Internet Product and Service Marketing Ecommerce for the Novice

Internet Product and Service Marketing Ecommerce for the Novice Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................3 GLOSSARY OF TERMS............................................................................................................................................4 MAKING THE DECISION TO START A BUSINESS ONLINE ..........................................................................8 BUILDING THE FOUNDATION ........................................................................................................................... 11 BUSINESS AND DOMAIN NAME ......................................................................................................................... 19 WEB HOST ................................................................................................................................................................ 25 WEB CONTENT AND DESIGN ............................................................................................................................. 28 TAKING PAYMENTS ON YOUR WEB SITE ...................................................................................................... 33 NOW FOR THE TRAFFIC AND CUSTOMERS .................................................................................................. 38 HIRING THE PROS ................................................................................................................................................. 44 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................ 51 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 2 Introduction If you think you want to launch an ecommerce site or an internet-based business, you have come to the right place. In this book, we will cover everything from the basic decision of whether an internet business is right for you, to how to find the right web hosting company, and whether to design and maintain your own site. We will talk about web design and content and help you avoid the most common pitfalls of web site design, and we will help you with decisions related to customer payment, customer traffic and many other ecommerce factors and options. The reason that internet-based business is so attractive to people today is that it is more affordable and that the daily news is filled with stories of people who made a fortune with an online auction business or a little start-up web site idea. In fact, you can do business on the web. However, like any other business concept, you have to be thorough and think through all the aspects of your business. You have to make good decisions about how and when to involve professionals and exactly how fancy your web site has to be, or you could lose a lot of money. If you are willing to invest the time and effort to learn about internet business, you CAN establish and maintain a profitable product or service and a good customer base. Bear in mind that the globalization of internet-based businesses means you have a lot more competition today and that your competitors may be on the other side of the world, where business costs may be lower. These are all factors you must consider before you launch your web site. On the plus side of the equation is the fact that you CAN start an internet business for a nominal investment with much less risk than a prospective small business owner who plans to open a retail store. So, how do you KNOW whether you should take the plunge? Before you invest any time and effort in building a web site, be sure you have a good grasp on what it will take to build this business and to maintain the site, how much money you can expect to make from your product or service and how much competition you will have. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 3 This book is designed for internet novices and therefore we have provided a Glossary of Terms that we hope will help you follow the discussion in this book and better understand the terminology. If you feel confident about internet, internet marketing, web design and other terminology, you can skip the next section and dive into the meat of the book! If you encounter a term you do not know, you can always come back to the Glossary to review the meaning. Glossary of Terms Here is a short list of terms you will need to know if you are going to do business on the internet. There are literally hundreds of internet, web and ecommerce terms but we cannot list them all here. In this book, we have given you the most commonly used terms and those that most closely relate to the discussion in this book. If you are familiar with these terms, you can skip to the next section of the book! BLOG (‘WEB LOG’) A blog or web log is a public web page that can relate to a topic or a person. Others can look at this page and type comments about a topic or about the person’s opinions or the things the blog owner has said. BOOKMARK Just like a bookmark you use to mark your place when you are reading a book, a bookmark on the internet is used to ‘mark’ the spot you are visiting so you can quickly and easily find your way back. When you find a site you like online, you can mark this site for easy retrieval and it will show up in the menu called ‘bookmarks’ or ‘favorites’. BROWSE Much like browsing the shelves of your favorite bookstore or looking through the racks of a clothing store, when you ‘browse’ online you are searching for a product, service or topic in which you are interested. You can do this by using a ‘search engine’ (see below), and typing in a word or phrase you want to find. Your search engine will then show you a list of the web sites or pages on the internet that match the words you used to browse or look for information. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 4 BROWSERS Browsers are computer software programs that display the web sites or documents you want to view. To do this, they must translate the computer language of HTML (see below) so you can see the words, and pictures you want to see. Examples of browser programs include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla and others. DATABASE Think of a database as a storage area and structure (like a closet or garage). Each piece of data or information that is stored in a database is categorized so that all similar items are stored together, e.g. the birth date of each person who registers for an account on a web site, or the city or state in which they live. The files or ‘records’ in the database are pulled (just as you would pull files from a file cabinet) in response to a search or request made by the person searching for information. DOMAIN NAME Domain names are names that are registered by and for a particular business. These names are used to identify the business location on the internet. Much as you would look up the street address of a retail store so you can find the location and drive to the store, you will type the domain name for a business in your browser so you can find the web site and business you want to visit to buy products or get information. Domain names always end with two or three additional letters that categorize the type of company. In the beginning all domain addresses ended with ‘.com’. Now, there are domain addresses for government sites (.gov), schools (.edu), and many others including: int, mil, net, org. Many domain names also include extensions that indicate the country in which they do business: uk, us, mx, au, etc. FAQ These letters stand for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. FAQ files typically contain a set of questions (most often asked by customers or colleagues) and associated answers. Customers can look at the FAQ section or page of a web site to find information that may help answer their questions. FREEWARE Free software that you can download directly from the internet (some of these programs contain advertising and other ‘hooks’ so that, even though you don’t pay for the use of the software, you are advertising their products when you use the freeware (otherwise known as SHAREWARE). Other types of shareware will have a limited free usage time, after which the manufacturer hopes you will buy the software. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 5 FTP ‘File Transfer Protocol’ is a program that gives you the ability to transfer files from one computer to another and to upload files to your web site ‘server’ (see below) so that you can include them for viewing on your web pages. GUI ‘Graphical User Interface’. The GUI is the design and function of the web site you see on the page in front of you when you visit a web site. It includes the menus by which you navigate, the colors and fonts you see and all the tools, buttons and things you use to get around the site. A GUI designer focuses on the usability of the site and the ‘back end’ designer makes everything function and creates the structure so that all the pieces fit together. The GUI gives a web site its ‘look and feel’. HEAD or HEADER This is not, as you might suspect, the title or the subject of a web page per se. Instead it is the header that appears in the ‘source code’ (the language and computer code that makes a web site run). The header contains information that helps a search engine match your business, what you sell and the information contained on your web pages with what the customer or computer user wants to find. This header will often contain a description of the business or site, keywords (see below) and a title used by the search engine to identify your site. HIT When you get a HIT on your web site, it means that a prospective customer or a visitor has come to your web site and viewed one or more pages on the site. For each visitor on your site, you will have at least one ‘hit’, perhaps more if they visit more than one page. every listing a search engine returns from a search is called a hit. HOME PAGE This is usually the first page your customer sees when they visit your web site. It is where you present your company and business and explain what you sell, etc. From this page, your customer can navigate to other pages on your site that contain specific information about a product, or provide a shopping cart to buy the product. If you do not identify a page on your site as your ‘home page’, the search engine will take the customer to the page labeled as the ‘index’ page on your site. HOST The host can be a computer that acts as the master computer and provides documents and ‘serves’ files to clients or users. In the case of a web site, your ‘host’ is the company that provides the structure and foundation for your web site. Think of this company as the file cabinet (in that they store the items in a database for your site and customers to use). You can also think of it as the reporter (in that they typically offer reports that tell you how many people visit Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 6 your site and how they found your site), and the company that provides storage space for all the graphics, computer code and other elements that make up your web site. The host also ‘serves’ the information to your customer when your customer looks for your site, and they provide the ‘servers’ that keep your data safe and available. HTML ‘Hypertext Markup Language’ is a computer code language in all web pages and documents. When you look at a web page, you are looking at the result of this code operating in the background. Your browser interprets this code, just as a United Nations interpreter interprets a foreign language so that an Englishspeaking member can understand what is said. KEYWORD A word that a computer user enters into a ‘search engine’ (see below) to find a product, service or topic in which they are interested. Keywords are