Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-1

Online File W15.1 A High-Level Business Case Template

This template shows the justification for the expenditure of resources on a specific online project or initiative in anexisting business. If the business is considering a number of different initiatives, you should prepare a separate businessplan or case for each one. If the initiative is for a new business, it will require a more comprehensive business plan.The template includes the following components:

◗ Goals. Begin with a specific description of what the business intends to achieve through the initiative—increased sales,reinforcement of the brand or corporate image, improved customer support, reduction in communications and marketingcosts, and so forth. A useful approach is to define the problem, propose a solution, and describe the expected outcomesor impacts. Conclude this section with goals—one or more statements that succinctly describe a desired future conditiontoward which the business will direct its efforts. Here, it will be advantageous to use a business model.

◗ Cost savings. If one or more goals include reduction of existing expenditures, then calculate the following: (1) an itemizedand quantified list of existing costs that the project will affect and (2) the estimated levels of savings that the project willgenerate (e.g., reduce long-distance telephone costs by 45 percent). Multiply the costs by the saving levels to find theexpected reduction of expenditures. You should estimate these savings for a short-term time frame, perhaps the first 3 yearsof the project’s operation.

◗ New revenue. If one or more of the goals suggests an increased revenue stream, then calculate (1) an itemized and quan-tified list of existing net income (revenue from sales minus cost of sales) the application or project will affect and (2) theestimated levels of new sales that you expect (e.g., increase product sales by 12%). When you multiply the net income bythe increased sales levels, you get the expected amount of increased revenue. Do this for the same multiyear time frameas used in the cost-savings calculation.

◗ Extra benefits. List and, if possible, quantify any additional fiscal benefits that are associated with the project (e.g., improvedstaff productivity, faster collection of outstanding debts). If these are difficult to estimate, it is best to list them but neitherquantify them nor add them to the benefits identified previously. This approach will produce an overall more conservative esti-mate of benefits, building in an extra cushion for project success in the event that the business does not realize all quantifiedbenefits.

◗ Cost of the solution. This is an itemized and quantified list of costs associated with the online project. You should estimateboth direct costs (e.g., amortized costs of Web site development and Web site hosting) and indirect costs (e.g., stafftraining) for the period.

◗ Net benefits. Add together all benefits (i.e., cost savings, new revenue, extra benefits) and subtract the costs. The resultshould be a specific amount of expected monetary gains (or losses) resulting from successful implementation of theproject in each year of the period being examined.

◗ Recommendation. Summarize the decision that is being recommended in light of the foregoing analysis. If the net bene-fit result is strongly positive, then a decision to proceed is likely, and you can start the next steps (e.g., a risk analysis,customer survey, staff hiring). If the results are slightly positive or negative in one or all years of operation, you can stilljustify the decision to proceed on the basis of seeing the online initiative as a long-term strategy, a competitive impera-tive, or simply the cost of staying in business. If the bottom line is strongly negative, then the most likely outcome will bea decision that there is no justification for the project, saving the business a lot of time and money. Even that can beviewed as a positive outcome of a business case.

For details of this high-level template, see Online Tutorial T1. For many templates, see score.org/template-gallery.html.

15-2 Part 6: EC Strategy and Implementation

Online File W15.2 Steps in Building a Web Site

1. Select a Web host. One of the first decisions that an online business will face is where to locate the Web site on theInternet. The Web site may be included in a virtual shopping mall, such as ourvirtualmall.com, or hosted in a collec-tion of independent storefronts, as at Yahoo! (smallbusiness.yahoo.com), Amazon.com, or eBay (even if you do not doauctions). However, many medium-size and large businesses build stand-alone Web sites either with an independenthosting service or through self-hosting arrangements.

2. Register a domain name. Nearly concurrent with the selection of a Web host will be the domain name decision. In amall or Web storefront, the business’s name may be an extension of the host’s name (e.g., smallbusiness.yahoo.com/mybusiness). A stand-alone Web site will have a stand-alone domain name (e.g., mybusiness.com), and decisions willhave to be made about which top-level domain name to use and whether the domain name includes the businessname or only some aspect of branding.

