Fred Lundin CPA - Insights , E-Commerce Business Consulting

Ecommerce Advertising Vs Website Optimization

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 15:01:03 -0600

One of the biggest propaganda campaigns on the Internet is that ‘advertising is dead, long live optimization.’ Thousands of ecommerce business owners and Internet Marketers are chanting the mantra like thousands of football fans chanting for their favorite team after a victory. It will take many months, maybe years, for the excitement to wane, the fanfare to fade, and people to start rethinking the wisdom of following a trend without analyzing the validity of the claims.

It is easy to believe the hype. One by one the Giants are falling. Many of the companies falling are Ad reliant companies which are not receiving enough revenue from ads to stay in business. At first glance, you would believe this means that advertising is failing. However, before making a snap decision, take a look at the companies that are surviving, www.suite101.com, www.lifetips.com, www.about.com. There are also the ad reliant ‘social networking’ groups like www.myspace.com, www.squidoo.com, www.youtube.com etc.

The deathmarch has been analyzed from all angles, by everyone from newspaper editorials to news anchors to SEO pundits and Marketing gurus. No one has the answers. No one has any solutions - or do they? Obviously the sites listed above have figured something out. In some aspects, it is nothing more than the ‘square peg in a round hole’ syndrome.

First is the conclusion that no one pays attention to ads. This is true only for people with no experience in the advertising world. Magazines are 75% advertising. Television is also one-third advertising. Radio is predominantly advertising, despite the fact that report after report states that it is not a cost effective method of advertising.

Second no one, not even the big search engines, can pinpoint how people behave on line. Every year to sixteen months the rules change as everyone scrambles to understand the consumer groups. The problem with the web is that the gurus attended university and learned their marketing techniques before the Internet took off, which in itself, is a misstatement because not even one quarter of the modern world owns a computer.

This is not uncommon:

Not more than 10 per cent of the population will take up television permanently. Raymond Postgate, 1935

The problem did not start today, but a decade ago. Advertising worked via commercials in television and images in magazines that those devices would work on the web. Now, ten years later, the industry has been forced to stop and let the consumers tell them what they want. And, what they want is interactivity.

Search engine optimization gave way to social networking, to niche marketing, and now? Those sites who are surviving know the answer. They are balancing SEO and advertising, not in combination, but in a symbiotic relationship.

Optimization for the web means building good content and inbound links. Optimization for advertising means building a page with only one purpose in mind - to lead people to the ad. This is seen in all profitable sites like the giant www.about.com and independent sites like www.getfreecontent.com.

These sites do not ad advertising to their sidebars and banner exchanges. Instead, the ads ‘are’ the content. The articles have embedded links that lead to more pages which, have no other purpose than to pre-sell the consumer.

The second element found in these sites is that they all solve problems for the reader. These sites are either social, online education, or entertaining. All the focus is on the visitor, not the product, not the sale, not the web community. And if there is a ‘secret to success’ it lies in the simple truth that the Internet is the first advertising medium that focuses on the consumer and not the conglomerates.

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The Importance of E-Commerce Design

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:53:00 -0600

If you are looking to expand your business, an ecommerce store can be a very good investment. However, just building a website alone will not attract the customers you desire. In order for your site to be effective, it needs to be designed properly. One of the most important factors related to ecommerce design is search engine optimization. For your website to be noticed by potential customers, they have to actually be able to locate it online. The majority of people today use search engines when seeking information. For any given search term, you are likely to get several results. However, most people do not browse beyond the first three pages of search results. If they cannot locate your site via the search engines, you cannot increase your sales and clientele. Having a high ranking among the search engines should be a top priority for ecommerce design.

An important point related to ecommerce design is to honestly describe your product or service. For example, if you are selling the popular weight loss product called Hoodia, you want to be very clear when marketing it online. Be sure to include weight loss product or appetite suppressant in your description. You do not want to describe it as a natural way to improve your health. Customers reading this description may feel deceived or even upset if they click on your site and discover you are selling a weight loss product. The best advice is to always be honest and upfront about what you are marketing. By gaining customers trust first, they are more likely to purchase your products.

While ecommerce design will most likely require the use of specific keywords to market your product, this technique alone will not draw tons of traffic to your website. Today the search engine spiders are much more efficient in detecting actual content from keyword stuffed pages or articles. In order to achieve and maintain a good ranking among all of the major search engines, your site needs to include quality content that is well written. Most people browsing the Internet are looking for information. If your site cannot provide answers to the questions they are seeking, they will look elsewhere.

Be sure to provide sufficient information regarding the product or service you are selling. Try to think about what questions potential customers might have about your product or service. It is a good idea to include a FAQ section within your ecommerce site. On this page you can list answer to the most frequently asked questions about your product. Be sure to include a way for customers to contact you if they have further questions. It is a good idea to have more than one method of contact. The more information you provide regarding your company such as physical address, email, and phone number, the more likely customers are to feel comfortable in placing an order with you.

Another good ecommerce design technique is to actively sell your product. If you have an item to sell, be upfront and forward about it. Let customers know the benefits of your product and why it is superior to other similar products available. Your website should include an easy to locate buy now or order now button. If customers cannot easily find how to purchase your product they are not likely to spend a lot of time searching for this information. If they become frustrated and look elsewhere, you have just lost a potential customer.

If you are somewhat familiar with ecommerce design, you have probably heard the popular phrase “content is king” before. What this means is that in order to attract customers to your website and rank high with the major search engines, you need to have quality written content. However, having quality content is only the first step. The number of pages your ecommerce site contains will also greatly affect the amount of visitors to your site. In general the more pages you have, the more likely you are to receive a high amount of traffic on a daily basis.

An important tip to remember when writing content for your site is that the information must be both useful and unique. There are many online sites that allow you to download content articles for free but these articles most likely are being used at a number of other sites online. If your content is identical to that on another site, the search engines are not likely to rate your site too favorably. You should either take the time to write unique content of your own or hire a freelance writer to do the job for you. If you decide to hire someone else to write your content, make sure you have full rights to all of the articles that you purchase.

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E-Commerce Best Practices for Small Businesses

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 05:42:02 -0600

E-Commerce Best Practices for Your Online Business

Now more than ever, it is important that businesses have an online presence, especially if they are selling goods or service online. Below are 5 best practices that every online business should consider when establishing their online presence.

Know your customers: Know what they like and dislike, where they live, their age, gender, education level and occupation - all of these things will help you tailor your content for them.
Keep your content fresh and up-to-date: Keeping your content fresh and up-to-date is a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy. But it can be hard to do when you don't have the time or resources to do it yourself. Fortunately, there are tools available that allow you to automate this process and keep your content up-to-date without having to do it manually.
Optimize content for conversions: It is important to optimize content for conversions. In the context of e-commerce, it means that the content should be designed to increase the likelihood of a purchase. This is done by optimizing for the right keywords, and creating enticing and clear calls-to-action.
In small business, optimization for conversions means having conversion focused web pages with persuasive copywriting.
Make sure your site is mobile friendly: Mobile devices are now the primary platform for internet use. With the rise of mobile usage, it is important to make sure that your site is mobile-friendly.
Create an effective customer experience: In order to create a satisfying customer experience, businesses should make sure that they are providing their customers with what they want and need. You should also be aware of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in order to provide the best possible service for your customers. It is important that you take into consideration all aspects of the customer journey from initial contact, through purchase, delivery and after-sales support when designing your customer experience.