also hidden in the code behind every web page. These keywords tell the search engine what is contained on the site, what the web site is about and what the visitor can find there. By matching the keyword the user enters into the search engine with web sites that contain the same keywords, the search engine matches a user with a list of web pages that will give him/her the information he is seeking. METADATA A description provided in provided in meta tags in an HTML document or web page header. This data provides information about the document or the page so that search engines can match it to user requests. META TAG Written in HTML code, these ‘tags’ are used in the ‘header’ of a web page to provide information about the page. SEARCH ENGINE A tool like Google or Dogpile or Yahoo that is designed to search the Internet for terms and keywords you enter to find information on a topic or product in which you are interested. The search engine presents ‘results’ after it performs a search on the keywords and terms. It ranks these results in the order in which they seem to fit your requirements (frequency of use of the keyword on a site, relevance of content to your search phrase or words). SPIDER An automated software program (or robot) that explores the internet, collects web page addresses, keywords and page content, and feeds it back to the search engine to create a ‘library’ of addresses and links that match certain words or topics. Pagina 7 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop URL The ‘Uniform Resource Locator’ specifies the location of a web site or web page on the internet. The URL is the ‘address’ of the web site or page you want to visit. It contains the ‘domain name’ and an ‘extension’ like ‘.com’, or ‘.net’ and tells your browser where to find the web site you want to review. WEB SITE A web site usually consists of more than one ‘web page’ with information about a topic, product or service. It may contain a storefront or shopping cart for customers to use to pay for a product they wish to order and have shipped to their residence or business address. Users and visitors can find their way around the web site by using ‘links’ that take them to each of the page that comprise the site. A web site may contain information about the company history, customer service for a product, educational material and articles or any one of a number of other things. Now that you have some familiarity with the terms you will encounter in this book, let’s move on! Making the Decision to Start a Business Online Let’s say you have one great idea for an ecommerce site. Or, perhaps you don’t KNOW exactly what you want to sell or even if it is a good idea to try this business model. Either way, you have to have a plan. Like any good business venture, the more prepared you are, the more likely it is you will be successful.  First you need to figure out what you want to sell.  Then you have to do some research to see if there is a demand for this product or service and whether it is currently being sold successfully online.  The next step is to figure out who your competitors are and to see what THEY are doing online to get customers. What does their web site look like?  How easy is it to find a product on their site, and purchase it and pay for it quickly and efficiently? What kind of content does your competitor have on his/her site, or do they just have a storefront for sales? Pagina 8 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Later, we will talk about search engine ranking and how to figure out what ‘keywords’ and web content you will need to draw traffic to your site. If we have confused you already, remember that you can use the Glossary to review the meaning of the terms used in this book. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with these terms, as your new web-based business is likely to require close contact with the web, its techniques and tools and language. As you build your web site, you will find yourself embroiled in ‘page rankings’, ‘search engine optimization’ and much more! So, study the Glossary and learn the lingo!  Before you settle on a product or service, check your local discount stores and the large online chains like Amazon and others to see if they are already selling what you plan to sell. It is VERY hard to compete with the big guys. They can afford to give deep discounts and unless your product or service has some other valuable feature to distinguish it from all the others, your target customers are probably going to go to the big discount chain in their community, or look online to buy from a large retailer at a lower price.  After this research is complete, if you are still excited about the opportunity of online business, you will next need to establish your business (choosing your business ‘type’ – sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, corporation, etc.). You will need to choose a business type that gives you the best tax benefit, and the most protection against liability (if your product or service may expose you to legal action.  You will get a Tax ID number when you set up your business. This number allows you to collect state sales tax and establishes your ability to buy products wholesale so you can re-sell these products on your web site.  Next, you will need a business bank account. Some banks require you to wait three months after your business paperwork is filed, before you can open a business account.  Since your business is an online business, you will have to get a ‘domain’ name. This name is the name of your web site and the ‘address’ your customers will type into their web browser when they want to visit your site. Pagina 9 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop You should be prepared with several options and spin-offs of the name you think you want, since your first choice may not be available. If the name is already registered to another business, you will not be able to use it for YOUR web site. We will talk more about the ‘ins and outs’ of choosing a domain name later.  The next item on your list is to find a web host. A web hosting company will store all the files that make up your web site, including a database of information, prices, and content. Some web hosting companies are much cheaper than others. However, you have to look at the features and services your web host will offer before you choose the host that is right for you. We’ll talk more about this later.  Next, you will need to decide if you are going to design your own web site or hire professionals to do it for you. You can compromise by purchasing web ‘templates’ from a professional company. With a little training and a little effort, you can learn to update these templates to change or add information to your web site.  Whether you are designing your own web site or hiring professionals, you need to figure out what ‘content’ you want on your site. Will you have educational information, write articles, provide a description of your services or just sell products?  If you are selling products or services on your web site, you will need some way to accept payments. We’ll talk more about this later, but make no mistake you MUST provide a method to accept payments on the spot, rather than asking your customer to send a check or money order.  If you intend to be recognized as a professional business, you must offer your customers a simple way to order your products.  After you have done all these things, you will need to either stock your product or hire your employees to perform services.  Your web designer (maybe YOU) will have to consider advertising techniques and other methods to get customers to find and buy from your web site. We’ll talk more about this later. As you can see, starting an online business is a significant investment and time and effort. Pagina 10 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Your expenses may not be high, but you do have to put in the planning time and ensure that you have thought through all the aspects of the business. The bottom line for prospective online business entrepreneurs is to consider the time and effort, the cost and the findings from your research. THEN, decide whether you really think you can pull this off! Building the Foundation Let’s suppose you have made the decision to start your online business. You may be anxious to get started, but first you will need to capture all of your research and your plans in a Business Plan. You don’t necessarily need to create one of those 100 page documents required for a large bank loan, but you DO have to think through all of your plans and get them on paper. This document will be used by your designers, partners and others who have a need to understand your business vision, and it will serve to keep you on track as you pursue your dream. For starters, you can create a simple document to capture the overall vision, and then add to it as you fill in the blanks. To make our discussion easier to follow, let us introduce you to Dan Brenner, a man with a dream for an online business. We will follow Dan as he considers and executes all the tasks you will need to execute to build YOUR dream business. Dan’s online business involves the re-sale of popular watches – everything from expensive designer watches to fun children’s watches. As you look at Dan’s requirements outline for his online plan, you will see that he still has some questions to answer. However, he is making good progress by creating a document that says what he does and does not want, what he still needs to research and how he envisions his web site to look and feel when a customer visits. This will help his web designer and it will help Dan. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 11 As he gets more information, he will edit the document to add more information and clarity. His simple plan document looks like this: Product Information and Review We want content on the site that will categorize the watches we sell into Women’s, Men’s, and Children’s watches. I also want to offer a little information (about 200-400 words) to promote the types of watches in that category and get people excited about looking for the watch they want. Within each category, we’ll have a listing of the watches, with pictures and a brief description. We will also give the customer a way to search on the site for a particular brand, keyword or type of watch and then check off the ones they want to compare, so they can get to a page that has those watches displayed with features and pricing comparisons. Order and Payment Processing Customers will be able to pay by PayPal or credit card. We will have a shopping cart that lets them add items and then continue shopping or proceed to check out. If the customer wants to register on the site, they can save their personal and payment information preferences so they can order more quickly if they want to come back and order more products again. This personal and payment information will be secured and we will tell the customer that their information is safe. We will offer several shipping choices (overnight, 3-5 days and 7-10 days) at various prices. