Your ecommerce site is up and running and you're now listed on Google and Yahoo and other search engines and the website traffic is starting to happen at a good speed, but when you check your website sites for last month, you see that you had 800 unique visitors but you only made about 100 sales.

Where is it going wrong? There are a number of factors that could be causing this. Is your website fast loading and easy to read? Did you use a Merchandizer shopping cart system to make making purchases easy for your customers?

Are you items on your website fresh and well displayed. First impressions are indeed everything and never more so than on the web. If your photographs of your products are dark or hazy and don't show your product in its true light, you won't sell very much.

People are standoffish about buying products they can not see or hold unless you have complete descriptions, photographs - show a couple of angles, and testimonials work well too.

If you have a good product, tell the world about it in every detail. The more you explain about your product the more credibility you have with your website visitor and the more chance you have of turning that humble website visitor in to a happy customer.

Also, make sure every page has a contact page for yourself in case someone has questions, the more available you are - the more honest your web business looks. People look at doing business with websites they don't know very warily for the most part. Post your full company contact information complete with email and phone numbers.

Give your website the once-over and tighten up any loose areas that may be causing you to lose sales. In doing so, you'll increase your web presence and raise your sales.

Everything can be clicking for you in your e-commerce venture, but if you're not shipping products to the supreme satisfaction of your customers, you're dead in the water. What should take center stage in your mind is making sure that your products are shipped on time and that they arrive in one piece.

Everything about e-commerce is about trust. It is impossible for your customer to know your business other than the service you provide, and the ease of web shopping makes it easy for the customer to move on to the next supplier if you're not up for the challenge of good customer service. Job one is for you to find and retain your customers. The following are some good tools that will help you win the game. No doubt, the most important advantage you'll need is good data management and the accompanying skills--especially if you manage your own business and the shipping is done in house.

Two of the most reliable names you can depend on are Fed X and UPS. These entities make it convenient for the e-commerce storeowner by handling practically all of the shipping needs. Another excellent consideration, if you ship the customer's order directly from a supplier or manufacturer-is to use software that has a drop-ship module. This allows both the retailer and the customer to have vital and up to date information of products that have been shipped.

It doesn't hurt to have some type of protection for the customer as well if the goods shipped are lost or damaged. These are all simple considerations, but they can save you time and money when shipping your customer's products.

A primary consideration for making it through the front door online is to first know what it is that you want to sell. There are millions of products and services, but only one may be right for you. You can start by taking stock of your inner values. If you can match these up with a product or service that's needed-you may have found a winning combination.

Try to determine early on what the content and functionality of your website will be. Down the line, you will be able to measure and analyze results much more effectively. This is why the development of brand awareness should take center stage. One project leads to next, and as time goes by, consent, design, and your overall online advertising plan will come into sharper focus.

Web consultants/designers can help in this initial stage of brainstorming. However, it's important not to be overwhelmed by the latest software or techno-wizardry on the market. Keep the original business plan and your overall goals in mind during the initial developmental stage. Make sure that you spend money on the elements that are in the original financial guidelines.

Crystal clear business objectives should be especially well thought out for any Internet project. Spend quality time and lay the groundwork for success. In the end, you should be able to ask yourself important questions such as, "Can the project be effectively measured, is it in line with the original intent, is the project cost effective, and what is the real return on investment".

It's not overly difficult to gain entrance through the front door-but it is substantially harder to maintain your presence once there.

A good way of attracting and retaining customers is to focus on user-friendly elements in your web site design. Taking on such a task is an art, whether from the standpoint of the designer, or client having the site created. Every good website has basic principles that have to be followed if it is to be a success. A well-designed site will tell the prospective customer that you care about the product or service being offered. This at once creates a degree of trust in the prospect.

Consider a good domain name that's easy to remember, and easy to reach. The web site title is equally important as well. These essential elements will hopefully stick out in the mind of the individual. If these elements aren't attention grabbers, you won't have to worry about individuals spending time at your site-or returning. Experimenting with website colors is also a good idea. Get to know the colors that will be user-friendly. This is information that can be researched and experimented with until you come up with the best combinations.

Pay close attention to the links that you provide. Make sure that the information is flowing so that the reader will stay on the page as long as possible. The Internet is a bit different from reading a newspaper. It's fast reading, and you have about ten seconds to convince the reader to stay for a spell.

Rotating your content is also very important. Web sites are graded on fresh content, and will get a high ranking for keyword access if you keep this in mind. If you can't personally keep the website vibrant and fresh with new information, then check into hiring a company that can provide you with good keyword content on a regular basis.

Customer service is that "thing" that makes or breaks a business. There are businesses with inferior products that thrive because of excellent service-and there are businesses with superior products that fail because of disgruntled customers. Customers call in all shapes and sizes, but the one thing they all have in common is a need to be serviced. These are the people that you'll be asking to buy into an idea, a product, or a service. What you ask in return from them is their time and money!

