There’s no doubt in anyones mind that the Internet has revolutionized the way in which we live our lives. Nearly everything you can imagine is a simple point and click away from any person (over 1 billion) with a computer and Internet access. Technologies like email and Online chat have taken the place of snail mail and phone conversation. If you want information about a particular topic, it’s just a matter of typing in a few words and a millions of pages appear to show you more about what you searched for. The Internet has made it much easier to access information about a nearly infinite number of topics.

Most of all, we have seen the Internet change the way in which consumers shop and buy the items they like. Online shopping has become increasingly popular since eCommerce first began and industry trends do not show any signs of this trend slowing down any time soon. There is a lot of opportunity to make money through selling Online. eBusinesses often have a better chance of success due to the low overhead and broad customer reach. It’s challenging to be successful selling Online as competition across nearly every major market has made top search engine rankings a necessity for successful eRetailers. In addition, more and more merchants are becoming familiar with search engine marketing and optimization techniques making it ever more difficult to compete within search engines. Knowing how the Internet and Online business works will be an integral part of starting your own eCommerce business.

The Internet & World Wide Web:

The Internet is basically a very complex network that links together other computer networks. This is the reason why often times it’s referred to as the Net, as it connects together similar to how an actual net is constructed. It is also referred to as the Web often times because it can best be described as a spiderweb where the cross sections would represent individual computers across a network (although the Net is not the same thing as the WWW).

The Net first began around 1996 when the U.S military created the ARPAnet (Advanced Research Project Agency Network), an advanced system that allowed the government to route messages in the event of outside breach into their protected networks. ARPAnet is the basis for the Net we know today, and although it is no longer exclusive to government agencies, it has become an important means by which individuals, companies and institutions communicate. Although the Net first began as a home for information, it has broadened into the world of commerce. Now we can even make transactions Online from any computer which has made life a lot easier for both business owners and consumers. In the past, if we wanted to buy something, we either had to physically enter a store or order from a catalog over the phone. Currently, all we need to have is a computer that has an Internet connection, making our next purchases just a few clicks away. It has basically become a new way of living for many people.

The World Wide Web (WWW) shouldn’t be confused with the Internet, they are not the same thing. The WWW is basically an interconnected number of Web sites linked together by a series of hyperlinks (a reference that points to another site and tells a browser where the site is located). The Internet is what connects your computer to the billions of sites that make u the WWW.

The WWW first began with an idea by Tim Berners-Lee, who built the first Web browser (software application that allows users to view and access Web pages. The idea basically resulted due to his job at the time with CERN, when he wanted to be able to access CERN’s directory quickly and easily. At the time, CERN has it’s information stored in separate databases, making it nearly impossible to access and retrieve the information easily. As a result, the first Web browser was born, quickly turning the WWW into what it is today. The WWW first became available to the public in 1991, but it didn’t quite gain world wide popularity until 1993 when CERN announced that the public would be granted access for free.

Search Engines & Web Surfing:

A search engine is basically a program that helps Internet users find information on the WWW. Searching has also changed the way we live and find information. Now anyone can research and browse for information just by using search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. Search engines are key when conducting Online research, especially for eBusiness owners and entrepreneurs. Search engines mostly do the work for you when it comes to finding information on any topic imaginable.

Search engines first began in about 1990 when Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal, created the first Internet search engine, which he called “Archie.” Emtage originally created the Archie search engine to index directory listings in order to easily find information on file names.

Another individual, Mark McCahill, joined the University of Minnesota computer center as a programmer in Apple II and CDC Cyber programming. In 1991 McCahill led the development team that created another search engine, which they named “Gopher” (designed to index text files).

Since indexing text files is very similar to indexing of Web sites, this is considered the beginning of Web site search. Sites and files within the WWW are accessed by the crawlers of each search engine and are then evaluated for possible indexing. On the other end, a user types in a keyword or series of words and the search engine will look for relevant words within the indexed files and retrieve the most related or relevant results to display. The words they evaluate are located in many places, but typically they look for words within the page title, domain, description and content.

Jean Armour Polly, a librarian in Liverpool, England, coined the term “Surfing the Internet.” It was the title of an article she wrote in 1992. That article gained worldwide popularity and it has been translated into many languages.

