Everythink Excellent

HostRocket

Their server is very reliable - a conclusion from my own experience. One of my sites is using its’ service and is seldom down.

The most impressive point I need to mention is their superb customer service. They are fast and responsive to my questions. Yes, very fast and sometimes only requires 10 minutes. It is very important factor for selecting web hosting company because it may mean your business becomes down if your web hosting company does not respond fast.

They provide Linux web server, large web space (1250Mb), MYSQL database, PHP, Perl, ecommerce shopping carts, dedicated IP address, and other nice-to-have scripts and are more than enough for most small business owners. They also offer several plans to suit your needs ranging from various shared web hosting plan, dedicated web hosting, colocaion web server service in an affordable price.

To sum up, they are affordable, features rich with superb customer service - that’s why I use it and recommend it.

This web hosting company offers several web hosting plans including shared web hosting, dedicated servers as well as personal web hosting service.

They allow you to host multiple domain names within the same account and hence keep your cost lower if you have several websites. Besides, they provide MYSQL, PHP, ecommerce shopping carts, frontpage 2002 server extension, large web space with high bandwidth. I can say they provide features that can meet most small business requirements, and offer affordable web hosting service.

PS: Websitesource also provides online web design tool to help you build website without the need to learn HTML

They are reputable and reliable. If you own a Yahoo store, I recommend you considering hosting it through Yahoo! Web hosting for convenience.

This web hosting service provider offers affordable web hosting plan. I believe they are using Linux web server which gives you relibility and flexibility. (many scripts prefers to install in Linux server instead of Windows server)

Apart from standard web hosting features like PHP, MYSQL database, Frontpage 2002 server extension, server side support, they provide a free domain name for customers and free web marketing packages. These offers are really valuable to home business practitioners or personal web hosting searchers.

Some of my clients are using their web hosting service and they are quite positive to their server relibility and customer support.

Later I will review some Windows web hosting companies for you though my personal preference is Linux web hosting companies or Unix web hosting companies because of their relibility, and many server side scripts works better in Linux or Unix web servers.

In this article I show you my top twelve tips for creating effective Google AdWords ads.

I’ve been testing the Google pay per click advertising system for a while, with much success. These tips will help you create ads that generate higher click through rates, and lower cost per click.

1. Target The Right Audience

Target the right audience by selecting the language and countries that you want to target. For example, I exclude all countries where English is not understood by a large percentage of the population.

2. Refine Your Keywords

Use square brackets "[…]" around your keyword/s.

For example:

[google]
[google adwords]

Your ad will only show when the search is for the exact keyword phrase you have included within the brackets.

The ad will not show for searches that include other keywords. In our example, this would be for searches such as "google search," or "google news."

3. Test Multiple Ads Simultaneously

Always test 2 (or more) ads simultaneously. This is what is known in the print industry as an A/B split test.

Find out which one produces the higher click through ratio. Then replace the weaker performing ad with a new one.

Continue this process in your never-ending quest to get the highest click through ratio possible.

4. Track The Return-On-Investment Of Each Ad

Google tracks the click through ratio of each ad. But it doesn’t track the conversion ratio.

Use a special tracking link in each ad to track its conversion ratio. For example, you could attach each ad with an affiliate tracking system link. Make sure each ad produces a return-on-investment.

5. Include Targeted Keywords In Your Ad

Include the targeted keywords in the headline and the description of the ad. Google will highlight searched keywords in bold in the ad.

When people scan search results, they look for the keywords they have entered. Searched keywords highlighted in bold certainly help to catch the user’s attention. For this reason, ads with searched keywords usually perform better than ones without.

6. Sell The Benefits

Spell out one or more major benefit in your ad. For example, make more money, stay younger looking, lose weight, get healthier, live happier, etc.

7. Include Attention Grabbing Words In Your Ad

Start your headline with an attention grabbing word. For example, "Free:, New:, Sale:, etc." Make sure you stay within Google’s editorial guidelines.

8. Use Words That Provoke Emotion & Enthusiasm

Use power words or call-to-action phrases that provoke emotion, enthusiasm and a response.

