Course 6:

What is e-commerce?
E-commerce: Buying and selling of goods or services using the internet. Ecommerce allows you
to list products or services on your website and receive payments online from your customers.

Brick-or-mortar store: visit the store in person shop for a product on the shelves, and observe
the product more closely or try it in the dressing room. You may also ask a store employee for
help in finding or choosing a product. Then you carry the product to the register and pay for it
before leaving the store with your purchase.

Types of ecommerce:

1. Physical goods: something that you can touch or hold. E.g.: books, appliances, or phone
cases.
2. Digital goods: e.g.: e-books, digital photos, digital music files, or online courses.
3. Services: e.g.: online tutoring lessons, health coaching, business consulting, or
professional services such as graphic design.
4. Software: e.g.: adobe photoshop

The benefits of selling online

During online shopping, they may interact with a brand in multiple channels at different points.
For example, through social media, a mobile app, website, online chat, or visiting a brick-and
mortar store.

The customer journey is more like a winding a road than a straight path from A to B, and this
journey increasingly involves searching for products on the internet.

A brick-or-mortar store has a specific location where customers can come to shop. It’s typically
open during certain hours and is limited by the number of customers who can get to the store’s
location.

Ecommerce allows customers to shop online- from anywhere, at any time.

Types of e-commerce businesses:

1. Online-only: can save on startup and overhead costs since you don’t need the retail
space or in-store staff. You can start selling new products more quickly because you
don’t need to stock shelves in stores.
It is easily adaptable to customers needs by making improvements to the customer
experience based on data insights.
 You can reach customers look for specific products that may not be available in local
stores.
Selling products online allows a business to grow even when it would be difficult to
attract enough customer locally.
With e-commerce, you can sell a much wider variety of products, more than what would
fit on the shelves in a store.
Online shopping can also drive in-store traffic if customers are able to buy online and
then pick-up their order in-store.
Customer may end up buying additional items while they’re in store.
It also allows customers to receive their order the same day without waiting for it to ship
to their address. It also saves shipping costs.
2. Click-and-mortar: online and offline. The reason why a offline store wants to make
business online, is that majority of customers shop online first. Customers wants to
know that the business has want they want before making a trip to the store. Some
customers might browse in-store to try out a product in person, but then end up buying
the product online. They need time to understand what is the perfect product for them.
They may be searching for a better price online than they can find in stores. They may
want to find out if more options are available online, such as additional sizes or colors.

Challenges in ecommerce:

1. Higher rates of returns

2. Cost of shipping
3. Lack of in-person customer service

Benefits of selling online:

1. Margins
2. The amount of people you can potentially sell to.
3. Information about your customers.
4. Trends driving more online sales.

Get to know the basics of e-commerce

Traffic: number of visits that a website receives.

Landing page: The first page a visitor encounters when they go to a website. The landing could
be a homepage, a product page, or any other page on your website.

Call to action: instruction provided to the customer that tells them what to do next. E.g.: Add to
Cart button on a product page.
Digital shopping cart: virtual equivalent of a physical shopping cart. It keeps track of all the
items the customer plans to purchase.

Payment service provider: a secure way to process transactions online. The payment service
provider allows an e-commerce store to accept and process multiple types of payments, such as
credit cards, debit cards, or third-part payment services.

Conversion: completion of an activity that contributes to the success of a business. Conversion

often refers to the process of turning a visitor into a paying customer.

E-commerce platform: software application that allows you to sell products or services online.

Shopify: a popular e-commerce software platform. With this platform, you can manage your
website, conduct marketing campaigns, manage shipping and fulfillment, set up payment
services, review analytics and more, all in one place.

Salesforce: a business tool platform. It helps businesses manage and monitor different aspects
of their company, including sales, marketing, analytics, and customer services.

Examples of entry-level e-commerce roles:

1. E-commerce analyst
2. E-commerce specialist
3. E-commerce associate
4. Digital marketing specialist

These types of roles may involve:

1. Adding or updating products on an e-commerce website

2. Helping with online campaigns
3. Measuring the success of the company’s goals through analytics
4. Managing email campaigns
5. Monitoring social media accounts
6. Running paid ads

Learn more about the basics of e-commerce

Now that you know the basics of e-commerce, you are ready to learn more about this fast-
growing field. This reading will help you become familiar with the terms, platforms, tools, and
roles available in e-commerce.

Why e-commerce matters

Global e-commerce sales surged in 2020. E-commerce is taking more and more of brick-and-
mortar’s share of retail sales, growing up to almost five times faster in 2020 than it did before,
due to changes in the global market.

The more e-commerce grows, the more businesses will miss out on attracting new customers
and growing their business if they don’t sell their products or services online. E-commerce is
beneficial for any size business, whether it’s a startup, a small business, or a major retailer.

Here are some benefits of e-commerce:

 Allows businesses to sell products to customers worldwide, since mostly anyone can visit
the store online

 Reduces overhead expenses and lowers startup costs, since it doesn’t require a
storefront

 Makes it easy to sell a broad range of products, since it doesn’t require physical display
space

 Allows customers to research products available in store before visiting a brick-and-

mortar location

 Stays open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so customers can shop whenever
they want

 Allows businesses to personalize the customer’s experience based on data or saved

preferences so that they can provide better service and increase customer engagement
online

 Provides data on customer behavior so that businesses can improve their e-commerce
store

Basic e-commerce terms

Here are some basic terms that are helpful to know for getting started in e-commerce:

 E-commerce (or e-comm): The buying and selling of goods or services using the internet

 E-commerce store: A store that sells its products online

 E-commerce platform: A software application that allows you to sell products or services
online

 Responsive website: A website that is designed to work on all types of devices, including
computers, mobile phones, and tablets

 Domain: The core part of a website’s URL, or internet address, such as google.com.
  Landing page: The first page a visitor encounters when they go to a website

 Call-to-action: The instruction provided to the customer that tells them what to do next

 Conversion: The completion of an activity that contributes to the success of a business

 Digital shopping cart: The virtual equivalent of a physical shopping cart

 Payment service provider: A secure way to process transactions online

E-commerce tools

There are many different tools used in e-commerce, including platforms, which are a specific
type of e-commerce tool. The tools you use will depend on the company you work for and the
specific responsibilities of your job. It may be helpful to explore some of these tools on your
own. This will help you become familiar with how they work, and it can make it easier to learn
other new tools on the job.

The tools mentioned in this reading are some of the more popular options; however, there are
many other good options available besides the few mentioned in this reading. Plus, new
platforms and tools launch on a regular basis as the field of e-commerce continues to change
and grow rapidly. The list of most popular platforms and tools is constantly evolving.

Although it’s not required, visiting the websites for the following e-commerce tools and
platforms is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with some of the different tools you
might use on the job.

E-commerce platforms

As you learned in a video, an e-commerce store is typically built on an e-commerce platform,

which is a software application that allows you to sell products or services online. Using a
platform makes it easier to get started selling online, because you don’t need to have any
software development skills. E-commerce platforms often include built-in tools for marketing,
analytics, inventory management, fulfillment, and other aspects of your business.

Here is a list of some of the most popular e-commerce platforms:

 Shopify

 Wix

 BigCommerce

 Squarespace

 WooCommerce
  Magento Open Source

Shopify, Wix, BigCommerce, and Squarespace are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms,

which feature web-based software available on a subscription basis. With a SaaS platform, you
don’t need to know HTML or have any web development skills. You can simply choose from the
options available in the platform.

WooCommerce and Magento Open Source are two examples of open-source platforms, which
feature software that allows the user to access and edit the original source code. This means
you can customize the website in almost any way you want. Just keep in mind that making these
types of changes in an open-source platform often requires web development skills—or the
ability to hire someone to make these changes for you.

Other e-commerce tools

Besides working in an e-commerce platform, you will likely use other tools to do your job as
well. These tools might be helpful for communicating and sharing information with your team,
managing projects or marketing campaigns, reviewing analytics, tracking customer service
issues, and more.

Here are a few types of e-commerce tools you might use, along with a few examples of each
type:

Customer relationship management (CRM): These tools help businesses manage and monitor
multiple aspects of their company, including sales, marketing, analytics, and customer service.
Here are a few examples:

 Salesforce

 Oracle

 HubSpot

Team collaboration: These tools help teams stay organized and make it easier for them to
communicate with each other. Features that might be included in these tools are email, video
calls, cloud storage, messaging, file sharing, and more. Here are a few examples:

 Google Workspace

 Microsoft Teams

 Slack

Digital advertising and PPC: These tools help teams manage their online advertising campaigns:

 Search Ads 360

  AdRoll

Digital marketing: These tools make it easier to manage marketing campaigns for email, social
media, or other channels:

 HubSpot

 Hootsuite

 Sprout Social

Search engine optimization (SEO): These tools assist with monitoring and improving a website’s
performance in search results:

 Google Search Central

 Semrush

Analytics: These tools help businesses analyze their website traffic, sales, and other data.

