Answer: Online sales tax laws can be very confusing for both first time merchants and well established eBusinesses. Laws are always changing, being reviewed and depending on the country, state, county or city you are in, tax requirements may be different. Knowing about Online tax law and tax requirements is certainly something worth knowing and keeping current on before jumping into the eCommerce world.

U.S. Online tax requirements are generally the same across the board, but can be different for merchants who sell goods from those who sell services and those who sell both. There may also be special circumstances and depending on whether you sell solely Online or whether you use a combination of Online and Physical storefront selling there may be additional laws that affect the taxes you are required to collect or pay out.

Sales Tax for Selling Goods Online:

The U.S. is one of the only countries that relies heavily on charging sales taxes for national tax revenue. There are as many as 7500+ different sales tax jurisdictions in the U.S., many of which apply to sale of goods.

Sales Tax for Selling Services Online:

Sales tax on services have never been as widely relied upon in the U.S. as the tax on sales of goods. However, sales taxes on services are widely debated since Internet access, Internet advertising and transactions related to web site space all are service transactions that previously were non-existent in commerce. This essentially means that these new services could provide new sources of sales tax revenue that previously have not been available to revenuers.

Sales Tax for Buying Goods or Services Online:

Consumers often don’t realize that just because sellers do not collect taxes on eCommerce purchases outside their home state does not mean you don’t still owe the sales taxes. YOU DO. We will go into this more in another QandA post or article.

Online Sales Tax Then & Now:

Nexus is a seller’s minimum level of physical presence within a state that permits the taxing authority to require the seller to register, collect and remit sales/use tax and comply with the Country’s, State’s and/or County’s taxing regulations and requirements.

In 1967, Supreme Court officials ruled that when a seller’s only nexus with a state was through deliveries of goods to an address in that state, the seller was not subject to that state’s sales tax requirements. Meaning, sellers who market across the country through print catalogs, and now through electronic means, are protected from any obligation to collect and remit sales or use taxes, EXCEPT on transactions delivered in the seller’s state. Many retailers, who sell the same goods but must collect the taxes from their customers, widely object that this creates an unfair competitive advantage for direct marketers. Nevertheless, the ruling was again reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 1992.

Once the Supreme Court reaffirmed the nexus in 1992, most merchants that also operate print catalog or online distribution channels maintained those direct marketing operations as a separate legal entity. Using separate entities enables the direct marketing operation, to avoid any nexus with any sister stores, so the entity does not have to charge sales taxes, EXCEPT in the state where it operates a distribution center.

In October 1998, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which imposes a national, three-year moratorium on any new Internet taxes went into effect. The statute also established an Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce to examine all the interests at stake in the Online tax landscape. The commission was charged to advise congress on whether eCommerce should be taxed, and if so, how, without creating multiple and discriminating taxes.

In October, 2001, Congress permitted the moratorium to expire, but soon thereafter extended it for another two years. In November, 2003, the moratorium expired again and was re-upped until 2007.

Merging Online & Physical Retail Entities:

Recently, many major Online merchants including Walmart, ToysRUs and Target all started collecting state sales taxes on all internet transactions when the purchaser’s home state imposes sales tax. The move comes as Walmart, ToysRUs, Target and others strive to integrate their Online and physical retail operations, with services such as Online purchasing and in-store pickups or returns. Once the eCommerce and retail operations start merging functions, the Online organization would likely be deemed to have nexus in all the states where the retailer operated, regardless of any separate legal status that might exist because the Online operator is a separate subsidiary.

Online Sales Tax Outside The United States:

eCommerce tax laws in the U.S. are typically different than in other countries. Many countries (other than the U.S.) use a value added tax (VAT) system, which I will briefly discuss below.

To understand VAT better, you should also know a little bit of the tax lingo and terminology:

• Output VAT: The amount received by a seller as a percentage of the gross sale price or goods or services.
• Input VAT: The amount paid by a buyer as a percentage of the gross purchase price for goods services used in production.
• Supply Location: If goods or services are supplied from a VAT jurisdiction, the transaction is subject to VAT and the supplier must collect it at the time of purchase (Buyers in VAT jurisdictions who buy from non-VAT sellers, may still owe input VAT).
• Transport Location: If goods are to be delivered, place of supply is the place where transport begins. This affects non-Vat sellers (such as U.S. merchants) that dropship goods from sources within VAT jurisdictions.
• Zero Rated: Transactions in which the seller collects no output tax and the and the corresponding input tax is fully refundable (exports counts as zero rated).
• Exempt: Transactions in which the seller collects no output tax but the corresponding input tax is non-refundable and absorbed by the seller (financial services generally count as exempt).

How to Calculate VAT:

• VAT taxpayers relate total output VAT (sales amounts received from buyers) to their total input VAT (purchase amounts paid to sellers).
• When total output VAT exceeds total input VAT the difference is paid to the taxing jurisdiction.
• When total input VAT exceeds total output VAT the taxpayer is entitled to a refund.
• Input VAT paid towards goods and services eventually sold in exempt transactions are not included in the VAT calculation.

