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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online 2011
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
310k Internet Solutions Ltd Greyfriars House 14 Greyfriars Walk Cirencester Gloucestershire T 0845 6441181 E Info @310k.co.uk www.310k.co.uk The copyright in this document belongs to 310k Internet Solutions Ltd ('the Owners'). No copyrighted material may be used, sold, transferred, or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person, except as authorised by the Owner's Agreement, the United Kingdom Copyright Act, or the prior written consent of the Owners. All brand names and product names mentioned or referred to throughout this publication are fully recognised as the Trademarks or Registered Trademarks of their respective holders. COPYRIGHT © 2009 310k Internet Solutions Ltd ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Company registered in England Registration No.05527616
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
Contents Page
Introduction
4
1. Doing your homework
5
2. Marketing
8
3. Selling your products
13
4. Search Engine Optimisation
17
5. FAQ’s
21
6. Conclusion – Share your success
23
310k has been helping small and medium sized businesses set‐up online since 2001, so we know what you need to think about when starting out. This guide aims to help you with top tips from online trading regulations to creating a great ecommerce shop through to how to get your business found.
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
O
Introduction
nce you have decided you need a new website it's time to decide who will build it, in‐house or outsourced. Because of the specialist nature in creating a well designed and built website most Companies decide to use a professional web design agency, but how do you find the right one? A great website can be a valuable asset to any business but a poor site will cost you money, drive away customers and damage your reputation. So what makes the difference between a poorly performing website and one that converts visitors’ into sales? What do they do differently and how can we all learn from them? The difference is that all the top converting websites are direct marketers and adopt a completely different mindset. For ecommerce websites it's not about how many visitors come to a site, it's not about search engine optimisation or even making that initial purchase. For the top converting websites it is all about the second, third and fourth sale to the same customer thereby driving profitability. For these sites they make it exceptionally easy for returning customers to buy again and again. Located in the Cotswolds, 310k Internet Solutions Ltd clients range from international corporations, independent retailers, medium and small enterprises. During this time 310k has seen the good, bad and the ugly. The following tips and suggestions are provided to help guide you through the maze of conflicting advice from bar stall experts. The information offered is based on 310k 12 years experience as an award winning Internet marketing company.
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
1. Doing your homework 1. How big is the market place? The internet has changed the way business is done across the globe. With a potential customer base of 875 million active internet shoppers, businesses can't afford to ignore ecommerce anymore. If you don't offer potential customers the option of paying online, you can be sure your competitors will. Despite the credit crunch, retail spend over the internet is still increasing dramatically year‐on‐ year with over 84% of internet users now shopping online. 2. Is ecommerce right for you? Selling over the internet is not suitable or relevant to all businesses. However there are not many companies that cannot sell their products or services online. Even the less obvious like legal firms are selling generic contracts, business forms and wills over the internet. Motor Mechanics are getting in on the act by solving technical issues and providing “How to” advice over the internet for a set fee. You need to decide whether your prospects will prefer buying from you online or the inconvenience of travelling and queuing only to find the item is out of stock in their size/colour and more expensive on the high street. 3. Choosing the right supplier With so many web designers to choose from often making conflicting claims or giving different advice how do you choose the right supplier for you. Consider what level of support if any they will provide once the site goes live. How often will they review your websites performance and how quickly will they respond when something goes wrong? Before you short list any supplier see our Free “Top tips guide to choosing a website designer”. For your copy visit http://www.310k.co.uk/docs/70+Things_to_consider.pdf 4. What’s your unique selling point? Why should a prospect buy from you, what’s in it for them? Is it a better product and if so how, more competitive price, quicker delivery, better support, service or back‐up. Think about the advantages for your prospects but don’t get confused between benefits and features.