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 12 Marketing We need to figure out the keywords and other advertising methods that are best for us by looking further into our competitors’ sites and determining where and how they advertise. I also need to look at their site keywords to see how effective they are in getting them at the top of the best search engines. Maybe we can buy banner ads and get a direct email campaign going. If a customer registers with us, perhaps we can offer them our newsletter or an email with sales specials every month. Customer Service and Fulfillment We will guarantee that any order accepted by our server by 5:00 p.m. will be shipped by the following day if it is in stock. If items are out of stock, we will guarantee that our web site will indicate that the item is backordered and provide an estimated date for shipping. We should also offer one of those live customer service links where you can IM online with a customer service representative if you have a problem or question. We should also have an ‘about us’ page with some FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) to help customers understand who we are and what our customer satisfaction policies are, how to return merchandise and other helpful information Business Name, Web Host and Web Design We need to check out the top choices for business web site names to be sure that one of them is available. Here are the names I like the best: watcharena.com watchandtime.com discountwatch.com watchgalore.com Pagina 13 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop I need a third party web site host that has inexpensive rates but reasonable features and reporting so I can track my web site traffic and see where most of my customers are finding our site. I have NO clue about web design so I need to find a designer. I have gotten several names in the local area, but I have to figure out how to tell the difference between a skilled web designer who is charging a reasonable price and someone who does not know what they are doing or is much overpriced. From the little research I did, I have also discovered that the designers who create the things you see on screen and figure out the colors and how the web site will look are not the same people who build the guts of the web site that actually processes payments and stores information in a database, etc. HELP! Competitors I did some research on what I think are my top competitors and some of them are in China and the U.K. I need to figure out how to handle international shipping and how to appeal to the people who might like watches that are made in other countries (U.K., Switzerland, etc.) and whether I should accept and buy antique watches for resale. That wasn’t in the plan and it means I have to design some other way of communicating with potential sellers and getting information about the watch to decide if I want to buy it. Watch Parlor carries these antique watches and they get a lot of money for them. How can I figure out how many they sell and whether this is a good business for me too? I need to follow what my top three competitors are doing. I need a plan to review their sites and figure out how they are doing, what they change, how often they update their site and how much traffic they are getting. I notice that Watch Parlor always comes up on the top of the search engines I use. What are their keywords and what else are they doing that I can learn how to do? Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 14 Now, take a moment now and try to capture your own thoughts on paper. Note the things you still need to research and what you have to find out. If you are still unsure about your business plans, read on! You can put your plan together later, after you understand each component of your web-based business and things are a bit clearer. When you are making the list of the tools you will need to build your web site, you can consider free or low cost tools and software to help keep your costs down. Bear in mind that most of these ‘free’ or low cost tools come with a catch. For example, during your online search for appropriate tools to build your web site, you may find a ‘free’ counter you can use to track the number of ‘hits’ on your webpage. But you will probably find that the code for that counter contains advertising for other products and you will have to agree to carry that advertising on your site in order to get your ‘free’ counter. Some very reputable companies like Google and others also provide ‘free’ tools you can use to figure out what keywords you will need for your site, and how your competition measures up when the average customer looks for a product or service. As you complete your research and make decisions about your web site, use tools like these to help you: To search for keywords you think you might want to use and see how often your customers use these words to find the products they need: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ To search for web site rankings for your competitors and for keywords you and/or they may use: http://www.googlerankings.com/ Another Google ranking tool to help you design your web site to be search engine friendly: http://googlerankings.com/googlefriendly.php Numerous web site research tools: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/ A downloadable tool bar that will let you see web site rankings and other useful information as you review competitive sites: http://download.alexa.com/index.cgi Pagina 15 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Tools to keep your site up and running: http://www.netmechanic.com/ If you are interested in taking a shot at your own web design but you don’t know how to write HTML code, here is a site you might find interesting: http://www.nvu.com/index.php Check out how your newly designed web site will look to a user coming from ANY web browser: http://www.anybrowser.com/ If you are not great with colors but you want an attractive GUI for your web site and one that will utilize the best colors for visibility and usability, check out this site: http://www.colormatch.dk/ Set up your own search function on your web site: http://sitelevel.whatuseek.com/ If you think you want to be your own webmaster and monitor and maintain your own site, here are some great free tools for you to use: http://thefreesite.com/Webmaster_Freebies/ Now that you have a handle on some of the tools and utilities that can help you decide how to build and maintain your web site, you should consider completing a real Business Plan. The short ‘requirements’ plan document that Dan wrote above is a great way to get started. As you add the details and answer the questions in that first short document, you will want to start a real business plan. Even though you may not need $100,000 bank loan to start an online business, the more planning you do, the more questions you will answer up front and the less likely you are to fall into an unanticipated hole while you are building and running your business. If you DO NOT need to get a loan to start your business, you can keep your plan simpler and focus on the main purpose of the online business plan for YOUR OWN NEEDS. Here are the sections of the plan: Executive Summary (which summarizes your plan into a one-page overview – good for you, a business accountant or attorney). Pagina 16 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop If you aren’t going the full-blown business plan route in order to get a loan, this is probably the only part of the Business Plan you will ever show your friends, associates or consultants. It must contain a very brief description of what your business does (what product it will sell, what service it will provide), and a statement about your target customers. Who will buy your products or services and why is your product or service distinctive enough to attract these customers? How much money will you invest in this business? Where will you get the money? If you don’t need a loan, and your online business costs are low, you still need to figure out how you will pay for the costs you DO incur. What milestones have you already achieved? If you have done your competitive research and have information from that, if you have registered your domain name and gotten your business certified in your county or state, indicate all of those things. Business Description contains a more detailed description of your company, your products or services, how many employees you will have, whether you will distribute, sell retail, sell wholesale, import/export products, enter into a partnership or go it alone. What makes your business approach special? How are you different from your competitors? Why did you start this company? Where is your company home base? The Strategy section provides your marketing plan, how you will advertise and market your products or services, how you will inform your customer that you are different from your competitor, how large you think your market niche is (with research to back up your claim), and whether it will grow, change or shrink over the next 2-5 years. You can do some research in your market niche and find out what the numbers look like here: http://www.clickz.com/stats/, and here http://www.marketresearch.com/. You will need to decide whether you are going to pay for advertising through the ‘pay per click’ programs offered by some online companies, or whether you will advertise by linking your site to other related products and services (and how you will convince those other site owners to place your links on their pages). Will you use an email marketing campaign? If so, how will you develop the list of names to which you want to send your advertising email messages? What does your advertising and marketing budget look like? Pagina 17 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop The Competitors section talks about the businesses and web sites you have identified as your main competitors (domestically and/or internationally). Do they have brand name recognition? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? How will you make inroads in this market? How much of the market share do you think you can get within 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years? Your Development Plan is the nuts and bolts of how you will bring your company to fruition. What will you do first? How fast will you grow? What are your goals and milestones? When will your business turn a profit? The Management section talks about your management team (you) and anyone else you will be using for consulting. You can name your business attorney, your accountant and any other professional you will use on your team. What kind of experience do you and your team have? If you are using a web designer, hiring a web master or engaging a web hosting company, talk about the management of those businesses so that you and your readers know that you have the backing of good, solid experience behind you in the various areas where you need to succeed. Be sure you get the permission of these professionals and that they approve the text that talks about them, their experience and their achievements before you publish your business plan or show it to anyone else. Talk about past accomplishments in other businesses and for other companies and provide links or examples to explain or show these accomplishments. The Financial section is where you have to add some detail to show your projections for your earnings and when you will break even and make a profit. What equipment do you own or have you purchased. What does your balance sheet look like. If you do not have a business background, you should get a good accountant, and/or financial analyst to help you put this piece together. It is worth the investment so you know whether you have REALISTICALLY considered all your expenses and when you can expect to start making money. If you hire a business consultant to help you with your business plan, it will cost you about $2,000 to $5,000 for a plan that is 15-30 pages in length. Or you can buy a software program that will walk you through the planning process (BizPlan Builder, PlanWrite or Business Plan Pro – for around $100 to $150). Pagina 18 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop You can also engage the services of the Small Business Association (http://www.sba.gov/) to help you figure it all out: