Generate Success

Your online shop needs to be seen & leave a good impression:
Just like window shopping in a local shopping centre, your online eCommerce shop needs to entice people in and help to show them around. Visitors need to find what they are looking for as quickly and easily as possible.

Your website needs to give a great first impression, and leave visitors wanting to return and possibly even telling others to visit the site because of the good experience they have had, whether that be the usability, cool design, available product range, competitive prices or better still, a mixture of all of the above.

The other important thing to consider is that to be successful, your eCommerce website needs to be found. Unless someone knows your website address they are more likely to be introduced to your site via a major search, such as Google, than any other way. It is therefore critical to consider making sure your online shop has been ‘optimised’ to gain the highest ranking possible. This is called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

You should make sure you know if your eCommerce developers are undertaking SEO as part of the development, or whether you will need an online marketing company to undertake the work once the website goes live.

I have already suggested that OS Commerce is by far the best eCommerce software you can use. It comes with its own awful templates. They do the job but you can spot an OS Commerce template site from the other side of cyber space.

Always use a bespoke design, one that will attract your target audience. It will be more expensive but worth every penny. If visibility is the first rule of having a successful online presence, then a visitors’ first impression must be the second rule.

Your website needs to be professional looking, appealing and attractive to your desired customers. A professional looking, well designed website will give an impression that your website is safe and secure. Not just your website, but more importantly, your company.

Users will feel more obliged to do business with you if your eCommerce store is easy to use, allows the customer to find what they want and feel in-control of their actions. This last point is very important. If the customers feels in control of the situation, they are more likely to proceed and buy your products and services.

Learn more about your customers and create unique branding by using distinct colour combinations, site layout and an innovative and appealing logo.

Get your designer to create an attractive display logo that will help distinguish your eCommerce site from your competition.

Choosing the right developers:
Even if you have programming knowledge and experience I would ALWAYS recommend you work with a good professional web development team, preferably one that comes with a word-of-mouth recommendation. You should be focusing all your energy and time on managing the business, not the website.
Work with a company, not an individual. There is less chance of a highly respected web development company hanging up their boots than there is an individual migrating, being offered a job in the city or getting tired of offering you the support he said he would, and you need, if you are serious about generating a successful online business.

Choosing the right eCommerce software:
There are many eCommerce solutions to choose from and every “expert” will have their own opinion. I believe this is the best independent and impartial advice I can give.

When you are choosing your web developers ask them what eCommerce software is best for you and your business and why. If they say any of the following, I would consider they are thinking of themselves, and not your business:

a) We have built our own eCommerce software
b) We use an off-the-shelf “Shop-in-Box” solution
c) Not sure, this is our first eCommerce site
d) We were hoping you wouldn’t ask
e) What’s eCommerce?

I recommend using OS Commerce (OS stands for Open Source) for the following reasons:

a) It is free to use
b) There is no need for a license
c) It is open source and therefore you are not tied to one particular company such as Microsoft.

OS Commerce is developed in PHP and uses a MySQL database, both of which are industry standard and the most commonly used programming language and database for website development. Therefore, if you become disenchanted with your developers you will have no problem finding someone else who should be able to understand and undertake management and further development of your eCommerce site.

Furthermore, there is a world wide community of web developers who are continually adding new modules and plug-ins for OS Commerce.

Always remember you need the best team and the right software to make your online business a success.

Here is another tip I think will substantially increase your chances of eCommerce business success:

A good business plan

Whether you’re a thinker or a doer, behind all successful business ideas there’s a great business plan.

Your business success will rely heavily on managing your revenue source, knowing where and when to expect your break-even points and most importantly, by making your business plan a rolling plan and not a static one. To create a successful eCommerce business you need a well written business plan. But to continue managing the expected growth of your online success, your business plan needs to show your next 12 months, at all times.

One client I worked with at Buzzin’ Fly a few years ago, came to us after having a real nightmare with their eCommerce developers. After an initial meeting I explained that we would only work with them if they put their ideas into a business plan with time frames attached to their aims and goals. The meeting appeared to end rather abruptly though I was contacted again by the client two or three weeks later and we agreed to move forward as they had written a business plan.

They are now running a very successful online home furniture eCommerce website and agree, not only was the success of their online business due to writing a solid business plan, but also blamed the breakdown of relations with the previous web development company on the lack of focus and vision that only became clear when writing a business plan.

