| E-tailers are simply retailers who use the | | | | informational, so customers can preview |
| internet to sell their goods/services to | | | | products and gather information on the store |
| their customers, rather than actual stores. | | | | in general (for example, their nearest |
| There are two types of e-tailer, one category | | | | retailer or company phone number/contact |
| whereby e-commerce is the only operation | | | | details) before they visit. |
| undertaken by the company; examples of such | | | | |
| organisations include E-Bay, Amazon, and | | | | E-tailers must realize that it is not enough |
| Dell. The other type includes e-commerce as | | | | to simply have an aesthetically pleasing web |
| part of their overall marketing strategy, | | | | site, which is full of product information |
| whilst still having a physical, bricks and | | | | alongside great photos and detailed product |
| mortar tore, whereby customers can still go | | | | reviews; this is all well and good, but |
| in and purchase the good/service. Examples of | | | | useless without sufficient knowledge of |
| this type of e-tailer are Dixons, Tesco and | | | | Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search |
| WH Smith. | | | | Engine Optimization (SEO) in order to target |
| | | | the necessary traffic towards the site. Even |
| Those companies who operate purely as | | | | something as simple as an appropriate domain |
| ecommerce stores are able to achieve greater | | | | name can have a big difference on the number |
| profit margins, due to their set up and | | | | of people visiting your site they should be |
| operational costs being much lower than that | | | | kept small and concise, preferably without a |
| of a traditional store. They do not have to | | | | hyphen, as people tend to forget these and |
| pay any rent on a building whilst they still | | | | this could lead to them being sent directly |
| often have to pay for their Web Hosting, the | | | | to your competitor! Word of mouth advertising |
| cost is much less, there are no added rates | | | | is priceless, so by using an address that |
| for such overheads as water, electricity, | | | | sounds exactly how it is spelt can work |
| gas, etc. Labour costs are significantly | | | | wonders for spreading positive information. |
| less, where one person could realistically | | | | |
| run a website, package goods and answer | | | | SEO and SEM practices change regularly, and |
| enquiries via email; this is unlikely to be | | | | there is no guarantee that any particular |
| the case where a full time store is involved. | | | | methods will work. The best way to ensure a |
| On top of these price differences, an online | | | | good ranking on the search engines is to |
| store can be viewed/accessed 24 hours a day, | | | | employ an expert to work full time at |
| 7 days a week, from only one location. | | | | increasing the chances of traffic being |
| Shoppers in China, for example, can purchase | | | | directed to your website. Whilst many web |
| goods at the touch of a button from a UK | | | | designers may claim to be adept at SEO, there |
| based e-tailer, but would struggle to make | | | | a relatively few personnel currently in the |
| the 10,000 mile round trip to go to the | | | | UK with any real in depth knowledge of the |
| actual store! | | | | subject, so it is worthwhile spending the |
| | | | extra time/money on making sure your company |
| It is becoming essential for retailers to | | | | is well represented within the search engine |
| have at least some form of internet based | | | | rankings, and chasing that all important #1 |
| access, whether this is a site whereby goods | | | | spot. |
| services can actually be purchased, or purely | | | | |