What to Check for When You Launch eCommerce Stores

Author: Potchie Cruz

Whether you build store from scratch or get a free web store template from the internet, there are some things you need to ensure right from the start to get it to perform as soon as possible. We suggest you start creating your own checklist of the things to be discussed in this article.

Let's start with the SEO aspect of eCommerce stores. The first thing you need when optimizing your free web store is a set of keywords to target in both your onpage and offpage initiatives. Do your keyword research first before taking a look at your SEO set up. When you have that, check if you have keywords in your page titles and in your meta descriptions. If you created your own content for your free web store, and we suggest that you do, make sure that these keywords are also integrated within your copy. If your free web store has tagging abilities, try adding keywords to these as well.

Once you're satisfied with the on-page SEO part, it's time to take a look at your ecommerce store's usability and overall design. Check for obvious items like browser compatibility. You won't have initial data on which browsers your visitors are commonly using, but it would be best to check using the latest version of the top ones: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera.

Next, make sure your favicon is updated. Match this with your free web store's logo. Then, if you are using optimized URL structures, make sure your mod rewrite function is set up correctly and all the links in your pages are working properly. While you're at it, try running an automated software that check your eCommerce store for broken links.
To avoid any visitor loss due to pages that we're set right when you build store, make sure that you have the proper error handlers in place. If you have the time, customize your 404 page to lead the potential buyer back to the index page or list your categories to have them browse for what they need directly from there.

For both SEO and conversion maximization, we suggest adding social media links directly on your ecommerce store. One way to do this is to have the Facebook Like or Share buttons right on your product pages and to add Twitter buttons as well.

Finally, do a last minute check on your ability to fulfill all the orders that may come through your free web store. Go through the entire purchase process, including testing if your shopping cart is working and the order goes to the right people. Check if your suppliers are in line with any delivery promise you make. We suggest trying out drop shippers to help you with supply chain management and order fulfillment. Working with drop shippers means you can start selling online easily and testing their capability to supply would also be much easier.

If you're offering any promotions, do ensure that your promo codes are working properly and more importantly align with any in-house order takers you may have with regards to proper handling of these promos.

Finally, it's time to relax and trust that you build storeproperly. Enjoy the online selling experience!

About the Author

Founded in 2004, Shopster offers a suite of e-Commerce solutions for small to medium sized retailers and suppliers. Over 130,000 online merchants around the world rely on Shopster to simplify the complexities of online retail, allowing merchants and suppliers to manage their store, transactions, and supply chain relationships in one easy to use place. Joining is free, so merchants can focus on growth and relationships, not cost. Shopster is an official eBa

Stay on Top of Wholesale Product Trends

Author: DPJ Wholesale

Stay on Top of Wholesale Product Trends

Choosing the right products to sell is crucial to success of any retail venture. Whether you are a convenience store owner, an established online retailer or an amateur eBay seller, determining what you sell will go a long way in deciding the ultimate success or failure of your business.

One way to ensure your success is to get the help of wholesalers in determining your inventory needs. Most successful wholesale companies make it a point to keep track of market trends and update their inventories accordingly so as to maximize their sales. The majority of small business owners need to find a wholesaler who can deliver products at the right price while at the same time delivering them in a timely, reliable fashion. If you can find a wholesale company that can do the importing for you, then you don't have to worry about all that. Plus, you know you'll get reliable shipping and customer service from someone closer to home.

The other thing to look for is an importer who knows what to buy. You want products that will sell NOW, so choose a company to buy from that stays on top of retail trends. A good wholesaler will supply highly saleable goods such as office supplies, electronics, hair and beauty accessories, jewelry, and other items at extremely competitive pricing.

Selected Products That Sell

• Cosmetics and Beauty Accessories - Adding basic beauty and personal care products such as brushes, combs, face and body washes, shampoo, conditioner, nail files and other accessories can prove extremely profitable for small business owners. Cosmetic bags can be bought as wholesale items for highly economical rates and are sure to be steady sellers.
• Electronics - while higher-end electronic items such as cell phones and MP3 players continue to be perennial favorites, these may not always be viable for small business owners. Instead, opt for selling inexpensive yet handy gadgets such as keychain lights or LED flashlights. The latter especially has become very popular in today's environmentally conscious world, with most people discarding their old flashlights for the longer-lasting and more eco-friendly LED flashlights. These can be bought as cheap wholesale products and are perfect for sporting goods shops and convenience stores well as small kiosks. Laptop case and netbook sleeves are another highly profitable product niche. Most people now buy separate cases for their personal electronic items and there is a huge market for stylish, personalized accessories and carry bags.
• Fashion and Apparel - accessories like hats, scarves and leggings are big this season and can add huge profits to your business.
• Jewelry - with budgets still tight these days, attractive yet inexpensive jewelry has become an essential component of every women's wardrobe. This season it is all about being funky yet feminine, and wholesale items such as bracelets, bangles, and earrings are surefire winners.