"I kept getting advice that I needed to improve my internet presence and start moving into social media. I had no idea how to do this or where to get started. I got great advice from Simon at 310K on what to think about. He gave me examples of other successful websites, helped me define my product by using Google analytics, advised me on the legal side, and helped discuss my business ideas. As a result, my business case is now completely different from what I would have been able to do on my own." Andrea Pellegram – CEO, Raspberry‐Red, ecommerce, Gloucestershire Page 5 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
5. Who owns your website? One of the major problems many of our new clients have experienced in particular with cheap or off‐the‐shelf ecommerce packages is that they don’t own the software that makes the website work. These sites often appear to be a cheap alternative to a professionally built one however when the client wants to move away from their initial supplier they discover they do not own the software effectively locking them into that supplier. If they want to move they have to leave their website behind and start again from scratch. But also consider what happens if the original supplier has disappeared, has financial problems or uses unusual software to operate the website. Recently 310k was asked by a new client to take over control of their existing ecommerce site. To correct various programming errors and make the changes requested it was going to create an inordinate amount of time and effort. The client decided to go with the cheaper option of simply starting again from scratch! So in summary make sure you own the website in its entirety, carry out your due diligence of a potential new supplier and ensure they can actually build what they say they can. 6. What about reliability Your business will be open 24/7 but only if your website is available on the internet. Many web designers use a third party for hosting so you need to know what happens if something goes wrong, how long will it take to get sorted. Ask for figures showing server up‐time and what happens if it falls over, how your site will be backed up and protected if a catastrophic failure occurs. After all it will be your business that is closed while they fix the problem. Whilst talking about servers and reliability you also need to establish how quick your website will download. It must load within 3 seconds or your prospects will be off. Google also takes download times into consideration when ranking your website. If your web designer hosts your site with hundreds of others all on the same server then download times will be compromised and you will loose out. 7. What about Sales & Marketing? You can have the best website in the world but if nobody knows about it then it’s just another well kept secret. Not only consider how you will get visitors to the site in the first instance but what incentive is there for them to revisit again and again. We will discuss this in greater detail in the next chapter. 8. Stats and analytics. You need to know how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their experience. Google Analytics is a free service that allows you to track conversion data, analyse the flow of visitors through your site, and identify elements that could be changed or improved. It also allows you to compare the behaviour and profitability of prospects that were referred from each of your keywords, search engines or emails and providing you with valuable insight. All of this information is presented in intuitive, thorough, visual reports. It won't affect the performance or the appearance of your website, and there are no extra files to host on your Page 6 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
website. 9. Adding Value. You should not discount popular products as prospects will buy these anyway. You could however suggest that they may get an even better deal if they bought something extra at the same time. For example “Buy two and get the third free”, “Spend over £30 and get free delivery”. Customers will be delighted that you have been helpful, it encourages repeat business and increases the value of each sale. 10.The unexpected gift. When a customer receives their purchases why not thank them with an unexpected free gift. This could be a promotional voucher offering a discount off their next purchase. It could include an invitation to a private preview of your latest products. When buying shoes you could include a pair of shoe trees or soft bag to store them in. An unexpected gift is always welcomed and valued. 11.What does an ecommerce website cost? Make sure you have a detailed breakdown of any investment required so you know exactly what you are paying for, plus any ongoing costs. One of the most common mistakes businesses make is to buy on price. Don't start with a fixed budget. Decide on what your goals are, how you intend to achieve them. From that datum point you can work out the investment required and whether the project is viable with an acceptable ROI. If you start with “I can only spend £x amount” your site is already doomed to failure before you have even started. It's not just the initial build cost that needs to be taken into account but also the ongoing investment covering hosting, support and backup, marketing, the occasional refresh and regular updates, lifespan of the site etc. As a rough rule of thumb whatever you spend on the build of your website needs to be spent every year simply on general marketing and that is excluding any Pay Per Click advertising (PPC). Most companies who intend to use PPC advertising on various search engines greatly underestimate the cost. It will probably be at least the same sum again as the whole of your general marketing budget! So consider your overall financial commitment before thinking of choosing the cheapest quote but also remember you are also buying ongoing expertise. What initially appears to be cheap probably is just that which does not equate to good value
“Our website was out of date and didn't get a lot of traffic. We required an online brochure where we could manage and update the site ourselves. 310k also helped with securing a grant to fund the new website which was really useful. They came up with lots of ideas and we eventually decided on a formula which has worked very well. Since publishing, the site has generated lots of new business for us with one job worth over £85k so we are very happy.” Stephanie Allison – CEO, Corinium HRM, HR Management, Gloucestershire
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
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2. Marketing