Here are some examples of power words:

free, cheap, sale, special offer, time limited offer, tricks, you, tips, enhance, discover, fact, learn, at last, free shipping, etc.

Here are some examples of call-to-action phrases:

* Buy Today - Save 50%
* Download Free Trial Now
* Sale Ends Tomorrow

Make sure the phrase specific to your business, otherwise Google may reject the phrase.

9. Sell Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

What makes your product or service better, or different, from the competition? Spell them out in your ad.

For example, one of Amazon.com’s first taglines was "Earth’s Biggest Bookstore." That’s a powerful USP!

10. Link To Relevant Landing Pages

If an ad is for a specific product or service, create a landing page for the ad. Include relevant and useful information to convert the customer. Generally, a well designed landing page will almost always convert more visitors than if you simply sent the visitor to the home page.

11. Remove Common Words

Remove common words, such as "a, an, in, on, it, of, etc." Remove every word that does not absolutely need to be in the ad. Make every word count.

12. Deter Freebie Hunters

Deter freebie hunters by including the price of the product or service at the end of the ad. This will improve your overall conversion ratio and lower your average customer acquisition cost.

This may reduce your click through ratio, but that’s OK. After all, you’re not trying to target every body, only potential customers. In most cases, freebie hunters will never become paying customers.

Conclusion

Remember that advertising is a never-ending series of tests. Always track your ads. Never stop testing different keywords and ads to improve your conversion ratio and lower your customer acquisition cost.

Advertising in the Google AdWords advertising system works. It may not necessarily produce as many visitors as Overture, but the click through cost is usually lower.

Master the art of advertising in Google, and you could outsmart the competitor who’s always outbidding you in Overture. ;o)

While sitting in sessions at any Search Marketing Conference, you will hear agency-side search marketers asking the panel for advice on how to keep clients from standing in their own way.

Questions like:

What if my client ignores our optimization recommendations?

What if a client doesn’t see any value in social media?

Some search marketers might think working with clients who won’t implement recommendations is a waste of time. I think it’s well worth a little extra work needed to understand why they are not following recommendations and finding a work around. In fact, if you’re working for an enterprise SEO client, the ability to find work arounds is a bare minimum requirement.

As an account manger for TopRank, I’ve been fortunate to work with a variety of companies, managing SEO and public relations campaigns that range from small businesses to the Fortune 20. That experience has provided many opportunities to find work arounds to client created roadblocks. A few solutions I’ve discovered include these tips:

Tips to Overcoming Client-Created Roadblocks:

Commit to the RE’s:  Resend, Revamp, Re-evaluate
Realize that clients are busy. Numerous items could have come into play to explain why a client isn’t taking a recommendation and running with it and/or providing the approval you need to do the same.

Try the 3 RE’s:

1. Resend. It’s possible that the email got skipped, deleted or didn’t even make it to them.
2. Revamp. If after discussing with the client they are still not executing, revamp the recommendation. Perhaps they need a better example, they prefer to be communicated to in a different way (one on one, web meeting etc) or they need a bigger, better reason to execute.
3. Reevaluate. Make a point to review email strings and conversations with clients and learn from them. Each client is unique and will respond to information that’s best formatted for their preferences. i.e. Emails with lengthy paragraphs and no call to action tend to sit in my inbox, whereas I’ll respond immediately to bulleted lists or clearly stated actions

Learn from when/what your client responds to and repeat the patterns that get results.

Provide additional resources
Often times clients want to understand the industry and what is behind the recommendation. Be sure to offer them additional resources from which to garner information.

Share relevant articles, blog posts or data with them. I’ve found that often times it’s not the main client contact that’s the obstacle but rather other’s in their organization. Information, statistics etc can be very effective in helping them advocate SEO internally.

Bring in the heavy hitter
Sometimes you have to bring in someone else to motivate the client to action.

This can be especially true for clients that receive day-to-day communication. The folks on the agency side really become part of the client’s internal team. While this is great for managing a program, you often need someone ‘new’ to sell an idea.

