For international webshops
Online marketing in the Netherlands, done by people who live here
You sell well at home and the Netherlands looks like the obvious next market: around 18 million people, a lot of online shopping and almost everyone understands English. Then the orders stay away. Stijgt is a Dutch online marketing agency near Leiden. We help foreign webshops get found, trusted and bought from in the Netherlands, and we show the results in your own analytics.
Why the Netherlands is a different market
The Dutch buy a lot online, but they are careful buyers. Before they order from a shop they do not know, they check three things: can I pay the way I always pay, how fast does it arrive, and what do other people say about this shop. If one answer is missing, they close the tab and go to a Dutch competitor.
Language is the second trap. Most Dutch people read English well, but they search in Dutch, compare in Dutch and trust a shop that sounds Dutch. A literal translation reads as foreign, and foreign reads as risky. Correct, natural Dutch is not a nice extra. It is the entry ticket.
- iDEAL is the dominant payment method. It is moving to the European Wero brand, but Dutch shoppers still expect that familiar button at checkout.
- Delivery expectations are high. The big Dutch shops deliver fast, so a vague shipping promise costs you orders.
- Reviews matter. Dutch buyers read them, and a shop without recent reviews looks like a shop without customers.
- A clear returns policy, in Dutch, on a page people can find. Unclear returns are one of the most common reasons a foreign shop does not convert here.
What we do for foreign webshops
We cover the full route from search to sale, but only the parts you actually need. A shop with great Dutch content and no traffic needs something different from a shop with traffic that does not convert. We start with a baseline measurement, then pick the channels that will move the numbers.
- SEO for the Dutch market: Dutch keyword research, technical internationalisation (hreflang, a /nl/ folder or a .nl domain) and content written in natural Dutch.
- Link building on Dutch websites: competitor analysis first, then a link profile built through platforms, our own network, digital PR and guest posts. Never from sites without traffic, with a high spam score or a very low Domain Rating.
- Google Ads and Google Shopping for the Netherlands: Dutch search campaigns, a Dutch Merchant Center feed and bids based on what a sale is worth to you.
- Paid social: campaigns on Meta and other platforms, with creatives we make ourselves, with AI, with your images or with a photographer.
- Conversion optimisation and trust: iDEAL, delivery times, reviews, returns and clear calls to action, so Dutch visitors actually buy.
- GEO: visibility in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews when Dutch people ask an AI tool for a product like yours.
The three mistakes we see most often
Missing payment methods. A foreign shop with only credit card and PayPal loses Dutch shoppers at the last step. Adding iDEAL is often the cheapest conversion improvement you will ever make.
Unclear returns. How long, who pays the return shipping, where does the parcel go. If a Dutch customer has to email you to find out, most will not.
Broken measurement. At almost every new client the tracking is wrong somewhere: conversions counted twice, not at all, or the Dutch site mixed in with the home market. We fix that first, because without correct numbers nobody can tell what works.
How working with Stijgt from abroad works
You do not need to fly in. We work over video calls, in English or German. Frank and Sven both speak fluent English, and Sven grew up bilingual and speaks German very well. Invoicing is in euros with reverse-charge VAT for EU businesses, so you book it like any other EU supplier.
The first 30 days are the same for every client: correct measurement, quick wins, and an analysis of your website, every marketing channel and how leads and existing customers are followed up. After that you get a monthly report with real data, and you can cancel monthly. No minimum budget: the plan is tailored to your goals.
Behind the scenes our own AI agents collect data, analyse it and prepare website improvements. That makes us fast. But a human always decides what goes live.
Proof: we run Dutch webshops ourselves
We do not only advise, we sell. Stijgt runs two Dutch businesses: Djunes.nl, a photobooth and event rental company, and Rijruimer.nl, where people rent roof boxes and extra luggage space. What works on our own sites, we bring to clients.
The numbers from Djunes, straight from GA4: online bookings up 212 percent year on year, organic traffic up 187 percent in 12 months, and the Google Ads cost per booking down from 42 to 26 euros. Our own figures, not client figures, and we are happy to walk you through them on a call.
Is Stijgt the right fit for you?
We work best for webshops and companies with existing demand: Dutch people already search for what you sell, and you want more of them to choose you. If you are launching a product category nobody in the Netherlands has heard of yet, you need demand creation first, and we will tell you that honestly.
For Google Ads we advise a minimum ad budget of 500 euros per month. Below that, the management fee outweighs the result. Before we start, we calculate what a sale will cost from the expected conversion rate and cost per click. If that does not add up, we say so.
FAQ
Do we need a Dutch company or a Dutch address to sell in the Netherlands?
No. Many foreign webshops ship from their home country. What you need is a Dutch-language site, Dutch payment options and a returns process Dutch customers understand. Legal and tax questions go to your accountant.
Should we use a .nl domain or a /nl/ folder on our existing domain?
Both work. A .nl domain is a strong local signal if the Netherlands becomes a serious market. A /nl/ folder keeps the authority of your main domain and is faster to set up. We look at your domain, your plans and your competition before we recommend one.
How fast will we see results?
Paid campaigns usually show results within one to two weeks. SEO and GEO take four to six weeks on average before the first movement. On our own businesses, SEO delivered traffic in the first months.
Which channel should we start with?
That follows from the baseline measurement. If Dutch people already search for your product and your site converts, Google Ads and Shopping give the fastest signal. If the site does not convert yet, we fix trust and payment first, because traffic to a leaking shop is wasted money.
What does it cost?
That depends on which channels you need and how much competition there is. There is no minimum budget and no fixed package. Ad spend goes directly to Google or Meta. Our fee is a one-time setup plus a monthly amount based on the scope of the work, and you can cancel monthly.
More about growing in the Netherlands
Book a video call
info@stijgt.nl · +31 6 361 417 24