http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html They have a lot of information on their web site and you may even be able to get a SCORE professional (a retired or volunteer businessperson) to help you put your plan together. You will probably edit your business plan as you complete all the research you have outlined in your requirements document and begin to get a solid picture of what you need to do and who is going to help you. Don’t just put the plan away on a shelf. Draft the plan and work with it as a ‘living document’. As you find information that changes your milestones, your goals or your plans for your business, update your Business Plan to reflect those changes. Business and Domain Name Before you choose your domain name you should think carefully about the process people will use to find your web site. Do not make the site name too cute or clever by changing the spelling of a common word. Keep it simple. Don’t make it too long or difficult to remember. Choose something that identifies the business and hopefully gives the customer an idea of what you sell or the information they will find there. If your website name contains words that help the customer find your product or service, you are on the right track. If your website name is part of your ‘brand name’ or product name, that is good too! Choose several options before you start to look for your domain name so that if your first choice for a name is taken, you can move on to the next one. You should understand that web-hosting services often check out the availability of a domain name and register the name for you to save you the time and trouble. So, if you already know who your web host will be, leave this work up to them. If you DO NOT know who your web host will be, you can search for available names on your own. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 19 Remember that you can search for a domain name to identify your business, using the extension ‘.com’, ‘.net’, etc. Let’s go back to our friend Dan who is ready to register a domain name. Remember, he likes the name ‘Watcharena’ best. So, he goes to one of the sites where he can search to see if that name is available. Here is what he finds: Your Selection: watcharena.com, is not available To register your selection(s) click . You may also select additional names below and click . All checked items will be included in your order. All unchecked items will be removed from your order. Search Results: Legend: - available; - not available; - in your cart Page: 1 Results: 1 through 21 next page >> .com .net .org .info .biz watcharena hardarena lyricarena railarena strikearena futurearena egoarena audiarena naturalarena mrarena ozarena fararena brakearena drivingarena hellarena .us Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 20 binaryarena memphisarena leasearena truearena lostarena As you can see, ‘watcharena.com’ is not available. He COULD choose ‘watcharena.net’ or the same name with some other extension, but he would like a ‘.com’ extension since he thinks that is what most people know best. So, he looks again on another site for his second choice: ‘watchandtime.com’ One or more of the names you searched for are unavailable. Select from the available names, or other domain extensions, listed below. Choose the domain names you want by checking the boxes and selecting the Add to Cart button. AVAILABLE Select the domain name(s) you want to register and click Add to Cart. watchandtime.net watchandtime.org watchandtime.info watchandtime.biz watchandtime.us watchandtime.tv watchandtime.cc watchandtime.ws UNAVAILABLE Make an offer or view WHOIS records by clicking on the domain name. watchandtime.com TRY A NEW SEARCH TIP: Adjust your domain name search slightly and try again. e.g., mybrand.com Is your domain name listed above? .com .us .tv .ca .co.uk .pro .net .biz .cc .de .org.uk .org .info .ws .jp Unfortunately, that one is taken, as well! Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 21 His third choice is ‘discountwatch.com’: One or more of the names you searched for are unavailable. Select from the available names, or other domain extensions, listed below. Choose the domain names you want by checking the boxes and selecting the Add to Cart button. AVAILABLE Select the domain name(s) you want to register and click Add to Cart. discountwatch.cc UNAVAILABLE Make an offer or view WHOIS records by clicking on the domain name. discountwatch.com discountwatch.net TRY A NEW SEARCH TIP: Adjust your domain name search slightly and try again. e.g., mybrand.com .com .us .tv .ca .co.uk .pro .net .biz .cc .de .org.uk .org .info .ws .jp discountwatch.ws discountwatch.org discountwatch.biz discountwatch.info discountwatch.us discountwatch.tv Is your domain name listed above? You will notice that some of these domain registration sites offer the option of buying the name from someone who has already registered the domain name you want. Individuals and companies will sometimes do this to make money. If you want the name badly enough, they think you will pay! Try to find another name that fits your requirements if you can. The last name Dan chose was ‘watchgalore.com’ Let’s see what he finds when he tries to register this name using another domain registration company web site: Pagina 22 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Your Domain Name Search Results Results of Your Search Sorry The domain(s) you searched for are not available. See options to get unavailable domain names Domain names as low as $9.99 (FREE with annual Web site & hosting purchases)  View Domain Pricing Select available checkboxes to add domains to your order: What do these extensions stand for? .com .net X .org .us .info .name .biz .tv .ws .cc .bz .de .co.uk watchgalore See options to get unavailable domain names Search Again Searches above will remain in your results Enter each domain name on one line, or use commas to separate domain names. Examples: my-own-company.com, jimsbikes.com Need More Options? Get This Exact Domain Name Option 1 Make a Certified Offer — Only $19 Per Offer Make an instant offer directly to the Seller to buy an already registered domain name. Find out quickly whether the domain name you really want can be yours. All transactions are anonymous & secure. Make a Certified Offer for watchgalore .com Option 2 Place a Backorder Now - No upfront fee Get the domain name(s) you want through the enhanced backorder service from SnapNames®, if the domain name(s) expires and becomes available. Backorder watchgalore .com Expired Domain Names Search Thousands of domain names expire every day. View a list of expiring domain names to get the one you want, before someone else does. View the Expired Domain Names List Expired Domain Names Alerts Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 23 This free Keyword Alert service notifies you via e-mail when domain names matching your criteria appear on the expired list and are pending renewal or deletion. Create a Keyword Alert Recommended Alternative Domain Names Similar Available Domain Names The following similar names are available: watchaplenty.com thegalorestore.com tendgalore.com ourmangalore.com guardgalore.com giftsgaloretravel.com watchoverflow.com egiftgalore.com watchplentiful.com giftsgalorecentral.com Dan is faced with a difficult decision. He can either choose another extension like ‘.net’ or ‘.org’, or he can keep looking for a name he likes. Here is what he chose: ‘watchedclock.com’. Congratulations! watchedclock.com is available You can get your domain name only, choose a solution or add individual services below. A. Continue with domain name only watchedclock.com What do you think of Dan’s choice? Is it right for his type of business? Will it attract customers when they search for keywords like ‘watch’? Start your own search to see if you can find the name you want. Remember that you don’t have to register your domain name when you find it, but if you really love the name and you are sure that is what you want, you shouldn’t wait too long. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 24 Believe it or not, all of Dan’s other business name options were already taken, so take a lesson from Dan and complete a list of at least 10 domain names you like. Put them in order of preference and get moving! Here are some sites you can use to find and/or register your domain name. Remember if you you’re your web host to register your name, you can provide this information and they will do the research and registration. http://domains.aplus.net/?cmp=google/356/domain&utm_campaign=google&utm _medium=cpc&utm_source=http%3A//www.aplus.net/adv/ref/google/356.xml%3 Fgclid%3DCNrdxvOYoYYCFQ0YFQodcj3lwg&gclid=CNrdxvOYoYYCFQ0YFQod cj3lwg http://www.register.com/retail/index.rcmx http://www.register.com/retail/product/registration.rcmx http://www.networksolutions.com/home.jsp;jsessionid=8dbae26a9f17 38154e04cc3b3cc:+cjA?layoutIdIndex=0 It is important to know that your domain name must be renewed or you will lose the name to someone else who might want it. Be sure that your web host (or YOU) or your web designer remembers when this name is coming up for expiration and that the domain name is protected by renewing it when it is due. Watch out for companies who try to grab your business by pretending to help you renew the name when they are not the company with whom you registered the name. If they send you an email or an invoice, match their company name to the company with whom you started your business and don’t get taken! These scamming companies can look up expiration dates online and they will often spam business owners with renewal email messages in hopes of getting them to change companies without even KNOWING they are changing companies. Web Host Before you choose a web host, you should know this: You should not choose your host based on annual price alone. Pagina 25 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop In order to start and maintain a successful web-based business you will need feedback.  You’ll need to know what your customers are doing and you’ll need to see the statistics and reports to figure out what is happening.  Does the web host you are considering have a free reporting service and can you view these statistics on demand?  You will probably also want a number of email addresses associated with your web site so you can post addresses on various web pages within your site and separate the incoming email into categories (for sales, service, events, etc.).  You will want to be sure you have enough storage space to upload documents, files and graphics on your site.  You will want to see what tools and utilities the web host offers to make your site maintenance easier.  Do they offer the ability to add a blog or a guestbook to your site?  Can you easily add and manage a shopping cart?  How much downtime does this web hosting company experience on a monthly basis? You don’t want your site to be down when a customer wants to find you and buy your products.  Does your web host company have technical service and support 24/7? Can you talk to them on the phone or via live chat on their web site if you have a problem?  How long has the hosting company been in business? Have they changed ownership several times?  Will they renew your domain name annually without your having to remember the expiration date so you don’t lose your business domain name?  Are they profitable or might they go out of business or sell their business to another company any day?  Do they have back-up and redundancy for all of the data you will be storing on their servers?  Is there a System Administrator on site watching the servers at all times?  