3. Create and manage content. The Web site also needs content—the text, catalog, images, sound, and video thatdeliver the information that site visitors need and expect. Content can come from a variety of sources, but getting theright content in place, making it easy for viewers to find, delivering it effectively, and managing content so it remainsaccurate and up-to-date are crucial to the success of the online business (see discussion in Section 15.6). Hostingservices may provide templates that show where content is to be placed and some suggestions on how to organizecontent. Exhibit W15.2.1 lists the primary criteria Web site visitors use to evaluate the content of a Web site.

4. Design the Web site. This is the critically important and creative part of the process that determines what the sitewill look like (e.g., color schemes, graphics, typography) and how visitors will use it (e.g., information architecture,navigation design). Mall or storefront businesses may have limited options, but the design choices for the stand-aloneWeb site are nearly unlimited. (see the Online Technical Appendix for details). Exhibit W15.2.1 also lists the primarycriteria that Web site visitors use to evaluate the design of a Web site (Section 15.7).

EXHIBIT W15.2.1 How Web Site Visitors Evaluate Web SitesHow Web Site Visitors Evaluate ContentCriteria (and Related Subcriteria) Explanation

Relevance (applicable, related, clear) Concerned with issues such as relevancy, clearness, and “goodness” of the information.

Timeliness (current, continuously updated) Concerned with the currentness of the information.Reliability (believable, accurate, consistent) Concerned with the degree of accuracy, dependability, and consistency

of the information.Personality Delivery of content the way you like it.Scope (sufficient, complete, covers a Evaluates the extent of information, range of information, and level

wide range, detailed) of detail provided by the Web site.Perceived usefulness (informative, valuable, Visitors’ assessment of the likelihood that the information will

instrumental) enhance their purchasing decision.

How Web Site Visitors Evaluate Web Site DesignCriteria (and Related Subcriteria) Explanation

Access (responsive, loads quickly) Refers to the speed of access and the availability of the Web site at (see w3.org/WAI) all times.

Usability (simple layout, easy to use, well Concerned with the extent to which the Web site is visually organized, visually attractive, fun, appealing, consistent, fun, and easy to use.clear design)

Navigation Evaluates the links to needed information.Interactivity (customized product; search Evaluates the search engine and the personal features

engine; ability to create list of items, (e.g., shopping cart) of the Web site.change list of items, and find relateditems)

Attractiveness, Appearance Proper use of multimedia, colors.

(continued)

Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-3

Online File W15.2 (continued)

5. Construct the Web site and test. Businesses must also decide whether to design and construct the Web site inter-nally, contract it out to a Web design firm, or some combination of both. When the business owners are satisfied withthe Web site, it is transferred to the Web site host. At this point, the Web site is open for business, but it requiresfinal testing to ensure that all the links work and that the processes function as expected (e.g., acceptance of creditcards). For details, see Section 15.8 and Online Chapter 18.

6. Market and promote the Web site. At this stage, the business promotes the location, or URL, of the Web sitewidely on products, business cards, letters, and promotional materials. A business can use any of the advertisingstrategies discussed in Chapter 4—banner exchanges, e-mail, chat rooms, viral marketing, or other methods.Another key strategy for attracting customers is increased visibility via search engine optimization, which isdiscussed in Section 15.8.

Online File W15.3 Examples of Syndication

Web syndication is a form of syndication in which a section of a Web site is available for othersites to use (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_syndication). Simply licensing the content so thatother people can use it can accomplish this; however, in general, Web syndication refers to mak-ing Web feeds available from a site in order to provide other people with a summary of the Website’s recently added content (such as the latest news or forum posts). This originated with newsand blog sites, but it is increasingly being used to syndicate other types of information. Onlinepublishers, including newspapers, commercial Web sites, and blogs, now publish their latest news headlines, product offers,or blog postings in standard news feed format.

Virtual stockbrokers, such as E*TRADE, offer considerable information on their portals (e.g., financial news, stock quotes,research, etc.). Yahoo! and other portals offer other types of information. These brokers and portals buy the information frominformation creators or originators, such as Reuters, who sell the same information to many other portals or users. Customersmay buy directly from the information creators, but in many cases creators use a supply chain of syndicators and distributorsto move news and information to the end consumers. Content creators, such as Inktomi and Reuters, make their money byselling the same information to many syndicators or distributors (e.g., yellowbrix.com). The information distributors, such asE*TRADE, then distribute free information to the public (customers).

Example. An example of syndication and creation of a news feed is that of a joint venture of content creator AssociatedPress and game producer Nintendo for Nintendo’s Wii and other users.