By setting regular aims and goals and monitoring your progress and results at all times, you will always be in control of your business success. Don’t leave anything that matters unchecked. Don’t leave anything down to luck. You will make your own luck by being in the right place at the right time. But that won’t be down to fate, luck or the stars. It will all be down to your business planning and your business growth control.

By being 100% in control of your business you will be more confident of your business success. eCommerce needs a good idea, a solid business plan and the right software and developers.

I will discuss software & developers in Better eCommerce Business Success #3

At Buzzin Fly, one of our mottos is ‘let the designer design and the developers develop.’

It might sound simple, but so many badly designed business websites are so obviously designed by a programmer.  And so many poorly developed websites have been cobbled together by a graphic designer with limited expertise in programming.

The truth is, for a successful business website, you need a professional looking design for a great first impression, a clear and visible menu structure that allows your visitors to find what they are looking for, quickly; and a user-friendly website with accessibility and inclusion for all in mind.

The development of the site is as equally important to the success of your online business.  A good looking website must also deliver the required functionality and offer great user experience.

You have 46 seconds to comply!

A recent survey stated that a visitor will spend an average of just 46 seconds on your website before moving on to the next site. (Source: Clickz.com)

The next website they visit could be one of your competitors, and they could have been your next client.

The current UK economy makes it difficult enough for small businesses to compete and survive, but the competition you will face online is going to be tenfold and so it is imperative that you consider the following advice & tips to guide you towards better online business success for you and your company.

The total number of registered domain names now stands at a staggering 60 million. Some of these domain names are owned by your business competitors. Only a fraction of these sites will have considered the following tips. This is your advantage.

The following series of advice will substantially increase your chances of achieving better eCommerce business success.

Know what your target audience want

Research your target audience, and then understand and consider their requirements. Be careful not to allow your idea of what is right to interfere and overshadow the wishes of your target audience. This may be your business but they are your customers. When people trot out the old saying, customers are always right I say, the customer is NOT always right but as long as the customer pays me, they can think what they want!

The internet is full of good ideas, but like the offline business world, it’s not always the original ideas that make good businesses. It’s the businesses that get the plan right!

Consider the global success of eBay. I remember being contacted by eBay wanting to place adverts on a music website in 1997, when they first opened a UK office eBay. At that time eBay was one of a few websites offering the peer-to-peer trading place concept. Ultimately eBay grew and quashed its competitors because it was easier to use and adapted to its targeted audience.

eCommerce helped eBay create the marketplace website but it was their adaptability, flexibility and end-user focus that ultimately led to their success.

Buzzin’ Fly is a successful website development and internet marketing company based in the UK. WE specialise in eCommerce solutions for small businesses and SME’s in the UK.

I am proud of the work that we do and the testimonials from satisfied customers that we receive.

To find out more go to Buzzin’ Fly.

The growing trend of using mobiles and PDA’s for internet business mobile services means that UK businesses need to reconsider any internet marketing services or campaigns they currently manage or are provided by internet marketing specialists.

To compete with Google & Yahoo, Microsoft have recently launched DeepFish, their own mobile browser which allows users with Windows Mobile phones to use sites that are more like those seen on PCs and laptops.

With more advanced mobile web browsers, offering better rich content viewing, the door for rich content mobile online marketing has been firmly kicked open.

Be sure to consider whether your internet marketing service providers are aware of the possibilities on mobile internet marketing.

Depending which business you are in, your online marketing budget may be best spent promoting your products and services via mobile phones and PDA’s.

BT have upgraded email security for their BT Yahoo! Mail accounts. The security upgrade is to help in their continued fight to prevent fraud and spam.

Anyone who uses a BT Yahoo! Mail account should have received an email from BT explaining that, as an account holder you will need to make some changes to continue sending emails from alternate addresses.

BT are asking that all customers verify the mail accounts so that they can be passed as safe email addresses. If you don’t verify the mail addresses your outgoing emails may be blocked and you might get an Error 553 message.

For more information visit www.btyahoo.com/verify.

What keywords should my business website or blog target?

You’d be surprised how many business websites, including household names, have been online for years without any consideration or understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

Over the past 11 years I have worked with businesses of all sizes, from self-employed sole traders, SME’s and large multi-national corporations who have had less online success with their businesses because they were either unaware of SEO, didn’t think it necessary or have been stung by a company who haven’t actually been managing any SEO even when they’ve been paying for it!

Blogs are no different to websites when it comes to choosing what keywords to target.  But it is easier because with a blog post you can be much more specific in the keywords & audience you are targeting.

