Archive for the ‘Online Business’ Category

Jul

Can You Build and Maintain Your Own Site?

Posted by: Judith in Online Business, Web Design

This week alone I received 4 calls from folks who wanted to build or at the very least maintain their own Web site. No problem! That’s what I do — empower folks with the reality of knowledge and skills that are required to succeed online (whether you choose to hire me as your consultant or not).

When I started to explain what they would have to learn and embrace (and we’re talking the bare minimums here — like learning how to use WordPress or InstanteStore software), silence on the other end of the phone line…. Then, one gentleman in particular commented “I don’t have to learn all that — just like you I have FrontPage!” That’s when I went silent to gather my words carefully. I simply responded that I had never owned or used FrontPage and if that is all that was required to have a successful Web site, he wouldn’t be calling me for assistance, right?

3 of the 4 folks didn’t want to have to learn anything. They just wanted to be able to “do it.” One showed me the site he already created and was quite proud of. Everything centered down the middle, no consistent navigation or look throughout the site. Crummy graphic quality, poor written content, I could go on…. The site was clearly created by someone with zero knowledge or skills in regard to creating a professional and polished presentation. The site was sooo 1990s!

Now understand, I am not trying to insult those who build their own sites. I’ve seen some great sites created by those who made the effort to understand the basics and hone their skills. However, just because you build your own site , in FrontPage or otherwise, does not mean by virtue of that alone that it is a good site. When your little boy or girl comes home from grade school with a drawing that is a hodge-podge of clashing colors and scribbles — you tell them how great it is. The one and only reason that drawing is great is because your child drew it. Is that how adults are supposed to act? They made it, so it is good enough and no one should tell them otherwise? Believe me, from my experience if you are less than complimentary of their efforts, you are the bad guy.

Yes, you can DIY. But you have to be realistic, if you want to succeed, about the work and skills that are involved. Folks like me who have been doing this gig for over 10 years, many times 10 hours a day, know intuitively what looks good, what works and how to do it quickly and efficiently because that’s what we do! We have the skills, experience and the knowledge to be good at what we do because we’ve worked at it — for years. We’ve polished our skills and it is our profession. That’s why folks hire me — to handle what they don’t want to learn while they run their businesses.

In this rabidly competitive environment each business owner has to decide if they want that initial perception of their business to be compromised by lack of skills, design and marketing experience or if they want to be taken seriously and viewed as a credible legitimate enterprise. Folks visit more than one Web site when on a quest for products, services or information and if your competitors “get it” and have partnered with a professional who knows what they don’t so they can succeed, they will get the contact, order, business.

A key trait of a successful business owner is one who is brutally honest about their own skill set, ability, experiene and knowledge — they know what they don’t know. They also reflect the professionalism to not devalue or minimize others who do have the skills and experience they desire but would take years to acquire. Online my friends, that’s what separates the men from the boys….

At your service,
Judith

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Jul

Do You Understand Google PageRank?

Posted by: Judith in Helpful Articles, Online Business, SEO | SEM

Most site owners do not. They think it is an “opinion” that someone at Google arbitrarily comes up with. Many times the site owner thinking their site is much better than what Google’s PageRank indicates.

PageRank is not about “thinking” a site is good or not. It is about the numbers and the data. The data that Google has reflecting the quality of the links to your site that are apropos to your site’s topic and target market.

Google’s PageRank is something that some folks live and die for. Personally, I use Page Rank as a guide; an indication of the quality of a site in general — but not the end-all-be-all. As Google explains:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”

For the all the details, you can review Google’s explanations about how PageRank works by searching the Official Google Webmaster Blog.

Only by understanding (not assuming) how PageRank works can you use that information to your advantage and work towards increasing your visibility on Google.

At your service,
Judith

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Jul

10 Must Dos BEFORE Building an eStore

Posted by: Judith in Marketing, Musings | Blog, Online Business, Online Business, Web Design

So you’ve decided to open an eStore. Maybe you already have a static HTML site that has been out there and you want to add eCommerce or you have a nifty idea you think you can turn into a profitable online endeavor. Congratulations! Now, don’t make the mistake of not having the basics prepared and planned for before you get a developer or consultant involved or sign up for an eStore or Shopping Cart application.

