This is my journey as an E-commerce Consultant
Archive for July, 2007
Battling the Beast – Can it be that simple?
1765 days
I was reminded today of how Google Bots really work. They are not human, and they can only see what we want them to see!
Top tips from a European Expert:
1. Make sure you change the meta title of each page according to that pages content and don’t make it to long and fluffy! Google likes relevant content. We know this but sometimes we forget!
2. Check out : webconfs.com and check your keyword density. Apparently Google will allow up to a 12% density on a particular keyword before you get killed for spam! Hairfreax has all its keywords at below 3% density. Phew….You can over SEO!
3. Google Reads h1 tags and likes them! Again with the relevance, apparently it checks the h1 tags with respect to the meta data.
4. One I always miss – tags for your images. I probably do it for 50% of the time but I have conditioned myself to make sure its done!
5. Make sure your meta description is dynamic, keyword rich and make sense to your customers. I think the meta description for hairfreax of ‘Synthetic Hair Extensions and Falls since 2000′ seriously needs some work! Its so poop google by passes it and used the page text!
eBay Design – Love it or Hate it?
eBay design may improve your appearance and branding on eBay but how can a better design ‘actually’ yield more sales?
Sell it smart says ‘Increase you sales volume through cross-selling and through a user friendly and seamless navigation’
and Frooition says ‘We dedicate a lot of time to development and because of this our eBay Shops and Listing Templates use functionality not available anywhere else’
and Zany Media ‘Our eBay listing design and eBay shop design make your ads look professional, and easy for visitors read the information that they need, but we can also promote your products to a level that will not only expose you in a far better light but also make you stand out from your competitors.
So these design companies seem to be indicating that it is not necessarily the design that will draw in more sales but the functionality with regards to promotion.
The ebay shop http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Element-Valley has a design that does not detract from the ebay format and within their ebay listing promotion to other areas within their eBay shop.
Frooition take a different approach with their star item on the ebay shop take http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Bling-Bling-Online
but no promotion with the listing.
Both these designs have the shop categories within the listing for improved navigation. Some might argue that a professionally designed shop and template make ebay look too much like a mass website. If you remember back to ebay express which still has not taken off really in the UK, eBay is trying to achieve the website feel.
Research and Define an eBay Strategy – Coffee Machines Example
Research is essential to finding your eBay Strategy. I use Terapeak for product research but you need clear and simple steps:
Strategy Report for a Company Selling Coffee Machines
eBay Keyword Suggestions:
Generic:
Coffee Machine
Drinks Machine
Coffee Maker
Drinks Station
Coffee StationCurrent Advertising Campaign: No press release since Nov 2006 – USA
Terapeak Results:
Coffee Machine:
Top Days: Sunday, Monday and Thursday
Best Duration: 7 days
Format: Auctions 1875 sold in 90 days, Fixed Price: 470, Store: 66
Times of Day between 10am and 10 pm peaking between 7 and 10pm
Best Categories: Home and Garden, Business and Office
Essential Features: GalleryDrinks Machine:
Top Days: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
Best Duration: 7 days
Best Format: Auctions 244, Fixed Price: 37, Store: 7
Times of day 9am and 11pm peaking between 7pm and 9pm
Category: Business and Office
Essential Features: GalleryJunes Statistics:
GMS: £349.27
eBay Fee: £95.95
Close Rate: 7%Price Comparison:
Coffee Machines – Best Price and Availability for Brand £79.99 – £222
First I always use the power of Google. Googles external keyword tool will give you a set of keywords and you can check the search volume. I always trust in the fact we are creatures of habit and only really search in one way, so product trends on Google will be close to that of eBay. Unless anyone out there searches really differently on eBay and Google. I certainly don’t!
Once you have some basic keyword with a higher search volume, you can pop these into Terapeak. Now, Terapeak wil give you a nice summary, but make sure you expand the selections as sometimes the ‘average’ lies somewhat and you need to take a human view of the data.
Take a look at your pricing in relation to what has sold. Try to pick our items that are doing well, for examples Bathroom Stuff. Taps are ten a penny and the prices are low. Buy glass scales, bathroom mirrors and vanity basins are fetching decent prices and selling well. So if you were a bathroom retailer you would place your glass scales, mirrors and vanity basins on the core marketplace (auction and fixed price) and your other items in your eBay shop as cheap listings. It is very easy to loose money in fee’s on eBay if you don’t keep a tight watch on your marketplace.
Keyword Ranking Results Update
1768 days
Google UK: 4th, 7th and 10th with hairfreax.co.uk, gallery.hairfreax.co.uk and blog.hairfreax.co.uk
Google com : 9th with Google com
Still decent ranking for cybergoth
Google uk: 3rd with hairfreax.co.uk – up 27 places!
Google.com : 11th place, from 100th from June 7th
So the rankings are getting better or remaining consistent. Great stuff.
E-commerce Tip – Add to cart button
1772 days
by Liz
in Web Mastering
The visual aspect of a website is always important but the add to cart button is quite frequently overlooked. This article :
107 Add to Cart Buttons of the Top Online Retailers gives us the some nice examples for inspiration. This article also has some great tips for cart buttons such as:
Button Placement
If you offer helpful features on your product pages like wishlists, enlarged photos, colour switching, alternate product views, email to friend, size chart, view cart or check out buttons, make sure the “Add to Cart” button is obvious, bright and prominent in comparison. Less important functions can be lighter coloured buttons or simple text links.
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