Answer: A landing page, landing destination or entry page is a Web page that is linked to, or landed on, directly from any hyperlink typically found in search results pages, email campaigns, sponsored listings, banner type advertisements, internal site navigation and more. The page your visitors land on does not necessarily have to be the homepage or a main section, they can also include deep level pages (ie. product pages) that target keywords or phrases specific to a certain ad or marketing campaign. The main purpose of a landing page is to provide potential customers and web store visitors with detailed information about your products, services or other store offerings. Landing pages, including the text copy, and the way in which they are designed and laid out is extremely important in getting your potential eCommerce customers to initiate the conversion process.

In order to properly understand how to increase your landing page conversions for deep level pages it is important to understand the conversion process as a whole and the steps visitors take upon landing at your eCommerce store location. The average eCommerce buying process ranges from one to seven steps and can be drastically different and unique depending on what you offer, the market you sell in and the customers you target. Conversion processes vary from store to store and are typically classified as either macro-actions or micro-actions and depend on the overall conversion goals that have been set in place by the merchant (to buy, to subscribe, to collect data etc).

• Macro-actions describe a complete set of steps or actions performed by the user such as completing a purchase, subscribing to a service, downloading a file, becoming a registered user or affiliate, printing a page and more.
• Micro-actions describe the smaller set of steps or actions performed by the user in order to complete the macro-actions. Micro-actions may include viewing a specific page, adding items to a shopping cart, filling out a form or contact information, entering payment or billing details and more. The micro-actions are the small steps needed to complete the larger macro-action.

The less micro-actions you have within your macro process, the better chance you have of completing the overall conversion goals that you have set in place. For instance, if one of your micro-actions was to have a customer view a specific product page you would have a better chance of them converting if they were to land on that product page first rather than on the homepage (which would force another micro-action in the process). This is the reason why it’s so important to have landing pages optimized for specific keywords and why PPC/CPC advertisers use different or unique landing pages for each of their individual marketing campaigns.

The best way to increase customer conversion rates for deeper landing pages is to use different pages for different objectives within the process. If you have a page designed with multiple micro-actions and users can either buy or subscribe it could get confusing to them and the desired conversion may not be initiated. It is extremely important that the main focus on each page is clear (keep distractions off these pages) and that it flows simply and naturally toward the overall objective or goal.

Here are some general rules that if practiced can help both new and established merchants increase landing page conversion for their deep level pages.

One Conversion Goal Per Landing Page:

It is important to create conversion goals and the conversion processes for each destination page, depending on what action you want the end user to take once they land on a deeper level page. If the user has several conversion processes to initiate per page, it can confuse them and they might have a more difficult time determining what to click next or where to go (the goal is not as clear).

Ideally, you should only have one conversion goal per SITE, but when you are dealing with an eCommerce enabled site it can be a bit tricky to determine one goal for the entire site. Obviously, merchants are hoping that their customers will buy, so that’s one goal. Other than making a purchase, conversion goals for an eCommerce site may include downloading a file, registering as a customer, signing up for a newsletter, subscribing to a Web feed, joining an affiliate program, clicking on a contextual ad, saving a product for later review, listening to a podcast or watching a video and possibly even referring a friend to the site.

The page your visitors eventually land on will depend on the one goal you determine for that page. Map out which pages you already have or intend on having within your site and then mark down what the primary conversion goal of that page should be. For instance, product pages should have a conversion goal centered around the customer making a purchase. The conversion process for those pages would be adding an item to their cart, entering in payment info, entering shipping info and finally confirming the order. These smaller conversion processes make up the overall conversion goal for all product pages (the goal being to make a sale or get an order).

If you offer a page that advertises email newsletters or feed subscriptions, those pages should have a conversion goal centered around subscribing to the newsletter or feed. The process would be entering in their name, email address and other optional info and then clicking some sort of subscribe button which may send them an email to confirm the subscription and sign them up.

We wouldn’t want the newsletter subscription goal to interfere with sales on the product pages, so instead of using that goal in both places, we create separate pages for different goals within the site.

Link To Landing Pages For Accessibility:

Making sure you landing pages are accessible to both customers and search engines is an important step to increasing conversions for deeper level pages. If search engines cannot access and index your product pages you will have a harder time getting customers to those pages directly from search results. Instead, a customer would have to enter your site first and then find the pages that interest them most. If customers don’t know your landing pages exist it will be harder for them to find and enter the conversion processes you have set in place for different landing pages.

Make sure you use plenty of internal site links to category pages, sub-categories and individual product or item pages so your customers and search engines can easily find your deeper site sections. Make use of a user site map with links to all your main sections. Use text links in as many places as possible within your design for easier accessibility. Try out different anchor text variations within your text links as customers may click on one version over another. As long as the pages are accessible, you will have an easier time getting deep landing pages discovered.

Keep Off-page Links Usage Minimal:

While it is important to link to landing pages from the main sections of your site for accessibility, you want to be sure that you don’t link too much from the landing pages themselves. Using many off-page links from your landing pages can hurt your conversions and may be directing user to the wrong pages or interrupting the conversion process. The most prominent link on landing pages should be the call to action link (the link that takes them to the next step in the conversion process or step that completes the conversion goal).

