Posted by: Andy on June 9th, 2008
Category: Research, Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing, e-Business Basics
Viewed: 1,084 times
eBC Guide to Improving Usability
Writing good copy for your web pages is extremely important not only for users but also for search engines. Fortunately for us there is no conflict in writing for users or search engines and if your copy provides the information needed by users then it will also provide the information needed by the search engines.
The practical aspects of good copy are well known thanks to many usability studies, and if you pay attention to the following for all your pages you will be doing better than 99% of websites.
1. Length
There is no fixed requirement for the amount of text on a page. Some pages may require only 150 words others may require 800 or more. Be succinct and use as few words as possible, at least half of what you would use for conventional writing.
2. Keywords
Include your keywords of course but do not worry about the number of times they appear on the page (see Keyword Density). Just write naturally and your keywords will occur in the right places and at the right frequency.
3. Grammar
Good grammar is important. Write in the active voice not the passive. If you are not sure of the difference between the active and passive voice there is a good explanation here at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
4. Spelling
Users who are poor spellers may not notice bad spelling but users who are good spellers will. Search engines are good spellers.
5. Headings
All usability studies show that users scan web pages ( http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html ), they do not read them word for word. You should make liberal use of headings and sub-headings (h1, h2, and h3) so that the users' attention can be drawn towards those elements of the text that is of interest to them. Also make sure that they are meaningful and not ‘clever' like some newspaper headlines.
6. Highlighting
Use text highlighting such as bold, italic or color to assist the user in scanning the page.
7. Bulleted lists
An excellent method for capturing the users' attention and getting across information in a concise manner.
8. Paragraphs
One idea, one paragraph. Usability studies show that if users are not ‘captured' by the first few words of a paragraph they will move to the next (or hit the back button of course). One idea per paragraph ensures that users will not miss an idea by skipping paragraphs as they scan the page.
9. Sentences
Keep your sentences short.
10. Links
Embed outbound text links in your copy to improve your credibility.
11. Market Speak
All usability studies show that users hate the promotional writing style with boastful claims often used by the marketing profession. Web users want to read the straight facts and credibility goes out the window when they see marketing hype.
12. Vocabulary
Familiar words and not jargon.
13. Acronyms
If you have to use an acronym or abbreviation make sure it is understood by every user and define it on the page.
If you are not an English major (like most of us!) then the Guide to Grammar and Style ( http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/contents.html ) or the Economist Style Guide ( http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/ ) can be extremely useful.
Additionally, Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has some useful advice on Writing for the Web ( http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ ) and using ‘old' words ( http://www.useit.com/alertbox/search-keywords.html ).
Reprinted ( http://www.seo-blog.com/text.php ) with permission by SEO Expert Michael Duz ( http://www.seo-blog.com ). Michael Duz is a researcher in the field of e-marketing and search engine optimization whose organization has many well known corporate clients.
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Posted by: Andy on May 27th, 2008
Category: General eBusiness, e-Commerce, Reports & Resources, Research
Viewed: 2,218 times
Drop shipping is a technique used by retailers to avoid the expense of warehousing and the logistics of shipping products to customers. An order is placed on the retailer's website and then transmitted to the drop shipper who fulfills the order by shipping the goods to the customer.
A new emerging trend in the drop ship business is private label drop shipping, in which a manufacturer produces a custom item for a retailer and drop ships it. The range of private label drop shipped items varies from simple keychains and t-shirts with custom logos or pictures to customized formulations for vitamins and nutritional supplements.
How traditional drop shipping works
- Decide on a product or products to sell online
- Locate a manufacturer for the product
- Purchase products wholesale from the manufacturer and have them delivered to the drop shipper's warehouse
- Create an e-commerce shopping cart with product photos and descriptions
- When a sale is made the order is sent on to the drop shipper, who in turn sends the product to the customer.
- The profit that is made is the difference in the price between the wholesale and retail less the drop shipper fees
One Stop Drop Shipping
Drop shipping has gained in popularity with the introduction of the “one stop service” which eliminates the need for retailers to contract manufacturers or even source products, relying instead on a manufacturer's catalogue supplied to them by the drop shipper.