o you have taken the decision to start selling online but to be successful you need customers to buy your products or services. Your website should hopefully do the selling bit but how are you going to let people know who you are, what you do and why they should buy from you over a competitor? Therefore you need to market your website just like a bricks and mortar business. Just having a telephone number won’t make it ring unless you tell people your number and give them a reason to use it. The same applies to your website. If nobody knows about it then they will not be visiting. The following tips provide a short introduction of the many ways you can market your business online and offline. 1. Choosing the right domain name. Your web address (URL) should be short so it is easy to remember and less likely to be misspelt but also try and find one that reflects your business. Ideally it should also contain a keyword or phrase someone may use when using a search engine. For instance if you sell running shoes then www.runningshoes.co.uk could be a good choice. In the past Google would push you up the results listing if you had a highly relevant URL although it does not put much emphasise on this today. When purchasing a URL ensure you also buy the variants e.g. runningshoes.co.uk, runningshoes.com, runningshoes.biz, runningshoes.com.uk etc. This will go some way to protecting your name from your competitors but also helps your customers who are unsure of your web address. 2. Using existing marketing materials. Ensure you web address is clearly and prominently displayed on all your current marketing materials including business cards, letterheads, comp slips, brochures, plastic bags, shop signage, advertisements and emails. In fact anywhere you promote or advertise your company should be accompanied with your URL. 3. Search Engines Search engines form the greatest single source of new visitors. Around 90% of all UK internet users use them to find businesses like yours and the majority will use Google, Yahoo and then Bing in that order. Search engine marketing broadly falls into two areas 1. Natural or organic listings and 2. Sponsored or Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. The Natural or Organic listings are usually the most cost effective. These are the results shown in the middle of the page and are more trusted (70% of users say they trust an organic listing over PPC) by searchers than the paid for Pay Per Click (PPC) adverts. Many of the search engines do not charge you to submit your site to them however it can take many Page 8 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
months to get a good listing on page 1 of say Google. Pay Per Click (PPC) or Sponsored listings on the other hand are very quick to advertise. You pay your money and your site is visible either at the top of the page or down the right hand column. Every time a visitor clicks on your advert you get charged a pre agreed sum up to a maximum amount per month. When your monthly budget has been reached your advert is automatically removed. PPC is less trusted by users than the natural listings and can be very expensive. For most PPC display ads you should only expect 0.1% ‐ 0.2% click‐through rates. 4. Email campaigns Using emails to promote and market your business is very cost effective however there are a few rules which you must adhere to. a. You are only legally allowed to email private individuals whom have given you permission to do so or they have previously bought a product or service from you. b. You must provide a free unsubscribe option on all mailings c. There are around 250 words which will trigger spam filters and therefore cannot be used. d. Many filters will block the use of background images typically an image with writing over the top. e. Images using flesh colours or images of naked bodies will usually get blocked. So if you are selling swimwear or lingerie then you should be careful how you use these images. Email marketing is quick and simple to do. It can be used for newsletters, incentives, new products arriving shortly, a sale or other promotion or simply to create awareness. But first you need a database of people to email. You can buy a permission based email list however as many people regularly change their email address it could be out of date. You will also need to check that the people in the database have actually given their permission otherwise you could be fined! Buying a list is also very expensive, better to create one yourself. Ask visitors to your business or to your website whether you can add them to your mailing list. However their must be a reason or incentive why a visitor should give you their details e.g. what’s in it for them. 5. Social Media, blogs and forums Social media like Facebook and Twitter have really taken off since 2009 but blogs and forums are also great ways to find people who are interested in talking about the products and services you offer. Whether the subject is cars, pets or fashion people like to discuss what interests them and that could mean you can offer help or expert advice. In return you can get feed back about your business, your products and an opportunity to market your wares. Page 9 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
6. Transforming blog readers into leads. Always include a “Call to Action” at the bottom of every blog that is relevant to content of the blog article. So if you have the right calls to action and build up an audience on your blog, your blog can become an important source of leads too. 7. Inbound links Inbound links are other websites that have a link from their website to yours. Why are they important? Well unless you have good quality inbound links it is impossible to get a high ranking on Google or Yahoo. These and many other search engines feel that if lots of websites link to you especially if you include a particular keyword or phrase in the link that people are searching for then your website must have something special to offer. To obtain good quality inbound links you must first have a reciprocating offer. So if a website links to you then you should link back to them. 8. Affiliates, Comparison and Referring sites. Affiliates programme will promote and market your products on various websites for a fee. Every time an order is placed on one of the websites for your product you pay another fee. Referral sites are similar to a directory. They list your website, products or services and you simply pay when a user clicks on a link to visit your website. Typical examples of comparison sites are Gocompare or Moneysupermarket where your products are promoted on their websites and you pay for a click‐through or referral to your website. 9. Viral marketing. Although this sounds like a disease, viral marketing can be a very powerful medium. It is where one person forwards your website or promotion to other like minded people. A funny video featuring your product can be quickly forwarded around the world creating exceptional exposure for your business. Apart from the initial cost of the creative it is all free! 10.Promotional vouchers. These can also be used as part of your viral marketing campaign. Typically it could be used to reward existing clients and encourage them to return by offering a discount or additional benefit on their next purchase. They could pass it on to a friend or family member to use as a discount or added benefit redeemed against their first purchase. 11.Existing clients. Why not run an email or postal campaign to your existing customers advising them of a Pre Sale Viewing, Coming Soon Preview or using the above promotional or gift vouchers.