Many high converting eCommerce sites have found that by removing their main page navigation from landing pages that it helped with customer conversions (even Google removes navigation from most landing or check out pages). Another good tip is to never direct customers back to the homepage from your landing pages. By directing them away from your pages you will interrupt the conversion process.

If you are thinking of the conversion process as a funnel, and the landing page is the first pour then you wouldn’t want any holes or leaks in your funnel walls, just the same as you wouldn’t want anything to obstruct the pour from leaving your funnel when it’s done. Keep any links off your landing pages to a minimal and you will not have to worry about leaks or holes in your conversion processes.

Direct Customers To The Right Landing Pages:

Making sure your customers enter the conversion process where you want them to can be tricky, however it’s an important factor to consider if you hope to increase conversion for deep level landing pages. You wouldn’t want a customer who your are hoping will enter the buying process to all of a sudden get distracted and enter the newsletter subscription area before buying. For the same reasons it’s important to use one landing page goal per page, it’s also important to assure that your customers get directed to the correct page.

One factor that helps direct users to the right pages can include the anchor text you choose to use for categories, products and other text links within the site. You wouldn’t want the “Buy Now” button to take them to an email newsletter subscription page and you wouldn’t want a link that says “Subscribe to our Newsletter” to take them to the shopping cart. These examples may seem like common sense or basic rules, however you would be surprised about how many sites use inaccurate anchor text descriptions or generic anchor text such as “click here,” “learn more,” or “read more.”

Other factors can include using unique page titles, meta descriptions or descriptive keywords so users coming from search results end up in the right section, clearly identifying the different sections of your site within the page designs or using multiple themes for separate sections of your site. Describe the pages individually so users don’t get confused when navigating your site. This is especially true if you utilize product reviews on your site. Often times you will prefer the customer to see a review page and then the product, not the other way around.

Use Convincing Landing Page Copy:

The headlines you choose for landing pages as well as the ad copy, messages, buttons and call to action copy you write can all influence the conversion process and greatly affects whether your customers will complete the conversion goals you have in place. The headline should ideally be the first thing your customers see upon landing on a specific page. Keep the headlines simple and direct, making sure to clearly state that customers will be able to complete their goal from this page

When writing messages on landing pages try and use bullet points rather than long text descriptions or full paragraphs. Make the point clear and be sure to include main points or highlights within the message. Include ad copy that sells you product and persuades the customer to move along to the next step in your conversion process.

Finally, when it’s time to use the call to action button or copy it is best to use softer techniques rather than the traditional “Buy Now,” “Add to Cart,” or “Subscribe Now.” Instead consider using something like “Get This,” “Try Now,” or “I Like It.” Be sure the call to action is noticeable and stands out on the page to customers. If possible, try and use red or green buttons, text and graphics on calls to action from landing pages.

Keep On-page Distractions Minimal:

Landing pages should be full of whitespace, not rich with graphics, banners, text, flashy offers, navigation or other distracting page elements. Many online shoppers do not spend a great deal of time reading the text and copy on landing pages. That’s why it’s so important to use large, short, descriptive headlines and bullet points rather than long paragraph descriptions. When creating the layout for landing pages be sure to utilize whitespace and limit the use of distracting elements like ads, forms, flashy graphics, cluttered text, messy layouts or putting the most important items below the fold.

Use Visually Appealing Page Elements:

Although it’s important to keep on-page distractions to a minimum, at the same time you have to be sure that the elements you do include on your landing pages are visually appealing and do not prompt a poor reaction or surprised feeling from the customer upon landing there. Post a high resolution image of the product or item that the landing page is offering so the customers can see what they are buying. If possible, use a video or flash demo to show off the products on each page. Implementing user reviews and customer comments have been proven to help increase landing page conversions. Prominent privacy policies and trust certificates are also sometimes included on eCommerce landing pages. The only elements that need to be included should accomplish one of two goals: either reassure the customer of their purchase or give them a reason to continue with the conversion.

Use Designs That Serve Overall Goals:

The way in which your landing pages are designed is important for increasing conversion rates on deeper level pages. Once a customer clicks through from an advertisement, sponsored listing or search result it’s imperative that the page they land on reinforces the copy included within the ad they clicked on to land there. The way your page is designed and the elements you include all have to help convince the customer to enter your conversion process and complete the action or goal to complete the conversion. Typical landing page goals might include filling out a form, providing personal information or email address, buying something or to read your content. Each goal would require a different design that should help to serve that overall conversion goal.

We already discussed leaving unnecessary elements off of your landing pages and why it’s important to use visually appealing elements where you absolutely need them. In addition, those elements should match and serve the overall goal of each landing page. For instance, if the goal is to fill out a form you would want to include some kind of form on your landing page. If the goal is for the customer to buy something, you would want to include a visually appealing and prominent checkout button on your landing page. If the customer does not have a clear path to follow once they land on your deeper level pages it will be more difficult to get them to convert. Make sure you strip out any unnecessary steps in the conversion process and that any elements included on your landing pages are there to help serve your overall conversion goal for that page.