 Google Analytics

 Adobe Analytics

 Tableau

Entry-level e-commerce roles

As e-commerce continues to grow, so do the number of jobs available in this high-growth field.
By completing this career certificate program, you will be better prepared to start applying for
an entry-level role in e-commerce.

Here are some examples of entry-level e-commerce roles:

 E-commerce analyst

 E-commerce specialist

 E-commerce associate

 E-commerce coordinator

 E-commerce product manager

Here are some examples of entry-level digital marketing roles that you might find at an e-
commerce company:

 Digital marketing specialist

 Digital marketing coordinator

  Search engine optimization specialist

 Search engine marketing specialist

 Social media manager

 Email marketing specialist

There are many different job titles and responsibilities in e-commerce. When you’re looking for
job openings online, it’s a good idea to search for a number of different job titles to find the
position you want. Although your job responsibilities may differ even within the same job title,
you can read the job description to learn more about what the role will involve. You can also ask
questions about the role when you get to the interview stage of the application process.

You can begin searching for these roles on LinkedIn, Indeed, or other job sites to get an idea of
the responsibilities and requirements for each type of role. This can help you decide which type
of role might interest you the most.

Other entry-level roles in e-commerce

There are many other roles available in e-commerce that may require training or experience
outside of the information you’ll receive in this course.

Here are a few examples of other entry-level e-commerce roles:

 Web developer

 IT support

 Logistics coordinator

 Digital operations coordinator

 Project manager

 Digital copywriter

 Digital graphic designer

 Financial analyst

 Data analyst

 Customer support specialist

Essential e-commerce strategies

A Morning Brew-Harris Poll found that 50% of people between the ages of 26 and 41—
sometimes referred to as millennials—do most of their shopping online. Online sales will
continue to grow at a fast pace for all age groups. This reading introduces you to essential
elements of an e-commerce strategy to gain online customers in a highly competitive market.

E-commerce strategy

An e-commerce strategy is a working plan to promote an online store and increase its sales. It’s
critical that every online business builds and executes an e-commerce strategy. Here is an
overview of the methods of discovery that an e-commerce strategy can use. All methods help
customers find a business or brand online.

Business profile

You previously learned that a Google Business Profile allows any business to customize how
their business information appears on Google Search and Google Maps. Note that Maps can
apply to online businesses that also have local stores in select areas. A Business Profile indicates
the availability of a business. It enables a business of any size to broadcast at large “I exist and
am open for your business!”

Organic social media

According to one survey by Sprout Social, 40% of online customers find new brands from their
personal network, while 32% of online customers do so from word of mouth. These are all
examples of organic social media. Furthermore, with the popularity of YouTube and the rise of
TikTok, a lot of organic social media is going to be from video.

Paid search, display, social media, and shopping ads

Paid search, display, social media, and shopping ads are typically included in an e-commerce
strategy because a combination of organic and paid content yields the best results. The benefits
of paid ads are that you have direct control over branding, ad copy, landing pages, bidding
strategies, and performance. Paid ads drive a significant percentage of revenue for e-commerce
businesses. Although some social media users block branded content from their social media
feeds, paid social media ads are still a useful part of an e-commerce strategy. From a content
perspective, shoppable ads on Facebook and Instagram can be quite effective. Some users
engage with them without recognizing that they’ve clicked on paid ads.

Influencer marketing

A small but growing number of online customers find new brands from the influencers they
follow. An estimate puts this number at around 35% of online customers. Influencers can help
brands or products reach the right customers with a message that’s tailored to the audience’s
interests. A paid influencer campaign can be part of an e-commerce strategy, but be aware of
certain practices that limit the impact of an influencer:
  Some stealth marketing campaigns post content that appears to be word of mouth
without disclosing that the content is part of a sponsored advertising campaign. This
makes users a little wary of influencers.

 Some customers will buy products an influencer recommends only when an influencer
shows evidence of personal use. For example, influencers show photos of empty
packaging to demonstrate that they have actually used a product that they recommend.

 Some influencers can have fake followers that are powered by bots (a bot interacts with
systems but isn’t a human user). A high number of followers doesn’t always mean that
there is a lot of user engagement happening!

In-store ads

Finally, if a business is hybrid, serving both in-store and online customers, in-store ads that
inform customers about the benefits, convenience, and cost-savings of online ordering can be
quite effective. A lot of online sales can be generated from existing in-store customers. As
incentives, some businesses choose to offer special inventory (hard-to-find sizes or colors) and
more deeply discounted clearance inventory to online customers only.

E-commerce innovation

An e-commerce strategy also needs to be innovative to improve business value. Some of these
changes could include:

 Improved communication and customer tracking of shipments

 More local fulfillment, sometimes called micro-fulfillment

 Use of fulfillment networks and services

 Use of drop shipping by wholesalers to reduce retailers’ inventory

 Curbside returns (the reverse of curbside pickup)

 Diversification of payment methods

Market Research
Process of gathering information about consumers’ needs and preferences. It’s important
because the information gathered helps determine the e-commerce store’s potential for growth
and success within a specific business and industry.

Types of market research:

1. Primary research (done by you): could include conducting surveys, or interviews, direct
observation, or focus groups. The result of the research is valuable because you can
 gather information so that it’s very specific to a business. It takes a larger budget and
more time.
2. Secondary research (done by others): It involves gathering information from published
sources, such as consumer insights, surveys, interviews, or other resources to conduct
secondary research.
Secondary research is the more budget-friendly option since the research information is
already available online or other published sources. It also requires less time since you
don’t have to do the initial research yourself.
The downside is that the information might not be specific to a particular business as
you’d like, or the market may have changed since the study was completed.

Market research considerations:

1. Market size: Total number of potential customers within a specific industry. The
questions you are looking at:
- Is there a large enough demand?
- How much competition exists?
- Is there room for growth?
2. Target audience: Group of people most likely to purchase a company’s products.
- Does your target audience want to buy this type of product?
- Is the product in their price range or budget?
3. Competition: Other sellers that exist already in the market.
- Who are your most important competitors?
- How can you differentiate your business from the competition?

Get started with market research

As you’ve already learned, one of the first steps to build a successful e-commerce business is
market research. This reading will cover more information about how to get started with market
research.

Introduction to market research

Market research is the process of gathering information about consumers’ needs and
preferences. It’s an important process because it helps you determine the potential for growth
and success within a specific business or industry. It can also help you tailor your marketing,
advertising, and business policies to meet the needs and desires of your target audience. Your
target audience is the group of people most likely to purchase your company’s products.

Types of market research

There are two ways you can go about gathering research information. The first is primary
research, which is research that’s done by you (or someone you hire to do it for you). It might
include conducting surveys or interviews, directly observing someone interacting with a
product, or conducting a focus group.

The second type of market research is secondary research, which is research that uses
information someone else has put together. It requires gathering information from published
sources, such as consumer insight reports, published surveys or interviews, or other resources.

Because secondary research requires less time and money, it’s often the best place to start. You
don’t have to find consumers to participate in your research or reimburse them. Although you
may have to pay for access to information from these published sources, the cost is typically
much less than you would pay to conduct primary research.

By starting with secondary research, you’ll get a general overview of the industry and a better
understanding of consumers’ needs and preferences. Then you’ll have a better idea of where to
focus your efforts when you conduct primary research to gather information that wasn’t
available in the secondary research.

Primary research takes more time, money, and effort, but it can provide information that’s very
specific to a particular business. It also provides the most up-to-date information, since the
market may have changed since the secondary research was conducted.

Market research questions

Before you start conducting research, it’s helpful to figure out what type of information you
need. This will depend on the company’s goals for market research, such as launching a new
brand, entering a new market, rebranding an old product, or a different goal. The goals for
market research could be to learn more about the size of the market, your target audience, or
the competition—or perhaps all three.

If your company has done market research before, you may have access to some of this
information already. In that case, you may not need to research all of these areas. Or, your
responsibility may be to find out if the market has changed since the last time your company did
market research. In that case, you may need to start your research from the beginning, finding
out all you can about the size of the market, your target audience, and your competition.

Here are some questions that can help guide your market research:

1. Is there a large enough demand for the product or service you’re trying to sell?

2. Is there room for growth in the market?

3. Does your target audience want to buy this type of product or service?
 4. Is the product or service within their price range or budget?

5. How much competition exists?

6. Who are your most important competitors?

7. How can you differentiate your business from the competition?

Sources for secondary research

Secondary research is often the best way to start researching the market because it helps you
form a basic understanding of your specific industry. It’s also the most budget-friendly option.
Plus, it’s a faster way to gather information than conducting primary research.

Here are some examples of sources for conducting secondary research:

 Government data, statistics, and resources

 Small business association resources

 Research agencies

 Industry publications

 Trade journals

 Research published by competitors

 Internet research for competitor information

 Transcripts of competitors’ earnings calls

 Google Trends

Pro tip: Check the publication date first to make sure the data is recent enough to be relevant.

