E-Commerce Marketing

A recent article about eBAy increasing advertising budget raises the question about how much advertising should be considered with ecommerce web design? On the one hand it can be a good source of revenue – as is most web advertising of recent times. On some of the biggest ecommerce sites, companies pay thousands for recognition on a homepage. However the big danger is that it can distract users from the main content of the site as the two parts ight for the user’s attention.

On sites like eBay this can be particularly harmful as sellers who pay high prices for premium listings expect to be given premium treatment – not to be just another link on the page. In a typical e-commerce situation, you may find that users convert to other website where advertising isn’t so obtrusive. It really is a fine balance – making sure the main content isn’t compromised, whicle ensuring advertisers are happy with their position on the screen for their cash.

On a loosel-related note, I have also noticed of late the increased advertising on YouTube, which has involved the display of eBay listings next to a video. Is this prehaps the beginning of a new way of web 2.0 ecommerce advertising? I certainly prefer to see potentially useful listings aggregated into a page rather than just static advertisements. If YouTube is going to advertise, this seems like a good route to take.

At college, we took a module on retail advertising. One of the primary things that we focused on in that module at college, was something that our lecturer referred to as ‘Shopology’. He used the word Shopology  as a word to describe how a retail shop is layed out to maximise sales conversions. In other words, the sweets at the checkout at a supermarket, the special offer stands when you walk through the door. Even the location of the tills, shelves, and just about anything inside of the 4 walls. The idea of retail shopology, is to promote and encourage sales of products or services to customers that would otherwise of not happened.

The principals of Shopology can also be applied to the world of e-commerce. This can be almost anything for example:

• Loud and attractive special offers on the homepage, and throughout the web-site. Customers who are visiting your store to buy something in particular, may also be persuaded to buy something else that is on special offer, that they otherwise might not have known about.
• On individual product item pages, you can promote that product’s accessories that can be bought at the same time, that the customer may have forgotten about.
• If your shop is very competitive with prices, you could also advertise RRPs (Recommended Retail Prices) next to  your price, to remind customers that you are cheaper than the high street.
• Customer Usability. Although usability is a different subject altogether, the way a customer walks around a retail store, should also be considered on a computer.

The above are just a few examples as to how shopology can be applied to your e-commerce web-site. ‘E-Commerce Shopology’ is something that we consider as designers and marketers.

For a no obligation consultation about our e-commerce design services, please click here.

For a free shopology review of your web-site, please click here. 

If you are considering starting a new e-commerce web-site, or starting from scratch, one of the first, and most important things to consider is a domain name (Web Address). There are several key factors that should be considered, when choosing the right domain name for an e-commerce shop:

1. You need to choose a domain that is short, memorable and appropriate.
2. If you are primarily selling in the UK, you should always use a .co.uk domain name.
3. If you are mainly selling internationally then you should consider using a .com domain name.
4. You should consider buying a domai name with your main keyword(s).
5. You should seperate words in your domain name with hyphens. For example you should consider buying both www.golfequipment.co.uk and www.golf-equipment.co.uk.
6. You should buy as many variations of your domain name as possible, like above, to prevent competitors following in your footsteps.

If all of the above steps are considered when purchasing a domain name, then you will cover all bases in terms of marketing and Search Engine Optimisation.

If you already have an established e-commerce web-site, you should avoid buying a fresh domain name, as you will be at a better advantage with an established domain name.

If you choose to use our e-commerce services, will we research your current situation, and advise you on the best domain name to purchase for your new shop.  Below are some examples of good domain names that could be used when starting an online shop:

A shop that sells Wood Flooring, and specialises in solid wood flooring:
www.wood-flooring-online.co.uk or www.solid-wood-floors.co.uk or www.wood-flooring-uk.co.uk

A shop that sells Footwear, specialising in sports trainers:
www.smiths-sports-footwear.co.uk  or  www.sports-trainers-direct.co.uk  or www.smith-sports.co.uk

The above are simply examples to give you an idea of suitable domain names. In some cases, it can even be coming up with a new company name for your online shop, simply so that you can have a suitable, keyword rich and memorable domain name. As an example, if you had a retail business selling toys and you were called ‘Ann’s Toy Shop’, there is nothing stopping you from setting up a domain name like ‘www.buy-toys-online.co.uk’ and brand the web-site up as ‘Buy Toys Online’, as you can always have a logo that says it is part of ‘Ann’s Toy Shop’.

For more advice about choosing domain names, please contact us today.