As Lee and I have been discussing lately, it’s like the “prophet isn’t respected in his own hometown” idea. When you edify and build respect for an ‘out of towner’, their message will more likely be perceived by the client to be credible, even if the information from the agency contact is the same.

At the end of the day, it’s about best servicing the client and helping them achieve objectives. Find out what works for your clients and then adapt accordingly.

There are many reasons social media can be a productive marketing channel or platform. Rather than emplying it as a tactic du jour, the purpose should dictate strategy and the tactics used for reaching desired goals. A few common outcomes for social media marketing efforts include:

• Gain insight into a community of interest -You can run all the customer surveys you want, but some of the most interesting and progressive market research can be found within the social communities where your customers interact, share information and make recommendations. Tapping into the streams of dialog is a great start to engagement and social participation with your brand.

• Build brand visibility and authority - You’ve heard it before, “Conversations are happening online about your brand, with or without you.” You might as well participate and do so in a way that pays close attention to the interests and needs of your customers - providing them with information and interactions that further support your brand.

• Influence and promotion of products/services - Providing information to educate customers about your products in the formats and media types they prefer can go a long way towards building the kind of buzz that results in new business. By promotion, I mean advertising on social media sites.

• Link building for traffic and SEO - Creating linkbait and promoting it to social media news and bookmarking sites can attract a slew of links from bloggers that read them. However, sustaining high levels of promotion to the same site or with the same user accounts will quickly be outed as social media spam. Creating value for the community is not the only rule, creating value and behaving according to formal and unwritten rules is what sustains social media sourced link building.

• Drive traffic for ad revenue models - Becoming a power user of several social communities involves consistently contributing quality content, rewarding those who vote positively on that content as well as growing a large base followers. That base of like-minded connections can serve as an effective distribution channel for unique and interesting content which drives traffic to ad supported blogs that host the content. The linkbait suggestion above not only attracts links, but also attracts traffic. However, many ad supported sites report that traffic from social media sites is notorious for not clicking on ads. It’s the bloggers that write about linkbait content first viewed on social media sites that drive the kind of traffic which results in ad clickthroughs.

The mechanisms for putting these strategies into action vary depending on the resources and time allocations a company can make on its own, or when working with an agency. In fact, it is most often due to internal resource constraints that companies outsource social media strategy and tactics in the first place.

Type in “social media marketing” into Google and you’ll get about as many search results (23 million) as there are social media tactics being promoted. As with any type of marketing, social media promotions center around matching content with interested audiences as well as stimulating conversation and buzz. Content can be created from scratch, mashed up or you can “borrow to build” by piggybacking on someone else’s social media success. The key is to listen and participate.

Speaking of social media tactics, I recently wrote/facilitated an article on social media marketing for Larry Chase on his famous Web Digest For Marketers newsletter and web site which includes social media tips from some of the most opinionated minds on the topic: Brian Solis, Neil Patel, Chris Winfield, Mike Moran, Rohit Bhargava, Jeremiah Owyang, Muhammad Saleem and Jason Falls.

Each of these social media experts provided tips of their own as well as resources from: Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, Charlene Li, Andy Hagans, Pete Cashmore, Chris Brogan, authors Huba/McConnell and Emanuel Rosen. If you’re interested in social media as part of your online marketing strategy, the tips are worth checking out when it posts this week.

I am curious if Online Marketing Blog readers are finding that social media marketing tactics are getting included in strategic marketing discussions? Is social media getting singled out like SEO or PPC in budgets and forecasts?

In this article I show you three ways to get listed in Google, including one method that is virtually guaranteed to work.

I’m constantly surprised by what I find when dealing with search engine optimization clients.

One of those "surprises" is coming across sites that aren’t listed by Google, even though they have been live for many months.

For most Web sites, Google refers more traffic than any other search engine. So it’s imperative that your site is indexed in Google.

As of September 09, 2003, Google claims to index Searching 3,307,998,701 web pages. Yet somehow sites still fail to make it into the Google index!

There are three simple methods to getting listed in Google, but only one of these is guaranteed… well almost. ;o)

1. Submit Direct To Google

The first method is to submit your web site via Google’s free submit your site form. Just submit your home page and Google’s crawler, Googlebot, will crawl the rest.