How one stop drop shipping works
- Choose the products you wish to sell from the drop shippers catalogue
- Create an e-commerce shopping cart with product photos and descriptions
- When a sale is made the order is sent on to the drop shipper, who in turn sends the product to the customer.
- The profit that is made is the difference in the price between the wholesale and retail less the drop shipper fees
Drop Shipping and Scams
One of the fastest growing scams on the web today is drop shipping according to the Michigan Department of Information Technology.
Con artists sell whole sale drop shipper lists on the internet through websites and online auctions. The list gives names of companies which drop ship and many of the companies could be the same company in different names or just an individual with a phone without any actual product who uses another drop shipper list to ship products (a victim of the scam).
- Victims, after paying for the drop shipper list, need to do a lot of work and do not make the money they were promised and in fact are helping the actual drop shippers make huge profits.
- The drop shippers price their items extremely high with very little or no profit for the retailer.
- Also most drop shippers charge a membership fee to access their price list.
- Victims need to try to sell these products in various online auctions or advertise on the internet at their own expense, eventually losing money.
The whole idea is that drop shippers can sell their poor products without any advertising, make huge profits, not be held responsible for their bad products and get money from victims as membership fees (and some have yearly membership contracts too). Not all drop shippers are scammers, so choose your drop shippers carefully!
(http://www.michigan.gov/cybersecurity/0,1607,7-217-34396-108704–,00.html)
Consumer Protection Resources
Canadian Consumer Information Gateway
The Canadian Consumer Information Gateway perfectly addresses all of these challenges, thanks to a groundbreaking strategic partnership between more than 400 federal departments and agencies, provincial and territorial ministries and NGO partners. Spearheaded by Industry Canada 's Office of Consumer Affairs, the Gateway allows Canadians to quickly and confidently search for consumer information and services on the Web
. http://www.consumerinformation.ca/
Federal Electronic Transactions Act
Provides information on the law that defines the rules for e-business and e-commerce
http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/E/01010_01.htm#section17
BC Consumer Protection Act
The British Columbia Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General regulates the Consumer Protection Act, an act that details the rights and responsibilities of buyers and sellers, and deals with issues ranging from the cost of credit to leases
http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/C/96069_01.htm
BC Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority
The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority of British Columbia (BPCPA) is the only organization of its kind in Canada .
http://www.bpcpa.ca
Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.
Setting the Standards of Ethics and Integrity
http://www.bbbvan.org
Better Business Bureau Online Program
BBBOnLine is the Better Business Bureau program to identify trustworthy web sites in the US and CA.
http://www.bbbonline.org/index.asp
Drop Shippers
Consumers are strongly urged to thoroughly investigate all companies before entering into any agreements
SaleHoo Product Sourcing Directory
http://www.salehoo.com/
WorldWide Brands Drop Shipping
http://www.worldwidebrands.com/
Shopster
http://www.shopster.com/
Doba
http://www.doba.com/
Megagoods
http://www.megagoods.com/
Final Comments from eBay Sellers on the Question of Using a Drop Shipper
“Ebay is saturated with the items from drop shippers and no one is making any money except the drop shippers. When the drop shipper ships the wrong item, it's YOUR profile that takes a hit. When the drop shipper is out of stock, it's YOUR profile that takes a hit. They aren't even wholesalers and most of them you have to PAY them to be able to use them. A real wholesaler requires a tax id number, and you don't have to pay THEM to buy from them. Stay far far away from drop shippers if you want to sell.” - williesales4u2
“Here's another thought. If you have 100 sellers all using the same drop shipper then you are all listing the same items. You have to compete against one another to get the sale. Meanwhile you are lowering your price to beat another seller so you will sell your item. However the drop shipper gets paid the same amount of money regardless of what the item sells for. So who makes out with drop shippers….not you…. the drop shipper. Its no difference than walking into a gambling casino….you are throwing away your money. Run far far away from the drop shipper…far far away!!!!!” - jsloyd0
“If there was money to be made in drop shipping on ebay, don't you think the drop shippers would be selling on ebay instead of offering to let you do it for them?” - hayvicki
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Posted by: Andy on June 19th, 2007
Category: Reports & Resources, Research, Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing
Viewed: 1,469 times
If your hosting company is having performance problems and your website is down it will have a negative effect on your Google rankings. "If the host is down when Googlebot tries to access your pages, then those pages may disappear from the index until Googlebot can crawl them again."