Test Different Landing Page Layouts:

Testing your landing page is one of the most important steps towards improving conversions rates for deeper level landing pages. It is also one of the most overlooked strategies by merchants. Many merchants aren’t aware that there are constantly newer and better ways to test landing pages being developed and used by many the most successful online sellers. Simple a/b split testing and tools like Google’s Website Optimizer have been proven to help increase conversions for a variety of merchants across many different market niches.

In addition to software and tool tests, it’s a good idea to test landing page layouts, designs and whether your goals will be met by using a small group of users who can actually enter your conversion process and give you feedback about any hangups in the process. Questions that testing can help you answer may include whether the entire page is focuses on your conversion goal, whether your copy and message matches the ads you use, whether you have removed all distracting page elements, whether your critical copy is above the fold, whether there is a clear exit to the next step in the conversion process and how effectively the page reinforces your brand.

Other page elements you may want to test could include the prices of your items (raise and lower), if Web forms are working properly, using different headlines or copy, using different buttons or graphics, whether banner messages or audio messages should be included and different color schemes and layouts.

Keep Contact Information Prominent:

This rule is a no brainer. It has been proven that having contact information prominently displayed on each page, above the fold, can help to increase conversions on your deeper level landing pages. Having a phone number and email address on each page helps to establish trust with customers and they know that if there are any issues with an order that they can call or email anytime during the process. Other than helping to build trust with your customers, it also helps merchants capture many of the orders that would have otherwise been lost (providing the customer actually calls if they have an issue or question).

Don’t forget that the conversion process doesn’t stop once the customer completes the conversion goal. Many times you will have to send out invoices, welcome messages or similar emails letting them know that you appreciate their business or to provide them with important information related to their purchase. Make sure you include your contact information in these places as well as on your site pages.

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Answer: With the advances in technology and the demand created by consumers there is more of a need for added tools such as user reviews, the ability to rate products, live chat support and more. Tools that are designed help your visitors and customers during the shopping process are becoming a neccessity for most merchants who run a successful eCommerce business. Knowing which tools to offer in your store depends on the the products you provide, the market you sell in and the types of consumers you target.

For instance, consumers who buy electronics such as iPods or Flatscreen TV’s usually like to see consumer reports about those items, the brands and how they compare to similar items offered by competitors. In addition to consumer reports, they may wish to see what other people who already bought the product think about it. By offering the ability for visitors to review items in your catalog you are creating a gold mine of user generated content that not only helps your eCommerce marketing efforts but will also help store users looking for consumer opinions about the items you provide. In addition to user reviews you may want to offer options for live chat or live customer support so users in your store can get quick answers to questions they may have during the shopping or check out process.

There are other tools out there, but these seem to be the most popular for eCommerce sites. Keep in mind if you offer ‘extra’ tools on your site, it’s OK as long as you make sure they are there to assist your users or potential customers. Other eCommerce site tools may include consumer polls, reviews, tax or shipping calculators, tutorials, help guides, live chat, how-to articles, support documentation, forums, blog section, feedback forms, FAQ page and much more. The tools you add depend on the specific needs of your users.

Answer: Online shoppers who regularly navigate the shoposphere are used to seeing certain elements or design layouts on eCommerce enabled shops. Users who buy Online often are typically more savvy, more aware and better informed about what to expect once they land on a Web store they are thinking of purchasing from. Once a new visitor enters an eCommerce store they automatically become a potential customer of that store. If merchants can provide their visitors with what they expect during their first visit to the homepage, that merchant has a greater chance of turning a potential customer into a new buyer.

Online retail shoppers are really no different than traditional brick and mortar retail shoppers in that they expect to see the same things upon entering a store for the first time, whether Online or not. Brick and mortar consumers want to see a safe and secure shopping environment, names or brands they use, a store that is accessible and easy to shop in, convenience, item displays, price tags, in-stock merchandise, flexible policies related to returns or exchanges and that their questions or concerns will be addressed quickly and efficiently. The same general rules will hold true for consumers who shop Online.

Secure Shopping Environment:

One of the first things potential customers look for on any eCommerce homepage is that the shopping environment is secure and they have a safe place to enter in their personal billing and payment information. Be sure to include an active SSL certificate in addition to trust badges to display that you offer a secure place for visitors to shop. Any other information you can provide on the homepage related to security and trust are good, just be sure it’s kept to a minimum and doesn’t look out of place within your design theme and layout.

Brand Names & Trust Logos:

In addition to security certificates, many Online shoppers want to see a brand name they can trust and a store logo they recognize. eBusiness branding is a very important step towards getting new potential customers in the door and to help retain existing customers or repeat buyers. Design a unique logo that is easy to recognize and sticks within the customers’ mind. Try to pick out and purchase a domain name that is short, easy to remember and ends with the .com extension. Brand recognition is one of the major reasons why consumers buy Online. If you don’t have a recognizable brand name or a logo that your store visitors trust you risk the chance of missing out on many new potential customers.