However, Google does not add all submitted URLs to their index, and there is no guarantee as to when, or if, your site will be indexed.

2. Get Linked From A Site That Google Crawls

The second method is to get a site that Google already crawls to link to your site. So when Google recrawls the web site, it will find the link to your site and crawl and index it as well.

This is Google’s preferred method of finding sites to index.

To get another site to link to yours, simply look for a site that links to your competitors and ask them to link to yours. You may have to offer a link back to their site in exchange.

You may like to read my link popularity article, "How To Quickly Improve Your Link Popularity." In this article I show you how to find link exchange partners.

3. Submit Your Site To The Yahoo! Directory & The Open Directory Project Index

The third method is to submit your web site to the Yahoo! Directory and/or Open Directory Project index, which is owned by Netscape.

As far as I know, this is the only guaranteed method of getting into the Google index.

Google has agreements with Yahoo! and Netscape to include the sites indexed in their directories in the Google index. So submit your site to either, or both (recommended), of these directories.

For more information, visit Yahoo!’s How to Suggest Your Site page and the Open Directory Project’s How to add a site to the Open Directory page.

Once your site is included in either of these directories, it will appear in the Google index in about 4 to 8 weeks.

So now you have no excuse for not getting indexed by Google.

 eCommerce web design is a lot more than just putting your company brochure on the net or adding an internet shopping cart to your existing product catalog. There are some fundamental differences between doing business online and doing business the traditional way. Before you design your business web site, you must know what specific goals you desire to achieve with your business web site, determine how best to meet your goals based on your budget, and then determine what software and services you will use to design your e-commerce web site.

Web Site Business Objectives

A small business web site can do many things. This can include:

- Generate Leads. Pre-sell your business services and products to generate telephone, e-mail, or online form leads from customers.

- Generate Sales Quotes. Solicit or generate automated quotes that in turn generates a customer sale or lead.

- Generate Advertising Revenue. Display online content and free services with affiliate or ad network advertisements that generates advertising revenue from your merchant partners.

- Provide A StoreFront. Host online catalog that fully automates the customer purchase and communications process.

- Generate Customer Traffic. Generate customer traffic from search engines and business directories to pre-sell your product or service. Traffic is then re-directed to you main web site or product web pages.

Your e-Commerce web site design is greatly influenced by your specific web site objectives for your small business.

eCommerce Web Site Design Fundamentals

A web site is a lot more or even a lot less than a traditional store. There are more considerations with ecommerce web site design versus a traditional store. Web design considerations include:

Customer Friendly: Present a professional image, offer customer convenience, have good sales copy, and just make it easy for the customer to make the desired response (click, lead, sale).

Search Engine Friendly. For most online businesses, most customer traffic comes from search engines like Google, Yahoo!, or MSN. If part of your e-Commerce web site design strategy is to generate search engine traffic, you will need search engine optimization expertise to succeed. Buy it or grow it.

Web Site Automation Tools. There are thousands of web site tools such as shopping carts, content management systems, e-mail auto-responders, payment processors, search engine optimization tools, online bulletin boards, traffic analyzers, and advertising management tools. Some of these tools are cheap and some are expensive. If you do not have the expertise to evaluate these products, it is probably best that you do not make any major investments in expensive web site tools. Wait until you become knowledgeable enough to evaluate web tools and add-ons for your business web site and that you have a specific need.

Costs. Costs, of course, are a key consideration for any e-Commerce web site design solution. You can usually purchase web site tools and services up-front or by subscription. Subscriptions can help you with your cash flow up-front. Usually you do not need to make any long-term commitments with subscription software or services. Subscriptions are good because as you become more knowledgeable of specific web site solutions you can add and drop web tools and services at will. Buying software up-front is good if you know that you will definitely use the software for a long time (1 to 3 years).