“It cost us every time we wanted to make changes to our website, but also we couldn't be found on any of the search engines so we looked for a new supplier. Now the efficiency of the website is really good. We have excellent support and help with marketing and promotions from 310k. We are also shortly to launch some new enterprises and will certainly continue with them.” Alan Rogers – CEO, Red Carpet Enterprises Ltd, Wiltshire Page 10 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
You could also reward customers when they refer new business to you or create a membership/loyalty scheme that provides additional benefits not usually available to non members. Remember your existing customers are your best customers. 12.Sales that didn’t complete. There are occasions when a customer goes through the checkout system but fails to make a payment. You should have a strategy in place to contact these failed customers to discover why they didn’t finish the transaction. Often there can be something very simple that could be quickly sorted out by phone or email. 13.Make your telephone number visible. The majority of failed sales are simply down to a minor query at the checkout stage that could be quickly dealt with by a simple telephone call. Always display your telephone number in a prominent position on every page of your website including the checkout process. It also creates confidence with customers knowing that there is always someone there to help them if the get stuck or need advice. 14.FAQ’s and Helpful Advice. By marketing free advice, offering solutions to any technical issues or common problems, providing specialist knowledge or helpful tips you can become a centre of excellence, create gravitas and credibility with your customers and encourage regular and repeat business. 15.Bad Press Get it wrong and bad press spreads more quickly online. Social media sites, blogs, forums and user reviews are all available for people checking out your brand. Unhappy customers are unlikely to keep quiet about poor customer service ‐ and potential customers are more likely to find out about your reputation in advance. And of course the competition is just a click away. It's much easier online than on the high street for customers to go elsewhere. 16.Misleading Marketing Communications. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced on 1st September 2010 that the digital remit of the ASA was to be extended to cover online marketing communications. Website owners were given a 6 month period of grace to ensure that their website and any online marketing comply with the new rules which came into full force on 1 March 2011. The rules state “Advertisements and other marketing communications by or from companies, organisations or sole traders on their own websites, or in other non‐paid‐for space online under their control, that are directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods, services, opportunities and gifts, or which consist of direct solicitations of donations as part of their own fund‐raising activities.” Page 11 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
The new rules focus specifically upon website content which constitutes an advertisement or other marketing communication. This includes, for example websites, video marketing, social media marketing, banner advertising. Failure to comply with the standards means you may be listed on the ASA website and reported to the Office of Fair Trading for breaching Consumer Protection Law. For further information visit; http://www.asa.org.uk/Media‐Centre/2011/New‐online‐remit‐enhances‐consumer‐ protection.aspx and http://www.cap.org.uk/Media‐Centre/2011/Changes‐to‐the‐CAP‐Code.aspx
“My IT skills were minimal. I just muddled along with what I'd found out for myself. I did everything the slow way, or just plain couldn't do what I wanted! I was a bit worried that the course would be too advanced for me but because I could practice on a training website, and learn at my own pace, it was simple. I've learned so much. Now I work confidently and quickly on my computer. I can even manage and update my own website, which is very important for my business.” Chloë of the Midnight Storytellers, Gloucestershire.