Simple & Easy to Use Design:

Many of the homepage elements users look for upon entering an eCommerce enabled site include the way the site is designed, themed, laid out and built initially. eCommerce store users do not want to use or figure out a complex shopping process, they expect to see an easy to use, simple to figure out store that gives them the ability to buy electronically. Many merchants initially setup their stores the way they would want to use it themselves and end up changing layouts later. I do not recommend building your store in that manner, instead, you must concentrate on eCommerce usability for your customers, not yourself. Use intelligent navigation and category structures, keep things organized, group products together and offer a site search feature, use large fonts and make it easy for users to follow along through each step of the check out process. If your users cannot easily navigate to find the items they are looking for and eventually buy, it will greatly reduce any eBussiness owners chances for immediate success.

Convenient Shopping Experience:

Online consumers have certain expectations upon entering an eCommerce enabled store with the anticipation of finding the item(s) they are looking for. One of the main factors of a homepage is the convenience and ease of use it offers the customer who land there for the first time. If you do not offer links to the main sections of your shop in the places customers are used to seeing them you will have a more difficult time of making your store successful. If there is not a clear route for the customer to take once they find your homepage they will be less likely to return. If the store does not seem simple and easy to navigate there will be less sales, less retained users and a higher chance your visitors will bounce off the homepage or click back in their browser. If you can make the shopping process as convenient as possible you will find that your eBusiness will have a much higher chance of success than one that does not consider any kind of convenience factors within their homepage design. Remember, the goal is to offer as many ways for the customers to find what they are looking for, in as few steps as possible without cluttering up or diluting the effectiveness of your design.

Quality Images & Price Tags:

Another important aspect in eCommerce design are the images of your products and a display price next to each of the items you offer in your catalog. eCommerce shoppers typically look for product images and price immediately upon entering a store. Potential customers who enter a shop on the homepage are no different. They expect to see images of popular items, new products or discounts and specials with a price clearly marked next to each one. It is best to limit the items on your homepage to the most popular ones so you do not create too much distraction from the main sections or other important parts of the homepage. Make sure the images are high resolution, easy to enlarge and displayed from as many angles as possible so the customer can clearly see what it is they will be paying for if they happen to add the item to their shopping cart for check out.

Flexible Return & Exchange Policies:

Online commerce has certain benefits to the consumer, however many of the regular shoppers expect that they will be able to return or exchange any items they have bought in the event they are unhappy with the purchase for any reason. Being able to offer your customers a flexible return/exchange policy is important for customer service and helps merchants to retain more users and can also increase the amount of repeat buyers. If you do offer flexible policies it is best to display them on the homepage and throughout the shop, near the footer, so customers who land there can be assured that the items they buy are returnable or can be exchanged for an item of equal value. Many eCommerce merchants found that by simply offering and displaying their flexible policies they were able to increase the rate at which their visitors converted.

In-stock Merchandise & Backorders:

Online consumers do not like to wait for their orders to be processed and shipped. eCommerce shoppers typically will not backorder an item unless it is a rare item, specialty item or it’s the only place that item is offered on the Web. If you offer items on your site that go in and out of stock regularly it is best to display that somewhere on your homepage and the individual product page for the backordered items. Some merchants choose to de-activate out of stock items from view so potential customers cannot see or add them to the shopping cart for purchase. Once the item is back in stock they activate it again. No matter which way you decide to handle out of stock items or backordered merchandise it is important to clearly relay that message to visitors who enter your store looking for something to buy.

Customer Service & Help Support:

In addition to having a security certificate, a recognizable logo or brand, simple design layout, adding links to important sections, adding images with the prices displayed, flexible policies and merchandise that’s in-stock you have to be able to show the customer that you will help or support them during their shopping experience or after an order is completed. If you do not display important contact information including phone numers, email addresses, feedback forms or offer a live support option you greatly risk the chance of loosing business as your potential customers may feel like you do not offer enough support. By clearly displaying the options for support on your homepage and throughout the rest of your site you will be assuring each of your visitors or potential customers that you will be there for them in the event they need customer support or help with their purchase during any phase of the shopping process.

Conclusion & Final Thoughts:

Keep in mind that the rules mentioned above are general and do not relate to a specific market, niche or industry. If you are looking for more specific market information or niche design elements to include within your homepage, I recommend you go straight to the source, the customer. Use Online polls, surveys, feedback forms, face-to-face interaction and as many other methods you can think of to get direct input from your current customer base. If you do not currently have a customer base to gain constructive feedback from, you can optionally look at competitors homepages to see what they offer.

At the very least, be sure to include as many of the general methods as possible within your eCommerce site design and layout. By including the basic elements you should find that you retain more customers and increase the rate at which your potential customers covert into buyers.

Answer: Shopping cart abandonment happens when a potential customer initiates the order by starting the check out process, but leaves before the purchase can be completed. The rate at which your visitors abandon is an important statistic to track for online retailers as it could mean the difference between a profitable eCommerce store and potential loss.