Web Site Design Options

eCommerce web site design options can range from doing it yourself with web design software such as Microsoft FrontPage or outsourcing the entire web site development to a web design company. For a business, a free site with a free web site builder is not the answer. A free solution will not generate the desire response from the customer, is not search engine friendly, and is limited in growth for web site add-ons. A free affiliate site can be OK for making a sale, but have another method to generate traffic to your affiliate site as search engines will rarely give high rankings to cloned affiliate sites. Here are some e-Commerce web site design options:

Do-It-Yourself. Buy web design software and do it yourself. Good option if: technically inclined, marketing skills, part-time web publisher, limited budget.

Do-It-Yourself Using Templates. Buy web site templates, web design software, and do it yourself. Good option if: technically inclined, marketing skills, supplement with low cost web design services.

Do-It-Yourself Using Web Site Builder Solution. Buy business web solution service. Good option if: not technically inclined, have marketing skills, and willing to make some investment. Do not waste your time with a site builder that just clones a snazzy web site. You will not get a web site that generates traffic or sales.

eCommerce Web Site Design Company or Consultant. Outsource your web design work. Good option if: not technically inclined, limited marketing skills, medium-to-large budget

As with any business there are risks. In evaluating an ecommerce web design solution it is best to know your objectives, have enough business knowledge to evaluate your web service suppliers as well as your business web tools, and maintain a positive cash flow.

——————————————
Randy McClure is a web site publisher of EasyAccess Club - an eCommerce resource for discount shoppers, small businesses, and churches. We feature discount online store reviews, hundreds of discount stores, e-commerce news, and resources for doing business online.

You’ve probably seen articles that cover the "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" or something to that effect. They all seem to say the same things, don’t they? No animation, keep the appearance professional, use easy navigation, and so on. You’ve done everything those articles told you to do, but your site still isn’t making the progress you’d like. What’s wrong?

You know, out of all the ebooks I’ve seen - and all the articles on Web design I’ve read - one thing is rarely mentioned. You would think, since this element is absolutely vital to any Website’s success, that it would be the talk of the town. That one vital element is… your customer.

Before you read another article or ebook on Website design, consider these facts:

* Your customer is the reason you are in business.

* Your customer pays your bills.

* Your Website should be specifically and intentionally designed to meet your customer’s every need.

* In order to design your site to meet his/her needs, you must first know who your customer is.

Once you discover who your perfect customer is, and what needs he/she is looking to you to fill, you can apply all those other techniques in the "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" articles with great success. But the questions remain - "Who is your target customer" and "What does he/she want from you"?

It’s simple really. Just ask a few questions like:

* What types of customers visit my site?

* What is the common denominator of all these site visitors?

* What brings them to the point of needing my products/services?

* What problems do my products/services solve for my visitors?

The answers to all these questions will reveal an amazing portrait of your customers, of what they want, and of how you can supply what they need.

When you implement your design, or make changes to your existing design, do EVERYTHING with your target customer in mind. Does your site design need to be "fun" or "business-like"? That depends on whether your visitors are looking to fill a need for entertainment or professional services. Should you use vibrant pink and lime green shades, or muted blues and grays? Senior citizens would most likely shy away from "fad-ish" colors, but teenagers wouldn’t get very excited over dark, drab tones. See? It all depends on your customer. Every decision you make about your Website design should focus on and revolve around one thing… your customer.

Now, rather than repeat what thousands of other authors have written, I’ll just ask that you go back and read those "Top Ten Web Design Mistakes" articles once more. But… this time, apply their advice with your perfect site visitor in mind. You’ll be simply amazed at the results you’ll get once your focus is clearly set on the primary person involved… your customer.

An important question to answer when creating or revising a Web site is "What are the goals of this site?" because the answer will drive your Web site design and marketing decisions.

In Part 1, Understand the Decision Making Process, I took a look at understanding your site visitors’ decision making process and providing them with the right information, thus converting more visitors to purchasers.

Here in Part 2 I will present some tips for attracting targeted Web site traffic and ideas for profiting through information sites.
Attracting Targeted Traffic to a Sales Web Site

In Part 1, Karon Thackston explained the multi-step buying decision and why many of your visitors may not yet be ready to purchase. If you own a sales site, those early in the decision process are not likely to buy from you.