Do they have a history of growing and adding new services for their clients? Pagina 26 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop  Do they have good technical support or will you be talking to someone who is from customer service and doesn’t understand the technical issues?  Are they flexible and do they support all kinds of file types, animation, etc.?  Can you get references from current clients to find out if they are satisfied with service, response time, down time, etc.  Do you have to pay for support? There are many web hosting companies with many options. They range in price for monthly and annual charges and for additional features, so do your homework. Here are some ideas to get you started: http://www.webhostinginspector.com/ http://www.top-10-web-hosting.com/?wcw=google http://www.top10hostinglist.com/ http://www.webhostdir.com/ http://www.thehostingchart.com/?qiii=1&gjrdm=11870&gclid=COXPkMiprYYCFU QFFQodbEzYVQ http://www.top10onlinehosts.com/ http://www.gate.com/promos/index30-DayTrial.htm http://www.hostcritique.com/ Here is a link to a discussion group where you can browse through negative and positive comments and discussion topics regarding web hosts, features and tradeoffs: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/ We would advise against free hosting services. You will end up with pop ads and all kinds of banners and animated annoyances advertising other unrelated products and annoying your customers to distraction. It makes your site look unprofessional and gives control of the site to others so that your customer comes away feeling like they have just visited a very low-end, start-up site that may go out of business soon! Pagina 27 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop By all means, use free utilities and tools where you can find them and if they are not intrusive or obnoxious. But stay away from free web hosts. For a company to provide good, solid, technically professional services, they must be serious about their niche, and not just in the business for the advertising profit. Site building tools like Homestead and Yahoo! Stores are easy for novices to use. And provide web page templates and features that allow you to update your inventory and change content on your site. If you choose to buy software and learn a program, try to go with a simple program like ‘FrontPage’ but understand that not all web hosts support FrontPage programming, so you need throw that consideration into the mix as well when you are considering your web hosting company. Here are some other links you may find useful when you are considering your web host supplier: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/web/index-outside http://www.top10hostinglist.com/ http://www.top-10-web-hosting.com/?wcw=google http://www.thehostingchart.com/?qiii=1&gjrdm=11828&gclid=CPLFkNeYoYYCFS AKFQodKQS2rw Web Content and Design Now, let’s talk about web design. Whether you intend to design your own web site or hire a pro (we’ll talk about this option later), you should understand the basics of good web design so you know whether your site is competitive and easy to use. One way you can do the research is to go online and just look at a lot of professionally designed websites. Note that they don’t use a black background, and that few if any product web sites use animation (or if they do, they give you the option to SKIP IT), and that they are consistent with color palettes, fonts and graphic use throughout their site. The idea is that, no matter what page you are on in a business web site, you know you are still on the same site because the look and feel is consistent. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 28 You also have to consider the size of fonts (not too small for those who find it hard to read small print), and not to curly or difficult to read for those with bad eyesight. Stay away from colors that are hard to read online (like bright yellows and some reds). Go with a design that fits the product or service you are selling. You don’t want a bright flashy site to sell health care products, but you might want JUST THOSE colors for a record label that promotes hip-hop music. There is a lot more to web design than meets the eye (quite literally). Yes, the site must look and feel good and your customers must be able to quickly find their way around the site and find what they are looking for without wasting time. Beyond that, the design of the ‘back end’ of your site is just as important. The ‘guts’ of the web site, as one technical friend of ours calls it, includes the code and the programs that make everything run seamlessly. It ensures that if a user registers on your site, he can expect to easily log in the next time he comes back. His user name and password will be remembered because the programming for your site has installed a ‘cookie’ on his computer that contains all the information he will need to log in without having to register again. The back end programming also ensures that your customer will be directed to an appropriate page on your site after they complete an order, and that they will receive an email to confirm the shipping information. If your site is going to be simple, or merely informational, you may want to consider designing your own business web site. If it is going to be complex with a lot of information and function and features, you will probably want to read the section on ‘Hiring the Pros’. In any event, here are a few things you should consider, whether you are designing your site or having someone else design the pages. Remember it is your business site and it represents you, so you need to stay involved in the design process even if you have a professional designer working on your web site. Be Consistent – Keep your menus and navigational tools in the same place on every page, and use the same fonts and colors and layout. Create a ‘style sheet’ and use it. A style sheet dictates the colors, location and other look and feel features of your site. Use easy to read fonts, and do not use more than two font types on your web site. Be sure there is enough contrast between the dark color of your font and the light background color of your site so that it is easy to read. Pagina 29 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Provide Easy Contact Info – Every page on your web site should include your business telephone number, mailing address and email address so a customer can get in touch with you if they need to do so. You can also consider customer service software that allows your customer to chat with you or someone else, LIVE while they are visiting your site. If you are going to use this kind of software, be sure there is someone monitoring the site so that your customer does not go unanswered. Or, list the hours during which the site will be monitored and the time zone in which your customer service representative is working. Keep it Simple – Don’t add a lot of meaningless clutter to your web site. Flashing logos, animated pictures, too many fonts or colors…all of this just makes it harder for your customer to read your content and find products and services. Keep the number of pages and files on your web site to a minimum so that the user does not get lost in your site trying to find things and to ensure that your site does not take forever to load on your dial-up customer’s machine. Be Clear - Put all related and associated information on the same page, or provide links to get your customer to where they need to go and back again. Name your products and services with clarity and use concise language that everyone will understand. Customers don’t want to be confused. Allow for Printing – If your web pages are not set up to print all the text and information on the page without going outside the margins of a standard printed sheet, you will need to have a ‘print version’ that a customer can select when they want to print information from your web site for future reference. Use Appropriate and Descriptive Titles – Make it easy for your customer to know where they are at all times by placing your company name at the top of each page and titles that tell them what page they are visiting (is this the storefront, the customer service page or the guestbook?) Use Highlights as Appropriate – You can call attention to really important numbers, prices or statistics by using bullets. Just don’t overdo it! Follow the Ten Second Rule - The first third of your web page is the most important because it is the first thing your customer sees. If you don’t grab them and draw them in within the first 10 seconds they are on your site, you will lose them! Pagina 30 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop You can’t tell the whole story in 10 seconds, but you don’t want to bore or distract your customer with too many graphics, with too many links taking them to other pages on your site or with jumping or flashing animation or fonts. This may sound simplistic, but if you can come up with a great headline or introductory sentence you will be in good shape. What is it that your product, service or informational web site is going to offer your customer? What benefit or value will they get from visiting your site? Will you save them time and effort by providing all the research or information they need about a topic, product or service? Will you offer them a product that will make their life easier? Will you save them money? Will you MAKE THEM MONEY? Will you make them laugh or entertain them? Will you make them more attractive, healthier or smarter? After you figure out your headline or introduction, use strategically placed bold, larger font or highlighting to be sure your customer sees this headline as soon as they get to your site. Stay in Touch – If you have a newsletter to share, monthly sales to offer or other information that will add value, give your customers the chance to ‘opt in’ to an email list and thereby receive your specials and/or newsletters. Make it Easy to Get In, Explore and Get Out - As we said, keep your navigational menus consistent from one page to the other and be sure that the names of the links are clear so that your client doesn’t end up on a page they did not want. Close the Deal – Give your customers everything they need to know in one place so they can decide if they want to buy your product or service, and complete the order process quickly. Provide sales tax, shipping prices, delivery times, product size charts or dimensions, warranty information – in short EVERYTHING the customer will need to make a buying decision. Don’t Add Distractions – If you provide links to partner or related sites, keep these links away from your main product or service focus, so that your customer doesn’t get distracted and leave your site. Build Trust and Confidence – Everything in the design of your site and the content your users find there should tell your client that you can be trusted, that you have been in the business long enough to know your stuff and that you will and can offer value and Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 31 benefits not offered by your competitors. Don’t talk about yourself. Talk about your clients and what THEY need. Provide Security and Advertise that Security – If your customer is buying, registering or storing information for return orders, they need to know that their personal information is safe. Build in security for passwords, user ID and login techniques and advertise that security so that your customers know they are safe. Update your Site – Nothing drives away traffic more quickly than a site that appears to be outdated, or one that is stale with information that everyone else (including your competitors) already has on THEIR site. Even small changes make a difference and you might be interested to know that when you change your web site, the search engines and spiders will notice the changes and record