The average shopping cart abandonment rate is currently around 60% – 70% for most online merchants (according to industry publications). On average, most eCommerce stores convert visits-to-sales at a rate of 1% – 2%, which leaves plenty of room for improvement. If the average online storefront fails to convert 98% – 99% of their visitors into buyers, it’s that much more important to reduce the ones that already initiate the check out process and finally the order.

There are several things any eBusiness owner and online merchant can do to lower and improve the shopping cart abandonment rate for their store. Keep in mind that many factors for abandoning carts are out of the merchants control, but there are several proven methods that can be applied during the check out process to lower the abandonment rate.

Be Sure Your Cart Is Bug Free:

One of the main reasons why shopping carts get abandoned during the check out process is that they fail to work properly and the customer gets frustrated, finally leaving without making a purchase. Many merchants fail to test the buying process before launching their store and have no idea whether their are potential bugs or not. Having control over your code, whether the site works properly and any bugs your customers might encounter during the buying process is important and should never be overlooked. To online sellers, having a broken shopping cart or site feature is equally as bad as retailers having to close their brick-and-mortar for remodeling or to fix up the building space. If you can’t use the site, visitors will not buy from you. Make sure the site works like it is supposed to and you can easily cross this off your list of potential problems during check out.

Keep Product Pricing Competitive:

Comparison shopping, user generated content and new technology has made it extremely easy for shoppers to compare prices, and numerous other attributes relating to the products they are interested in buying. If one site offers items for well below what another site offers the same items for, it’s obvious which site is most likely going to get the sale (providing the shopper compares before buying). Merchants can use comparison shopping engines too. Only merchants aren’t looking to buy items, they should be comparing their prices with their competitions prices so that their pricing remains competitive enough with other merchants in their marketplace. A big part of shopping cart abandonment is that shoppers think they can get a better deal. Consider offering competitive pricing if you don’t already. Compare with other companies who sell the same items, or similar items as you do and make any necessary changes to your pricing structure. Consider using calls to action like, “Lowest prices on these items anywhere on the Net,” and other statements that help reassure your customer that they are getting the best deal.

Allowing Guests to Check Out:

Many eCommerce sites will not allow customers to check items out in the shopping cart until they have registered as a user of the site. This means the customers have to take an extra step in the check out process and could cause them to abandon the cart before they buy. Some merchants have found that by allowing guests to check out first and giving them the option to register AFTER they have already bought lowered the rate at which their store shopping cart was abandoned. This subject has been long debated as there are also many pros to having a customer register BEFORE checking out (gain email address for mailing lists, phone number for a more personal contact and potentially a repeat customer).

One-page Check Out Process:

As eCommerce has evolved there have been many advances in the way that shopping carts and their processes work. Recently, as new programming and Web standards have been developed and discovered merchants have found innovative ways, either through their platform provider or coding support, to allow customers to check out of their stores shopping cart on One-page as opposed to paginated navigation or step by step check out.

Cross-sell, Up-sell & Group Products:

A lot of shopping carts get abandoned when a customer finds that they cannot easily edit the cart or that they get redirected back to the home page once they add an item to the cart. This means the customer has to perform another search query or navigate to the page or similar page that they were viewing before the redirect or mistake that would need to be edited. Some merchants have found that by directing their customers back to the page they were previously on, or by allowing them to add accessories or similar items that may accompany the product they are buying to the cart during checkout has improved their abandonment rates. This strategy works particularly well if the customer sees the item groupings or option to add similar items right before they login or enter their payment information.

Clearly Identify Rates & Fees:

One of the main reasons that customers leave before completing the buying process is that the store has not done a good job of clearly stating additional shipping rates or handling fees on items offered in their catalog. When a customer sees the price of an item and adds it to their cart they do not typically see the shipping and handling fees until later in the process (once they have logged in or entered payment information). This may cause the customer to abandon the cart, especially if they were not expecting the shipping to be as high or the handling fees are outrageous. Be sure to state all fees, rates and charges on individual product pages, through links to policy pages and somewhere near the beginning of the check out. If the customer expects to see the fees before they initiate the check out, they will probably not leave for that reason alone. This becomes more important if you sell internationally as shipping is typically higher to those locations. You certainly would not want to state you offer “free shipping” and then charge shipping fees during the check out. This would almost certainly cause more harm than good and will dilute your brand reputation among consumers.

Clearly State Policies & Terms:

In addition to properly displaying information related to shipping and handling charges, it’s equally important to clearly state store return policies, guarantees, user terms, and privacy statements. If a customer cannot return an item in the event that they are unsatisfied it may cause them to take their business to a competing merchant who does offer a return policy or guarantee. Some merchants have found that by offering this information clearly on the store and during check out that the rate at which customers left went down. Linking to these pages is important as your users need to be able to spot them easily upon entering and navigating the store. Some merchants found that by linking to their policy pages above the fold AND near the footer, it was easy for customers to find on the page they were viewing.

Security Badges & Trust Certificates:

One of the biggest reasons why users leave an Online store is because they do not offer a feeling of security and trust during the check out process or upon entering for the first time. Customers expect to see security certificates, trust badges and other forms of identification to let them know it’s safe to enter their private, personal, payment information in your store. Not having these identifying labels in place could mean lower sales, less page views and a higher cart abandonment rate. Merchants have added something as simple as a trust banner in addition to a reputable security certificate and it has done the job, but as all businesses are unique it may depend on what you sell and the customers you sell to as to how secure of a feeling you need to portray.