Sources for primary research

Primary research involves gathering your own information by asking questions or observing
someone interacting with a product. It takes more time than secondary research, but it can also
offer insights that are more specific to your business.

Here are some examples of sources for conducting primary research:

 Interviews

 Surveys

 Analytics data
  Focus groups

 Direct observation of consumers interacting with a product

 Visit to a competitor’s brick-and-mortar store (if possible) or online store

How often to do market research

Market research isn’t something you do once and then never revisit. The market can change
over time. For example, social or cultural behaviors might evolve, consumers’ needs and desires
might change, or new competitors might enter the market. The market could also change very
abruptly if there’s a major event that disrupts the market.

That’s why it’s important to revisit market research regularly. How often you conduct market
research depends on your business’s needs. Some businesses conduct market research annually
or every few years. Other businesses conduct market research only when there’s a specific
need, such as the decision to start a new business, launch a new product, expand an existing
category of products, or identify the reasons behind a long-term slowdown in business.

Benefits of market research

With the information that you gather through primary and secondary search, you’ll be able to
make decisions that increase the business’s chance for success. There are multiple ways that
market research can benefit your business.

Here are a few ways you can benefit from market research:

 Optimizing your marketing and advertising campaigns

 Boosting your return on investment (ROI)

 Focusing your time and budget on efforts that are likely to produce meaningful results

 Reaching more customers

 Increasing sales

 Improving customer relationships

Identify your target audience

Its important to use data to better understand your customers. Doing market research, you
want to study the demographics of your customer as well as the things that are important to
them.

Demographics to consider:

1. Age
 2. Location
3. Income level
4. Education level
5. Occupation

Other factors to consider:

1. Personality
2. Interests
3. Hobbies
4. Values
5. Lifestyle
6. Behavior

Learn more about identifying your target audience

Knowing your customers is important for any business model—including e-commerce. One way
to get to know your customers better is to research your target audience, or the group of
people most likely to purchase your company’s products. You already learned about market
research and identifying your target audience. Now it’s time to consider the specific steps you
can take to identify your target audience.

Use insights from market research

The information you gather through market research can help you understand what types of
customers are most likely to be interested in buying your products or services.

To identify your target audience, you’ll need information about your customers’ demographics,
and their personal characteristics. If you don’t have enough information on your potential
customers, you may need to do additional market research.

There are a lot of other questions you could ask about your customers besides the ones
mentioned in this reading. You’ll need to choose the questions that are most relevant to your
company’s goals and the products or services you sell.

You can gather this type of information using surveys, interviews, analytics, and other methods.

Demographics

These are some examples of demographic information you might gather to learn more about
your potential customers:

 Age

 Location
  Gender identity

 Family

 Education level

 Income level

 Occupation

Personal characteristics

It’s also helpful to ask questions that provide insight into the customer’s personal
characteristics, and their goals and barriers.

Here are some examples of questions you might ask about the customer’s behavior:

 What stores do they like to shop at?

 What motivates them to make a purchase?

 Who influences their buying decisions?

 Where do they go for advice or information?

 Which social media sites do they use?

 What type of media do they consume regularly?

Here are some examples of questions you might ask about the customer’s interests, hobbies,
lifestyle, and values, or what’s important to them:

 How do they spend their free time?

 What are their hobbies?

 What causes do they support?

 What is important to them?

Here are some examples of questions you might ask about the customer’s goals and barriers:

 What goals do they want to achieve?

 What are the barriers to achieving these goals?

 How would your product or service make it easier for them to reach their goals?

Analyze existing customers

Another step in identifying your target audience is to analyze the data you have for existing
customers. For example, Google Analytics includes demographic information for visitors on your
site, including their location, gender, interests, age, and language. You may also be able to
access customer data within the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system,
which is software that helps a business manage and monitor its interactions with existing and
potential customers. CRM systems, such as Salesforce, collect data about a company’s
customers.

Customer reviews and comments can also give you a better idea of who your target audience is.
For example, you could review comments posted on the company’s social media accounts, read
online chat transcripts from the customer service team, or browse product reviews written by
customers.

To gather more information from your existing and potential customers, you could create a
survey and post it on your website or social media accounts, or send it to your email
subscribers. Offering an incentive to complete the survey might increase the response rate.

Identify patterns

Once you have enough data about your existing and potential customers, you’ll need to
organize the data and search for trends. As you learned in an earlier course, using a spreadsheet
can help you organize, sort, and filter data to discover the main characteristics shared by a
group of customers.

For example, the spreadsheet below organizes a company’s data by the name, age, location,
household, education, and main concern of their customers. Based on the data in the age
column, most of this company’s customers are in their 20s and 30s.

Although all companies have at least one target audience, it’s common for companies to have
more than one target audience. This is especially true for companies that sell a variety of
products or services.
It’s important to avoid excluding a group of customers just because their characteristics don’t
match the majority of your customers. This smaller group of customers can be an important
target audience for your company to consider.

Describe your target audience

After you’ve researched your existing and potential customers and identified patterns, you can
begin to describe the groups of customers you’ve discovered.

The custom suits retailer used as an example in a video describes their target audience in this
way:

 Men between the age of 30 and 45

 Income of $100,000 or more

 Professionals with an advanced degree

 Very little free time because of frequent travel for work

 Use LinkedIn and Twitter

 Wardrobe decisions are influenced by their partner and the company’s dress policy

 Need multiple suits for work

 Partner does most of the shopping for their wardrobe

 Impressing clients is their main motivation for buying a custom suit

 Buying a custom suit online is easier than making time to visit a tailor

The custom suits retailer also identified another target audience made up of a smaller but
significant group of customers. They describe this target audience as follows:

 Women and non-binary people between the age of 40 and 60

 Income of $100,000 or more

 Executive-level professionals with an advanced degree

 Very little free time because of long work hours

 Use LinkedIn and Facebook

 Wardrobe decisions are influenced by fashion media and colleagues

 Need multiple suits for work

 Make their own shopping and purchasing decisions for their wardrobe
  Expressing power in the workplace is their main motivation for buying a custom suit

 Buying a custom suit online feels more comfortable than visiting a tailor who
traditionally measures for men’s suits

Reaching your target audience

Now that the custom suits retailer has identified the groups of customers in their target
audience, they can use this information to make better marketing and advertising decisions. For
example, they might choose to include product images on their website that feature women
and non-binary people wearing custom suits instead of just men. They might also include a
measuring guide that applies to all genders. Plus, they might shift their advertising budget to
spend more on the social media sites or other channels that their customers use frequently.

How to do product research

Demand: How much consumers are willing and able to buy a certain product over a given
period of time.

Questions for researching demand:

1. Is there enough demand for this product to make it worth selling?

2. If so, is there reason to believe this level of demand will continue?

Consider your target audience:

1. Is this the type of product they would buy?

2. Does it meet a need or solve a problem for them.

Net profit: Amount of money left over after expenses are paid.

1. Can you sell the product at a competitive price and still make enough money on it?
Net profit = Total revenue – Total expenses

The first step is to figure out the total revenue:

Total revenue = Number of units sold x Average selling price

The second step is to figure out the total expenses”

Total expenses = Cost of goods sold + Packaging + Shipping and fulfillment + Advertising
+ Cost of returns + Additional expenses

Net profit margin = Net profit / Total revenue x 100

ROAS = Number of units sold x Cost per unit / Ad spend

Product Sourcing
Product sourcing: How a business acquires the products they sell to customers.

Product Sources:

1. Custom manufacturing: In-house or partnering with a manufacturer. This

requires a large amount of time, expenses, and commitment upfront. The
benefit, is that it gives the company more control over the design and quality of
its products. It also allows the company to create a unique product that fills a
specific need in the market. Plus, it allows for higher profit margins, since the
company itself owns the product.
2. Vendor or wholesale supplier: This option allows the company to sell the
products from brands the customer already know and trust. It’s less time-
consuming and expensive than sourcing custom products.
3. Drop shipping: Fulfillment method in which products are shipped from the
supplier to the customer. This is the fastest way to bring a product to market,
since the drop shipper handles all of the inventory, shipping, and fulfillment
needs. The downside is that the profit margins are usually slim. The reputation of
the company depends on the quality of the drop shipper’s work.

Researching and sourcing products

Sourcing products for your online store can be a big undertaking. There are so many
considerations to make before you decide which products you’ll sell. This reading will help you
determine which products make the most sense for your store.

Product viability

Since the purpose of an online store is to make sales, you’ll need to research the viability of
each product before you decide if you want to add it to your online store. Product viability is
the sales potential for a specific product. So, when determining the product viability of the
items you want to sell, consider two things:

 Demand: Is there a high enough demand for this specific product to make it worth
selling?

 Profit margin: Will you be able to sell this product at a competitive price while also
making a profit?

Product sourcing
Recall from a previous video that product sourcing refers to how a business acquires the
products they sell to customers. There are several ways to source products, and before you start
selling, you’ll need to identify which is best for your business.

Create products in house

One way to source products is to create your products in house. This requires a lot of time,
money, and other resources, but if you can commit to it, you have more control over the quality
of the products.