Some of the search engine categories today are:

• General information search engines
• Meta crawler search engines
• Pay-per-click search engines
• Shopping search engines
• News search engines

The most popular general search engines today are:

• Google
• Yahoo
• MSN/Live
• Ask

You may be asking yourself how having knowledge about search engines can help you when opening an eBusiness. Well, the answer is consumers who buy Online tend to search for keywords related to the products they want to buy. After the search is performed, Web pages are ranked in each engine’s search results pages (SERP), and merchants should realize and understand that optimizing their pages and content will help their site rank higher in the search results.

There are also sometimes results that show sites that have paid a search engine so that their site ranks higher, or some sites pay an advertising fee. These advertisements are typically called sponsored links, pay per click ads or cost per click listings. Sponsored links are commercial or non-commercial sites that have paid a fee to advertise. These ads usually show up on the right side of search results or near the top and bottom of the page.

Try searching for something that interests you. Carefully analyze the results you see from the search engine you choose to use. Take a look at the first 10-20 results and study how site owners write their titles and descriptions. Ask yourself the following; Are the services written clearly? Does the site give too much information? Is the wording confusing? Is there a call to action? Is it just perfect? These are all things you should consider when designing your eCommerce site. Remember, knowing about search engines and how they work will help you during your site design processes and once the site is live.

Web Browsers:

Web browsers are what Internet surfers use to navigate from site to site or page to page on the Web. Browsers help to make the task of traveling from one area of the Net to the next easier. With browsers, users can gain access to information that has been published on Web pages or they can easily transmit information across the Web. There are several Web browsers currently available for download and use. Internet Explorer is the most popular Web browser followed by FireFox, Netscape, Safari and Opera.

The most popular Web browsers today are:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla FireFox
• Netscape Navigator
• Apple Safari
• Google Opera

eCommerce:

We have a great introduction to eCommerce guide with a whole page dedicated to defining and explaining the three main elements to conducting business through an eCommerce enabled site; the business side, the marketing side and the site development side.

In simple terms, eCommerce is any type of transaction that occurs Online via the Web. Typical eCommerce transactions Online include buying products, buying services, filing taxes, making a reservation, buying stock, buying a house, paying for a download, hiring someone and much, much more. By far, the largest part of conducting business Online are the potential or existing customers. Establishing trust and loyalty among your customer base is a major factor for success, there’s some that really get it and there are some thay don’t. I recommend that all eCommerce sellers be aware that the customers are the most important thing. Let your users know they are buying securely and that their payment information will remain encrypted (a trust seal or banner can do the trick nicely).

Besides customers, the site itself, how it’s designed and the technology merchants put into place on it are all important aspects of selling Online. It’s important for merchants to know that keeping up on usability best practices or design guidelines, and keeping up on them, may help them to stand apart from the main competition. Make you site easy to use, easy to understand and easy to buy from, your customers will love you for it, your competitors will hate you for it.

Customers and design aren’t the only main factors of successful Online selling. Many other issues can arise during the planning, development and implementation stages, especially for startup or beginning merchants. Quite a few of the common eCommerce issues facing merchants today are similar to the same issues that have affected traditional brick-and-mortar retailers for years. Common issues include lack of proper planning, not understanding the competition and not researching target markets, which are just a few of the major ones.

Even with the issues that arise within the eCommerce space, it continues to grow each and every year and we are seeing many more sites pop up in places where there have never been Online sellers present. Sales continue to hit record highs and each holiday season brings on new records to break the following year. That said, there is still plenty of markets, customers and products out there that can be successfully sold and distributed through Online means. Up and coming merchants simply have to understand that success Online is no different than success in the brick-and-mortar retail space, other than the obvious differences of having a physical store and solely selling Online.

In the past, several analysts have predicted that eCommerce is on pace to change the way business transactions are completed. Even including the dot com crash in 2000, several eCommerce businesses continue to prosper, having learned their lessons about finances and proper budget planning. Many before 2000 were simply not aware that the same careful considerations have to be made when conducting business Online, just like a traditional retailer has to do before conducting business in a physical storefront.

eCommerce is now present across the world. Countries such as Germany, China, UK and many more have used the Web, eCommerce technology and Online selling best practices to make the most out of their location, limited resources and generally smaller budgets to break down physical borders and expand their businesses to places they normally wouldn’t be able to reach out to. With the power of the Web and technology, nearly anything is possible.

eRetail:

You may be asking yourself how eRetail is different than typical eCommerce. eRetail is different in that is it a particular type of eCommerce. It is generally defined as the selling of one product, or products, to a consumer, or group of consumers, via the Web. The ever growing competition within the eRetail space has made it more difficult for just anyone to become a successful seller Online. It can be hard to attract enough people via the Web to sell enough product to consumers. The competition levels and issues reaching a particular audience are two reasons why it is more important now than ever before to sell products or items within a particular niche, utilizing unique or innovative marketing strategies to get the word out and attract buyers Online.