The Wii News Channel was launched officially in the United States on January 27, 2007. The Wii offers eight newssections on its News Channel: National News, Regional News, International News, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, Business,Science and Health, and Technology. Users can view the headlines per topic or spin a virtual globe to see all news by cityor region. Different icons show whether the user can view the news story by region and whether it has photos attached.An updated version of the News Channel is available in Europe, which shows more extensive European news for free.

Web syndicationA form of syndication inwhich a section of a Website is made available forother sites to use.

(continued)

REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W15.2Drostdesigns.com. “Web Site Evaluation Criteria Discussion.”

2006. drostdesigns.com/web-site-evaluation-criteria/#more-42 (accessed April 2009).

McKinney, V., K. Yoon, and F. M. Zahedi. “The Measure-ment of Web-Customer Satisfaction: An Expectation and

Disconfirmation Approach.” Information Systems Research,13, no. 3 (2002).

Nielsen, J. “Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design,” 2005. useit.com/alertbox/9605.html (accessed March 2009).

15-4 Part 6: EC Strategy and Implementation

Online File W15.3 (continued)

RSSRSS (short for “rich site summary,” “RDF site summary,” or Really Simple Syndication) is anXML format for syndicating Web content (the XML file is added to the RSS feed). A Web sitethat wants to allow other sites to publish some of its content creates an RSS document andregisters the document with an RSS publisher. RSS is most often used to publish frequentlyupdated digital content, such as blogs, news, or podcasts. A user who can read RSS-distributedcontent can use the content on a different site. This enables the sharing of Web content. Users can view RSS feeds on adistributable “What’s New” on a site, which is popular with bloggers. Major sites such as CNET, BBC, CNN, Disney,TechTarget, ZDNet, Red Herring, and Wired use RSS to share content among themselves.

RSS offers a number of key benefits:

◗ Timeliness. Users can receive automatic updates from their favorite Web sites when new content becomes available ratherthan having to visit the Web site.

◗ Efficiency. Users can quickly scan over headlines and summaries and only read the content that interests them.◗ Coverage. Users can receive updates from multiple Web sites at one location—the RSS reader or aggregator.

This technology solves problems such as traffic delays caused by increased site traffic and expedites the gatheringand distributing of news. For a tutorial, see mnot.net/rss/tutorial. According to eMarketer (2005), RSS is listed as one ofthe “top 10 E-Business trends for 2005.” Mozilla’s Firefox Web browser includes RSS, making it very popular. Several adver-tisers have begun to use it as a platform for targeted advertisements. For details, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format).

PodcastingA podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over theInternet using syndication feeds (such as RSS news feeds) for playback on mobile devicesand personal computers. Like “radio,” it can mean both the content and the method ofsyndication. It is a collection of audio files in MP3 format, represented by an RSS 2.0news feed. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster, who can offer directdownload or streaming of its content. A podcast distinguishes itself from other digitalaudio formats by its ability to download automatically using software capable of readingfeed formats such as RSS.

Podcasting is emerging as an e-commerce tool (see Lewin 2005). For example, podcasts create a new channel forWeb sites to communicate with customers. Because podcasts are audio-based, it enables companies to deliver audio-specific content, including music, speeches, radio-style presentations, and more (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting).

podcastA media file distributedover the Internet usingsyndication feeds. A col-lection of audio files inMP3 format.

KEY TERMSpodcast 4 RSS 4

REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W15.3eMarketer. “Top Ten E-Business Trends for 2005.”

eMarketer.com, January 5, 2005. emarketer.com/article.aspx?1003202 (no longer available online).

Lewin, J. “Podcasting Emerges as an eBusiness Tool,”ITWorld.com, E-Commerce in Action, May 31, 2005.itworld.com/Tech/2403/nls_ecommercepod050601/pfindex.html (no longer available online).

RSSAn XML format for syndi-cating and sharing Webcontent.

Web syndication 3

Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-5

Online File W15.4 Web Site Design Criteria

Some of the more important Web site design criteria are described in Exhibit W15.4.1.

EXHIBIT W15.4.1 Web Site Design CriteriaNavigation Is it easy for visitors to find their way around the site?

Does the site comply with the three-click rule?Consistency Are design elements, especially look and feel, consistent across all pages?Response Time How long does it take for the page to appear?

Does the site comply with the 12-second rule? With the 4-second rule?Appearance Is the site aesthetically pleasing?