Some of these issues may seem like common sense, but the truth be told, I get inquiries every single day from those contemplating a new eStore venture who when I ask about these issues, the silence on the other end of the phone is deafening.

Make sure your product or service is über niche. Sites selling bunches of unrelated items or products that are not topically related in some way will be all the much harder to market online. Putting up a “me too” site where the online market has been saturated is a waste of your time and money unless you have a different angle or idea. The best ideas are born from hobbies, interests and passions where the eStore owner saw an opportunity because no one else was catering to that specific niche. Don’t underestimate the power of niche!
Research your competition. Do a search at your favorite search engine for a handful of 2-3 word keyword phrases you believe your target market will use to find your new eStore. Then make note of the hundreds of thousands or millions of pages already online doing the same. Either get “nichier” to try and minimize your competition or plan on being a rabidly aggressive marketer which will cost you both in $$ and time. Look at what your competitors are already doing successfully and how you can integrate those concepts in a unique or different way.
Create your shipping program. What carriers will you offer? Will you be shipping based on weight and location or will flat rate work for you? What about a handling fee? Shipping should not be a profit center and needs to be reasonable. The perception of overly high shipping fees in one of the top reasons customers abandon their shopping carts. Will you be shipping globally? You will then need to know what customs paperwork and policies will need to be considered.
Create your return policy. This needs to be clear, detailed and practical so that if you do experience returns, your customers can easily find what you need them to do and what your criteria are for a return to be accepted.
Create your privacy policy. You must have a policy visibly posted that states what you do with your customer’s information so that you can build trust. Never put one thing in this policy and then do another. Be honest, up front and state exactly how you will manage, distribute and use customer information.
Create your security policy. Your security policy should explain what you do, in detail, to protect your customer’s payment information. Are you on secure servers? Do you use SSL? Are you verified by a third party verification service? The more information you can provide the better to give your customers that warm fuzzy they need to trust you.
Product photos. When it comes to selling online, visuals will make or break you. Ensure all your products have quality photos. If you do not have experience taking product photos for the Web — they won’t be good enough. Check with your suppliers to see if they have photos you can use or hire someone who can guarantee top image quality.
Product descriptions. One line generic descriptions won’t cut it. You need details, sizes, colors, dimensions along with some good marketing verbiage that makes the potential customer realize they need, want, must have that item(s). Will you be entering your products yourself? If not, you need to plan on paying someone to create an uploadable spreadsheet or do your data entry for you. Your products won’t get entered by osmosis.
Marketing plan and budget. You need to have a plan and budget both in time and $$s to market your new eStore. Search engines have a trust box waiting period of 9 months or more before they will even look your way. What are you going to do in that time frame to get your site “out there?” There is no “build it and they will come” online — you’ll be lucky if you ever get found with that approach. Pay Per Click campaigns can run from a few hundred to thousands of dollars a month depending on how competitive your market is and will require massive time for you to test, tune and run effective campaigns. Don’t want to deal with PPC campaigns? Then plan on spending tons of time networking on and off-line. Without either your new eStore will remain a spec of sand in the desert.
Customer Service plan of action. You need to look at your schedule and plan for the printing, processing and packing of orders. This in of itself can be very time consuming when done properly. You’ll need to spend time answering customer e-mail inquiries, updating order status, entering shipping details and ETAs so you can send customers that much desired shipping confirmation. How will you handle phone inquiries? Will you accept orders by fax? Do you have a merchant account to accept credit cards? What forms of payment will you accept? Visa, MasterCard, Check, Wire Transfer, Money Orders? How about PayPal? Do you have a payment gateway to verify, approve and process charges real-time?

I could go on…these are the core basics you have to plan for before you move forward. You’ve heard the saying “fail to plan; plan to fail.” Do yourself a big favor and do not proceed until you have the above issues all nailed down and ready to integrate.

At your service,
Judith

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