Source products from a manufacturer

Another approach is to source products from a manufacturer. If you go this route, you will have
less control over the quality of your products and your profit may be lower. However, you may
be able to have the products dropshipped, which saves you time and resources. Dropshipping is
a fulfillment method in which products are shipped from the supplier directly to the customer.

Source products from a wholesaler

If you source products from a wholesaler, you will purchase products directly from them at a
lower price and sell them at whatever cost you feel comfortable with. This strategy for sourcing
means you will have to ship the items yourself, but you may see a higher profit margin. Sourcing
from a wholesaler also means you may be able to have your products dropshipped.

As you weigh these options and decide where you will get your products from, consider the
advantages and disadvantages of each of the following:

 Quality control: How important is overall product quality to your store and brand
reputation?

 Profit margins: How important is overall profit to you? How does each product sourcing
option affect your profit?

 Shipping and fulfillment: Will you be able to fill orders yourself, or will you need to have
a warehouse and employees?

 Time spent: How important is time to your business? Will making products yourself take
too much time?

Forecasting demand

Before you source your products, you’ll need to consider if your consumers will even want those
products. Forecasting is the process of predicting the future demand for products. In other
words, when you forecast, you’re hypothesizing about how popular an item might be on your
website. This is important because it helps you analyze whether certain products are worth the
financial risk. It can also help you better understand seasonal trends, which allows you to know
how much of each product you’ll need in stock.

Forecasting includes taking actions like using analytics dashboards and sales data to view your
top-selling products, negative reviews, quantities sold over a period of time, seasonal sales
spikes or dips, and product reviews.

Add accessories to increase revenue

When you’re researching products and forecasting inventory, a good way to increase your
revenue per order is to add complementary accessories that align with those products. This is
an effective strategy because when you remind customers that if they buy one product, they
may need another product that complements it, they may spend more money at your store. For
instance, if your online store sells electronics and you’re offering the newest and most popular
laptop, you may also want to sell charging cables, cases, screen protectors, external hard drives,
and more.

Branding in e-commerce
Branding means to promote a product or service by identifying it with a particular
brand. Branding isn't just about a company's logo or its name. At its core, branding is about how
customers feel about a company and the products it sells. It's about how they treat their
customers, and how they make things right when there's a mistake. It's the story behind how
the company got started, and it's about how customers connect with the values that the
company supports. Almost every aspect of an e-commerce store reflects on a company's brand
identity.

The look and feel of a website is part of what affects brand identity. The website's design,
photography, font style, and color scheme all impact how customers feel about a brand.

The same is true for the voice and tone of the words used on the website, and also for the
design and wording used in all advertising and marketing channels.

Another big piece of branding is the quality of the products that a company sells.

- Do customers feel they can rely on those products?

- Do the products make their lives easier?
- Do they fit the customer's lifestyle?

Quality is also important when it comes to customer service. For instance, is the customer able
to easily get the help that they need? What if something goes wrong?

For example, let's say a customer receives a damaged product. The way a company responds
and how fast they respond will impact its brand.
Including helpful information on the website can also impact a company's brand in a positive
way.

For example, the website should make it easy for customers to find and fill out a contact form if
they have questions or issues.

It should also include links to helpful information, such as frequently asked questions or self-
help articles that allow customers to troubleshoot issues on their own. And it should include
clear, easy-to-understand instructions for returns and exchanges. A generous return policy can
improve customers' perception of a brand.

If a company backs up the products it sells, customers feel an increased sense of trust. They're
more likely to feel confident about buying a product if there's an option to return or exchange it.

The website also needs to tell the story behind how the company got started, and what's
important to them. Storytelling is an important part of branding. Customers want to understand
the values that a company upholds.

They want to know how the company is making a difference in the world. Research indicates
that 77 percent of consumers buy from brands that share their values.

Customers want to feel good about their purchase. Knowing a company's story and identifying
with its values can help strengthen a customer's relationship with a brand. A company's brand
needs to be centered around its customers.

That's why it's important for a company to know who its target audience is, so that it can build a
brand around the customers' needs and desires.

Do the company's values match the values of its customers? And do the company's actions
prove it?

For example, a pet supply company whose customers are avid pet owners might donate a
portion of their revenue to support pet adoption.

Customers will feel good knowing that a portion of their purchase goes to help pets in need.

Branding is about establishing an emotional connection with customers, providing them with
the best experience possible.

It's about sharing the company's story, serving customers well, and connecting with customers'
values.

Overview of e-commerce stores

E-commerce store: Store that sells its products online.
Seven elements that should be on a website:

- Homepage: Main page of a website. The homepage helps customers understand

what types of products a company sells. It also helps customers find the
information they need. It serves as the main hub that connects to other pages on
the website.
- Navigation bar: Collection of links to other pages within a website. The navigation
bar helps customers find the section of a website that will be most useful for
them. It typically stays at the top of the website no matter which page a
customer is on.
The navigation bar includes a menu with links to products which are generally
organized by department or category.
 Search bar: If the customer knows what they want to find, they can enter
it into the search field to get the results from the store based on their
search.
 Link to create/Sign in to an account: This allows customers to do things
like create or edit their account information, update their payment
information, and access previous orders.
 Shopping Cart
- Product detail page (PDP): Provides information about a specific product. Product
detail pages may include a description, images, specifications, and reviews, as
well as other information about the product.
- Shopping Cart/Checkout Process
- Customer support
- Contact information
- Return and exchange policies
- Shipping information
- Store locator

Responsive website: Designed to work on all types of devices, including computers, mobile
phones, tablets.

Web accessibility: Means that a website or mobile app is designed and developed so that
people with disabilities can use it.

BOPIS: Buy online, pick up in store.

How an e-commerce store works

If you’ve ever bought something online, you know what it’s like to make a purchase from an e-
commerce store. You’ve already learned about e-commerce stores and how they work. In this
reading, you’ll learn more about how customers navigate an e-commerce store and review the
basic elements that make up an e-commerce store.

How customers navigate an e-commerce store

When customers visit an e-commerce store, they might search for a specific product or just
browse until they find products that meet their needs.

For example, imagine a customer is searching for a desk that their child can use at home. The
customer might search for kids’ desks using one or more of the following methods:

 Search bar (usually located at the top of the page)

 Navigation menu (usually located at the top or left-hand side of the page)

 Links to specific categories or products on the page

The customer might also research products in more detail to decide which one meets their
needs or desires. For example, the customer searching for a kids’ desk might research the
different types of desks available and what features they offer, such as storage compartments or
a keyboard tray. They might research products on the e-commerce store’s website as well as
other websites or sources. If the e-commerce store offers a buying guide, blog, or other
information about buying a desk, the customer can learn more about the products they’re
interested in buying without leaving the e-commerce store’s website.

The customer can also research specific desks that the e-commerce store sells by visiting the
product detail page, reading the product description, viewing the product images or videos,
reading customer reviews, and browsing images or videos uploaded by other customers.
Researching products can happen at multiple times during the customer shopping journey, such
as before the customer visits an e-commerce store, after they add a product to their shopping
cart, or even after their purchase (if the product didn’t meet their expectations and they need
to return or exchange it).

Once the customer finds a desk they’re interested in buying, they can add it to their shopping
cart. Sometimes a customer might add multiple products to their cart while they’re still trying to
decide which one to buy. The customer might also decide to add other products to their cart,
such as a desk chair, to go along with the desk.
After the customer decides which products they want to buy, they’re ready to begin the
checkout process. At this stage, the customer enters their payment, shipping, and billing
information and any other details needed. Then, they complete their purchase.
Basic elements of an e-commerce store

Most e-commerce stores contain certain elements that customers expect to find whenever
they’re shopping online. Here are some of the basic elements you might find in an e-commerce
store:

Home page

The home page is the main page of a website. It helps customers understand what types of
products a company sells, helps them find the information or products they need, and serves as
a main hub that connects to other pages on the website.
Navigation bar

The navigation bar is a collection of links to other pages within the website. It helps customers
find the department, category, or section of the website that will be most useful for them. The
navigation bar is typically at the top or left-hand side of the page. It’s a fixed element, which
means that it stays in place even when a customer navigates to a different page on the website.

The navigation bar usually includes a search function and a navigation menu to help customers
find what they need. It may also include a link to the shopping cart and the customer’s account,
as well as other helpful links. If the company has physical locations, the navigation bar may
include a store locator.

The navigation bar also includes a menu with links to department or category pages. For
example, an online store that sells furniture might include links to the kids’ furniture category or
office furniture category. Within these categories, a customer would be able to find desks.
Product detail pages

Product detail pages—sometimes called PDPs—are pages on an e-commerce site that provide
information about a specific product. They typically include a product description, specifications
or technical details, product images or videos, customer reviews, and any other relevant
information about the product.

Shopping cart
A digital shopping cart is the virtual equivalent of a physical shopping cart. It holds all of the
products a customer is planning to buy. The customer can add multiple products to their cart or
remove products at any time. After the customer is finished shopping, they can click on their
shopping cart and begin the checkout process.

