The invention of faster internet connectivity and powerful online
tools has resulted in a new commerce arena – Ecommerce. Ecommerce
offered many advantages to companies and customers but it also caused
many problems.
Advantages of Ecommerce
Faster buying/selling procedure, as well as easy to find products.
Buying/selling 24/7.
More reach to customers, there is no theoretical geographic limitations.
Low operational costs and better quality of services.
No need of physical company set-ups.
Easy to start and manage a business.
Customers can easily select products from different providers without moving around physically.
Disadvantages of Ecommerce
Any one, good or bad, can easily start a business. And there are many bad sites which eat up customers’ money.
There is no guarantee of product quality.
Mechanical failures can cause unpredictable effects on the total processes.
As there is minimum chance of direct customer to company interactions, customer loyalty is always on a check.
There
are many hackers who look for opportunities, and thus an ecommerce
site, service, payment gateways, all are always prone to attack.
Ecommerce (e-commerce) or electronic commerce,
a subset of ebusiness, is the purchasing, selling,
and exchanging of goods and services over computer networks (such as the Internet) through which
transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically. Contrary to popular belief, ecommerce is not
just on the Web. In fact, ecommerce was alive and well in business to business transactions before the
Web back in the 70s via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) through VANs (Value-Added Networks).
Ecommerce can be broken into four main categories: B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.
B2B (Business-to-Business)
Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and
wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable.
B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software.
By dollar volume, B2B takes the prize, however B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind with
regards to ecommerce as a whole.
Having a hard time finding a book? Need to purchase a custom, high-end computer system? How about
a first class, all-inclusive trip to a tropical island? With the advent ecommerce, all three things
can be purchased literally in minutes without human interaction. Oh how far we've come!
C2B (Consumer-to-Business)
A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours
companies review the
consumer's requirements and bid on the project. The consumer reviews
the bids and selects the
company that will complete the project. Elance empowers consumers
around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such
transactions.
C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)
There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums
where individuals can buy and
sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send
and receive money online with ease. eBay's auction service is a great
example of where person-to-person transactions take place everyday since
1995.
Companies using internal networks to offer their employees products and services online--not
necessarily online on the Web--are engaging in B2E (Business-to-Employee) ecommerce.
G2G (Government-to-Government), G2E (Government-to-Employee), G2B (Government-to-Business),
B2G (Business-to-Government), G2C (Government-to-Citizen), C2G (Citizen-to-Government) are other
forms of ecommerce that involve transactions with the government--from procurement to filing taxes to
business registrations to renewing licenses. There are other categories of ecommerce out there, but they
tend to be superfluous.
The trick for writing perfect Amazon product titles is a bit of an
enigma in the SEO world. Some people claim that you should keep titles
as simple as possible, and others believe it’s best to keyword stuff
those babies like there’s no tomorrow. The general consensus about
writing Amazon titles is a mixed bag, and the evidence for either side
is pretty mixed as well. Fortunately, there are a number of rules and
best practices that can help create great titles.
Basic Elements of Amazon Product Titles
Starting with the basics, there are 4 elements that all Amazon product titles should include:
Brand name
Variant, color, or flavor
Unit size / Quantity = size of product if it is clothing or apparel, or number of units in if your product is a bulk package
Keywords = what the product actually is
As of June 2015, titles have a limit of 200 characters before Amazon
will suppress listings from search (although some categories recommend
limiting titles to as low as 80 characters.) Readability and coherence
isn’t as important in Amazon product titles as it is on
marketplaces like Google Shopping, where the limit is significantly
lower. As always, overly complex titles may cause a ding in sales by
making customers skeptical of the product, but keyword rich products
tend to rank better in Amazon’s SERPs than more concise, shorter titles
with fewer important keywords. As mentioned earlier, this is what makes
writing Amazon titles so difficult. Everyone has a differing opinion on
how detailed titles should be. Two different schools of thought – both from the same manufacturer
The example above proves this ambiguity. The two product listings are
from the same manufacturer, and ranked evenly in Amazon’s result page.
The listing on the left uses the minimalist, simple approach to writing
titles. It contains as few keywords as possible. The listing on the
right is keyword-stuffed to contain every possible tidbit of
information. This title is so long that Amazon had to cut off characters
at the end of the title with ellipses.
Amazon’s Recommendations
Thankfully, Amazon provides a number of suggestions for what sellers should or shouldn’t use in their titles.
Good titles should follow these rules:
Capitalize first letter of each word
Spell out measurements (Ounce, Inch, Pound)
All numbers should be numerals (5 not “five”)
Ampersands (&) should not be used in titles unless they are part
of the products brand name. Otherwise, “and” should be written out in
lowercase letters
What NOT to include in Amazon product titles:
Price
Words in all CAPITAL LETTERS
Seller information
Promotions (Sale, 50% off)
Suggestive commentary (Best, #1 Seller)
Symbols ($,?,!)
Size – if not relevant to product
Color – if the product does not come in multiple colors
example: silver stainless steel refrigerator
Formatting
It is important to note that not all products require the same
content in their titles. For example, the title for a computer would be
significantly more detailed than the information for a plain t-shirt.
The table below includes a few of the recommended formats in different
product categories.
Product Type
Title Style
Cookware & Cutlery
Brand + Line + Size + Product Type
Cook’s Tools & Gadgets
Brand(+Model Number if necessary) + Model Name + Product Type, Color
Small Appliances, Home Environment
Brand + Model Number + Model Name + Product Type, Color
Tableware
Brand + Pattern + Product Type, Number of Pieces
Bedding
Brand + Line/Pattern + Thread Count + Material + Size + Product Type, Color
Bath Towels
Brand + Line/Pattern + Material + Product Type + Quantity, Color
DVD Players
Brand+ Model Number + Size + Product Type + Screen Style (if needed) + Color/Pack Size
TVs
Brand + Model Number + Size + Product Type + (Color/Pack Size)
Video Games
Brand + Model Number + Product Type + Platform
Laptop/Desktop Computers
Brand + Model Number + PC Type + (Processor Speed + MB RAM + Hard Drive Size + Optical Drive )
For more examples of title formats by category, check out Amazon’s help pages.