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
3. Selling your products.
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o you’ve done an excellent job of marketing your website and now have prospects looking to buy the products you sell. But first you need to persuade them to buy from you and not one of your competitors. This means making it nice and simple for them to buy without any barriers. They must feel safe and secure in the knowledge that their credit card details will not be compromised, that they are getting good service and value for money. It all starts with your Home page. 17.Download times. Your only have 3 seconds for your website to load otherwise that prospect you worked so hard to get will be off to buy from one of your competitors. 18.Clear navigation. When you answer the telephone do you tell the caller how long you have been in business or what good chaps you all are, of course not, you simply ask how you can help them and your website is no different! When visiting a department store you look at the floor guide to find the right department. Navigating around your website is exactly the same. The prospect is on your website because they are interested in buying a product so help them with clear routes to find what they want. Once they have that information then it is important to ensure they make a buying decision and buy from you. But first they must find what it is they are looking for and so you must provide a clear and simple way of achieving this. 19.Above the fold. The most important space on your entire website is the Home page and the portion that can be seen without having to scroll down. This is called above the fold and where you should put your most important message. Typically this message will be any special offer, featured products, a preview of stock shortly arriving or the latest items. 20.Product descriptions. One of the biggest mistakes merchants make is the lack of or poor descriptions. Your prospect can’t touch or feel the product on offer so you must describe it carefully to them. You may want to consider an “At a glance” quick reference guide using bullet points to highlight the main selling points. List the benefits of choosing this product over any other and then followed by its features. The most successful websites adopt a descriptive style as if you were having a conversation to someone face to face. 21.Pricing. Make sure the price you show is the price they will pay with no hidden costs. If you do decide to display a price that does not include tax or other fees then you must clearly state this and what any additional sums may be. Page 13 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
22.Product images. Obviously your prospect can’t handle the product so give them as many images as possible, front, back, side, top and bottom. All website should have an enlarge and zoom facility but also consider whether a video would be relevant. 23.Customer reviews. Research has shown that prospects will trust other buyers opinions so encourage customer feedback both positive and negative. 24.Case studies and testimonials. Case studies may not always be relevant however when used they can be very effective in explaining how a particular products has been used to the benefit of the buyer. A testimonial from a satisfied customer will reinforce and help with the buying decision. 25.Associated products. Why not up sell e.g. when buying this toy why not get the batteries to go with it. Thinking about buying this dress? Then why not get the matching gloves, scarf or jumper. Better still why not offer “Buy the look” where everything is included. 26.Compare products. Where you have a range of similar products for sale while not offer a Compare products facility allowing specifically chosen items to be displayed along side each other for comparison. It’s all about helping your prospects in making a buying decision. 27.Wedding lists, Baby Showers and Gift lists. Great to encourage engaged couples, new parents etc to list a range of products that they have chosen all from your online store. 28.Gift wrapping. Another way of increasing a sale value is to offer a gift wrapping service for a small fee. You could also offer a selection of gift cards and messages further increasing the sale value whilst adding additional benefits to your customers. 29.Multi currency. Not all your customers will be coming from the UK and may not be aware of the conversion rate. So by offering multi currency they can see what they will be paying but in their home currency. There may be a small one off set‐up fee initially charged by your payment gateway provider (credit card processor).
“My colleagues and I needed to be convinced that any investment in a new website would be helpful to the business. Working with 310k to build the new website was great fun and has been really successful, however it's the on going help and support with marketing ideas and suggestions that has been such an added bonus.” Mathew Harrison, Operations Director, CIA Fire and Security Ltd
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
30.Addressing any objections. Tell prospects about your returns policy, delivery options, help with international size conversions or tips on product care and maintenance. It shows you care and want to help your customers get the very best from their purchase. By addressing concerns or objections you are removing the barriers to making the buying decision. If you look after your customers then they are more likely to return again and again. 31.And a word on security. Security is paramount to the success of your website. If customers are not confident their card and personal details are safe then they will simply not buy from you. Tell prospects what security is in place and how you will protect them. But you should also consider how you will be protected from malicious software or individuals breaking into the Admin/backend of your site and corrupting all your data. Whoever builds your website must provide adequate protection so you do not loose your business. 