

| 02/04/2012 06:38 PM |
| Best Idea for E-Commerce |
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Through the years, I have seen many small businesses try their hand at selling online. Some have had success but most have failed without ever getting a single order. What I want to talk about today is what has been the single best idea that helped start the successful online sales process ? Its a question that I get frequently, and I’m going to give you some useful (yea- I mean that) answers right here, right now (be patient Sparky) Just for clarification, this blog will, for the most part, discuss e-commerce as it relates to small businesses. Big businesses have big e-commerce budgets and project managers and probably don’t care too much about anything that I have to say (Meeester Big- you can leave now – bye)
Successful E-Commerce or “SEC” as I will be referring to it from here on in, can be achieved ...
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| 02/04/2012 06:35 PM |
| Bounce Rates 101 |
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When you look at the analytics of your web traffic, (you are looking at the analytics right?) one of the most important statistics is the “Bounce Rate” What is this and why is it important? (I’m glad you asked) In a nutshell, its the percentage of people that land on your site but don’t click on anything for 29 minutes (how long a session lasts) Why that’s important is that google and other search engines will consider your site more relevant when people click on stuff once they get to your site. Its also a good measure on how effective your main page is. If someone gets to your site they are considered “bounced” if they click on a link to a page on a different website, close an open window or tab, type a new URL (that means website Carl), click the “Back” button to ...
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| 10/05/2011 11:40 PM |
| AdWords – Google’s Pay per Click |
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When coaching a new e-store, I generally like to focus on things that don’t cost anything, but produce results. (I have outlined many of these strategies in articles past.) Today I want to touch on the subject of Google’s pay per click advertising called AdWords.
Once a store begins to generate orders on a regular basis, it is rather easy to predict how many unique visitors it takes to produce a sale. (Total number sales/ Number of Visitors) Most store fall somewhere between 2 and 4 sales per 100 visitors. For now, let’s just assume for now you are getting 3 sales per 100 visitors. If you make $12. on the average sale then each visitor is worth $.36. (It took 33.33 visitors to make $12. so 12/33.33 = $.36) – I know its a lot of math, but stay with me on ...
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| 02/23/2011 08:31 PM |
| Feedback Mojo |
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Sometimes its hard to keep up your enthusiasm, even with things you love. You try to be fresh and keep it real, but sometimes it all seems like a grind. Believe me I know. Been there many times. Sometimes we lose sight on what its all for. I have long maintained that when you boil it all down, nothing’s more important than human relationships. Yep, that give and take, push and pull, yin and yang interaction that is what life is. If you feel like you are slipping a little and need to get a boost, reach out to people that you are helping. (If you are not helping anyone then get with the program!) Find out what you can do for them, how you can make their world better. Spend more time getting input from others than you do ...
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AEC FAQ :
Q: How long does it take to get up and running?
A: It takes a few days for a new domain to point to the right dirrectory. It may also take a few days if you need to setup a new PayPal account. Most sites are fully functional within one week. AEC sites are always a work in progress. We continually improve the functions and graphics over time.
Q: Are there any setup charges?
A: The setup charges for AEC sites is $150. to cover the work involved with the innitial configuration and the extra support that is required in launching a new site. There are no additional charges to make any content or cosmetic changes on an ongoing basis.
Q: How do products get on the site?
A: Store Owners log into their own Administration site and can add products, view orders, print out invoices & POs, Make page content changes etc.
Q: How do I know if I get an order?
A: Whenever an order is placed, you receive an e-mail with the order details. The Admin area also helps to keep track of your orders.
Q: How do I know how many visitors come to my site?
A: We setup your e-commerce site with Full e-commerce Google Analytics. You can log in to a special site that will give you comprehensive data including the number of unique visitors, the geographic location of visitors, what people are searching for when they find your e-commerce site, how much you are receiving in income for each unique visitor to your site etc.
Q: Is the shopping cart area secured?
A: We use a Shared Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to secure the shopping cart area. This is provided at no charge. If a store owner wants to purchase their own SSL, this can be arranged.
Q: How do I market my site?
A: AEC assists with sending your products to Google using special feeds. We also distribute banners of your site on other websites. We help in special content development to help people and search engines find your site. We also work with you to build your list of customers and prospects that can be reached via e-mail marketing and social networking.