Are the colors pleasant to the eye?Does the site’s look and feel express the company’s desired image?Is the site easy to read, easy to navigate, and easy to understand?

Quality assurance Do the site’s calculators, navigation links, visitor registration processes, search tools, etc., work properly?

Availability Are all dead links fixed promptly?Is the site available for full service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Interactivity Does the site encourage the visitor to play an active role in learning about the business’s products or services?

Are all appropriate contact details available on the Web site so that visitors can submit feedback and ask questions?

Content How much multimedia? How timely and relevant is the content? Is it easy to read? Informative?

Usability How easy is it to use the site? How easy is it to learn the site? To make errors and to avoid them?

Security Is customer information protected?Does the customer feel safe in actions such as submitting credit card information?

Scalability Does the site design provide a seamless path for enhancements or upgrades in the future?Will site growth and increased usage protect the initial investment in site construction?

REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W15.4Awad, E. M. Electronic Commerce: From Vision to Fulfillment.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.Nielsen, J. “Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design,” 2005. useit.

com/alertbox/9605.html (accessed March 2009).

USA.gov. “Web Managers Best Practice Awards—2008.”usa.gov/webcontent/improving/marketing/2008bestpractice.shtml (accessed May 2009).

15-6 Part 6: EC Strategy and Implementation

Online File W15.5 A Simple Linear Web Site Structure

TutorialIntroduction

ExecutiveSummary

BusinessDescription

MarketAnalysis

CompetitorAnalysis

MissionStatement

BusinessGoals

ProjectObjectives

CompetitorAnalysis

Grid

Operations

EXHIBIT W15.5.1

Online File W15.6 Web Analytic Reports

Web analytics encompasses several topics (e.g., see Kaushik and Sterne 2007 and Clifton 2008). Web analytics is themeasurement, collection analysis, and reporting of Internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_analytics). There are two categories of Web analytics: offsite and onsite.

Offsite Web analytics is the measurement and analysis of a Web site’s possible audience (opportunity), share of voiceor percent of the niche market owned in a market segment (visibility), and buzz (comments) that is occurring on theentire Web.

Onsite Web analytics measure what a visitor does on your Web site; in other words, the performance of your Web sitein a commercial perspective. This includes drivers and conversions (e.g., which pages promote purchases). This data isused to improve audience reaction.

Topseos provides a list of the top ranked Web analytics companies at topseos.com/rankings-of-best-web-analytics-companies. According to Topseos, the top three are Corremetrics, Omniture, and Web Trends.

Web Trends offers a technology called “visitor intelligence,” which identifies, targets, and manages customers withone view. Its analysis allows users to:

◗ Get one view of a customer across channels and domains. It incorporates online insight into enterprise dashboards andcorporate systems (e.g., a data warehouse of customers).

◗ Drive small but crucial market segment and online experiences presented in dashboards and reports.◗ Identify targeted segments for advertising by comparing visitor information, frequency, and important site information.◗ Drill down into dashboards to find comprehensive visitor and buying behavior for each product. Identifying visitors who

have abandoned their carts to target for follow-up offers.◗ With data based on the actions a visitor takes on your site over time, help target more effective e-mail and behavioral

campaigns.◗ Improve workflow across the organization with interactive dashboards and ad hoc reports that help shorten decision-

making time and put together collective intelligence about your online business’s performance.(continued)

Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-7

Online File W15.6 (continued)

EXHIBIT W15.6.1 WebTrends. “Visitor Intelligence.” 2009

A print out of a Web Trends report is shown in Exhibit W15.6.1.Another Web Trends technology is social measurement. Social measurement analysis lets you:

◗ Monitor. Listen to social media conversations and receive current notification about mentions of your products acrossmillions of social media settings.

◗ Measure. Take advantage of buzzmakers impacting your products and brands across the social Web.◗ Engage. Track conversations, assign tasks, and keep track of how discussions evolve using workflow and engagement tools.◗ Decide. Make better, more knowledgeable business decisions based on the information you gain from social media.

Web Trends and its competitors provide many other reports, some of them in a format of a dashboard that providesvisibility of the key performance indicators they measure.

REFERENCES FOR W15.6Clifton, B. Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics.

New York: Sybex, 2008.Kaushik, A., and J. Sterne. Web Analytics: An Hour a Day.

New York: Sybex, 2007.