32.A clear “Call to action”. A call to action is getting your prospective customer to do what you want them to do. Typically used on the home or a landing page it may be similar to “Order Nike Trainers before the end of December 2010 to secure 2009 prices.” , “Immediately reduce your energy bills with our free 30 day trial”, “Pre‐order the latest iPhone due for release in April 2011 NOW and get 1000 free text per month” 33.Removing the barriers to complete a checkout and payment. So your prospect has chosen the products they want to buy, are happy with the price and delivery so now you need to help them along to the checkout. Your navigation should be quick and simple to follow. But before they make the final step and process their credit card you must ensure they know exactly what they are buying and how much the final amount is. This should also include any delivery and tax with the option to edit their purchase or make any final adjustments. 34.Prominently display your telephone number. 70% of all checkout failures are due to not having a telephone number at hand to answer any minor queries or final questions. 35.Keeping customers informed. Once they have made a safe and secure payment keep them informed of how their order is being processed. Step 1 an auto responder thanking them for their purchase, confirmation that payment has been successful and what will happen next. Step 2 a second email to advise their order is being processed. Step 3 to say their order has been despatched with any tracking details or date/time they should receive their order. Step 4 always keep them informed during every stage of the fulfilment process and then check after a delivery has been made to ensure they are completely satisfied with their purchase. Page 15 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
All the above steps should be automated by your website leaving you more time to run your business. 36.Delivering the goods. Fulfilment ‐ or delivery of goods ‐ is one of the biggest gripes for online shoppers. Getting it wrong can wreck your reputation. The key to getting it right? Communicate with your customers. Set realistic deadlines. Alert them to any delays. 37.Shipping options. Present them clearly, as many as you can. Consider using a service that allows your customer to track their order's shipping status. You might send all orders by signed delivery. A signed delivery receipt reassures you that the goods have been received and can also help defend against potentially fraudulent claims. 38.Free or next day delivery. Consider free delivery or free next‐day delivery and returns to set you apart from the competition. One of the biggest disadvantages of online shopping over tradition retail stores is this extra charge, which does deter some customers. 39.Returning Goods. Make it clear to customers they can send goods back (and make it easy for them by having a lenient refund policy) and they'll be more likely to make a purchase in the first place. 40.Keep your stocks up! Your stock inventory is vital to converting the shopper to a buyer. If you haven't got the product they want in stock ‐ and if your website doesn't make that clear, quickly ‐ customers may never come back to you!
“Our goals were to re-vamp our website look and feel and ensure that our web search engine results improved. We wanted to be able to edit the website in-house and to do it quickly and easy. 310k developed a CMS which surpassed our expectations resulting in conversion of visitors to clients steadily increasing over time”.
Chris Halpin – IT Manager, Newton Perkins, Property Consultants, London
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
Y
4. Search engines optimisation
ou can have the best website in the world but if nobody knows about it, then it is simply just another well kept secret. We constantly broadcast this and yet it has never been truer than it is today, you must be easily found on all the major search engines. Whether you choose to market your website using pay per click/sponsored advertising (PPC) or go down the natural, organic listings or even use both methods, every website must first be optimized for at least the most popular search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex set of interlocking relationships between the various service providers that is constantly evolving. The secrecy surrounding ranking criteria and the unforgiving ‘spam’ policies dictating submission procedures can create a potential nightmare. There are a number of factors that all the major search engines look at to determine how relevant your website is to a prospects search query. For them to be able to do this they need to understand who you are and what you do and optimisation is all about achieving this goal. For this reason you may decide to hand over the care of search engine marketing to a specialist, allowing you to get on with the serious business of running your company. However it is also important to understand what SEO is and how it can affect your website. 41.Choose your keywords carefully. Keywords or a phrase are the words prospects type into a search engine to find your products or services. Often the most obvious keyword is not necessarily the best for SEO. It is important to choose a word or phrase that is popular, that many people search for but has the least number of competing web pages. For example if you sell “Sports Footwear” then using the word “Shoes” is a popular word however it is too generic and vague with lots of competing web pages. Whereas if you use the phrase “Running Trainers” it is still popular but with less competing web pages and considerably more targeted prospects. 42.Document title. The document title is the text within the <title>...</title> tags in the HTML code of your web page and should include your keyword. Google identifies your keyword and uses it as part of determining the relevancy of your website. 43.Inbound Link Popularity. If many other sites link to your site, then search engines consider your site to be important. The number of web pages linking to your site is not as important as the quality of those web pages. All major search engines take the quality and the context of the links into account. 44.Keyword use in body text. The body text is the main text area on your web page that can be seen by people in their web browsers. The more visible text there is on a web page, the more a search engine can index Page 17 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
