in Germany, due to additional guarantees and security of transactions.

Why should you start promoting your business in Italy?

Italian e-commerce is gaining momentum year after year, with ever-increasing turnover. This is due to several elements, among which we can mention: the development of infrastructure related to Internet access, including fibre optics, the widespread ownership of smartphones (Italians are one of the world leaders in this aspect) and additional security and laws regarding online transactions.

After Germany, Great Britain and France, Italy is the 4th largest economy in the European Union. Italians appreciate quality of service, the uniqueness of the product, and its originality. This is evident in their history and tradition of creating clothing trends. Almost everyone knows from which country such fashion industry leaders as Gucci, Armani, Prada and Versace come. It is worth remembering that the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula appreciate style and elegance.

Although e-commerce is growing and gaining popularity, there is still a lot of room for development. This has to do with the rather weak online presence of domestic shops. Regarding the digital competitiveness of the members of the European community, according to the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index, Italy ranks only 26th out of 29 countries included in the list. This is certainly an opportunity for entrepreneurs from abroad to establish themselves, find a niche in the market and build a group of regular customers.

Link building in Italy

Italy, in terms of openness of the e-commerce market and SEO, is an extremely attractive spot on the map of Europe. If you want to find a place for your business here, you should adopt a good strategy, one of the key elements of which is high-quality link building. If it goes hand in hand with equally important optimisation, the average position of our website should be climbing up the search results every month.

Of course, we should not forget about the monopoly of the Google search engine and its algorithms and systems of ranking websites. In order to reach the full spectrum of recipients, our website should have the “.it” domain and contain an offer prepared in Italian. The same applies to links leading to it. Valuable domestic link sources with a good reputation and especially a quality rating in the eyes of Google will be appreciated.

In Italy, just like in other countries, it is necessary to remember about link diversification. These should come first of all from quality websites, but also, for example, from thematically related forums or social media.