So how do you know what key phrases & keywords are going to work for you & your business?

Well, all your keywords and key phrases need to be relevant to your website pages & blog posts.  The more relevant, the better results you will receive.  Here I am judging ‘results’ on search engine ranking and Google PR.

Furthermore, if you are running any paid inclusion advertisements (Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing etc) then using the same keywords in your adverts as are visible to the search engines on your landing pages will be rewarded in much the same way. This will also result in higher quality leads.

If you choose to target popular keywords, it stands to reason you will receive more traffic.  But only once you have broken into the market & your website or blog has become visible.  As a rule, high levels of traffic are usually followed by competitive markets.

You will gain more immediate success if you are to target less popular keywords, especially if your market is saturated or your competitors have much deeper pockets!

It is best to brain storm a list of keywords & then research their popularity.  Relevant but less popular keywords will reap less traffic, it’s true.  But with less competition, you will get a bigger slice of the cake!

Why UK Businesses Should Be Blogging?

There are plenty of reasons why your business should have a corporate blog as well as a website.

The most important point, in these days where companies are aware they are fighting their compeitors to be ranked highest on Google and receive the best Google Page Ranking, is that because of the way blogs are created they work very well with the search engines.

For optimum results, I always recommend that companies create an external blog, as this allows them to promote the blog separately from their main website.

By creating an external blog you can:

Promote your business on your blog & your website
Have two windows to show your products & services
Target different customers
Create a larger footprint in the search engines
Submit your blog to blog directories

Blogs are created with optimised site architecture in mind, and by using Wordpress to develop and manage your blog you can add extra SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to your blog using one of many available Wordpress plug-ins.

Blogs are set up to include an accessible & simple navigation and every page is set up to link back to the main pages.

Furthermore, by using a ‘blogroll’, they have the potential to create reciprocal links with other blogs.

Search engines like Google can show your blog posts (published articles) within minutes.  That can be very useful if your products & services are time sensitive.

We have had many posts on the first page of Google within 10 minutes of publishing them.

As well as submitting your external blog to all the major search engines, if you create an external blog you will be able to submit it to blog dorectories such as Technorati and Blog Catalog.  These are directories specifically for blogs.

There are plenty of UK businesses that are still not using blogs to successful promote their business.  If you are not getting leads from your blog then I recommend you start before your competitors gain the advantage.

If you would like to know more about business blogging or corporate blog management services, please contact me on terry@BuzzinFly.co.uk

Generating online business success isn’t simple. Don’t think you can pick up a copy of a Dummies Guide to Online Business Success & within 1-2-3 steps you will start reaping the rewards, it really isn’t as simple as that. After all, if it were that easy then every online adventure would be successful!

However, whether you want your success to be online because you would like the freedom to work from home, be your own boss or work the hours you want, when you want, the simple truth of the matter is that online business success is attainable, as long as you have a solid business plan and start your online business venture for the right reasons, using the right people and tools, and being dedicated and committed to the cause.

If you start by thinking it will be easy then it will probably end in tears. But if you have a plan, seek the right advice from the right source, use the right tools and people for the job and push yourself to keep on top of everything, then the possibility of succeeding and generating a successful online business is relatively greater, quicker and cheaper than if you were to start an offline business.

Firstly, consider your business plan thoroughly before putting thoughts into action. If you start with the confidence that you are sure your idea is water tight then you will have 100% commitment to your business. This confidence and commitment will show when you discuss the business with others.

Secondly, I have come across so many companies, big and small, over the past 11 years that have a great business idea but their website is awful. Whether the design is poor quality or the website is difficult to use, don’t attempt to cut corners with cheap website design and development. To me a cheap looking website is a bad advert for your company’s products or services.

It’s strange but a company will always have a professional graphic designer to create an advert or brochure, so why do they not use professional web developers?

Finally, once you have a professionally -designed and developed website, you must undertake and manage an online marketing program. Whether it consists of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) or Paid Inclusion for SEM (Search Engine Marketing) such as Google’s AdWords, you must monitor your traffic and website stats.

So, in conclusion, follow these steps to generate online business success:

• Make sure your business plan is solid before stepping out into the WWW (World Wide Web)

• Employ the services of a professional website development agency

• Setup & Manage a SEO/SEM program

• Monitor the results with website and traffic stats software

And finally, Act on the results!

For Website Development & Internet Marketing contact www.BuzzinFly.co.uk