Here is information from Google
WEBSITE MONITORING SERVICES
How often does your site go down? Checkout these moitoring services.
Host Tracker
http://host-tracker.com/
Free account monitors 2 URLs in a 30 minute interval and includes weekly reports
SITE UPTIME
http://www.siteuptime.com/
Free account monitors 1 URL in a 30 minute and 60 minute interval and includes monthly reports and email alerts
WEBSITE PLUS
http://www.websitepulse.com/
30 Day Free Trial
DOTCOM MONITOR
http://www.dotcom-monitor.com
30 Day Free Trial
INTERNET SEER
http://www.internetseer.com
30 Day Free Trial
Tags: Google, Hosting Problems, Website Down
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Posted by: Andy on June 5th, 2007
Category: e-Commerce, Research, Pay Per Click
Viewed: 1,626 times
Google Checkout™ is a checkout process that you integrate with your website, enabling your customers to buy from you quickly and securely, using a single username and password. And once they do, you can use Checkout to charge their credit cards, process their orders, and receive payment in your bank account.
Currently, Google Checkout is only available to merchants in the US or UK.
Canadian buyers can use Google Checkout to purchase products.
Google Checkout and AdWords
Online shoppers often start with a Google search. Their search advertising program, AdWords, helps customers find you through targeted text ads that appear beside Google search results. Now you can add the Google Checkout badge 
to your AdWords ads, which highlights your store and tells potential customers that shopping with you will be convenient and secure.
For every $1 spent on AdWords merchants get $10 of payment processing for free.
Google Checkout On Your Website
If you use a shopping cart from Miva, ShopSite, osCommerce, or other Checkout-supported carts, they've already completed the integration work for you. You can start offering Google Checkout in minutes. If you don't have a shopping cart but want to sell individual items on your website simply add the provided HTML code to display Buy Now buttons next to the items on your site.
Chargebacks
Google Checkout merchants can sell with complete confidence. Checkout proactively identifies and filters out fraudulent transactions, and under our Chargeback Resolution policy, Google evaluates all chargebacks you receive and, whenever possible, fights them on your behalf.
Google Checkout Fees
Beginning January 1, 2008, when you use Google Checkout™ to process your sales, you'll only be charged a low 2% + $0.20 per transaction. With Google Checkout, there are no monthly, setup, or gateway service fees. These standard, non-promotional fees may be updated from time to time.
Taxes
You're solely responsible for specifying your own tax rates. If you don't specify any tax information, Google Checkout will not apply any taxes to your orders.
Our Opinion
Google Checkout looks very promising, but, until it is offered to Canadian merchants we will have to keep recommending PayPal for online credit card payment processing.
Tags: Google Checkout, PayPal
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Posted by: Andy on June 13th, 2005
Category: Research
Viewed: 1,284 times
As a widely utilized resource in business communications today, web conferencing and web based seminars are gaining more and more acceptance as a valuable communication tool.
I had come across an interesting article found on ecommercetimes.com. One of the reasons that I found this article so interesting is because as an installer of PBX and VoIP phone systems, I have been wiring up most of my clients for VoIP support, indicating that these businesses are aware of VoIP technology (and other such web communication methods) and the possible future reliance on this technology to conduct communications rather than spend funds in air fares and overhead to travel for a conference/seminar.
This article, written by Jennifer LeClaire of the E-commerce Times, can be found here.
In an interview with Netspoke President & CEO Scott D’Entremont, LeClaire discusses the; state of webconferencing today, encouraging indications of the technology being accepted in North America, the driving force behind web communication technologies, any hinderence in the momentum swing in the rise for online communications, myths, and what the future holds for web communications.
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