WebTrends. “Visitor Intelligence.” 2009. webtrendslive.com/Products/WebTrendsVisitorIntelligence.aspx?lg=print&(accessed June 2009)

Source: ”Visitor Intelligence.” 2009, webtrends.com/products/WebTrendsVisitorIntelligence.aspx. Courtesy of WebTrends. Usedwith permission.

15-8 Part 6: EC Strategy and Implementation

Online File W15.7 A Comprehensive Guide to Search Engine Optimization

How does SEO work? At the center of any search engine is a database of Web pages that have been indexed on criteriasuch as keyword occurrence and link popularity. Aptly named software called spiders that “crawl” the Web collects theseWeb pages, finding new Web pages and sending them back to the search engine for placement in the database. When asearch engine user “searches the Web,” the results actually come from the archived database.

Search engines differ according to the behavior of the spiders (e.g., how many levels of the site are visited, howmuch information is collected), how many pages are in the database, the amount and type of information the searcherreceives, whether pay-for-placement links are included or not, and, critically for SEO, the search engine algorithm used torank pages. More specific discussions of how search engines work can be found at searchenginewatch.com andsearchengineshowdown.com.

The key to SEO is understanding the algorithms that search engines use to determine the ranking of the resultsreturned to the searcher. All search engines rely on keyword occurrence in some way. Early search engines used keywordsas the principal or sole criteria for ranking search results. In a simplified example, if a keyword entered into a searchengine appeared in the page’s title, meta tags, headings, and numerous times on the page, then that page would rankhigh in the results returned to the searcher. This led to search engine spamming strategies; for example, including a longlist of keywords in text the same color as the background color so that the site visitor would see only blank space, but thespider would find numerous keywords.

In 1998, Google initiated a fundamental change in search engine ranking strategies when it introduced link popularityinto its algorithm. In addition to keyword analysis, Google counts the number of sites that link to a target site (i.e., incominglinks). Presumably, the most relevant or credible sites will have a greater number of incoming links, and those sites merithigher placement in the Google results. Today, link popularity figures prominently in the results-placement algorithms used bymost search engines.

Because every Web search begins with one or more keywords that a user submits to a search engine, choosing theright keywords and putting them in the right locations are critical to SEO. The following are some strategies for keywordcreation and placement (Wong 2002; bCentral 2003):

◗ Create keywords the target audience is most likely to use. Focus groups of prospective customers should be asked whatkeywords they would use if looking for the site. Also, because the site is seeking a higher ranking against competitors,investigate what keywords competitors include in their titles and meta tags.

◗ Use specific phrases, not general keywords. General keywords such as vacation, stereo, and computer occur so frequentlythat they will not contribute much toward a high ranking in a search engine. Instead, use phrases such as African safari,micro-stereo, and Pentium laptop computer.

◗ Optimize the title. The page’s title is the single most important place to improve keyword SEO. Not only do search enginealgorithms place a higher value on keywords in a title, but the title also is the dominant item in most search results. Evenif a page does not get the number one placement on a Google search, being high in the rankings with an alluring title willguarantee visitors.

◗ Use meta tags. A meta tag is an HTML element that describes the contents of a Web page. A description meta tag providesa brief description of the Web site that some search engines include in their results, so be sure that you use the site’spremier keywords in the description. A keyword meta tag tells spiders what keywords the site owner thinks best describethe page’s content. Keyword meta tags also are useful places to put common misspellings or alternative spellings of akeyword (e.g., potatoe, colour, organisation).

◗ Use keywords early and often in page content. The content of the page must be readable to human visitors, butkeyword-loaded copy helps increase search engine rankings. Use keywords in headings and in hyperlinks. Some searchengine algorithms give higher weight to these keywords, assuming that they are more important in describing pagecontent than normal text. Keywords should be placed high on the page, because spiders from search engines, such asGoogle, crawl only the first 110k of a page (each Web page is 70k to 110k). Other spiders ignore pages with very littlecontent; a recommended page length for maximizing SEO is 300 to 750 words. Finally, spiders sometimes visit only pagesin the first and second level of a site, another reason to use a wide and shallow site structure.

◗ Include keywords in ALT tags. An ALT tag should describe the image but with keywords if possible. So instead of“tiger.gif” use “a tiger on a Vacation-time African safari” in an ALT tag.