Finding What's Hot Right Now!

In conclusion, owners of traditional brick and mortar stores should make it a point to research the age groups and annual income of people in their particular locality in addition to exploring consumer trends in the area. Ebay Vendors and other online retailers can check out some of the websites that offer daily, weekly and or monthly data on what is selling well on popular online auction sites. Make sure to do your own research in order to get a firm understanding on selling trends and find out what works for you.

About the Author

We are the direct importer. We distribute value-priced wholesale general merchandise products for businesses. Our extremely competitive pricing brings businesses more profit! Our minimum order size is only $50.

How to Set Up Dropshipping With Wholesale Products

Author: BD Walker

A great method that people have found that enables them to make money, and to be able to take advantage of the low overhead that the Internet offers is called drop shipping. Drop shipping is the business of a person operating a retail store or online store, but instead of carrying the inventory in their own home or warehouse, they order the product directly from the manufacturer.

Anyone can get started with a new drop ship business. However, there are several steps that you need to keep in mind when starting a new drop ship business and when working with dropshipping companies. Here are some aspects to think about:

1. Research

If someone is interested in getting into drop shipping, they have to do a bit of research. First they need to research the type of products that they like to carry for their online store. Then they need to find manufacturers who participate in a drop shipping program. Finally, they'll have to do research on the average prices for particular products that are sold online in order to stay competitive and yet make a profit.

2. Identify your niche

Before a person can set up a store online, they have to have an idea or a clear understanding as to what they will be selling. This is known as finding a niche.


3. Search for dropshipping companies and best prices

Once a person has determined their niche they need to find great suppliers for those products and make sure they're getting the best price possible. The best prices are going to be prices that allow a person to make a profit, and yet not be so expensive that a customer wouldn't want to buy. On the other hand, prices shouldn't be so low that a person's efforts wouldn't be worth it.

4. Identify Marketplaces for Product Sales

This is the process of finding a place to sell your products and to advertise your online store. Some people simply choose to set up their own websites, while some people use forms such as Amazon and eBay to set up their drop shipping stores to sell wholesale products. Then again, some people use a combination of all of these.

5. Process Paperwork for each supplier

In most cases, when a person wants to send in an order to dropshipping companies, they can simply do so via e-mail. However, if there is paperwork involved then it may be best to send via scanner.

6. Make sure you have proper business licensing

An online business is just like any other retail business. One should check with state and federal regulations to make sure that they have all of their licensing and paperwork in place in order to operate a business.

7. Put products on your storefront: Once a person has done all of their back work and they've selected products they like to sell, the only step left is to advertise it in some way. This leads to the next point...

8. Market your product: There are several ways to market a product online. It's best for a prospective wholesale products business person to read some books about online marketing, and to learn about more current methods such as social networking, in order to get the word out there about their online store.

About the Author

Jake Sabey is an education specialist at Doba who provides a software platform and integration for online retailers. They offer a catalog of over 1.5 million products to online retailers. Their website is http://www.doba.com.

Shopping Cart Software ideas for your online store

Many people have dreams and plans to have a business of their own. But before you can build something, you always need to have a plan and the right tools to build with. Choosing an appropriate shopping cart software online will help you tremendously with this task.

No Time To Waste

Don't just waste time thinking about your plans. Take out a piece of paper and use a pen to write down your thoughts and business plans. The type of products or services that you wish to sell. What you would like to call your store or name your business. What type of color scheme and store look are you envisioning? How much capital are you planning to invest in setting it all up and how to you want to promote your store? These are critical questions that needs solid answers before you begin to build your online store from scratch. Kind of like having a proper blueprint before you build a house.

Build Systematically

Now no one is going to build a house by starting with the roof without first laying its foundation. So when you want to build something, you need to build it systematically. The same can be said about building an online store. The first step is to sign up for a free trial so you won't risk anything and at the same time you get to try out all the features offered by an ecommerce shopping cart. Choose a suitable template for your store or if you already have your own, just upload it. You should have all your products ready to upload along with the your payment gateway details. Setting up your shipping should be easy provided you have done your research on how much to charge for shipping.

Test Your Store

It is always wise to add a few products first and test out your payment and shipping methods to make sure they are working properly before you add the whole bulk of your stuff. Testing is important so that you don't end up losing money when your store is running live whenever a customer makes any purchase. While it is easy and fast to set up your store quickly, don't take things for granted that they will work as how you want it to. Always make the time to pretend to be a customer and go through your entire store to be sure.

Summary

Anyone can literally set up their online store quickly given the right tools and with a proper business plan. They just need to make sure that they have spent the time doing their research and plenty of testing while building their online store. Happy building and selling!



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