them. Sites that never change get dropped from search engine libraries no matter how relevant their keywords or content may be. The theory is that if the web site is not updated often, the content is probably no longer current or relevant to the client searching for the best and latest information about a product or topic. Use Efficient Software – Whether you or your designer will maintain the site, you need to quickly and easily update your site without a lot of hassles. If you choose to buy software and learn a program, try to go with a simple program like ‘FrontPage’ but understand that not all web hosts support FrontPage programming, so find out if your web hosting company supports all web design software applications before you choose and buy your software. Unless you have a burning desire to be a web developer and designer, do not try to buy and learn a program like Dreamweaver or other software built for pros. You will spend a lot of money and be frustrated. If your web host allows you to upload files directly to the server that holds your web site data, you will need an FTP program to make that job easier. You can find shareware/freeware FTP programs online by searching on ‘ftp’ in your search engine. These programs allow you to log into your server and web site files and upload documents, graphics and other files. This is the fastest, most efficient way to keep your web site up to date. Pagina 32 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Here are a few of the companies that offer free downloads of FTP software: http://www.maytech.net/ftp_business.php http://www.smartftp.com/ http://www.top10ftphosting.com/?gclid=CID1meWVoYYCFQyMFQodsE3NsQ Be Browser Savvy – Be sure your web site will display in all browsers. Use this tool to check your web site design and be sure everything displays as you expect in EVERY browser. http://www.netmechanic.com/cobrands/zd_dev/. Taking Payments on Your Web Site So, you want to sell products on your web site? Before you decide how to process your online payments, consider what you are trying to do with your web-based business. While many experts do not like packaged payment processing like PayPal because they believe it makes your company look small and temporary, these choices may be best for you in start-up. If your company grows to the point where your profits are booming and your store becomes unwieldy, you may want to graduate to other payment processing methods. But, in the beginning, you probably don’t want to pay the steep fees and go through the lengthy process of getting an AMEX, Visa, Mastercard or other processing account. If you do, that is fine, as well. Just understand that it will cost you money and time. When you are ready to set up your shopping cart, storefront or other selling page, be sure you provide all information about the purchase (shipping costs, delivery time, sales tax, if any, and color, size, dimension and warranty info. You can purchase shopping cart software and programs that will make your life easier (or your web designer may recommend a package to you), in that these programs have already structured and organized the storefront and shopping cart. All you have to do is to buy and load the software, then enter your pictures, descriptions, prices, and products and you are off and running. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 33 When your customer is ready to buy, she/he can click on the item, add it to the shopping cart, and they can even change their mind and remove items from the cart, and then continue shopping or check out. This makes the buying process easy for your customers. If you are only going to sell a few items and your shopping cart design will not be complex, you probably don’t need to buy this software, but if your business is getting large and you are selling a lot of things on line, you will want to simplify your life by purchasing a package meant for this purpose. http://www.volusion.com/ http://www.jstreettech.com/?gclid=CLTKk4DKrYYCFRN1HgodGhfDAA http://valueweb.com/web-hosting/ecommerce-hosting.htm http://www.ecommercetemplates.com/ http://www.ccnow.com/ http://www.x-cart.com/ http://www.storefront.net/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaig n=G_shopping_cart_software1&phn=1 http://www.shopfactory.com/ No matter how you decide to process your customer order, you will have to give the customer a receipt they can print from your web site and/or a confirmation email with all the details of their purchase including how to track or cancel their order. You should also consider ‘upsell’ for associated items. For example, our friend Dan sells women’s watches on his new web site ‘watchedclock.com’. When a client is looking at the detail and information about a particular watch, they will also see a related item (watch batteries for that watch) appear near the bottom of the detail. So, the clients are encouraged to buy parts or batteries at the same time as they buy the watch. Dan decided to start small by taking PayPal payments to process his orders. He signed up for an account (https://www.paypal.com/), and then used their automated HTML feature to create the shopping cart and payment buttons for each item on his site (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_wp-standard-overview-outside). Pagina 34 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop He also considered other third party processing vendors like: CCBill DigiBuy ProPay V-Share CCNow IBill RegNow NeTeller ClickBank Kagi Share-It If you use your search engine and search on these company names, you can find the details on each of their processing services and the associated costs. In year two, Dan plans to add all major credit cards to his site. He is looking at companies to help him through this process now. Here are some of the places you can find these credit card processing services. http://google.merchantexperts.com/?source=googleppc http://www.paynetsystems.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_c ampaign=Accept%2BCredit%2BCards&gclid=CMbKlYnDrYYCFSmCFQodxwNq Yg http://www.veruscs.com/ApplyToday.aspx?source=g0g http://www.merchantoneps.com/ http://www.unitedpaymentservices.com/ If and when you are going to accept credit card charges to pay for items on your web site, you will need to ‘authenticate’ the payment before you ship the item, to be sure the credit card is valid and you can get your money. Check out these vendors who perform this service: CyberCash Verifone CyberSource The next thing Dan had to consider in taking online payment was the tax consideration. There are numerous tax software packages that allow you to calculate domestic and/or international taxes as applicable. Here are two of the well-known packages. Taxware Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 35 CyberSource (as mentioned above) When customers have completed their order on Dan’s site, they are directed to a closing page that lists the items they bought, all shipping and sales and insurance costs (if any) and they can print this page for their records. Thank you for shopping at watchedclock.com. Here is the information on your order. If you require assistance, please contact us at XXX-XXX-XXXX Customer Number Purchase Date Item Purchased Price Shipping (FedEX Overnight) Tax Total Credit Card Used Credit Card # Shipping Address $59.50 VISA xxxxxxxxx4590 Reginald P. Dickens 99 Dovetail Rd Peoria, IL 33214 9810-321 07/03/06 Men’s Watch – Polo, Brown Band Model 99874 $47.50 12.00 Order Number 88701-00-981 To check on your order, cancel or change your order, please email us at: sales@watchedclock.com In addition they will receive an email confirmation of the purchase with a link back to the web site if they have questions about the order or want to cancel or change the order. Now, it’s time for Dan to consider his shipping options. If you live near a U.S. Post Office, you can find numerous domestic and international shipping options there and you can open a web account and print shipping labels and pay for shipments with your credit card (https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do) . You can even buy insurance for these packages online and order priority and express mail boxes shipped directly to your home or office at no cost (you pay for the package when you ship it). Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 36 You can also schedule a pick-up if you have a lot of boxes and don’t want to cart them to the post office. Of course, this presumes you are a small company. As your company grows, you will want to consider having a business shipper pick packages up at your office or home-based business location. Here are a few options for you to explore. Most of these companies now have online label printing and order pickup, etc. Tandata Webvan UPS FedEx As you can see, web sales and transactions are pretty complex. Just reading through this material may convince you that you need a really good team (web designer, web master, developer or programmer, etc.) Think about it. If you are accepting credit card payments on your site you must include your business, your customer, your bank, the customer’s bank and the credit card companies just to process one payment from beginning to end. For more information about payment processing, look at these sites: http://www.verisign.com/ http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/web/index-outside http://www.gate.com/tools/paypal.htm http://www.merchantwarehouse.com/Merchant-ApplicationForm.htm?cpao=111&kw=web site+payment+processing http://www.authorize.net/ http://www.authorize.net/ http://www.paysimple.com/public/google_pp.html Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 37 Now for the Traffic and Customers Now that you have all the components of your web site in focus, you have to think about web site ‘traffic’. What is web site traffic? It is the number of customers who come to your web site to buy or view products. Your goal, of course, is sales, but if you can’t attract customers to your site, you can’t sell anything, so traffic must come first. There are many tried and true methods for bringing traffic to your web site. Some of these methods involve digging into the HTML code on your web site to enter keywords, descriptions, titles, headers and other items that will result in traffic when a search engine, spider or user types in certain words to find a product or service. Some methods are complex if you are not familiar with web design and how the internet works. Because this book is written for the novice, we do not want to add more confusing methods and techniques, so we will stick to the simple ideas and concepts. If and when you are ready for something more complex, you can explore additional options to drive traffic to your site. Let’s start with email marketing. 1. Email marketing can be effective if you use it correctly. Remember that it is illegal to ‘spam’ your prospective customers with email or information about your web site and products. If they don’t ask for the information and sign up to receive newsletters, sales specials or other information, you cannot send them email marketing messages. You can provide an ‘opt in’ link on your web site that allows customers to sign up for information on sales, discounts, etc. You also have to provide a way for customers to ‘opt out’ if and when they no longer wish to receive your email marketing messages. Be sure the name of your business appears in every subject, header or title of email you send so that the message does not get deleted. Do not use all capital letters (that will send your email message into the customer’s spam folder) or lots of exclamation points Don’t email your prospective customers too often (they will get sick of hearing from you), and don’t make your email messages too long. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 38 If you get a returned email, get rid of the offending address. Keep your email list clean. Add names to your email list by getting business cards (ask before you add them to your list), names and email addresses at events, parties, conferences or other locations. In the beginning you can build your list by asking each person to forward the email message to a friend. In this way, your list will grow and you can build it with relevant email addresses, not by trying to find and spam people who don’t want your products or information. Entice your email recipients to visit your website by sending them a link to a free educational article, or to your site where they will find a coupon to give them free or discounted admission to an event or seminar for your business. 2. Even if you don’t know how to write or edit HTML to place keywords on your site that will attract your customers, you can still use keywords to your benefit. Use the keyword search tool to identify the words that most customers use to look for your product or service or the type of information you offer on your web site. Look what Dan found when he used the tool to find out the best keywords for watches: Keyword Selector Tool Not sure what search terms to bid on? Enter a term related to your site and we will show you: • Related searches that include your term • Estimated number of times that term was searched on last month Get suggestions for: (may take up to 30 seconds) w atch Note: All suggested search terms are subject to our standard editorial review process. Searches done in June 2006 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 39 Count 260821 72724 65584 42196 40775 38894 36435 30647 28042 27972 26621 25950 21979 19433 18514 16541 16495 16009 15325 15211 14949 14907 14774 14623 14406 14094 13853 13621 13047 12548 12345 12321 11978 11453 Search Term watch replica watch watch music video watch free movie online jewelry watch man watch watch free movie omega watch citizen watch watch tv seiko watch watch music video online breitling watch watch winder pocket watch fossil watch football ticket tag heuer watch cup live watch world cartier watch casio watch basketball ticket wrist watch nba ticket swiss army watch watch tv online watch repair invicta watch gucci watch watch tv on the internet luxury watch watch world cup online night watch price watch Even if Dan can’t update the keywords in his HTML source code, he can still create content that uses these keywords. Pagina 40 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop The trick is to create content that appears in the first 25-50 words on your home page or other pages. DO NOT use the words over and over again. This will backfire, because search engines are designed to recognize overuse of a keyword as an invalid attempt to get people to come to a site. If your site is really related to the product or service, use variations or associated keywords in your content and keep the number of keywords you use to a reasonable average. If you want to look up your own keywords to see what you should write in your web site content, look here: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ http://www.googlerankings.com/ http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/ 3. For many new online businesses, the ‘paid search’ method is a good way to get new customers. Pay Per Click, otherwise known as Pay Per Ranking allows you to list your site at the top of the search engine ranking by advertising keywords that describe your product or service. You have to offer a bid for the highest rank and if you are the high bidder, your ad will appear first. You don’t pay until someone clicks on your listing and visits your site (called a ‘click through’). There are no other costs. Just remember that many online customers don’t buy on their first visit, so you do have to invest in the ‘clicks’ and ‘hits’ to get them to your site. Then you have to keep them there or get them to ‘opt in’ so they will remember you by virtue of the fact that you send them email specials and discounts. You might be interested to know that it takes about seven visits before a customer will buy a product or service. So, when the customer is visiting your website you have to take advantage of that visit.  Give them more information about your products. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 41  Find out more about them by having them complete a registration form if they so choose or offering them an online survey.  Give them free items or value for visiting the website (for example, a carpet cleaning company might allow a visitor to download a free article on how to get stubborn stains out of carpets).  Get them to opt in for newsletters or other information so you can begin to build a relationship with them even before they buy. You might want to design a special page on your web site just for those clients who come to you via the pay-per-click method. That content would be specific to the target audience for a particular product or service. It would contain very targeted content (it might have articles on how to use a particular tool or how to improve performance in school or whatever this particular client would want to see). For example, for Dan’s business, the special page to which is pay-per-click customer might go could be related to women’s Fossil watches (a page with only these products for sale, and maybe a brief article on the popularity of a particular design). You can buy pay-per-click advertising on Google and Yahoo. Here are some sites that offer pay-per-click advertising and some that explain how it works. http://services.google.com/marketing/links/US-HA-CMBNINE2/ http://www.goclick.com/?AID=112940 http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/ http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/srch_ss.php?o=USPX06&cmp=Sea rch&ctv=nonbrandsimple&b=50 4. Another way to get traffic to your site is to look for sites that offer related information or products (not competitors) and then offer to put links to their site on YOUR site if they will reciprocate. 5. Finally, when your web site is finished and ready to promote, you should go to any of these sites and enter your web site address to ask the search engine or directory company to include your site in their database of sites so that it is available when a user searches for a related keyword or topic. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 42 While most search engines have spiders that crawl the internet constantly looking for new or updated web sites, the world wide web is now so huge that it could take months for these engines to find you on their own. Go ahead and submit your web site. Do not use the automated submission services. It doesn’t take that long to submit your site manually, and you will KNOW that it has been done. To ensure validity, most web site submissions require authentication which means that you will receive an email after you submit your site for consideration. You will have to respond to that email by following the instructions provided, so that the search engine will recognize your request as a valid request. Here are some search engines and directories to which you can submit your web site: http://www.google.com/addurl/ http://searchenginez.com/submit.html http://www.dmoz.org/add.html Web Position: http://www.webposition.com/order/trial.asp?WT.mc_id=google%3A%7Bifs earch%3Asearch%7D%7Bifcontent%3Acontent%7D%3A%7Bcreative%7 D%3Atrial%3A%7Bkeyword%7D&WT.srch=1 Or visit these sites to find an expert to do the work for you: AddPro: http://www.addpro.com/professional_submission/ Submit A Website: http://www.submitawebsite.com/aboutus.html SiteLab: http://www.sitelab.com/search_engine_seo_services.html?kw=gsearch+se arch+engine+submission&src=google&cmp=sli+national&grp=seo&typ=se arch&key=search%20engine%20submission Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 43 Hiring the Pros By now, you have probably gotten the idea that planning, designing and building a web site is not for the feint at heart. Now that you have explored all the concepts and you have an idea of what you want for your web site, it is time to get started. But, you still have to decide whether this is something you think you do yourself. There are a few options you to web site design. First, there are the design packages. These online or packaged software programs are meant to give you the features and functionality you will need to put your web site together, but some do require training.  If they are advertised as ‘easy enough for a child to do it’ they will probably allow you to choose a template and design within the parameters of that package. So if your web site is going to be VERY simple, you may be able to get away with this kind of online 1-2-3 web building. http://www.blogger.com/start?hl=en&gclid=CJu5sOewr4YCFRCjHgodUSuhA A http://officelive.microsoft.com/ http://login.yahoo.com/config/login_verify2?.done=http%3A%2F%2Fsmallbusi ness.yahoo.com%2Fmerchant%2Fc1.php%3Fp%3DPASSPORT%26ovchn% 3DGGL%26ovcpn%3Dstore%26ovcrn%3Dsr2yb57go597gx8938pi3ai46%2B build%2Byour%2Bown%2Bweb%2Bsite%26ovtac%3DPPC%26SR%3Dsr2yb 57go597gx8938pi3ai46&.src=sbs http://build-website.com/ http://www.web.com/affiliate/offers/c14/?pid=gweb&refcd=GO500073S_web_ site_build http://www.netidnow.com/  The more complex software packages require purchase, local installation on your computer, and training. Though they do have user manuals, if you are not a computer geek by nature, you will probably have to find and take a class in order to figure it all out and even then it may be somewhat confusing. Pagina 44 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop If you are adventurous and your web site is not complex, you might be able to use this approach. http://www.webstudio.com/site/trial/VideoTour/VTindex.asp http://www.adobe.com/products/contribute/?sdid=HCPQ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858021033.aspx http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858021033.aspx  You can also go with online solutions that provide the structure and tools to put your web site together, hosts your site and offers technical support. For total design and web store solutions, you can start by looking at these two vendors: http://www306.ibm.com/software/info1/websphere/index.jsp?tab=products/commerce &S_TACT=103BHW06&S_CMP=campaign http://www.intershop.com/products/index.htm Remember, even if you are going to do your own design, you will have to pay for the ‘plug in’ packages (software that enables you to take and process payments, and provides security, etc.) You need to plan a schedule that includes plenty of research, training and development time if you are going to take the ‘do it yourself’ option. Once your site is up and running, you will also have to schedule in weekly time for maintenance and to check reports to ensure that your web site is running well with no down time and that you are building traffic to your site. Just in case you were thinking of designing your web site from the bottom up, hosting it yourself and doing all the updates, you should know that you would have to spend a lot of money and time and have some space for servers. You would need a technical knowledge of everything from database management to system administration and web design. You would have to design your database structure to receive and store all the information on your products, your customers and other information you gather or use on your web site. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 45 You would have to install a payment processing system, a security system and back-up systems to be sure that your data is not lost. This option is definitely not a discussion for a book that is focused on novices. So we aren’t going to cover that alternative here! The question still stands: Who is going to design your web site. Before you rush out to buy the software or sign up for the ‘build your own web site’ options we have given you above, consider these questions: 1. Is your business focused on building and maintaining a web site or on a product, service or information? 2. If you had someone else to design and maintain your web site, could you spend your time in more valuable pursuits like finding new clients, developing new products, or running your business? If you ARE a web designer or developer or programmer, then WHY are you reading this book? You should be out getting clients. If you are a novice and you ARE reading this book to figure out how to launch a web site, then you probably shouldn’t spend your time, money and attention learning how to be a web designer or webmaster. You should do what you know how to do and leave the web work to the professionals. Yes, you will spend money. But, you will always have to purchase professional services as a small business owner. You will hire an accountant, perhaps an attorney. So, if your main business income is going to come from your web site, why not do it right? If you want to start small and develop your business to see if it grows and THEN invest in a more professional site, you can do that. You can use a very simple web design package and put together a streamlined web site, but you will still be faced with payment processing and other issues. So, be sure you Pagina 46 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop want to dedicate your time to these tasks before you take on the web design and construction role. Let’s go back to Dan for a moment! Dan decided that he wanted to be sure his business would succeed before he built an expensive, fully capable web site. He began by purchasing a complete solution from a web solutions provider, and built a very simple web site for himself. He did post his products and used PayPal to collect and process his payments. In the meantime, he began to research web designers and professionals to help him with the next step which he hopes he will be ready for within the next year. He wants to graduate to taking credit cards and to have a web designer and developer perform a complete makeover for his site. In order to find and hire the right web design team, Dan will have to take all the research he has done, and his requirements and put them together into a meaningful package he can share with prospective web design companies or individuals. If the design team fully understands what Dan wants to do with his business, and has examples of the work he has already done, they are more likely to provide an accurate quote and to build what he wants the first time around. If Dan is building his own site the first time around, he can share content and graphics with the design team, simply by giving them a link to his existing site. The team is sure to have ideas for changes and navigation that will help Dan make more money. And, Dan can make a splash with his customers by ‘re-launching’ his newly designed web site via an email marketing campaign and publicity. Here is what Dan will have to provide in the way of documentation and information so the design team can bid on his web site design: His requirements document, and his Business Plan (if he wrote a business plan). Information that should be in the Business Plan, includes: The purpose of his web site (if he has done a Business Plan, this information will be in the plan and he will not have to write it up separately. Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 47 Target niche and/or customer base (who are the people you want to draw in to your web site to sell your products or services. Information on competitors and competitive web sites, including links for the designers to review competitive designs and see how competitors are conveying their message and attracting traffic. If Dan did not write a business plan, he will have to provide this information anyway so that the web design team knows what he wants to achieve and can identify Dan’s target audience. A link to his existing web site (if he builds one) and all the information on his current suppliers (web host, the solution provider for his web package, his payment processor etc). Ideas for his web content (if he has a site already he will want to talk about how to achiever his longer term goals for richer content, more complex shopping cart options, etc.). Information on the industry in which Dan is selling so the design team understands how the industry works, what products or services they provide, who the leaders are and anything unique about the industry and its market or customers. Here are some links that will lead you to web design companies and individuals: http://www.buyerzone.com/internet/site_design/qz_questions_678.jhtml?_request id=35875 http://www.vendorseek.com/web site_design_services.asp?source=google&gclid=CJG95YCAoYYCFQyNHgod6w wasA http://www.guru.com/category.cfm?cid=102&tc=23131&kw=web%20designers http://www.designfirms.org/awards/ Another way to find prospective designers is to surf the web and when you see a site you like, check to see who designed that site. You may find that information at the bottom of the web site, if the design team has been given credit, or you may have to contact the company by email and ask who designed their site. Pagina 48 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop After you get a list of 5-10 web design firms, check out THEIR web sites to see how they have designed their own business site. And look for references and examples of other sites they have designed (most will offer this information on their business web site to attract other clients). Schedule meetings with 2-4 of the firms you like best (you must meet with more than one company so you can make comparisons before you buy).  Bring all your documents with you (or send them in advance – even better) so the team can review what you want to do.  Bring examples of other sites you have found that you like to give them a better idea of your preferences and to get their feedback on whether these designs would be good for what you want to do.  You can even consider drawing an illustration of the layout and where links and menu items will go, if you are so inclined.  Be specific about what you want. Don’t just say “I want a professional looking site”, or “I want a youthful looking site”. Your definition of ‘professional looking’ or ‘youthful’ may not be the same as the design team definition.  Don’t leave room for confusion or misinterpretation. Show them an example of what you think is ‘professional looking’ or ‘youthful’.  Be sure that each company gives you a written quote so you know exactly what you are getting if you choose that company. Have the company include schedules, deadlines, and the identify and skills of the people who will work on your site.  Get a written agreement on when payments are due and what milestones must be met before you are obligated to make your payments.  Incorporate any schedules, milestones and deadlines into your contract after you choose the firm you want to hire.  If you choose an independent programmer, be sure he/she has resources in case they need help in a particular area. Find out how they will manage your site work along with other projects they may get.  A one person shop is sometimes a good solution for a small business owner, but you don’t want to have to wait in line to get your site finished or to have repairs or updates completed. Pagina 49 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop  Remember that the person who designs the ‘front end’ (GUI) of your site to give it the look and feel is rarely the same person as the one who designs your database, shopping cart back end, etc.  Be sure you understand who is doing the work and what skills they bring to your project. An independent contractor may be a great GUI designer but may know very little about the back end programming.  Ask for a quote up front for site maintenance. Don’t think your site is finished you’re your designer has completed construction. You will always have to edit, upload documents or files, make changes and correct problems. How much will that cost and how quickly can these changes be made? Does the design firm provide quick turnaround to fix significant issues that may affect your business?  Does the firm offer tools that will allow YOU to easily make changes? If so, how much do they cost and do you need extensive training to use these tools?  How will you work with the design team to get your merchant accounts and payment processing set up? You have to tackle these tasks yourself since your business is responsible for payment and banking.  But your design team will have to work with you to incorporate the payment processing and merchant accounts you choose into your web design, so be sure to talk to them about recommendations and pricing.  Ask your web design team whether they are building your site from scratch or from templates. If they are building it from scratch, who will own the code to your site? You or the design company? You will need the rights to the ‘source code’ for your site and you’ll need legal documents to prove you own these rights.  After you choose your design and development team, be prepared to spend time on the phone and in meetings with the team members to keep things on track. Make yourself available for questions so that the site ends up being what you expected and not something the design team had to decide on their own because you were unavailable.  Hire a good ecommerce business attorney to draft your online policies for your web site customers, and to review and handle the terms of your design and development contract. Pagina 50 Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Summary As we come to the end of this book, we have one last recommendation for you. If you have decided to start a web-based business and jump into the exciting world of ecommerce, do your homework and thoroughly investigate and research every topic we have included in this book. Do not just jump in without planning. Even if your business is very small, you can waste a lot of time and money to learn the hard lessons. With a bit of planning and research, you will end up with a much better foundation and you are more likely to be successful. Even if you are overwhelmed by the technical aspects of online business and web site design, you can do this with the right research and some professional resources as needed to fill in the gaps in your own knowledge. If you are very resourceful and adventurous, you may even decide to learn a bit about the technical aspects on your own as a hobby. But don’t get off track. Remember that you are starting this business to make money, and sell products or services, or provide targeted information. Focus on your goals and on the unique idea for a product, service or web site – the one that got you started down this path in the first place and made you buy this book! Unless you have a burning desire to become a technical expert, don’t get too deeply involved in web design, programming and development, search engine optimization or any of the other myriad of technical careers and topics. Do what you need to do to plan your business approach and address your competition. Do your research to get some good ideas about professional business web site and your preferred methods of presenting your business and product to your customers. Incorporate all the research into your requirements and business planning documents and get busy. You have a business to build! Receive a free Sony VAIO laptop Pagina 51