◗ Avoid spider-hostile features. Search engine spiders and algorithms have a difficult time with frames, dynamic URLs,Flash features, image maps, and JavaScript. Use these features only if a compelling design or content considerationrequires them.

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Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-9

◗ Do not spam search engines. Search engine designers know most of the tactics used to spam search engines so behonest and do not try to trick them. A search engine can detect spamming strategies such as duplicate pages, exces-sive repetition of a keyword in a meta tag, tiny text, and same-color text, and the search engine will blacklist the sitefrom inclusion in the search engine.

After the Web site and pages are optimized for keyword occurrence and placement, the second major step in searchengine optimization is to increase a Web site’s link popularity. Getting other sites to link to the target Web site promotes thesite in two ways. First, surfers will find the link at other Web sites, click through to visit, and hopefully become customers.Second, increasing the number of incoming links increases the site’s ranking in search engines. Some strategies for maximiz-ing link popularity are:

◗ Create content that promotes linking. A site that simply sells products and promotes itself is unlikely to be a site otherswant to link to. Instead, create linkable content, such as product reviews, tips and hints for using the products, freedownloads, and informative articles. This content will not only promote the site to visitors but also encourage other sitesto link to it.

◗ Seek reciprocal links. In the mutual quest for link popularity, it is likely that business partners, suppliers, business asso-ciations, and major customers will be happy to provide reciprocal links. At a more general level, Web sites such aslinkpartners.com list Web sites interested in reciprocal links. However, be careful to select and place these links cautiouslyso as not to devalue the key business and customer links on the site.

◗ Determine what sites already link to the target site. An existing site may already have incoming links that areunknown to the owner. Software such as MarketLeap’s Link Popularity Analysis Tool (marketleap.com/publinkpop) canreveal incoming links. The reverse link search feature of the search engines (enter link:URL in the search box) will showsimilar results. Once incoming links are known, seek links from similar sites as appropriate.

◗ Visit competitors. Linking to competitors is not advised, but a visit to a competitor’s site may reveal outgoing links thatwill work equally well on your site. Search for incoming links on a competitor’s site, too, using the software mentionedearlier. When link partners with competitors are known, seek reciprocal links as appropriate.

◗ Seek highly placed links. When asking for reciprocal links, encourage link partners to place the link in the first and secondlevels of the site so spiders will find it.

◗ Seek links from well-known sites. Not all links are created equal; a link from Yahoo! or CNN will be much more valuablethan a link from a friend’s homepage.

◗ Do not use free-for-all (FFA) or link farms. These sites sell or give away links, but search engines ignore them becausethey represent a form of spamming. Online libraries of articles about enhancing a Web site’s link popularity are availableat marketleap.com, linking101.com, and ericward.com.

When all keyword and link popularity strategies have been executed, the site should be registered with Web searchengines (e.g., Google, AllTheWeb) and with Web directories (e.g., Yahoo!, Virtual Library, Open Directory Project).Registering the site invites spiders to visit the site, rather than waiting for the spiders to find the site. Search engineregistration services such as Wpromote (wpromote.com) and Addme (addme.com) will do this for little or no cost, but allsearch engines have a “submit URL” box.

Online File W15.7 (continued)

REFERENCES FOR ONLINE FILE W15.7bCentral. “Search Engine Optimization Tips.” submit-it.

com/subopt_print.htm (no longer available online).Wong, M. “The Thirty-One Steps to SEO.” promotionbase.

com/article.php?aid=715&pid=0 (no longer availableonline.)

15-10 Part 6: EC Strategy and Implementation

Online File W15.8 Yahoo!’s Steps for Starting an E-Business

E-Commerce BasicsStarting your first online store? Here’s what it takes to open a store, increase sales, and mange it successfully.

Setting Up an Online StoreStep 1. Sign up and design your store.After you sign up for Merchant Solutions, you should choose how you want to design and build your store.

We provide three easy options to do this:

◗ Use our easy tools and customizable Web site designs.◗ Use your own design tool, such as Dreamweaver or other popular third-party tools.* (This option is generally used by

advanced users.)◗ Have your store built by a professional designer and developer in our network, for an additional fee.

Step 2. Add products to your store.As you are designing and building your store, gather together information about the products you plan to sell, likedescription, price, size, and color. We give you two simple options to enter your product details quickly and accurately:

◗ Type in the information directly into your online product database.◗ Upload all your product details from Excel.

