eCommerce - Web Site Promotion - Search Engine Optimisation

The purpose of a business is to create customers and service those customers!

Common website uses

1. To keep friends and family up to date.
2. Non profit organisations like sports clubs, researchers organisations, universities etc wishing to supply information or educate the public.
3. As an advertising tool for products and services used by small and large businesses to gain advantage over their competition.
4. As an online store where people can make purchases, many overheads common to conventional business are reduced.

Shopping via the Internet - eCommerce

Remember these stats from the Home page?

In May 2008 there were over 200,000,000 websites in use across all servers (source Netcraft Web Server Survey Netcraft).

We know that the public increasingly researches products on the internet prior to purchase, they are looking for better quality, cheaper prices and efficient service. Increasingly those purchases are now being made from stores running websites.

Often products can't be located locally. That doesn't mean that they aren't available. There may be goods and services just as good in Australia but we may never know because many businesses still do not advertise.

Recent websites purchases

In the last two weeks my wife and have made several business and personal purchases via the Internet from out of area or overseas:

1. New Zealand - cycling shirts
   I recently placed an order with Ground Effects for two summer grade cycling shirts for an upcoming Queensland cycling holiday. Ground Effects gear is excellent quality, good value for money and they FIT. What's more, the products always arrive within 6 days of my placing the order. We found Ground Effects some time ago via their website.
2. Co. Antrim Ireland - bicycle handlebar grips
   For the same holiday I ordered German made Ergon handlebar grips from Chain Reaction Cycles (Ireland) to help solve a wrist problem. The items were posted within 30 minutes of my placing the order and I fitted them 4 working days later, they cost the same including postage from Ireland.
   
3. Melbourne Victoria - makeup travel case
   We purchased a Makeup Artists travel case from Melbourne which arrived within the week. It has many features not found in any available Sydney product and the price was good.
4. Southern Highlands NSW - beef suppliers
   We obtain our beef in bulk directly from a Southern Highlands property. It is grass fed Black Angus, much cheaper than local suppliers, comes packaged, labeled, the quality is superb and the price is good at $12 / kilo. We discovered the business via their website (Spring Hill Beef 02 4886 4479) and is delighted with the service.
5. Melbourne - New York - technical software manual
   The delivery times quoted for a technical manual available from a Melbourne book store was one month. The US supplier quoted two days, we purchased from the US.

The long term losers as shopping trends change is the local businesses who chooses not advertise or embrace these technologies.

Common promotion methods used by small business

Yellow Pages, leaflet drops, cinemas, signs on vehicles, static business signs on building, local newspapers, magazines, sports team sponsorships, signs on high rise posts and more.

All these methods have some success. Their success however is limited by the number of people exposed to them.
In many cases an advertising campaign is short term promotion using leaflet drops and newspaper advertising.

Short term campaigns can be expensive and there is no way of monitoring them (ie newspapers one week per month, leaflets 1 - 2 weeks).

One of our clients recently informed us that ads in the local newspaper cost $1500 for one month, approximately half the total cost of his website.

Static signs on buildings and high rise poles are long term promotion and designed to catch passing traffic only.
(please use this link to see examples from The Sydney Signman)

Contact Absolutely Stylish Web Site Promotion today on 02 4627 6048 or email to discuss your requirements.