Check Out Process Is Too Long:

Many online shoppers buy from Web stores rather than traveling to their local shopping malls in order to save time or to find specialty items on available through online purchase. A major reason why many carts get abandoned is simply because the process takes too long, requires too much entering of information, looks intimidating to the customer or simply that they don’t have time to make the purchase at that moment. Merchants can improve their check out processes by offering a One-page check out or by slimming down the current amount of steps within the process. For instance, if you currently use two separate pages for billing and shipping information, consider adding them each to the same page and remove one step from the process for your customers.

Progress Indicators & Page Factors:

When customers check out using a multiple page process (paginated or step by step as opposed to One-page) it helps if they can see what page they are on during the steps they need to take to check out. No matter how many steps your process uses, make sure to let the customer know where they are at in their progress. Clearly label the steps using numbers or progress indicators and be sure to allow them to navigate back and forth through pages easily. Other page factors include using fonts that are large, providing inventory availability, linking back to the product and clear progress indicators.

Multiple Payment Methods:

Many customers are used to using one form of payment or another for their purchases online. For instance, eBay users are very Paypal savy and will almost certainly wish to use that payment method for other transactions. Some users like money orders or pay by check, but the most common forms of payment are major credit card via merchant account, Paypal or Google Checkout. Try to offer as many options to your customers as possible so users do not have a reason to abandon the cart once they have added the item to buy.

Phone, Fax & Email Ordering:

As with multiple payment methods, it is equally important to offer multiple forms of ordering. A decent majority of online buyers prefer to email ahead or order over the phone once they have discovered your store and the product(s) they wish to purchase. At the very least you should consider offering orders by email, but you will almost certainly see an increase if you begin to offer ordering by phone, fax and email. Clearly state the different ways a potential customer can order your items with your store policies and pages.

Visitor Analytics & Data Tracking:

Analyze your store check out to see if there are any steps you might take to make the process easier for your users and more effective for you. There are free tools that can be downloaded or found online that allow you to track where you store visitors go and what pages they enter and exit from, including the check out process. Two reputable tracking tools include Google Analytics and ClickTracks. Although we have mentioned some of the things you can do to improve these suggestions may not work for all stores and you may need to be creative while conducting research and analysis on your store.

Tracking the rate at which your potential customers abandon during the check out process is important for both new and established merchant store owners. As you begin to lower your shopping cart abandonment rate you will begin to see your store generate more revenue per visitor which also helps by making the revenue you spend on marketing more effective.

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Answer: Of course. Posting articles on your site may even help in your efforts to rank higher within search engines like Google who look for content related to the products you are selling. Quality written content also makes you seem more credible in your niche, especially if the articles teach something or provide information to your users that helps them.

It is extremely important that you do not use articles that have been mass distributed throughout your market or syndicated onto hundreds of other related sites, as it creates content on your site that is duplicate to content on someone elses site. Duplicate content (text content that can be found elsewhere online) is unoriginal, and your potential customers may notice that you have used content similar to other sites they have seen. In addition, having the same content as other sites will make it harder for you to establish yourself as an expert in your niche market.

Search engines also look for duplicate content during their regular crawls. If a search engines happens to find duplicate content or content that is very similar to someone elses, they may not rank your site as high as it could potentially if the duplicate content was more unique to their index. It is very rare to have a search engine penalize you for duplicate content, but it is highly likely that they will filter out pages that appear to be duplicate.

Remember that quality written articles will help to increase your search engine rankings and helps to establish trust in the eyes of your customers, but the content should be unique. Many online merchants use catalogs that are copied straight from the manufacturers descriptions and specifications. Copying product catalogs word for word can often times create a bad user experience (most people read paper catalogs different than they read online catalogs), hinder your ranking efforts and may even provoke a search engine filter. If you use a catalog in this manner be sure to change the product names, description content and text layout so that it appears unique to your store users and search engines.

Answer: Pay-per-click ads or sponsored search listings have become more popular among merchants looking to drive immediate traffic to their storefronts. These types of campaigns are generally the most successful when launched after first releasing your store, once you have established decent brand recognition or saturation of natural search rankings.

Most merchants do not know the first thing when it comes to launching a successful PPC campaign so it is better to wait until you know what terms to bid on and the overall conversion rate as it relates to your niche. Alternatively, you may wish to hire a firm that specializes in sponsored listing campaigns using Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter. Choosing the right firm depends on your needs and the market in which you sell. You may have to research many different providers to find the right one for your business marketing needs. Eventually, you will want to learn how to properly manage and maintian a PPC campaign, but having a firm help you, especially in the beginning, can save you both time and marketing dollars.