It's really all about the balance of exchange. A customer has to feel that they are getting an even exchange. In fact, there will be many customers that will need to feel they are actually getting more than they are giving from the exchange. And then, and only then will they make the purchase.

It's easy to link good customer service with continued repeat business. Make sure that your customer service programs are adding value to the product or service as well. If your customers aren't buying time and time again, you should check and find out why. Follow up is a key element in repeat sales. It informs you if your services are a satisfying experience for the buyer. There's no one-way to follow up on the sale of a product or service: it can by phone, letter, or email. The key is to make sure your appreciation for their continued business is heart-felt.

Keep those customers happy and they'll make it a point to keep you in business.

You bet they can! Here are some good things to consider. Corporate blogs can be used in several creative ways for the corporation's advantage. They can be used to establish a company brand image, and this will apply to a personal image as well. Suppliers, customers, and virtually anyone associated with the company mission can be targeted by the company blog as well.

While blogs are nothing new, targeting business blogs can have a major impact on marketing and sales goals. It has to be done with purpose in mind though. Otherwise, it just becomes a distraction in an already saturated world of information. Blogs must have correct message you want to convey. It's not enough just to impart information-it has to be specific. This constant and targeted message will convey an image in the customer's mind that can make your company readily identifiable. This has the effect of bringing the company to a whole new level of trust-and trust translates into sales.

The trend to use blogs to further company goals is used by many of the major corporations in the world, and the trend looks like it's here to stay. Creating an overall plan utilizing excellent web design and copy-writing skills can prove to be highly effective in disseminating vital information to customers and employees alike.

Once a trend becomes the standard, there may not be any options other than to jump on the bandwagon and master the technology. If your company is not blogging for better business-maybe you should reconsider the many benefits.

Cold calls can wind up being just that….cold! Whether it's beating the pavement, or making that dreaded call on the phone-there are some general rules that will make life much more bearable. The first piece of advice is to know your product like the back of your hand. Make it a point to know the benefits that the customer will derive from using the product or service that you're going to pitch. You only have a brief amount of time to peak the prospects interest when making first contact.

The second piece of advice may be to throw out the first. Each prospect moves through the concourse differently, so you may have to adjust your cold call approach to one more improvisational. Here again, is the ability to gain advantage by knowing the customer and their needs. Make sure you find out whom the keeper-of-the-gate is. Whether it is in cyber space, or on a street corner-businesses employ a gatekeeper to filter out excess.

It doesn't hurt to send out a bold email to the appropriate person to pitch your cause. You can always indicate that you'll follow up in a few days with some additional information. On the other hand, it's prudent to keep in mind that you'll be competing for someone's attention that has to sort through perhaps hundreds of emails daily. Be unique! Always leave a part of yourself that will stand out in someone's mind. It can be a friendly manner, a hardy conversational exchange, or a genuine spirit of enthusiasm about the product or service being offered.

Cold calling should be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved in the process.

One of the most important features in your web site will be its content that grabs the attention of the seeker. If you have too many frills and thrills, it may make your website difficult to read or navigate. This will result in customers that become bored or frustrated. And when this happens, they won't hesitate to leave and look elsewhere. The most important messages should be visible without having to scroll down or up a page.

If you web page is lacking a table of contents, this quickly becomes a frustration that stops the user from navigating quickly and efficiently to other areas of the website. Ideally, you'll want an individual to spend as little time as possible in figuring out the overall message of what your product or service is. A rule of thumb is to try and keep your pages under two pages in length, and include email links that are easy to find.

Animations, background, and images are good to impress when the occasion is right. But, if this type of activity takes away from the message you're trying to convey-it's not worth the effort. Keep in mind that you're on the Internet to transact business, and if the customer isn't buying, you won't be getting the intended results. Besides, the more things you have on a page, the longer it will take to download. Remember, Internet users are not the most patient of people. They are online scurrying from one source to the next. And other websites will be all too happy to catch those wondering souls who weren't satisfied at your store.

If starting an affiliate program is on your mind, here are some important things to consider. First, it's important to keep in mind that you are going to be making money by the traffic an affiliate web site will direct to your website. This means being involved with an affiliate in a way in which the revenue sharing is open and honest. Spell out the terms in writing of how commissions on sales are going to be handled.

Do you have a product that is in demand for your affiliate program? Not only is this going to attract new clients, it will also wet the appetite of any individuals interested in your affiliate program. Is there a market in demand for you product or service? Doing extensive research will signal if anyone else has the same type of program format. If you don't find any competition, this can be a good opportunity to launch a program. And, just because there may be similar programs being offered on the market, it does not mean that you are out of the running. You simply need to find a way a more compelling way to deliver the product.

If the affiliate route is the way you want to go, then be creative and unique in offering options for those interested. Having other websites convey your message is a highly effective form of Internet advertising. It can also be very cost effective for everyone involved.

Not everyone will have a desire to place other websites under the affiliate umbrella. Note however, that the rules of engagement will still apply if you choose to go solo. The overall mission, the game plan, and being advertising conscious will always be major factors in winning or losing the online game.