These days, merchants can pick and choose all different types of products to sell. From furniture to stamps, products both large and small, heavy or light, they are all currently being sold Online. Typically, products with a very high value to weight ration, including books, CDs, DVDs, software, downloads, documents and small accessories are the best types of items to sell Online since shipping is next to nothing and price margins are usually higher. One of the biggest reasons why consumers today still balk at the thought of Online shopping is due to the cost of shipping. Although it is common sense to know that when you buy something Online, there will be shipping costs associated, there are still many consumers who complain or shy away at certain shipping amounts.

eRetail is not just for entrepreneurs or individuals looking to make a living selling products Online, it is also for established brick-and-mortar storefronts who hope to expand their business relations onto the Web in an attempt to boost sales, increase exposure and for better marketing deliverability. Traditionally physical stores including the GAP, Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, Target, Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble are all examples of businesses who were once solely brick-and-mortar entities, but now, thanks to eCommerce, they are able to sell through multiple channels both Online and off.

One reason why these companies decided to expand Online is because they know how much opportunity there is and how much money is available to be made Online. In addition, many of them like that eCommerce doesn’t require as much labor/startup capital that physical storefronts generally demand. These days we are finding that more and more people are using the Web to shop for the things they want to buy. Brick-and-mortars realize this as well and know that business completion is not only about product, price and service, but also about capturing a new customer base that is attracted and managed using technology rather than their actual location.

Despite the growing popularity of Online shopping, and other than the cost of shipping, there are other reasons why consumers still have concerns about buying over the Internet. Common customer buying concerns include information security, trust factors and lack of human interaction. These concerns are very valid and if they are not dealt with from the beginning they will certainly weigh heavily on the business and staff down the road. Fortunately, these issues can be overcome easily by simply developing and implementing features, tools and technology into an eCommerce site designed with the customers in mind. Make your site usable, appealing and fun. Make a site that is easy to use and buy from. Give customers what they want (within reason).

Aesthetically pleasing designs that are easy to navigate and use are able to keep potential buyers shopping for longer periods of time. Imagine your site as if it were an actual storefront. Would you use a poor layout in a physical store? Would you setup and display your products in an unorganized manner? Would you overcharge on items and charge extra to ship? Generally, your answer should have been NO to all three questions. If it doesn’t make sense to do in the real world of shopping, generally you wouldn’t want to do it on your eCommerce site. If you wouldn’t buy anything, how can you expect others to. Consider how your store appeals to your customers and make any necessary changes in the beginning. Generally, poorly designed sites, with no appeal will not attract customers. Many successful eRetailers know that customers who return to a site will eventually buy. If you can successfully attract customers, they can click around easily and they stay on pages long enough, you may find yourself making sales in no time.

It used to be a lot easier to become a successful Online seller, now it is more difficult due to competition, saturation, limitations, lack of knowledge, poorly designed sites, poorly planned marketing campaigns, etc. These days it’s not enough to have an elegant, easy-to-use design. There are many more aspects to the Online selling equation such as a feeling of security while shopping Online. Consumers are becoming more savvy and demanding each year and as more and more eCommerce merchants make more attractive, easier to use, more secure sites with products that are in demand. Shoppers today expect to checkout in a secure environment with all the necessary security elements in place including an active SSL certificate and any other trust banners or security notices. They want reassurance that all their personal and private information is going to be kept secure and protected (it’s also currently against the law to be careless with your customers private data and payment information, there has to be standard encryption implemented and merchants should always include any policies related to security and privacy in a prominent place within the site design so shoppers can easily review such policies anytime while navigating the site). Having the necessary security and protection means in place will reassure your buyers that it is safe to purchase and gives them the needed trust and security they need before making an Online purchase.

