This is my journey as an E-commerce Consultant
Channeladvisor Store SEO Basics
1083 days
OK, so it is asked a lot so here we go:
Preamble
Liz Glossary:
Keyword = one or two words to define an item e.g mobile phone, cricket bat, golf, socks, Addidas etc
Keyword phrase = Puma cricket bat, kids Dunlop golf clubs etc
Category Set Up:
1. Define yourself 4 main keywords per category (search for the best ones here https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) and this include sub categories too.
2. Build and use the keywords in your category names, you don’t have to use all 4 as it probably won’t make sense.
3. Place your four keywords in your category meta keywords information in stores>manage categories a place your should know well by now!
General Store Set Up
Pick 20 keyword phrases that encompass your whole store, you have used keywords (single words/phrases like cricket bat, cricket gloves) in your categories, so now its time to use key phrases. We pick small number of keywords as SEO?marketing is a fluid beast and you might need to change and flex your keywords if they are not working. Place these in your main store meta keywords and also for your additional pages.
Store Item Titles
Still think a bit eBay when it comes to keywords as your item titles make up part of the URL for each item in store. Also make sure you have implemented your own URL for the store, it is much nicer!
Use Third Party Google Tools
Set up Google base as a standard and also Google Analytics and tracking to see if your keyword choices are being used and if you are missing anything.
If you have these elements as basics then your store should be indexed and attract appropriate customers (remember your customers in your keyword choices, they are not experts in the products like you are…what do they call things? Listen to them in emails and on the phone to how they explain the product and the language they use)
Return of the Experiment…and err corsets too..Google vs eBay
My poor hair business is always the lab rat for my evil experiments. This one is simple though, I am just checking how far things have come as I used to sell corsets on eBay only.
So I have a corset to sell, my only advertising is Google Adwords, Google Base, My site and My blog. This is to chart how much money it would cost to sell this item and the speed of uptake. On eBay I am going with the ’3 listings’ rule. That is the item should sell after a maximum of 3 goes at 10 days each. eBay would cost: £3.90 insertion fees, £0.45 Gallery fee and a single FVF of £6.82.
Total £11.17 for a sell time of 30 days
Lets see if Google can beat that…if it has not sold in 30 days I wacking it on ebay!
How NOT to run an online business…buyitdirect.co.uk/acerdirect.co.uk
1181 days
I ordered an Acer One Pink laptop on the 11th January from Acerdirect.co.uk. Once payment was taken I was told that ACTUALLY I had brought from BuyitDirect.co.uk. OK, well I will let that one slide.
A day after payment has been taken I received an email telling me the item was out of stock. OK, well it didn’t say that on the site 
7 days past after getting lots of OOS emails I enquired when the item would be IN stock. I was told the 22nd of January by their support, and I noticed a little note was now with the item stating stock available in ’2-7 days’
I wait.
I email again on the 1st Feb and get told ‘Apologies about this, our supplier have had issues getting these into the UK.’
Alarm bells ring and I cancel my order finally on the 9th Feb by phone.
I wait a week and no refund, so I ring again and I was told by a puzzled ‘supportier’ that the refund has not been done and he will pass it to the account dept today.
I wait again, then email. The response was ‘I have now done this for you’ on the 19th Feb. So it wasn’t done the second time? Third time lucky…or not.
I am still awaiting my refund from a company who had trouble getting the stock into the UK. I am going to have to get quite shirty on the phone to support now.
I could always just pop up to Huddersfield and demand to watch them refund my money or give me the cash. Don’t test me guys, I will turn up on your doorstep.
So, my first on-line ‘avoid at all costs’ scam award goes to:
Acerdirect/BuyitDirect
also known as:
laptopsdirect.co.uk
serversdirect.co.uk
projectorsdirect.co.uk
iviewcamerasdirect.co.uk
appliancesdirect.co.uk
Edited to add (25th Feb):
Rang today and was told I had never rang up and the refund will be processed today. That is 4 times they have processed my refund (I think they are lying to me) so I shall ring up in a bit to check the refund has been processed. I was also denied any evidence of refund. I will wait my 5-7 days then initiate a chargeback, I don’t feel there is anything else I can do!
Moral of the story is, as an on-line business you need to:
- Sell stock you HAVE, communicate this to the buyer prior to purchasing if not.
- Refund if you don’t have the stock
- Refund in LESS than a month if an order is cancelled
- Don’t do a swapsie on the company names and branding. After that point I wish I had not ordered, I always tell clients that consistent branding builds consumer confidence and I am so right!
Edited to add:
I finally have my refund 02/03/2009 16 working days later. (refunds are supposed to be 5 working days)
eBay Business Consultancy and Managed Service
As my day job keeps me up to date in the world of software development and e-learning. I freelance as an eBay managed service consultant to keep up with the industry. With running my own e-commerce/eBay business time is tight but I now have space for another project to start August time.
So kicking it with adwords I am advertising Keirotech. Let me run your eBay business or website while you get down to the nitty gritty of running your business. I live and breathe this world, and have for the last 8 years, so if you need a hand then drop me an email.
I am familiar with eBay automation services, and can set your account running and on its way. Ideally looking for short term projects, but will consider more long standing arrangements.
I also do learning and development (HR) related projects, but that’s not something you see as on-line freelance very often! I don’t think I will try to be a freelance on-line organic chemist….
Reason I am pimping myself out a little, it that I am getting married this year, moving house and continuing my professional development with the Open University. It all takes money, and as I don’t pimp out my blog and endorse things I don’t believe in for cash….
Honest work will have to do the trick.
I hope to get back to blogging on the industry soon, but with my mind full of code it is squeezing out everything else.
One thing I will be blogging on soon is Skills for Life, Literacy and Numeracy in e-business and why it is important to develop the workforce to fill the skills gap. I am currently managing a project around skills for life initial assessment, in which an in house initial assessment has been devised with consultancy in the target business/sector. This also includes the design of supporting technologies with the aid of a recent graduate (I don’t do desktop development yet) to facilitate the skills for life strategy.
Technology to facilitate excellent people processes. Wonderful.
