This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox browser.

Internet Software, Hardware, and Computers

2012-08-01 12:31:37

Setting up your eBusiness

A- Last month, with assistance from www.ecommerceoptizimation.com and other sources, we talked about exploring the potential of your online business and operation of the same. This month we will talk about the Internet, the World Wide Web, Search Engines and Browsers. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Internet has revolutionized the way in which we live our lives. Nearly everything you can imagine is a simple point and click away from any person (over 1 billion) with a computer and Internet access. Technologies like email and Online chat have taken the place of snail mail and phone conversation. If you want information about a particular topic, it’s just a matter of typing in a few words and a millions of pages appear to show you more about what you searched for. The Internet has made it much easier to access information about a nearly infinite number of topics. Most of all, we have seen the Internet change the way in which consumers shop and buy the items they like. Online shopping has become increasingly popular since eCommerce first began and industry trends do not show any signs of this trend slowing down any time soon. There is a lot of opportunity to make money through selling Online. eBusinesses often have a better chance of success due to the low overhead and broad customer reach. It’s challenging to be successful selling Online as competition across nearly every major market has made top search engine rankings a necessity for successful eRetailers. In addition, more and more merchants are becoming familiar with search engine marketing and optimization techniques making it ever more difficult to compete within search engines. Knowing how the Internet and Online business works will be an integral part of starting your own eCommerce business. The Internet & World Wide Web: The Internet is basically a very complex network that links together other computer networks. This is the reason why often times it’s referred to as the Net, as it connects together similar to how an actual net is constructed. It is also referred to as the Web often times because it can best be described as a spiderweb where the cross sections would represent individual computers across a network (although the Net is not the same thing as the WWW). The Net first began around 1996 when the U.S military created the ARPAnet (Advanced Research Project Agency Network), an advanced system that allowed the government to route messages in the event of outside breach into their protected networks. ARPAnet is the basis for the Net we know today, and although it is no longer exclusive to government agencies, it has become an important means by which individuals, companies and institutions communicate. Although the Net first began as a home for information, it has broadened into the world of commerce. Now we can even make transactions Online from any computer which has made life a lot easier for both business owners and consumers. In the past, if we wanted to buy something, we either had to physically enter a store or order from a catalog over the phone. Currently, all we need to have is a computer that has an Internet connection, making our next purchases just a few clicks away. It has basically become a new way of living for many people. The World Wide Web (WWW) shouldn’t be confused with the Internet, they are not the same thing. The WWW is basically an interconnected number of Web sites linked together by a series of hyperlinks (a reference that points to another site and tells a browser where the site is located). The Internet is what connects your computer to the billions of sites that make u the WWW. The WWW first began with an idea by Tim Berners-Lee, who built the first Web browser (software application that allows users to view and access Web pages. The idea basically resulted due to his job at the time with CERN, when he wanted to be able to access CERN’s directory quickly and easily. At the time, CERN has it’s information stored in separate databases, making it nearly impossible to access and retrieve the information easily. As a result, the first Web browser was born, quickly turning the WWW into what it is today. The WWW first became available to the public in 1991, but it didn’t quite gain world wide popularity until 1993 when CERN announced that the public would be granted access for free. Search Engines & Web Surfing: A search engine is basically a program that helps Internet users find information on the WWW. Searching has also changed the way we live and find information. Now anyone can research and browse for information just by using search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. Search engines are key when conducting Online research, especially for eBusiness owners and entrepreneurs. Search engines mostly do the work for you when it comes to finding information on any topic imaginable. Search engines first began in about 1990 when Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal, created the first Internet search engine, which he called “Archie.” Emtage originally created the Archie search engine to index directory listings in order to easily find information on file names. Another individual, Mark McCahill, joined the University of Minnesota computer center as a programmer in Apple II and CDC Cyber programming. In 1991 McCahill led the development team that created another search engine, which they named “Gopher” (designed to index text files). Since indexing text files is very similar to indexing of Web sites, this is considered the beginning of Web site search. Sites and files within the WWW are accessed by the crawlers of each search engine and are then evaluated for possible indexing. On the other end, a user types in a keyword or series of words and the search engine will look for relevant words within the indexed files and retrieve the most related or relevant results to display. The words they evaluate are located in many places, but typically they look for words within the page title, domain, description and content. Jean Armour Polly, a librarian in Liverpool, England, coined the term “Surfing the Internet.” It was the title of an article she wrote in 1992. That article gained worldwide popularity and it has been translated into many languages. Some of the search engine categories today are: General information search engines Meta crawler search engines Pay-per-click search engines Shopping search engines News search engines The most popular general search engines today are: Google Bing Yahoo You may be asking yourself how having knowledge about search engines can help you when opening an eBusiness. Well, the answer is consumers who buy Online tend to search for keywords related to the products they want to buy. After the search is performed, Web pages are ranked in each engine’s search results pages (SERP), and merchants should realize and understand that optimizing their pages and content will help their site rank higher in the search results. There are also sometimes results that show sites that have paid a search engine so that their site ranks higher, or some sites pay an advertising fee. These advertisements are typically called sponsored links, pay per click ads or cost per click listings. Sponsored links are commercial or non-commercial sites that have paid a fee to advertise. These ads usually show up on the right side of search results or near the top and bottom of the page. Try searching for something that interests you. Carefully analyze the results you see from the search engine you choose to use. Take a look at the first 10-20 results and study how site owners write their titles and descriptions. Ask yourself the following; Are the services written clearly? Does the site give too much information? Is the wording confusing? Is there a call to action? Is it just perfect? These are all things you should consider when designing your eCommerce site. Remember, knowing about search engines and how they work will help you during your site design processes and once the site is live. Web Browsers: Web browsers are what Internet surfers use to navigate from site to site or page to page on the Web. Browsers help to make the task of traveling from one area of the Net to the next easier. With browsers, users can gain access to information that has been published on Web pages or they can easily transmit information across the Web. There are several Web browsers currently available for download and use. Internet Explorer is the most popular Web browser followed by FireFox, Netscape, Safari and Opera. The most popular Web browsers today are: Microsoft Internet Explorer Mozilla FireFox Google Chrome Apple Safari Google Opera Next month, with all of the information we have provided thus far, we will begin to lay out a plan for your very own eCommerce business.