therefore it is important to include your keyword or phrase. 45.Bold font used in body text. The bold font uses a darker and heavier type face than regular text and could be used to highlight your keyword or phrase. 46.Keywords used in a headline. Some search engines give extra relevance to a keyword that appear in a headline text. 47.Keyword used in the first sentence. Some search engines give more relevance to keywords when they appear in the first sentence. Some will use your first sentence as the description of your page on the search result page. 48.Keyword use in your domain name. The domain name is the main part of your web page address and ideally should include your keyword. For example if A.B. Smith Ltd sell sport shoes then www.absmith.co.uk is not as good as www.runningtrainers.co.uk unless A.B. Smith is a well known propriety brand. 49.Keyword use in the page URL. The page URL is the part of the domain name in the web address which is separated by /, ‐, or _. For example www.runningtrainers.co.uk/athlete‐shoes.html. Many of the search engines give extra relevance to a keyword or phrase (athlete shoes) within the page URL. 50.The age of your website. Spam sites often come and go quickly. For this reason, search engines tend to trust a web site that has been around for a long time over one that is brand new. The age of the domain is seen as a sign of trustworthiness because it cannot be faked. 51.Links from social networks. On social network sites, people decide which websites are popular. This means that the popularity on social network sites cannot be easily influenced. For this reason many search engines trust websites more if they are popular on these social networks. 52.Server speed. Popular websites often have faster server response times compared to smaller unimportant sites. In addition, most search engines index more pages from fast web sites. The faster your website downloads the better your search engine ranking. 53.Keyword use in Alt Tags. The Alt Tag defines an alternative text for an image when the user uses a text browser or when the user has turned off the display of images. For example Microsoft's Internet Explorer displays the alternative text if the user puts the cursor over a graphic. It makes sense to include the keyword as an alternative text to help improve your rankings. 54.Number of visits to your website. Many search engines look at website usage data such as the number of visitors to your site to determine if your site is reputable and contains popular contents. The more visitors the higher the ranking. Page 18 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
55.Keyword used in Meta Description. The Meta Description tag allows you to describe your web page. Many search engines use this information and display it in the search results. Even if the Meta Description tag might not be important for ranking purposes, you should still use it to make sure that your web site is displayed with an attractive description in the search results. So, if you sold sports footwear and wanted to be found for terms such as "running trainers" you might write a "just the facts" description like this: “Purchase athletic shoes, running trainers and other sports footwear plus try our cross country trail finder.” 56.The number of forward slashes in a URL. The number of forward slashes (/) in the URL indicates where a web page falls in a site's overall hierarchy. If the URL contains many forward slashes, meaning it is placed in a sub‐sub‐ directory, then the webmaster does not seem to think that the page is important in relation to the other pages. For example www.absmith.co.uk/products/sports‐footwear/running‐ trainers.html would receive a lower ranking than www.absmith.co.uk/running‐trainers.html 57.Meeting W3C standards. Web pages are typically written in special languages called HTML and CSS. Like any language, HTML and CSS change constantly. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the governing body that establishes what is valid HTML/CSS and what is not. Search engines obey the HTML/CSS standard. If there are errors in the HTML/CSS code of your web page, then search engines might not be able to read everything on your web page. 58.Readability of your web pages. The Flesch Reading Ease Test is a United States governmental standard to determine how easy a text is to read. It measures the approximate level of education necessary to understand the web page content. Higher scores indicate the text that is easier to read, and lower numbers mark harder‐to‐read texts. To improve a score, you may have to break long sentences into shorter ones and use shorter non technical words. In addition ensure that you end sentences with punctuation (a period, question mark, or exclamation point). There should be one space between each word and after any punctuation including commas. 59.Meta Keywords. The Meta Keywords tag allows you to define which keywords are important to your web page according to your opinion. Many search engines give a higher relevance to keywords in the Meta Keywords tag. 60.Keywords used in Comments tag. HTML comment tags are "hidden comments" in the HTML code of your web page. They are not visible to the user. Some search engines give a higher relevance to keywords in the HTML comment tags. Page 19 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
61.Other factors to consider; a. Number of keywords used b. Keyword density per web page c. Keyword positions on a web page d. Total number of words on a web page The algorithms many search engines like Google have developed are constantly evolving therefore to stay ahead of your competitors’ does mean you must keep abreast of these changes. An alternative solution is to use a specialist company to manage your search engine marketing on your behalf.