Checkout

During the checkout process, the customer enters their billing and shipping information. E-
commerce stores use a payment service provider, which is a secure way to process transactions
online.

If the customer has already created an account with the store, they can sign in to their account
before checkout. This offers a faster checkout option, since the customer’s address and other
information automatically populates in the required fields.

Help and support

E-commerce stores also include options for customers who may need help or support during or
after the buying process. For example, the store might include a chat function so that customers
can ask questions and receive answers online. There are often multiple ways to contact
customer service and find self-help resources.

Typically, the store’s website also includes links to helpful information, such as frequently asked
questions (FAQs), return and exchange policies, shipping policies, contact information, and
details about the company and their values.
Links to these pages are often included in the footer, which is a navigation section at the bottom
of the website. It includes a collection of links to other pages within the website. These are
often supporting pages, such as customer support and services, policies, and information about
the company.

E-commerce platforms
- Wix
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Squarespace
- WooCommerce
- Magento

Open-source: Software that allows the user to access and edit the original source code. That
means that a company can customize their e-commerce website in any way they choose. E.g.:

- WooCommerce
- Magento

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Web-based software available on a subscription basis. The user

must purchase a subscription in order to use it. It allows for a certain amount of customization,
but it doesn’t allow access to the source code. E.g.:

- Shopify
- BigCommerce
Advantages of open-source platforms:

- Complete control over a website’s design and function

- Endless customization options

Disadvantages of open-source platforms:

- Requires coding and technical skills

- Separate fees for web hosting
- Other additional costs involved

Advantages of Saas platforms:

- All-in-one solution
- Built-in templates
- User-friendly software

Disadvantage of Saas platforms:

- Limits on customization
- Integration may be limited
- Payment methods may be limited
- Additional fees for some features

Difference in platforms:

- How fast webpages load

- How high up the store might show in search engine results
- How much room they allow for growth

E-commerce platforms and domains

Distinguishing between open source and software-as-a-service (SaaS) is essential for any e-
commerce specialist. If you know the difference, you can identify what internal and external
resources you may need to manage your website. In this reading, you’ll learn the advantages
and disadvantages of each e-commerce platform. You’ll also learn about registering a domain
for your e-commerce store.

Open-source versus Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Both open-source and SaaS have benefits and drawbacks. You may not be tasked with deciding
which is right for your brand if you work for a larger company, but you may need to at a smaller
company. Plus, it’s important to understand the difference.
Open-source refers to software that allows the user to access and edit the original source code.
The following are some benefits and drawbacks of open-source e-commerce platforms.

 Open-source platforms are fully customizable. You can make your website look exactly
like you want.

 They require basic knowledge of coding, development, and design. If you don’t have that
expertise, you may need to hire someone that does.

 They may take a lot of time to build.

 They may be less expensive than monthly subscriptions.

 They typically do not offer customer support if you have trouble with your website.

SaaS is a web-based software available on a subscription basis. The following are some benefits
and drawbacks of SaaS e-commerce platforms.

 SaaS platforms typically do most of the website building, development, and design for
you.

 Saas doesn’t allow you access to the original code and therefore it is not fully
customizable.

 E-commerce stores using a SaaS platform take less time to build.

 SaaS can be more costly than open-source platforms.

 They typically provide customer support if you have trouble with your website.

 SaaS platforms include built-in analytics for metrics like traffic, clicks, and more.

Examples of open-source e-commerce platforms

There are lots of open-source e-commerce platforms available, so deciding which to use can be
overwhelming. They all have their own benefits and drawbacks. WooCommerce is popular
among industry experts because of its ease of use. Adobe Commerce offers vast capabilities but
is more expensive, and CubeCart offers more robust technical support than other platforms.

Examples of SaaS e-commerce platforms

Much like open-source platforms, there are many SaaS platforms to choose from. Shopify is one
of the most trusted SaaS platforms and the one you’ll learn the most about in this course.
Squarespace is considered to be one of the most user-friendly options, while Wix emphasizes
the importance of design and customization.

Domains
Whether you end up using an open-source or SaaS platform for an e-commerce store, you’ll
need to register a domain. A domain is the URL (or web address) for your website—it can be
found in the address bar at the top of your browser window. For example, when you learn
about Shopify later in this course, you’ll notice the domain name we are using in our example
store is www.bathecoshop.com. Your domain must be unique, which means that no one else
has registered the same domain name.

Introduction to Shopify
Shopify Features:

- Online store
- Blog
- Secure checkout
- Payment processing
- Shipping platform
- Marketing tools
- Analytics and reporting
- 24/7 support

Learn more about Shopify

Most customers expect to be able to purchase a company’s products online. That’s why it’s
important for businesses to have an online store. Building an online store takes time and
effort, but with an e-commerce platform like Shopify, the process is easier. Shopify is a
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, which is web-based software available on a
subscription basis. In this reading, you’ll learn more about the benefits of using Shopify to
build an online store.

Benefits of using Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows companies to sell their products online to
customers anywhere in the world. It offers multiple plans designed to work for businesses of
all sizes, from self-employed entrepreneurs to huge corporations.

Built-in features and tools

Shopify offers multiple features and tools that make it easier to build and manage an online
store. Here are a few of these features and tools:
Online store builder: Shopify makes it easy to build an e-commerce store with free
website themes. Design or coding skills aren’t required. All Shopify themes are fully
responsive, so they’re mobile-friendly and provide a consistent experience across all devices.

E-commerce capabilities for existing websites: If you already have a website

or blog, you can add e-commerce capabilities to it by adding a Shopify buy button that allows
customers to purchase products on your existing site.

Secure checkout: Shopify provides a built-in shopping cart and checkout solution that
protects customers’ information. It’s also mobile-friendly for customers shopping on their
smartphones.

Payment processing: Shopify offers credit card payment processing for online and in-
person sales with Shopify Payments. They also support third-party payment options, such as
Paypal.

Shipping platform: You can get products to customers easily with Shopify’s built-in
shipping options. Plus, you can keep track of inventory levels.
Integration with third-party shopping channels: Shopify makes it easy to
save product details in one place and sell on multiple channels, such as Facebook, Google,
Amazon, eBay, Pinterest, and TikTok.

Marketing tools: You can manage your email marketing, content marketing, SEO, and
ad campaigns all in one place with Shopify’s marketing tools.

Blog: A built-in blogging platform makes it easy to share valuable information with
customers and keep your content fresh.
Analytics and reporting tools: You can stay up to date on how the store is
performing with real-time analytics and reports you can share with stakeholders.

24/7 customer service: If you need help, you can visit Shopify’s help center online or
contact their customer support team any time, day or night.

Create a product detail page

As an e-commerce specialist, you will eventually have to add products to your store’s website.
This means you’ll need to add product descriptions, page titles, alt text, and meta descriptions.
In this reading, you will learn about the basic process for creating product detail pages in your
online store.

Writing a product description

A product description is the text on the product detail page of an e-commerce store that
provides details and information to customers about the product. A good product description
persuades customers to purchase your product. If your product description is incomplete or not
descriptive enough, you are leaving questions unanswered, which means customers are less
likely to buy the item.

When creating descriptions, make sure your copy stands out from the rest. To do this, consider
your customers. Ask yourself:

 Who is my target customer?

 What kind of copy would they want to read? Humorous? Serious? Imaginative?
Soothing? Fresh?
  What qualities are they looking for in a product? What makes my product special?

After you’ve answered these questions, you can start drafting your product description. Write a
brief paragraph that includes features and any relevant information your target customers may
want. After you’ve created your clear, concise description, feel free to add some personality and
cleverness, if you think it makes sense. Remember, you’re trying to convince people that they
want this product. Then, include a bulleted list of features the product has. The following is an
e-commerce scenario and related product description:

Imagine you run an online electronics store, and you are writing a product description for a new
pair of headphones that just arrived in your store. Your customers are tech enthusiasts who love
the latest and most high-quality trends. They are clever, and they don’t mind spending a lot of
money if the product is worth it, especially if the product looks cool, too. Your product
description might read:

Immerse yourself in the smoothest sound and strongest noise cancellation on the market.
Available in five colorways, these headphones will have everyone around you doing a double-
take—but you won’t notice because you’ll be lost in the sound.

Writing a product title

A product title should be very straightforward and concise. Target customers should be able to
read the product and know exactly what it is. To write an effective product title, include details
like the brand’ name and the product’s name. Then, think about the color, flavor, material, and
type of item, and include whichever aspects feel important. Finally, you may want to add
information about size and quantity, depending on what you are selling.

Note: In a previous video, you learned that a stock keeping unit, or SKU, is a unique code that
retailers use to identify a product. Certain products may have multiple SKUs based on identifiers
like color, size, type, and more. If the product detail page allows the customer to select a size,
color, or other variation, you wouldn’t include these identifiers in the product title because one
product page will represent multiple SKUs for that product.

