Building Blocks of A Successful Online Business - LIVE WIRE PLUS VOL. II. ISSUE 1.

There are many proactive steps you can take to improve visitor traffic, increase conversions and enhance your ROI. Here is a checklist:

As an established and a seasoned entrepreneur, you have probably realized that the Internet is an unmatched forum for immense profit potential. You have carved out your Internet presence by setting up your own Internet business. But then there is a down side to this scenario. You aren’t doing as well as you think you should.

Welcome to the real world of Internet commerce. A profitable online revenue model calls for proactive responses to a plethora of situations and possibilities. This series of articles zooms in on the various strategies you can and should adopt in order to dramatically maximize your profits. Some of these steps are easy to understand and a breeze to implement. Adopt these recommendations as a part of your new year’s resolution and watch your bottom line soar.

Internet Myths Demystified
Although achieving financial success in the Internet space isn’t really a pie in the sky, there are a few myths about owning and operating an online company which we would like to share with you. In the first place, the premise that Internet businesses are easier to manage than traditional brick-and-mortar businesses is just that-- a premise that borders on a myth. The fact that you don’t have to rent a commercial building or floor space in a mall and hire overtly aggressive salespersons doesn’t make an Internet company any easier to run. The platform is different and so are the challenges. Moreover, there are those who believe that an Internet company is their unqualified ticket to millionaire status and that too, overnight. There is nothing farther from the truth. Internet businesses are no different from other traditional businesses in that they demand and deserve the same kind of attention, strategic business planning, strong customer service component with delivery systems such as live chat and online customer service, and most importantly, solid and sustained customer trust building. When you own a traditional business, your presence in the community is tangible. Your customers know that they can walk into your store and resolve a problem. When your business assumes a virtual presence on the Internet, access is not all that tangible and convincing. Given this unique set of circumstances, it makes good business sense to provide your customers with top-notch products, services and customer support so that you can build on the trust factor you have established and convert every customer into a repeat customer who not only returns to you for more but also recommends you to others.

Five Steps Toward a More Powerful e-commerce Web Site
A sure shot way to achieve financial independence on the Internet is by developing an e-commerce compatible user-friendly web site. Here are five ways in which you can productively carve your portion of the Internet pie in cyber space

The Down Side of Animation
Flash is indeed flashy but does using Flash on your home page make good business sense? Perhaps not. Search engine spiders don’t like them since they pose unqualified barriers to site navigation. Also, Internet access and DSL/broadband access are still not synonymous. Millions of prospective customers still use slower dial-up and low-bandwidth connections and since Flash animations take time to load, chances are that your site visitor has already moved on to the next web site on the list before the animation loads fully. Here is what the noted Internet small business guru, Jennifer Laycock has to say about Flash animation in the context of mobile media:
“ Just last week I found myself stuck on the tarmac in Chicago during a snowstorm. While we waited I logged on to Amazon.com and ordered a few gifts for my husband and kids. The packages arrived at my house the day I came home from my trip. (Message to Wal-Mart: if you didn't rely on flash, I'd have bought things from you too.)“

http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/will-2008-be-the-year-of-mobile-media.php

There is another message between the lines. Your web site should also be mobile-friendly to achieve maximum global coverage. Consider setting up a mobile version of your web site to address the exploding needs of the millions of Internet shoppers surfing the Internet on mobile devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Verizon Voyager and other smart phones and PDAs. Building a mirror site with a “.mobi” extension makes good business sense and is not as expensive as you think.

Is there an exception to this paradigm? There sure is. You should use Flash and other forms of animation primarily to spice up your web site and not as a default platform. Some designers will develop an entire site using Flash which is perhaps not in your larger interest.

To Frame or not to Frame
Frames are great for houses and photographs but not for web sites. If you are using frames on your web site, request a site redesign from your designer. It will be well worth the expense because your web site will not only index well the next time the right honorable Google searchbot comes knocking on your door to index your web site, your site users too will appreciate the ease of navigation a frameless site offers.

The use of frames in site design cannot be eliminated completely. There are specific circumstances in which using frames helps to categorize and deliver key information. Conclusion? Use frames judiciously and only when it serves a clearly defined purpose and not as a design default.

Customer Support with a Bang
It is amazing to notice how many e-commerce web sites do not demonstrate qualities of first-rate customer support. It is impossible to believe that a company with an Internet presence has no physical address. Yet, many e-commerce companies choose not to list their physical addresses for reasons known only to them. A physical address listing on your Contact Page denotes stability, accountability and trust. With toll free 800 costs down to two cents a minute and top-notch live chat from companies such as live2support competitively priced at $9.99 per month, there is absolutely no reason why you should not offer superior quality customer support to your customers. To understand and appreciate this hypothesis better, simply watch how success mavens like Amazon, Sharper Image and Yahoo Search Marketing deliver customer service with full force. Customers have the option to chat live using live chat support, call an 800 number, send an e-mail message or even complete an online feedback form directly from the web site

A Site Map that Maps your Web Site
Although Google, Yahoo and MSN clearly indicate the need for a navigable site map to facilitate improved search indexing, that’s not the only reason why you should incorporate a functional site map on your web site. A functional and easy-to-use site map helps your customers locate the information they seek which eventually leads to purchases and conversions and improved ROI. Your page descriptions should be short, simple, precise and to the point with no room for ambiguity. Always remember to update your site map when you add new product pages to your web site. Check for broken, dead or misplaced links and make the necessary corrections immediately.

The Quest for Knowledge
For every e-commerce web site that has an in-built search function, there are ten that do not. There is indeed no reason for this omission because site search APIs are free and can be easily integrated with your web site. Ask your site designer to include site search functionality on your web site. This isn’t meant to be a plug for Google but we believe that Google’s site search API is the best. It is ideally suited to your web site also because your customers are used to it. Google site search is as intuitive and user-friendly as the search on Google’s home page and allows the use of all the search operators that are compatible with Google’s main search.

Closing Argument
In order for your virtual cash register to ring continuously in cyber space, you need a web site that consistently delivers results. Tweaking your e-commerce site through improved site navigation, live support, user-friendly site elements and enhanced functionality can go a long way to transform your Internet property into a hot value proposition.

In our next issue, we will focus on critical factors such as product selection, product description, visual appeal and power content all of which are known to help e-commerce ventures blossom to the fullest.