In addition to site design and security, shipping is another common issue in eCommerce. Todays consumers feel they do not need to pay shipping and generally do not like to wait for an item to be shipped out and arrive at their location. Many merchants have implemented systems to overcome shipping issues in eRetail. Outline the potential savings for buyers who purchase from your site and include the various shipping methods, with prices, that you use. Generally, if shoppers believe that your site is the only source for a certain itemat an attractive price, then chances are they won’t mind paying for the cost to ship that item.

Finally, you are probably wondering about the last potential challenge in eRetail, lack of person-to-person communication. You are also probably wondering how merchants are able to overcome the lack of person-to-person interaction in Online retail? The way to overcome this challenge is through quality, unique page copy, product names, item descriptions and other content around the site (buying guides, videos, tutorials, training materials, etc). Let your website do all the talking and interaction for you, after all, that’s partly why it’s there to begin with. Your eCommerce site is the new face of your business for consumers who find you Online and it must be in a state where it can easily communicate with shoppers or buyers. Try to deliver the message that shopping on your site means that customers will be getting a quality product and a fair price, and any special savings they may reap as a result. Project a sense of safety and trust through page copy and paragraph descriptions. It’s important to communicate to customers that you are committed to safe guarding their financial information and privacy. Use your site and copy to your advantage, take writing it seriously. The most successful Online retailers take their business and the aspects of it that are challenging VERY seriously.

Using The Web To Research:

By now you should have a basic understanding of the differences between the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). In addition, we have covered other basic Internet processes such as search engines, surfing the Net, Web browsers, eCommerce and eRetail. These are the core pieces of any Online business and merchants must be aware of the different roles each aspect plays on their business and how to use the different aspects to their advantage. It’s also great to know about the challenges you will most likely face and way that some of the most successful merchants were able to overcome those challenges.

Now that we have covered some of those basic differences and challenges you may face, it is important to know how to use the Internet as a means to continue your knowledge and as a tool to find out answers you may need to know in the future, or as they arise during your time as a business owner. Remember, the Web is todays number one information source, even more so than encyclopedias or libraries. Now we have Online encyclopedias and Online repositories of information taken from more traditional sources such as book or papers. Not only is the Web our new tool for research and information, it’s currently the easiest way to retrieve the answers to nearly any question you could possibly have to ask.

Research online is much easier to conduct than traditional research, however there are some warnings and certain cons related to using the Web as an information source. Sometimes it can be challenging to find an authoritative, reliable source that can be trusted as an expert in the area in which you seek answers. It is best to use a redundancy method while researching topics of subjects Online. Redundancy methods are basically way to conduct a check and balance of the information you have gathered. Basically, through redundancy (seeking the same answer from multiple sources), you are seeing how many different sources say the exact same thing rather than researching one site and taking the authors word for it. I always recommend checking out three to five different sources relating to the subject you are researching, then compare the information gathered. Information that is repeated across multiple sources can give you an idea of related trends in information for the subjects you are researching.

Several different topics may require you to conduct research using the Web. Common research topics in eCommerce include product research, domain or business name research, web site design research, design firm research, credit company research or other service related research. when researching different products to sell on your site, try to use comparison shopping engines such as Google Product Search, PriceGrabber, Shopping.com and others. When conducting product research inquire about the following; general product information, price ranges and competitors. When researching other services such as domains or design firms, attempt to speak with company representatives after carefully narrowing them down.

Impacts Of The Web:

Since the birth of the Internet, World Wide Web, Browsers, Search Engines and other web-based technologies, we are now able to experience what is going on across the entire World simply by sitting at home in front of our computers. Who could have imagined that in the early 2000’s consumers would be we on their way to spending as much in products Online as they do in traditional retail shops? Who could have imagined that the Net would now be the best, most commonly used source for information?

The Web impact on education alone is changing the way in which we learn and experience the world. It is not likely that the Net will completely take over human learning and interaction in the classrooms, however it most certainly could if there weren’t so many benefits to having humans interact with us face to face in a structured learning environment. I get more and more impressed with how the Web is beginning to shape itself and its impact on my life personally has been tremendous. I look forward to seeing it continue to shape and mold, including new ways in which people begin using it to help in their day to day activities. As great as the Net is, behind all those wires, cables, firewalls and networks, it’s still just people like you and me. It reminds me that the Net doesn’t run itself, there still has to be that ever present human factor behind it.

This article is one of several within our Start to Finish eCommerce Guides.