Revisit the online electronics store scenario. Here’s a good example title for the new
headphones:

Audiophile Over-The-Ear Studio Quality Headphones, Black

In this example, it’s clear which style of headphones they are, that they’ll provide you with
studio- quality sound, that the brand is Audiophile, and that the color of these specific
headphones is black.
An example of a product detail page with the following text: Audiophile Over-The-Ear Studio
Quality Headphones Black Immerse yourself in the smoothest sound and strongest noise
cancellation on the market. Available in 5 colorways, these headphones will have everyone
around you doing a double-take—but you won’t notice because you’ll be lost in the sound.

Writing alternative text

Alternative text, more commonly called alt text, is a brief, written description of an image with
the primary purpose of assisting individuals who are visually impaired. Screen readers read alt
text aloud, allowing customers to understand what the image is by describing it in words. Alt
text is also important for search engine optimization, where it’s used to return search results.
Alt text shouldn’t exceed 125 characters.

When you are writing alt text, keep these considerations in mind:

 Be concise but specific enough. The reader should have a general understanding of what
the image is.

 Make sure the alt text makes sense when you read it aloud.

 Explain the type of image. Is it an illustration, graph, chart, stock photo, screenshot, or
something else?

 Don’t start your alt text with “image of” or “photo of” as it can get repetitive if there are
several images.
  Incorporate a keyword or two, but don’t over do it. Keywords will help your SEO, but if
you use too many, this will be flagged by search engines and you may be ranked down.

Going back to your pretend store’s new headphone release, your alt text for the image below
might read something like the following:

White headphones with a volume adjustment button, a bluetooth button, a USB-c port, and a
3.5mm port

Writing a web page title element and meta description

For SEO purposes, every webpage has a page title and a meta description. The webpage title
provides both the users and search engines with a page’s topic, while the meta description
provides search engines with a summary of what the page is about. Every page on your website
will need a webpage title element and meta description so that your business can be found by
potential customers when they search for products like yours.

Webpage title elements should be brief so that search engines don’t show only a portion of
your text to potential customers. That doesn’t mean webpage title elements shouldn’t be
detailed, though. Make sure that as you write your page title, you thoroughly describe what
users will find on the page.

As for the meta description, it should be about 150–160 characters, and it should include
carefully selected keywords. Make sure to be thorough in your meta description, because you’re
summarizing what potential customers can find on the page.
Your headphones have their own page and need a webpage title element and meta description.
Here’s what that might look like:

Learn more about working in Shopify

Previously, you learned the essentials for creating a functional Shopify store.

In this reading, you will learn about more ways to improve your customers’ shopping experience
on your mock Shopify store. These include: adding your brand’s voice to your site, choosing the
right theme, and optimizing essential information.

Add your brand voice

Expressing your brand’s voice on your store’s website is a great way to attract customers and get
them interested in your brand. As a reminder, brand voice is the distinct personality a brand
takes on in a company’s communications. This includes the messaging and imagery on your
store’s website. Two ways to display brand voice on your site are creating “about us” pages and
blog sections.

“About us” pages offer a great way for customers to learn about your business and who you are
as a brand. Use this section to tell customers about your brand’s journey and mission.

Blog sections are a thoughtful and deliberate strategy to connect with customers. Adding a blog
section to your store also helps improve its SEO by adding more searchable keywords. The blog
posts can include information about your brand’s products, announcements, and compelling
narratives about your company or a related topic.

You can add these sections to your site by using the sales channel menu on your admin
dashboard.

While honing your brand voice with “about us” pages or blog posts, decide how you want your
audience to perceive your brand. Then practice developing your tone of voice and implement it
into all communications. Tone of voice is how the character of your business is perceived in
written and spoken communication. It's not about what you say, but rather the way you say it.

Choose the right theme

Earlier, you learned that a theme is a pre-built website template that creates the design and
layout of your store. Themes form the organization, features, and style details—like fonts and
colors—of your online store. Shopify applies a default theme to your store when it is created.

Choosing the right theme with specific layouts, colors, and fonts helps you tailor your brand’s
identity so that your store is recognizable and distinctive. Choosing the right theme can also
complement your product photos, making customers interested in what you are selling.

Select the Themes tab on your Shopify profile to view your live theme, explore the theme
library for free and paid themes, or upload a theme you purchased elsewhere.

If you cannot find the right theme template for your store, you have the option to build your
own theme or adjust an existing theme—but use caution. Themes are created using code,
which takes time and skill to perfect without errors. To avoid making coding mistakes, some
merchants hire web developers. You are not expected to purchase a theme or hire a web
developer for your mock Shopify store.

Optimize essential information

Customers expect to be able to find important shopping information when they visit an online
store. When important information is missing or inaccurate, it can cause the customer to lose
trust in your brand—and even leave your site—costing you a possible conversion.

When optimizing your store, pay close attention to your contact information, product details,
and return policy.
You should also include terms of service, which are legal agreements between a business and
customers, and a privacy policy, which is a legal document that discloses some or all the ways a
business gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer's data.

Google requires that all e-commerce businesses include this information for customer review.
Shopify offers templates for these items. Review the provided templates to ensure that they
align with your business.

Contact information

A contact page is a common web page on a website for visitors to contact the organization or
individual providing the website. Most templates include a contact page that has the option to
add your business’s name, customer support email address, and phone number, if available.

You can also add a “contact us” feature on your store’s contact page to let customers get in
touch with you. All Shopify themes have a built-in contact form that you can add to the pages
you create so that customers can contact you directly with a message. This helps you build trust
with your customers, as they feel that your brand is more accessible.

Product details

You learned earlier that you can update your product details on your Google Merchant Center
account. When you link your Shopify and Google accounts, the products are added to your site.
The details that you provide for a product affect the way that the product is displayed to
customers, make it easier for you to organize your products, and help customers find the
product. Be sure to check that your product details are accurate and to your liking. If necessary,
edit your product details using the admin menu.

Return policy
A return policy is a document that describes, in detail, your business's process and
requirements for accepting returns. Having these policies stated helps your customers make
informed buying decisions. You can edit your return policy under the policies tab of your admin
dashboard.

Shopifiy has return policy templates for you to work from. If you choose to use a template, be
sure to edit specific details to match your business model.

Your return policy should answer two basic questions:

 How can customers make a return? Most businesses offer customers the option to
exchange their purchases for another product of equal value or return their purchase for
a full cash refund.

 How long do customers have before they can make a return? Typically, most websites
offer a 30 to 60-day return window.

Once complete, these policies will be easily accessible at the bottom of your store’s website, in
accordance with Shopify guidelines.
Set up your Google Merchant Center account and link it to
Shopify
Google merchant center: A tool advertisers use to upload their store and product data to google
and make it available for shopping ads and other google services.

Benefits of the Google Merchant center:

- Accurate Google Shopping listings

- Exclusive Google Analytics support
- Review capabilities for your online products
- Simple Google AdWords integration

To create an account, you will need:

- At least one existing Google account

- A verified website and business
- Up-to-date product data on your e-commerce store including pricing, availability,
and shipping information.

List products on multiple shopping channels

As you learned earlier, if you want to attract more customers to your e-commerce store, it’s
important to list your products on multiple channels—also called multichannel e-commerce.
This reading will help you understand the benefits of listing products on multiple channels and
how this process works in Shopify.

Benefits of listing on multiple channels

Listing your products on multiple channels can help you reach more customers with your
products and services. Customers often have a preference for shopping on specific channels,
such as Amazon or Google Shopping. If your products aren’t listed on their preferred channel,
they won’t be as likely to find or purchase your products.

If customers research and compare products on multiple channels, they might come across your
brand more than once. That’s a good way to increase brand awareness and build trust with
potential customers. Plus, your products might show up higher in the search results for some
sales channels versus others. That’s another reason why it’s important to list your products on
multiple channels.

How to list products on multiple channels in Shopify

Shopify’s e-commerce platform allows you to list products not only in your online store but also
on other sales channels. This means you can upload and manage your products all in one place
but list them on multiple channels. You can sell your products on your website and list them on
Google, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, and other channels. You
can also create a mobile app, or add a channel to sell products in person. For example, Shopify’s
point of sale (POS) app enables you to sell products in person. The app accepts payments and
processes transactions.

To add a new sales channel in Shopify, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account at Shopify.com.

2. Click Add apps pin the navigation menu. Then, at the bottom of the pane click Find more
apps in the Shopify App Store.

3. Now you’re in the Shopify app store. At the right of the search bar, click Browse apps.
Then click Selling products.

4. Click one of the recommended sales channel apps such as Pinterest, Google & YouTube,
or TikTok.

Finally, click Install and complete any additional steps needed to finish the setup process.

Troubleshooting

Occasionally, you may run into an issue where your product gets flagged or marked with an item
disapproval. Disapprovals can occur when policies or product data requirements aren’t satisfied.
For instance, a refund policy could be missing, a price mismatch could exist between landing
and product pages, or promotional text could be present in product images. Some healthcare
products may be disapproved due to online sales restrictions in certain locales.