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
5. FAQ’s
Q
How do I get paid? To understand how you will get paid it is important to understand the process of how your customer’s transactions are processed. • Shopping basket: Your customer adds purchase items into the shopping basket, effectively
the online equivalent of a high street store shopping basket. • Checkout: When ready to pay, your customer heads to the checkout. Product information in
• • • • • •
their shopping basket generates what is called a 'purchase description' that is sent to a Payment Gateway ‐ such as WorldPay, Yes‐Pay, SagePage etc ‐ to securely process the payment. Payment Gateway: Your customer is directed to the Payment Gateway where they choose a payment method e.g. credit card, debit card and enter their details. Transaction: The Payment Gateway pairs your customer’s payment details with the purchase description from the shopping basket to produce a 'transaction'. Authorisation: The Payment Gateway encrypts and sends transaction details to your customer’s card issuer for authorisation. Card issuer authorises or declines the transaction. Confirmation: The Payment Gateway notifies your customer that the order has been completed ‐ normally via a confirmation screen and an email. Merchant Account: The Payment Gateway receives the purchase amount from your customer’s card issuer, and sends it to your Merchant Account. This can take 1‐2 days. Bank account: From your Merchant Account, the funds are paid into your standard bank account, normally with a short delay that's specified by the Merchant Account provider.
Q. What is a Payment Gateway? To be able to take an online payment your website must first seamlessly connect to a payment gateway provider where your customers' details are securely processed and kept safe. This service provides secure and encrypted links between your website, your Merchant Account and your customer’s card issuer. At no point should you or your website store your customer’s credit or debit card information. It means you do not have the security issues of maintaining, processing or authorising your customer’s credit or debit card transactions. Q. What is a Merchant Account? A Merchant Account is a bank account specifically for the funds you accept online and is completely separate from your normal business bank account. Once a credit or debit card payment has been authorised the card issuer transfers the payment into your Merchant Account and from there it is transferred into your standard business bank account. Q. How does anyone know if a webpage is secure? Most Payment Gateway providers insist that secure encrypted pages are identified by a least a padlock symbol. Also the URL address will change from http://www... to https://www... Q. Tackling Fraud. If cardholders have their card details used on your website without their permission, you will be responsible for refunding them ‐ plus if you've already shipped the goods to a fraudster, you'll loose Page 21 of 23 © 310k Internet Solutions Ltd 2011 310k Internet Solutions Ltd T 0845 6441181 E:info@310k.co.uk W:www.310k.co.uk
70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
the value of these too. As a result, you have to protect your business from fraud. Most Payment Gateway providers offer additional risk management services to help fight fraudsters using stolen card details. The service monitors each transaction and provides automated alerts indicating possible/probable fraudulent transactions. This is one of the most effective ways of identifying potentially fraudulent transactions. The service is constantly updated and new checks automatically made available to businesses using the risk management service. Most payment systems support the MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa authentication schemes, so you can check if customers are genuine MasterCard or Visa cardholders. The customer enters a password to confirm their identity with the card issuer. Then you can accept the customer's payment and complete their order with more confidence. Additional checks include the Address Verification Service (AVS) and Card Verification Value or Card Verification Code (CVV2, CVC). Both check the authenticity of a transaction by comparing cardholder information which the customer has entered during the payment process, with details held by the card issuer.
“We wanted to have control over the content and update our existing website however we didn't have the necessary software, knowledge or skills in-house. So we went on 310k's course. They showed us how to manage our site using simple to use software. We can now change the look, information or anything else including making new pages.” Bob Allison – CEO, Corinium Fire and Security, health & safety, Gloucestershire.
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70+ Top Tips for Successful Selling Online
6. Conclusion – Share your success!
H
aving read this guide and if you have adopted or used any of the tips and advice provided here, 310k would like to hear of your successes and to share them with others.
Send us your story and how you successfully used a 310k principle in your business to: info@310k.co.uk or by post to: 310k Internet Solutions Ltd Greyfriars House, 14 Greyfriars Walk, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1UF We may contact you for further information and possibly feature your story in one of our newsletters or future publications, so please include your contact details. We look forward to hearing from you.
Simon Musgrove‐Wethey Chairman 310k Internet Solutions Ltd
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