E-Commerce -Is it for you?

• Wednesday, 26 May 2010
• By Sam Martin
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E-commerce is the process of buying and selling of goods and services over the internet and related computer networks, and this commerce option has become a large phenomenon for businesses and individuals alike. For businesses in particular, an e-commerce solution acts as a complementer for the organisations tangible product sales tools, and in many instances e-commerce sales now account for a large portion of company profits. It can be seen that the rise of E-commerce utilisation is due to advantages such as: it allows business transactions to take place without the barrier of time or distance, the direct cost of sales is less, presents simple and convenient processes for customers, ideal for selling niche products, it is a cost effective means of doing business and it sometimes allows for a reduction of personnel required.

These reasons might excite you very much and inspire you to want one for your own business. However, it is important to understand that the online shopping arena is fast becoming as competitive as in the real world. Therefore, at a minimum, the following is some important points on how you as a business owner can ensure that your E-commerce tools are effectively operating in the e-marketplace. 

Must Add

• Be unobtrusive - no account login required and NO unnecessary steps 
• I want to see it - ensure more then one photo for each product and high resolution 
• Give them options - add more payment options E.g. PayPal
• Help and security - include shipping rates on the basket page, or a link to them, customer reference number, information on delivery time.

Search Engine Optimisation (necessary inclusions)

• URL's 
• Meta 
• Titles
• Sitemap
• Google Sitemap 
• Headings
• Homepage 
• Product Descriptions 
• Other tools E.g. Blog 

The Up Sell - would you like fries with that?

• Link associated products 
• Others also bought this information  
• Promotions (spend limit or enter code, discounts: percentage off or freight)

Less is More

Lastly, you can't sell everything at once, too much information can overwhelm the customer, keep it simple!

Hopefully these tips will help you to create an E-commerce solution. Contact us for more information and check out some of the sites we have built Unit Riders and AussieSwimStore.