There are ways, however, you can attract better targeted visitors to your site (i.e. Web site traffic composed of more people approaching the purchase stage). One way is to have a presence on information sites that attract visitors in your targeted audience. This because on the information sites visitors are gathering information and evaluating options. In other words, they are preparing to make a purchase.

Michelle Horstman, owner of Choice Promotional Products, www.choicepromotionalproducts.com, says, "I do get hits from advertising on ‘informative’ sites such as www.barmitzvahfindit.com, where they have a vendor area."

For those on a limited budget, Michelle suggests purchasing advertising on sites that participate in pay-per-click programs like Overture or Google AdWords.

"When you list with Google and others on your own, you may have to pay more than your ROI would justify." She explains. "However, when you advertise with an informational site, that site can afford to pay more for the clicks, since they are supported by multiple vendors/advertisers. Ask the site if they’ll offer a trial period so you can see how much traffic it is producing."
Targeted Web Site Traffic for Information Sites

If you run an information site, the majority of your Web site traffic will be interested in researching the subject, too early in the decision process to purchase. So how can you both attract targeted Web site traffic (i.e. visitors in the early decision stages) *and* earn revenue?

You can attract information seekers by structuring each page in your Web site so it gives information on a specific topic. This expands the list of key words through which searchers might find your site.

Other ways to earn revenue from traffic to an information Web site:

    * Initiate the two step process James Maduk explains in Part 1.
    * Participate in a few select affiliate programs, which you can promote on topic-specific pages in your Web site.
    * Join a targeted advertising network such as Google’s AdSense.
    * Sell your own advertising space.

In any case, targeting Web site traffic in the "right" decision making stage creates a win-win situation. Your visitors find the information they need and you profit - through sales, advertising, or affiliate revenue - by meeting those needs.

If you’re not marketing your local business online, opportunity is passing you by. So many people focus on the Internet’s global reach that its potential benefit to local business is often overlooked. Global information is great, but people’s day-to-day lives are local. Now that so much information is available online, more consumers see the Internet as something useful instead of a passing fad.

Here are 5 ways that consumers are using the Internet:
E-Mail

According to Messaging Online, there were around 891 million email addresses at the beginning of 2001. By now there are probably 1 billion or more. Almost everyone has an email address, or knows someone who does. It’s fast becoming as common as the telephone, and just as necessary. Even if you don’t have a website, you can use email to communicate with your customers. Send them useful information, coupons, and special offers. If you don’t, someone else will.
Pre-Sales Research

For many consumers, the internet has become the great equalizer. They no longer have to take the word of a salesperson — all the information they need to make an intelligent decision is online. Consumers can research everything from products to retail services, and make sure they get the best deal. But unless your business is online, it’s unlikely they will find you.
Online Shopping

U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2002 were almost $10 billion, and will top $44 billion by year’s end. Clearly, plenty of Internet users have gotten comfortable with spending money online. Top picks include books, travel, music, clothing, Computers, movies/videos, consumer electronics, and health products. But if your business isn’t online, you won’t get any of those e-commerce dollars.
Community & Local Information

Community information is like a magnet — it draws locals online. People care about their communities and want to know what’s going on around them. They’re also looking for weather forecasts, local headlines, entertainment listings, and sporting events info. Savvy business owners recognize this and revamp their websites to include local information and real-time content, available from companies like www.moreover.com and www.yellowbrix.com. Content is the #1 reason users return to websites.
Internet Auctions

An estimated 22 million people in over 100 countries are flocking to auction sites such as Yahoo, BidBay, uBid.com and the granddaddy of them all, eBay. The listing fees are a small price to pay for the kind of exposure businesses can get. About 1.4 million items are up for sale every day on eBay, in every imaginable category, including services, cars, and houses. Consumers can also search by region and category at http://pages.ebay.com/regional/hub.html - "eBay Local Trading", where major cities are setup as regions. If you’re selling anything at all, especially consumer products, you should definitely check out eBay.