Step 3. Set up payment methods.In order to accept and process online payments, you need to sign up for an online payment processing service like PayPalor a merchant account.

We provide:

◗ An easy application process to get either a merchant account with Chase Paymentech or a PayPal account, or both.◗ Support for existing merchant accounts that are compatible with FDMS Nashville platform.

Step 4. Set up shipping.Choose which shipping carriers you will offer your customers and set up shipping rates for your products.

We provide an easy shipping tool that allows you to:

◗ Use any shipping carrier, including the USPS, UPS, and FedEx.◗ Set up shipping rates based on product weight, destination, order total, or other preferences, using a simple step-by-step

interface.◗ Automatically calculate and display shipping fees in the customer’s shopping cart so shoppers can see their total costs

early in the checkout process.

Step 5. Set up sales tax.The determination of whether you are required to collect sales tax depends on the state in which your business is registeredand the types of goods or services being sold. Contact your state’s tax department for more information.

We provide:

◗ A wizard to help you set up tax rates for your products.◗ Ability to calculate and display taxes in the customer’s shopping cart.

Step 6. Open for business.Simply click the Open for Business button and you are ready to start accepting orders.

Managing and Marketing an Online StoreNow that you are open for business, you are ready to start processing orders and marketing your store to increase sales.

Step 1. Manage orders.You will need to review orders as they come in and either authorize or cancel them if they are deemed fraudulent. Occasionally,you may also have to process exchanges or issue refunds.

* Third-party tools such as Adobe® Dreamweaver® must be purchased separately.

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Chapter Fifteen: Launching a Successful Online Business and EC Projects 15-11

We provide:

◗ Automatic fax** or e-mail alerts whenever you receive a new order.◗ An easy-to-use order management system so you can process and track orders.◗ Tools to help you identify and block fraudulent orders.

Step 2. Ship orders.Once you approve the order, it is ready for shipment.

We provide tools to:

◗ Print packing slips, invoices, and UPS shipping labels from within your order management system.◗ Send automatic e-mail updates to customers when their orders ship.

Step 3. Receive payments.When you receive an order, your customer’s credit card information is sent to their credit card bank for approval. Afterreceiving approval, you have to click the “Sale” button in your order management system to charge the credit card andhave the funds transferred to your merchant account.

We provide secure transmission of customer information between your store, the credit card bank, and your merchantaccount provider, so you can receive payment.

Step 4. Market your store.Building your store is not enough. You need to drive shoppers to your store by marketing online.

We provide:

◗ Resources to learn how to market online.◗ Automatic submission of your store to Yahoo! Search and Google.◗ $100 credit with Yahoo! Search Marketing.***◗ Discounts on a range of online marketing services, like Yahoo! Shopping.

Step 5. Promote your products.There are several ways to increase order size and encourage repeat purchases.

We provide:

◗ Up-sell and cross-sell tools to display related items during checkout to encourage shoppers to purchase more products.**◗ Ability to set up and offer coupons and gift certificates.**◗ Discounting capabilities such as taking a percentage off an item or the total order.

Step 6. Track site statistics.Learn how your customers use your store and update your strategy based on what you learn!

We provide:

◗ 40 reports that cover key business statistics such as sales results, referring Web sites, and Web site traffic.◗ Ability to export your data for further analysis in Excel or other applications. Yahoo! Merchant Solutions gives you all the

tools you need to set up and run a successful online store. Plus, get immediate answers to your questions with 24-7 cus-tomer support, e-mail support, online help, and Getting Started guides.

** Available in Standard and Professional plans only.

*** Offer open to new U.S. Sponsored Search advertisers only. (A new advertiser is one who has not advertised with Yahoo! SearchMarketing for the past 13 months.) Each account requires a nonrefundable $30 initial deposit. Advertisers signing up for Self Serve willreceive a $100 credit into the account. Initial credits are nonrefundable and will be applied to click-charges. There is a minimum bidrequirement of $0.10 per click-through. Limit one offer per customer, and one use per customer on a single account. Sellers of certainlegally restricted products may require third-party certification at extra cost. Search listings subject to editorial review. Offer may not becombined with any other offers or discounts, separated, redeemed for cash, or transferred. Other terms and conditions may apply; seeAdvertiser Terms and Conditions when you sign up.

Source: Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2009 Yahoo! Inc. YAHOO! and the YAHOO! logo are registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.

Online File W15.8 (continued)