If a disapproval happens, you’ll need to follow the process to get the item reapproved. This
process may be different for each sales channel. To resolve the issue, you may need to visit the
sales channel’s help center to access troubleshooting information or connect with their
customer support team.

Module 3
Advertise online
Online advertising: A form of marketing which uses the internet to deliver promotional
marketing message to consumers.

Four key benefits of online advertising:

1. Cost effective: The cost is calculated by CPM – The cost of an advertisement per
1000 impressions.
2. Global reach capabilities
3. Gather data for effective brand strategizing
4. Quick and easy to produce

Platforms for e-commerce ads

Whether you’re helping to launch a new e-commerce store or working for a thriving e-
commerce business, one of the best ways to acquire new customers is through e-commerce
advertising. E-commerce advertising is any form of online or offline advertising that raises
awareness of and drives traffic to an e-commerce business. E-commerce advertising—along
with other digital marketing tactics—can help support any e-commerce marketing strategy. In
this reading, we’ll discuss some top online platforms through which to advertise your e-
commerce products or services.

Google Ads

If you’ve taken previous courses in this program, you’ve learned how Google Ads can support a
business’s digital marketing strategy. Google Ads is an ideal tool for e-commerce businesses
that want to boost brand awareness or acquire new customers. Google Ads enables you to
show Search ads on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) and place display ads on
websites via the Google Display Network. As the world’s biggest search engine, Google’s Search
and Display ads have tremendous reach potential.
Google Shopping ads

Google Shopping ads are image-based product ads that show a photo of a product, its title and
price, the store name, and any reviews. These ads allow e-commerce businesses to display their
products every time a relevant search is made, enabling them to expand their products’
visibility to a wider audience. When a user clicks on an ad, they are taken to the product page in
the e-commerce store. Since many people use Google to search for products, Google Shopping
ads can help drive traffic and conversions. You will learn more about Google Shopping
campaigns in an upcoming lesson.

Google Discovery campaigns

Google Discovery campaigns deliver highly-visual, personalized ads that can be displayed on the
YouTube Home and Watch Next feeds, the Discover app, and the Gmail Promotions and Social
tabs. Discovery campaigns are designed to reach users who are most likely to be interested in a
product or service, as determined by Google's algorithms. Discovery campaigns can help you
drive engagement and conversions because they show relevant, meaningful ads to people
when they are most receptive to learning more about a business’s products and services.

YouTube Ads

With more than a billion hours of video viewed daily, YouTube Ads can reach a wide and diverse
audience. On YouTube, e-commerce businesses can set up video ads and campaigns that align
with their marketing goals and post them on their channel. This can provide these businesses
with the opportunity to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to their online store.
YouTube Ads are especially effective for sharing educational or informational content, such as
product demonstrations, product reviews, or explainer videos.

Amazon Ads

Amazon Ads can help e-commerce businesses connect with potential buyers on a platform
specifically designed for shopping. With Amazon Ads, advertisers bid on keywords and
placements to show their products higher in search results. This can help businesses get their
products in front of a wider audience. Amazon offers a variety of advertising options, including
sponsored products, sponsored brands, sponsored display ads, video ads, and audio ads.

Facebook and Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram, both owned by the parent company Meta, are incredibly popular
social media platforms visited by hundreds of millions of potential customers daily. Ads
Manager is an all-in-one tool for creating ads, managing them, and tracking their performance
on these platforms.
Facebook Ads

Facebook has the most users of any social media platform, with billions of active accounts.
Popular among a wide variety of demographic groups, Facebook Ads can help reach a target
audience. Facebook offers a variety of ad formats that may benefit e-commerce businesses.
Collection ads, for example, provide videos or images of products from a business's catalog and
allow people to move seamlessly from the discovery of a product to a purchase. Facebook Ads
also allows businesses to target customers by location, occupation, interests, past activity, and
more.

Instagram ads

On Instagram, e-commerce businesses can create ads in a variety of highly-visual formats—

from image-based ads to video reels to stories—to promote their products and connect with
their target audience. Instagram ads can be directly linked to a product page or another landing
page, giving users a quick and easy way to engage with products.

Pinterest Ads

Like Instagram, Pinterest is a highly-visual platform. With Pinterest ads, brands can advertise
their products through promoted ads appearing as pins in the organic search results.

TikTok For Business

TikTok For Business offers e-commerce businesses an opportunity to promote their products to
a young, highly-engaged audience. Influencer marketing is a key component of advertising on
TikTok, and TikTok’s Creator Marketplace helps brands find influencers to partner with.

X advertising

X is a social media platform primarily used for breaking news and engaging with influencers and
celebrities. X advertising offers two options: Quick Promote, which automatically promotes
posts an advertiser chooses to their target audience, and X Ads. X Ads campaigns are objective-
based, meaning they are optimized towards the objective the advertiser selects, and they are
only billed for actions aligned with that goal.

Using videos in ads

Previously, you learned about using various advertising methods online through e-commerce ad
platforms. In this reading, we’ll learn about digital advertising, only this time, we’ll cover video
ads specifically.

Digital advertising vs digital marketing

Digital marketing is the practice of reaching consumers online through digital channels with the
aim of turning them into customers. Digital advertising is the practice of promoting a brand and
generating sales through the use of ads. Using video in ads is one effective tactic of digital
advertising.

Benefits of digital advertising

Videos are an effective way to advertise for a number of reasons. For starters, 4 billion videos
are watched on YouTube everyday. That’s billions of potential opportunities for a video ad to be
seen. It’s also estimated that almost one-third of shoppers purchase a product after
encountering a video ad, which is a conversion rate of 33% — well over most average ad
conversion rates.

There are other benefits, too. A video can deliver more information than a graphic or a photo
can. The use of videos can add a personal touch to a brand’s ads, and videos sometimes do a
better job of showcasing products than images do. Using ads that include storytelling videos,
testimonial videos, or influencer review videos are all great ways to take your brand awareness
to the next level.

Types of ads

There are many kinds of ads you can use in digital advertising. By now, you may be familiar with
some of them. Using ads on display networks, social media, search engines, or video streaming
platforms (like YouTube), can boost a business’ ability to reach potential customers.

Ad-hosting platforms

There are all kinds of ad-hosting platforms available to digital marketers, and in order to best
serve your target audience, you should be familiar with as many as possible. Below are some
examples of spaces you can place ads within.

 Facebook and Instagram are social media platforms where you can run ads that appear
in people’s social media feeds or in their stories.

 Placing ads on Google Ads will allow them to be seen while people are browsing for
similar products.

 YouTube Ads, which exist before, in the middle of, and after videos on YouTube, give
your brand visibility through their video platform. These ads pop up in the same media
player they're using to watch videos.

This isn’t an exhaustive list — if you want to find additional ad-hosting platforms, you’ll want to
do some more research. There are many other platforms for e-commerce ads, but remember
that some of them aren’t always well-suited for videos. Where you place your video ads
matters.

Setting your strategy

Before you create a video ad, you’ll want to make sure you set your strategy. When you’re
setting your advertising strategy, ask yourself: where will these ads be placed? Who is my target
audience for these ads? What is my plan if the ads don’t perform well? Will there be one ad or
will we create a whole campaign of video ads?

Knowing this information will help you stay on track. As a digital marketer or digital advertising
professional, remember that there will always be some level of trial and error. Be prepared to
pivot or try new things if your video ads aren’t generating sales or creating brand awareness like
you wanted them to.

Tips to optimize digital advertising

After you’ve set your digital advertising strategy and answered the questions above, you can
start executing your video ads.

When creating video ads, here are some aspects to consider:

 Length. Video ads should only run for about 20 to 30 seconds at most. The average
viewer isn’t likely to watch for much longer than that. In some cases, your ads may only
be a few seconds long. The length of your video will depend on your goals and your
intended audience.

 Hook. The first 3-5 seconds are where you really catch the attention of your potential
customer. Make sure you add content that hooks them right away.

 Size and dimensions. Depending on where you plan to run your ads, the size and
dimensions of your videos will be different. For instance, ads on Instagram should be
9x16 or square, whereas ads on YouTube should be 16x9.

 Target audience. Create videos your potential customers will like, and place the ads
wherever your potential customers are most likely to be, whether that’s on social media,
driving by digital billboards, watching videos on YouTube, or somewhere else.

Helpful tools to make video ads

There is data that suggests videos these days don’t have to have the highest production value.
This is good news if you’re just getting started — you can make video ads from anything!

Some tools that will help you are:

 Wave.video
  Adobe Express

 Premiere Rush

 Soapbox (if you use Google Chrome)

 Animoto

Advertise with Google Ads campaigns

Campaign: A tool that creates and initiates a plan for how to promote products or services on
Google’s vast network of search results, websites, videos, mobile apps, maps, shopping listings,
and more.