It is possible to launch and manage your own campaign from the start, but most merchants end up wasting large chunks of their marketing budget by simply not knowing which are the best terms to bid on, how much to budget each day and what the general conversions should reflect. If you plan on doing it yourself, it is best to learn from online resources and communities like forums, blogs and networks. It is also very important to be able to track your campaigns in detail so you can continue to improve click throughs, increase conversions and get the most out of your investment.

Answer: Deciding whether or not to market your storefront yourself or outsource the task to professionals depends on how much time, organizational skills and previous experience you can devote to the tasks invloved in running a successful campaign. Even if you haven’t ever promoted an online business in the past, having a thorough knowledge of your industry and the customers you target can often times be better than using a third party who doesn’t already know about your industry and isn’t willing to research it. However, if you happen across a firm that performs market research before taking on the task of promoting your store you may be able to use your knowledge blended with theirs for an even stronger marketing strategy and continual flow of ideas.

Marketing online can typically be a full time task and can require much planning, analysis, research and time tracking statistics in order to get you in front of your potential customers quickly and yield an acceptable ROI. If you would rather devote your time to running the business, managing your catalog and processing orders it would probably be better for you to hire an ecommerce marketing specialist to assist with your campaign needs. Some eBusinesses choose to use office and phone staff to manage their day to day business relations and order fullfillment processes. Using a staff to run your business may give you more time to spend on your own or with a marketing team to further promote and market your store brand and products.

If you choose to outsource the task, be sure to find professional firms who specialize in ecommerce store marketing and promotion and have a proven track record of satisfied clients, fair price and of course, conversion results. Look at their client portfolios or customer testimonials, if available, and always ask to talk to other clients who are willing to share their experience with the firm you are considering.

For those who would rather learn ecommerce marketing and perform the tasks yourself, it’s best to use online help resources like eCommerce and eBusiness forums, blogs, articles and case studies. Look for a wide range of topics to research including entrepreneaurial business, SEO/SEM, affiliate marketing, link building, search engine friendly design, sponsored search engine listings, social networking and press release resources. Once you grasp the ideas behind these topics you can begin to better understand the inner workings of online store marketing and getting the word out about your brand or products. Continue your education by keeping up on the lastest trends in your market and participating in online communities like blogs and forums.

Answer: In order to better understand how to go about creating a buzz around your products, it’s important to know exactly what word-of-mouth is and the different ways in which it can be established. Word of mouth and word of mouth marketing are essentially defined as processes used to create active, mutually beneficial consumer-to-consumer or consumer-to-marketer communications and making it easier for those communications to take place. Word of mouth is primarily about customer satisfaction, two-way dialog and communications and may include several different elements such as educating consumers, identifying which ones will share opinions, tracking the buzz and providing feedback to those who share.

You can establish word of mouth about your store and products by giving your customers something interesting to talk about, and by making their experience with you a memorable and exciting. If your customers cannot remember the name of your store, even if they love your products, you will have a harder time retaining users and may loose out on opportunities to gain new customers. Treat customers as if they are your only responsibility and show a genuine interest in them and they will remember you, tell their friends and might even return to buy from you again.

There are many different forms of word of mouth and depending on who you ask they may be defined the same, but called something different, so be sure and learn the lingo surrounding word of mouth and your market niche. Many word of mouth marketing strategies are geared toward encouraging and helping potential customers to talk to each other about the products you sell.

Establishing word-of-mouth can be performed many different ways. The most common forms of word-of-mouth marketing include buzz marketing, viral marketing, community marketing, affiliate or referral programs, blogging for buzz, creating conversation topics of interest, influential marketing, product placement and timing, using volunteers and maybe you would even join a related cause or donate time. These are not the only ways to establish a buzz about your products, these are just some common ways it has been done in the past. Depending on your specific needs, you may wish to use some or all of these methods within your eCommerce marketing strategy.

Answer: Ideally, you should begin marketing your brand name and products from the very beginning, when you first decide on a niche product and the right name for your eBusiness. Before you begin marketing it’s a good idea to be certain you have reserved your company name, domain name and all related brand names and have your product supplier or inventory relationships already established. Unless there are specific reasons for you to delay your marketing efforts you should begin the process as soon as possible. Reasons to delay marketing campaigns may include having to wait for legal documentation, trademarks, copyrights or other legal matters, online or off, that might end up hurting your marketing efforts if launched before business paperwork is in order and the proper steps have been taken to ensure your place in the market.

The beginning stages of your marketing strategy should primarily consist of spreading the word about your future business and the expected launch date of your online store. You may wish to use a “coming soon” page while your store is being developed so you can still bring users to the site or so potential customers who find you can save the domain location for later review. Creating consumer buzz around your brand or products is easy if you know who you are targeting and have a good idea of what those users expect to see. Establish strategic partnerships or network with related businesses and owners so they can help you spread the word about your new store and products. If you are selling items that are already sold online, you should research how previous companies started marketing them and what the outcomes have been. Be creative and know your target market and you will have no trouble getting potential customers to your store as soon as it’s ready to release publicly. All of these steps, if taken correctly and in the beginning, should help pave the way for future marketing endeavors including strategic search engine optimization, sponsored listings, building links from other related sites to yours and even potential off line strategies like TV, radio or print advertising campaigns.