These are some of the ways consumers are using the Net. For local business owners, the message is clear: your customers are online…and so is your competition. How much longer can YOU afford to wait?
About the Author

Sharon Fling is the author of "How To Promote Your Local Business On the Internet," and publisher of "Local Business Today", an electronic newsletter that gives business owners tips, tools and resources for targeting local customers. For more information, visit http://www.geolocal.com or send a blank email to: subscribe@localbizpromo.com?subject=TRAART

The Internet is great at leveling the field for businesses. Where else can you put up a site and immediately compete with huge companies on an international basis?

What It Is

E-commerce, clearly termed as web commerce, basically means selling of merchandise or services over the Internet with electronic transactions and also through a secure network. E-com is not merely buying and selling or providing services but it is also a method of advertising and marketing through an electronic system as well. E-com also means facilitating the progress of commercial transactions electronically. Right now e-com is a well-established technology in all major countries. In most cases internet marketing requires you to have your own E-commerce store for maximum return.

Requirements of an E-commerce Store

Building an online store is not an easy job. Software is required that can manage customers as well as their needs. E-commerce software should be able to handle inventory, shipping and handling costs, taxes, dispatching and payment processing of client’s orders. You may encounter many options when setting out to build an e- commerce store. Before choosing any of them it is important to have a clear view of your requirements. Technical requirements might include coupons, tracking systems, customer login options or any number of other things. Other requirements include what type of impression you want to provide to your valuable clients.

Study the Sales and Marketing Cycle

Before you opt for any of solutions for building e commerce store, study the basic model of e commerce that represents the entire sales and marketing cycle. The first building block of this cycle is audience in which you define what type of customers you will target. Second are commodities, in which you characterize the types of products you will put on the market. Third is customer support where you will answer the questions and offer solutions to clients’ or potential clients’ problems. Next are advertising, marketing and endorsement where a business promotes the products or services. Then there is transaction processing, the most important technical phase of the cycle, which will handle orders, taxes, payment processing and order delivery. Transactions may be automatic or manual. In manual processing you have to enter credit card information manually through an offline terminal. In the case of automatic processing a client’s order form will be setup with a program that processes and charges the credit card for you. After that there are post-deal services regarding how you provide solutions and services after the sale. Last but not least is brand name with which you will create a distinctive business image to correspond with customers. Nobody is going to pay attention to your online store unless something catches their eye.

Research Your Options

Once you have defined your needs, you can then begin researching your options. There are two basic paths you may follow when building an e-commerce store - either buy ready made software or build a custom system with components and parts according to your requirements and budgets.

Flexibility

Some business firms offer gifts and well placed impulse products for better marketing approaches. This requires an e-com solution to be flexible enough to allow various give-aways, coupons and promotions. Also, if your product comes in a variety of models or styles, with different options and different prices then you must communicate these factors and portray them distinctively in your online store. A true businessperson will certainly follow the patterns of his or her usual clients as well as those who directly visit the site. Web statistic tracking tools can be a great help to this end.

Ease of Use

Some e commerce stores are very easy to use and require only a few minutes to learn while others are more complex with so many features that they can be overwhelming. Being able to see a demonstration of software before buying it is a great help to determining ease of use.

Scalability

Being able to grow with your company is very important. If you choose a very simple solution now, then require a more robust solution down the road, you will lose time converting your store. If the URL structure of your store is not consistent, you can also lose search engine rankings by changing e commerce solutions. Therefore, it is important to choose an e commerce solution that can grow with you. For example, some stores owners may not want coupons in the beginning but then down the road decide it is a good idea. Some stores may also have limits on number of products, inventory control and tracking that down the road will be very important.

Security

Of utmost importance to online stores is transaction security. The priority for any business firm should be secure transactions. Thanks to Netscape for introducing SSL (secure socket layer), data can be protected by online store owners. SSL is an encryption technology that encrypts a message and the receiver decrypts it by using RSA security. To enable SSL on your web server you need a digital ID (a form of identification that will recognize you). Many web hosts provide SSL installation for anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred bucks per year.

Overall, you want flexibility, ease of use, security and scalability in your store. Research your options before you make a final choice, and whenever possible, get a free trial of your solution before you buy.

Halstatt