Types of ad campaigns commonly used for e-commerce:

1. Shopping: Product listing that appear on search results and the Google Shopping tab.
Shopping ads shows users a phot of your product, plus a title, price, store name, and
more. Products will also appear on the Shopping tab along with their competitors. It’s
needed to promote your online inventory and boost traffic to your website store. They
help with retail marketing by using visually engaging products listings to promote your
retail products. They also help boost your sales by getting people to buy on your online
store or sign up for more.
2. Search: Text ads on search results that appear while people search on google for related
products and services. They help reach customer who know what they are looking for
and are ready to make a purchase. (Both Search and Shopping) run using a PPC, or pay-
per-click, model.
3. Display: A google ads tool that allows businesses to place image advertisements across
various websites. They aren’t limited to the Google Search platform. They can appear on
any platform that’s part of the Google Display Network- A group of more than 2 million
websites, videos, and apps. Display campaigns are often artistic and use a combination
of art, graphic design, photography, and typography to promote their products.
4. Video: A google ads tool that allows businesses to place video advertisements before,
during, or after YouTube videos and in the search results. they help businesses and
products get noticed on YouTube. They help your potential customers meet your e-
commerce products at the start of their buying journey and help spread awareness
about your brand. They can also remind returning customers to revisit your products or
services. These video ads have a limited time to make a impression on the people who
are watching them.

Regular Google Ads campaigns give you control of:

- Specific goals
 - Keywords
- Conversion metrics
- Budget strategy

Understand Smart Campaigns

Smart Campaign: An automated campaign management tool within Google Ads that helps
promote your business. Originally called Google AdWords Express, they were designed for small
businesses and new advertisers. They provide a simpler business marketing experience by
combining Search and Display campaigns and allow Google to control most of the campaign’s
management.

Smart campaign advantages:

- Automated:
- Easier to set-up
- Saves money

Smart campaign limitations:

- Limited campaign goals

- Limited keyword options
- Limited control of the budget

Smart Shopping campaigns are the best Smart campaign to help maximize shopping potential.

Smart Shopping campaign: An advanced shopping campaign that uses machine learning
technology to optimize for the sales and reach Google shoppers across Google’s sites and
networks. After just a few steps, Google will optimize to show your inventory to the right
customers at the right time across different networks, including the google search network,
google display network, YouTube, and Gmail.

To accomplish this, they optimize real-time signals, like user queries, time of day, and devices to
show your products to customers who are more likely to buy them.

Benefits of Smart Shopping campaigns:

- Optimize existing shopping ad products: They combine your single existing

product feed and assets into ads across a variety of networks. Google ads test
them and put the best.
 - Leverage automatic bidding: Google analyzes and intelligently predicts the value
of a potential conversion every time a user searches for products or services
you’re advertising.
- Get started right from your e-commerce platform.

Prepare a Google Shopping campaign

Before launching a Google Shopping campaign, you’ll need to complete a few requirements.
This reading will review some of those requirements, including setting up Google accounts,
reviewing policies, and completing product information.

Set up Google accounts

Before you can begin a Shopping campaign, you’ll need to set up accounts with Google
Merchant Center and Google Ads and link them together. Linking your Google Analytics
property to your Merchant Center account allows you to access Merchant Center-specific
reporting or insights to help improve your campaign’s performance.

If you have already done so, confirm that the two accounts were linked correctly. To refresh
your knowledge of Google Merchant Center and Google Ads, revisit an earlier video on this
subject.

Review policies

Your content for Shopping campaigns and Shopping ads needs to comply with the Shopping ads
policies. These policies are divided into four general categories:

 Prohibited content: Content you're not allowed to promote on the Google Network

 Prohibited practices: Things you can't do if you want to advertise with Google

 Restricted content: Content you can advertise, but with limitations

 Editorial and technical requirements: Quality standards for your ads and website

Before launching your campaign, it’s important to check that you are not violating any of
Google’s Shopping ads policies. If you do, your Shopping campaign may be ended involuntarily.

For a complete list of all Google policies, visit the Google Ads policies website.

Complete product information

Review your product information in Merchant Center programs, and edit it if necessary.
Submitting your product data to Google correctly is essential for creating successful product
ads. Google uses this data to make sure that it's matched to the correct queries.

Product information includes:

  Basic product data: This informs shoppers what they are purchasing. The product
information you submit such as IDs, product titles, product descriptions, and links are
the foundation of a successful Shopping ad campaign.

 Price and availability: These attributes define the price and availability for your
products.

 Product category: This helps organize your advertising campaigns in Google Ads and to
override Google’s automatic product categorization in specific cases.

 Product identifiers: These attributes such as the Global Trade Item Number and
Manufacturer Part Number are used to define the products you're selling in the global
marketplace.

 Detailed product description: These attributes are used to submit product

characteristics that users commonly search for, such as color, condition, and material.

 Tax information: Use this setting to override the account tax settings for an individual
product. You can submit tax information for all your products using the account settings
in the Merchant Center.

Disapprovals in Google Ads

Regardless of the campaign type, all of your ad content needs to comply with Google Ads
policies. If your ad violates these policies, it will be disapproved and won’t run. Familiarizing
yourself with Google Ads policies and creating ad content that adheres to them can help reduce
the likelihood that your ad will be disapproved. Even if you do this, you may occasionally have
ads that are disapproved. In this reading, we will discuss Google Ads policies and some
examples of violations of them, error and warning checks that indicate an ad may be
disapproved, and how to fix a disapproved ad.

Overview of Google Ads policies

Google Ads policies are designed not only to follow laws but to ensure a safe and positive
experience for users. These policies aim to prohibit content that could be harmful to users.
Google Ads uses a combination of automated and human evaluation to ensure ads comply with
these policies.

As you learned in a previous reading, these policies are divided into four general categories:
prohibited content, prohibited practices, restricted content, and editorial and technical
requirements. Below is a description of each of these categories and examples of violations of
them:

 Prohibited content: Content you're not allowed to promote on the Google Network
 o Examples: Ads that contain counterfeit goods, dangerous products or services, or
inappropriate or offensive content

 Prohibited practices: Things you can't do if you want to advertise with Google

o Examples: Ads that contain malicious software, collect data without appropriate
disclosures or security measures, or misrepresent products or services

 Restricted content: Content you can advertise, but with limitations

o Examples: Ads that contain sexual, political, alcohol, or gambling-related content

or are geared at kids

 Editorial and technical requirements: Quality standards for ads, websites, and apps

o Examples: Ads that do not meet certain technical, formatting, or editorial

requirements

Before creating an ad, review Google Ads policies to help ensure your ad is in compliance with
them.

Error and warning checks

Google Ads Editor automatically detects certain issues that might cause your ad to be
disapproved. As you edit your ad, red error icons or yellow warning icons appear to indicate any
potential problems. For example, if your ad contains capitalization that is not used correctly or
for its intended purpose (e.g., COFFEE, COFfEE, C.O.F.F.E.E.), Google Ads Editor will show a red
error icon next to the affected row.

The following icons indicate the status of your ad:

An icon with an exclamation point in a red circle indicates an error. Google Ads Editor can't
check or post the affected item unless you request an exception or make the required change.
An icon with an exclamation point in a yellow triangle indicates a warning. Warnings don't
prevent an item from posting, but you should check the item for accuracy and to ensure that it
meets Google Ads policies.
A green circle icon appears after you check your changes, and it indicates that the item has
passed Google Ads policy checks.

Ad review process

After you create or edit an ad or extension, the review process begins automatically. The
content in your ad—including your headline, description, keywords, destination, and any images
and video—will be reviewed. Most ads are reviewed within one business day. However, some
reviews take longer if the ad requires a more complex review.

 If your ad passes the review, its status will change to eligible, and it will start to run.

 If the review indicates that your ad violates a policy, its status will change to
disapproved, which means it can’t show anywhere.

 If your ad is marked eligible (limited), it will not show in certain regions, to certain age
groups, or on certain devices.

Fix a disapproved ad

If any of your ads are disapproved or eligible (limited), your ad may not be able to run until it’s
corrected. In Google Ads, this will be noted in the status column, where you can also find out
what policy violation is impacting your ad.
When you have an ad with policy violations, review the policy and then edit the ad so that it
complies. Once you fix your ad, Google will review the ad and allow it to run if it’s determined
to be compliant.

This video provides more information about how to fix a disapproved ad.

If you’ve reviewed the policy and still believe your ad is compliant, you also have the option to
file an appeal. Scroll down to the Appeal policy decision section of this article for more
information.

Explore seasonality in e-commerce

Seasonality (Seasonal Marketing): The regular and predictable fluctuation of e-commerce traffic
around special holidays, events and weather on a quarterly or yearly basis.

Two parts of seasonality:

- On-season: Period where customers are much more likely to buy products due to
related weather variables or special events. During this season, businesses can
expect to receive the most financial gain.
- Off-season: Period where customers tend to take more time in making purchases,
specially if it’s for a larger ticket item. It’s a time when the businesses experience
a period of relatively low site traffic and revenue.

Off-season marketing strategies:

1. Grow your database